#I don’t want them I’m not here for them!! if they developed everyone fine throw the men a bone but these two men

[tabithatwo]

We’ve talked about the MEN in the present timeline but for me also MEN in the past are getting too much time, like Ben Paul shit, now ben might have his own storyline with this cave, and Travis is so key right now because he intervened in the moment and his brother is dead and he’s prob gonna have a crisis or reaffirming of faith (maybe? If they show fallout of anything?) and maybe these plot lines are going somewhere big and maybe they’re gonna be great, I’m not even discussing that right now okay, my point is either way like there are TWO MEN and they’re eating SO MUCH screentime and one of them even added a THIRD MAN with his brain or the supernatural or whatever lmfao like let me LIVE let me have my WOMEN

[lornaka]

My five cents on Tech’s fate in TBB

It’s been over three weeks since the show ended and I’ve been writing this in my head ever since, mostly to have it summed up in one post for posterity lol. I considered letting it go at this point but I know it’ll drive me crazy if I don’t get it out of my system so might as well.

So here we go, some of my rambly post-finale thoughts on Tech’s death (and a few other issues) under the cut!

Disclaimer: while this post is in critical spirit (because that’s how my brain works), I want to make clear that I have nothing but respect and gratitude towards everyone who’s worked on the show. My criticisms are of the final story as a whole as I interpret it (art is art, everything is subjective, you know the drill), but one never knows what goes into the process of making it behind the scenes, so I’m not holding anything against the creative team. I love this show dearly and am in awe of how good it is at its best, despite certain things I wish they did differently.

To begin, if I had to sum up the biggest problem that TBB writing suffers from, it would be lack of closure, and too many red herrings. Not just for Tech, but many things. Major plot threads as well as little character moments are cultivated or thrown in just to never culminate in anything or to be immediately discarded after serving the plot, some of them incredibly misleading. Some of the top examples:

- Crosshair’s chip. We never get an exploration of how the trauma of his chip activating and being left behind not only affected his motivation and choice to stay with the Empire, but his relationship with his brothers. While it was made fairly obvious, if subtly, that Crosshair became free of the chip’s influence after getting hit by the ion engine on Bracca, the narrative treated this change as if it didn’t matter at that point, while it obviously mattered a lot within the context of Crosshair’s character. Add to that all these little details with him clutching his head in s1 finale, Omega expressing her disappointment in him, and Tech’s comment on how “it is just his nature” (as if it matters!!! See what I mean about the narrative treating Cross’s chip as if it didn’t play the key part in his trajectory? They throw in this line, like we are supposed to take away that it’s simply Crosshair being Crosshair and not like, the results of brainwashing and abandonment), Wrecker blaming Crosshair for not going back to them, all while we as the audience have been shown and told repeatedly how these chips work (and so were the Batch), we ended up with an incredibly confusing situation with lots of mixed signals from the writers. And once Crosshair makes his choice to stay with the Empire in s1 finale, his chip and the confusion it brought to his relationship with his brothers is never brought up again, because the plot simply moves on.

- Cid’s betrayal. After her being a major character for two seasons with a continuous relationship build-up with Omega in particular, she is discarded as soon as her betrayal serves the plot, with all that character development getting thrown out of the window. You can be mad at Cid all you want, but to me it’s incredibly weird and wasteful to end two seasons worth of build up on that note without it having any closure for the characters, especially Omega whose whole theme is trusting people and bringing out the best in them. It’s fine if they decided to make Cid exactly what she appeared on the surface (untrustworthy and self-serving) after playing around with her potentially growing through her fondness of Omega, but then at the very least the betrayal should’ve had an impact on the characters, Omega most of all. Even just one casual line from Omega in s3 about how Cid’s betrayal impacted her emotionally, however minimally, would have solved that problem. And no, CX-2 mentioning how he extracted info on Phee from her off screen absolutely doesn’t count as closure, because I’m talking about emotional closure for the main pov characters as well as the audience. Cid had a presence for two seasons, then as soon as she executed her role as a traitor to further the plot, she was discarded like she was a random extra.

- Emerie’s relationship with Hemlock. We are led to believe that he basically raised her, instilling in her the idea that she had no chance without him and owed her purpose and “safety” to him. You can’t tell me that this didn’t deeply affect her struggle and eventual decision to break away from all that and choose to help the kids, basically betraying Hemlock. I get that the show only had so much screen time and Emerie is a supporting character in season 3 at best, but common, she has more tension with Dr. Scalder than Hemlock while the potential for this rich deep conflict between them is right there.

I can probably list more smaller examples but this is getting long and I don’t want to go on any more tangents, so, finally, the biggest example of lack of closure and tendency of TBB writing to display foreshadowing that leads nowhere:

Tech’s death.

First of all, I’ll die on the hill that it wasn’t denial or delusion that led to such a big portion of the audience to believe that Tech didn’t really die in s2. If we look at the facts:

- there was no body

- it’s the finale of season 2 out of 3, pretty early for one of the main titular characters to get killed off

- the only/last character to allegedly see Tech after his fall is a villainous scientist who is known to experiment on clones specifically

- not a fact but: the whole scene with Hemlock presenting Tech’s goggles to Hunter was incredibly suspicious. In hindsight, I think the whole purpose of it was so that the Batch got Tech’s goggles back in their possession as a memento (and to show how evil Hemlock is to rub it into Hunter’s face like that) but it was executed in a way that read as something much more. It read as if Hemlock was going out of his way to convince us/Hunter of Tech’s death, but with us knowing who Hemlock is, his background in experimenting on clones, everything screams at us to not trust a word he says. Is it really so surprising that so many of the viewers immediately jumped at the conclusion that something more was going on there?

- Hunter’s (lack of) reaction/immediate narrative fall-out. More on that later as I address lack of emotional impact of Tech’s death in s3.

- it’s Star Wars. And there was no body.

So yeah, to me, it is completely justified that so many people read that whole thing as open to speculation at the very least, foreshadowing Tech’s survival at most.

Personally, I was 70% sure Tech was truly dead prior to s3, but not because the text told me so, but because at that point I was used to the show’s writing regularly sending out mixed signals, and a part of me was resigned to Tech’s death becoming another example of the writer’s intent clashing with their accidental empty foreshadowing.

As season 3 aired and the whole CX-2 plot was unfolding alongside continued lack of closure for Tech’s fate, my hope for Tech Lives reveal grew and grew, but in the end my initial doubt was proven right, unfortunately.

Oh, CX-2.. what a mess. You can’t tell me the creators went over all of these scenes, all of these lines, looked at the whole picture and *didn’t* see how it was incredibly easy to interpret CX-2 as potentially being Tech with all these little potential parallels. “Domicile” alone.

If they didn’t want us to entertain the idea that it could be Tech, they could’ve done it differently, but for some reason, they chose to leave that space for speculation. My question is, why?

If they truly wanted us to believe Plan 99 was it, Tech’s Noble End that we were supposed to take as this dramatic super emotional ultimate sacrifice and all that, then why would they not make it clear that CX-2 couldn’t be Tech? Why breed confusion? And breed confusion they did. It’s hard for me to believe they didn’t foresee the “ohh is it Tech?” speculation.

When so many members of the audience immediately and individually jump at a theory or have the same take away from the story they are being told, yet the authors say it wasn’t meant to be taken that way, something went seriously wrong with the writing.

I don’t like to speculate on such things because we will probably never know for certain, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they had at some point considered CX-2 being Tech or at least something more for the whole CX plot thread, but changed and reshuffled things at the last minute for whatever reasons.

Which is fine and understandable. But it brings me to the heart of my biggest issue with how Tech’s fate was handled:

lack of impact and closure.

Let’s disregard all the Tech Lives theories for a moment and focus on what we did get: Tech, one of the main characters, getting killed off at the end of s2 out of 3, for stakes and consequences and NOTHING else. When I say nothing, I mean nothing.

Imagine, for a moment, he survived and stayed with the Batch. Nothing would have changed, in the grand scheme of things. Nothing. We wouldn’t have had a few obligatory “Tech mention, everyone feel sad now” throwaway lines/goggle shots and whatnot, sure, but that’s it.

Tech dying didn’t change the trajectory of the plot in any way, nor did it affect any of the other characters in a way that changed their trajectory. And anything less is simply not enough to justify killing one of your main characters. Stakes and consequences ain’t it.

Consider Mayday, for example: a supporting character, but his death in s2 affected Crosshair in such a way it completely redirected his journey, AND in s3 we got an episode that cemented the impact Mayday had on Crosshair and provided emotional closure for them. That’s a narratively meaningful death.

Tech’s death was not meaningful to the narrative beyond removing him from it. That’s why so many Tech fans insist he deserved better treatment: not only was he not present in one third of the show physically, but he lacked any sort of presence even in death. His absence was never processed or grieved by any of the main characters and so by extension by the audience.

And before anyone starts with the whole ‘they are soldiers/they had no time to grieve/etc’ arguments, it is the responsibility of the writers to provide the space for all of that emotional impact. It they don’t, there is no impact.

A few reactions here and there, moments of missing Tech as a person and a brother, not an asset, anything would have made this whole thing easier to accept.

The lines that we did get, from Omega mentioning the stuff Tech taught her to Echo commenting on how decryption would be easier if Tech was with them to “Clone Force 99 died with Tech” from Crosshair - each and every single one of those lines linked to Tech’s functions as part of the squad, his usefulness, but we didn’t get a single line in remembrance of him as a person of his own, no one missed or remembered him for himself or his personal impact on them.

Just one line from Omega about how he taught her about change being a constant part of life or whatever, or Wrecker making a comment on how Tech used to info dump about stuff, anything would have instantly provided that much needed sense of “he was here, he was a person and is still a part of us”. Instead, Tech was killed off to show that messing with the Empire is dangerous and risks are real, I guess, and immediately lost any and all presence within the story.

We never even got to see Crosshair’s or Phee’s reactions to losing him.

Speaking of Crosshair, that’s a whole other example of complete lack of closure: they never closed the loop on the family being reunited again after initially leaving Crosshair behind, and with Tech dead, it’ll forever stay broken.

They could’ve given this a bittersweet yet meaningful spin if they developed the angle of Tech dying on a mission to bring Crosshair home, making a sacrifice so Crosshair had a chance.

Instead, the moment Tech dies, we get Hunter (and through him, the narrative) immediately abandon the idea/plot thread of going to rescue Cross all while saying “let’s not waste Tech’s sacrifice”. Sacrifice for what? Clearly Hunter doesn’t see it as a sacrifice for Crosshair’s sake, so, what, to make sure the rest of them makes it from the mission? The mission to save Crosshair. That mission. Right.

I see people talking about Tech’s noble sacrifice that ensured his family got to live and eventually have their happy ending, but all I can think about is how the creators chose to have him die on a mission that was immediately abandoned and the only take away from that whole sub plot was Tech’s own demise.

And after Crosshair is back with the Batch, his reaction to Tech’s death is never explored at all.

So yes, to me Tech deserved so much better. If you are going to kill off a major character, it must be necessary to be compelling. The way I see it, Tech’s death was not necessary at all because it didn’t change anything. And if it was meant to, the creators failed to communicate that by choosing not to explore the emotional impact of it and not structuring certain story beats in a more precise manner.

To wrap this up, if the way Tech’s death was handled was satisfying for you, that’s valid and I’m glad for you. For me, unfortunately, it’s completely the opposite and will forever remain the biggest and most unfortunate low point in the story.

And while I welcome anyone to share their own perspective if they wish, please don’t take this post as an invitation for debate, since there is no one right or wrong way to interpret or be affected by art.

[neverenoughmarauders]

Hi! what are your thoughts on the ever present fanon idea that James repeatedly asks Lily to date him before she finally concedes (he pesters her tbh)?

I feel like this throws a lot of people off of Jily as it just adds a bit of creepiness to the ship and makes it weirder for Lily to get with James considering this behaviour, after what must’ve been a fair amount of reckoning since he tormented her childhood best friend for years. Like even if Lily hated Snape at this point I don’t think she’d forget how James treated him easily and let James off the hook without a proper reckoning so adding pestering behaviour to that dynamic just makes their relationship more unlikely ya know. Honestly just tryna find reasons why fandom in general dislike Jily more than jegulus atp.

Hi anon

This idea that James repeatedly asked Lily out I think far precedes Jegulus. In my youth, the few fics I engaged with (often because my best friend kindly helped translate them) seemed to position it as a very cute thing - although it always annoyed me even then, because it has no basis in canon. The day and age where James persistently asking Lily out was seen as cute are over, and now this fanon idea is presented in favour of Jegulus or Snily.

Actually, as an aside, in general the marauders' story is one that has aged poorly... You can't really view the marauders without the lens of it being the 70s and during a wizarding world war - but people do and it completely changes everything.

How do I feel about it?

I feel the same way about this as I do with all fanon ideas that get presented as evidence. It drives me up the wall no end. We all get carried away with our own interpretations and that's fine, but if people cannot separate canon from interpretation of canon /headcanon from fanon, how can we have an informed debate?

Canon:

"Why are you so obsessed with them anyway? Why do you care what they’re doing at night?” ���I’m just trying to show you they’re not as wonderful as everyone seems to think they are.” ... “I didn’t mean — I just don’t want to see you made a fool of — He fancies you, James Potter fancies you!” The words seemed wrenched from him against his will. “And he’s not ... everyone thinks ... big Quidditch hero — ” Snape’s bitterness and dislike were rendering him incoherent, and Lily’s eyebrows were traveling farther and farther up her forehead.

My interpretation of canon:

The conversation between Snape and Lily to me indicates that it is a relatively new development (which means sometimes not long before/after the whomping willow incident). At this point I think it's hard to argue that James has asked Lily out - why on earth would Snape feel the need to point out that James fancies her if this be the case.

Canon:

“I will if you go out with me, Evans,” said James quickly. “Go on ... Go out with me, and I’ll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again.” ... “I wouldn’t go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid,” said Lily. “Bad luck, Prongs,” said Sirius briskly, turning back to Snape. ... “There you go,” he said, as Snape struggled to his feet again, “you’re lucky Evans was here, Snivellus — ” “I don’t need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!” Lily blinked. “Fine,” she said coolly. “I won’t bother in future. And I’d wash your pants if I were you, Snivellus.” ... “What is it with her?” said James, trying and failing to look as though this was a throwaway question of no real importance to him. “Reading between the lines, I’d say she thinks you’re a bit conceited, mate,” said Sirius. “Right,” said James, who looked furious now, “right"

Also canon: Lily found James attractive at this point, despite not liking him very much. It was confirmed in an interview, in response to whether or not Lily hated James, but as we know even from the source text:

“How come she married him?” Harry asked miserably. “She hated him!” “Nah, she didn’t,” said Sirius.

My interpretation of canon:

James is being an immature d***. That aside, nothing about this dialogue suggests to me that James has ever asked Lily out before. Why? James looks FURIOUS at the rejection, he does not give off the vibes of someone who has routinely been rejected by Lily.

There's also the small stuff which doesn't by itself mean anything but which adds up, such as Sirius' and Snape's reaction. Sirius doesn't come across as someone who has seen this a hundred times. He's obviously far less affected or surprised by the outcome, but that's not the same thing. Snape completely loses it with Lily - why? It's not the first time James and Sirius has bullied him, but if it's the first time Snape has listened to James ask her out - worse still, use him to ask her out, he might be furious. He told her so, didn't he? James Potter fancied her.

My headcanon:

We know Lily found James attractive, and that James is shocked to be rejected. We also know Snape is nervous that Lily might be falling for James: 'I’m just trying to show you they’re not as wonderful as everyone seems to think they are' Why? Probably because by now Lily and James have flirted a little on and off. If Lily spoke the way she spoke to James by the lake - if James routinely asked Lily out - then the conversation between Severus and Lily makes no sense.

If people want to like Jegulus, they can. Personally, I think Jily holds everything I want from an "enemies" to lovers trope, and if I want another trope it's usually best friends to lovers, and I've got prongsfoot for that. Or if I am feeling like I want both, there's always Jilypad <3

[just-jordie-things]

[part three] trouble - takuma ino

word count: 7k warnings: swearing, canon typical violence mentioned, shibuya arc mentions summary: just when she thinks she's got her feelings all sorted out, the shibuya incident has to go and fuck it all up. contents: friends to lovers, gojo!reader, your favorite sappy scene where a finds b injured and loses their mind <3 we skimmed over key points in the arc bc i just couldn't do it folks

part three: "god, don't let me lose my mind" ___

As it turns out, the deeper something is buried the scarier it is when it comes back up, and it was a terrifying sight to have every hidden ounce of her affections thrown back at her face- or more accurately, shoved up her throat.

The Shibuya Incident changed everything.

She’d assumed she’d follow Nanami and his small team that consisted of a first year, Fushiguro Megumi, and then of course Ino.  However, when she arrived on the scene, Ijichi had instructed that she was to find Zen’in Naobito and the students under his supervision, Kugisaki Nobara and Maki.

“I don’t understand,” She shook her head at the manager beckoned for him to show her the electronic paperwork with the order.  “Nanami’s mentoring me for Grade One, why would I be sent away?” 

Ijici anxiously glanced between her and the team of three who also seemed confused by the sudden change in development.

“I- I’m so sorry, Gojo-san,” He stammered.  He never did like making people upset with the orders handed to him, most days he was merely a messenger, however when it came to the Gojos specifically, this was his worst nightmare.  “Here, it’s all here, I- I don’t know why they’d separate you, perhaps more foot traffic? Uh, the station is quite overpopulated and there’s, um, only a few people scouting the perimeter” 

As he holds out his device she swipes it up gingerly, eyes scanning through the order from the higher ups with great speed.  Ijichi gulped down the lump in his throat, praying she wouldn’t break the phone with her iron group.

“It’s alright, (y/n),” Nanami came to the manager’s rescue.  “We’ll be fine, the three of us.  You should go with them” 

She passed the phone back to Ijichi with a small nod of gratitude for his help, and he was quick to disappear, likely off to report back to Nitta.

“They’ve still got me,” Ino grinned from ear to ear, before throwing his arm up against Megumi’s shoulder.  The boy gave him a bored look before shrugging him off.

(y/n) gives him a look that tells him her concern didn’t lie in their ability to handle the situation in the slightest.  The greatest concern right now was that everyone’s cell phones were out of service due to the veil over the area, which effectively cut off all communication between the divided teams.  The idea of splitting off from the two of them- and Megumi- unsettled her.  

Since she’d arrived on the scene shortly after her brother, there had been a twist of unease in her gut.  Like something was terribly wrong.  Or something terrible was bound to happen.

“Unless you’re saying you can’t handle it!” Ino tries to lighten the tension currently laying itself on thick the longer she stands before them, waiting for something that wouldn’t come.

If Nanami told her to go with them, she would.

Ino steps forward as Nanami turns to go over their orders with Megumi again, giving his pupils some semblance of privacy in the hopes of convincing (y/n) to follow the order handed to her.  If she went against what was asked of her, he wouldn’t be able to cover for her if any casualties- property damage or lives- occurred.

If either one of them asked her to stay with them, she would.

She doesn’t react to Ino’s statement, which sends up warning flags in his head, knowing that usually she’d quip back something snarky about how she could handle this entire assignment by herself and blindfolded.

“This isn’t normal,” She tells him quietly once he’s close enough and she thinks Megumi won’t be able to eavesdrop.  She doesn’t want to alarm him, but this gut feeling of hers was starting to eat her up.  “They’ve never split us like this before.  Something isn’t right” 

Ino believes her, already having his suspicions that something was off when he’d arrived with Nanami, but even if he didn’t trust her judgment, he could see the apprehension clearly in her eyes, and that was reason enough for him to understand.

“I know,” He agrees quietly, glancing over his shoulder quickly to make sure Megumi and Nanami were still occupied.  “But it’ll be fine, right?” He tells her hopefully, but the expression on her face doesn’t budge.  She stares at him expectantly, silently begging him to say what she needed him to in order for her to stay.  “We can handle it.  It’ll probably only be a few hours anyways” Instead, he continues to try and talk her down from her worried ledge, unknowingly only pushing her further onto it.

Her jaw clenches as she bites down on her own teeth in order to keep herself from blowing up and saying something reckless.

She lets out a sigh to calm herself down before speaking.

“A lot can happen in a few hours” 

Her eyes shift between his in a rapid movement, trying to convey everything in silence that she couldn’t say out loud.  She’s not sure if it works, but for a brief moment, a flash of disturbance flickers over Ino’s face, like maybe in that second he was able to understand what she wasn’t saying.  Just as quickly as she’d caught it, it was disappearing, and he was smiling again.

“Like two Grade One promotions, yeah?” He asks, holding his hand out to her.

That cracks the smallest of smiles out of her, easing her nerves for just a minute as she realized tonight could be the last thing she needed before finally getting her promotion.  So she takes his hand and shakes it roughly with her enthusiasm.  Ino chuckles to himself, about to pull away with his parting words of wishing her luck, but her fingers tighten around the curve of his hand and she doesn’t let him part from her just yet.

He’s confused when she stares up at him with a grave realness in her eyes, mixing with some other emotion he’s not sure he’s ever seen in them before.  His features soften with his surprise, but before he could ask her what’s keeping her, she’s whispering a threat under her breath.

“Don’t do anything stupid” 

It’s cold and harsh, just like how she used to treat him before shared assignments.  But Ino knows better now.  He understands the look of pure fear in her eyes as she mutters out the words like poison.  And despite the way she’s almost frowning at him, he smiles brightly as he squeezes her hand back with the same fervor.

“I know,” He says, almost cheekily.  She wants to be annoyed.  Maybe even shake him by the collar and tell him she’ll kill him if anything happens to him.  But she can only stand and stare at him with a slight gape of her mouth.  “I promised,” He shrugs one of his shoulders like his words alone were enough to shield him from harm.  “Can’t go back on my word” 

And then their grip on each other is loosening, before their hands fall away altogether, and (y/n) has to swallow the lump in her throat before addressing Nanami and Megumi.

“Report back when you can, okay?” She asks, her weapon of choice already materializing in her hand.

“We’ll see you soon,” Nanami nods his head in acknowledgement.  “Don’t let that old man boss you around.  You can run circles around him” He adds with a hint of a smile on his face.

She nods back at him, already starting to grin from the adrenaline of rushing off into an unknown battle. Her eyes catch Ino’s once more, and he throws up a peace sign with his fingers, tapping his forehead with them to give her half a salute.

“See you soon, partner”  ___

The gut feeling had subsided while she worked side by side with Maki and Nobara, paying as little attention to the head of the Zen’in Clan as she could.  For a little while, she almost considered taking a path of teaching as she aided the girls in their attacks, although they barely needed assistance, they were more than capable of defending themselves.

But it wasn’t long before they were split up, and (y/n) took the first opportunity she could to get back to her group.  It was hard to tell how much time had passed, and she tried not to worry about it as she followed Nobara and Nitta to where they presumed Nanami was.  Still, her heart was pounding against her ribcage with every step she took into the station.

It wasn’t professional of her, but when she found Nanami and Itadori Yuuji, her heart leapt to her throat and was speaking for her without hesitation.

“Where’s Ino?” 

Itadori was excitedly asking his mentor if the woman standing before them now was his sensei’s sister, even going so far as to tug on the man’s sleeve and beg him to introduce him properly.  On another day (y/n) might have been a little flattered, but right now she nearly tunes it out completely as she awaits Nanami’s answer.

“Ran into some curse users that came crawling out of the woodwork… listen, (y/n)-” 

“Where is that?” She cuts him off before he could explain further, and it’s obvious the way her entire body tenses with her impatience.

Nanami frowns, not knowing how to approach the situation calmly, but there was no time to sit down and slowly walk her through it.

“Satoru has been sealed,” 

She blinks, the words barely processing at all.  Maybe because it wasn’t what she was expecting, or maybe because they didn’t make a lick of sense.  Either way, she stands frozen and rigid before them all, not speaking a word.

“The patchwork curse is operating with something far worse that we weren’t expecting.  They had access to the prison realm.  Your brother is currently inside of it.  We have reason to believe that Kenjaku is playing a role and-” 

“It’s Suguru, isn’t it?” 

His name burns in her throat as if it was cursed so heavily just speaking it sent a poison down through her bloodstream.

Nanami’s lack of an answer tells her more than she needs to know.  The information tries to take over her mind, tries to nestle itself in as a proper distraction from what her next steps were going to be.

She casts it aside completely.

“My brother is stronger than the prison realm,” 

Her voice is strong, and certain.  Even with the small group looking at her apprehensively, (y/n’s) positive that there’s no prison on this earth stronger than Gojo Satoru.  Her faith in him as a sorcerer, and as her brother, went unmatched.  He would only be offended if she worried about him right now.  Using Geto Suguru was a filthy trick, however, and he- his body- would have to be dealt with accordingly.

But right now, there was a more pressing stressor she needed answers for.

“Now tell me where Ino is”  ___

When she arrived on the rooftop Nanami had directed her towards, her first thought was that she had the wrong one.  Her chest is heaving by the time she’s bursting through the access door, the plank of wood nearly flying off it’s hinges from her force.

She hesitates for a moment, seeing there wasn’t a fight of any sorts taking place.  Nanami had said there were two curse users, and at first survey, the roof is completely empty.

Save for the slumped over figure left crumpled on the ground, barely propping themselves up with one arm against a box vent.  She almost doesn’t catch him there, her instinct telling her it couldn’t possibly have been Ino himself.  No, it had to have been someone else-

But then her eyes catch the small but distinct shape of a black mask on the ground not far from him, and she’s darting forward with a screech of pure terror.

“Ino!?” 

His name rips from her throat so harshly a neighboring crow squawks and flies away from the startling noise.

It doesn’t take many steps to bring her towards his beaten form, but she’s sprinting the short distance anyways, dropping to her knees without any grace, scraping them up on the concrete upon impact, but the sting goes unnoticed.

She’s panting harder, the wind getting knocked out of her a second time when she properly takes in his face.  It’s so covered in blood she can’t even make out where it’s coming from.  As her hands slide under his jaw to lift his head, praying to any deity that will listen that it isn’t his head that’s injured, she realizes then that her eyes are filling with tears and blurring her vision.

“I- Ino,” And her voice is strained too, coming out in a choked whimper, not nearly loud enough for him to hear her if he’s unconscious.  “God, no no no-  fuck- fuck!” 

Her mumbles turn into shouts as she drops one hand from his face to pat against his chest.  She doesn’t want to be rough with him, but if he doesn’t give her some sign of life soon she was going to smack the back of her hand against his face to spur something out of him.

If she lost him now, like this, then every curse and curse user in this damn city was going to pay the gruesome, ultimate price.

He stirs with the slightest of movements, a small groan coming from his chest which she feels against her hand more than she actually hears.  A gasp of surprise comes out of her, before she’s pressing closer to him, her palm flat against his front, and her other hand secure in holding his head up towards her.

“You can hear me?” She mumbles with more hope than what feels right.

“Uh-huh” 

It’s pitifully quiet, but it’s a distinct answer, and it evokes a sob out of her so emotionally relieving she drops her head, barely hitting his shoulder as tears of every stage of grief pour out of her.  Fear.  Relief.  It all hits her at once.

Ino can barely register the fact that she’s sitting before him now, pressed as close as she could get with her sobs soaking into his shoulder.  But he musters all the strength he can to assure her he was still alive.

“(y/n),” Another pained mutter has her lifting her head, roughly wiping at her face with the back of her hand before leaning in close to hear him.  “The curse users- th-ey h-had-”

When he starts to cough up blood between his words, she hushes him, both hands gently held under his jaw again.  He hisses slightly from the touch, but doesn’t pull away from it.

She’s mumbling something, but his head is pounding too hard to make out what, and his vision is too blurry to try and read her lips.  With the smallest tip of his head, he’s leaning back into the box vent with a shaky exhale.

Even with his eyes closed, the faint blue glow penetrates his eyelids, and he’s trying to gather all the strength he can to lift his head and look at her again.  Although he has a sneaking suspicion of what she’s doing.

The blue light brightens, and he can just barely hear her faint mumbling, whispers sounding suspiciously like begs and pleas, before something warm and solid touches his forehead.

It takes him a minute, but eventually, he’s able to crack one eye open just enough to see what’s happening.

Her hands, still held against his jaw with trembling fingers, are glowing with cursed energy.  The warmth against his forehead was that of her own, pressed close and having her so much closer that the tip of her nose ghosts over his.  Her eyes are squeezed shut tightly, but there’s simply too many tears to be held back, and they fall down her face in steady streams, slipping into the corners of her mouth as she continues to slur through mumbles.

“Just this once… work just this once… never ask for anything again… never need anything more… concentrate… concentrate….” Ino can just barely make out the nonsensical string of pleas tumbling out of her lips, but it’s more than he understood before.  “...has to work… have to help him… think… think… relax…” 

Hearing the pain in her voice makes something in his chest lurch more than when an overpowered foot nearly cracked open his ribcage just moments ago- or was it hours? He longed to bring her some semblance of comfort, but he was too tired to move his arms, and when he tried to say something, his throat was too dry to make any sound.

The most he’s capable of, is the slight tilt in his head, pressing the crown of his head back against hers with the smallest amount of force.

It does the trick, (y/n’s) mumbling halting with a quiet gasp, her eyes fluttering open and staring wide at him, tracking any miniscule movement of his features.

He’s struggling even to keep one eye cracked open, the bruising surrounding it stinging that much more just from opening it, but he wants so badly to give her some comfort of his well-being.  Even if the next breath he takes is his last.

“Ino,” She whispers, her voice heavy with emotion.  “You’re gonna be alright, I’m- I’m gonna-” 

Before she can finish, there’s a short shift in his neck, barely shaking his head against hers.  She swallows thickly, trying to keep down the lump in her throat.

“I am, I’m gonna make it better, I’m- I’m-” 

“s’Okay,” He rasps out.  “Go, (y/n)” 

“No!” She’s louder than she means to be, and she apologizes by pushing a loose strand of his hair out of the sticky blood on his forehead, soothingly pushing her fingers through the length of his hair to keep it from irritating his face again.  She repeats the motion a few more times anxiously, and her head begins to shake against his.  “No- no.  I’m not leaving, I’m not going anywhere” 

He could almost laugh, recalling being in opposite positions almost a year ago.  If he had the strength, he’d remind her that she’d begged the same thing of him once, ordering him to leave as if she had any sort of authority over him.

Now Ino feared she had too much authority.  He couldn’t bear to have her here if the beat of his heart kept steadily declining.

A faint sound that almost resembled a chuckle is pushed past his lips in a short breath, warm and soft as the air hits her chin.

(y/n’s) brows furrow with her confusion as she continues to push her fingers through the length of his hair.  From the top of his head to the ends at the nape of his neck, she repeats it over and over, almost obsessively.  She distantly recalls Satoru doing the same for her when she was younger and would have panic attacks, and it was the first thing that would calm her down.  Pathetically, she hopes it’s healing power also works for physical wounds.

“s’Okay, (y/n),” Ino repeats himself, his head suddenly feeling too heavy to hold up on his own.  He barely feels his nose pressing against hers before a gentle pair of hands pull him forward, guiding him to lean against something solid, and soft.  His eyes were shut again as he gave into the white hot pain from every second he tried to keep them open.

Her shoulder, she’s cradling his head against his shoulder, it registers in the back of his mind as he recognizes the scent of her perfume in the fabric he was laying against, and ruining with his blood.

“m’Sorry ‘bout breaking th’ promise” He slurs into the material.

“Don’t say that,” (y/n) scolds, but her voice is weak, and she sounds far more afraid than she does angry.  “Please- please don’t say that,” She repeats in an even quieter, shakier voice.

With one hand against the nape of his neck, holding him solidly against her as his body hunches forward uncomfortably, her other hand begins to move in his hair again.

“We had a deal, didn’t we?” Her words were whispered in his ear, so she was certain he couldn’t miss a single thing.  “We promised, didn’t we?” She asked again.  “And I- I made good on my promise, didn’t I? Didn’t I do everything you asked?” Her tears are soaking into his hair now, but she doesn’t feel an ounce of shame as she begs him to find the strength to snap out of it and wake up properly.  “I let- I let myself let you in, I really, really did,” 

Her eyes fall shut in a pitiful attempt at willing her tears to stop.  She doesn’t want to burden him with her fear of losing him, but the emotions crashing over her were too strong for her to take on alone.  Unbeknownst to her, her hands were surrounded by her cursed energy again as they kept him close.

“And now- now you’re too close to me, Ino.  And I can’t- I- I can’t-” She chokes on the words, burying her face into the crook of his neck, earning a small grunt of pained acknowledgement when her nose brushes a particularly nasty bruise.  “I can’t lose you, you said I wouldn’t lose you” 

The hand at his nape grabs the material of the back of his uniform, fisting it so tight her knuckles trembled and ached.

The relief suddenly washing over Ino’s body was so strong that all of his muscles were relaxing at once, and he felt boneless in her hold.

(y/n) was quick to snap her eyes open and pull herself away from him, shaky, fast hands racing to check his pulse as her worst nightmare played before her eyes.

But he wasn’t lifeless in her arms, and if anything, he was relaxed.  His pulse was a steady beat against the pads of her fingers, and he even found enough strength to raise his hand to her cheek.  She watched with wide, shocked eyes as he barely grazed his fingers across her jaw before he was passing out in her arms.

___

When he comes to, his eyes blink a few times to prepare himself for light, but to his surprise, he’s met with darkness.  It still takes a few rough squeezes of his eyelids before Ino’s able to properly open his eyes all the way, and the darkness he was greeted with was properly laid before him as the night sky.

He was outside?

“What the-?” The mutter comes from under his breath, but before he could make sense of his surroundings, someone was scrambling to his side, his name falling from their recognizable, pretty voice like a mantra.

And (y/n’s) voice in that moment was heavenly to his ears.  He wasn’t sure how long he was out, and his mind was foggy when he tried to recall when he’d seen her last, but he had a sinking feeling like it had been a long time, and all he knew now was that he felt pure relief when her face came into view beside him.  Then shortly after, a small hand slipped into his own, squeezing firmly, but not too tight.

“(y/n),” His throat burns hot when he speaks, but he tries to ignore it as he gives her a weak smile.  Everything aches, but he’d try his best to keep his pain hidden.  “How long was I out?” 

“About a day” She murmurs back, softer than he thinks he’s ever heard her speak.  He thinks she’s hiding something, but he doesn’t press for it right away.  He’d need to get his bearings first.

He tries to look around, hoping for something of significance to give him an idea of where he was, but all that surrounds them is a few plots of grass and some shoddy tents pitched up.  There’s a fire burning a few feet behind where she kneels beside him, and his brows furrowed slightly.  What the hell was going on?

“And where are we?” 

Her free hand reaches for his face, and he holds his breath when the tips of her fingers gently push a piece of hair away from a line of stitches just above his previous scar.  There’s a small frown on her face.

“Just outside Yamanashi,” She answers, then quickly adds, “At least I think.  It’s hard to tell without a proper map” 

Ino’s eyes widen so much they almost bulge out of his head, and (y/n’s) quick to react to his shock.

“Don’t freak out,” She murmurs, squeezing his hand gently as she leaned over closer to him.  “You still need to rest, you have a lot of healing to-” 

“(y/n),” He interrupts her, and surprisingly she lets him.  She sits before him patiently waiting for the question she’d been dreading for an entire day.  “What happened in Shibuya?” 

She sits beside him for a long time as she explains the entire incident in grave detail.  Not a single stone left unturned, Ino sits in silence for almost a full hour as she feeds it to him like it was her drafted report on the assignment.

She explains that after she fled Shibuya with his unconscious body, they quickly ran into Megumi Yuuji, and the new ally they’d made out of one of the Cursed Wombs’.  Yuuji was quick to carry Ino on his back as they tried to cover as much ground as possible.  With Shibuya becoming a modern-day wasteland, and Kenjaku’s next move unsure, their only goal was to move.  

And that’s what brought them here, to the middle of nowhere where they could figure out what their next move was.  With only a few survival supplies and limited rations of food and water, it hadn’t been an easy day and a half.

When she’s finished, she remains silent for as long as he needs.  Processing it all- Nanami, Satoru, the first year Nobara, all of Shibuya- would surely take him some time.  (y/n) gets up and pokes at the fire for a few minutes while Ino sits in shock as he repeats it all in his head.  When she comes back over to him, he’s pushed himself to sit up on top of the nylon blanket against the grass.

“You should really lie down and-” 

“I’m alright” He mumbles over her concern, and she simply sits beside him on the wrinkly plastic disguised as a blanket.  She doesn’t push him about it again.

Not knowing what to say, she doesn’t say anything.  Just sits beside him to keep him company while he processes it all.  Truthfully, she’d had little time to really let it all settle in.  With the running and worrying over the length of his unconscious state, there was little time left to think about the aftermath of the whole incident.  She wondered how the others were taking it, if they’d stopped and let themselves think for longer than a minute.  They’d all resigned to their makeshift tents for the night, and she didn’t have it in her to play caretaker and check on them at the moment.  That was always the role Satoru took on.  But tomorrow she’d sit down with them and check in.

“You found me,” 

Ino speaks after a long silence, and (y/n) glances over at him for a brief moment, before returning to stare at the ground.

“After those curse users, after Toji,” He continues, piecing together the vague images in his memory to better understand what happened.  “You found me after that” 

He’s not asking, he’s talking through what he remembers, but (y/n) nods in confirmation.

“Nanami told me where you were,” She says softly.  “I came as fast as I could, but… it wasn’t fast enough” The last part comes out under her breath, full of regret and guilt.

“Seems like you were just in time to me,” Ino says, turning to look at her.  She refuses to meet his gaze, too ashamed by her delayed arrival.  “For a minute there I didn’t think I’d see you again.  Thought I was a goner.  You’d be adding my name to the…” He trails off, not quite wanting to address the long list of lives lost in Shibuya.

And he notices she tenses up, one of her hands fisting a handful of grass, ripping a few strands straight from the dirt with her tight grip.  Ino frowns, and shuffles over to sit closer to her.  Until they’re nearly shoulder to shoulder.  He groans as he pulls his legs up, resting his arms over his knees to get more comfortable.  Everything feels stiff, but he tries to push past it.

“You figured out the Reverse Cursed Technique, hm?” He asks, trying to change the subject.  He gives her a small smile at the accomplishment, but she’s still not looking at him.  “That’s pretty huge.  You’re surely a functioning Grade One sorcerer now” 

That’s when she finally turns her head to meet his gaze, finding nothing but fondness in his eyes as he smiles at her.  He’s proud of her, she realizes, and she can’t believe that now of all times he’s trying to comfort her.  Takuma Ino was too good for this world.  And he was certainly too good for her.

“I don’t care” She mumbles, shaking her head back and forth as her eyes flicker over the healing cuts and bruises on his face.  The few stitches he needed looked a bit gnarly as they’d been done in a rush from shaky hands.  A frown tugs on her lips the longer she takes in his injuries.

“You should,” He tells her.  “You worked for a long time for it.  And you’ve earned it,” 

She’s quiet for a moment as she takes in the statement.  The injuries she’d sustained had healed by now, but her chest still hurt somehow.

Slowly, more and more of his memory comes back to him.  He can remember the way she’d sobbed, pained wails that came from so deep within her he could hear it now in his memory.  They could’ve easily been mistaken as the screams of a woman tortured, the way she’d cried out his name.  He thinks he can recall her crying the entire time she tended to him.

“I’m sorry I scared you” He tells her suddenly, and her eyes widen in the slightest at the apology.

“Scared me,” She repeats in a small mumble, lips barely moving.  “That doesn’t even begin to explain what you put me through,” 

He frowns with his guilt, and he wants to remind her that he’d told her to leave.  Although if she had, he might not have woken up again.

“You…” She trails off as she thinks twice about what she’s going to say.  “You have no idea what you put me through,” She admits in a smaller voice.  

Her eyes flicker between his as she watches him process the confession, before she continues.

“I don’t know what I… I don’t know how I did it, honestly.  I’m not sure I could do it again,” She explains.  “I just remember feeling so… hurt doesn’t even begin to explain it.  I was terrified, Ino.  I thought you were…” She shakes her head, a lump forming in her throat at the mere suggestion of what could have happened to him.  “I was so scared” She mumbles weakly, her brows drawing together.

Hesitantly, Ino lowered his hand until it rested over hers.  She loosened her grip on the grass, relaxing just the slightest amount from his touch.  Her heart was still racing as she recalled the way he’d barely been able to move, or how he’d tried to apologize for breaking his promise to her.  It was like there was an invisible, but iron grip on her throat, squeezing all of the air out of her lungs as she looked at him now.

“You’re my hero now, you know,” He murmurs, tilting his head a bit as a tiny smile stretches over his lips.  “You saved my life” 

Her hand twitches under his, and it shakes as she releases the grass in order to turn it over, slotting her fingers between his.  She squeezes, hard, making sure that he would be enough to anchor her to reality.

“You saved mine, too” She whispers back, the burn in her throat evident in the strain in her voice.  Against her will, her eyes gloss over with tears.

He gives her a sad smile, and squeezes her hand back.

“Don’t cry,” He pleads quietly, his body angling towards her as he reaches his free hand out to her face, palm hovering just over her cheek as he wipes away her single tear with the rough pad of his thumb.  “Please,” He added softly as her eyes bore into his like she was trying to penetrate his skull and read his thoughts.  “Don’t think I can handle hearin’ you cry anymore” He admits.  

(y/n) let’s out a watery and humorless little chuckle, another tear falling to her cheek that he’s just as quick to dry away.  She leans into the hovering warmth of his hand, pressing her cheek against it with only the thought of being comforted by him on her mind.  Ino’s quick to spread his fingers across her cheek and jaw, unconsciously pulling her closer as he did.

“You remember that?” She mumbles, and he nods back at her.

“Don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget it,” He tells her.  “You scared me too, y’know” 

Her brows furrow at him.

“I did?” 

Ino nods.

“I didn’t like… being separated,” He admits slowly.  “I know you were fine, hell, you were better off than I was, but… not knowing where you were or if you were safe was…” He clenches his draw, and (y/n) nods at him in understanding.

“I would’ve stayed,” She murmurs.  “If you’d asked me to stay, I would’ve stayed” 

Ino’s not sure if his heart was going to burst in his chest or sink to his gut.  All he wants right now is to wrap her up in his arms as tight as he can and never let her out of his sight again.

“I know,” He whispers back, making her frown.  “But I couldn’t do that.  It wouldn’t have been right.  Your team needed you,” 

Another tear makes it’s way down her cheek, but it doesn’t get far before he’s brushing it away like the others.

“I didn’t want to do anything to stand in the way of your promotion,” He says, and she frowns back at him.  “It wouldn’t have been fair-” 

“That doesn’t matter to me, not right now- maybe not at all,” She cuts him off before he could explain himself, and he looks shocked.  Rightfully so, since meeting her he’s known that becoming a Grade One was the only thing that mattered to her.  His lips part and his brows furrow, but he doesn’t know what to say, so she explains herself first.  “Ino, I really thought I was going to lose you,” She tells him with a tight squeeze of his hand.  “That promotion has been the farthest thing from my mind.  What would it have mattered?” She shakes her head as she watches him, sniffling just a little before speaking again.  “It would have meant nothing, if you weren’t there with me, too,” 

Ino softened then, his thumb stalling from it’s gentle tracing of her cheekbone as he took in the sincerity of her words.

A year ago, she might’ve told him to eat shit if he’d something of the same sort to her.  Six months ago she would’ve laughed it off and deflected like it was some kind of joke.  Right now, he thinks his heart was going to fall right out of his chest and into her awaiting hands.

(y/n) shuffles anxiously the longer he sits in silence.

“Ino, say something” She mumbles, hoping he wouldn’t make her beg for some sort of reaction.

He chuckles, his thumb moving over her cheekbone once, then twice, before giving into temptation and curling his fingers around the back of her neck to pull her in closer.

Her eyes are shut before his lips slot themselves over hers, but despite leaning into the kiss there’s a small squeak of surprise that dies in the back of her throat when their lips touch.  She kisses him back with as much fervor as she can while still being mindful of his injuries.  She only hopes that he can feel the outpour of emotions with every kiss, the soft sensation of each one leaving a tingle on her lips.  

Her hands reach out to lay at the base of his neck, her touch nearly featherlight with how gentle she tries to treat him.  Ino’s less careful, pulling her closer until she finally gives in to deepening their kiss, paying no mind to the dull ache in his jaw.  It was easy to forget when her perfect soft lips fit against his like they were made to be kissed by him.

After pulling away for a breath of air, he places one more kiss on her lips, lingering for as long as he could before finally parting from her.  It takes her a minute to open her eyes, still reeling from the sudden affection.

With her heart in the clouds and her mind in a lovesick haze, she was still lost in the heavy feelings that were the way she felt about him.  Ino chuckles when his eyes open only to find her lost in a daze, sweetly cupping her face in both hands and keeping her as close to him as he could.

“Sorry,” He mumbles, lips ghosting over hers, sending a shiver down her spine.  She finally looks up at him, catching her lip between her teeth to keep herself from grinning too hard.  “I just wanted to do that for so long.  Couldn’t wait anymore” 

A breathless little laugh falls from her, her hands sliding around the nape of his neck so her fingers could mindlessly play with the soft locks of hair that fell there.  Her cheeks were undeniably warm, and Ino could feel them when she pushed closer to brush her nose against his sweetly.

“Wanted you to do that, too” She murmurs back, and the smile Ino gives her is bittersweet.

He sighs softly as he pulls her in gently, just enough to rest his forehead against hers.

“I’m sorry,” He murmurs, the weight of the apology hanging thick in the air.  

She doesn’t want to talk anymore about what’s happened, doesn’t really want to think about it either.  Going through it had been rough enough already, processing it was going to be a bitch.  She has to shut her eyes to hide the emotion, or at least, keep herself from crying again.

“I’m so sorry,” Ino repeats.  “And I’m sorry I was out for so long” 

“That’s nothing you should apologize over,” (y/n) chided through a breath.  “I’m just relieved you’re alright, that’s all that matters to me right now, okay?” 

He tilts his head away from hers, just enough to look back at her.  He frowns when her eyes are squeezed shut, thumbing gently at the top of her cheekbones to pry her into looking at him again.  It takes her a minute before opening teary eyes.  Even with her packing up the last day and a half into a box and forcing it into the darkest corner of her mind, she couldn’t hide all of it from Ino.  Not when he stared at her as if he could see straight through to the soul.

It’s a blurry memory, but he can vaguely recall the way she’d cried while holding him.  Clearer than the image is the way her voice cracked and whined in his ear, I can’t lose you, you said I wouldn’t lose you.  He’d held his promise this long, and Ino very much intends to stick to it.

He plants his lips at the crown of her head, and the comforting affection surprises her a bit, but she just as quickly falls into him.  Her arms loop around his neck and her fingers dig into his shoulders, anchoring herself to him as if he alone would keep her in this moment, and away from that dark corner.

“Still,” He insists quietly.  “I should’ve been there for you,” 

(y/n’s) not sure she’s ever felt love swell in her chest the way she does now.  It washes over her in a heavy wave, filling her with relief, and warmth, but most importantly hope.  For the first time, she doesn’t fear it, or discard it as a pointless venture.

Things were different now, she decided, her eyes moving between his and the injuries still littered across his face.  They would heal just fine, but they were still a gnarly sight to look at now.  It made the warm relief in her chest begin to burn.  So things were different now because they had to be.  Things were different now because she had something she was going to fight for.  

Love wasn’t pointless.  Love was what was going to push her through whatever horror was next in line.

“Cause we’re partners” Ino finished, his brows twitching ever so slightly as he watched something unknown flash in her eyes.  They light up for a moment, before she’s nodding back at him, staring at him with the utmost sincerity.

A small “yeah,” is whispered between shaky nods, and her grip on his shoulders tightens just enough for Ino to notice.  His lips tilt upwards.

She’s still quiet when she speaks, but it’s not due to the lump in her throat.  It’s from true, genuine love pouring out of her so openly that her voice is practically snatched from her.  She squeezes his shoulders once more.

“Partners” ___

a/n: well that was my 23k word ino fic that i had to split up bc it was too damn big. laugh it up how in love with him after thirty seconds of screentime

[iguessweallcrazyithinktho]

𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 • 𝐉𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐚𝐦

💌𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: Someone give me a plot where muse a happens to be someone famous (actor, athlete, etc) who has a bad reputation. Enters muse b who is a pr manager, who got hired to deal with them. The two gets off on the wrong foot, but thing is they’re stuck with each other until muse b’s contract end. They’re forced to be around one another and even have to share the same room in the hotel as they travel. One thing leads to the other and they begin developing feelings for one another. Muse a then finds out some horrible life changing news and cuts all ties with muse b, even getting them fired. However, one night muse b gets drunk and calls muse a telling them how much they miss them.

🏷️𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 4.8k(I'm sick)

🏷️𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: fluff, angst

🏷️𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: Jude hates reader, a blonde in this, some guy named Jeff. Denise is apart of this

🏷️𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐬: Jude Bellingham x PR manager reader

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: this took way to long to write lol enjoy

Jude Bellingham Masterlist

⏝꒷۰꒷⏝꒷۰꒷⏝꒷۰꒷⏝

Jude was a messy man.

He knew it. Everyone knew it and his team especially knew it.

After joining real Madrid Jude fame grew over night. Score after score he became one of the best players of this generation. With that came lots of girls which also came lots of gossip.

None of it was good for the young footballer. He had years ahead of him and needed to keep it all clean.

Luckily for Jude his team came up with a solution. They’re going to hire you.

You’re a pr manager. You were young and fresh into your career but nonetheless good at what you do. It was only fitting that they hired you to help keep Jude’s imagine clean before something happened.

Reader pov

I typed away at your computer, answering whatever email that came through. Today was the day I was meeting Jude to discuss my job with him. Nerves took over me, it wasn’t every day I met a famous footballer. Before this I only worked with smaller celebrities, never anyone big like him so I was nervous.

A knock at the door snapped me out of my typing. I cleared my throat before speaking.

“Come in please.”

The door swung open slowly revealing jude. The 6ft man walked into my office without uttering a word. He looked upset about something, but still butterflies filled my stomach for some odd reason.

“um.. sit please.” I pointed to the chair sitting across from me Jude did as I asked and sat down in the chair.

“so what are we doing?” he asked in a plain tone. I frowned. We’re not off to a good start it seems.

“hello to you too Mr. Bellingham.” I meet his brown eyes. “I was going to shake your hand, but it seems like we’ve already got to the point. I’m y/n and I’m your PR manager.”

“why do I need a PR manager? I can manage myself.” He said with a loud exhale. I swear I saw him roll his eyes at me, but I ignored it.

“ Mr. Bellingh-“

“stop calling me that. Call me Jude.” He snapped stopping me.

I put on a fake smile. I was getting frustrated with him and we haven’t even been talking for 5 minutes.

“Ok Jude, the reason I’m your PR manager is because you’re messy. You sleep with plenty of girls and they run to gossip blogs for their 5 minutes of fame and it’s ruining your image.”

I sat back in my chair, throwing the pencil on the table.

“Now if you don’t want me to help you keep your image clean then too bad because you’re stuck with me for 2 years due to a contract.”

Jude looked at me. His jaw clenched meaning I got under his skin. Good. If he wants to be an asshole than so will I. Two can play this game.

“fine. Are we done here?” clearly he was ready for this to be over and so did I to be honest.

“Yes, we are. It was nice to meet you. Have a good day.”

I picked up my pencil back up and began writing. Jude sucked his teeth and got up. He walked out of the room slamming the door a little bit. I rolled my eyes. He was going to be hell.

Jude’s pov

I hate her guts. I don’t know why my team even hired her. She was bitchy, something I didn’t like. I didn’t need anyone to keep my image clean. Quite frankly I was doing fine so what was the purpose of her.

I walked out of the building to the car where my mom sat. She noticed the shift in my mood the second I got in.

“how did it go?”

“I don’t like her.” I mumbled as I put on my seatbelt.

“why don’t you like her?” she asked as she put the car in drive. I sighed. “I don’t know. I’m just not feeling her vibe.”

She hummed and I looked at her. “maybe you’ll warm up to her.”

I doubt it.

Reader pov

Today was my first day working with Jude. I dreaded this. After how our first meeting went I wasn’t ready to deal with his sass.

I was going to the ballon d’or with him. I had to make sure he didn’t answer anything weird or meet up with anyone. Anyone being girls.

Under the request of Jude’s other team members I would be flying with him on a private jet.

I wasn’t too happy about this. If I could I would fly commercial, but I needed to act like I loved this.

I arrived at the airport way before everyone else did. As always my attention was very much on my laptop answering emails.

“You’re here early.” I heard behind me. I turned around to see Jude standing there, but not by himself, but with another woman who looked exactly like him.

“yes I am.” I shut my laptop and stood up. “its nice to meet you. I’m y/n.”

I stuck my hand out to the woman. She smiled and shook it. Finally someone nice.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Denise.” I smiled back at her. “ok the plane will be here in 20 minutes.” I say. I pick up my laptop sticking it in my laptop bag.

Those 20 minutes went by fast and before I knew it we were on the plane. I sat in the back and struck up a conversation with Denise. O I could feel Jude’s pissed off energy as I spoke with her, but that didn’t stop my conversation.

Jude’s pov

I hate watching her talk to my mom. Ever since we got on the plane they’ve been talking about something and I hated it. Hearing her laugh pissed me off and so did her voice.

I turned to my phone trying to block out their conversation, but her laughter cut through. I’m already sick of her and we haven’t even known each other for that long.

Eventually the plane landed and we were finally getting off. I was the first off and into the car that was going to drive us to the hotel. Later y/n and my mom climbed in.

The car ride was silent up until y/n spoke. “um so since we’re only getting two hotels, Denise and mark are of course sharing one and me and you Jude are sharing.”

I felt my blood boil when I heard what she said. Could this week get any worse.

“what? I’m not sharing a room with you. I’ll buy you your own room, I’m not sharing with you.” she was about to say something until my mom spoke.

“Jude, you’re sharing a room with her and that’s final. I don’t want to hear anymore complaining from you.”

I ran my hand down my face and sighed. “fine.”

Great now she has my mom taking her side. I swear I could see y/n smirking out the corner of my eyes which made it worse. Can’t wait for this to be over.

Y/n pov

Once we reached the hotel room Jude was off. I suspected it was because he was embarrassed after his mom yelled at him.

I grabbed a room key and made my way to the room where I will be staying with Jude.

When I unlocked the door I was faced with Jude.

His hands were on his hips as he stared at the bed. The bed!

There was only one fucking bed.

I dropped my bags as the door clicked behind me.

“this day of course can get worse. Not only am I sharing a room with you, I’m sharing a bed as well.” Jude mumbled.

He muttered a few curse words after and sat down in the chair in the corner of the room.

“I can go see if they can get us a two bed room.”

I turned around ready to leave, but Jude stopped me.

“don’t bother. This hotel is packed. There won’t be any rooms left.”

“ok.” I sighed. “Well I’ll try not to take to much space up. I’m small anyways.”

Jude didn’t say a word to me so I took this as a sign to not say anything else. It was late at night so I got myself ready for sleep. Getting my clothes, taking a quick shower and climbing in bed all while acting as if Jude doesn’t exist.

Jude entered the bathroom once I climbed under the covers. Sleep over took me before I got a chance to watch him come out.

The next day I woke up to my alarm.

I groaned, reaching over to the nightstand to turn it off. I was about to get up until I felt an arm around me. Pushing back the covers I looked at it.

It was Jude’s of course.

I turned around to see Jude passed out, Mouth open slightly. He was sleeping peacefully, but I refuse to let a jackass have a day of peace.

“get up! Balloon d’or day!”

I slapped his cheeks and he woke up with a jerk. I removed his arm from me climbing out of bed. I said nothing about the incident, but I’m sure he knows.

Jude’s pov

I can’t believe my arms were wrapped around y/n as I woke up. I swear I was on the other side of the bed when I went to sleep, but subconsciously I must have wrapped myself around her over the night.

I got up to get myself ready. Today was a special day: it was balloon d’or day.

Me and y/n traded places in the bathroom and that was the last time. I didn’t see her again till it was time to go to the awards.

“Are we ready to go?” she asked me but my attention wasn’t on her words. It was on her figure. She stood there in front of me in a black dress with light makeup. It was obvious she was trying not to stand out, but I couldn’t deny she looked stunning.

“jude.” She called out my name and I looked at her face that had a frown on it. “are you ready?”

I nodded. “yeah” I cleared my throat. “ I’m ready.”

She smiled awkwardly and turned around to walk out the hotel room. I sighed knowing she caught me staring.

Y/n pov

I caught Jude looking at me earlier and those butterflies filled my stomach as he did so. I hated my body for reacting like that.

I pushed it to the back of my mind . When we got the d’or ceremony Jude took some pictures for the ceremony. When he finished we made our way inside and separated for the rest of the evening.

Jude won a kopa trophy. I was happy for him no doubt. I let him know when we returned back to our shared hotel room.

“ congratulations.”

Jude sat his kopa on the desk in the room. “thanks.” He gave me a soft smile before pulling off his suit coat.

I sat down on the bed with a sigh, pulling off my heels. When they finally off I climbed back and laid on the perfectly made bed and shut my eyes.

I can hear Jude moving around the room, but I ignored him.

In the middle of me shutting my eyes I fell into a slumber. I didn’t realize until I felt someone shaking me.

I groaned, opening my eyes. It was Jude.

“what?”

“you can’t sleep on top of the blanket you know that right?” Jude said in an annoyed tone.

I sat up. “you don’t have to be an asshole about it.” I got up and pulled the blanket back as I heard Jude, who’s back is facing me, suck his teeth. I got under the blanket, still in my dress but I didn’t care. I was too tired to care.

Jude walked to his side of the bed. He was only wearing boxers, no shirt unlike last night. “where’s your shirt?”

Jude pulled back the cover and got under.

“Why are you worrying about it?”

It was now my turn to suck my teeth. I laid down turning my back to him and drifted off to sleep, ready for this day to be over.

Jude pov

I woke up this morning feeling great. Last night I won my kopa and I couldn’t be more excited about that.

I stretched ready to get up, but something heavy on my chest stopped me. I looked down to see y/n laying on my chest.

This is the second time we ended up tangled in each other arms. I couldn’t lie I love having someone cuddling up to me in the morning, but knowing it was y/n pissed me off despite my heart fluttering in my chest.

I shook y/n. “wake up.”

y/n opened her eyes. She looked over at absolutely disgusted. It took everything in me not to laugh at her face.

“time to get up. We got a flight back to Madrid.” I got up to go to the bathroom to brush my teeth. When I got out of the bathroom y/n was now up. She was in absolutely nothing seeing how her dress was now pooled on the floor.

Her back was facing me but that didn’t stop me from tearing my eyes away from her.

“Fuck y/n. At least tell me you’re changing.”

“sorry. That’s what happens when you share a room.” She mumbled as I Heard clothes being thrown around.

A brief moment of silence fell between the two of us before y/n spoke.

“you can look now Jude.”

Turning around she was now in some jeans and a shirt. A smirk painted her face making me roll my eyes and go back to what I was doing so we could leave sooner.

--

A few days have passed since we returned to Madrid. I went back to training and Y/n went back to working in her office where she said she wouldn’t bother me.

I was relieved. Tonight I was going to make the most of it.

I found myself inside the sweaty club with a drink in my hand. Several girls have already came up to me begging for my attention. I made small talk to be polite, but I didn’t give them much. They were gold digging and trying to sleep with me more than anything.

I’m not sure what’s gotten into me. Any other time I’d be excited to talk to a bunch of girls but not today.

Maybe it’s the alcohol in my system, but I couldn’t stop thinking about y/n.

Her tan skin, soft lips, and pretty eyes filled my head. I stared at her so much that every little detail about her was burned into my mind. She was like a fog I couldn’t clear from my head. I didn’t really hate her if I’m being completely honest. I was just an asshole the first day we met and haven’t changed because in my mom words I was stubborn.

As I sat staring off into space a girl came up and sat next to me. She was blonde, thin and had an ok face. She was ok looking, but I knew I wasn’t interested in her right away.

“How are you?” she asked, her flirty tone and toothy smile making me cringe. “ I’m good.” I brought my drink to my lips and drunk the rest of it. I hated that it was empty because I needed more.

For the next 15 minutes the girl tried to make conversation with me. It was clear she was trying to get in my pants. After a bit I was tired of listening to her. Without a word I got up and walked away. The blonde followed me making me roll my eyes. “where are you going?”

“ I’m going home.” I answered plainly. I stopped outside the club pulling out my phone ready to call a friend to pick me up.

I felt the girl hand trail up my arm. I looked at her with a disgusted look on my face. She really didn’t give up.

“I’m not interested darling. You can stop trying.”

She sighed, dropping her hand and rolling her eyes. “Fine, but you don’t know what you’re missing out on.”

She walked away with a dramatic stomp. I couldn’t help but laugh at how stupid it looked.

-

Y/n pov

My phone going off woke me from my beautiful slumber. I groaned reaching over and picking it up.

“hello?”

“y/n, it’s Jude.”

I sat up rubbing my eyes. “what do you want Bellingham?”

There was a brief silence on the other end before Jude spoke. “yesterday I went out to the club and a girl was trying to get my attention, but I wouldn’t let her. Moral of the story is someone took a picture of me and her and now its all over the internet.”

When Jude finished I groan. “oh my God. Ok I’m on it give me a few hours.”

I hung up the phone getting to work.

After two hours I did everything I could. Getting some of the pictures taken down and an article out stating he didn’t know that girl and left Alone that night.

The next time my phone rung it was of course Jude.

“yes Bellingham?”

“thank you for that. I didn’t think you were going to be able to do much.”

I scuffed. “I feel insulted that you think I wouldn’t be able to do anything. It’s my job, I’ll find a way.”

I heard Jude laugh on the other end making me smile.

“anything else you need Bellingham?” I asked. My voice softer than ever.

“yeah.” “what would that be?”

“call me Jude, darling.”

I felt butterflies fill my stomach at the name he gave me. “ok Jude.”

Jude POV

I feel good today. The day before, y/n fixed an issue I had. I don’t know why I thought I didn’t need a PR manager because I totally do.

We had a match today and I thought I’d repay her by inviting her to the game.

“you’re wearing my jersey?” I asked when I walked up to y/n and my mom. She turned around.

“Yeah.” She looked down at it “I was planning on wearing the other teams jersey, but I decided to be nice since you invited me.”

I rolled my eyes making her laugh. After greeting my mom I said my goodbyes and went to go get ready to play.

An hour later I was on the pitch chasing the ball. 50 minutes or so nothing went on until I somehow found the ball in the back of the net.

The crowd interrupted into a cheer, I ran to the edge of the field throwing my arms wide to celebrate, soaking in the love I was receiving.

When the game ended the team went to applauded the crowd. I found myself finding my mom in the stands. I waved to her earning a wave back. I see y/n standing there smiling at our interaction. I smiled seeing her standing there with my mom. She just fits there.

After the game I was reunited with them. I offered y/n to come with us to dinner but she passed up on it saying she had work to finish, so here me and my mom are on our way my ourselves.

“you like her don’t you?”

My mom asked out of nowhere in the car.

“what?” “I see the way you look at her, you like her.”

“I don’t.” I scrunched up my face. My mom laughed. “sure.”

Maybe she was right. The past few days a lot changed. The feelings I had for her was confusing. I never felt this way for anyone. This must be what liking someone felt like. Boy was I scared.

-

After dinner I made my way home. I was exhausted and ready to go to sleep.

When I got in bed I grabbed my phone and logged into Twitter. The first thing I see is a post about y/n. Everyone asking who she was. Lots of people speculated that she was my girlfriend and many said she was no one which isn’t exactly a lie.

I didn’t expect this to happen, but I hoped when she woke up the next morning she would fix it.

Y/n POV

I woke up to my notifications going off. Great what could it be this time I thought to myself.

I grabbed my phone to see what seemed like a million request to my Instagram. “what the fuck!”

I opened my phone to see why this was. The first thing I notice is a text from Jude.

I’m sorry  please be able to fix it

I’m confused so I opened Twitter. My face was plastered all over the app. It was because of yesterday’s game. They thought I was Jude’s girlfriend.

I cursed and pulled back the blanket hoping I could fix this before it got worse.

After an hour I couldn’t fix it. It was clear the damage was already done. I sat defeated. This was the worse thing that could happen to me. Not only did people know who I was but I was being harassed because they thought I was Jude’s girlfriend.

My phone rung, but I couldn’t bring myself to pick it up.. not right now.

I didn’t know what I was going to do. With my job being me following Jude around I knew this wouldn’t go well. His fangirls would always think we’re dating and will harass me. I knew I couldn’t work with Jude anymore for my sanity.

Jude POV

I tried to call y/n, but she didn’t pick up. She saw my text which meant she knew what was going on.

I feel bad. All I wanted was to repay her for fixing my problem, but ended up with an even bigger problem. If she’s pissed at me I wouldn’t be mad about it.

A few hours passed and y/n still hasn’t called or picked up any of my calls. I grew worried. I tried calling my other team members to see what they knew what was going on.

“jude?” my team member Jeff said what he picked up. Before I could say anything else he spoke before me.

“y/n quit.”

My heart dropped into my stomach. “what?”

“yeah she said she didn’t want to make your career worse. I tried to make her stay, but it didn’t work.”

I shook my head, pitching the bridge of my nose.

I hung up the phone and tried to calling y/n again. When she didn’t pick up I texted her, but still it was no use.

“fuck!”

I threw my phone on the bed beside me.

“What’s wrong Jude?” my mom voice filled my ears. I didn’t look up at her. I just spoke. “y/n quit.”

“oh honey I’m sorry. Was it because of yesterday?”

I nodded. “yeah. Everyone thought we were dating. I thought she’ll be able to fix it, but she couldn’t. Now she won’t pick up my calls.”

“give her some time.” I looked up at my mom. “she might need some time right now. It’s all a lot.”

She was right so that’s what I did.

A few days have passed since I last talk to y/n. I missed her badly I couldn’t lie. I can’t believe someone I hated so badly at first, I was now missing.

-

My friends invited me to the club tonight to clear my mind. I had several drinks with the intention of getting wasted and it worked. An hour later and I was drunk.

Of course the person who clouds my mind happens to be y/n. I missed her, kind of yearned for her. I miss annoying her. I needed to get her back.

I pulled out my phone finding y/n name in my contacts. The phone rung 2 times before y/n picked up.

“y/n?” I slurred out.

Y/n POV

The song of booming music on the other end of the call made me wince. “Jude, why are you calling me? Where are you?”

This was the first time I answered Jude’s call in two weeks and I didn’t expect it to be loud on the other end.

“y/n, I miss you.” I heard Jude say on the other end.

“Jude are you drunk?”

The sound of a woman voice and Jude shouting out no over the music flooded through the phone. A minute passed before it was quiet on the other side. He must be outside now I thought.

“sorry it was loud.”

“Jude where are you?” I grew concerned. He sounded extremely intoxicated and I’m sure he wasn’t aware of shit when he was drunk. “ I’m going to pick you up.”

I grabbed my keys and after Jude told me his location I drove there. 10 minutes later I spotted him outside the club.

A bunch of girls surrounded him making me roll my eyes. I Parked my car and got out.

“jude.” At the sound of my voice Jude turned to me. “sorry ladies. My ride is here.”

Those girls watched as Jude quickly walked away to my car, getting into the passenger seat. I got back into the driver’s seat and drove off before anyone could get a picture.

“Why’d you pick me up?” Jude asked as he laid back against the seat. “I just wanted to make sure you got back safely, that’s all.”

Jude turned his head looking at me. My breath hitched, but I didn’t look over at him.

“I said I missed you.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. “I know I heard you.”

“why did you leave y/n?”

I sighed. “Jude, we’re at your house.” I parked the car expecting him to get out.

“y/n, talk to me baby.” Jude turned my face with his thumb forcing me to look his way. My stomach interrupted in butterflies at his action and words.

“I left because I don’t want to ruin your career and mines. I have to follow everywhere and that means those fan girls would think I’m dating you and I’m going to get harassed every time. I’m not ready for. They already found my Instagram and started dming me telling me I’m ugly.” I ran my hand over my face. “so yeah that’s why I left.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” Jude commented.

“Its ok-“

“no it’s not. I should have thought about this before inviting you. I knew my fans were cry but I didn’t expect them to find you so I’m sorry.”

“I know you are Jude and it’s ok. I promise.” I looked at Jude and smiled softly.

“You’re going to come back right?”

I laughed. “is that what you want so badly?”

Jude nodded. “more than anything.”

“Ok fine. I’ll see if I can comeback.”

Jude smiled. “perfect. thank you for the ride by the way. I’m happy to see you again.”

Jude hugged me once he unbuckled his seatbelt. If this was the first few days of meeting Jude I would have pulled away from him, but it wasn’t. I found myself wrapping my arms around him shocking myself.

When Jude pulled away his face was inches away from mine. His eyes fell to my lips. My heart thumped in my chest at the action.

“Can I kiss you?” Jude asked at a whispered. I nodded slightly.

Jude kissed me seconds later and I swear my heart stopped in my chest for a second.

His lips so soft and his tongue even softer when he slipped It into my mouth chasing mine.

He pulled away and kissed my cheek.

“ok I’m going to go now.” Jude pulled away and opened the door as I sat their flustered.

“have a good night love.” Jude Shut the door walking to his house. I exhaled.

“good night Jude.”

--

Tell me what else to write since I don't have ideas for some reason. Jude, Dominik, Trent, Ruben, and kylian

[sstormyskyess]

omg 16 with poly tf141 would be the greatest thing ever reader brings not one, not two, but four huge beefcakes home to their shitty families holiday party that they only throw to show off their fancy house and shitty interior design, I know that probably wasn't the original idea of the prompt but if you're interested I'd love to see you write it thank you!

Family Affairs

author's note: i actually got to pull from personal experience with this one tbh, i’m gonna have to go to a party like this near the end of the year. unfortunately, i don’t have four beefcakes to bring with me 😔 at least i can imagine it though! thank you for the request, hope you enjoy!!

cw: poly tf 141, general fluffy stuff, reader has a big family [just like me, i have 14 members in my extended family just on my dad’s side]

word count: 1800+

TF-141 x GN!Reader

You groan, burying your face in your hands. You were hoping, praying that you weren't going to get that one little text message that always spelled disaster no matter when it came across your phone screen. It had been a good run, too; you hadn’t suffered this fate in a good few years. But, apparently that winning streak was too good to be true.

You look at the notification on your screen again, re-reading it for about the third time. ‘We hope to see you at the party this year! P.S., please bring your boyfriend along this time, your aunt won’t drop it,’ the message from your mom read. Boyfriend. Little did she know, you in fact had four boyfriends, none of which had met your frustratingly nosy family.

Speak of the devil—or, one of them at least—John walks into the common area, a stack of papers in his hand. “Morning, love.” He shoots you a smile before focusing his attention back on the documents he was scanning. “What’s on your mind?” He takes a seat in the chair opposite you, leaning back and crossing his legs, one ankle on the other leg’s knee.

You think for a bit before sighing. “Off-base things. Family stuff.” It’s clear he was unsatisfied with your vague answer when he met your eyes with a raised brow. You huff, knowing you wouldn’t get away with dancing around the issue for even a moment. “My mom wants me to bring a boyfriend back for my aunt’s holiday party.”

John continues to look at you, his air gone from stern to confused within a second. “You do have a boyfriend. Four of them, actually.” He tilts his head as he states the obvious. You roll your eyes, crossing your arms. “I know that. I just don’t wanna subject any of you to the torture that is being at those pointless parties.”

He just smiles at you again, his eyes returning to whatever was on the papers in his lap. “Maybe we’ll make it better for you. I’m sure the rest of our boys will be glad to accompany you.”

You chew the inside of your cheek, thinking about the prospect. Frankly, it did sound like a good idea on the surface; it would be nice to spend some down time with all the people you love, after all. After another few moments of thought, you nod and stand up from your chair. “You’ve got a point. I’ll go talk to the others, then—see if they’ll be able to come with us.”

John hums in approval, catching your wrist as you walk past toward the door. “Hey. Come here.” You smile, leaning down to kiss him and appreciating the feeling of John’s hand coming up to the nape of your neck, his fingers rubbing a loose circle on your skin. “Things will be fine, darling,” he says after pulling away. “Don’t worry.”

A deep sense of dread starts to build inside of you as your mini convoy starts to approach your aunt’s house, which is technically more like a mansion based on the size of it. It had already set in the moment Simon convinced the others to let him drive. Yes, he got you to your destination way faster than any of the others would, but that was only because he drives like a maniac.

The dread slowly developing wasn’t caused by Simon almost getting everyone into a wreck at least two or three times, though. It was caused by the fact that you could already see your family’s cars lined up along the road and sitting in the driveway, memories of past parties flooding your head.

Kyle beside you must notice the way you’ve started shrinking into yourself and he wraps his arms around your shoulders, pulling you close to kiss you on the cheek. “I’m excited to meet your family, sweetheart.” An underlying joy is hidden in his voice, which brings a small smile to your face. “You sure?” You chuckle, leaning into him. “They can be a lot.”

“I’ve dealt with worse, no need to worry.” He ensures you, pressing a couple more kisses to your temple and your forehead. Your cheeks warm and you push his face away. “Stop it,” you say playfully.

Johnny helps you out of the car and wraps an arm around your waist when Ghost pulls over to park his car on the side of the street. “Who do you think is gonna be the favorite?” He asks with a grin on his face. You hum, tapping your chin and feigning deep thought. “Probably John. And not you, the responsible John.”

Johnny scoffs, dramatically putting a hand over his heart. “I am responsible! Can’t believe you would say such a thing!” You simply pull him closer and kiss him on the cheek, giggling under your breath. “I’m sorry, baby. Please forgive me—” You’re cut off by him giving you a big kiss on the lips. “Fine, you’re forgiven.” He gives you his bright smile, the one that reaches his eyes and crinkles the corners of them.

Simon walks past and tugs on Johnny’s sleeve, pulling him forward. “Get moving, Johnny.” He grunts, dragging him along and taking you with him in turn.”We’re coming, we’re coming,” Johnny huffs.

You take a deep breath once you reach the front door of your aunt’s house, amping yourself up to face the music head-on. You feel John’s comforting hand between your shoulder blades and you smile, his silent support soothing your nerves and giving you the courage to ring the doorbell, officially sealing your fate. No going back now.

Surprisingly, the night was actually going well. Just like John said, being able to sit in-between two of your ruggedly handsome partners while the other two were pulling your aunt’s attention away from you was massively more comfortable compared to your other experiences in this house.

Johnny and Simon, seated next to you on either side, chatted with a couple members of your extended family while Kyle was off in the kitchen making a plate of hors d'oeuvres for you, and John was busy entertaining your aunt and mother with various war stories from his yesteryears. It seemed like everyone was having a blast, their easy smiles contagious.

You look up when Kyle sits in the armchair next to the loveseat you, Simon and Johnny were posted up on. You grin when he presents you with a small plate full of various meats and cheeses. He kisses your hand as you reach over and take the plate from him, making your face heat up. You shoot him a pointed look, but he flashes his pretty smile in return. You can’t possibly stay mad at that smile—I mean, have you seen it? You just shake your head, unable to mask the flustered look on your face.

Your grandmother looks away from her conversation with Johnny and turns her attention to Kyle. “Oh my! Who’s this lovely young man?” She listens intently as he introduces himself and then starts up her usual questioning whenever one of her grandbabies brought someone to meet the family.

You let out a long sigh, your senses already getting overwhelmed after the past hour or so of entertaining the party with your boys. You start to pick at your hors d'oeuvres, building a little stack of what looked like some sort of salami and a piece of cheese on a cracker, popping it in your mouth. 

Simon’s hand comes into your downturned gaze and rests on your leg, giving it a firm yet gentle squeeze, a silent check-in. You cover his hand with yours, looking up at him and smiling, effectively quelling his concerns. He nods and intertwines his fingers with yours, an affectionate glint in his gaze. You return the look wholeheartedly and let him pull his hand away to rest in his lap.

You glance up when you hear your name being called across the room and see John and your mother looking over at you. She beckons you over and you sigh, standing up and starting to head over to the two of them. You jump when Johnny’s hand pats the back of your thigh a couple times, smirking up at you. You roll your eyes and mutter a quiet ‘stop that,’ trying to hide the fact that your heart skipped a beat at the smug look on his face.

John wraps an arm around your waist once you get close enough, his hand petting up and down your side. “Your mother wants to know how we met,” he explains. Your mother pipes up, “I also want to know why you were hiding these lovely men from the family for so long.” She gives you a look. The look. You groan, running a hand over your face. “Of course, mom.”

“I’ve no idea why you were so worried about tonight, bonnie. It was perfectly fine!” Johnny pulls you down to the couch in the living room of the house you and the others had bought recently, his arms tight around you. He held you in place to pepper kisses all over your face. You try to push his face away so you can actually respond to his comment; the effort was futile, but after a few pushes he pulls away on his own. “It seems like they were on their best behavior since you four showed up with me. You’re all pretty imposing, to be fair,” you say, leaning back against Johnny’s chest.

Simon walks in with a handful of mugs filled with warm spiced apple cider, passing them around the room and then sitting in his armchair, his legs crossed loosely. He notices your eyes on him and raises a brow. “You talking about me?” You laugh and shake your head. “Not just you, silly.”

Kyle catches the tail end of the conversation after coming downstairs in his lounging clothes, sitting next to John on the loveseat opposite the couch Johnny had you buried in. “I’m sure it was mostly you, Simon.” He grins, leaning into John’s side. You roll your eyes. “Well, I’m sure most of my family was intimidated by your dashingly handsome looks, good sir.”

John rests his arm on the back of the couch, his fingers playing with the hair on the back of Kyle’s neck. “That’s a good point, darling,” he smirks, taking note of the bashful look that crosses Kyle’s features. He hides his smile by taking a sip from his mug.

“Hopefully your family feels a bit more comfortable around us next year, yeah?” John takes a sip of cider from his own mug, before setting it down on the coffee table and picking up the remote to put something on the TV, probably some shitty holiday movie. The exact kind that he likes.

You hum and hold your warmed up mug in your lap, happily cuddling up with Johnny. “Yeah, hopefully.” There’s a brief pause before you realize what he just said and the implications of it. “Wait—next year?” And once again, that signature sense of dread hits you and you groan, knowing you wouldn’t be able to convince him otherwise.

𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

[ravenssilver]

I would adore if you could make an Aeon angst where he feels abandoned or like he’s not worth being in the ministry, and one of the ghouls (any of your choice) finds him and comforts him? You don’t have to if you don’t want too I’m just in love with your writing!!

ahh anon !! i will happily throw out some aeon/swiss hurt/comfort. you feed into my muse🫶🫶

here is me indulging in my favorite thing—aka 2.2k words of aeon feeling abandoned and swiss loving on him anyway🤍

cw: aeon being anxious, aeon has minor abandonment issues, minor panic attack

under the cut, if you please<3

Aeon was giddy after a particularly good ritual. He and Swiss seemed to have developed a pre-show ritual of practically being attached to each other’s hips and walking on stage together. He had hit every note perfectly and gotten to every cue, bouncing happily to the beat of the songs all the while. The audience had been fantastic and he had gotten at least five bat plushes thrown at him before bows, and he was sure some of the crew had picked up the rest.

Though, as Aeon took a quick shower to get all his sweat off, he thought about the other ghouls during the ritual.

Cirrus and Cumulus didn’t pay him any mind whenever he went over to them, Dewdrop seemed annoyed when Aeon was all over him during Absolution, Rain didn’t seem all that amused by the slides in Watcher, and Papa seemed actually upset when he had cut in front of him for his part in Year Zero.

Aeon frowned when he remembered how he had subconsciously given up on interacting with the band after Mary On a Cross when Papa didn’t even look at him when the song quieted down for a few measures.

And during Square Hammer, his final chance to maybe get an interaction, Aurora was play flirting with Swiss from across the stage when Aeon was meant to be on her platform.

Aeon hissed when he accidentally got soap in his eye, a frown etched on his face as he felt his heart aching with doubt in himself.

Did his packmates think he was annoying? Did Papa think he was annoying?

Maybe they’re just tired… Yeah, that had to be it. He didn’t remember doing anything wrong, much less annoying.

Aeon quickly finished up with his shower and changed into some clothes he had stolen from Swiss, grinning when he saw the slight bagginess of his pack mate’s clothes on him.

With a pep in his step due to his shower and how he now felt clean, Aeon happily left the dressing room and went to the parking lot where the buses were.

Though, as soon as he got outside he froze in his tracks.

The buses were gone.

A distressed sound left Aeon and be spun around in a circle as if the building behind him would’ve somehow turned into the tour buses. Aeon chuffed worriedly when he just saw the door he had come out of and went back inside, some of his glamor starting to slip as his thoughts spiraled.

They left him. They got on the busses and left him alone. He was stuck—trapped.

Abandoned.

A distressed whine left Aeon and he picked up the pace of his footsteps, desperate to find his pack or his Papa. Aeon felt like his throat was closing up, his ears pinned and twitching at every single noise he heard as his hands started to shake.

Much to his dismay, instead of someone he knew, Aeon ran into a member of the venue staff and he had hurt himself by quickly throwing up his glamor.

Aeon’s head pulsed with an intense ache as his eyes darted around, his glamoured nails clicking as he picked at them.

“Hey, are you alright?” The woman asked, her eyebrows furrowed as she placed her hand on Aeon’s shoulder. Aeon wanted to say yes, try to reassure her that he was fine when he so clearly wasn’t. But when his throat closed up even tighter, tears welled in his eyes and his shaking became a lot more obvious.

“Woah, it’s okay, breathe. Why aren’t you with everyone else out back? They’re leaving for the hotel in about five minutes,” The woman said, her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to get Aeon to calm down.

A tear fell from Aeon’s lash line when she told him that. He nodded and turned on his heel, rushing away from her as he went to the back of the venue.

Nobody had told him that there was a rest day after that nights ritual. Nobody had told him that they would be going to a hotel that night instead of getting back on the buses.

Aeon rushed outside, signing in relief when he saw Papa and the rest of his pack standing outside of a van. He wiped his eyes and face of tears, trying to cover up the panic in his scent that he knew was there.

“Ah, there you are,” Copia sighed when Aeon silently walked up next to Rain, huddled in on himself. “We’ve been waiting for you. Where have you been?” Copia asked, his eyes narrowed.

“I didn’t-“ Aeon went to respond, only for Copia to throw his hands up in the air and mumble annoyed Italian to himself as he went to make sure all their bags were ready to go to the hotel.

Another distressed sound left Aeon as he felt a pit form in his stomach. He looked down and pulled the hood of Swiss’ hoodie up over his head, hiding his face from his pack who weren’t paying attention anyway.

Aeon’s shoulders shook as he messed with the end of his sleeves, his body trembling with anxiety as his thoughts continued to spiral.

Look what you did, you made Papa mad. You held everyone up and now they’re all mad at you. You’re cutting off their resting time like a total idiot. How dumb do you have to be to not remember a schedule?

Aeon clambered into the van first as soon as the doors opened, wanting the front row seat closest to the window on the drivers side so nobody would see his tears.

He heard a low growl from Dew, as that was usually the fire ghoul’s spot, the annoyed sound only adding fuel to the dumpster fire that was Aeon’s brain.

He buckled and curled into himself, burying his face in his knees as his thoughts just went further and further down the spiral of self doubt and insecurity.

The next twenty minutes went by in a blur. One moment Aeon was curled up into himself on an uncomfortable seat—the next, Aeon was curled up on an uncomfortable hotel couch as he stared at the wall, tears slowly trailing down his face.

Aeon had fully unglamoured, his tail wrapped tightly around his ankle as his claws dragged along the discolored part of his face around his right eye. Waves and waves of distress rolled off of him as he whimpered every now and then.

They all hate you. You’re just a replacement for someone they all loved. A penny in the crater sized hole in their hearts where the prior quintessence ghoul was.

The better quintessence ghoul.

Aeon sobbed, closing his eyes and burying his face into the hoodie he had stolen from his favorite multi-ghoul.

He wasn’t Swiss’ favorite, though.

Aeon whined and immediately tore off Swiss’ hoodie and sweatpants, chucking the clothes across the hotel room, leaving him in his boxers.

Aeon snuffled and laid back down, curling up into himself even tighter as to fight off the chill of the unreasonably cold hotel room.

He wanted Swiss. Dewdrop, even.

He wanted to be warm. He wanted to be loved. Appreciated by the creatures he had around him everyday. Aeon loved the crowd’s praise, but he wanted his pack now. Even just one of them would suffice.

He wanted to know that they saw how hard he was trying. He wanted to know that they appreciated him for stepping into shoes that were far too big and running the miles anyway.

He just wanted to be seen.

“Stardust..?”

Aeon picked up his head and looked over at the door to his hotel room, his ear twitching as he heard Swiss’ voice.

“Hey… Aeon, you awake? C’mon, your scent changed, I know you hear me..” Swiss said, knocking on the door again.

Aeon looked over at the digital clock that was across the room, taking a moment to remember everything Mountain taught him about reading a clock.

It had been two hours since they got to the hotel.

“Bug? Can you come to the door?” Swiss spoke again, regaining Aeon’s attention.

Aeon scrambled up, not wanting to annoy Swiss even more than he thought he had. Aeon snatched the duvet on his bed and struggled to get it off the mattress due to the unnecessarily tight tucking of the bedding.

As soon as Aeon managed to get the duvet off the bed, he fell to the floor with a yelp due to how suddenly the tension released. The little quint scrambled back up to his feet and wrapped the duvet around his mostly bare body, ignoring the pain in his hip from the fall.

Aeon opened the door and peaked through, his lilac eyes staring up into Swiss’. The multi-ghoul quickly moved closer when he saw Aeon wasn’t glamoured.

And to Aeon’s dismay, that allowed Swiss to see the tear streaks on his face.

“Stardust, what’s wrong?” Swiss frowned, gently cupping Aeon’s cheek with his big hand. Aeon snuffled, choking back a sob as he leaned into Swiss’ hand.

Swiss frowned and crowded Aeon back into his room, closing the hotel door and locking it before he brought Aeon over to his bed and sat him down, pulling the duvet around tighter around the smaller ghoul’s body when he felt how cold it was in the room.

“Talk to me, Tommy, what’s wrong?” Swiss spoke softly, his eyebrows creased with worry as he brushed his thumb over the little quint’s cheekbone. Aeon’s bloodshot eyes hesitantly looked into Swiss’ as he sniffled again, wiping the snot away from his face with his wrist.

It was gross, but Swiss was far too concerned about Aeon’s tears to even notice his actions.

“I… I feel like you don’t like me. Like-“ Aeon sobbed softly and covered his face. “Like you’ve all been lying to me and that you don’t want me here…”

Swiss’ heart shattered.

“Oh, bug…” Swiss whispered as he swept Aeon up into his arms. It was all he could say at the moment, his own devastation rushing through him.

Swiss didn’t know what he or the pack had done to make Aeon feel this way, but he would kick himself for eternity because of it.

“You will always, always be wanted, Stardust. I know that if the others were here, they’d be all over you telling you the exact same thing.” Swiss whispered, holding Aeon close to his chest as the smaller ghoul sobbed out all his sudden and overwhelming emotions.

Swiss let Aeon cry, not once shushing him or trying to get him to stop crying. He didn’t want Aeon to feel like he was being a burden, so Swiss let him cry until he felt better.

“Swiss…?” Aeon whispered after about 10 or so minutes, seemingly shy. Swiss hummed and looked down at Aeon, staring into his lilac eyes with as much love and affection that he could muster. “I… can you get my clothes..? I threw them over there…” Aeon mumbled, pointing across the room.

“Of course, babybat, one second,” Swiss said immediately, gently setting Aeon back on the mattress and pressing a kiss to his forehead before rushing over to where Aeon had pointed.

Swiss picked up the dark gray hoodie and sweatpants, his eyebrows furrowing when he recognized the feel of the fabric.

“Are these mine?” Swiss asked, wondering if they were his favorite set that he had lost. Aeon shrunk into himself and nodded as Swiss walked over. “I took them a few months ago.. I’m sorry..” Aeon apologized, looking sad.

“Don’t be sorry,” Swiss smiled, shaking his head as he gently guided Aeon to unwrap himself of the duvet. Swiss mumbled a quiet: “watch your horns…” as he slipped the hoodie over Aeon’s head, smiling when he saw just how adorable the smaller ghoul looked in his clothes.

“The gray matches your skin better anyway,” Swiss shrugged with a grin, ruffling Aeon’s shaggy black hair and helping him into the sweatpants. Aeon chirruped softly and leaned into Swiss’ touch, a quiet little purr starting up in his chest as Swiss swept him off his feet.

Aeon laughed happily, a grin on his face as Swiss laid him down, his head resting on the pillows. Swiss re-situated the bedding and laid down next to Aeon after flicking off all the lights, nuzzling Aeon’s nose as they settled into the bed together.

“Feeling better…?” Swiss asked softly, brushing his thumb over Aeon’s cheekbone, his eyes taking in Aeon’s appearance in the darkness. Aeon thought for a moment before nodding slightly, only to shake his head.

Swiss frowned, cupping Aeon’s jaw with his big hand.

“Talk to me?”

Aeon sighed a bit before starting to explain.

“You made me feel better than I did.. but I.. I guess I’m still thinking about the others. You can only promise so much, y’know?” Aeon mumbled, sounding sad. Swiss’ frown deepened but Aeon was right.

From the quint’s point of view, Swiss’ words about the others were just as good as the lies his brain was feeding him.

“Do you want me to talk to them? Have them talk to you?” Swiss asked, wanting Aeon to feel at home in the pack. “Can I… um.. can I try to talk to them first?” Aeon asked, sounding nervous.

Swiss’ heart swelled and he nodded immediately.

“Of course you can, Stardust. I’ll let you go about this however you please….” Swiss whispered, kissing Aeon’s forehead between his horns.

Aeon purred and leaned into the kiss, cuddling up closer to Swiss.

“Thank you, Swiss.”

“Anytime, Stardust.”

[allmyhomieshatelawns]

AND SOME MORE FOR THE HYPNO POP AU BECAUSE IT WON’T LEAVE ME ALONE EVEN THOUGH MY HANDS ARE SCREAMING IN PAIN BECAUSE THE WEATHER KEEPS SHIFTING LIKE A DICK.

anyway anyway, please enjoy another lil somethin i wrote for @djmurphy ‘s Hypno Pop AU!

“Because I’m happy, clap along if you feel like a room without a roof!” My throat stung with the words, volume rising higher with the lyrics of the song. “Dance along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do!”

Cruel irony that. I certainly didn’t want to, but that isn’t what mattered. The village needed to be happy, we were celebrating nearly twenty years of freedom from the bergens. This was a happy time!!

I continued dancing on the main stage, singing with the rasp that had developed in my voice some years ago. King Peppy said it made me sound more mature and that I should like it. And I do! I love how it sounds nothing like the angelic voice that got—

Don’t falter! I snapped back to attention just in time for the knee slide, grinning despite the harsh impact.

The entire village went wild, several in the crowd fainting, and even more screaming for an encore.

I felt tired, like my bones were crumbling away inside of me, but my smile didn’t falter.

“You guys want more? Alright! This one I’ve been working on for a while now!” My lips and throat moved on their own; I wouldn’t be getting any rest anytime soon. Might as well retreat.

Everything was on autopilot, but thankfully the screaming fans didn’t seem to notice or care. They just wanted more. They always want more. It was so wonderful that they loved my music. I loved making them all so happy!!

“Wow, Branch! I can’t believe you did three encores! Where do you get the energy? I would’ve had to stop after the first one!” Princess Poppy was at my side, practically dragging me off the stage.

I was allowed to sag into her side for a moment, it was close enough to Hug Time, it was fine. But all too soon my strings pulled me away, smiling.

“I can’t say no to my adoring fans!” I grinned, the right side of my mouth gave a violent twitch, cramping from the nonstop use. I turned away so hopefully Princess Poppy wouldn’t notice. She can’t think I’m weird, I’m normal, I’m supposed to be normal!

“Branch?” Princess Poppy’s voice was laced with concern, her hand grabbing my shoulder and spinning me around.

I tried to maintain my grin, feeling the corners twitch uncomfortably against the frames of my glasses. I tugged on my blue puffy vest, nerves trying to rise from my belly but thankfully, as always, halted in their tracks.

“What’s up, Princess Poppy?” I asked, my hands now hanging limp at my side since they weren’t allowed to do anything else.

She made a face at her title like she always did, but her hand tightened on my shoulder. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything is perfect! Why wouldn’t it be?” My mouth said, the words a little too chirpy. “The fans love me, and your celebration is going even better than projected!” That should throw her off, get her talking about the party. Everyone is happy.

It worked like a charm. Princess Poppy beamed at me like I had given her, her favorite dessert.

“Thank you, Branch! This party wouldn’t have been half as successful without you here though! You make every party more fun.” She then began prattling on about the different streamer and glitter bombs she had used this time as opposed to last year. She was so dedicated to keeping the village happy! We were so lucky to have her and King Peppy!

I relaxed, as much as I could, and smiled along. Thankfully it didn’t have to be a big smile, I could soften things for the princess.

Soon enough we were in the area considered backstage, and I expected her to peel off and go back to her friends, but instead, she pulled me into a more private dressing room area. My skin prickled at the privacy. That meant bad things. That meant I wasn’t happy enough.

“Branch, I need you to be real with me here. You’ve been acting kind of… off lately. Are you sure you’re okay?” Princess Poppy looked apologetic as she said it, but I felt the immediate effect.

A scream of pop music resounded in my ears, so loud I thought they would start bleeding. The pounding in my head got worse, like a bergen bashing my head against a tree. Even my muscles started to scream, wanting to cramp and twitch as they were forcibly pulled. I wanted to scream and cry and curl up under the bed in my pod, but I stood there beaming.

“Princess Poppy, I assure you, I’m perfectly fine. Just a little tired from the party tonight. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be just fine.” The words were straight from the string and they hurt, like they were being ripped from me. My voice even went raspier, like there was another voice speaking under mine, but I wasn’t sure if that was from the singing or not. It had been a long time since I had to have the string speak through me. I’m supposed to be better than this. Get it together, Branch. You’re perfectly happy!

Princess Poppy took a step back, a frown pulling down her lips.

No! No! I can fix this please—

“Is everything alright, Poppy? I saw you follow Branch back here.” King Peppy’s voice sent shivers across my body, locking up my joints. King Peppy is here! Oh good he’ll make everything better, like always!!

“Oh! Hey Dad, I was just congratulating Branch on his performance!” Princess Poppy lied to the king! Her face didn’t show any hint of dishonesty though, and I didn’t feel compelled to correct her, that would be rude, so I just nodded along, my smile back to the tight beam that had been on display for everyone tonight. I had worked super hard on it to make it perfect.

He looked between the two of us like he wasn’t sure it was the truth, but merely motioned me forward. I went without hesitation of course, my body still rigid and stiff despite the bounce in my step. I stopped in front of King Peppy, smiling up at him.

“Run along now, my darling. I wanted to talk with Branch about something, you know, guy talk.” King Peppy winked over my head at the princess, causing her to gag and laugh.

“Ew Dad, okay. Alright, Branch, it was awesome talking to you!” She hesitated a moment before giving me a hug, squeezing tighter than normal, like she was afraid of something.

I watched her walk away, my pink-tinted vision clouding her shape the further she got. Like I was drowning alone in suffocating pink mist.

King Peppy’s hand landed on my shoulder heavily, and he sighed like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. “I worry about her. I only hope that when it’s her time, she will continue to make the right choices, as I have. Now, come along, Branch. I’ll top you off.”

“Thank you, King Peppy!” I chirped, melting as the string was plucked, and I could just dive back into the haze of my mind. We were having to do this more frequently. It used to be, I could go for a week without having the string played for me, but that time was shortening. I didn’t want to think about what would happen to me should the string stop working altogether. That wasn’t a happy thought, and only happy thoughts were allowed!

[dangerousstrawberryshark]

Redemption

Pairing(s): Reggie Mantle x male reader

Summary: You and Reggie don’t have a good background. The former always harasses and bullies you. When you were told you had to tutor the football player, you denied the offer, but after being threatened with failing grades, you complied. Reggie takes the opportunity to show you he has changed. 

Warnings: there are no major warnings, mention of homophobia, and flashbacks of bullying

(Hello, my little strawberries! I’m sorry for not posting any actual fics for a long time, but I’m gonna start working on them! Hopefully, by May, I’ll have completed over 30 requests! Anyways, enjoy!

You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. 

“I was wondering if you would be a tutor to Mr. Mantle. His grades are slipping, which may cause him to be kicked off the football team.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but I’ll have to decline,” you replied.

There was no way that you'd tutor that son of the devil. 

He tormented you since elementary school. It got worse in middle school when news of you being gay got exposed. 

However, ever since you both made it into high school, the bullying sort of stopped. 

Of course, there were some incidents but nothing too severe. 

“I’m sorry to say this, but if you don’t comply, I’ll have to drop your grade to Mr. Mantle’s. You rank in the top 10% and that’ll drop you down significantly."

You were shocked and angry. Shocked because of what he said and angry by the way he threatened to fail you. 

Not wanting to fail, you had to comply. 

“Fine, I’ll tutor Reggie…” you said, eye twitching, and an angry sigh. 

“Great! I hope to see progress from Mr. Mantle. You may leave.” the teacher said, gesturing to the door. 

You nodded and left. 

After getting home, you ran to your room and began to throw things, ripping pages out of some book and destroying your bed. 

Letting out a sigh, you collapsed onto your bed. Staring at the ceiling, debating on what you should do. 

“Should I text him?” you thought, looking at your phone with the screen on Reggie’s Instagram account. 

“I should just go to him…” 

You didn’t live that far from him

It’ll only take fifteen minutes. After debating, you decided to just go to him. 

Putting presentable clothes on, you made your way to Reggie’s place. 

After the walk, you were at Reggie’s door. You were mentally battling whether you should retreat or ring the bell.

Ring the bell side won. The doorbell rang, and you could hear someone coming to open the door. 

Reggie was the one that answered. 

“M/n? What are you doing here?” Reggie asked.

You rolled your eyes at him. “I’m only here to inform you… I’m gonna be your new tutor. Before you ask, you have no say. You’ll get kicked off the team…” you explained to the jock at the door.

Reggie nodded in acknowledgment. After some time, you leave Reggie’s property. You, for some reason, feel Reggie’s gaze. 

Everyone thought that Reggie was straight. However, ever since the first year, he started to develop feelings. 

He didn’t know where these feelings came from, but he didn’t care. 

During these tutoring sessions, he could make amends with you. 

(Time skip to you tutoring Reggie. Like one week.)

While you were tutoring Reggie, he tried talking to you. Trying to get to know you.

You did tell him some things, but you kept your guard around him. 

He’ll probably use that information to spread rumors.

Reggie mentally frowned, but he was determined to convince you that he changed. 

Throughout the time you were tutoring Reggie, he began to get buddy-buddy with you. 

During tutoring sessions, he would compliment you on how you dressed, your looks, and your shoes. You didn’t take these compliments seriously. 

“You look really nice today, M/n! Liked the way you did your hair.” Reggie said, putting his stuff down and pulling out his books. 

“Thanks…?” you said, not taking what Reggie said seriously. 

Reggie sighs in defeat. Maybe he’ll try harder.

The next few days, Reggie began to meet you after school, giving you your favorite snacks and candies.

He even invited you to come to Pops with him. Bought you stuff that you liked and he even stopped the rest of his gang from harassing you.  

You began to take note of Reggie’s strange behavior. 

“I think he likes you, M/n.” one of your friends commented while licking the popsicle in their hand. 

“No, he doesn’t! He is just messing with me! Trying to get my guard down.” you replied. 

“First stage of denial. M/n, look at everything Reggie is doing. He is giving snacks, and candy took you out to pops, and even got his friends to stop harassing you. He likes you, you’re just in denial.” 

You began to think about what they said. 

Reggie's behavior and actions were clear, he liked- LOVE you.

However, you deny all of this. 

You think it’s one-sided. You weren’t going to fall for this. It was most likely another one of his sick games. 

To avoid this situation, you decided to distance yourself from him. You figured that Reggie no longer needs tutoring since his grade improved.

(Timeskip.)

During the week, you avoided Reggie like the plague. No longer going to his place for tutoring, avoiding places he knows you go and ghosting him on social media. 

Reggie immediately knew what was happening, he had to go in for it.

He wasn’t going to lose you. 

You could hear continuous banging on the door. Automatically knowing who it was. Getting the courage, you went and opened the door to be met with a frantic Reggie. 

“What do you want, Reggie?” you said, tapping your foot against the hardwood floor. 

“I just want to talk to you about something.” you raised your eyebrows. Reggie nervously smiled while scratching his head. You nodded your head, gesturing for him to continue. 

“I… I… I love you.” Reggie stuttered before confessing. “I know I’m in no position to say this after everything I did to you. All the harassment and physical bullying, but since freshman year, I began to develop feelings for you. It only accelerated more when you started tutoring me.”

To say you were lost for words was an understatement. Your mind was in panicking mode like in those cartoons that show what’s going on inside the character’s head. 

“So, would you like to go on a date with me?” Reggie said quietly, but you heard him crystal clear. 

“I won’t say yes… but I won’t say no either. Give me time to process,” you replied, Reggie sigh in relief. At least he wasn’t rejected. 

“Okay…” Reggie then walked away while you closed the door. 

After Reggie’s love confession, you didn't know how to respond. 

Yes, Reggie was horrible and mean to you, but he stopped doing that at the beginning of high school. Maybe he truly changed. 

You decided. 

Reggie was laying down on his bed when he suddenly received a text message. It was from m/n.

“I would like to go on a date with you.”

THE END

A/N: I’m trying to finish all my requests! So, please bare with me at the time of posting. Goodbye, my 🍓little strawberries🍓!

[bluejaysandblackbats]

In The Soup

Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam, Superfam

Summary: Jason Lives AU where he and Superboy become friends, despite Bruce's disapproval of Superboy. (ft. Jason's service dog, Gromit)

Chapters: 11/?

Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Barbara Gordon, Conner Kent, Roxy Leech, Rex Leech

Relationships: TBA

Additional Tag: Jason Todd Lives, Jason Todd Has Chronic Pain, Jason Todd Has PTSD, Conner Kent is Superboy, Good Friend Jason Todd, Protective Jason Todd, Overprotective Bruce Wayne, Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Disabled Characters, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne Get Along, Good Parent Bruce Wayne, Developing Friendships, Sneaking Around, Disguise, Fluff and Humor, Secret Messages, Hiding in Plain Sight

Chapter Eleven: Second Burger

Jason ate his sandwich, frowning as he thought about what he’d say to Conner. “Hey? Conner?” Jason whispered. 

Conner smiled as he ate his sandwich. “What’s up?” Conner questioned. 

“Do you know why your powers don’t put off Barbara and me?” Jason asked. Conner opened a bag of chips and stared at Jason, studying his expression as he searched for an answer. 

“I figured Gotham was weird like that… Why? Are you telling me that you wanted—?”

“I don’t want anything… That’s not it. I was a bit of a vigilante before my accident,” Jason confessed, “But now—. Now, I’m—.” 

“Jason, why are you telling me this? It’s not like it changes anything,” Conner smiled, “We’re still friends… Aren’t we?” 

Jason grinned. “Yeah. Are you sure you’re not mad?” Jason asked. Conner nodded. 

“But tell me one thing… Clarke with an ‘e’? That was on purpose. Wasn’t it?” Conner asked. Jason chuckled, nodding as he finished his lunch. Conner stared at Jason for a while before he started laughing. “And who is Barbara?” 

“A friend of the family… She used to date my brother. That’s all,” Jason lied. 

“None of my business,” Conner replied, “Jason, can you tell me something?” 

“Sure,” Jason answered.

“Your accident wasn’t an accident, was it?” Conner questioned. Jason shook his head. “I’m glad you lived. And I’m glad we met.” 

“If we didn’t, you’d probably have a girlfriend or a big friend group by now—.” 

“Funny of you to think you’re the one keeping me from having a girlfriend. I can do that all by myself,” Conner half-joked, “Speaking of girlfriends… Why don’t you have one?” 

“I go to a private school where everyone thinks I’m a freak. I might’ve had a shot if I went to a school with kids who are used to seeing real people. A lot of people in this part of Gotham tend to live in a bubble,” Jason replied, “But I don’t mind. Not everyone here thinks like that, but it’s hard to sift through all the ones that do. I don't have the time or desire to dig for the o” Jason took his glasses off and cleaned them before glancing down at Gromit, who lay patiently at his side. “Gromit, how are we doing?” Jason asked after he finished eating. He scratched behind Gromit’s ears. “I love you, sweet boy.” 

**

Conner dozed off during history, and Jason nudged him. When Conner looked beside himself, Jason was half asleep, too. He sipped water to stay awake. “Do you have notes—?” Jason nodded at him. 

The lights came on and the class winced. “Now that I know you’re all awake—.” Jason raised a bathroom pass up. “Yes.” 

“What’s that?” Conner asked. 

“I’ll be right back. Make sure the lecture keeps recording,” Jason whispered. Conner sat up straight, watching as Jason left with Gromit. 

He took notes while he waited for Jason to return. Several minutes passed before Jason returned, holding onto Gromit’s handle for support. Conner turned toward Jason. “Are you alright?” Conner asked. 

“I thought I was gonna throw up… I’m fine now, though,” Jason whispered. Conner could look at Jason and tell he was lying. His face carried a thin sheen of sweat, and he looked pale… Almost green. He had a wet stain on his shirt, and he smelled funny. Conner nodded, trying to give Jason the benefit of the doubt. The class came to an end soon after, and Jason almost made it to the parking lot before Gromit alerted him with two barks. Jason stopped and threw up in the bushes. 

“What do two barks mean?” Conner asked. “Jason?” 

No answer. He tried to run toward the street, and Conner grabbed him. Conner turned to Gromit while he held onto Jason’s backpack and started digging through the small bag on Gromit’s back. “Two barks for a seizure?” Conner questioned. Jason waved his hands in front of his face. Conner pulled another sheet out of Gromit’s pack and pulled Jason down to a seated position while he read Jason’s seizure action plan sheet. “Hey… Shhh…” 

Gromit pulled Conner in by his pants leg. “Okay. Okay, give me his phone. I’ll call Barbara,” Conner replied. He took Jason’s phone from his jacket pocket and called Barbara. 

“Jason? Do you need me to come and get you?” Barbara asked. 

“Yeah, I think he does. Gromit barked twice, and Jason’s—.” 

“I’m on my way right now,” Barbara replied. 

**

Conner sat on the ground while Jason slept on Conner’s leg. Jason was so exhausted that he couldn’t talk afterward, and he was distraught and confused. Barbara pulled up after the other kids started to clear out, and Conner carried him to the car. “Has this ever happened before?” Conner asked as he buckled Jason in. 

“It doesn’t happen a lot… How was he after?” Barbara asked. 

“Tired. He couldn’t talk… So, he just sat down with me and went to sleep,” Conner whispered. Gromit rested his head on Jason’s lap. “Is he gonna be okay?” 

“He’s okay. Let him get some sleep. He’ll be fine,” Barbara replied, “How was your first day as a normal kid?” 

“It was a snooze, but I could get used to it. Listen, I have to do something after you drop him off, but I’ll be back after. Can you tell him I’ll be back to do homework?” Conner asked. Barbara made a soft noise. 

**

“What’s with you lately? You used to be all about this hero stuff,” Rex complained. 

“I’ve got homework,” Conner replied, “If anything needs saving, I will be there… But I’ve got school tomorrow, and I’m doing my best to keep the government off your back about the child labor stuff.” 

Rex paused. “Okay… You’ve got a point there,” Rex whispered, “Do you think your friend might be interested in coming here after school sometimes?” 

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Conner replied. “I’ll ask him, though. See you later, Rex.”

“Bye, Kid,” Roxy waved as she looked up from painting her toes on the coffee table. 

“Catch you later, Roxy,” Conner replied in a sing-song voice, waggling his head playfully as he wiggled his fingers. 

He flew to the Clocktower to meet up with Jason, and Barbara let him in. Jason sat on the floor, eating what looked like his second burger. “Saved something for me?” Conner asked. Jason held up the bag, still eating as Conner took the bag and joined him. “ Can you breathe? ” 

Jason grunted in reply before taking a sip of his milkshake. “Starving… Thanks for calling Barbara and not 9-1-1,” Jason panted before taking another bite out of his burger. The pickles fell from his sandwich, and Jason scooped them up between his knuckles.

Conner started on his burger. “Are you always this hungry after?” Conner asked. 

“Mhm… Nobody tells me anything, so—.” Jason finished the last bite and started on his fries. “I don’t know how bad it is. Focal something-whatever. I’d be able to tell you if I could form a thought.” Jason laughed. 

“You just puked and tried to run into traffic… Then you started waving your hands in front of your face,” Conner replied. 

“Oh, well… Okay,” Jason replied, “Does it look crazy?”

“Not really. It just looked like you were really upset,” Conner answered, “ Can I bum a fry? ” 

Jason stuck his tongue out at Conner before taking another sip of his milkshake. “I’m about to start on yours if you don’t take a sip,” Jason replied. Conner chuckled before realizing Jason was serious. He gave Jason his milkshake. “Thanks. You can order another one off my phone.” Conner shook his head. 

“I’m good. Do you want me to stay the night?” Conner asked. 

Jason shook his head. “It’s a school night, and I don’t know if I’ll be at school tomorrow. No reason for you to miss class, though,” Jason replied.

[neon-vocalist]

hey guys! chapter 6 is out already!

7 and 8 are quite short, so i should have those done quickly as well. we're almost to the end! here's the doc, here's the video... good luck everybody! we're really in it now...

[Scene: Kamikou hallway]

Female voice, over the intercom: Thank you for coming today. The Kamiyama High School Cultural Festival has now concluded.

Ena, no longer wearing AUTHENTIC IKAYAKI: Phew… I finally got changed…

Mizuki: That T-shirt suits you so well, though… What a shame~

Ena: That’s not funny at all.   {Note: Could also be “I am not happy about that at all.”} Mizuki smiles.

Mizuki: (...So far, everything is going smoothly.)

Kanade: So… it’s time for us to go home now. Thank you for today. I had a lot of fun.

Mafuyu: See you on Nightcord.

Mizuki: Okay! Thanks for coming! …Also… hey. Can we meet and talk sometime? I… want to tell you two about something.

Kanade: Hm..? I’m fine with that…

Mafuyu: …Me too.

Mizuki: …Great to hear. I’ll text you about it soon, then.

Kanade: Yeah… got it.

Mizuki: Thanks! …See you later, then! Mizuki smiles and waves as Kanade and Mafuyu leave the building. Mizuki: (...The after-festival is happening soon… Others will head to the courtyard, so… if we’re going to talk, let’s do it there… …No. It has to be at that place…)

Mizuki’s “Rooftop friendship” card flashes onscreen. The card shows them smiling, happily surrounded by friends like Rui, Touya, An, and Tsukasa, on the Kamikou rooftop.  (That place where I felt so connected to everyone…)

Ena’s “Hermit Searcher” card flashes onscreen, showing Ena staring with her mouth and eyes wide open at camera. (Where… Ena said she would be waiting…)

Mizuki: …Ena.

Ena: Yeah?

Mizuki: …Why don’t we go to the rooftop? What I couldn’t tell you… I want to talk about it.

Ena looks at Mizuki for a moment. Ena: …Okay. Let’s go.

Footsteps as Ena and Mizuki head down the hallway.

…

Footsteps. Ena and Mizuki are still in the hall. Mizuki begins to breathe hard, and a heart pounding sound effect pulses in the background.

Mizuki: (...My heart is hurting. I feel like throwing up… But… I… I won’t run away anymore…!)

Ena: Ah… When it’s the after-festival, it becomes really empty, huh?

Mizuki: Uh… Yeah… Everyone goes to the courtyard, so the school building empties out…

Ena: Uh-huh… I’m not into the after-festival, but this quiet energy isn’t so bad. It was so lively just a moment ago… and now there’s no one. This energy could become a good painting.

Mizuki: …Indeed. It’ll be interesting if you draw it.

Ena: I know, right? It could be good for an MV too, though that would only work if we have a suitable song.

Mizuki: …School concept, huh?

Ena: It would be an MV unlike anything we’ve made before, right? Starting with the school empty after the festival, leaving you wondering what’s going to happen… something like that… then the song starts to play… and it develops somehow from that!

Mizuki: Somehow..? Don’t you think that’s too vague?

Ena: Come on, it’s not so bad for now, right? We can come up with the details later, like we always do.

Sentimental piano music begins to play as Mizuki looks at Ena. Mizuki: (...Ena is so nice. Like she’s telling me that it’s okay and I don’t have to be nervous… She’s trying to make it natural…. I’m so happy. It makes me feel so warm… That’s why… it’s scary.)

Mizuki: …So, when we make that MV, I’d like to put your class’ T-shirt in~

Ena: What? I don’t even want to remember that tacky, stinky T-shirt.

Mizuki: You say that, but you won’t be able to throw it away, will you? You’ll keep it~

Ena: I’ll throw it away right after I get home!

Mizuki: Yeah, yeah. I’ll leave it to you, we’ll see.

Mizuki sighs. Mizuki: (...I’ll be fine.)

Flashback to Kanade, Ena, and Mafuyu, all smiling at Mizuki in the diner.

Mizuki: (I’ll definitely tell her properly, then…)

Unknown female voice, offscreen: Ah!! Akiyama-san!!

Mizuki: Eh?

Fast footsteps.

Mizuki: Ah, you’re in my class… What's wrong? You look hurried!

Classmate: Well! One of the partitions in the classroom just suddenly collapsed, and someone got injured!

Mizuki: Eh?!

Classmate: But when I went to the infirmary, the nurse wasn’t there… Akiyama-san, could you help me find her..?!

Mizuki: Ah…

Ena looks in concern at Mizuki.

Mizuki: …I’m sorry, Ena… Can you go to the rooftop first? I’ll catch up soon.

Ena: S-sure… but don’t you need me to help?

Mizuki: You don’t have to. It’s my class’ fault, anyway, and you don’t know the dayschool nurse either, do you?

Ena: …Got it. Then, I’ll be waiting up there.

Mizuki: Okay! I’ll be there soon!

Classmate: Sorry, Akiyama-san… and thank you!

Mizuki: It’s nothing. Let’s go, then!

Footsteps as Mizuki and their classmate run away. Ena watches them go with a soft smile. Ena: What can I say… That’s so typical of Mizuki, huh?

[Scene: Kamikou rooftop]

Sound effect as if a door is closing.

Ena: Woah… The sunset is amazing. Come to think of it, it was like this when I last came here, wasn’t it…? Ena remembers Mizuki in the hallway, looking anxious and sad. Ena: (...Mizuki has been tense all day. I have no idea what they’re going to tell me, but… I’m happy that… they decided to confide in me. I want to take them seriously.)

Footsteps.

Ena: Ah, Mizuki—

Unknown voice 1: …Ah! There’s nobody here, right?

Unknown voice 2: Lucky! I’m sick of the after-festival. Let’s just stay here and skip it.

Ena cocks her head in confusion at the voices. Fade to black.

[amandayoungsclit]

Amanda Young x afab reader

18+ minors dni

Warnings // explicit content & smut

Word count: 1,938

Summary: You meet Amanda Young at a party and it just goes from there.

A/n - Hey guys, this is my first time posting this kind of stuff on here. I hope you enjoy!

People trickle in and by the time it's eleven thirty at least fifty people are at the party. Almost everyone in the house are drunk, high, or both, but you decide to stay sober.

As your friends are taking shots around you, you notice a girl with long brown hair and about your height walk past the kitchen with a guy who has shorter brown hair. You stare at her for a little bit until your friends want you to take a couple Polaroids with them.

You tape the developed film onto the fridge and you hear your friend Cecilia exclaim someone's name.

"Adam!!" Cecilia says and hugs Adam tightly, "Do you want to take a shot?"

"Yeah! I missed you," Adam says while pulling back from the hug. "Oh, this is my roommate Amanda."

"Hi Amanda!" Cecilia says, "want a shot?"

"Hah yeah," Amanda says and Cecilia pours a shot for Amanda, Adam, and your two other friends. They toast and tap their cups on the counter.

You look at Amanda to get a good look at her face, and it doesn't register that she's staring at you back until she puts the cup down and licks her lips. You look away quickly because you feel weird now.

"Let's go dance!!" Cecilia says and you all walk to the dance floor.

The party lasts for a couple more hours with a few more people still talking to one another. You look around at your friends and they're all talking to someone so you turn to go upstairs and you see Amanda standing by the stairs.

"Hey," Amanda says. Her arms are crossed and she's leaning against the wall of the stairs.

"Hi," you say, "you're Amanda?"

"Yeah, and your name?" Amanda says as she holds her hand out.

"My name is y/n," you say as you shake her hand.

"Pretty name for a pretty girl," Amanda smiles and you smile back at her and you blush, but she can't see it because the lights are dim.

"Thank you," you say shyly.

You and Amanda talk for thirty more minutes until Adam drunkenly stumbles into Amanda asking if they could go back to the apartment.

“I guess we’d better go,” Amanda says while an arm is wrapped around Adam holding him up.

“I’ll walk you guys out,” you say. You unlock the door and help Amanda support Adam as you guys walk to her car. “Are you okay to drive?”

“Oh, yeah I’m fine,” Amanda throws her hand out, “I had one shot like two hours ago.”

You and Amanda put Adam in the car and you both walk to the drivers side.

“So I guess I’ll see you around?” Amanda says and you half-smile at her.

“Unfortunately I don’t live here,” you say.

“Could I get your number?” Amanda asks and you hand her your phone and she adds her contact in there. She gives you your phone back with a flirty grin on her face.

“I’ll see you when I see you,” Amanda says above a whisper and kisses your cheek lightly. She gets in the car and you can barely process what happened. You smile at each other, and she takes off. You stand outside for a minute more touching your cheek where she just kissed you.

***

The next day, you and Amanda were texting all day and you two decided to have a date at her apartment since you were leaving in the morning and didn’t know when you’d be back. Amanda picks you up from your friends house and it only takes a few minutes to get to her apartment. She opens the door and throws her keys on the table in the walkway.

“Is Adam here?” you ask while taking your shoes off.

“Nope, he’s at the university doing a lab,” Amanda says as she kicks her shoes off. “I’ll get started on making dinner.”

Amanda leads you into the kitchen and she pours a glass of wine for both of you and gets the ingredients out of the fridge.

“I was thinking of watching a movie while we eat dinner,” Amanda says as she’s chopping the vegetables. “Do you want to find something to watch?”

“Yeah, any particular genre in mind?” you ask while turning on the TV.

“Anything is fine. I want to watch something you really like,” you look back at Amanda and she’s looking back at you with a soft smile.

You click through the movies on Netflix until your eyes land on Titanic and your chest swells up with joy.

“I’m choosing Titanic,” you say and Amanda laughs in response,“What is it with lesbians being obsessed with that ship?”

“I don’t think it’s the ship, I think it’s Kate Winslet,” you say and you sip on your wine at the island.

“I bet you know every fact about the Titanic,” Amanda says teasingly. “Is it true that the Titanic was secretly switched with another ship?”

You groan and roll your eyes at what she says and she laughs at you. “No it wasn’t.”

You and Amanda talk as she makes dinner. When she’s almost finished you set up the place you’re going to sit. You put the pillows from the couch on the floor in front of the couch and you pull the coffee table closer. Amanda puts the plates down on the coffee table while you grab the wine and glasses. You both sit on the pillows and start to eat your food while watching Titanic.

“Do you mind if we skip the first thirty minutes? All they do is explore the sunken ship and I just want to see Rose,” you say and Amanda laughs.

“Yes, you can.”

You pause Titanic and you help Amanda wash the dishes. You both clean up the kitchen until it’s spotless.

“Where’s the restroom?” you ask and Amanda points to a door down the hall. You use the restroom and do some cleaning up and you walk out. You notice a room next to the bathroom and it’s obviously Amanda’s room because of the darker atmosphere.

“Is that your room by the bathroom?” you ask as you walk back into the kitchen.

“Yeah, do you wanna go see it?” she asks and you nod. Your mind goes a million miles a minute when she grabs your wrist and leads you to her room.

She gives you a room tour and you both keep talking while on your stomachs and holding yourselves up by your arms. You don’t miss the way Amanda’s eyes flick down to your lips every few minutes. A comfortable silence takes over and the tension in the room is starting to become unbearable.

“Can I kiss you?” Amanda asks, her voice barely above a whisper. You nod and she puts her hand behind your neck and brings you to her lips. The kiss is chaste, but you quickly deepen it and you can feel her tongue prodding at your lips. She slips her tongue inside your mouth and you lightly moan.

You’re on your back and she straddles your waist and your fingernails drag slightly up her back and back down. She breaks the kiss and starts kissing down your neck. She licks and slightly sucks on your neck making you moan a little louder.

“Amanda,” you moan, and you feel her hands go under your shirt and her fingernails lightly dragging over your stomach. You sit up and take off your shirt and Amanda starts kissing your collarbone and down to your chest.

“Can I take this off?” she points at your bra and you nod. She reaches behind you and unhooks your bra strap and throws it off to the side. Her mouth immediately goes to your nipple as her other hand palms your other breast and she rolls your nipple with her fingers. You lay back down on the bed as she plays with your breasts and your hands go beneath her shirt and your fingernails drag over her hips. She sits up and takes her own shirt off and to your surprise she’s not wearing a bra.

You reach up and grab her left breast and she moans and grinds her hips onto yours. She leans back down and kisses you deeply as you’re still palming her breast and rolling her nipple in between your fingers.

“I need you,” you whisper in Amanda’s ear and you feel her smile against your neck.

“Someone’s impatient,” she says and her hand goes down and teases the edge of your pants. You buck your hips making her hand go more into your pants and she sits up and takes your pants and underwear off in one motion.

“Fuck,” she whispers as she slides her fingers teasingly through your folds. She leans down and kisses your neck some more and teases your clit by lightly rubbing it in circles.

“Can I?” Amanda whispers into your ear and kisses the skin under it.

“Fuck me Amanda,” you say and she slides one finger in your pussy and you moan loudly. Amanda let’s you adjust and starts to move faster while rubbing your clit with her thumb.

“More please,” you moan and she adds another finger. Your hips roll up to meet the thrusts of her fingers and Amanda picks up the pace a little bit.

“You’re so hot,” Amanda pants against your ear and you moan louder and you feel the swirl in your belly and your muscles start to tense.

You wrap your arm around Amanda’s waist and put your other hand in her hair and pull her closer to you. Your release hits you and you cry out. Amanda helps you ride out your orgasm by stimulating you until you go limp.

“Fuck,” you pant and Amanda slowly pulls out her fingers and brings them to her mouth to taste you. She stares at you while she does it and you grab the back of her neck and you kiss her deeply. You slip your tongue into her mouth tasting yourself and she moans.

“I want to taste you,” you say breathlessly as you break the kiss. You get on top of her and she unbuttons her pants and you slide them off. You swirl your tongue around one of her nipples and then you kiss down her belly and get to the edge of her underwear.

“Take it off,” Amanda says and you pull down her black lacy underwear. You slide back up Amanda’s body and you kiss up her neck until you get to her ear.

“I want you to sit on my face,” you whisper.

“Okay,” Amanda whispers back and you lay down and she straddles your waist. You pull her up to your face by grabbing her butt and she sits. You lick from her entrance to her clit and you feel her thighs tense around your head and she moans. You moan back in response and you suck her clit into your mouth and she moans louder and starts grinding on your face.

You tighten your arms around her thighs as she moves more and you slip a finger into her pussy. You can feel her thighs shake around your head and she grinds her hips jaggedly and she cries out. She rides out her orgasm and flops down beside you trying to catch her breath. You lick your lips and she looks over at you and starts smiling. You smile back and she scoots closer and puts her arms around you and kisses your temple.

“Let’s go pee,” you say and lead her to the bathroom.

[dearamleo]

New Fic: Mischief Managed: Marauders’ Mansion Mayhem

This is absolutely not what I was intending to write when I started this fic. This got away from me in about three paragraphs flat and turned into the most absurd thing I've ever written. I don't even know- enjoy, I guess?

It was entirely James’s fault.

Ever since Lily had installed that blasted television in their house for Harry, James had been practically glued to the screen. He watched everything from the Saturday morning infomercials, to the muggle sports games, the monotone documentaries about fish and polar bears, and, of course, the cartoons .

Which is exactly how Sirius, Remus, Peter, James and Lily all ended up crammed into Pete’s mom’s old Chevy Astro barreling towards some unnamed, unspecified ‘haunted’ location where James was determined they were all about to live out his ultimate Mystery Gang fantasy.

“I don’t even understand why we’re doing this,” Sirius complained for the hundredth time as he wildly missed Peter’s mouth with the M&M he was throwing. “We lived with ghosts for seven fucking years! And we’ve got a literal werewolf in our backseat!”

“Hm?” Remus hummed, only now looking up from the book he had been reading for the last 45 minutes.

“C’mon, Padfoot! Where’s your sense of adventure! Your sense of wanderlust! Your sense of mischief and-”

“Oh, please, James, not again,” Lily groaned, trying to uncrinkle the map that was too big to actually open inside the van. “I can’t hear this speech again, you’ve already got us in the car!”

“You do realize that most of the muggle so-called haunted places are just old, rundown buildings with creaky floors and drafty windows, right,” Remus said. “The Ministry wouldn’t actually let magical beings roam free to break the statute of secrecy.”

“Details, Moony, details. We’ll find something spooky, I promise! There’s gotta be some crusty old hack that just needs us to unmask them and stop their plot of eeeeeevil .”

Peter, who had been nervously scribbling away at his Sudoku book, finally spoke up. “I hope Remus is right. This whole idea gives me the creeps.”

“Shocker, there,” Sirius teased.

“You know I’ve been scarred ever since that one time the Bloody Baron came floating through the showers! You go through that and try not to have nightmares about it!”

“Everyone will be fine and we will have a great time and solve our mystery and have fun , understood,” James said, taking on that slightly disappointed dad tone he somehow seemed to have developed the moment Harry popped out.

“Ugh. Yes, dad,” they all chorused together.

“Which means no wands.”

“What,” Sirius squawked.

James turned to face Sirius as much as he could while driving 70 on the highway, Lily leaning over quickly to help steady the wheel. “No wands, Sirius. We’re going in just like muggles- like Scooby and the gang. We’re going to rely on our wits and courage, not magic .

“You’re determined to kill me, I swear to god, Prongs.” James simply continued to give him the stern dad face. Sirius threw up his hands. “Fine, but if we end up leaving your son a lonely orphan because we’ve all gone and gotten ourselves killed by some creepy perv living in a drafty, creaky muggle mansion, I’m solely blaming you.”

“Is it ever tiring being so dramatic,” Lily laughed.

“Here, Pads,” Remus murmured, holding out a lightly smoking joint to him.

Lily turned around from the front again. “Seriously, Remus? Already?”

“Hey, do you want a happy Padfoot or a pouty Padfoot?”

The entire gang turned to look at Sirius who was already inadvertently pouting at the mere implication that he could be pouting.

“ Happy ,” they all said collectively.

“Go to hell, the lot of you,” he grumbled, but smiled softly at Remus. “Thanks, Moons.”

“‘Course, baby.” Leaning over, Remus took Sirius by the chin, letting him breathe in the smoke that he was exhaling into Sirius’s open mouth. The soft groan he let out was muffled by Remus’s lips as the pair quickly devolved into making out in the back seat.

“Oi,” Pete shouted. “You two! No fornicating in the van! Not again!”

Sirius rolled his eyes, dragging his lips away from Remus’s “I thought you didn’t want a pouting Padfoot, Wormy? Cockblocking me is a sure fire way to achieve maximum pouting!”

“James, love, I think you’ve taken a wrong turn,” Lily said, cutting over top of the other three’s bickering.

James simply grinned wider. “We’ve got one last stop before we head to our destination!”

“James, why are we at Reg’s dorms?”

At Remus’s words, Sirius' neck snapped around with an audible pop as he looked out the window for the first time in a while. And sure enough, standing out by the curb looking unnecessarily stoic, was Regulus Black. The Astro’s brakes squealed unnecessarily high as James pulled over and Peter flung the side door open.

“Nooooo,” Sirius whined loudly as he watched his little brother climb in. “You invited fucking Scrappy Doo ?!”

Not even fully seated yet, Regulus reached out to smack Sirius on the side of the head. “Shut the fuck up, I’m not Scrappy Doo!”

“You don’t even know what that means!”

“So! If it’s coming from you then I know it’s meant to be an insult.”

“It means you’re an annoying bitch , is what it means!”

“Boys,” Lily groaned. “So help me god I will drop the both of you off at the babysitter’s with Harry if you don’t shut the fuck up! You’re supposed to be mending relationships, remember?”

Regulus shifted to quickly latch his seatbelt at Lily’s tone. Peter held out a bag of Twizzlers to him, which he gratefully took, throwing a last glare over at Sirius. “Can we just get on with this… adventure? Whatever it’s supposed to be.”

“Wait,” Remus said. “James didn’t tell you what-”

James revved the decrepit engine then, a devilish gleam in his eye. “Gangs all here! Autobots, roll out!”

“I think that’s a different cartoon…” Peter mumbled with a shrug.

[moviemunchies]

When this movie first came out, I was in my senior year in high school. Everyone thought that this would be my favorite movie ever of all time. I have a well-known Thing about dragons.

It’s not my favorite movie.

It is pretty darn good, though.

Loosely based on books by Cressida Cowell, How to Train Your Dragon tells the story of Hiccup, a young viking boy in the village of Berk, a place often beset by dragon attacks. Hiccup, despite being the son of Berk’s chieftain, is not much of a warrior. He does want to make his dad proud, though, and so he invents a weapon to shoot down the rarest and most deadly type of dragon they know, a Night Fury. But when he actually manages to catch one, he ends up befriending the dragon instead of killing it. And in the process of befriending the Night Fury, whom he names ‘Toothless’ (on account of being able to retract his teeth), Hiccup learns more about dragon behavior than anyone else in Berk.

Let’s step right out the gate by saying that Toothless is awesome. He’s both awesome and lovable-looking. They purposefully designed him so he had some catlike features, so he doesn’t act just like a large lizard. That’s a thing that I think many people designing dragons trip up on–they don’t think about how a dragon might actually act as an animal in the wild. I like the idea of dragons as animals, and studying how they behave and interact with their habitats. Seeing that in a family film was delightful.

[Okay, yes, Toothless acts way nicer than a wild animal would realistically be, but this movie is made with children in mind. I can get over it. It at least acknowledges that these wild animals can be dangerous, which is more than a lot of movies with children in mind can do with large animals. Look at Camp Cretaceous, for instance, which treats large herbivores like friendly animals.]

I’m very fond of how they have a variety of dragons in the movie. Many fantasy settings try to have it so that there is only one type of dragon; seeing more than one, multiple types, that first different ideas of what a dragon could be–that’s fantastic! Go nuts with those dragon designs! I love to see it!

Hiccup’s a very good family film protagonist! Were we having the conversation about toxic masculinity back in 2010? I don’t know. Regardless, it is cool, if not entirely unique, that we had a protagonist from a hyper masculine/aggressive society that isn’t a hardcore warrior, and his character arc doesn’t get him there. It’s about using his own character strengths, developing them without changing who he is at his core (a bit like Kung Fu Panda in that way!).

And his leg! Spoiler alert: but at the end of the movie, in the final fight, he loses his leg. The stakes here are real. Sure, we don’t see a lot of death and violence, we’re told that dragons and vikings have been killing each other for years. It would be too easy to leave it like that, but the movie shows that bad things can happen to our characters when they’re in danger, and I respect it for doing that.

We should talk about Astrid. I think some people thought that she didn’t work so well as a love interest because she isn’t developed enough. I think as a secondary character she has enough development, especially because she isn’t, at the end of the film, throwing herself into the protagonist’s arms. She’s coming around to him, and she’s impressed by what Hiccup’s accomplished (he is, as she brings up, the first viking to ride a dragon). In short, yes, she could have done with more development, though I think her role in the movie is fine as it is.

[Especially because I know she has more to do in the following movies.]

I have long had some questions about the final boss dragon? Running with the idea that dragons are just animals, albeit surprisingly intelligent ones, the concept of one dragon being ‘the Bad One’ doesn’t really hold up? Like, yeah, dragons are fine, except that one bad one making them be bad? I suppose either way, it makes sense that regardless of whether or  not the dragon is morally good or evil, it’s posing a threat to the people of Berk, so they’re justified in taking it down. I think some discussion of this would have been warranted, though.

Anyhow! This is a superb dragon movie! And even if it’s nothing like the book, it’s an excellent family film. I can see why this became one of Dreamworks’s flagship movie serieses. It’s pretty darn good, and if you like family films, or if you love dragons as I do, you should definitely check it out.

[jokertrap-ran]

[スタオケ] La Corda d'Oro Starlight Orchestra Main Story Chapter 2-2 Translation

*Starlight Orchestra Masterlist *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *Main story tag will be #Main Starlight

Sakuya: Mito really does have a lot of beautifully scenic locations.

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⊳ Choice: Is it your first time here, Sakuya?

Sakuya: …I don’t think I’ve gone anywhere else other than Tokyo and Yokohama…

⊳ Choice: Let’s enjoy ourselves since we’re here.

Sakuya: What’s with that super bookmarked and labeled guidebook you have there with you? We’re not here to play, you know…

Tomoharu: Wow… Hey, this stamina ramen looks delicious. Why don’t we come to try it out next time?

Hayate: It’s said that the first person in Japan to ever eat ramen was Lord Mito Mitsukuni.

⊳ Choice: What’s a “Kodokan”?

Hayate: What, you’re from the General Education department, and you know nothing about Japan’s history?

Hayate: It’s the domain school founded by Tokugawa Nariaki, a feudal lord from the Mito Clan.

Hayate: Its development eventually had a great influence on Yoshida Shoin, Saigo Takamori, as well as the other patriots during the final years of the Edo period.

Hayate: This Bizenbori Canel seems to be part of Modern Mito’s eight picturesque sights, including the Hinuma River.

Hayate: It’s a famous historic city that has prospered since ancient times, thanks to the waterborne transport trade of the Naka River.

Joyo Male Student 2: C’mon, c’mon! Seems like it has already started!

Joyo Male Student 1: You were way too slow with that bowl of ramen!

Tomoharu: I wonder what happened? A fight, maybe?

Ginga: Maybe, but hearing them mention ramen makes me want to have a bowl of it for myself too.

Ginga: Stamina ramen chock full of ingredients, huh. But Mito Ramen sounds good too~

Sakuya: Huh? Wait… hang on.

Sakuya: Sensei? Didn’t you just cook rice back at the minivan’s kitchen? And quite a large amount of it too.

Ginga: Huh? Err…

Sakuya: And weren’t you saying how all you had to do was to purchase some side dishes for a perfect lunch?

Ginga: Ehh?  But I can just throw them into the refrigerator, can’t I~?

Sakuya: The refrigerator isn’t capable of holding that much food, and you know that.

Sakuya: Looks like it’s decided then. I’ll go buy some side dishes for us. Ramen next time, yes?

Ginga: …Fine…

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Sakuya: Honestly. His lack of planning is shockingly disconcerting.

Sakuya: And you look like you’re having fun with everything and anything, either way… Hm?

Sakuya: This sounds like… a Trumpet? But where is it coming from?

Sakuya: “Let’s go check it out”? Wait- Hey, (L/n)!

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Sakuya: Wow… What a rich and smooth reverberation…

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Joyo Male Student 1: *sobbing* Kirigaya-san… How amazing…

Joyo Male Student 2: My heart’s been rekindled…

Sakuya: Wha- Watch out. This place is filled with dangerous-looking people!

Sakuya: Let’s quickly make our escape, (L/n). We have to get out before they notice us.

⊳ Choice: I want to listen to the performance a little more / I want to know that Trumpeter’s name

Sakuya: Now’s not the time for that!

Yasu: Oh no! Boss! Something terrible happened!

Akira: Hm? What’s happened, Yasu?

Yasu: Some guys from Kasa High are tryin’ to pick a fight out at the bridge! They seem super full of themselves!

Yasu: Our 1st and 2nd years are getting overwhelmed by about 3 or so people.

Akira: Oh? Now that’s some guts they have to be attacking Joyo in broad daylight. 

Akira: They asked for it, so I’m going to play along. Let’s go.

Delinquents: YEAH!

Sakuya: I guess they’re all going out to… fight? Everyone filed out just like that, at a snap of his fingers…

Sakuya: I don’t think they saw us at all.

⊳ Choice: I missed his name.

Sakuya: You mean that Trumpeter? I heard someone addressing him as “Kirigaya-san”?

⊳ Choice: Now my adrenaline’s pumping!

Sakuya: You’re really prone to sticking your nose into things that you really should be steering clear of.

⊳ Choice: Terrifying…

Sakuya: Well, I suppose we should count our lucky stars for having avoided them.

Sakuya: Besides, what is this place? The signboard says “Ouroboros”...

Sakuya: There’s a stage here, but it doesn’t seem to be in use.

Sakuya: Anyway, let’s get out of here quick. It’ll be troublesome if those people come back.

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Ginga: Huh, I see.

Tomoharu: A delinquent Trumpeter? Sounds like Louis Armstrong if you ask me.

⊳ Choice: Louis Armstrong?

Tomoharu: He’s an American Jazz Musician. He was sent to a Juvenile Home as a kid and had many ups and downs in life, but…

Tomoharu: Despite facing discrimination,  he was a brilliantly talented genius Trumpeter.

⊳ Choice: Yeah…

Tomoharu: I should have gone with you guys.

Tomoharu: “Ouroboros”...? I recall that that was the name of the Jazz  Café & Bar that opened for business a couple of years ago.

Tomoharu: Here, look. This video seems to have been taken from when the place was still in business.

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I saw 2 Trumpets being played on the video that Narumiya showed me on his phone.

⊳ Choice: It’s the guy from earlier!

Tomoharu: What? This performer’s the same guy you saw earlier? Wow. He’s definitely good…

Ginga: We can’t really see the other guy. The video’s too dark.

Tomoharu: It looks like this video was shot from the audience, after all.

Hayate: This uniform looks like Joyo Technical High School’s; the same school that Osakabe-san is in.

Tomoharu: What?

Sakuya: Come to think of it… Those guys were saying something about “Joyo” as well…

⊳ Choice:  Let’s check out Joyo Technical High School.

Hayate: Yeah. We’re going to ask Osakabe-san to join us, so we might as well drop by.

Sakuya: That’s the school that those guys we saw are attending, right? I’m already having a bad feeling about this…

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Previous Part: (Chapter 2-1) Next Part:

(Chapter 2-3)

[vipier]

sorry , i've got … i've got a lot of work to do .

WHERE MOMENTS BEFORE HE WAS ALL FIRE, IT TAKES ONLY THOSE FEW WORDS TO TURN TRISTAN TO STONE. somehow, he manages to avoid flinching in the face of cassian’s practiced apathy. nothing creeps beneath his skin worse than being treated like just anyone by the one person who knows him best of all — especially because it means @k4ssa knows there’s no better way to make him feel small. tris casts his gaze around the disorganized workshop, the captain’s haven in the bowels of yavin iv, and for a moment, he sees the hours upon hours he’s spent here with him flash before his eyes. nothing and nobody else ever would have brought him to this planet. he’d never developed a taste for any of this, for the martyrdom, for the fight against one tyrant that he’s sure will immediately create another. he stays for one reason, for one person, because he needs cassian … and cass needs at least someone who places his wellbeing over some intangible ideal.

a thankless goddamned job, clearly. exhibit a: this fucking conversation.

“ you always do these days, don’t you, ” tristan answers in little more than a hiss, a sneer. standing, he kicks the chair he had been sitting in back against the table with a loud clang. there has always been so much love between them, enough to nearly suffocate him, but that love has many dimensions, comes with baggage that has built and built over the years until tris swears he can feel his back physically strain with the weight of it all. “ fine. you want me gone, I’m gone. just do me a favor, cass, and don’t fucking apologize to me when you’re not actually sorry. I can read it all over your face, even with this bullshit ice queen act of yours. ”

it’s a dance they’re used to doing by now. cassian pushes him aside for his rebellion again and again, utterly obtuse and willfully ignorant to tristan’s motivations, even though there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be able to read them, brilliant as he is. tristan lashes out, grasping him violently close with one hand while pushing him away with the other, seeking to wound, seeking to punish at times, to force cassian to feel some fraction of his own agony, his own sense of worthlessness. it is as if to remind him, you may hold more power over me than I do over you, but don’t forget I can still hurt you back. he can’t successfully pretend at this point in his miserable life that he simply doesn’t care about his lover, that he could walk away permanently without tearing away a vital part of himself — but he certainly has a storied history of being willing to harm himself deeply for lesser reasons and he’s more than willing to allow that silent threat to linger, to make cass wonder if he might actually follow through one day, despite the damage it would do to him, too. it’s his only defense.

“ don’t call, ” he snaps as he strides toward the exit. please call, echoes in the back of his mind, almost in a whimper, all the more pathetic and humiliating, all the more reason to push himself out the door before he can embarrass himself further. “ I know when I’m not wanted. trust me. plenty of experience. I’m sure all your rebels will throw a goddamned party when they realize I’m gone. a win for everyone, it seems. enjoy your work, captain. ” he braces himself as he pushes through the far door, jaw set and brow furrowed, all coiled and furious energy, each step more determined than the last, despite the way each one tears at his chest.

if only he weren’t already silently willing cassian to call him back.