#I do think he came out too thin - I dunno know what happened

[cowardlykrow]

"Hah, dude doesn't even know he's in my tamagotchi."

[gay-dorito-dust]

Hey hi so I just have this flash of an idea: Reader saving Ford / Stan out of a danger they’re facing. Like I’m talking reader carrying them bridal style and gently putting them down and being all “Are you alright, my love?” Hehehehhehehehe blushy boys

Stanley was a punch first, ask questions at a later date type of guy, he was use to being the protector of the family no matter if the guy he was up against was bigger. He always came out on top in the end.

So when he found himself being lifted into your arms and you brought him out of the line of danger and looked at him with a face full of concern before asking; ‘are you alright my love?’ He knew he watched too much of that sappy romance drama Mabel got him into as he felt his cheeks burn hotter then ever.

‘I’m fine now toots thanks to you.’ He replies, trying to keep his cool when his heart was hammering in his chest and all he could think about was how attractive you were in his eyes, then again you were always attractive in his eyes but there was something about being saved by you that made him conflicted.

On one hand, Stan was the man in the relationship, he’s meant to keep you safe from all harm -paranormal or otherwise- and if he didn’t do that, then he wasn’t a man. But he also felt relieved that he didn’t have to always look out for himself anymore when he’s with you, knowing you had his back as much as he had yours no matter what. It was reassuring knowing that he could fall back on someone and know that they’ll catch him when he falls.

So while he still might think that he should still be the one protecting you and all, Stanley doesn’t mind it one bit when you’re looking at him with such caring eyes, hands holding his face as though he was the most precious thing in your life. (he was, he very much was)

‘I’m glad.’ You said with a smile, ‘now let’s stay as far away from here as we can from now on.’ You added as you grabbed his hand to walk back to the mystery shack.

‘I dunno doll face, I might just get myself into a bit of trouble more often if it means having you come save me.’ Stanley teased with a wink.

‘Don’t push it. I might not always be there to save you.’ You said playfully as you nudged him with your elbow to his side.

Ford’s face was as red as cherry tomatoes the second he recognised he was in your arms, carried away from the skeletal deer anomaly that had seemingly lost all interest in both of you, but yet his face somehow got even more redder when you put him down on a nearby fallen tree stump to hold his face in your hands as you said:

‘Are you alright my love?’

He’s suddenly finding the fungi growing on the side of the tree trunk more interesting than meeting your eyes as the words caught in his throat. Ford always though it’s be him carrying you away from danger, keeping you safe and making sure that you weren’t hurt in any way, he could handle them thanks to the survival skills he built up whilst in the multiverse; and yet here he was feeling as though he was developing his first crush on you all over again.

‘I’m fine dear, apologise for being caught off guard.’ He tells you as he couldn’t help but be ashamed that he allowed himself to get lost in the excitement of seeing a new anomaly. You literally him while he was still mid sketching the cryptid!

‘It’s okay Ford, I know how you get with new anomalies but I often wish you didn’t almost risk certain death just to finish sketching them.’ You said softly as you gingerly brushed your thumb against a thin cut he had gotten on his cheek from the skeletal deer anomaly, you knew this man has survived worse but you couldn’t help but worry every time he got hurt somehow. After all it was better to admire something form far rather then within it’s territory, and the anomaly happened to be hostile and territorial.

Ford sighed as he lent into your touch, still getting use to your tendency for physical contact after going so long without it, closing his eyes as he took this moment to cherish your unconditional love and affection for him. After all his dad only started giving a shit about him the moment he figured he could gain money from exploiting his own son’s intelligence. ‘Apologise once again my dear-‘ you cut him off by pressing a kiss to his forehead, thumbs caressing his face as though he were made of porcelain.

‘It’s okay my love, I just worry about your safety and want you to do what you love safely.’ You tell him as you pull away from him before offering him your hand with a smile. ‘Now let’s go find an anomaly that won’t hunt us down for sport.’ You add as Ford grabbed your hand and smiled.

‘I’m sure I spotted some mushroom people not too far from here having a dispute with some gnomes not too far from here, shall we take a look?’ He asks you and you gestured to the vastness of the forest in front of you both with your free hand. ‘By all means lead the way mr Pines.’ You replied softly as you both searched high and low for disputing mushroom people and gnomes.

[metallicaislife]

Childhood Friends

A/N: omg this is the longest fic I've written so far. It flowed so smoothly out of my brain I'm gonna cry. 🥹💚

Genre: Fluff, suggestive themes and brief mentions of smut but not explicit

Word Count: 2,180

Warnings: Smoking

When I was young I had a neighbor. He was my best friend. From dawn until dusk we hung out. Whether we wandered the neighborhood on an adventure or at his house as he practiced the bass. He was the kind of person we didn’t need to have constant conversation with to be comfortable. I was absolutely heartbroken at age 14 when my family moved to be closer to my dad’s parents. We called each other every once in a while, but that soon stopped as we got busy with the lives we had going on around us. I’m now in my 20’s and I think about him every so often, I hope he’s doing well, and that all his dreams came true.

It was a typical night, I came home from work. Had a small dinner and curled up on the couch to watch my favorite sitcom. The phone started ringing so I got up to answer it.

“Hello?” 

“Is this, Y/N?” A deep calm voice came over the receiver. 

“Speaking. Who is this?” I asked.

“It’s Cliff.” He spoke. My eyes widened. 

“Cliff? Like Cliff Burton?” I asked. He chuckled. 

“Yeah, it’s me. How are you?” He asked. My heart was thrumming against my chest. 

“I’m doing well. How are you? How did you get my number?” 

“Glad to hear. I’m doing great. I took a chance and looked in a phone book.” He answered me. I laughed. 

“I dunno why I never thought of that.” I said. 

“I called because my band is going to be in your neck of the woods, I’d love it if you came to our show.” 

“You’re in a band?” I asked excitedly. Cliff chuckled.

“Yeah, I am. We’re called Metallica. Do you know where the bar on Main Street and 9th is?” He asked. 

“Sure do. When is the show?” I grinned, feeling giddy. 

“Tomorrow night. Sorry it’s short notice.” He said. 

“Don’t worry about it, I’m just glad you called. What time is it?” 

“8. I’ll buy you a drink after.” He said. 

“God, last time I saw you we were kids. Where’d the time go?” I leaned against my wall. 

“It’s been far too long. I’m excited to see you.” He said, I could hear the smile in his voice. 

“Me too.” I replied. 

“I gotta go, but I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a good night.” 

“Thanks, see ya tomorrow Cliff.” I said and hung up. 

I pinched myself. Yup that happened. I didn’t fall asleep watching ‘Cheers’ and dreamed of that conversation. I squealed in excitement. 

The following day went by quickly, which I was super grateful for. When I knew Cliff he was playing Thin Lizzy on his bass. I’m curious to see what kind of music he plays. I found a comfortable but cute outfit and left to go to the bar. 

I got a cocktail and waited around. Soon the band Metallica was announced. I spotted him straightaway. It was hard not to. I thought he was tall when we were young. He grew so much more. He was tall and lanky yet toned, his auburn hair long and unruly. His hazel eyes met mine and he grinned. The same smile that brightened my days all those years ago. I smiled back and gave a small wave. 

I’d never heard anything like their music before. It was loud and fast. Absolutely electrifying. I was mesmerized by Cliff, his head banging and the passion emanated off him. 

“Thanks everyone!” The lead singer and rhythm guitarist waved. Cliff caught my eye again and motioned for me to head backstage. I gave a nod and made my way back. He was leaning against a wall with his hands in his pockets. He looked up and grinned. He pushed off the wall and walked toward me pulling me into a bone crushing hug. I hugged him back tightly, uncaring that he was sweaty from his performance. He pulled back and held my shoulders studying me. I grinned staring back up at him. 

“Come on, I’ll introduce you to my bandmates then we’ll get a drink and catch up.” He shifted, placing his arm around my shoulder as he took me back to the green room. 

The drummer was sprawled on a couch fanning himself, the guitarist was drinking some water while sitting on a chair and the lead singer was packing up his equipment.

“Hey guys, I want to introduce you to my childhood friend.” Cliff said. They all looked in our direction and I gave a small wave. 

“Y/N, this is Lars.” He pointed to the drummer, “Kirk,” then to the guitarist, “and James.” He motioned to the lead singer. “Guys this is Y/N, we used to be neighbors growing up.” He introduced. 

“Nice to meet you guys.” I smiled at them. 

“Nice to finally meet you, we’ve heard so much about you. Our guy Cliff here talks about you a lot.” James said. Cliff shot him a look and I stifled a small laugh as my cheeks heated up. 

“Anyways, I already packed my things. We’re gonna go get a drink and catch up.” Cliff said steering me out of the dressing room before any of the others had a chance to say anything. I turned back to wave at them before we exited the room. 

“So you talk about me, huh?” I asked, jabbing him in the ribs playfully. 

“I mean, yeah. You’re really the only person I hung out with until I started playing in bands.” He confessed. I smiled but didn’t say anything further. 

He got us a couple beers and we found a place to sit. 

I was a little worried it would be awkward, we hadn’t seen each other or even talked in years. It was so comfortable though, telling Cliff what I’d been up to, and listening to his stories about how he’s gotten to where he’s at. 

The night was coming to a close and there was a part of me that wondered if this was it. Would I only see him if he came to town for a show? The kind of friends that saw each other maybe once a year to catch up. I didn’t want that. 

“I wanna see you again, soon.” Cliff said as we walked in the crisp night air. 

“Me too.” I responded. 

“You know I thought you moving away was the end of the world. You’re only 45 minutes away though.” He chuckled. 

“As kids that might as well be across the country.” I laughed, he laughed too. 

“Well now we aren’t kids.” He said.

“No we aren’t.” I replied, “So I'll see you soon then?” I asked. He nodded. “Good.” I smiled. He hugged me again and we parted ways.

True to his word, Cliff called the following night, and we made plans to see each other again. Over the course of a few months, we saw each other as much as we could and talked almost every night. Sometimes we didn’t even talk. He’d call and play the bass for me. I knew that I had missed him, but I hadn’t realized how much until he was in my life again. 

“We’re having a party on Saturday, I want you to come.” Cliff said over the phone. 

“Yeah, I can make that. What’s the address?” I asked. I wrote it down as he relayed it to me, and the time, but he said I could come over whenever. 

I took a bus to El Cerrito. I was lucky enough to find the house pretty easily. The party was in full swing. Cliff was on the porch as I walked up. He saw me and his eyebrow furrowed. 

“Where’s your car?” He asked and exhaled his cigarette smoke. 

“In the shop, it’s been giving me trouble so I caught a bus here. I don’t mind, I'll take one home too.” I replied and stuck my hand out. He placed a cigarette in it, I placed it in my lips and he flicked his lighter so I could light it. 

“Don’t be silly, I’ll take you home.” He said. 

“No, it’s okay.” I said. I looked up and his face was stern. 

“Yes, I will drive you home.” Cliff said with finality. I nodded. 

“Thanks.” I replied. Lars came bounding out of the house. 

“I know you like keeping Y/N all to yourself but it’s a party Burton!” Lars said and grabbed my wrist. I laughed as he dragged me into the house. Cliff rolled his eyes and followed after us. 

The night was filled with laughter as we made memories I will carry with me until the end of my days. 

The party wound down and people were falling asleep. 

“Ready to go?” Cliff asked me as I leaned against the porch smoking a cigarette.

“Yup.” I smiled and put the cigarette out. 

Neither of us got obliterated like the others so we were good for travel. 

“Next time I’ll spend the night so we can party a little harder.” I said. 

“You’re always welcome to.” Cliff grinned and opened the car door for me. I slid in and buckled up. Cliff got in and started the car. 

“There are some tapes in the glovebox.” He said. I opened it up and looked through them. I smiled seeing the first Thin Lizzy album he shared with me, ‘Vagabonds of the Western World’. I put it in, his face lit up as the music played through the speakers. 

The car ride was mostly silent, occasionally singing along to the music. I stared out the window, and I could feel what I’ve been wanting to say to him for a couple weeks bubbling beneath the surface. 

“I love you.” I said aloud as I continued staring at the darkness outside. 

“I love you, too.” Cliff replied. 

“No, Cliff, I’m in love with you.” I said refusing to look in his direction. I don’t think my heart could handle it if I saw a look of disgust pass across his features. His hand came to rest on my thigh and gave it a comforting squeeze. I finally tore my gaze from the darkness and looked over feeling completely vulnerable. He kept his gaze on the road, but he glanced over, the look on his face the opposite of what I had imagined. 

“I’m in love with you, too.” He replied. I smiled and placed my hand on his, giving it a squeeze as I looked back out the window. A huge weight felt as if it had been lifted from my shoulders. 

We arrived at my place not long after and he walked me to the door. 

“Why don’t you spend the night, it’d be silly to drive all the way here just to head back.” I offered as I unlocked my door. 

“I think you’re just trying to get into my pants.” He teased me as he moved my hair out the way so he could place a kiss on my neck. 

“Maybe a little of both.” I teased back. I opened the door and he followed me in. He shut and locked my door. He turned around and placed his hands on my waist. We stared at one another. The only sound is our even breathing. Cliff tucked my hair behind my ear, he cupped my face and brought his lips down to meet mine. I’ve been kissed before, but never like this. It took my breath away. 

We stumbled clumsily through my apartment giggling and losing clothes along the way. We laid in bed and worshiped each other for hours. Learning each other's bodies inside and out. 

We laid in each other's arms, sweaty and worn. I traced soft shapes on his chest as he tickled my back. 

“How are you feeling?” Cliff asked softly. 

“Content.” I replied and kissed his chest. Cliff chuckled. 

“Thank you for telling me how you feel.” He said. 

“If I held it in any longer I think I would’ve combust.” I replied and placed my chin on his chest so I could look at him. His hazel eyes in the dim light held so much love and adoration. I hoped as he looked back he could see that same look mirrored in my eyes. “Thanks for reaching out and inviting me to your show. If you hadn’t, we probably wouldn’t be here.” I said. 

“It was a long shot, but I really missed you. I loved you back then, ya know. But I never could have imagined how much further I could have fallen for you.” He said. My heart skipped a beat and buried my head in his chest. He chuckled and kissed my head. 

I wish I had a Time Machine so I could go back and tell the heartbroken girl that had to move away from her best friend that it wouldn’t be that way forever. She was able to grow up and fall deeply in love with the quiet boy next door who played his bass so passionately.

Thank you for reading! Feel free to request or chat :)

-Isa

[valeriefauxnom]

Hypothesizing About Who's Mom Is It Anyways

As we know, there was, ah, long-running discussion/debate as to the royal family's parentage. Funnily enough, instead of the typical element in question (father), the royal fam's father is obvious in Aurelius. But their mother? Was there even just 1? Went near-entirely unmentioned in the entirety of dragalia to a such a baffling degree that I, for one, was expecting it to be something that came back in some form or another. Whether it was some event for Halloween to exorcise dear mum's spirit after I dunno, some evil necromancer or whatever doing things or her being relevant to something becoming important in the past, I really thought they had plans.

But we never saw any come to fruition, and the mystery remains unsolved.

However, just because she is near entirely unmentioned, doesn't mean she's never mentioned. I'll be taking a look at all the lines I can remember/dredge up about her and the siblings to try and speculate as to what was up with their maternal lineage!

Of course, I'll just come out and cut right to the chase of the debate: many believe that the siblings simply do not just share a singular mother. They point to Valyx, Beren, and Nedrick as clear defiance of the 'pattern' before, with Leo, Phares, Chelle, Emile, Euden, and Zethia (and Aurelius) all sharing blond hair and blue or green eyes.

While this might sound pretty convincing with just how different this trio is from the bulk of the fam, it's not actually as foolproof as it may look!

For starters, I'll tackle Nedrick, since he's the one I would dismiss most as evidence that the siblings must have multiple mothers. Nedrick may have black hair and red/green eyes, but that seems to be due to Bahamut, not him. He was evidently born blond (remember, Euden was created in mimicry of him, in an attempt for Aurelius to just create another body to give to his son with his current one not working out, unaware that his son's soul was not what returned home...) and returns to being blond haired and wholly green-eyed in the ending, where he lacks Bahamut-shenanigans:

I think for him, at least, it's clear that his looks were more warped by Bahamut's influence as the black dragon than his natural coloration.

However, I would also like to speculate that might be what happened to Beren. Beren is admittedly still black-haired and pink-eyed (in color, not sickness) in the ending, but with Beren's whole thing revolving around the fact that in every world it seems that black mana or something gets to him much too early in his life, he might just be...inundated with it no matter the world. And black mana, as we all know, is Bad Vibes given form quite literally, and I don't think it would have any good effect on a growing child's body, ie, stunting him (since he also maintains his height or lack thereof in the ending).

On a complete wild note here, I almost might speculate that this is just a result of Euden not exactly having all the time in the world to painstakingly think of everything to fix (presuming he had at least some influence in the direction of the new world). For Nedrick, he might have willed him to be back in his family where Euden was, and for Nedrick, that was enough to dodge Bahamut and all that messing him up.

For Beren, though, he might only have had the instinct that he wished Beren weren't locked away and allowed to fester on all that hatred and isolation and grow up broken. On a simpler note, Beren was also demonstrated to have a particular strong connection to the Progenitor, so we have another route to explaining why black mana might just follow him around no matter what.

That leaves Valyx. And honestly, as different as he might look from the rest of them, it's entirely possible he just resembles their mother more instead. I'd also like to throw out that he's the only one of his fam to resemble Aurelius in the present-day, body-wise, since the rest of the siblings seem pretty whip-thin and more angular than blocky.

Another argument that pops up is specifically around Leonidas, and his whole mommy issues, finding the timeline between his age and her death and the rest of the kids unworkable for a single mother.

I would again argue against this. If we take the comics as legitimate since nobody else really speaks of their age in Dragalia, we know that Valyx is 22 and Beren 21. At youngest, assuming 1 kid a year, Leonidas could be 25. I personally would think he's a bit older, but I digress.

Per the image of Leonidas at the funeral, I'd say he looks about more pre-teen, teens age:

If he were 13 at this picture, roughly, that would mean the twins could be 5 by this time. And honestly, I think that could also work to reinforce the sort of vague fondness Euden expresses for his mom. He loved her and loved her deeply and knows she loved him, but he just wasn't old enough to fully have that, well, full connection and memories as Leonidas did, the full understanding of her as a person that would have come with years' more experience. As for the other elder siblings' lack of comment on the subject, they just might have taken it better or have had other things on their mind. Phares might have been dealing with wyrmscale by then (perhaps another thing for Leonidas to start turning him against dragons so vehemently?), Chelle overall is probably the most emotionally stable in the family, so on and so forth.

More attention might also have been paid to the youngsters at that point since they're going to be crying children and thus need to be comforted/silenced, whereas stony Leonidas gets a pass from therapy anyone asking if he's okay, etc, because he's a big kid and is being 'strong'. All I'm saying is that the timeline could work out just fine, and might even go as far as to explain Leonidas' problems with the loss later.

Also, Euden comments that his mother's death was a 'long time ago', which further might suggest that it was all the way back when he was very young, ie, however old he was when Leo was that picture above:

However, in the interest of fair discussion, I will bring up some points that actually would bat more in favor of the family sharing multiple mothers instead of one, ones I don't think I've really seen argued.

My biggest card lies in Leonidas. Not the point that I just argued against, but his collection lines, of all thing.

Castle lines, even collection lines (the latter a bit more general/not a guarantee) seem to be directed at Euden. Whether it's Cassandra commenting "Do you need a hug, young man?" to Philia's "Do you need something, my prince?", the general vibe you get is that Euden's just walking around the castle and chatting with people.

Yes, this extends to him apparently knowing the words 'jam session'. That, I just think someone taught him that but not the whole connotation/formality of it all.

Anyways. Back to Leonidas.

One of Leonidas' collection lines is this: "Huh, but this brings back memories of the single time my mother took me to the beach."

While we can argue to the degree the collection lines in particular are Euden-directed, since that's less consistent than the castle lines, there still is a bit of a 'hum' here. Namely, Leonidas is stressing 'my' mother and 'me', singularly. Even if he's not addressing Euden, the fact that the queen only decided to take little Leo to the beach is a bit strange.

If it just were that he was the only sibling to walk/crawl Grastea at the moment, Leonidas would be incapable of remembering it. So he's old enough to have memories and almost assuredly would at least have had Phares or more siblings kicking about by then, and yet the Queen chose to singularly take Leo to the beach.

He also talks that he was building sandcastles on the beach at this time, as well, so definitely old enough to have siblings.

This, naturally, would be best explained if the siblings had at least a few different mothers. Why take the other's kid(s) along?

My only other line that I can think of to argue for multiple mothers is in Dragonyule Cleo's story. Here, Euden says,

Which I think is fairly obvious for why this might suggest multiple mothers. Here, Euden's mother is prioritizing what he wants in a family cake (since he later notes how everyone liked it, even the picky ones) instead of the whole clan of children. This would either be major favoritism being played (not entirely impossible, as Euden is half of the youngest children in the castle and said group tends to be doted/spoiled occasionally...) or just that the twins' mother was one of several and thus it was free and rational to prioritize the interests of her flesh-and-blood.

That being said, I really do think we're back where we started. As tempting as it is to see the above points from Leo and Euden and conclude there must be more than one, I wouldn't be so sure.

After all, the higher the number of mothers, the more unexplained deaths start to get weird. At some point, I'd think that it would have been addressed or joked about this apparent curse that has killed so many queens or otherwise those affiliated with King Aurelius (since we do not know much of Alberia's stand on concubines and other such arrangements, and I personally do not view Aurelius as one to jump for concubines).

With one mother, whose cause of death is addressed, though, it is perfectly reasonable to just have the single death pass in the night in the minds of the population. She was unintentionally killed by a dragon kicking up a storm (*cough* by Midgardsormr, perhaps?), and there's been nothing of note since then to have villagers confused about 'which queen was it that died then?' or 'what does the family tree look like again? Is it one branch vs another and that's why they're fighting?'

To end it on, I'd like to guess that if the siblings really did have disparate mothers, I would really have thought that the topic would have popped up at least once as an insult, somehow. Whether it be Leo rubbing it in that Euden or Emile or someone isn't apparent of the Cool Eldest Trio that a lot of people tend to group together for this hypothetical mother-division or Emile using it as a base insult against Euden, it's low-hanging fruit that nobody ever reached for, which again makes me skeptical that there is a fruit there to begin with, ya know?

In short: you can make arguments both ways, but I personally tend to find that there is enough of a case that there was only 1 mother, based on how characters in the world act (or don't act), the feasible timeline, and Valyx as only one of the siblings who does not have a convenient excuse for why they look so different.

[tiikerikani]

Throwback Not-Thursday (2012 v 2024)

Gerrin Goblinkicker, Dwarf Hero (sculpted by Bob Olley)

This was the last figure I painted before starting up again in 2020.

I'm known to be insufferably/irredeemably stuck in the past, so unlike normal people who might strip and repaint their earlier figures, I painted a whole other copy. This dwarf figure is still in production, so I didn't need to wrangle one from eBay at stupid prices. I even happened to have a matching base (they had come in a 3-pack and I still had the other 2—these are discontinued).

On the old version the middle of the shield is just off-center if you look at the model from that corner and it just feels like something is wrong. For the new version I decided to place him along the diagonal of the base instead of the side. I think this way it is clearer which direction he's facing—though it's actually the feet that are aligned to the diagonal and not his face, so it's still kind of off.

I considered painting a whole pattern onto the shield instead of leaving it plain wood, but I didn't want it to be too different from the old version, so I just changed the shield boss to brass/bronze for contrast.

I had placed him too far forward too; I think I was trying to center the feet on the base instead of the figure overall.

I used the same static grass from a plastic film container of it that I got from somebody. I have no memory of where it's from and this is the only figure I have that uses it. I wonder if it's from 2000/1 when I'd just learned to paint, since a pinch of grass on the base appears to have been typical on Warhammer figures from that era. Maybe I used it on Battletech figures I painted for my classmates at $5 a pop. Anyway, it sits on a bed of green stuff instead of a thick layer of PVA glue (which shrinks so you'd need a lot of it to fill up the hollow base, but that's how I did things back then. didn't know any better).

Recipes

The base blue paint on the old model was Ral Partha's Dragon Blue (highlights in Sky Blue). I still have the Dragon Blue pot and wanted to use it but the paint doesn't stick to the primer anymore so I guess it's dead. It's a bit drowned in black wash on the 2012 model, and here's what I did on the new one:

Speedpaint Beowulf Blue (as you do because, you know, vikings). I didn't shake it enough so it came out a bit purple

Thin layer of Ultramarine Blue

Wet blend Wolf Grey into Ultramarine for first highlight

Gorgon Hide for second highlight

The green base was a bit trickier since the Army Painter Warpaints do not have a match for it (maybe the new Fanatic line does, dunno). But I made it work with a solid coat of Greenskin and then Speedpaint Shamrock Green (the latter of which is a decent match).

P.S. The old Ral Partha Bronze paint is really more of a brassy color. It's not orange-ish at all.

Bonus: Super-black background tutorial (kind of)

When you take the photos, use a sheet of black velour / flocking as the backdrop; Green Stuff World sells these in various sizes but the material is originally used in other things that need to be super dark, like telescopes, so you can probably find it in places where astronomy stuff is sold.

You'll never get all the dust and speckles out of it with a tape roller so just remove as much as you can.

Editing the pictures—I use GIMP:

(Optional) Crop your image. You can do it now, or at the end like I do.

Adjust levels and do color corrections as needed.

Fuzzy select the black area around the figures. 10% tolerance worked for me, but go lower if the figures are dark. You want to avoid picking up parts of the miniatures.

Invert the selection.

Copy and paste to a new layer and put it at the top. This layer will be transparent and contain just the figures and a lot of dust speckles.

Create a new white layer and put it under the transparent layer. Now you can see all the speckles against the white background.

Clean up background with eraser tool.

Hide the white layer and create a black layer. (Or just put the black layer above the white one.)

Clean up any stray dust with eraser tool.

If fuzzy select was overzealous and took out too much (you can flip the solid layers on and off to check), copy/paste those areas back in from the original picture.

[sannes-reincarnation-saga]

Chapter two: Ivar.

CW: Slaves in a medieval society,  abuse, 

The only thing keeping Ivar alive in this hellhole was his desperate desire to kill Katherine Blackthorne.

It was a freezing November night and Ivar knew he was supposed to die here, trapped in this narrow kennel in the middle of the castle's courtyard.

During the day, he was on perfect display, stripped of his clothes and dignity for the English to gawk at. But now, the night engulfed him in darkness as thick as the northern sea during a night dive.

Pain pulsed through Ivar’s legs. They twitched, unable to straighten in the cramped space.

The kennel's icy bars warmed as they pressed into his shins and he leaned his clammy forehead against them. They felt almost good against the burn of his fever.

His back must have gotten infected after the last whipping. The soiled hay in his kennel stuck to the dried blood on his back, irritating the crisscross of partly crusted wounds. Every twitch pulled his skin painfully, and he trembled violently in the frigid air.

Somewhere to his right, a heavy metal door slammed shut. The servants’'s entrance? It was too loud for a wooden door and not loud enough for a castle gate. But this late at night?

A pair of heavy steps rushed towards the courtyard, joined by a couple lighter ones. Nervous whispers echoed through the cloister walk as they drew near.

“Does Lady Blackthorne know of this?” asked an older maid. Ivar strained to listen. Nothing ever happened in Blackthorn castle without the bitch’tes knowledge. And explicit permission.

“Not yet,” came the gruff reply.

“But- you can’t bring a stranger inside! Who even is this girl? Oh gods, what if she's a witch?”

“Doubtful. Found her out in the woods, totally out of it.”

“But- The woods? At this time? A girl shouldn’t be in the woods at night. And why- why is she naked?” The woman's voice pitched high within discomfort on the last question.

“Dunno. Should I have left her to freeze to death?”

“No! But- but I have nothing to do with this, you hear. Nothing.”

A lone lantern flame cast their long shadows onto the courtyard as they rounded a corner. Hissing, Ivar shifted onto his side to see them set foot on the wet cobblestones. They glittered in the light.

The head of housemaids hurried ahead, head turning hectic on her long neck to spot any possible witnesses lurking in the dark. Her bonnet sat askew on graying brown hair, thrown on in a rush no doubt, but her black servants dress fell straight down to her ankles, the dark linen pristine and bar any wrinkles.  In stark contrast to the bulky, mud smeared appearance of the huntsman following her. 

His boots and leather trousers were crusted in late autumn slush. A thick scarf and hat obscured half his face. Only his frostbitten red nose and grim eyes were visible, looking down at the person he carried bundled in his coat. 

“By the gods, did you hear that?”  Ivar could see the woman's face now, her sharp features drawn tight in displeasure. Her thin lips pursed as she spat out:  “I think that Norse pig is awake.”

The huntsman didn’t answer. Instead he wrapped his brown leather coat tighter around the unconscious girl in his arms. Pale, dangling legs and a shock of blond hair stuck out of it.

“How can you be this calm?” The woman spat, black skirt swishing as she faced him. “What if he rats us out for some extra food?”

The huntsman's bushy brows furrowed.  “The Norse are too proud to bargain for food scraps.”

Ivars dry lips cracked in a smile, when a sudden burst of wind whipped across the courtyard, its howl drowning out the servants' protests and extinguishing the lantern flame. When it hit him, his black salt-sweaty hair blew into his gray eyes, hay flying everywhere.

“A bad omen,” hissed the maid. Cloth rustled and a match scraped against a matchbox’s striking strip. Once. Twice. “I tell you all this is a bad omen.” It lit with a crackling sizzle.

The wind carried a smell that sent goosebumps down Ivar’s back.

The stench of angels.

The sweet decay of death hit him like a battering ram, catapulting his thoughts to abandoned battlefields full of angels sprouting from the ground, decomposing the corpses of his comrades.

Why would the huntsman haul an angel touched corpse from the woods? Ivar wondered, swallowing down bile.

After some fumbling the maid’s lantern flickered back to life and Ivar noticed the small puffs of warm breath escaping from the unconscious girl. So she wasn’t dead?

A draugr perhaps? No, Ivar doubted it. Never would the huntsman make such a mistake.

But angels only took the living. And never let go of the dead.

Whatever this girl was, a living corpse or a human, Ivar knew at least one thing for sure:

She was an unplanned disturbance in Katherine’s meticulously run machinery of a castle.

And during war, disturbances meant chances. 

Ivar curled up in his frigid kennel, back burning at the stretch. For the first time since his capture, he smiled. 

Taglist:

@ashintheairlikesnow @vickytokio @newbornwhumperfly @kira-the-whump-enthusiast @whump-for-all-and-all-for-whump @studyofwhump @dragyouthroughthewhump @studyofwhump @secretwhumplair @whump-queen @whump-captain

[ace-din-djarin]

Let it Go, eh?

Another Ted Lasso oneshot for you all! This one is a convo between Jamie and Roy. Warning for canon-typical salty language. Enjoy!

Read on AO3

He doesn’t know why he brings it up. He and Roy are out for coffee, the way they do now sometimes, which is still fucking mental if he thinks too hard about it. Roy’s draining the last of his black coffee – god forbid he give up the theme, even in his fucking food – and something in Jamie just kind of – forces its way through.

“D’you remember,” he blurts, and Roy stops, lowers his cup, watches Jamie expectantly over the lid. Jamie swallows. His words stick in his throat, and he has to swallow again to get the feeling to go away. He hates this; every instinct screams at him to shut up, stop being so fucking weak, in the voice in his head that sounds like his dad, the one he’s been trying and trying to ignore.

“D’you remember,” he tries again, and Roy’s still watching him, eyebrows furrowed, that intense fucking gaze that’s always made Jamie feel like Roy’s x-raying his bones or some shit. “D’you remember, back when Cartrick were still here and we were shit –” Roy snorts at that, but it’s true, innit, they were fucking terrible – “When Cartrick were here, and we were shit, and we played that away match at Liverpool?”

Roy grunts. Jamie’s gonna assume it means yes. “Yeah, and I fucked up, I – tripped, I dunno, tripped over thin fucking air, yeah? And I lost the ball and lost us the match.”

Roy frowns and nods, and his eyebrows haven’t moved an inch, angry caterpillars settling in and making their fucking cock-coons. Jamie shakes his head, a rough jerk, trying to clear that image from his brain.

“Anyway. You – after the match, we were all in the dressing room all sad and shit. And you came up to me and – and said –”

“Let it go, lad,” Roy mutters, under his breath, like he’s repeating the words straight from Jamie’s brain. Jamie nods.

“Yeah. That’s it, just ‘let it go.’ But Roy –” Jamie’s words stick in his throat yet again and he huffs, half annoyed and half filled with this – this echo of astonishment that still sometimes catches him by surprise. “Fuck, Roy, you hated me.” Roy doesn’t even try to disagree, and that makes Jamie grin. “See, y’did, not even denying it. You hated me, and you still said that. Still tried to make it better.”

Roy shrugs, something self conscious in the scrunch of his shoulders. “Just being a captain, weren’t I?”

“Yeah, but like, you’ve seen my dad.”

Roy looks like he just bit into a lemon. “Unfortunately.”

“Right. And how many times d’you think he's ever told me to let something like that go?” And he’s supposed to love him, Jamie doesn’t say. That thought is a little too close to painful at the moment. “All I’m saying is, it meant a lot. Even if you still hated me after.”

Roy’s silent for what feels like ages but is probably less than a minute. Jamie’s hands are shaking just slightly, enough that his own almost-empty cup rattles against the table when he goes to pick it up. Stupid, his fucking brain says, fucking idiot, made it all weird, why’d you go and –

“Thanks, Jamie,” Roy says, breaking through Jamie’s spiral. His voice has gone all soft, and there’s a smile playing at the edge of his mouth, like he’s trying not to let it escape and it’s happening anyway. “Y’know, Phoebe was going through a ‘Frozen’ phase back then.”

It takes Jamie a few beats to connect the dots. “Fuck off,” he groans, and chucks his coffee cup at Roy, who catches it easily. He’s definitely grinning now. “I get all sentimental and shit, and now you’re saying your fucking motivational bullshit was from a fucking Disney movie?”

Roy shrugs, unrepentant. “It’s a good fucking movie, to be fair. And I still meant it.”

It is a good movie. Ted brought it out for movie night once and the room had, predictably, been full of crying grown men by the end.

“Yeah, well,” Jamie mutters, slumping down in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest. He’s not mad, not really, but he still feels like Roy’s taking the piss a bit, and something in his chest stings at that. Roy seems to know it, because he stands up and prods at Jamie’s shoulder until he gets to his feet as well.

“Come on, gotta get back to it,” he says, and his voice is soft again, still with that hint of a smile. “Just let it go, eh?”

Jamie snorts despite himself, and that little twinge eases. “Yeah, yeah. After you, Grandad,” he says, and grins when Roy punches him lightly in the shoulder as he passes by.

[autumnshowell]

who: @autumnshowell where: Hawthorn Park midday.

New Year's Day and she's thirteen days out from having to do it all over again. Hindsight’s twenty-twenty, sure; there is no - or very little - fixing what happened two weeks ago. Every time her mind finds a space of time that isn’t concerned with picking up pieces she’s left beaten to bits on the floor of that basement, she thinks about Amanda Howell, half eaten and rotting ignoble in the dirt.

She’s spent these weeks piecing together broken shards of what she did that night. She remembers things in hazy vague shapes. Trying to act, in her day-to-day, as if nothing has changed. Playing the part of the reasonably distraught, if estranged daughter when the police show up to tell her Amanda's been reported missing. Dutiful driver for AJ, driving where he wants and when he wants. Human being with friends and aspirations and goals. All a bunch of masks that don’ feel like they fit anymore.

Nevermind the question of Aria. Autumn'd made sure enough through word and deed alike that Aria isn’t going to seek her out.

One hand scratches at the side of her head while on the other, a sharp fingernail digs into the wood of a damp picnic table, peeling back a thin ribbon of paint and wood, one of dozens and dozens today alone, hundreds that have been pried loose and blown away by the wind in the past days as she haunts a pavilion at Hawthorn Plaza, eyes traveling between paper pages and the freshly scratched wood and slushy snow that keeps catching orange lamplight as night-time creeps in and lays its embrace on the park. The change has left her different, both in body and mind.

She hears somebody speak, then, looking up and around, and its then she realizes that there’s no scent - no sound of approach - and the voice, it came from all around, and nowhere, all at once.

Turning around and searching for it, she’s taken aback when she looks behind her, only to see a familiar face, sitting there on the other table in the pavilion, as if he isn’t dead.

���Olivier?”

"Yep. That'd be me, poor fucking sod, right?" Even in his ghostly form, he's got a cigarette hanging from his lips and a crooked grin. "I saw you sprouted fur."

His candor marks him as true-to-life, or death, or whatever. She feels she should be terrified at the thought of seeing him sitting there, but terror's set a higher bar these past couple weeks. Maybe this is part of it. Maybe she's insane now. What does it matter alongside everything else?

"Yeah, and it fucking sucked." Autumn follows his direction and turns back to him, looking him up and down, all glitzy and transparent. The way he talks about his death strikes her, and in a way, its comforting to know something like that can still affect her at all. "Yeah I… I saw the photos - they brought me in for questioning and everything. I'm… I'm sorry I didn't check in sooner, or more often. Maybe I could have, I don't know, maybe this wouldn't be so novel."

"You? Pfft. Dumbass. It was that guy I was working with for the short." But he shakes his head. "Nothing you coulda done. So, we got some time. Sing to me, Paolo. I saw shit, but I wanna hear it from you."

"Well, uh. you'll know Tate canned me from the Bowling Alley, said I broke policy. Which… true, kind of. I'm pretty sure I ate him." She flips her hair out of her face. "And like… I almost ate Morgan - I don't know if you ever met her, runs that Arcade that my friend Kevin works at? I almost ate her, too, I think. And like… god. I really, really wish I felt worse about Tate but…" She trails off, because now she's thinking about Aria again, and she has sharp nails digging at the wood again, creaking under strength she still doesn't really get how to manage. "Some of it I feel… really bad about."

"Fuck that guy. That was a case waiting to happen. He deserved to get ate. Glad that the arcade lady didn't get got, though. Dunno if I ever met her.." He flicks the cigarette and the ashes tip off and disappear into nothing in front of both of them. "Wanna get it off your chest?"

She stands from her table, and crosses over to him and sits beside the shade of him, worming her hands out of the sleeves of her borrowed hoodie and jacket, counting on her fingers. "Let's see: Killed and apparently ate my mom, well… not even my mom, just… like that's a whole other thing. Probably caused thousands of dollars's damage to Morgan's Arcade, nearly killed her. And like, most importantly, lost my temper so badly on my girl friend who is probably only still alive because she's already dead." She sighs. “Losing my temper is… probably not the best way to describe it…”

Gesturing with her hand like she's throwing the handful of counted crimes into the wind, she lets out a huff of a sigh. "I literally drive around Port Leiry’s biggest resident Ego and then go mope. And god, he doesn't shut up with the dog jokes, he's insufferable." She scratches at her wrist, sniffs, and maybe its the cold but it's also the sad. "And like, I can't go back to her. I - I almost killed her, Liv. What if she hates me? What if I hurt her again? I can't hypnotize her, just… what, hope she's crazy enough to not run away. I can't make myself do it."

For all his snobbery and shitty attitude, Olivier shuts the fuck up and listens. Because what else is he going to do? Go haunt some asshole who barely knows him? Autumn's the closest thing to - no, the only friend he had. And hell, she needs to get it out and why not play the ghostly mentor? "Sounds like you're torn up." About all of it, really. But he figures, if he was in the same position, then he'd be freaking out, too. And he didn't even get a damn girlfriend before he got killed. "You almost killed your dead girlfrind-- Nice. Uh, have you tried just fuckin' texting her and asking if she wants to talk? Or are ya tuckin' your tail between your legs and hiding?"

Autumn, maybe a bit sheepishly for somebody who has spent at least one night as a giant wolf, pulls her phone out of her hoodie's pouch, looking at its surface, spider-webbed with cracks at this point. She pulls a face at the tail tucking imagery, mean mugging him. "Maybe you're right. It'd get it over with, anyways. I don't want to text though. This whole thing started with texting stupid things at inopportune moments."

"Alright, so - Fucking talk to her. Stop being a little bitch about it." He's slipped back into old ways, but this is how he's always talked to her before he died. "Seriously, A. Get your shit together."

Autumn nods, biting at her bottom lip. "I uh... yeah, if anything, I need to... I need her to know I didn't..." a long sigh breaks the sentence, because its the first time she's voiced it aloud; "... I need to own up to this shit... New year, new me right? No more... running from things that I can fix." She smiles - a small, flickering thing that isn't at all set or safe. "I'm... glad I'm having this vision or dream or... whatever, I'm glad we get to at least say good-" Turning to look up to him, he's gone, and she's alone there in the quiet morning. "Goodbye." === written with: @photoaria

[impossibleprincess35]

[WIP Wednesday]

A little peek at an upcoming chapter of "REPUTATION," my modern AU Obitine fic, where a coup d'état has happened in a modern-day Mandalore, and he's part of an organization called CLERIC (Clandestine Espionage and Rogue Intelligence Command) assigned to protect her:

It was a thin gold chain with a medallion no bigger than a dime dangling from his neck and coming to rest upon hers as he hovered above. She reached up to take the medallion in her fingers, inspecting it in the moonlight that shined dimly in the room. The silhouette of a woman was present and words in a language she didn’t know, and as she ran the pad of her thumb over the detail, Satine asked softly, “Will you tell me about this?” Obi-Wan quietly revealed, “She’s Saint Philomena. Patron saint of children and lost causes. Or,” his brows furrowed for a moment as he looked down at the medallion in her grasp, “I think she was, I dunno.” He shrugged. Satine knew very little about Catholic saints, so she could do nothing but take his word for it. She was a bit surprised, as she had never seen him read a religious text or pray openly, and quietly, she wondered if he was Catholic. Her eyes slowly moved upward to his and she asked, “Why do you wear this?” “It was a gift when I was a boy,” he recalled softly. “A nun gave it to me. She said I needed it, you know, being a child and a bit of a lost cause. It brings me a little bit of peace, I suppose. It’s silly." Memories of his early years sitting in church and listening to tales of the saints came to him, and Obi-Wan smiled as he recalled what he knew about Philomena. Strangely, the girl lying beneath him bore slight similarities to his patron saint, and he disclosed, “She was just a girl when the Roman emperor threatened her father with war. Her family went to the emperor to advocate for peace, and when he saw Philomena, he wanted to marry her but she refused him out of her devotion to God.” Satine listened quietly as one hand held the medallion in her grasp and her other hand lightly traced the chain as it drifted up and towards his neck. As her fingers brushed over the chain where it pressed into his neck, she could see gooseflesh form below her touch. “He tried to have her killed, but she survived multiple attempts on her life,” Obi-Wan continued as he reached down to brush her golden hair from her face, taking in the way that she raised her chin to look up at him with a determination in her eyes that made his pulse race. “Her faith in the face of danger led many Romans to embrace Christianity. You remind me of her a little bit, actually.” The look on her face became curious and she asked, “What happened to her?” There was a tense pause from him as he hesitated to speak of Philomena’s demise. “She lost her head,” he murmured, “but I won’t let you lose yours.” The hand of hers that held the medallion gently grasped it and as her heart was pounding in her chest, her eyes scanned his face. She was scared, but at the same time, Satine had never felt so certain about anything in her life as she tugged on the chain and it brought him closer until he was delicately balancing his weight upon her. Her fingers at his neck slowly snaked their way into his shoulder length hair, and as his eyes closed in a moment of peace, she whispered, “It’s too late for that.”

If I could just get these WIPs done.. :/

[the-whumpening]

My Own Worst Enemy, Part 2 [Son of Bat]

Prev | Masterpost | Next

This part is a little shorter. I tried to make the specifics of the medical stuff as accurate as I could, but I definitely could've made mistakes so . . . we'll call it "suspension of disbelief" lol

CW: abusive parents, medical content, hospital setting

--------------------------------------------------------------------

The weeks that followed were a living hell.

James’ condition, as the doctor described it, was “unpredictable.” While they could set the bones and sew up the cuts, his body would have to set the pace for everything else. There was no telling whether or not his internal bleeding would heal on its own, how long he would have to be sedated, or how his brain would be affected.

-

(“I don’t know why you have to be so difficult all the time!”

I’m not! Why can’t you just leave me alone?!

“You don’t care about anyone but yourself, do you?”

Stop it!

“This is why you don’t have any friends.”

Shut up! Shutupshutupshutup!

“I have never met such an ungrateful, disrespectful child!”

What do I have to be grateful for?! To come home and be screamed at every day?

“Fine, I guess I’m just the worst parent in the world. I only clothed you and fed you and put a roof over your head—you’re both just better off without me!”

Mom!)

“Hi, sweetie. I don’t know if you can hear me . . . ” (Huh?) “I love you so, so much. You don’t deserve any of this. Please, wake up soon . . .”

(What is this? What’s going on?)

Debby rarely left his side; she couldn’t bear the thought of him being alone, especially if he awoke with no one around. Not that the others were much different—all three fought to stay with him as long as possible. They tried to take care of one another, made sure they all slept and ate and had time away from the dim hospital room, but it was difficult when all they could think about was James.

-

(“You’re killing your mother with this stupid acting out; why can’t you just behave like [----]?!”

Wait, who?

“Don’t get smart with me! If I was half this disrespectful to my parents, they’d have thrown me out to pick my own switch to beat me with!”

Dad? Where am I?)

Vince spoke little, withdrawing into himself. There were days he couldn’t even sit beside James, posting guard in the corner instead. The nurses encouraged him to engage with James—any stimulation was good for his brain, even if he can’t process it right now—so he took to reading aloud. It wasn’t talking, not exactly, but the sound of Vince’s voice seemed to have a positive effect on him either way. He started with bits and pieces from biographies and nature magazines he had saved to read on the work trip with Cass, then some of James’ books brought in from his room. One night, when he was the only one around, he brought a thin chapter book he’d read to James as a small child. He read it over and over again during those two long weeks.

“After James Henry Trotter had been living with his aunts for three whole years, there came a morning when something rather peculiar happened to him.”

(This can’t be right . . . Vince read me this story. When was it? Last night?

“What are you doing up?”

Can I sleep in your room tonight?

“I dunno . . . ”

Please! It’s too dark in there!)

“And trembling, James stood alone out in the open, wondering what to do. The night was all around him now, and high overhead a wild white moon was riding in the sky. There was not a sound, not a movement anywhere.”

(“Well . . . Okay. Come on, I’ll read you a story and maybe you’ll feel a little better.”

J-A-M-E-S . . . It’s got my name!

“Yeah, and he’s a smart kid, too. Just like you. But listen, we gotta be quiet, okay? Mom will be mad if she hears us.”

Okay, got it.

“Why are you two still awake? I told you to go to bed an hour ago!” But—! “James! Quit being a baby and go back to your room. You are too old to be scared of the dark and whining over a nightlight.”)

-

(“As long as you live under my roof, you obey my rules!”

I’m not cutting my hair.

“Did I phrase that as a question?”)

There was an unspoken agreement among the group to respect James’ privacy as much as possible; of the four, Molly had been the only one to ever see him nude on purpose, after all. Although James wasn’t prudish per se, they knew he would’ve been embarrassed if his brothers had seen him be cleaned of his own filth, among other things. So Debby and Molly took the lead on caring for him, delegating less invasive tasks to the boys. Even Debby looked away when the nurses helped Molly clean his lower half.

(Get off of me! Let go!)

-

“Leave a light on for him. I know his eyes are closed, but . . . I think it makes him calmer.”

“It’s okay, J. You’ll be okay.”

“L . . . Love you, bro.”

Who . . . ? I know you. I know all these voices. But why . . . why are they so kind?

“We miss you.”

-

It took over two weeks for James' brain to recover from the swelling. Thankfully, the majority of his physical injuries had also been addressed in that time as well; he'd been in and out of surgeries to reset his fractured bones, which had also stopped swelling long enough to treat. His bleeding seemed to have quelled, and many of the lacerations were looking better.

As the doctor administered the medication into his IV, James was brought out of his deep sleep.

[grumpybreakfastfriend]

One thing really weird to me is the accusations that Bell only agreed to do QOS because "they whitewashed his allegations", there's a LOT to criticise about the way QOS set all of these interviews up, they misled a fair amount of people on what this doc was about and it's... the end result is very sensationalistic and it does make money off the backs of other people's trauma, but it also started a good conversation.

But the thing about like "they whitewashed his allegations"... Like I agree it's something people should talk about but the documentary was about nick and abuse allegations on the set of nick shows with child actors and nothing in any of his allegations have to do with any other former child actors, other survivors should have a chance to speak and talk about their experiences but.... I hardly think that the thing about him only agreeing to do it because "whitewashing of his allegations"

They had been in contact with him many times over a few years and he kept refusing because he wasn't ready to publicly talk about what happened to him, he had also rejected to speak on "An Open Secret" in 2014, long before allegations against him ever came to light, so I think the narrative is honestly, not to be mean sounding, but BS. but people say it like it's a confirmed thing or they have "insider information" on that whole situation.

Speaking of, how do you feel about QOS and what Alexa Nikolas is saying (suddenly) about how QOS is opportunistic and using trauma for their own gain because she recently appeared on a news segment or whatever talking about Drake Bell's trauma, so I... that feels a little hypocritical if I'm honest because isn't she doing the same thing? I can understand Lee Bolleau (All That, Amanda Show) being upset about being left in the dark about major reveals in the series that she had thought was just about workplace toxicity, not p*dophilia and SA. And she says she was super close with Drake when they were on Amanda Show so imagine how horrifying it was for her to find that out. I don't want to paint the creators of QOS in a bad light but there's some stuff that's 100% wrong with QOS and should be criticised... They -seemed- like they had good intentions but keeping people in the dark and lying to others and then kinda editing the scenes to be a shockumentary and also the complete lack of focus the entire doc seems to have, it goes from "Dan Schnider has a horrible work ethic" several times to "Convicted SO Brian Peck" and then skips to talking about Amanda Bynes without her consent and... idk, i don't know how to feel about it too much, I know every documentary does this, I know that An Open Secret did this as well, but it's just... I dunno.

Bolleau says that she was misled on the subject of the doc for over a year, and Marc Summers had dropped out of the project because they lied to him about what it was about and he was like "I don't know anything about whatever happened here wtf", add to that the fact that Drake consistently answers vaguely about what abuse he experienced and they plaster it all over the screen anyway, and then the fact that they took out some of what Alexa even talked about in her interview, like Alexa is a little easier to criticise on this because she seems like she's flip flopping on supporting the doc based on not being invited to the LA panel talk or being asked to come back for ep 5, but I believe her when she says that they had a narrative to paint, mostly about Dan but they didn't have enough so they just cobbled together whatever allegations and rumors they could find which is so skeevy.

and to give Alexa some grace, she does talk about how she went in with a little more information on the subject and background about the doc because of her Eat Predators movement, but finding out that other people were misled and lied to she feels regretful that she sat down with them, so maybe she's -not- flip flopping, but a lot of people don't like her and criticise her for things like this.

Bolleau and Nikolas say that the producers pressured them in the interviews even when they voiced hesitation, which lines up with Drake being pushed to talk about explicit details of the abuse, Bolleau and Nikolas also say that they were harassed by endless attempts of contact during pre-production.

And then of course the 5th episode drops and it's so weirdly out of tone and touch with the rest of the series and though it was a good "idea" i guess in theory to follow up with the people, it felt so rushed and like they were cashing in, Schwarts and Robertson, the two who created the doc were defacto interviewers off screen in the first four episodes but out of nowhere Soledad O'Brian is the one asking questions to people regarding this stuff, and of course she brings up Amanda Bynes to Drake over zoom even though he looked very uncomfortable being asked about her life and there's a moment O'Brian says something like "What happened there, what happened to people like Amanda Bynes" and it's clear she's trying to get a very specific answer to that question.

With all these criticisms and then episode 5 it really paints this picture of them using these stories for the salaciousness factor and the ratings, even though it DID start a good conversation about abuse in these places, but they claim that 5th episode was for talking about where the industry can go from here, and offered absolutely NO discussion on that theme.

Nikolas was talking about how they edited the like, intro sizzle reel to the 5th episode, taking the sexually suggestive clips and putting them in a montage, stripping them entirely of context and kinda turning it into… like, idk, like how those true crime youtubers sensationalize the hell out of the cases they talk about.

And they take Lee Bolleau's words on an amanda show sketch out of context, kinda editing it to make it seem like something else.

Lee and Nikolas were just not invited to the LA panel at all probably because the doc producers didn't like their talking back about the misleading and lies…. and I do feel for Lee, and maybe more so than Nikolas because although I know a lot of people try to question or judge her trauma and I am 100% not doing that here, I just feel like she wants to hitch herself onto the backs of the other kids and what they went through, specifically Drake, it's weird that she's speaking on his trauma after HE bared his soul for the documentary.

And again, the interviewers / creators pushing for certain details of their guests when they knew it was making them uncomfortable... Its just weird, I know that Brian's charges are public record but they seemed to want to get shock value out of Drake's answers.... it didn't sit right with me.

I guess I'll just parrot people saying "two things can be true" because this did start an impactful discussion not only for the industry but for abuse and SA victims who have not come out yet and felt inspired to do so after hearing these stories, and it DID shine a light on Brian Peck who has been living pretttyy damn easy since being arrested and before this doc he was able to lay low and attend horror conventions and I'm just not sure that's super possible for him right now because everyone knows his face, and it did shine a light on many many many industry professionals backing a convicted p*dophile, but at the end of the day the more stuff that QOS and it's team does afterwards feels super super exploitative.

It's just a lot to think about, sorry for the long message!

I appreciate the message! I'm going to try and respond to the overall theme, since I don't think I can hit every point covered.

I agree that objectively, the documentary isn't that good. It's very disjointed and sensationalized. It felt like I was watching an old YouTube compilation of "creepy Dan Schneider feet scenes" that have been around for years with no actual new information, a bit about workplace harassment, almost conspiracy-esque speculations about Amanda which have been around for years, and then an extremely moving and harrowing story from Drake.

I've found a lot of his follow-up podcasts to be even more compelling and haven't gone back much to the documentary itself. We can have a larger conversation about how kids are vulnerable in entertainment, but their focus on Schneider as the Big Bad, when the Brian Peck abuse had nothing to do with him just didn't hit right for me.

I think the doc is still a net good and I am glad it is shining a light on these issues and gave Drake a platform to tell his story. I was talking to an older coworker who didn't grow up with these shows, and she found the doc to be a powerful watch, so I'm glad that it is still having that impact on people.

If it's not evident from my dozens of Drake Asks, I was really moved by his story. Quite frankly, I am not very invested in whatever is going on with Alexa. I hadn't heard of her before this, and I feel like I would have to spend too long watching all of her content to come up with an informed opinion, when I would rather spend that time checking out Drake's discography. It's a shame she's getting dogpiled for supporting Drake now, even if I do not know all of her motivations or issues.

[mossyscavern]

Sunflower shirts and gravestones

___________________

When Sam awoke, the first thing he noticed was the urn.

He lifted his head and saw the pillow he slept on became damp. ‘Fell asleep crying again.’ He thought, not even trying to make the effort to get out of bed.

But unfortunately, fate had others plans. “Morning!” He heard, from the door frame of his room Duncan came in with some breakfast. “Hope you’re hungry.”

Sam groaned as he pulled his blanket over his head, this was supposed to be his depressive morning and his cousin decided it’d be a good day. “C’mon you, we’ve got a big day ahead!” Said the sandy brunette.

“… ‘m not hungry.” Sam said, keeping himself away from Duncan and stared at the closed curtains. “C’mon, you’ve gotta at least be-.” Duncan stopped mid sentence, seeing his tear stained face after removing the covers.

“… have you fallen asleep crying?” Duncan asked. Sam said nothing but crossed his arms, unreadable emotion and not responding. He heard Duncan sigh then mumbled. “Still better then Travis.”

Giving Sam some curiosity to turn his head and ask. “Who?”

“Just a friend… actually my best friend, we we’re there through thick and thin.” He answered, trying hard not to think about it too much, but it seemed he did cause his sad smile turned into a frown.

“He went missing for 5 days, on the 6th I thought everything would be fine and back to normal… then he started to never leave his house.” Duncan told him, slouching as he continued more to this story.

“I just.. don’t know what happened, or where he went that-.” Duncan was about to say, but cut himself off before he could finish. “I’m sorry, I can’t tell you.”

Is what he left before breaking down silently. Sam placed a hand on his shoulder, gave him his usual sad look before asking. “Did he die?” Making Duncan snort and shake his head.

“No, he’s still alive. I tend to do shopping for him in the mornings.” He answered wiping his eyes, stood up to leave and then stopped, turning to Sam.

“Sorry it’s not the same, but just know… you’re not going through it alone.” Then left the room for Sam to be with his thoughts. Sam looked at the tray of breakfast, then back to the door frame.

He had many second thoughts… but the one that stuck with him the most was how his cousin felt about loosing a friend like ‘Travis’ and what harm it can do.

Sam still didn’t eat the food. But he got changed, grabbed the silver urn, followed to where Duncan could be and saw he was already dressed, about to leave for the day. “You need anything from the market?”

He asked, hand on the door knob, waiting for sam to answer. All Sam did is shook his head. Before he turns away, thinking it was stupid to ask, Duncan said what he wanted to say. “Wanna help? I could use an extra hand.”

Sam sighed in relief and nodded, following Duncan out the door and still followed to where the markets are in the town. Duncan asked to leave the ‘vase’ inside but Sam refused.

He hopes whatever happens wouldn’t have dire consequences when he brings his mom with him.

I mean, what harm could an urn with his mom’s ashes do in pine town?

___________________

Ok, so apparently ashes do count as a deceased person so…

I’m definitely going to make that a problem for pine town. Anyways, I am back on this train again, hope I won’t derail from it like my other au’s hope it’s not too much…

I guess treat yourself to some food? I dunno.

[monstroso]

🎀

🌅

😊

huge. scary.

🎀 how do you decide when something is done?

I have a very simple flowchart.

My writing process is not complicated. I come up with one core idea I want to express and I jump in more or less completely cold with that goal in mind. Often it can be as simple as one scene, one hook, that needs all the extenuating buildup and foreplay to land exactly how I imagined it when I came up with it.

For example, in my chapter The Favourite from Engines in Sidings, I had a few simple ideas I wanted to communicate: That Duncan is the Thin Controller's favorite engine, that their relationship is unique, and that it's an obvious and uncontroversial thing to the other engines he works with. It's structured as a narrative (and for bonus points, is stylized after the stories it pulls the character from), but it's really a thesis. Most of the EiS chapters are like that. "My characterization stands before you, drink it in."

In retrospect, it's kind of... I dunno. I guess you could call it utilitarian in a way? That particular EiS chapter is a straightforward example, but sometimes my goals are literally just "no one else has written this yet, and somebody should" which is the primary motivator behind what I'm working on now, and so far it's been good for 3.5k words and counting. Whatever, it works for me.

🌅 do you typically known the ending to something before you start writing it?

I'd say about 80% of the time, yes. Maybe not in explicit terms or words I can express verbally, but if I don't know the concrete details when I start, I at least know the tone the story should end on. Part of delivering on the vision is nailing the tone, and if you're a fan of media in general, then you know where the story needs to go to hit the emotional beats, even if you're not sure of the exact details.

So for example in Just One Of Those Things, I knew I was writing a kissing story with a romantic, nostalgic, almost classic feel. Like an old Hollywood movie. I didn't know where the characters would end up by the final lines, but I knew what I wanted to imply to the reader. I even debated going for something more implicit!

Thankfully I was talked out of my moment of lunacy there.

(It ended up being 12 pages, wasn't posted until June, and it does indeed end with a kiss. On a starlit balcony, no less.)

On a technical level, knowing exactly where and how a story is going to end comes dangerously close to "planning" and "outlining", two things which I already pointed out don't contribute positively to my workflow. I also appreciate the adaptability it affords me in the event that the work evolves during the writing process, which is a thing I enjoy.

😊 say something nice about your writing

Ummmmm idk! This is hard. I guess I like to think I write stories where stuff... happens? I recently shared some more casual writing with a friend who mods several rp servers and received the compliment: "it's nice to read something that can actually get to the fucking point". That felt good.

I'm all for some descriptive narration that places you in the moment, but the stuff I find most readable tends to be the things that forego the extra descriptions and just get to the meat of the story.

I guess my dialogue's pretty good too, but I've been trying to focus on improving other things about my work besides that. To use a DJ-ism, bragging about how good you are at writing dialogue is a bit like bragging about how good a driver you are in GTA online. That's all well and good, but lets see you land the plane.

Thanks for the ask!

link to the ask game

[bbyquokka]

hello! i’ve seen a couple of your writings and i think you’ll become one of my fave blogs!! may i request though? where you lost something kinda expensive that changbin gave you accidentally (like it broke if it’s a bracelet and fell or smth while u’re walking home or it got stolen) it turns into an argument (where he says u’re so dumb n careless u lost it or he shouldn’t have bought u the thing, like that) and not talking for days???? fluff ending pls :))))))))(((((((( thank you so much if u’ll write this!! have a great day and write more beautiful fics!! luv ya!!

*anw, sorry for my eng it’s not my mother tounge and i’m a fem reader using she/her pronouns*

that's so nice to hear, anon! i hope you continue to love my works! thank you for requesting; i hope this is okay and what you wanted! pls lemme know your thoughts and opinions! 💭

⌢ : ⤹ 💕 im sorry

➥ pairing: Seo Changbin x fem!reader

➥ genre: angst | fluff

➥ synopsis: your promise ring got stolen. you tell Changbin hoping he'd understand for it to turn into an argument

➥ warnings: Changbin is kind of an ass at the beginning | pet names [baby, princess, darling]

➥ words: 1.2k

➥ have a request? send it to me here. read my rules to learn about my guidelines before submitting requests

➥ m.list – ➥ ao3

"No, no no! This cannot be happening!" You frantically rummaged through your bag, hand diving in and out of your coat pocket. You turn them inside out hoping for it to fall out but only empty candy wrappers and old receipts fell on the floor.

You press your lips together in a thin line, tears falling down your cheeks slowly. You went out to do your daily chores then went to get a massage. You placed all your belongings in your locker. It wasn't until you came back home you realized your ring was missing.

It's not just any ring, it's a promise ring. One that Changbin gifted you for your birthday. It's a very expensive gift with it being decorated in real diamonds. You vowed to protect it with your whole life – until now.

You know you wouldn't have misplaced it so the only logical explanation could be that it's been stolen. Should you tell changbin? You could lie and make up an excuse. However, that wouldn't work – Changbin knows you too well.

Taking a deep breath, you sat on the sofa to calm your nerves and anxiety. You have to tell Changbin, you cannot lie to him. He'll be more upset if you kept it a secret from him so it's best that you're just honest with him.

Speaking of the devil, a happy looking Changbin walks into your shared apartment, a smile plastered on his lips as he walks towards you with a bounce in his step.

"Hello baby." He spoke cheerfully. You gave him a weak smile, standing up and taking a deep breath. Changbin furrowed his brows together, noticing something was wrong.

"Binnie… I have something to tell you."

"What is it, babe?"

"The promise ring." You close your eyes, swallowing thickly before looking at him as tears fall down your cheeks. "I lost it."

The colour drained from Changbin's face, anger slowly rising to the surface. He looks at your hands, noticing your ring finger bare. You bite your bottom lip nervously, watching Changbin look at you, then your finger and back at you again.

"How can you be so careless?!" He snaps. You jump in shock, eyes widening a little.

"I-" 

"Do you know how much that cost me?!" Changbin cuts you off, hands flailing everywhere.

"I didn't lose it on purpose!" 

"How am I supposed to know that?! I know you're misplace a lot of things y/n, but I at least thought you'd be a bit more careful with this!" You glare at him, the air around you both becoming thick with tensions and emotions.

"Do you really think I would lose something that's so precious to me Changbin?" You spat. Changbin shrugs his shoulders

"I dunno. Maybe. You seem to not care about it that much to lose it. I can't believe you can be this stupid!" Changbin ran his fingers through his hair, his words going straight to your heart, breaking it slowly.

"I. Didn't. Lose. It!! It got fucking stolen when I went for my massage!" You scream, face heating up. Changbin looks at you, his anger slowly subsiding.

"Wait, it got stolen?" His voice was much calmer but you, on the other hand, wasn't.

"I can't believe you would think so little of me! You really believed I would be as careless as to lose something that's so precious to me!" Hot tears streaming down your cheeks. Changbin walks towards you, arms extended out for a hug. You take a step back, hastily wiping your cheeks with the back of your hand.

"y/n, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking…" 

"Of course you fucking wasn't. I mean, why would you, huh? Clearly the ring meant that much to you because you wouldn't have said all that shit to me. It hurts Changbin! it hurts to think that the man I love thought that about me." 

"Darling, i-" You hold your hand up, cutting him off as you sniff.

"Save it. I don't want to hear your lame excuse. I'm going to stay at a friend's for a few days, give you a chance to cool off and possibly rethink your opinions about me because clearly you need to, Seo Changbin." You spoke, words laced with venom which made Changbin which a little.

◃───────────▹

It has been a few days since your bust up with changbin. Your ring never got found even though you reported it to the police and made the massage parlor know that something got stolen. You decided to give up hope on it being returned to you, you wouldn't be surprised if whoever stole it resold it for cheap.

Changbin had been calling and texting you non-stop, which you ignored. You need him to learn his lesson in that he cannot go around saying whatever he pleases about you. He needed to learn that words hurt.

A ring of the doorbell was brought to your attention. Standing from the couch, you walk towards it, peeping through the peephole. You sigh softly, opening the door.

"Hi.." Changbin whispers, a small, sad smile on his face. You look at him, not saying a single word. "Can we talk?" 

You step to the side to allow him in, closing the door behind him. You walked to the living area with Changbin trailing behind you like a child that just got into serious trouble from their parents.

"What do you want?" You ask, words holding no emotions. Changbin held up a single rose, to which you rolled your eyes. Not wanting to give up, he places the rose on the coffee table before approaching you.

"Princess, I'm so deeply sorry.." You hum, keeping your arms folded.

"Sorry for what?" You want to see if he had learnt his lesson and that he wasn't just saying sorry for the sake of it.

"Sorry for assuming. Sorry for judging you. I don't think that about you at all! I just –" A deep sigh left his lips, hands running through his curls. "I saw red and once the words came out, I couldn't stop them. No matter how bad it sounded."

"It hurts me Changbin. I thought you love me." You unfolded your arms allowing Changbin to gently hold your hand.

"I do! I love you so much! You're the most precious and beautiful woman on this planet y/n! I cannot live without you. These past days have been hell for me…" Tears fill up his eyes, making them glossy. You couldn't help but feel for him, your heart breaking as you watched them fall down his cheeks.

"Please forgive me, y/n… I understand now that it's all just material things and I don't care about that. What I care about is you. You're all that matters to me and I cannot live without you in my life. My life is meaningless without you, princess…" 

"Binnie…" You whimper, stroking away his tears. He leans into the palm of your hand, kissing it gently.

"Come home, y/n. I need you so much and I swear! This will never happen again. I promise you I will be more thoughtful in the things I say!" 

You gently peck his lips, heart thumping against your rib cage. You can't deny that you have also missed Changbin. He is your life and soul and you have never been apart for this long before. It's been killing you just as much as it has killed him. You had to be strong though for him to learn.

Good things come to those who wait.

"Promise?" You whisper against his lips.

"Cross my heart."

tags: @chaneomma | @purple-belle

[scarlettriot]

Along for the Ride PT 1

Pairing: KirishimaxF!Reader

Summary: A drunken mistake had you marking the little Plus One box to your snobby cousin's wedding. Kirishima told you not to worry, if you couldn't find a date, he'd go with you. When the wedding gets moved up, there's absolutely no time to find a date and you're now about to be traveling to America with Kirishima on a private jet no less, dreading having him meet your rude and impossibly arrogant family.

Contains: Kirishima and Reader both come from very well-off families. Plus-Sized Reader. Fluff. Hurt/Comfort.

Warnings: Kinda smutty for a minute. Minors DNI. Drunken Sex. TW: Manipulative Family Relationships. TW: Body Image Issues

A/N: This story has been rolling around in my head for a while now. I might rewrite this and repost. Or I might just post the whole thing soon. I dunno yet. It does get smuttier.

Word Count: 4,974

"What's up with Y/N?"

Eijiro stepped out of the locker room with a towel slung over his shoulder and made his way into the kitchenette where Mina was chugging a bottle of water before getting back to her patrol. His eyes were trained on their mutual friend out on the patio, pacing.

You had your phone pressed to your ear, the high neck of your hero costume unzipped to your collarbone and he noticed your gloves discarded on a chair.

"No clue." Mina shrugged. "She got back from patrol and she noticed a bunch of missed calls from her mom. She's been out there, flailing on the phone for the last fifteen minutes now."

The three of you had met in your second year at UA when you transferred into their class and were quickly accepted by their little squad of friends. You were a bit quiet at first but quickly found comfort in the group. Eijiro had grown especially close to you when you both interned with Fat Gum.

Late nights traveling on the train back to school, a few close calls while helping patrol, and days spent playing cards while you both healed up in the hospital left plenty of time for Eijiro to get to know you better than most. It was how he knew you had a pretty bad relationship with your family, why you hated returning home for the holidays almost as much as you hated any and all forms of tomatoes.

He considered going out there just to see if there was anything he could do but before he had the chance, you were sliding the glass door open. "Oh, good, you're back." He offered you a bottle of water for your throat that he assumed was sore after that argument. "I- um- can I borrow you for a second? Alone?"

Mina snorted a laugh. "If you guys wanna bang it out on the counter you can just say so. I gotta go to work anyways."

Eijiro threw the towel at her as she left the room leaving you two alone. "What's goin' on?"

You hoisted yourself up on the countertop while he leaned against the fridge. "You remember my cousin's wedding that's happening this winter?"

He nodded. He vividly remembered the both of you getting waste a few weeks ago when you were filling out the RSVP and accidentally marking 'plus one'. Then you ran around trying to find White Out but he'd told you if you didn't find a date or have a significant other by the time of the wedding, he'd just go with you.

You argued that your family was bat shit crazy, had more money than they could spend in their lifetime and because of that, they were among some of the rudest people you knew, and you didn't want Eijiro or anyone else around that.

The thing was, Eijiro already knew that and was still okay with going. He came from money too. A lot of it. His family was just more welcoming than yours, the wealth never really going to their heads. But, he reminded you that he'd ran into enough people like those in your family that he knew how to handle them. You finally agreed to let him accompany you, leaving the plus one box checked but the name line blank.

"Well, my cousin just found out that surprise, she's pregnant! And, obviously, she can't have a wedding while seven months along so they've decided to move the wedding up to this weekend."

He nearly choked on his own spit. "This weekend? As in four days from now?"

"Yup! Saturday at 4 in the evening. Oh! No one's supposed to know she's pregnant either. So, I'm just supposed to compliment her on how flattering her dress looks, how thin she is," Your hands strangled the water bottle between them, "And I have to find something flattering to my figure because my mother has seen me in my hero outfit and she's so glad I wear a mask because if anyone knew her daughter ran around looking like I do, well, it'd ruin her!"

You massaged your temples circling back to the actual point, "Anyways, I just wanted to bitch for a sec and let you know you're off the hook since four days is just a little short notice and I told her my plus one wouldn't be able to get the time off that fast."

He pushed off the fridge. "Well, wait, hang on! I'm not letting you go in alone to deal with them! Hell no! You need backup!" You looked almost taken aback by his abruptness, "Yeah. I can work this out. Is the wedding at the same place it was supposed to be or has it moved?"

"No, it's still that fancy lodge in California. I was planning on leaving Friday morning and then coming back either Sunday night or Monday morning since my mother insists I go to their brunch the following day. But, Eijiro, I already have this weekend off..."

"Denki owes me a favor or twelve. He's supposed to be off this weekend too, I'll just see if he can cover me."

"And if he can't?"

"Then..." He pressed the back of his hand to his forehead, "Y/N, am I feeling warm to you? I think I might be starting a fever!"

You folded your arms, shaking your head, "Thought you said lying isn't manly."

"Technically, correct. But, what would be real unmanly is for me to let you deal with your family's bullshit all alone." You watched him closely, "To be honest, I'm sure we could just explain you had a family thing come up and asked me to come along for moral support. I don't really think anyone would think twice about it. Hell, you took a few days off to console me when my turtle died suddenly!"

"Eiji, you refused to eat."

"And you brought me my favorite dumplings! Same thing!"

You might have shaken your head at him but your arms opened wide. The telltale sign you wanted affection. He walked forward, consuming you in a tight hug. Your arms latched around his neck, face buried in the hollow of his throat. "You're the best."

"I just do what I can."

>>><<<

You should have canceled. Instead of Eijiro faking sick to get out of work, you should have faked it with your mother so you didn't have to go in the first place. You crumpled to the floor of your bedroom in pure frustration amidst the twenty or so outfits and dozen pairs of shoes you'd thrown out of your closet trying to find something that your mother would deem appropriate.

It wasn't your fault you had a fuller figure. You worked out, ate right, not to mention your job kept you very active, and yet your, hips, ass, and breasts were by no means subtle.

Your mother had also insisted on the dress being floor-length and modern, "Do try not wearing all black. It's a wedding, not a funeral. And, get your hair looking natural, please." And, just like that, 70% of your wardrobe was out the window!

"It's open!" You called from the floor when the doorbell rang.

"You really should lock this." Mina tutted, walking through the door with a bag full of takeout.

"I do. At night."

"Honey, it's 9 PM."

"Night like bedtime."

Mina just rolled her eyes and walked into your tiny kitchen. "I see the dress hunt is going well."

"I actually figured it out!" You got off the floor, careful not to step on a heel as you made your way to the pink haired woman, "I'm just gonna go in my birthday suit. I figured, my mother made my body technically therefore she can't disapprove of it. Because, you know, she's never done anything wrong in her life!"

Your best friend snorted out a laugh and passed you the take-out container stuffed full of stir fry. "you're a wonderful person, you know that?" You loved the fact Mina didn't even have to ask what you wanted.

"If you'd just move closer to work then you could pick it up yourself and I wouldn't have to bring it to you."

"Too expensive." You declared after a mouthful. "You pay almost twice as much as I do per month and I just don't see the point. I have damn near the same amount of space you do for half the cost!"

You adored your small one-bedroom apartment. It was perfect. Right above a bakery that you visited each morning after your run and a little balcony that provided you with the most stunning view of the sunset.

"You and Kiri, I swear." Mina just shook her head and curled up with her food on the loveseat. "I thought he'd end up with the biggest house out of us all the moment we started making that real Pro money. You've seen his parent's house. It's massive! You could get lost in that place!"

Eijiro's place was barely bigger than your own. He lived in the same condo he had since you'd graduated UA, claiming it was perfect for him in each and every way. But, you knew that he donated a sizable amount of his paycheck every month to charities, the same as you. With savings to spare, neither of you saw the point in hoarding it and therefore the small condo was all he could afford with what he actually kept.

"Just don't understand how a guy that big can live in such a tiny little space. At least with you, it's you know, physically feasible."

Eijiro's bedroom was barely large enough to fit the king-sized bed the man needed to sleep comfortably and even then, his feet were dangerously close to dangling off the bed. And, as if the man's ears were burning, your cell phone went off under a pile of discarded shoes.

Shark-E: Figured out your dress situation? If not, I'm just gonna pack like ten different ties and hope for the best.

You: Yeah! I totally did! I'm just gonna wear this birthday suit I got and call it a night.

You chuckled at your own joke all over again. Watching the grey ellipses appear and then vanish, appear and vanish again. After a third time, you took pity on the man.

You: Joking, Ei. I still don't have it figured out but Mina's over so, hopefully, she can help.

Shark-E: Gonna give me a damn heart attack! Seriously, I wouldn't put it past you just to see the look on your mom's face. Tell Mina hi and good luck to you. I vote the dress from the Hero Gala two years ago.

You: Hi from Mina. Can't. Too much boobs.

Shark-E: You take that back right now! There is NEVER such a thing as too much boobs!

You chuckled to yourself, putting your phone down, and then finished off the last of your delicious dinner, thinking about the dress Eijiro mentioned.

You wondered if maybe there was a way you could make the thing work but it was so very low cut. So much tape had been used to make sure no slips happened but damn was it worth it! The beaded bodice with the sparkling long sleeves, gods, how you loved that dress.

"I'm inclined to agree with our shark boy. You're busty, who gives a damn. You looked hot as hell in that dress."

"My mother, that's who. As much as I'd like to not give a flying fuck what she thinks, for some dumb reason, I do. On top of her telling me that the amount of cleavage I would show would be vastly inappropriate for a wedding, she'd also say the way it hugs my hips makes them look too fat."

Mina rolled her eyes. "She's such a piece of work." Pushing herself up, she held her arms out to you, wiggling little pink fingers for you to take. "Come on then. Let's get you sorted."

"What about that one you wore to the charity art thingy with Kyoka last winter? The one with the silver top."

"Silver is too close to white." You called out from within your closet.

"What! Not true!"

"You know that. I know that. Every person with two brain cells knows that, which is why most of my family does not know that."

"Fine..." She whined and started sifting through the opposite end of your closet. "Oh, what about this?" Mina waved about the blue and green plaid skirt that made up your uniform from your middle school days when you lived in America. "Please try this on. I'm begging!"

You were pretty sure it wouldn't even go over your thighs anymore.

"It's got a better chance of fitting you!"

Mina threw it at you anyway. Slipping off the sweats you wore, somehow, someway, you were able to tug it on AND get it zipped, barely. It no longer covered your ass but you still enjoyed the way it swished around when you wiggled your hips.

"You could be fulfilling so many people's fantasies right now." Mina mused.

You pulled the skirt off and sweats back on, throwing the former back at her. "Yeah, you can take it and go fulfill Hanta's fantasies if you like. Not like I've got anyone to impress." You pulled down a dress you bought on sale a year ago but Mina was quick to dismiss it.

Too puffy, she said and then held up one that was from Momo. "I needed to get it shortened and I don't have time for that now."

"Wait..." She hummed and dropped the Momo dress. "I know what it should be!"

Mina hurried through the closet, grumbling about not finding it. "Just tell me which dress and I can tell you where it's at."

"It's that one you got for grad night and then you got sick and couldn't go!"

"Mina, Mina I can't wear that! That's actual vintage, not like, made-to-look-vintage!"

"But it's so elegant and has that off-the-shoulder sleeve thing. The wedding is at a damn sky lodge! It'll look so pretty in the snow! Ah! Found it!"

She yanked up the long, elegant gown from the garment bag you'd never removed it from. There wasn't a single wrinkle in the burgundy fabric. It looked just as beautiful as the day you found it in that second-hand store, on a mannequin with gaudy stage jewels that you just had to buy so the look was complete.

You ran the back of your hand over the velvety fabric, soft to the touch. "It'll be too tight now. If I was the same size I was at graduation-"

"Bullshit!" Mina cut you off with a dismissive hand, "You've got hips now. We aren't 18 anymore! It's not like it's some clubbing dress. And I bet no one would say a damn thing about your figure if they knew how easily you could crush them with those thighs!"

A smirk tugged at the corner of your lips. Without quirks, you gave every single one of your classmates a run for their money in hand to hand. Most were fairly easy to beat. You could usually take down Eijiro in about five or six minutes and Katsuki in half the time. Funny enough, it was Ochaco that gave you the hardest time.

"I'll consider it. But help me find something else just in case."

>>><<<

It was another two hours before you finally agreed on an a-line, empire waist green and gold number that had been the bridesmaid's dresses for Tetsutetsu's wedding. Mina thought they were a crime the first time they had to wear them, she had no idea what you were thinking.

That's why the moment you were preoccupied with trying to find yet another dress for the Sunday brunch, Mina pulled out her phone.

You: DO NOT, under any circumstances, allow Y/N to wear the green dress. She's bringing two because she can't decide. Red is the winner!

Jaws: Aw, come on. If she likes it, let her wear whatever she's comfortable in. She'll be under enough stress already.

You: Kirishima, it's the dress from Tetsu's wedding. The one that looks sparkly baby food.

It took him a second to respond.

Jaws: Alright. Understood. I thought you guys looked good but damn, she hated that dress.

You: We all did.

Mina looked at the message chain again and couldn't help but asked, "Are we just gonna ignore the fact that you and Eiji are flying all the way to America, last minute, to attend a wedding together, even though you're not together?"

"We've flown to the states before."

"For work!" She sat up eagerly. "This is different, Y/N! This is a date and not just a, like, casual date but a wedding date!"

You poked your head out of the closet. "No, it isn't. This is a friend helping another friend who stupidly mismarked an RSVP." You corrected very plainly but Mina wasn't one to give up so easily.

She whined, dragging out your name, "You guys have been doing this thing for ages. Why do you have to be so stubborn about it all!"

"What's that supposed to mean!"

Mina started ticking off points on her fingers. "He was the first person you opened up to at UA. You saved his life when he was busy saving Katsuki's life second year. You spent all that time interning together, became sidekicks together. Went to America together for three whole months, ALONE, and you honestly expect me to think there's nothing between the two of you!"

The truth of it all was simple really; 17 year old you had a massive crush on Eijiro Kirishima. He was sweet, always listening to you, providing comfort when you needed it, and always encouraging you to push your limits. He was bright and honest, a little slow in the head from time to time but that made him all the more endearing.

He was also head over heels in love with Katsuki Bakugo.

It was why you never made a move. Never spoke a word of the feelings you harbored. You didn't dare to cross that line with him because you couldn't ever hold a candle to the explosive man.

In the three years Eijiro and Katsuki spent together, your brain finally started registering Eijiro as just a friend, nothing more, and certainly nothing less. You thought your heart had followed suit but it was becoming more and more apparent that wasn't the case. Because the night he showed up at your door, tears in his ruby eyes, every lock you put on your heart broke open.

The same way you couldn't hold a candle to Katsuki, Eijiro couldn't hold one to Izuku. You knew exactly what he was feeling even if you never intended to tell him. Too overcome with fear. If Katsuki came back... that'd be it. Eijiro would go back and you wouldn't even blame him!

Still, the redhead consumed a decent chunk of your heart though, you couldn't deny that after the three months you spent together in America, gathering intel on a smuggling ring, living in the same apartment. The groggy, 'good mornings' when his voice was still scratchy with sleep, hair falling in his eyes. The late nights bandaging wounds and killing cheap bottles of wine while watching terrible American reality shows.

It was those bottles of wine that did you in on your second to last night in America. Supplying you with courage and draining your sense of reason, allowing you to crawl onto his lap, into his arms. You could still remember the pressure of his lips on yours, those sharp teeth gently dragging along your lower lip.

Scared hands tracing the curve of your ass before taking handfuls to squeeze. The laugh that came from you was unlike anything you heard before, something so genuine that you couldn't reproduce.

How it felt when he lifted you up and took you to his bed, laying you down taking his time removing your clothes, and watching with awe as you pulled away his own. The way he looked over top of you, his hair a curtain of red around you just before you closed your eyes, gasping while he filled you.

You also remembered the guilt that crept into your head during the wee hours of the morning, the doubt that was louder than the snores coming from behind you.

It made you slip from under his massive arm, gather up your clothes from his floor, you tucked the blanket around him, and pressed a kiss to his temple before padding out of the room.

You told yourself you'd talk to him about it if he brought it up, but he never did. Not the next morning, or night, not on the plane ride back home, nor anytime since. It was a memory you'd hold close to your heart, one you wouldn't let slip away or share.

"There's nothing there, Mina. We're just good friends is all." You lied with a smile on your face, something that had become surprisingly easy to do.

If only you knew that Mina saw right through it. That Mina already knew the truth of it all.

>>><<<

It was nearly one in the morning when your phone rang. The goofy picture of Eijiro with face half painted at a festival a few years back never failed to make you grin.

"It's a little late." You answered by way of greeting.

"Don't pretend like you were anywhere close to sleeping, you little night owl."

Chuckling at the nickname that had followed you since high school, "What's up, Eiji?"

"I was going over flights. You said in the office that you wanted to leave on Friday?"

"Yeah. I have patrol tomorrow and I didn't find any flights after 6 PM so, Friday is the earliest."

He was quiet on the other line for a moment. "Yeah, you don't have patrol tomorrow, or work at all for that matter."

You sat up a bit straighter in bed. "Um, yes I do."

"No, you don't. I called Mina, asked her if you'd mind taking that shift for you and, since she knows what's happening, she agreed the extra day for travel would do you some good. So, she's covering you tomorrow then you're off work until next Wednesday. As for me, thanks to all that overtime I put in when Denki, Kyoka, and Hitoshi got married, the three of them are splitting up my days so I have until Wednesday too."

Eijiro sounded impossibly proud on the other line, you could almost see the smirk on his face. "You've got this all planned out, don't you?"

"And a bag nearly packed. Just need you to tell me what ties to bring."

"Gold, burgundy, and black."

"Thought your mom said no black for you?"

"She said no black for the wedding. She said nothing about black at the brunch!"

You couldn't wait to put on the tea-length dress that had been a favorite for years. Satin with a lacy top and, best of all, pockets.

He let out a rumbling laugh that fell off into comfortable silence as you laid back in your bed, lights still on, the room still a mess. You tapped the speaker icon and laid the phone on the pillow right beside your head, listing to the various sounds of Eijiro moving around.

A door creaking open, a hanger clattering against another, and a zipper. "And just like that, I'm all set."

"Don't forget your passport or hero license."

"I have one in my wallet and the other in my backpack."

You swiped up on your iPad, off Netflix, and going to google, lazily searching through flights. "So, did you find any good flights since you've clearly been looking?"

Another chuckle, "Eijiro, why are you laughing?" More stifled giggles had you sitting up in bed again. "Just tell me a site you were on. They're just flights, what's so funny?"

"There isn't a site."

"You said you were checking flights."

"And I was... on my family's jet."

"Eiji! No! No, no, no! That is supposed to be for their business or hero things! My stupid cousin's wedding is neither of those things!"

"Relax, Y/N. My family has multiple and they don't have any business trips planned right now anyways. I already cleared it with my mom. Seriously, I just mention your name and she's likely to let me have it for a whole year at least. Plus Todoroki's is back up in working order so the agency is covered too."

Damn, why'd he have to be so good at planning from time to time! You'd completely forgotten about the second jet his family had. Always opting for the larger one since the few missions they needed it for required them to bring fifty or so heroes along.

"Besides, if we fly private, we can land at an airstrip closer to the venue and won't need to drive four hours on top of a ten-hour flight."

"Alright, okay, thank you but, let me take care of the rental car, please. It's the least you can let me do."

"Deal. I just have one more question for ya."

"What's that?"

"Wanna leave tonight?"

You nearly dropped your damn iPad in shock. "Eijiro! What the fuck has gotten into you! It's the middle of the night!"

"I'm excited!" He boomed, "I haven't had a vacation in months!"

"I hate to break this to you, buddy, but this isn't going to be a vacation. You really shouldn't get your hopes up. This isn't going to be a good time with laughs and fun memories... my family, they just, they aren't those kinds of people."

"But we are." He stated matter-of-factly. "If they want to have sticks up their asses then let them! We'll have a good time on our own, laugh and make fun memories! So, what do you say, Y/N? I can be at your place in fifteen. I just gotta put shoes on and grab my keys..."

"Wait, hang on. Are you forgetting that we need someone to, oh, I dunno, FLY THE PLANE! Actually, we need two someone's, can't forget about a co-pilot!"

He hummed happily and you rubbed your temples. "You, you have a pilot and a co, don't you, Eiji?"

"Mhm! There is a company we use. Two can be at the hanger in an hour and every hour after that. I just have to make the call and get the flight plan approved which will be done before I even get to your house."

There was literally no reason to say no. You had mostly everything packed, nothing you needed to get from the store, all you had to do was put on pants and pack up your hygiene bag and you were ready too. Maybe getting there quicker and getting the whole thing over with would be better than staying home dwelling on everything.

"Better put your shoes on."

The glee in his voice, that was enough to make this whole thing worth it, "I'll see you soon."

>>><<<

Eijiro reached into the backseat and plopped a bag down on your lap the very moment you were buckled in. "Had to make a pit stop." He explained.

"It's after two in the morning, where'd you have to..."

"Just open the bag and don't complain."

You found it filled to the brim with all your favorite snacks.

"I'm sure the plane will have a bunch of snacks we can raid but I know for a fact they don't have these." He held up a pack of cookies and creme flavored pocky that had been his favorite for as long as you'd known him, quickly followed by your favorite flavor too. You also found a massive bag of gummy worms and jolly ranchers.

"So, what you're telling me is our teeth are going to rot by the time we land? Not that I'm complaining."

You ripped open the bag of ranchers knowing that was what he'd go for first and sure enough his hand dove inside just as he pulled away from the curb. You could hear his dangerously sharp teeth biting through the rock candy like it was nothing while you still rolled one around your mouth.

Eijiro asked you about the resort you'd be going to, wondering if you'd been there before or what other stuff you guys could do when you weren't dealing with your family. "I figured we could fly back Monday night or Tuesday morning, you know, just play it by ear in case there was anything else we wanted to do."

More than anything, you wished you could just leech a little bit of that excitement from him. The glimpses of his smile you caught as you drove under the street lights made your heart ache.

"What?" He asked with that wide smile of his. You'd been caught staring, red-handed.

"I, uh, I just don't know what to tell you."

You could see the subtle change of his grin, watch as it softened and his hand came to rest on your thigh. "Hey, it's gonna be fine! And if we run into them while out doing stuff, you can just avoid them or hide behind me!" At least hiding behind Eijiro is an easy thing to do, damn mountain of a man.

His thumb slowly brushed back and forth. "'S gonna be okay. I'll beat 'em up if they're assholes!"

You snickered at his Katsuki impression and let the drone of the radio fill the air around you both. Enjoying the silence the rest of the way to the hanger with Eijiro's hand atop your leg.

[pies-writes-and-more]

jealous

Word Count: 3,130

Pairing: Ushijima Wakatoshi x Fem!Reader

Warnings: some insecurity angst (only a little though) but all fluff otherwise!

A/N: thank you for the help and love you two give me @satan-ruler-of-hells​ @thisnoodlewritesao3​. Was having a shitty day so I queued this fic up to hopefully bring some smiles to people’s faces <3

Haikyuu Masterlist

Ushijima would never understand why people flocked to him the way they did during tournaments. No matter where the team went, there were people begging for answers to their invasive questions, people screaming in excitement as soon as they saw them, but why?

“You’re a big strong attractive dude, Ushi, I dunno what to tell ya. Not to mention, you’re the ace of a powerhouse school,” Tendō laughed when Ushijima asked him why. But it wasn’t like any of these girls knew him so why were they always asking for pictures?

But despite not really understanding, Ushijima often complied with the request for photos, standing there as stoic as ever, not even bothering to crack a smile. He didn’t want to make anyone upset and he felt like just going along with it might actually be easier than trying to run away.

But today, Tendō watched as one girl got prepared for a selfie, and surprised Ushijima with a kiss on the cheek for the photo. She squealed in excitement, thanking him even as she ran away. The two Shiratorizawa boys stood there in confusion, Tendō’s eyes looking around to make sure you weren’t around to experience that.

Ushijima stood there for a moment longer, his hand going up to his cheek and touching the place she had kissed him. Had that really just happened? How odd. Why would someone he had never even met before do something like that?

The thought left his mind as soon as it had entered, turning around to follow Tendō onto the court. But he noticed how his friend’s eyes seemed to glance around the hallway, as if looking for someone, then fall on him questioningly.

“What is it?” Ushijima asked, watching his friend’s eyes carefully. 

Tendō just laughed and shook his head, “I’m just glad poor Y/N didn’t have to watch that. Can’t say I’d envy her.”

Ushijima’s brow tensed a little hearing those words, trying to comprehend Tendō’s words and tone, “I don’t understand.”

“I mean, you’re constantly followed around by girls and you must see some of them all the time at every one of our tournaments. But you and Y/N haven’t had a lot of time to see each other now that practice is every day right? Plus... what girl wants to see her boyfriend get kissed by some random fangirl?” Tendō explained, holding his hands behind his head as they walked into the stadium courts. 

Ushijima frowned a bit, still not fully comprehending. You knew that he was busy with volleyball and you knew he loved you, didn’t you? So why did it matter what some insignificant people thought? Or what some random person did for that matter? Sure, it was an uncomfortable kiss and was awkward but would it matter? He didn’t even know the girl. 

Unbeknownst to either of them, the girl had posted the pic onto social media. Swarms of jealous students and gossip news reporters started to share the picture and repost it with the question “Is this Ushijima’s girlfriend?”

It didn’t take long for you to be tagged. One of your friend had sent the photo with a questioning keyboard smash, wondering if you had known.

You hadn’t.

You had been up in the stands when it all took place - you didn’t see Ushijima often before a game since he was usually stretching while you got there early to get good seats. You had been sitting up in the stands, talking to another friend of yours and some of the other players’ friends and family. But when you saw the picture, it was like everything around you started to move in slow motion.

Your heart felt like it was moving up your throat, your chest tightening. Who was this girl? Your fingers instantly clicked onto her profile, glancing at all of her public photos. She was gorgeous, thin, smart by the looks of it too. She even had a picture or her playing volleyball.

Something inside of you asked the question, “Would Ushijima be better off with someone like her?”

He wasn’t following her on social media, so he didn’t know who she was. It wasn’t uncommon for people to post their photos with Ushijima, but no fans had ever been so bold to kiss him for a picture before.

You couldn’t even remember the rest of the game. Your stomach was churning so much you thought you were going to be sick.

“Everything alright, Y/N?” Your friend asked when they realized you hadn’t cheered as loud as you normally did during the games. You quickly plastered on a smile, nodding quickly.

“I’ve got to head out early! Tell the boys I said congratulations!” You asked them as the game came to an end, your feet quickly moving out of the stadium before the crowds left.

Ushijima could’ve sworn you had been up in the stands and you always came to his games. So where were you? Why hadn’t you come down yet? He stood in the hallway, watching as crowds of people left. Loads of them congratulated him or tried to strike up a conversation with him. But not a single one of them was you.

“Oh Ushijima! Y/N asked me to say congratulations!” Someone smiled up at him giving a thumbs up. He recognized them, they were friends with you weren’t they? So you had been here...

Ushijima’s forehead creased ever so slightly, “Where is she?”

“She said she had to go for some reason! She didn’t look so good when she left to be honest. Maybe she was feeling sick?” Your friend shrugged and gave another wave before rushing off.

Ushijima glanced at his phone, finding no notifications from you. If you had been feeling sick, why wouldn’t you tell him?

“You alright there, Ushi?” Tendō called, slapping his shoulder playfully. “We won, it’s time to go! What’re you standing around for?” His head spun around, looking for the missing part of their trio. “Where’s Y/N? It’s almost time for our celebratory dinner!”

“She left,” was all he said with a frown.

Tendō sucked in some air nervously, glancing at his own phone and all the notifications he had gotten over the recent scandal photo. “Think it might have to do with this?” He asked, showing the post to his friend. “Didn’t you get tagged in it too? Seems like the whole team was.”

“I don’t have notifications for those apps,” Ushijima shrugged. “I get tagged in a lot of things and it gets annoying.”

Tendō pouted at this, realizing that’s why Ushijima never responded to the hilarious things he would send him.

Ushijima was still frowning, wondering why everyone seemed so concerned with his dating life. He scrolled through the notifications that Tendō had on his phone, news reporters questioning Ushijima’s relationship status, people from their school mentioning Y/N and curiously wondering if they had broken up. 

All of this over some random girl? He glanced at her post a little closer, noting the caption read, “Ushi” with a little heart emoji next to it. He hadn’t been happy at all that some girl had decided to plant a kiss on his cheek but he never had the chance to tell her that before she ran off. 

“Why would Y/N leave over that?” Ushijima finally spoke, glancing again at his own phone to see if maybe you had texted him in the last few minutes.

Tendō sighed and raised an eyebrow to him, “Ushijima, some people get jealous.”

Jealous. The word echoed in Ushijima’s mind as he tried to consider the possibility that you were jealous over someone whose name he didn’t even know. 

“Wouldn’t you be jealous if you saw someone posting a similar photo of Y/N?” Tendō asked with a tilt to his head, curiously watching his friend’s expression. 

Ushijima let the thought cross over his mind while the two of them walked to where the rest of the team had gathered. What if some dude had posted a picture of Y/N, kissed her cheek, and everyone had assumed they were together? He frowned and shook his head of the awful thought, now understanding that maybe jealousy was that pit in his stomach he was currently experiencing. 

Although Coach Washijo growled a little in response, Ushijima insisted that he would not be joining the team for a celebratory dinner. When Goshiki asked Tendō where Ushijima was going, he’d just shrug and smile saying, “He’s off to be a good boyfriend.”

It must’ve been strange, seeing this tall man running around town, looking confused and frustrated. Numerous people around him glanced back at him, watching him with questioning eyes as he passed but Ushijima didn’t even noticed. He needed to make sure that you were okay.

You weren’t really sure why you left so quickly after the game was over. You knew the longer you waited to have this conversation with Ushijima, the more awkward you’d feel and the more upset that he’d be that you hadn’t brought it up sooner.

It’s not like you were mad at him or anything - how could you be? It wasn’t like he was the one kissing her, or that he had known she was going to do that - you knew it wasn’t the latter since Ushijima wasn’t all that big on PDA anyways so there was no way he’d be okay with it with some random girl... you hoped at least.

So if you weren’t mad, why did you run? You frowned as you tried to think of a good excuse, trying to tear apart the reasons for your behaviour. But all you could really think of is how insecure you had felt, seeing that picture. That girl was everything and you were... well what even were you?

Ushijima didn’t know how to beat around the bush - he didn’t know anything but being blunt and honest. So he had to be with you for a reason right? If he wanted to break up with you, he would’ve... right?

You groaned quietly, stuffing your face into the pillow you were holding into your lap. You needed to text him - he was probably wondering why you didn’t stay till after the game. But he hadn’t even texted you... hadn’t called... maybe he hadn’t noticed? You glanced at your phone one more time, as if waiting to see a notification you had missed or a text that you hadn’t heard the alert for.

Maybe you should just call him. Maybe if he hadn’t noticed, you both could just go out for food or have a nice night in and you could forget you ever saw that photo. You nodded slightly at your plan, moving your finger to call him. 

But a knock on your door distracted you. You looked up at the sound, glancing between that and your phone.

You dragged yourself out of bed, starting to type out a very nonchalant casual text to Ushijima as you made your way downstairs. Though it was very obvious once you opened the door that the text wasn’t needed.

“Y/N.”

What was it about the way he said your name that sent chills down your spine? 

You bit down on your lip nervously, realizing that all that time spent coming up with excuses was useless because here he was right in front of you, panting slightly, and you were drawing a blank.

“H-Hi, Ushijima,” you hesitated slightly, both standing there awkwardly until he nodded towards the inside of your house.

“Can I come in?” He asked softly, his voice more gentle than usual even with his heavy breathing. 

You nodded slowly and let him in, watching as he tucked his shoes away and stood in front of you as if waiting for you to say something.

“So... congratulations on your win,” you offered after moments of silence.

His eyes just watched you, as if checking to make sure you were okay, “Your friend said you had to leave. They also mentioned you weren’t feeling well. Is that why you didn’t stay?”

You stuttered out some sort of syllables that were no where near to being words as your boyfriend placed his hand on your forehead, cupping your cheeks in his other hand, “You don’t feel feverish but you are a bit warm,” he stated quietly. “Would you like me to make you some soup?”

You shook your head quickly, stepping back from him slightly, “I’m okay, Ushijima, promise. My... stomach just didn’t feel right.”

His eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he watched you, “Your stomach?”

You nodded, staring at your feet. You should just be honest, shouldn’t you? Ushijima was always honest with you. But what if you were honest and he came to the same realization - that he could do better than you?

“So this has nothing to do with that Instagram post?” Ushijima’s voice was stiffer this time around, almost... awkward? He shifted on his feet, trying to get you to look at him but when you wouldn’t, he just gently put his fingers under your chin, lifting your gaze to his. “Please talk to me, darling.”

It was as if you had been hiding tears this whole time and didn’t even realize it. But the softness in his voice and his eyes, the way he touched you, just made your eyes start to tear up, “It’s stupid,” you admitted after a moment and Ushijima’s thumb wiped away a tear that escaped you. “I know you don’t even know her.”

He nodded in response, stepping a bit closer to you now, “I didn’t know she was going to do that,” he told you, confirming what you had already assumed. “But I’m sorry.”

You gave a little laughing, shaking your head, “Ushijima, you have nothing to be sorry for. I know you take pictures with your fans sometimes.”

“No, I’m sorry because I didn’t understand why you would be upset at it at first. But Tendō helped me understand. Please don’t go taking photos like that with other men,” Ushijima asked you and made you laugh again. “I... I wouldn’t like it.” He admitted shyly, his lips turning to a small smile as he watched you laugh.

“She’s rather pretty though,” you mumbled softly, finally wiping the rest of your tears that were building in your eyes. “I just... You two look really good together.”

Ushijima seemed to think about this, lifting his eyes up to the ceiling as he considered your words, “She’s not ugly.” He stated simply, finally looking back down at you. “But I have no feelings towards her.”

“Feelings can be developed,” you suggested, hating every word that was coming from your mouth. Why were you arguing for him to leave you? Why were you trying to convince him?

Ushijima gave a chuckle this time, patting your head softly, “Why would I want to develop feelings for anyone else when I have so many feelings for you? You have nothing to be jealous over, love.”

Ushijima always said things with such honesty and you knew he would never say anything he didn’t mean... but didn’t he know there were girls out there much better than you?

“You are the one I want to be with. Not anyone else. All those girls I see at my games all look the same. But when I look at you,” Ushijima let his thumb graze over your lips gently, a small smirk on his lips, “I have to remind myself to stop looking at you. I have to tell myself that I’m staring. Before we started dating, Tendō told me you might think I was creepy because I just couldn’t take my eyes off of you.”

You giggled, trying to not focus on the tingles this man’s finger left on your lips, “Oh ya?”

Ushijima just nodded firmly and leaned down to press a kiss to your forehead, “I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, Y/N. I couldn’t care less about anyone else. Do you trust me?”

The question hung in the air for a moment - you knew you did but how long would it be before he realized just how incredible he was?

“Yeah,” you whispered, trying to shove down all of your anxieties. 

He watched you and even though you were saying yes, there was something about the way you were standing that didn’t match with your words. Ushijima wasn’t the best at understanding people, but he knew you. “Everyone of those fans would stop coming up to me if I wasn’t as good at volleyball. One day, when I can’t play as well anymore, or if I ever get injured, all those fans will disappear. But the only one I’d still want with me is you. That’s how I know I love you.”

And even if it was just for a moment, all your anxieties stopped. You smiled to yourself and threw your arms around him into a tight hug. Ushijima’s massive arms wrapped around you as he pressed more kisses to your forehead and cheeks. “Next time, please talk to me honestly,” he whispered to you.

You nodded into his shoulder, closing your eyes tightly and murmuring back, “I love you too.”

The two of you would end up in your room, curled up with some show playing in the background before you’d sit up in realization, blinking at him in surprise, “Hang on, didn’t the team go for your celebration dinner?”

Ushijima shrugged and nodded, glancing at the time displayed on his phone screen, “Yeah they should be done soon. I imagine Tendō will text me to make sure you’re okay after.”

Your forehead creased in worry, staring at him, “Did... Did they drop you off on the way or something?”

Ushijima’s eyes shared your level of confusion, tilting his head as he tried to think about your question, “Why would they?”

“Ushijima, how the hell did you get here?” You asked with wide eyes, remembering how out of breath he was and wanting to hear the words from his lips.

“I ran,” he stated simply as if it was such a casual thing to do. “Is that important to know?”

“Babe, your tournament was across the city,” you gaped, mouth open slightly as your eyes widened even further. “That must’ve been such a long run, especially after a game!”

Ushijima thought for a moment, thinking about how the team had to take a bus to the games today, and how Y/N had to take transit. His mind tried to calculate the distance, though it wasn’t likely he’d get an answer. He just shrugged, thinking nothing of it as he settled back into your bed, “I could’ve gone farther,” was all he said as he pulled you in for some more cuddles, “as long as it was for you.”

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