#Oh well. I made a full piece which was pretty cool at least

[bumblebugwrites]

Borrowed and Blue

Pairing: Anthony Lockwood x fem!Reader

Summary: In another brilliant plot to keep the agency afloat, Lockwood decides to marry you for tax benefits. Only he seemed to have forgotten to let you know. With an inspector from DEPRAC coming to ensure the legitimacy of your marriage, what’s left but to tell you the truth? Only you don’t take it too well. And you happen to be the world’s worst liar.

Warnings: Cursing, Minor angst, Unedited writing.

A/N: So “Lover” coded that I had to indulge myself with the title.

Word Count: 3.1k 

“Luce, I’ll need you to go to Satchell’s and pick some salt-bombs; we’ve been running pretty low lately. And George, once you’ve hit the Archive for the day, if you could–”

As Lockwood’s incessant directions continued, you allowed your head to slump forward so as to obscure his looming figure with the shape of the quickly cooling mug in your hands.

“Oh, and that reminds me (Y/N), the inspector’s coming round this afternoon to ensure the validity of our marriage, so I’ll need you to be prepared for that.” That sentence alone was enough to pull you away from your own thoughts.

“Excuse me?” The question was followed by a soft chuckle, the kind you only managed when you’d been caught off guard.

“Did I forget to tell you about the visit?” 

“You’re joking, right?”

Across the small table, George cleared his throat awkwardly, moving to make his escape before Lucy’s sweater-clad arm shot out, pulling him back into his seat, fully enthralled with the happenings before her.

“Lockwood?” From his place at the counter, he hummed back in response. Still, the brunet had busied himself at an unprecedented pace with making a piece of toast and refused to turn his head in acknowledgment.

“This is a joke, right? Because I would know if we were actually married, right?” He made no answer, but his avoidance of your gaze had already been enough to send you over the edge, and you nearly reeled as a physical spike of panic shot through your core.

“Anthony Lockwood, you answer me right now.” You were standing now and teetering on the edge of making your way out into the entry and returning with some choice words and your rapier.

“Well, it’s not like you missed the marriage. I did bring you along.”

“What?”

“You remember that day I brought you with me to the Register Office?”

“You said you needed someone to co-sign the water bill.”

“I gave you a ring–”

“You said you got that out of one of those coin machines full of toys! I thought it was just a silly gift!”

“Right, well, I’m not buying you another wedding ring, so you had better still have it.”

“Lockwood! You can’t just marry someone without asking!” By now, you had left your seat to jab angrily at his chest as you marked each new point. From her place beside George, Lucy slurped at her tea.

“Look, I had already mortgaged the house to hell and back, and we needed the money desperately, so I figured an extra tax write-off couldn’t hurt.” And though it shouldn’t have, the rage quelled itself a little.

“Why didn’t you just ask me?” But your voice lacked the anger from before, hitting sharper as each word was tinged with hurt.

“You would have said no. And besides, you’re a terrible liar.” Lockwood flashed you with his signature smile at that last bit, and you couldn’t help the warmth that began to bloom deep within you. You had to admit, being married to Lockwood wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. Especially with the insufferable feelings you’d been housing for the boy for the last year and a half. Still, this was not how you wanted things to go. 

“But wait, that trip to the Register’s Office was at least a year ago. Why are they coming for a visit now?” One of Lockwood’s hands which had planted itself on your shoulder in a soothing gesture, leapt up to scratch at the back of his neck.

“Well, the thing is, because we aren’t legally adults and neither of us have any parents to sign off on a marriage, I had to pull some strings with DEPRAC to get the license to even go through. So now, every year, to make sure everything is all legal, or whatever–” Lockwood raised his hands to form air quotes around the word legal but quickly retracted them as you swatted at the gesture.

“--they’ve insisted on sending an agent to perform a kind of check-in. To make sure we’re still in love and all that.”

“Still?” George questioned, only to be met with a prompt smack to the head from Lucy.

“So are you saying we could lose our jobs over this?”

“Let’s not forget the house,” supplied Lucy from behind her mug.

“And the house?” Lockwood didn’t answer immediately, instead selecting to fix his eyes on the floor.

“Presumably, yes, that could be one outcome–”

“Oh my god,” George groaned, moving his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose.

“But not if all goes well,” Lockwood reassured the group.

“Right, so let me get this straight, the fate of our careers–”

“And our home,” Lucy interjected once more.

“And our home, is all in the hands of (Y/N), a notoriously bad liar, lying to a Fittes agent about a marriage she was unaware of until this morning?” George questioned.

“That would be correct.”

“We are so fucked.”

It had taken Lucy an hour to calm you down, let alone lure you out from under the covers of your shared bed. 

“I’ll kill him if you’d like me to.”

“Urgh, it’s not that, Luce, it’s just–” 

“It’s just that you wanted things to go differently?” Lucy raised a suggestive eyebrow as a slow smirk spread across her face, but there was no malice in her look. Embarrassed, you turned to hide your face in the pillow beside you.

“Look, Lockwood’s a twat, but he cares about you, and I’m sure if you asked, he would end the whole thing in a second. He was just, well, I hate to say it, but he was just trying to look out for us. In his own, extremely fucked up Lockwood way.” Lucy added the last sentence in a quick attempt to amend the ever-souring scowl on your face.

“And hey, who knows, maybe something will finally come out of this. I mean, you have to admit, being married is pretty romantic.” She smiled at you, and it was soft, encouraging almost.

“Besides, it’s not like the two of you weren’t going to end up together anyways. If anything, he’s just streamlined the process.” With that, you tightened your grasp on the pillow, swinging it in a deadly arc aimed at her head. Just then, a third voice interrupted your siege.

“Oh, hi Luce, mind if I have a quick word with my wife?” 

Your eyes grew wide as they took in Lockwood’s lanky figure, leaning with ease against the railing at the head of the stairs.

“Too soon, Lockwood,” you grumbled, and for a moment, the suave smirk didn’t reach his eyes. Still, he moved slowly into the room as Lucy made her exit, throwing you a thumbs up as she descended from out of the attic.

Taking a seat on the edge of the bed, careful not to crush your legs beneath the covers, he appeared almost nervous before his hand disappeared into his pocket and rematerialized, holding a small velvet box.

“This is for you.” He smiled to himself, sweet and boyish, as he was in moments like these. Moments with just you two. As you moved to take the box from his grasp, his fingers touched yours, lingering against them for just a second before pulling away.

The box was old. That much was immediately obvious. And the hinges keeping it together were rusty enough to make opening it a bit of an effort, but when the lid lifted, your breath caught in your throat.

“Oh, Lockwood, it’s beautiful.” You sat in awe of the small ring nestled within the box’s velvet folds. It was simple but elegant, with a single gem at its center, and you couldn’t help but reach out to trace the smooth metal of its shank.

“Where did you–”

“It was my mothers.” His voice was vulnerable, barely above a whisper.

“Lockwood, I can’t–”

“It’s fine, really. Besides, it's just for today.” But you could see the stress the simple action caused him from the way he toyed with the wedding band now looped around his own finger.

 “Anyways, I really just came up here to go over the plan.” 

“The plan?” You balked, eyes snapping away from the heirloom in your hands.

“Yes, we need a story, of course. How we fell in love, how we came to be married. You should know our wedding anniversary as well. April 14th, remember that.”

“April 14th? But that’s today.”

“And?”

“I– I haven’t gotten you anything.”

“Well, it's not like this is a real marriage.”

“Oh. Right.”

“I’m thinking we say I fell in love first, then you. Women love that sort of thing–”

“No, no, we should say we’ve been in love since the moment we met,” you argued, thinking of your own feelings.

“Well, that’s not very realistic.”

“Doesn’t mean it isn– can’t be true.”

“I suppose so.”

“Maybe we should both just think of our own moment. When we fell in love with the other.” Lockwood seemed suddenly to choke on air but quickly coughed his way past it.

“Great idea.”

“We can say you proposed on a bridge overlooking the Thames,” you suggested, but Lockwood only scoffed at the idea.

“Actually, I was thinking we could say it happened on a mission. Maybe you were hurt, and I was afraid I might lose you forever. That when I realized you were alright, I asked you to marry me on the spot. That I didn’t see the point in wasting any more time on anyone else.”

Your mouth grew dry at his suggestion, and the best you could attempt was a meek nod in response.

“Perfect,” he stood quickly, as though brushing off the intimacy of the moment, and began to head for the stairs, “I’ll leave you to finish getting ready then.” By the time you’d managed to grasp your words, he had disappeared from your line of sight, leaving you alone with your thoughts and his mother’s ring. 

You were descending the stairs when the knock came, and you felt your hand move to twist anxiously at the ring newly decorating your finger. At the bottom of the stairs, Lockwood turned his head just in time to meet your gaze, the nervous look plastered across his face softening into one of ease. Probably just for show. You reassured yourself, straightening your shoulders as you reached the final step. Just before opening the door, the boy beside you cast some final words in your direction.

“Remember, I’ll do most of the talking.”

You could only nod in response as the door swung open, revealing the DEPRAC agent. She seemed immediately to be a severe woman with a stern look set deep within her face and eyes that scanned each of you suspiciously before entering the home. 

“Is there somewhere you’d prefer for me to conduct my interview.”

“That would be the library,” answered Lockwood, jumping into action, “(Y/N) love, how about you pop the kettle on and maybe grab some biscuits.” 

“Of course.” You smiled, but it was forced, the only mirth in your soul emerging from the sure knowledge that George would have a field day with Lockwood later on for his failure to follow the ‘Biscuit Rule’.

As he departed for the library, guiding the woman along with him, you could already hear the echos of his charming chatter as they bounced off the walls of the home. Everything will be fine, the words looped in a self-soothing mantra, filling every corner of your head as you prayed to any god that would listen to get through this interview in one piece.

“And when would you say you fell in love with Miss. (L/N)?” The woman made no reaction to her question, simply opting to continue scribbling notes on her pad. Thus far, Lockwood had done a successful job of veering most questions away from you, though it would be a miracle if your nerves had gone unnoticed between the incessant bouncing of your leg and your consumption of three separate cups of tea over the span of thirty minutes.

“In love?” Lockwood stuttered beside you, and you and the woman turned simultaneously to inspect him closer, his confident facade nearly shattered at the mention of the word. Still, he recovered rather quickly, retrieving his easy smile only a second later.

“Yes, well, I assume that came before the marriage.”

“Of course. Let’s see, then.” He stopped for a moment as though pondering the question though the movement of his hand as he toyed with his ring confirmed to you he was just nervous. In an action you could only hope appeared natural, you reached over, stilling his fidgeting fingers by lacing them with your own. Lockwood looked suddenly at you, and the quiet crack in his performance showed itself only to your eyes.

“It was six months after we first met. We’d been researching for a big mission all day, and when we finally got home, I passed out. I woke up; it was probably three in the morning by then. Came down to the kitchen for some water and– and there you were, in the library, fast asleep.” Lockwood had long since stopped looking at the inspector. “You were in my armchair. I’d probably seen you in that armchair a thousand times. And you had a case file spread out over your chest. You looked ridiculous. But I knew immediately something had changed. I could feel it as I carried you up to the attic that night and the next morning while I was sat listening to you laugh at George’s stupid jokes. Like those feelings that were just a bit of a bother before were eating me alive. It’s– It’s how I feel every time I look at you: like I’m more afraid than I’ve ever been in my life and yet perfectly at home at the same time.” He was quick to look away when he finished, flashing the DEPRAC agent with a smile and leaving you frozen in the wake of his words, struck by his ability to manipulate the truth.

“Just one more question then. Ms. (L/N), marriage at sixteen that’s not something you see every day. What made you say yes?”

Lockwood’s eyes flashed quickly to your face, but as he opened his mouth, the woman quieted him with a motion of her hand. 

“Not you, Mr. Lockwood. I’d like to hear from Ms. (L/N).”

This had not been within the parameters of your preparation. Lockwood’s favorite color, how he took his tea, the date of your anniversary? Easy breezy. You might have even been able to fumble your way through how you’d fallen in love with the arrogant bastard, given its basis in the truth. But you weren’t really married, and you’d never really said yes, so where did that leave you? And like a saving a grace, a question made itself known in your head. If Lockwood had really asked you, why would you have said yes?

“I suppose I didn’t quite understand the proposal at first either.” That much was true; for fucks sake, you’d missed the thing entirely. “But after a while, it made sense. I mean, not a day goes by we aren’t risking our lives for our work. There’s no guarantee of any future with a job like this, so why not marry young? Otherwise, we might not marry at all.” The second part came out rushed, the lie forcing its way past your lips. It wasn’t in your character to be impulsive, even if time seemed to be your enemy. Still, you forced yourself to delve deeper. To seek a truthful answer to that lingering question. Your breathing slowed.

“And then, one day, I think I realized that for me, it was always going to be Lockwood. That had he asked me five or ten or even twenty years down the line when we were old and boring, I’d of still said yes. Because– Well, because I couldn’t imagine spending my life with anyone else.” 

You turned your head slowly to catch Lockwood’s eyes lingering on your face. His expression was unreadable. Your brow creased in your efforts to learn more from the set of his features, and for a moment, you lost yourself in him. 

The woman’s notebook snapped shut. You felt yourself scramble from the loveseat you’d been sharing with the boy, and he followed close behind.

“That’s all from me. The agency will contact you in a few days to follow up, but as far as I’m concerned, you’ve passed.”

Without giving time for the information to be digested, she stood and left. Turning to face Lockwood, you were quick to pull his mother’s ring from your finger and place it in his palm.

“Well, now that that’s finished–”

“(Y/N)--” 

“I’ll be in the attic–”

“(Y/N).”

“Lots of research, probably.”

“How did you do that.” The look on his face was one of disbelief when you finally met his gaze again.

“What?” You knew what.

“You know what. You can’t lie to save your life. How did you–”

“Really don’t see how this is important, Lockwood–”

“Were you telling the truth?” You were silent for a moment.

“You got us into this. I could’ve– I would’ve stayed silent forever, but you had to come up with another insufferable plot. And I’m sorry, I can’t lie like it’s some sort of second language– That was quite good, by the way, the way you made me feel– made it seem like there was some chance in hell that you loved me back–”

He dragged you in all at once, catching you by the waist and interrupting your scattered thoughts with his lips. Kissing you. Soft at first, but deeper, harder, as you brought your hands up to his neck. As you kissed back. By the time he pulled away, you were breathless.

“It was never– I was never– God if I thought I could lie my way through this, I would’ve asked George or Lucy even. It had to be you because– because it was always real with you. I have loved you ever since I met you. That night in the library only confirmed it.”

“I thought that was unrealistic.”

“Maybe for someone who's never been in love with you.”

“Ask me again if I’ll marry you.”

“Again?” His eyebrows raised at the implication that there had been a first time.

“Just do it, you twat.”

“(Y/N) (L/N), will you marry me?”

“A million times yes, Anthony Lockwood. A million times, yes.”

[moog-rt]

ɪɴ ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ᴜɴɪᴠᴇʀꜱᴇ [ch.4]

[Shigaraki Tomura x Fem!Reader]

Beginning: Prologue

Previous: Chapter Three

➨ Chapter Four

Next: Coming Soon...

Premise:

The multiverse theory is the idea that there is not only one universe but, instead, an infinite number of universes, parallel to one another.

You and Tenko were heroes in your universe. The war came and went, and that left only you. When you are thrown into a universe parallel to yours, you find out the hard way just how similar and different it is from your own.

A/N: My roommates and I totally got knocked tf out with the bad luck stick. This chapter already went through the first rounds of edits, and I was going to do a final round... but that was just not gonna happen today. So please excuse any typos or whatnot <3

♡

If you'd prefer to read on Ao3, here is the link:

Otherwise, enjoy!

♡ ♡ ♡

CHAPTER FOUR

Toga made an unpleasant face when you dropped your large wad of rain-soaked clothing into her open arms. She was the lucky duck that was chosen to escort you on your trip back to the hotel. It turns out she was typically the one who volunteered to run errands and shop for the boys thanks to her quirk being perfect for going out undetected.

For your brief outing, she took on the form of the woman you’d seen outside the convenience store with Shigaraki the night prior. Her pretty face was contorted in distaste as it was clear she wanted nothing more than to drop the soggy pile on the marble tiled floor. Unfortunately for her, you had to check out of the hotel first, and you needed both hands free in order to do that.

You thanked the receptionist with a friendly smile and dipped your head politely before turning to leave. Toga was quick to shove your hero suit into your belly, forcing you to take it back from her. She had enough strength behind it to make you stumble back a step or two.

“Agh! That was so not cool,” she complained as she rubbed her wet forearms off on her sweater.

You rolled your eyes. “It wasn’t even a full minute. You’re fine.”

“You could have at least warned me! That felt so gross.”

You snickered at her, receiving a childish pout in return. But then, your smile dropped, and Toga’s body stiffened as the two of you spotted a pair of police officers passing through the entrance of the hotel.

You pushed against Toga, directing her to the outskirts of the foyer, which was decorated with a generous number of potted plants that would give you cover. It was hard to feel completely hidden when your arms were full of not only your dripping clothing but also several bags from the light shopping you had done before coming here. Making a silent escape would be a feat.

Maybe you were overreacting. The officers would never be able to recognize Toga with her current disguise, and you were much older than your villainous counterpart. Surely, you looked different enough to slip by without catching anybody’s eye…

But that was probably a reach.

“They don’t know what you look like,” Toga whispered to you, tugging on your sleeve to get you walking towards the exit. She always had a knack for knowing exactly what was going through your head. It was somewhat comforting that this version of her was the same way. Then again, it could very well be that you were just easy to read.

You gave her a questioning look. You remembered seeing pictures of yourself in villain garb during your little research project this morning. They had to at least have an idea of what you looked like. Then again, you recalled that in each of them you had been wearing a mask.

You glanced back over at the cops who were walking up to the receptionist, and you allowed Toga to pull you away. You were almost out the door when you overheard a piece of their conversation.

“—card statements alerted us that she booked the night here. She’s been missing for over a week now.”

“Oh…What did you say her name was again?”

You knew you should just keep walking—you were almost out of view—but the sound of your name caused you to look back out of habit. Just then, the receptionist’s wide eyes locked onto yours. She looked confused, her mouth opening and closing as she searched for her words.

“Go,” you hissed, pushing Toga out the door and causing her to trip over her own feet. Your firm hold on her shirt kept her from falling as you hauled her out of the building and down the sidewalk. She whined and tried to wiggle out of your hold.

The hotel was supposed to be your last stop. You decided then that you would have to tack on a few extra to be sure you wouldn’t be tailed. The last thing you wanted was to lead the police straight to your villainous friends’ hideout. The two of you filed into the nearby station, and just as you reached the platform, one of the trains pulled up. You wasted no time in hopping on.

You never imagined you’d be the one running from authorities.

And now that you were, you hated it.

The way your head spun and your heart raced. How your hands were shaking so badly you were struggling to hold onto your bags. The anxiety that rushed through your veins, overwhelming and taking over your mind with dread over what was to come.

You knew you weren’t a villain, and realistically, you shouldn’t actually be in any trouble. They were looking for you because, in this world, you had a missing person’s case. If they caught you, the worst-case scenario would be an interrogation into why you disappeared. You wouldn’t be arrested for any real crime.

Still, you couldn’t help but panic. Maybe it was because you were with someone who was wanted as a villain. Even then, she was unrecognizable in her disguise. Most likely, you were so worried because never before had you been the one the authorities were after. You never imagined you’d find yourself in this type of situation—and you certainly didn’t know how to get yourself out of it.

In the end, you weren’t really the person they were looking for—rather, you were just a doppelganger of sorts—and you had no explanation for them if they did bring you in for questioning. You knew close to nothing about your past in this world. There was no way her life had been identical to yours considering the vastly different outcomes.

She had money, but how did she get it? A proper job or crime?

Who were her closest friends?

Where did she live?

Your best bet if you were ever caught was to fake amnesia, you reckoned.

Your heart rate only slowed down after seven or so stops. Toga was patient with you, but you could tell she was getting antsy and eager to get off the train. It was maybe the tenth stop when you finally stood up to leave.

The train let you off at a street full of shops and bustling people, very similar to the one you’d gone to earlier in the day. The air was full of chatter loud enough to be heard over a cacophony of music resulting from various playlists intermingling. Had you been in a mall, the music may have been a bit more in sync, but this was what happened when multiple stores wanted to create an ambiance for their customers.

Getting to the end of each block proved to be quite the chore as Toga’s attention was caught by every other window display. She whined about how she never got to buy nice things for herself anymore because she had no money. Needless to say, your soft heart would give in, and you’d walk away with her beaming and admiring her new apparel.

Your attention was caught at one point when you passed a shop selling a variety of used gaming consoles. Some of the posters taped to the front entrance were advertisements for games Tenko and Iguchi had introduced to you. Toga didn’t bat an eye, continuing on her way, but you paused to wonder, if you hadn’t died in this world, would you make similar memories with Shigaraki and Spinner?

You missed the days when the three of you would gather at one of your homes. Beanbag chairs and a plethora of pillows would be gathered in front of a TV, surrounded by a mountain of snacks to last you days. Tenko never failed to provide enough energy drinks to kill a horse. He wanted to ensure that you—in a food coma bliss—wouldn’t pass out before it even hit midnight.

The sun would be peeking over the horizon, and your bloodstream would still be saturated with caffeine, resulting in you badgering them mercilessly to prevent them from nodding off. You’d be buzzing in your seat as the three of you played on, framed by two zombies who wanted nothing more than to knock you unconscious. Once he had enough, Tenko would pull the plug and drag your whining ass to the makeshift beds Iguchi had set up earlier in the night. You’d only settle down after several minutes of Tenko’s arm latching you to the floor.

You’d like to think that your counterpart shared experiences akin to your own. Although, you wouldn’t be terribly surprised if being wanted criminals took precedence over finding the time and money to play games through the night.

You turned away from the shop to follow Toga back to the hideout.

Twice was quick to jump on you both as soon as you walked through the door. He wanted nothing more than to dig through the bags of new goodies you brought with you. Compress wasn’t so invasive, but he still hovered to catch a glimpse at whatever was pulled out. When Twice reached the plastic bag you used to carry your soaked garments, he made an alarmed noise and shoved it off on Compress who was also fairly displeased.

“What on Earth is this?” he said, aghast.

“It’s my hero suit… It was raining in my universe before I was sent here, so it got totally soaked through,” you explained, taking the clothing back from him.

“Oh, I was wondering why you looked so miserable last night!” Toga chimed. You pursed your lips.

“Anyway, I’m gonna go get changed into something a bit more palatable,” you said, digging through a large paper bag full of new clothes.

“You weren’t kidding about that hero crap?” you heard Shigaraki grumble.

You glanced over at him as he lounged across one of the battered sofas, gnawing on a candy bar. You couldn’t necessarily blame his distaste for heroes being that he was on the receiving end of their dutiful efforts. It was more understandable given you knew just who they really were—without this universe’s societal views blurring your beliefs into following them instead.

“Of course not,” you said as you pulled out a cozy pair of pants along with a soft sweatshirt.

“So, your morals align with theirs then,” he said, and you didn’t miss the mildly sinister undertone in his voice. You looked back over to see his eyes boring into you. He was waiting for your response, his body visibly tense. It was clear that the wrong answer would trigger an exchange with an unappealing outcome, and that seemed to be what he anticipated, though his deep frown suggested he preferred that not be the case.

“No…” you said softly, watching him carefully. You felt like Shigaraki wouldn’t think twice about going after you while your back was turned. You knew Tenko would never do that, but you also knew he was passionate about his world views, intense and driven to defend them. With him already being on the opposing side of the law, you weren’t sure where Shigaraki drew the line when it came to fighting for what he believed in. You’d like to think he was as sensible as you remembered.

Thankfully, you wouldn’t need to find out today. “No, the heroes here were my enemies where I come from.”

He scrutinized you, gauging whether to believe you or not, but after a moment, his narrowed eyes and tensed muscles relaxed. “Mm,” he grunted in acknowledgment before turning his attention back to his food, pretending to investigate whatever was written on the wrapper.

Your eyebrows furrowed as you looked back down at the outfit you picked out. You hadn’t noticed your heart rate was elevated until that moment, feeling it slow down.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit curious as to what we’re like as heroes,” Compress pondered, a hand tucked under his chin.

“Me, too!” Toga said and attached herself to your back, putting most of her weight onto you. “Are we, like, so awesome?”

You glanced over your shoulder at her and chuckled. “Oh, definitely, but I’m sure you’re just as awesome here.”

She giggled before pestering you to share more.

So, you did.

“Our agency’s focus was mostly on rescue. We were usually the first to respond to natural disasters or the destructive aftermath of villain activity. Sometimes we’d be given assignments to gather intel to help out other agencies,” you explained.

“I’ve got a hard time believing Dabi’s good at rescue. He should just scorch them!” Twice butted in.

“I said mostly,” you laughed. “Dabi… kind of had his own role.” Speaking of, both he and Spinner were missing from the common area. “Is he around right now?”

“No,” Shigaraki clipped with a mouthful of food, “He’s out recruiting for us.”

“What about Spinner?”

You didn’t miss the way his eyes shot over to look at you, causing a slight shiver down your spine. You couldn’t pinpoint why, but in this universe, his energy had a menacing edge to it.

“He’s sleeping.” Shigaraki swallowed his last bite and dropped the wrapper beside him. “Why were you using past tense?”

“Was I?” It hadn’t even crossed your mind. Apparently, Compress noticed it, as well, nodding along as if he would have asked about it if no one else had. Toga and Twice seemed confused, looking between you and Shigaraki.

You drew back slightly. Telling all of them about the tragedy that had struck your group felt wrong… You understood that things were different here, but you also didn’t want to put meaningless fear into their heads. They wouldn’t be playing the same roles as they did in your past, so it wouldn’t make any sense for them to face the same fate.

“I guess…I guess it’s because I’m technically from the future?” You shrugged with a shamefully false smile. Lying about this didn’t feel all that great either. What if—because of weird universal parallel laws or whatever—they will meet the same ends as they did in your world? If telling them could change that, then that’s what you would want to do.

You would do anything to change what had happened to your friends.

Spinner’s words from earlier in the day rang through your head. There was still a chance that manipulating their timeline could create a paradox, the aftermath of which could be devastating—according to the limited SciFi media you’ve consumed on that subject matter.

You wanted to rip your hair out. You hated being in this position, and you were eager to get out of it. Hopefully, it wouldn’t take too long for you to hunt down Dai Uchuu and convince him to send you home.

There was a sharp tug at your heart.

It occurred to you that home wouldn’t have all the people you cared so much about. That should have been obvious, but it was easier to forget than you’d think. Still, that’s where your life was, and you had to live with the outcome of your own battles.

You pushed past that uncomfortable feeling with a little help from Toga and Twice badgering you for more details on their lives as heroes.

You continued to tell them about Toga’s success and promotion, and how Twice was invaluable for his productivity and utility on the field, amplifying everyone else’s capabilities tenfold. Compress and Tenko were excellent at clearing debris, freeing anyone trapped or injured. There were a few people you brought up who the others were unfamiliar with, such as Minji, Sakiko, and other old classmates of yours.

You wondered if they had yet to meet.

“That sounds like so much fun,” Toga said. She was plopped down in front of you, hugging her knees to her chest as she listened to you share stories about where you came from. She stared at the ground with a blank expression. “I wonder how we ended up so different.”

“Me too,” you muttered

“I’m glad we’re not heroes,” Shigaraki spouted, kicking his legs off the couch so he could sit up. His eyes settled on you.

“What?” you asked, a bit jarred by his comment. “Why? I can’t imagine living in hiding is all that fun.”

“Because we don’t have to conform to the shallow ideals of society. Heroes like to act like they keep the peace when, in reality, they turn a blind eye to those they deem beneath them. I’m not interested in playing pretend.”

You blinked.

Some heroes could be like that sometimes, but they were the vast minority. Most of the people you knew were genuine and loved being given the opportunity to help others. You were sure Tenko felt the same as you, but Shigaraki’s opinions were the stark opposite.

You assumed that could be attributed to the fact the heroes here were just as corrupt as the villains you knew them to be. Shigaraki was their villain, and they were his enemies. If you were in his shoes, you probably wouldn’t want to join the opposing team either.

The energy in the room had changed, and you all silently agreed to drop the topic. Toga stepped into the spotlight to start showing off everything you’d bought her, which led to Twice begging you to buy stuff for him, as well. Compress tried to be subtle about it, but it was clear he wanted in on the gift-giving by the way he began listing items he lost or wished he could buy.

At some point, Dabi had returned, and Spinner had risen. Dabi made a b-line for the scarce-looking bedroom, but Spinner was eager to join in the conversation. He was a little less self-centered about the things he thought you should buy, more so concerned with what the group needed as a whole.

Shigaraki was silent from his spot on the couch, seemingly uninterested in the conversation, but his eyes were locked onto you all the while. There were a few moments where you’d look over but quickly look away when you saw he was still staring. It felt like he was in deliberation with himself regarding your presence, like he had yet to decide whether he’d let you stay or not.

You weren’t kept in suspense for too long.

Spinner was in the middle of arguing with Twice about needs versus wants when Shigaraki butted in to announce you’d be staying with Toga overnight. Then he left, you assumed to retreat to his own bedroom. Compress and Twice turned in not long after, but Spinner hung around until Toga dragged you away to give you a tour of her room.

Hers was the one that looked like a bomb had gone off inside. Her clothing was overflowing out of her wardrobe and across the majority of the carpeted floor. You could barely see her bed underneath the mountain of plushies she’d accumulated, and you had to watch your step to be sure you didn't crush any of the scattered makeup.

You were soon thankful her messiness made you more attentive of where you were walking, because you noticed the gleam of a knife peeking out from beneath her clothing. You crouched down and carefully picked it up. “Um… Toga? Why do you have this in your room?”

She gasped as her eyes widened and a gleeful smile stretched across her face. She pranced over to you. “You found it! I’ve been looking everywhere for that!” She plugged it from your hand and held it to her chest, giggling and skipping away to find a new home for it.

Okay…

You elected to ignore her absurd behavior in favor of helping her clear a spot on the ground for you to sleep. She began handing blankets and pillows off for you to arrange however you preferred.

You dodged an oversized teddy bear, covering your head for safekeeping. You lowered one of the fluffy pillows being lent to you to send a playful glare at Toga as she rifled through her stuffed animals. She began pelting you with anything she thought would be a good addition to your makeshift bed.

“This is gonna be so fun!” Toga sang as she tossed another plushie in your direction. You caught it this time. She turned around to start helping you gather everything into a somewhat bed-shaped pile. “Tomura and I just bought a bunch of snacks and stuff, too—Oh, that’s when we found you!”

“Right. You guys left some stuff behind, by the way,” you hummed with a soft smile. You tucked a blanket around your mound of a mattress to help it keep its form. “I tried to give it back, but you guys were long gone, so I returned it to the clerk.”

“Hm, I would have kept it if I were you,” she said, side-eying you. “I know where Jin’s food stash is. I’m sure he wouldn’t care if we took some.”

“He wouldn’t care if you asked? Or wouldn’t care because he wouldn’t notice?” you catch, giving her a suspicious look. She grinned wide, showing off her sharp canines.

“Jin’s a sweety. He’ll understand,” she said, waving her hand as if she was shooing away the conversation topic.

You finished working on your sleeping arrangements, and Toga dug around in her closet for anything she could use to give you a makeover. You were offended at first by the way she chose to phrase it, but you could recall all the times you’d spent with your Toga. The horrors she put your hair and skin through had long since been buried away—way more than six feet under.

Your body was stiff as she began working with your hair.

“If only Magne were here, too. The three of us were planning a girls’ night before—” Toga paused, looking off to the side as she emitted a strained hum. “She said it would be good for team building.”

You looked down at your crossed legs.

Losing Magne was hard. No one could have anticipated such an outcome. The planning that had gone into that assignment felt endlessly meticulous not only for guaranteed success but also to avoid serious casualties. Everyone believed all bases had been covered.

But reality never goes exactly as planned.

There was no plan to account for the unexpected adversaries. No plan when so many of your allies’ lives were at risk. There was no plan to prevent Magne from jumping ahead to act as a buffer. She made her own plan, and she went through with it, and she succeeded. She saved all those lives at the cost of her own.

You weren’t sure how she passed away in this timeline, and you didn’t feel it would be appropriate to ask, but you had no doubt it was for something just as noble. This world may have deemed her a villain, but you knew her as a hero. You knew her ideology and goals, and it was a shame she—like all the others—wasn’t recognized for it.

You wanted to know how the morals of this society got flipped around. How were the real villains able to pull it off?

With copious manipulation tactics, you were sure.

“Were we ever able to hang out?”

“Huh?” You blinked back to attention. To be fair, you both had gone silent for a minute, allowing your mind to wander. “Oh. The three of us?”

“Mm,” she affirmed.

“Yeah…” You began picking at your nails. “Yeah, we got to hang out a decent amount.”

Her hands, which were busy at work with your hair, slowed down. “What kind of stuff did we do?”

You weren’t sure what to say. You wouldn’t have to worry about causing any paradoxes, since your stories were in both of your pasts at this point. Still, it wasn’t good to dwell too much on the past, or on what could have been.

That probably made you a hypocrite, but you weren’t too keen on taking your own advice on such matters.

“Magne would take us shopping sometimes,” you said softly. “Our work studies didn’t pay all that well, and she felt bad, so she’d want to buy us all sorts of things while we were out.”

“Like a big sister,” Toga suggested, her hands returning to her normal pace.

“Or a cool aunt or something.” You smiled and turned slightly to look over your shoulder at her. Her eyes were focused on her hands, but she was smiling, too.

♡ ♡ ♡

taglist: @boogiemansbitch @multisstuff @local-s1mp

[roosterforme]

A Love You Don't Find Everyday Part 8 | Rooster x Reader

Summary: You run into the last person you wanted to see in Annapolis, which leads to you and Bradley fighting over the phone.

Warnings: Angst, fluff, swearing and smut

Length: 4600 words

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Female Reader

Check out my masterlist for more!

"Oww!!" You were trying your best to keep it together as your friend Caleb gave you your first tattoo. But you weren't sure if the location was extra sensitive, or if you were just a gigantic baby, but it was hurting a lot.

"Let's take a little break," he told you, gently wiping your skin before he removed his gloves and went to get you a bottle of water.

You glanced down your body to where your leggings were pulled part way down, revealing a half finished tattoo that was clearly dedicated to Bradley. 

Oh my goodness, you'd actually done it. The idea occurred to you when you were first engaged; a hidden tattoo that only he would see. Well, him and your doctors, and perhaps someone who saw you in a bathing suit. But even your bathing suits were probably not skimpy enough to show off the single-line Rooster that was going to be adorning your skin near the left side of your pelvic bone, between your pussy and hip.

"We're almost done," Caleb promised as you drank. "You got five more minutes in you?"

"Yes," you managed to say, watching him wash his hands and grab a new pair of gloves. "It'll be worth it for the surprise wedding gift."

With a laugh, Caleb adjusted your leggings and got to work once more. "I'm pretty sure Bradley is going to freak the fuck out when he sees it. No joke, I would lose my mind if Jess ever did anything like this."

"That's what I'm counting on," you groaned through clenched teeth. You tried to take deep breaths and pretend you were at the beach, taking Tramp for a walk as the needle made you want to cry. 

"Nearly done," Caleb mumbled, and now you were biting your finger to keep yourself still. You were panting by the time he finished and wiped you clean one final time. "Here, check it out with the mirror. Looks pretty cool."

You propped yourself up on one elbow and took the mirror from him. You gasped softly as you examined yourself. "I love it! It's perfect! Tiny and cute and just perfect!"

While Caleb taped plastic wrap over the rooster to cover it while it heals, you argued with him over payment. 

"It's on the house," he insisted.

"That ridiculous! How much would you normally charge?"

He just laughed and said, "It's dainty, and it was your first time, so I'd charge the shop minimum. But you're going to pay nothing and consider it a wedding gift. Congratulations."

"Thanks," you told him with a hug, only feeling slightly bad that he was insisting you skip payment. "But if I come back for another one, I'm paying full price."

"Sure, whatever you say."

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

Bradley was sitting in your car in the driveway. He was already running late, because he missed you so much he could barely function. And because he had stayed in bed too long jerking off to the dirty videos of the two of you. And now your car wouldn't start for him.

"You fucking piece of shit!" he scolded the dashboard. He had moved the seat back as far as it would go, and he could still barely fit. His head was almost touching the roof, and the seatbelt felt like it was smothering him. "I swear this is the smallest car ever made. Can't be safe."

Then he remembered that he promised you he'd treat the car nicely. So through gritted teeth, he gently ran his palm along the steering wheel while he tried one more time to turn the key. 

"For some reason she loves you, so will you please be nice to me?"

The car magically started, and he was finally on his way to work. He thought about how much better the Bronco was while he drove, but he didn't dare voice his opinions out loud. It was only Monday, and he needed this thing to be agreeable for at least a few more days. 

Bradley knew you were busy. He knew you had spent the entire day Sunday with your parents, but he was still craving even just a phone call from you. He thought about calling you now, but the last thing he wanted to do was be a nuisance this week. 

But his phone rang as he pulled into the parking garage, and he scrambled to answer. "Sweetheart!"

"Bradley! I only have a minute," you told him, and he could tell by the amount of background noise that you were already in the conference hall. "Just wanted to check on you and Tramp."

"We're good, Baby Girl. Just miss you."

"Listen, I've got all these dinners and cocktail hours all week, but I'll call you when I can, okay? Text me! I love you!"

Bradley made his way to the classroom and took a seat next to Nat. "How you holding up? I never thought I would see the day when you were a lovesick mess, waiting for your wife to return home."

Bradley grumbled. "Almost wife. And I fucking hate her car. She's so nearly perfect, like literally my ideal woman, but her choice of vehicle honestly makes me question her sanity."

"Of course she's fucking crazy. She's with you."

Being three hours behind you all week made things even more interesting, but when Bradley was fixing himself a bowl of cereal for dinner around 7 on Tuesday, he was surprised to see you were texting him. 

I miss you, Roo. We could definitely manage to break this bed together.

Just as he was about to write back and tell you exactly how he'd take care of you and the bed, a few images appeared in the thread. In the first one, you were naked and all wrapped up in the white sheet, your hair a mess and you had that hazy look in your eyes that told him you'd had a few drinks. 

"Oh, fuck," he groaned as two more images came through. You knew what that ring on your finger did to him. And you decided to tease him anyway. 

The picture of you with your left arm covering your hip, slipping your middle finger inside yourself had him unzipping his shorts. The diamond ring sparkled in the light, and your manicured nails against your pussy looked so pretty. 

He called you over facetime immediately, looking through the pictures while he fisted himself. 

"Roo," you gasped. Your room was dimly lit, but he could tell you were masturbating. You must have just taken these photos before sending them.

"Baby Girl," he groaned, and you whined in response. God, he loved that sound. Loved it when you were a needy, spoiled princess for him. 

"Get me off! Talk to me, Bradley, and get me off!" you demanded, tilting the phone so he could see your pleading face before shifting it to show off the rest of your body.

"You have the prettiest little pussy, Sweetheart. Yes, use your fingers, just like that. Nice and slow. Add a second one to fill you up."

You were moaning louder now, swiping your clit with your thumb. 

"Show me your face. Look at me," he told you, gripping himself tight as you guided your phone up to your face. He scolded you whenever you let your eyes drift closed, demanding you look at him while you came. 

"Bradley," you gasped, your head tipping back, but your eyes stayed on his as you made all the little noises that he would forever associate with pure sexual bliss. 

"Good girl," he told you as you rode your fingers to completion. After a few more pumps of his fist, he had made a bit of a mess in the kitchen for himself to clean up. 

You bit your lip and sighed softly. "I miss you. When I get home, can we make another video together where you call me your dirty little slut?"

He just grunted in agreement. "Anytime you want, Sweetheart."

Bradley let you start to doze off as he talked to you, only telling you to hang up and charge your phone before you fell asleep completely.  

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

Every lecture you attended was fascinating. Every cocktail hour was a great chance to network. And every dinner with your team brought everyone closer together. But you were getting tired of socializing. All you really wanted was to be home with Bradley, eating dinner on his lap and listening to his playlists. 

"Everyone ready for tomorrow afternoon?" Bickel asked on Wednesday evening during dinner just off base. "We've got lecture hall 7 starting at 10:00, so we should have plenty of time to run equipment tests."

"Ready," you promised him as the others agreed. You weren't nervous at all, just excited to share your work. The thing you were most worried about was how itchy your tattoo felt now. It was covered up and healing, but you couldn't imagine giving an hour long lecture in your polyester uniform pants successfully at the moment. 

At least you had managed to keep it covered with your arm while you and Bradley had your facetime call last night. 

You smirked and excused yourself to use the restroom, running your palms over your dress as you wound your way through the restaurant. When your fingers touched your tattoo through the fabric, you actually giggled. You had decided you'd let Bradley find it on his own when you got home on Saturday afternoon. You'd be exhausted from your week by that point, but you still couldn't wait to see what he thought about it.

You were excited for tomorrow's presentation. And on Friday night you'd be out with the Admirals. The Admirals! 

You finally turned the last corner, but you weren't looking where you stepped. It was too late as you felt yourself collide with a man, and then you heard a familiar voice as he said your name. 

His hands came to rest on your arms, steadying you as you felt a cold, horrible feeling wash through your body. 

It was Josh. It was Josh, and he was touching your bare skin, and his face was next to yours. 

"Oh, my god," you gasped, trying to pull out of his grip.

"Shit, it is you," he whispered, finally letting go of you as you wrenched yourself away. 

You stood just staring at each other as you inched slowly away. Some remote part of your brain recognized that you were safe, you were surrounded by people walking to and from the restrooms. You didn't need Bradley or Jake or Bob. But you still felt clammy and uncomfortable. 

"Didn't expect to see you in Annapolis," Josh drawled with a thoroughly disinterested look on his face. "You here to get me kicked off of another base? Get me demoted again?"

"Josh," you whispered, gathering your thoughts. "I'm here to give a presentation."

"I know. I saw your name on the keynote list. I should have been part of that project."

You scoffed. "You should have kept your hands to yourself. And I was never going to choose you, I was always going to keep Sonya."

He laughed bitterly. "Okay, now that much I do not believe. You can say what you want, but I'm not blameless here. You gonna get your huge boyfriend to hit me again, just for fun?"

You pressed your lips together before you said, "Fiancé now, actually."

Josh's gaze dipped down to your hand, but you didn't make the ring any easier for him to see. You didn't even want him looking at it. It was yours. 

Then your mind wrapped around his words. "What do you mean? Hit you again?"

"Is he here?" Josh asked, glancing behind you. 

"No, he's in San Diego, but if I call him, he'll be on the next flight. What do you mean by hit you again?"

Josh shook his head slowly, and you could see in his eyes how much he hated you now. A chill went through your body, but you didn't move an inch. 

"You were there that night, at the bar. I assumed you sent him over to head me off. Him and that blond guy, too."

Your eyes went wider as you pictured Bradley and Jake hauling Josh out the doors of the Hard Deck. Your face must have given you away.

"So you didn't know he punched me in the face then?"

"No," you whispered. Now you were angry at Bradley and Jake, but you were even angrier at Josh for making you remember with vivid clarity the way he had touched you, all while he was standing right in front of you.

"He broke my nose and my ribs. I thought about calling the police. Getting him arrested."

A bitter laugh escaped you as someone nudged past you to get to the ladies' room. "Really? What stopped you? The fact that I would have reciprocated by turning you in for physical and sexual assault? You've got a lot of nerve even talking to me right now, so let's wrap this up. Is there anything else you'd like to say to me?"

Josh eyed you from head to toe, his gaze lingering on your chest for a few seconds before he shook his head. "Just that you weren't worth it. You seemed so fucking easy too. I'd hate to be engaged to you, the way you flirt with other guys like some kind of skank."

"Get the fuck away from me," you said, hating the way your voice shook. "Chelsea told me you did that shit all the time, and I was never even interested in you. You're a pig." 

As he got himself in your personal space, you just wanted Bradley. But you forced yourself to hold your ground.

"And you're a bitch," he snapped next to your ear. 

You sucked in a breath and swallowed hard as he strode away from you as you muttered, "Fuck you." 

When he was out of sight you ducked into the bathroom and locked yourself in a stall. You hated the fact that he could get you so rattled. And you were steaming mad that apparently Bradley and Jake had pulled Josh aside, and everybody neglected to tell you about it. 

You needed to get a cab back to your room so you could be alone and call the one person who would tell you the truth.

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

Everyone was obsessed with his home gym. It really seemed like the silliest thing for his friends to be envious about, especially since Bradley was always inviting them over to use it. He filled up a huge jug of water and grabbed his speaker before taking Tramp out back with him and heading toward the garage where everyone was already gathered.

"Holy hell," Nat muttered. "No wonder he's out here working out all the time. Look at this one!" 

Bradley found Nat, Bob and Jake all huddled around the calendar where it hung on the wall, flipping through the pages. 

"That's so pretty. I love how the photographer used the negative space to make a statement," Bob said.

Jake laughed. "I think you're supposed to be noticing her legs."

Bob stuttered. "Well, I...I just would never look at her that way. So let's be respectful."

Nat shrugged. "I am respectfully saying that I can understand why Rooster is so pussy whipped. Look at this!" She was pointing to the November photo with you in black lace, garters and stocking, and Jake let out a low whistle. 

"Will you please stop looking?!" Bradley scolded, and Nat let go of the calendar like it had burned her.

"We weren't being crude," she replied with a smirk, but Bradley growled and carefully unclipped the calendar from the wall. 

"August is my personal favorite," Jake commented, and of course that was the one Bradley liked because your tit was out.

He eyed them all up. Nat and Jake were both still smirking, and Bob was beat red and looked like he wanted to disappear. "I know she's sexy. I know it's a marvel that I'm with her. I know I am pussy whipped. I know, okay?"

"Just as long as you know," Nat said with a laugh. 

Bradley tucked his calendar carefully into a plastic tub of photos from the storage unit before turning on a playlist. "You've all seen more than enough of my future wife. Let's start this damn workout."

Without another word, everyone grabbed some weights and got to work. Bradley was lifting while Bob spotted for him when he heard Jake's phone ring. 

"Angel, how are you?" Jake drawled, and Bradley quickly set his barbell in the holder and popped up.

"What's wrong? Did she try to call me?" Bradley asked, walking over to his phone. Nothing.

"Whoa, whoa! Angel, calm down! That's not even what happened!" Jake was getting louder and pacing around.

"What's going on?" Bradley demanded, and he was answered by a hand held up in his face. 

Now Bob and Nat were looking concerned as well. 

Jake's eyes went wide and darted toward Bradley's, panic stricken. "You saw Josh tonight? In Annapolis?"

"Give me the phone!" Bradley thundered. 

Jake just held his hand up again. "Angel, you know how I always have your back? I have Rooster's back too, I promise. Everything was under control that night at the Hard Deck." 

"Now!" Bradley added, ready to take it away from Jake.

"He's about to rip my phone out of my hand, so I'm going to give it to him, okay?"

Bradley reached for the phone and juggled it until he had it to his ear. "What is going on?"

"Bradley! I can't believe you punched Josh and never told me! You and Jake both!" you shouted into the phone.

"You saw him tonight?! Where are you?" he shouted back.

"Are you going to tell me what happened when you hit him?" Your voice was near hysterics now, and Bradley knew he needed to calm himself down. He paced the length of the garage while three sets of eyes watched his every movement. 

He readjusted Jake's phone against his ear and took a deep breath. "Sweetheart. I need you to tell me where you are and if you're okay."

"I'm in my room! I'm fine!"

Bradley found it was easier to breathe now. "And where did you see Josh? Does he know where your room is?" Bradley was not above calling your parents and telling them what was going on, since they were only an hour away from Annapolis. In fact his free hand was twitching to text them, and buy a ticket to Maryland himself. 

"I saw him at dinner. He does not know where my room is. Now tell me why you risked assault charges to punch someone who doesn't fucking matter, Bradley!"

Jake took a step closer, asking, "Do you want me to talk to her?"

Bradley sighed and ran his hand over his face. "Can I put you on speaker, Baby Girl? Nat and Bob are here as well."

"Oh my God! Nat and Bob know about it, too? Am I the only one who doesn't know about this?! Should I call Mav and Penny and ask them?"

Bradley tossed his head back and gestured toward the garage door before he disappeared out into the evening air. He paced down the driveway as he said, "There's nothing to tell, Sweetheart."

You scoffed through the phone. "He said you broke his nose and his ribs, Bradley! Why would you do that? He doesn't matter at all."

"For you!" Bradley growled. "What other reason would I have to do anything except for you?"

"He could have hurt you! He could have called the police!" you wailed. "You could have been in serious trouble."

Bradley's blood was pulsing through his body, and he really wanted to punch out a window when he walked past your car. "He doesn't get to touch you without consequences. That's the bottom line."

"But what about you? You think you're not just as important to me?"

Bradley paced back up the driveway, running his fingers through his hair. "I understand what you're saying, my love. But roughing him up outside the Hard Deck was just a warning. I wasn't going to do too much damage. Even though I really fucking wanted to."

The exasperated noise you made had him almost on his knees. "And what if you got arrested?"

Bradley leaned against your car. "Then you bail me out. I added you to all my bank accounts already. You can use it for that."

"I'm not joking right now, Bradley."

"Neither am I! I'm not joking about the fact that all my money is yours. I'm not joking about the fact that I would fund my own bail money to defend you a million times over. And I'm not joking about the fact that I would have done a lot worse to Josh if left unchecked. So if you want to be mad at someone, you can continue to be mad at me, but I promise you that Jake was there the whole time. And he would have pulled me off of him if necessary. That's the kind of shit that Jake and I would do for each other." 

Now you were actively crying, and Bradley didn't know what to say. He realized there was probably nothing that would make you feel better at this moment, so he went ahead and added, "I'm not going to apologize for what I did. And I don't feel bad about it. And I fucking hate that you saw that prick tonight. This is supposed to be your special week that you worked so hard for!"

He wasn't helping anything at the moment, but he couldn't stop himself as he punched the top of your car. "Baby Girl, I love you, and it's my job to protect you. Please try to understand where I'm coming from here."

You sniffed hard before saying, "Please let me talk to Jake."

Bradley heaved a deep sigh and headed back into the garage. "Okay. Here's Jake."

Bradley watched him take back his phone and head outside. "Angel, I promise you that I was with him the whole time......."

Every cell in his body wanted to know what you and Jake were talking about, but Bradley forced himself to sit down on the weight bench instead. 

"Here, use this for a bit," Bob said, handing a twenty pound dumbbell to him. "Keep your mind occupied."

"She's probably just upset that she ran into Josh, and everyone else seems to know you got physical with him except for her," Nat told Bradley, placing a soft kiss to the top of his head. "She just needs to blow off some steam to Jake, so let him take care of it. In the meantime, I'm going to order some pizzas."

Bradley let Bob count his reps while he listened to Nat order one pizza with pepperoni and one with mushrooms. He suddenly just missed you so much. He should have taken a few days off and joined you in Annapolis to attend your lecture. He'd love to see the look on Josh's face if he tried to talk to you with Bradley standing behind you. 

When Jake finally came back into the garage, tucking his phone into his pocket, he just sighed and stared at Bradley for a moment.

"Well? What did you talk about?" Bradley rasped, handing the dumbbell back to Bob.

Jake just kind of shrugged. "A lot of it was personal, so I'm not going to tell you, but I explained to her very calmly that she needs to get over it. I told her that I am completely taking your side this time, and that it was important for you to assert your dominance in this particular scenario."

Bradley grunted and stood, pulling Jake into a brief hug. "She likes you. She'll listen to you."

Jake nodded. "I told her to take an hour to think about things from your point of view and calm down. Then she's allowed to call you back, but she needs to be done being upset."

Bradley gaped at Jake, and a startled laugh escaped him. "And she's going to actually do that?"

"She better, or I told her I will be very disappointed in her."

"Shit," Bradley muttered, so impressed by Jake Seresin that he wasn't sure what had become of his life. 

"Pizza's here. Let's go inside," Nat said, guiding everyone toward the house.

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

Jake was probably right. You were in shock from seeing Josh again, and you needed to think through what happened at the Hard Deck before you talked to Bradley again. You had stripped off all of your clothes, too hot and uncomfortable, before flopping down on the bed.

Thankfully Jake had taken the time to walk you through everything. He told you that Josh looked like he was going to try to approach you, but there was no way Bradley, Jake or anyone else in that bar would allow that to happen. Jake also promised you that Bradley was very calm the entire time, and the only reason he hit Josh was because he started bad mouthing you.

And especially based on what Josh said to you at the restaurant, you tended to believe Jake. The man had the nerve to call you a skank! As if you had done anything to wrong Bradley!

Oh Bradley. You had yelled at him on the phone. And he'd been the one to keep this information from you for months to try to spare your feelings. He just wanted to protect you and keep you safe. And really, maybe Josh deserved that broken nose and the broken ribs. 

Okay, now you were thinking about Bradley fighting for your honor, and a shot of adrenaline coursed through your body. You ran your fingers along your healing tattoo and you reached for your phone. 

After one ring, you heard Bradley's voice. "Sweetheart."

You let his raspy voice wash over you. He was always going to keep you safe. "I love you, Roo. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I was so flustered from tonight and then I was embarrassed. And you know you could have told me you hit him, right? I'm not fragile, Bradley."

"Oh, Baby Girl. You're not. You're so strong. I just didn't want you to have to keep dealing with this shit when I was more than happy to take over for you. You do the same thing for me sometimes. Like when you make fancy dinners for Goose and Carole just when I'm on the brink of collapse, because I don't think there's a good way to keep their memory alive."

"Okay. That makes sense." Jake was right. You just needed to take some time to think about things. "It's like sharing the burden with someone who can help in a different way."

"Yes," he replied, and you could tell he was smiling. "Exactly like that. And also, fuck you Jake," Bradley said, his voice raised so that you could tell he was yelling through the house. 

You started laughing along with Bradley. "Don't get upset with Jake. He's kind of sweet, actually. He helped me process this."

"I love you, Baby Girl. But it's so late there, and you have a big day tomorrow. Are you okay?"

You took a deep breath as you sat up in the tiny bed. Your eyes dipped again to your tattoo. "Yeah, I'm okay, Roo. Thanks for always trying to protect me."

"Will you call me as soon as you can tomorrow? I want to hear everything about your presentation."

"I will."

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

Ugh, Josh..... she needs to finish up in Annapolis and get home. At least the tattoo is complete!

PART 9

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[writerofadream]

Fortune favors the Bold ⛓

Chapter Two: Meet the Stars

TDI! Duncan x Juvie Bestfriend! Reader

Duncan and you had been separated for around three hours now, you had both on seperate boats and you were aleady getting twitchy. You both had brought a total of four things from juvie, as well as two confiscated items of yours. Duncan had bought his switchblade, a handheld pistol, a bracelet, his meds, a picture of his mom, as well as a small heart locket that held a picture of you when you were around nine.

You had bought a handheld pistol, a dagger with your initials on it, a locket that had a picture of Duncan in it, a picture of seven year old Duncan and you, a deck of cards, and lastly a lighter.

The older boy had been furious when Chris informed you that neither of you would be on your meds for this little 'expedition.' and by furious I mean, had quickly shoved Chris into a wall holding a knife to his throat. "I can deal without my shit. But unless you want a fucking wild animal released she get's her shit at least once a week got that, asshat?" Duncan hissed. Chris's eyes flickered towards you, as you took a selfie of the two while doing a piece symbol with a large smile.

You were crazy.

He loved crazy.

Crazy made money.

Chris didn't want you on your meds. His exact words were that you were "So much more fun without them!" he didn't seem to mind the fact that Duncan had shortly thereafter had shoved him into a wall and put his forearm to his neck. "She's going to get her meds, at least once a week, every friday, got that?" he had whispered. "You know what that's a great idea. She'll have this strange contradicting personality, people will think she's crazy!"

Chris truly, loved an insane idea.

You had leveled the gun at his head in record time, your phone gone in a flash. "Don't, call me crazy." Your voice was shaky.

"If you say so scorpion. Let's get a move on!" Chris smiled patting your shoulder as he quickly got guards to seperate you and Duncan both. Now you were on a boat on your way to an island which sure looked nice from the picures.

The medicine you took kept you steady, kept you from losing your cool on everyone around you. It kept you sedated, calm, cool, and collected. Without you turned into an injured animal that had just been cornered.

Wild, rabid, and feral.

So that was the deal, you would get your meds every friday because then you'd have a confusing contradicting personality which would get viewers intrigued and therefore more money!

The weekend after Chris had picked you up, he had seven armed guards seperate you and Duncan and put you on two different boats. Duncan had yelled for a long time and eventually got three of his guards down. You had broken the finger of a guard that had grabbed your shoulder and had broken the shin of one of the others.

You were staring at your hands by the time you felt the boat hit the dock slowly. They were already shaky. Your eyes flickered upwards and your stomach was quickly full of dread. It was a dump, the island, was an actual god forsaken waste of space. You jumped off the boat not bothering to find the ladder.

"Here she is, Y/N our resident scorpion." The insane TV show host yelled from his post on the dock. Your eyes flickered quickly around the island, at least what you could see. A pit formed itself in your stomach. "This was not what we were told, Mclean. I don't like being lied too." You nearly screeched at him, you were seething with anger.

"Oh I know princess. Your parole officer told me about that. She also told me to tase you and bring you back if you started making a fuss." The psychotic man smiled at you. Duncan watched you wearily from his spot on the dock and noticed your stance.

Hands clenched, body tense, eyebrows furrowed, eyes slitted, jaw set. Yes, all the looks of a L/N, ready to pounce.

Suddenly before you could jump there was arms around your shoulders and hands around your waist. "Scorpion, you better put that tail of yours down. I'm too pretty to die!" Chris giggled as Duncan dragged you away.

He grabbed your waist right before you could jump at the TV host. "Hey, ain't worth it, Y/N. We both know it." He hissed in your ear and gently threw you into the group of people. You sighed your body untensing and your fingers found his.

You stared at the people around you. A pretty blonde with a surfboard, a goth-chick who was fine as hell, a girl who clearly looked like she got everything she wanted, a girl with brown hair that seemed nice enough, a buff girl in a blue outfit, a girl with a shit ton of additude, a set of girls you would've thought were twins, a dude everyone thought was fine (you didn't see it), a tall chubby blonde boy, a nerdy looking redhead, a kid who was clearly homeschooled, a short boy who was looking at the goth chick with a huge smile, a dude who clearly played the guitar, a sporty dude, a blonde muscle-boy with a hat, and lastly a goody-two-shoes who was cute.

Suddenly you heard a loud yell and saw a flash of redhair hit the dock. Courtney ran to grab the girl out of the water. "She could be seriously injured guys." She scolded your group.

"If she thinks a concussion is a serious injury you've never actually been hurt have you?" Duncan laughed and honestly you had to resist the urge to giggle as well.

A chance of 100,000 dollars, and the ability to fuck around with some assholes?

This is going to be the best couple weeks ever.

[adharastarlight]

Tis The Season

Two: Magic

Pandora drags Regulus to a Christmas market... Regulus who hates Christmas

“It all looks so pretty!” Pandora practically cooed it as she dragged her best friend into the Christmas market in town. Dragged being the correct word, he was all but clawing at her to make their journey stop. It was no secret that he hated the season, but he’d agreed to spend the day with her and she needed to find a present for Evan. He was the only one she hadn’t found something for and if he won their yearly contest, she’d have to admit he was the better twin. And that was never happening again.

“Yes, yes, very nice. Why couldn’t you order your present online like everyone else?”

“Because shopping for it is half the fun! Come on, Reginald! Your fiance is the biggest Christmas fan in the world, you could at least try not to scowl at every part of it. Try to enjoy it!”

“What is there to enjoy? The crappy songs? The capitalist-driven consumer driven splurges disguised as bonding? The awful movies which all look the exact same? The bloody sprouts? The ugly jumpers? The-”

“The magic of it, Reg!”

He scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, “what magic?”

“All of it!”

Regulus sighed and gloomily trudged behind her as she pranced around each stall, oooing and ahhing every now and then. He glanced up occasionally and he had to admit some of the handmade pieces were beautiful, but it didn’t brighten his mood all that much. He liked winter, he did, just not the festivities which suffocated him during it. His brother seemed to have found a love for it, he’d even learned the dance from Mean Girls, which had admittedly scarred him for life. Remus was neither for or against the holiday which made him… somewhat bearable. He was however a sucker when it came to Sirius, which meant their small cottage became an assault to the senses, cinnamon mixed with cranberries and a constant flow of laughter and joy. The nerve of some people.

And then there was James. Stupidly perfect James, who of course had one fatal flaw. He adored Christmas. And Regulus? Well Regulus’ fatal flaw was James. So their house was coated in stupid tinsel and red and green and gold and a sprinkling of cheer from midnight on December first. Didn’t mean he liked it.

“Reg! Reg, look! Oh, it’s perfect!”

He looked over at her gleeful beckoning, at a small, ornate charm. It was of a holly leaf but didn’t seem absurdly Christmas orientated. It wouldn’t ruin the charm bracelet Evan had had for almost a decade now. Barty had found it in his mum’s old jewellery box and given it to his boyfriend and he hadn’t taken it off since. It was getting quite full now, a sprinkling of charms for different occasions and some just when the moment struck - he had one of a cactus and no one quite understood why.

“It’s gorgeous, Panda, it’ll go perfectly with the socks and book.”

“You think? Ooo, look there’s matching cufflinks. Do you think Barty would absolutely kill me if I got them for me?”

Reg laughed softly and shrugged, “considering he hates having to wear a suit to work, perhaps.”

“But they’re precious!”

“Get them, love, Ev wouldn’t let him kill you anyway. And we both know he’s whipped.”

She beamed at him before talking to the artist animatedly. He let her voice waft over him as he stared out at the people milling around, bundled up in their gloves and scarfs, woolly hats on giggling childrens’ heads. Hands were clasped around warm drinks, heads of couples bent together, their breath visible in the cool air as they muttered words. He supposed there could be a kind of beauty in the joy found in Christmas. The smiling faces and rosy cheeks, the way every word of the shivering carollers was tinted with a grin. Maybe he would like Christmas, if he wasn’t such a stubborn git.

“Okay! Where d’you want to go next?”

“Home?”

“Reg.”

He sighed and raised his hands in surrender, “tell me where we’re going then.”

Pandora grinned at him and tugged on his arm, leading him through the crowds to a small stall he hadn’t noticed on their initial loop around. It was covered in blank baubles and little containers of paint. “Can we, pretty please? The answer’s yes.”

He sighed, it’s not like he’d ever actually been very good at telling his best friend no, “I’ll watch.”

“He’ll paint.” The blonde said brightly to the man standing with a paint stained apron and a steaming mug between his gloved hands.

Regulus sat on the chair he was led to and stared at the bauble in front of him. His best friend had already started painting, chattering excitedly to the seller. He contemplated if she’d notice him darting away, but just as he’d concluded she would, his phone rang. He smiled at the screen as the name flashed up, “hi, mon amour.”

“Reggie! Where are you? I brought home dinner.”

He checked his watch and cursed under his breath, “I’m with Dora, she’s dragged me to this blasted market. I’m meant to be painting a bauble.”

James’ laugh trickled down the line and he had to force back a lovesick grin, “I’ll save you a plate, sweetheart. What’re going to paint?”

“Not the foggiest idea.”

“Hmm, what about a deer?”

“You’re biassed.”

“Just a little. Paint whatever you want, my love, it’s going front and centre whatever it is.”

Reg blushed and looked down at the white ball, “it is?”

“Of course, angel, you’re painting it.”

And there it was, alongside the butterflies soaring through his stomach, magic.

[aquabuggy]

“Imagination, life is your creation”

Say, what band was it that wrote that song again? Escapes me… Oh well, anyways,

Happy Barbie Movie Release Day!

It’s nice to feel excited about something again.

It’s not every day you see a toy product centered movie gaining this much positive attention, much less one that deals in the existential horror of being alive. Which is, actually, exactly what I expected out of it and am very happy to see.

Barbie’s probably one of if not the most recognizable and successful product Mattel has, and it’s been that way for decades. But why am I talking about that here? This is a things-full-of-liquid-with-heavy-emphasis-on-water-games blog!

Well, you’re not gonna believe it, but Mattel being a toy company that’s been around for this long, has actually dabbled a bit in our territory! And they actually made a good couple of water games themed around a certain blonde blue eyed doll and her best friends!

So! Without further ado, may I present to you……..

Polly Pocket Tiny Games!

What? Was that not where you thought that was going?

Believe it or not, there really aren’t many Barbie water games at all, just cheaply reskinned ring toss games with a Barbie backdrop…which is both baffling and disappointing considering Barbie has had COUNTLESS beach, pool, sea, and just general water themes. Polly Pocket though? Got 6. You may recognize these if you’re a veteran of this blog.

Being one of Mattel’s latest ventures in water games, my sources tell me that these were actually received incredibly poorly, averaging at a 2-3 star rating. While definitely cute and unique, reviews often mention that the games seem to be designed more for aesthetics than actual play, and that it’s very hard to get some of the play pieces to actually move. Not too surprising looking at those cramped tanks. Wasted potential for sure!

Ohhh but I can’t just end the post there can I? That’s such a bummer! Well, what if I told you this wasn’t the first time Mattel tried their hand at making water games? What if I told you that in 1989 Mattel was one of the few big toy companies that actually dared to challenge the reign of Tomy’s Waterfuls during the peak of its popularity? Oh it’s very true, and considering you’ve probably never heard of it, you can safely assume how that endeavor went. But it’s intriguing nonetheless!

Introducing….

[ photo credit- rww121212, lb-squared, whats-in, and gilbe-niema on eBay ]

Trouble Bubbles/Fun Bubbles

Documentation of these online is mostly limited to listings on buy-and-sell sites (As always. I can’t stress how vital these sites are to conserving lost/obscure media.) so there’s not a lot known about these, and not many pictures of them either. What I can gather is that Mattel made at least 6 of these as well, 3 Trouble Bubbles games and 3 Super Trouble Bubbles games. The main difference between the 2 being Super Trouble Bubbles having a small switch that allows you to redirect the jets of water, which is pretty cool and admittedly not something I’ve seen in other water games! Both also have a wind up timer to challenge yourself to complete the game in a short period.

I’ve yet to collect one of these myself, but they look pretty decent in terms of quality and stand out nicely. They never fully took off in terms of popularity but I think they’re pretty cool, especially as a piece of toy history! Not too shabby at all for Waterfuls competition, my hat’s off to them! Not bad Mattel, sad they haven’t recaptured the same inventiveness for their Polly games. But hey, honestly? Nowadays would be a GREAT time to bring back Trouble Bubbles if you ask me. Water games are coming back in style and Waterfuls has been slow in new major products for quite a while. Who knows? It may just be able to snag that crown sometime in the future…

Unlikely.

But hey, anything’s possible in this crazy age!

[shuxiii]

Love you two times

Huh Yunjin x reader

a/n: this piece of rat doodoo was in my draft for a solid 5 months now (estimated it) and I wanted it gone my bad if it's so bad.

synopsis: starting a new life in a foreign country is difficult as is forgetting the past you once lived. but the person you once loved brought back to your present, reliving the past you once avoided, will you ever want them back?

‘‘Argh, moving into a new country is a pain in the ass.’‘ You groaned, as you roughly let go of the heavy boxes in your hand laying down on the carpeted floor of your empty apartment. 

You recently got accepted in a company abroad as an intern, with your parents helping you rent an apartment that’s near your work, made you grateful they loved you despite being a shitty child.

‘‘Yeah, its a pain in the ass, but at least I’m finally getting my dream job.’‘ You spoke back to nothing, giggling on the floor, looking like a mad woman, with sweat dropping against your forehead. 

You were happy to start fresh, America was a hellish place for you, everything there was so full of dreadful memories, and now you finally got the chance to put aside your past and start anew. 

You sighed, standing back up, dusting your clothes, craving something to eat after hearing your stomach growl. But to your dismay, your boxes weren’t filled with food, instead just boring clothes and items you brought to your newly homed apartment.

‘‘I should just probably buy some noodles across that convenience store.’‘ You murmured to yourself, before picking up your wallet and jacket, leaving shortly after.

You walked the bustling city of Seoul, the beautiful scenery reflecting back at your sparkling eyes. So pretty. 

you entered a 24/7 convenience store, walking on each aisle, looking for a particular noodle you specifically searched for, your eyes shinning at your favorite ramen, you rushed quickly at the coincidentally last ramen on the shelf, your hands reaching out for it only to feel another hand against yours. 

You were taken aback as you glanced to the side, to see a quite tall girl despite the mask hiding half her face you knew she was quite young, making you nervously let go of her hand. 

‘‘Oh, y-you can have it.’‘ you stammered, since you weren't fluent in Korean, it was quite hard to speak coherently without stuttering in the process.

‘‘Really? Cool!’‘ her eyes gave away her masked smile, jumping slightly before taking your hand and shaking it dramatically.

‘‘I’m Eunchae-’’ Her eyes widen, her hand covering her mouth despite the mask already covering it, she looked like she just exposed something, as you gaze back at her confusingly.

"Hi Eunchae, I'm Yn" You responded, feeling a bit perplexed by her rapid shift in facial expressions from shock to confusion to relief.

‘‘It’s nice to meet you, yn, thanks for this ramen, I owe you one if I see you again!’‘ You chuckled as she let out a squeal, unable to contain her excitement.

She waved her goodbyes at you one last time before leaving the store.

‘‘Well, there went my favorite ramen, but at least I gave it to someone adorable.’‘ You chuckle back at yourself, hoping to see her again, oddly enough she reminded you of your little sister, making you smile a little wide, good memories dwelling in your thoughts.

-

You laid back down on your soft fabric bed after eating nothing but ramen, you were quite still hungry but it was way too late, and your first day as an intern started tomorrow, you don't want to leave a first bad impression on your record by being late.

drowsiness overtaking you, as you slowly drown in sleep, excited for what tomorrow will bring you.

-

Well crap, you thought, running on the street, your blazer flying crazy against your body, your head disheveled, with your only breakfast which was bread, stuffed in your mouth. You were almost late. 

You went faster than anyone could to the entrance, apologizing to the old guard, who took quite a fright at your sudden bolting to the door, before repetitively pressing the elevator button, you cursed as you saw the floor number, it was currently at the highest floor, making you abruptly run to the emergency exit stairs.

This was not what you expected for your first day, this was like a race to satan’s door. 

Your body dripping in sweat, your chest harshly heaving up and down, gasping for air. You finally reached the floor.

You tiredly opened the door to the room before collapsing on the couch inside the recording studio room.

‘‘A-Am I late?’‘ You sttuttered, barely able to finish your sentence corherently.

‘‘Nope, you’re right in time.’‘ The producer cheerly gave you a thumbs up, smiling back at your slouched figure.

Who smiles at a monday morning. You thought.

-

‘‘Well, as expected their late again.’‘ The producer muttered, looking at his watch, it has been 20 minutes since you came in the room, your body feeling quite better after running a flight of stairs.

"Who?" you asked, looking puzzled at the producer. You got up and walked over to the stereo systems in the room, running your delicate fingers over them gently.

‘‘Oh, it's this newly debuted girl group, since this is your first day as an intern, you're going to observe me, and maybe give out ideas or two for their new comeback!’‘ he happily explained, his eyes full of passion, clearly enjoying his work. 

As if on cue, the door opened widely revealing multiple girls coming in with their loud voices erupting inside the room, still your back was facing them.

You hear them greet the producer before noticing your presence.

‘‘Yn, I want you to meet Le sserafim!’‘ suddenly the producer’s voice turned deaf in your ears, and the room felt small.

You look back, you felt your heart drop, and the air in your lungs disappeared.

Her figure was not what you expected to see after years, your chest tightens gazing on her face, it didn’t change one bit in fact it looked much more prettier last time you saw her.

Luckily her attention was focused on her phone, giving you time to cover yourself with your jacket, awkwardly moving your body to face your left side to hide your face even more.

‘‘Oh my, it’s her!! she was the one I met in the convienent store!’‘ 

You squint, eyes widening realizing it was the same girl you saw yesterday, her name Eunchae was it. 

‘‘Oh, you mean the girl who you stole the ramen?’‘ a Japanese-looking girl snickered. 

‘‘No, I did not, she gave it to me!’‘ Eunchae dramatically defended herself earning laughs from the other girls. 

‘‘Who?’‘ You suddenly became tense at the sound of a familiar soft voice that you hadn't heard in years. It was clear and loud, causing your heart to race and your body to instinctively hide.

‘‘Oh, her name is Yn, she was the girl I was talking about!’‘ Eunchae explained, making you cringe at her exposing your name just like that at the last person you would ever want to see again.

Her ears twitch at the name, quickly glanced up, looking at your covered figure.

Her focus is now solely on you, tucking her phone away in her pocket, She paused and took a few steps towards you, her heart racing. She needed to confirm if you were the Yn she had been yearning for all these years - the only person she had ever loved.

The producer patted your back, gesturing you to talk back, making the hood that hid your face fall down at the sudden force, giving away your identity. 

Well, shit. 

Your eyes slowly meet her doe brown eyes, catch sight of it, full of unspoken emotions you couldn’t comprehend. And with just that, all of the dreaded memories you hid under your heart, came crashing down to you. 

Yunjin was in shock. After all these years, you looked exactly as she had imagined. She could hardly believe it - finally, she was seeing you again. Her heart swelled with happiness, and she instinctively raised her hand to pull you in for an embrace. However, you moved away, avoiding her gesture.

‘‘I-I um I need to go to the bathroom!’‘ you awkwardly shriek, bumping into the other girls, and running down the hallway. leaving an overwhelmed Yunjin 

-

"Fuck fuck fuck" you leaned against the sink, your hands running through your hair, your teeth between your lips.

"This can't be happening." You repeatedly said, now covering your face with both your hands.

Why does she have to show up now, after all these years? Just when I've finally gotten myself together, I have to work with her.

You took a deep breath, holding your chest, trying to calm down the fast pace of your heartbeat.

"I can handle this. Just maintain a professional attitude and everything will be alright," you reassure yourself. Taking a deep breath, you calm your nerves and regain your composure.

-

‘‘What was that all about?’‘ Chaewon nudged Yunjin’s side, whispering at her. 

‘‘What.’‘ Yunjin mumbled seemingly staring at the floor, like it was the most interesting thing to look at. 

‘‘Like you almost pulling that new girl in your arms, almost as if you knew her.’‘ Chaewon crossed her arms against her chest, now sitting straight on the couch.

‘‘It was nothing.’‘ 

Chaewon raised her brows, clearly uncoinvinced by the short excuse.

‘‘Dont lie to me, Jennifer.’‘ 

Yunjin sighed, her lips forming a frown. ‘’She...She’s my ex.’’ 

Chaewon let out a gasp, quickly concealing her surprise at the major revelation.

‘‘What?! Do you mean the one you always talk about? That was her?’‘ Chaewon loudly whispered now moving closer to Yunjin.

‘‘yes." Yunjin sighed for the third time, what was she thinking of course you'd act like that. After all, it wasn't like you guys were still bestest of friends after she left you, even when she promised she'd keep in contact but she never did.

"how about you talk to her?" Chaewon suggested.

"I wish, but It seems like she doesn't want me to." Yunjin pouted, playing with the ring on her finger.

"Do you still want her back?" Chaewon firmly spoke.

"I do but-"

“No buts, if you still love her and really do want her back, you should show her that, show her that you wouldn't make the same mistakes, Go for it!” chaewon jokingly shake Yunjin’s slouched figure, her eyes full of sincerity.

Yunjin smiled softly, her hands on her lap.

“Okay, I’ll prove it to her, I will, thanks Chaewon I really needed this.”

Chaewon smiled back patting Yunjin’s back.

-

Since that day, Yunjin has been a constant presence by your side. You can always spot her in your peripheral vision, and she always seems to be focused on you. She finds ways to strike up conversations with you and subtly suggests grabbing a meal together. She even makes excuses to prolong her time with you.

Despite that, the challenges of getting you back was harder than she thought, you’d always have an excuse of being busy or you had somewhere to go. Of course, she knew that was a clear lie, and she understands that but she didn’t expect it to hurt her that much, you avoided her, but that didn’t make her stop pursuing you. Getting you back was hard work she’d commit to just to have you back in her arms.

-

Yunjin wiped the beads of sweat that dropped against her brows, her heavy breathing echoing in the practice room.

She stayed a little more, to rehearse the dance step she had a little hard time learning. Alone in the room she sloppily walked towards her water bottle chugging it down, the water dripping on her shirt.

She checked her phone, it was 12 a.m in the morning. She groaned stretching her arms, moving them in a circular motion.

She picked up her sling bag, texting her manager to pick her up from the company.

She stood in front of the entrance, shivering at the cold breeze that passed her, receiving a reply from her manager, saying she'd be a little late because of the harsh weather.

she took a seat on the waiting benches, playing with the keychain of her bag, yawning with the tears building up at the corner of her eyes, the rainy night made her drowsy.

That is, until she noticed someone in her field of view, it was you beyond the entrance door, standing against the pouring rain, slightly damp but safely protected by the building's roof from the heavy rain.

Suddenly, the drowsiness that had engulfed Yunjin has turned into concern and worry as she sprints towards you.

You felt a coat cover your freezing body, the familiar pungent scent of the jacket made you look back.

‘‘What, are you doing here?!’‘ She shrieked, grabbing hold of your wrist to pull you back inside the building, but your body didn’t budge at all. 

‘‘I’m admiring the rain.’’ You whispered gently, your gaze now fixed on her bleached hair; you loved it better when it was black.

As she let out a soft sigh, her grip on your wrist loosened and she eventually released your hand, though the sensation of her touch lingered on your skin.

She stood a little closer to you, feeling the warmth of her body.

‘‘Why are you soaked?’‘ her eyes looking at the tree’s moving into the rhythm of the wind.

‘‘I was going to walk home but the rain chased over me, so I had no choice but to go back here.’‘ You played against the hem of her soft fabric jacket.

The wind became louder, the rain falling against the roof drowned out the loud hammering of Yunjin's chest, being this near to you made her happy, a lot happy.

But the silence was something Yunjin couldn’t stay in forever, she was willing to ask you again and again.

‘‘Yn.’‘ Her voice came to a whisper that the wind overtook.

‘‘Hm.’‘ 

‘‘Whatever we had, can we have it back?’‘ 

The emptiness of silence you gave her made her heart ache even more, her eyes carefully glancing at your physique, your countenance blank.

"Why. Why repeat the past and only hurt the both of us, again." You let go of the hem of the jacket. Now your hand forms a tight fist.

"But it won't happen again, and I won't leave you like before." She grips both of your hands tightly, her voice shaking slightly from the cold or perhaps from the fear of losing you again.

“oh really, now that you have everything you ever wish for, you think it’s easy to go back to the way it was. Because ever since you left me, I’ve been counting every second and every minute of you gone, dreading for you to come back, but you never did, if you really did love me maybe. maybe this would have never happened.’’

All of Yunjin's memories flashed before her eyes, and the expression you gave her was the same. The same dreadful look you gave her as she went away. It caused her heart to tighten in an awful way.

‘‘I get that you were chasing over your lifelong dream, but what about me? where did I stand in your life? did you ever place me in your future, or was I ever in it to begin with? ’‘

‘‘You are-’‘ 

‘‘If I ever was then, maybe you still kept in touch with me, but you never did, did you?’‘ 

Of course, what reply could she ever give to you with that sentence? and she deserved this, she was selfish, she never thought what you felt. It’s true when they said love makes us both selfless and selfish, you were selfless enough to accept that she left you over her silly dreams yet you always told her, she was special to still dream.

''Then, give me a second chance I'll prove to you that I can still fix things!''

''We aren't the same people we used to be-''

Yunjin hugs you tightly, putting her head against your shoulder.

''Please, yn we can still fix this because after all these years I still love you, people do change but my love for you didn't. I can't afford to lose you again so please, can you take me back''

''Please..''

before you could even give an answer, a car stopped beside you both. showing her manager in the driver's seat.

You felt the once tight embrace slowly loosening, she had to let you go.

''think about it, I'll give you space'' last words she said before avoiding your gaze into the car.

-

ever since that day, it has been a week since she stopped bothering you. you'd walk past her at times and be in the same room as her yet, she felt far away from you, she avoided your gaze and only ever spoke when it was important.

And the more she did distance herself from you, the more it distracted you. why was it difficult for you, this is what you wanted right. yet, it didn't feel nice at all.

so here you were, in a bar driven nuts with drinks you could gaze upon, chugging it all whole.

''Yn, I think you've had enough..'' Your friend, Kai spoke looking anxious at your drunken state.

''I'm fine, I'm fine'' you motioned your hands at him, slurring in the process.

''Seriously, I think we should go home'' Kai, holds onto your arms ushering you to stand up. but you push his hands off, muttering no's, hugging the chair.

''Why won't she just leave me alone, why is she giving me space. I hate her so much'' You muttered, laying your head against the chair.

everything went black, and you felt someone holding onto you. You opened your eyes slightly, you were in the parking lot, your arms up on someone's shoulders. someone was carrying you.

''Thanks for picking her up'' You heard Kai talk to someone.

''Don't worry I'll take care of her, thanks for taking care of her'' The familiar voice perked your ears, making you glance to your right, to see her. Yunjin was carrying you.

You heard them bid goodbye as Yunjin, carefully put you on the passenger seat, gently holding onto your arms to help you.

Why was she the one picking you up?

You both shortly arrived at your apartment, and she left the driver's seat. You hazily look at your window pane, seeing her open the door holding your arm onto her shoulder and helping you up.

''Be careful'' She mumbled.

You stumbled a little, going inside the apartment the room was dimly lit, and she lays you down on the couch.

''I'll get you a glass of water, I'll be back-''

before she could even step foot away from you, you gripped tightly on her wrist. She gazes back at you startled.

''Don't leave me'' You muttered.

''I'll just get something, I won't be too long'' She tries to remove your hold, but you only gripped it even more tightly. Pulling her close to you.

''You already left me once, don't do it twice'' You slurred.

''Okay, I won't'' She sits on the floor, letting you hold her hand for a while.

There was a moment of silence until,

''I miss you''

''You miss me?'' She said.

''No, I've been missing you ever since had your back faced to me, I've been missing you even when you stood right in front of me'' Your eyes stared back at Yunjin's glistening ones.

''I missed you even when you were still mine''

Yunjin's heart took its pace, feeling overwhelmed at such a revelation, but she shouldn't get ahead of herself, you were drunk after all.

''Yn, you're drunk,'' she spoke.

''Let's just talk about this tomorrow when you're sobered'' She stood up, but you persisted gripping tightly on the hem of her shirt.

''I can try, I'll learn to love you again- so don't leave me'' Your voice filled with drowsiness.

She faces back at you, with a gleam in her eyes. Brushing the strands of hair covering your face.

''Okay, I won't leave you.''

[wowbright]

Fic: Alone

Fandom/pairing: Glee, Kurt/Blaine

Event: december klaine fanworks challenge 2023

Words: ~1,200 words                                        

Rating: Explicit

Summary: Soon after returning from his mission, Blaine gets to do the thing he’s been looking forward to the most.

Notes: This is part of my Mormon!Klaine universe. It takes place after Out of Eden, which I am still in the process of posting to AO3.

“Alone. Finally. Now I don’t have to die from a fatal case of sexual frustration,” Blaine said, tugging at Kurt’s top button. He appreciated the effort his family had made to welcome him back from his mission, but this—this was the thing he’d been looking forward to most.

“Slow down, cowboy. I'd like to keep this shirt in one piece.”

Blaine tried, but between the sounds Kurt made as Blaine kissed him beneath his ear and the way the adrenaline was making Blaine’s hands shake, he wasn't sure how to get Kurt's clothes off without tearing them.

“Here.” Kurt rolled out from under Blaine and stood at the side of the bed, his fingers making easy work of the buttons. “Why don't you watch?”

The smirk on Kurt's face—it was so hot and so unfair. He knew what this was doing to Blaine, lighting all his nerves up like fireworks on the German new year. “Like our first time?” Blaine said, trying to play it cool but his voice cracking on the vowels.

Kurt nodded sweetly as he peeled his overshirt off to reveal the garment top beneath. “Sometimes, the best presents are the ones that are unwrapped for you.”

The words sparked Blaine into action. He could take care of his own clothes while he watched Kurt—because it wasn't like he was going to stop watching Kurt, like he would miss the way the pale expanse of Kurt’s belly and chest were revealed as he pulled his garment top off over his head—but maybe he could be a gift for Kurt, too. Oh, how he wanted to be—to unfold himself completely and let Kurt take what he could for pleasure.

So Blaine echoed his lover’s moves, dispensing of his layers in the same order, enjoying the hungry way in which Kurt watched the revealing, until they both had nothing left to shimmy off.

“I wasn't sure if you'd still be wearing your garments,” Blaine said as he stacked his garment bottom with as much respect as his trembling hands could manage on top of their pile of discarded clothes.

Kurt arched an eyebrow as he climbed back onto the bed. “But you could see them through my clothes, couldn't you? I mean, the top, at least.”

“Yeah. I meant, I wasn’t sure before I saw you. I thought, maybe you'd stopped.”

Which was the stupidest thing Blaine could have possibly said, because before Blaine had spoken them, Kurt was in the process of crawling on top of him and Blaine was pretty sure that the next thing he'd been planning to do was sandwich their bodies together, and oh, Blaine wanted to feel that, it had been so long since he'd felt Kurt's skin and heat and the heaviness of his arousal in that unfettered way. The months he'd spent imagining this moment, recreating their touches in his mind, longing for all the things he had ever done with Kurt and for things they hadn't yet done—but now, Kurt stopped mid-air, hovering over Blaine on all fours in a way that both tantalized and tortured him. “Would that have bothered you?” Kurt said softly—not nervous, not fearful of being judged, but full of concern only for Blaine’s feelings.

Blaine shook his head. “I love you. Garments or no garments, church or no church. I love you because …” and that was a stupid way to start a sentence, because no words existed in the English language—or the German one, for that matter—to explain love. All he knew was that it was good, and holy, and that God smiled every time Blaine said those three words to Kurt in any language. “… because I love you. Because you’re my person.”

Kurt smiled. It felt like the light of a thousand heavens. “Well,” he said, his expression shifting toward the sly, “I don't wear garments all the time. Sometimes I'm practically naked under my clothing. Sometimes all I wear is a pair of red bikini briefs.”

Blaine groaned audibly at the image. His dick grew heavier against his belly. Kurt put his hand around it, sizing it up with the gentle appreciation of a connoisseur. “You like that?”

“You know I do, Kurt. Everything about you—”

But he couldn't finish, because Kurt's hand was moving on him now, skin against skin, flesh becoming one with flesh. “Only red bikini briefs? Or would other colors do it for you too?” Kurt teased. “Because I have a whole collection in my suitcase. Maybe I could model them sometime.”

“Kurt,” Blaine groaned, and then he ran out of words. He kissed Kurt—on the neck and on the mouth and on that spot right below his ear until Kurt was as desperate as Blaine.

“I’ve thought about this so much,” Kurt moaned as Blaine worked his kisses down Kurt’s belly. “Your mouth, Blaine. You have no idea what it does to me.”

Blaine had some idea. Kurt was hard and leaking, and when Blaine tongued the tip, Kurt gasped.

“It makes me come, Blaine. Thinking about you. I’ve thought about you in so many ways. I want—”

But now it was time for Kurt to lose his language. Blaine took him into his mouth and sucked, lovingly and desperately. He was out of practice, and his jaw might regret this later, but—

Kurt jerked out of his mouth. “Not so fast. I get my just rewards, too.” He flipped Blaine onto his side and did something that reminded Blaine of a somersault and suddenly Kurt was back in his mouth but he was inside Kurt's mouth, too, everything hot and wet and oh, oh, oh God, Kurt was making sounds—deep, guttural, pleasured sounds like having Blaine inside his mouth was the better end of the bargain—and they vibrated into Blaine and through him and Blaine sucked like his life depended on it, clenched his fingers into Kurt’s buttocks and pulled him as deep as Blaine’s mouth and inexperienced throat would allow. And he couldn’t say I love you but he could show Kurt, he could show—

Kurt arched into Blaine, his body stiff with pleasure, and he grunted around Blaine’s penis as he came and that was so hot—the sound of Kurt and the flood of semen that was almost too much for Blaine to swallow, and oh Blaine was so close to gone, and he curled his fingers through Kurt’s hair and tried to guide him off, but Kurt refused to budge, just kept sucking on Blaine like his life depended on it, and Blaine had no choice but to let go.

“So,” Kurt said a few minutes later, when they’d wiped their mouths and caught their breath and kissed and kissed and kissed, tasting themselves on each other’s tongues, “was it worth the wait?”

“Um, definitely.” Blaine giggled. “But I don’t think we should wait that long ever again.”

“Good,” said Kurt, rolling half on top of Blaine and looking him in the eye. “So maybe a snack, a shower, and a fashion show courtesy of the underwear collection in my suitcase, and you’ll be ready for round two?”

Blaine felt his arousal stirring again. “That’s an awfully long list. Maybe we skip straight to the fashion show?”

[bepisbee]

Cute lil thing for a server weekly prompt (Domesticity)

Read on ao3

"What was this called again?" Shadow leaned up and over Vio's shoulder, using fluid shadow magic to stretch up comically around him.

Vio held a butter knife and some bread slices in his hands. On the countertop was some already sliced up cheese from a wheel, courtesy of a local farm they had helped, and an open dish container what Vio had told him was called 'butter'.

He applied generous amounts to the sides. "Grilled Cheese. Although it is deceiving since you are grilling the bread not the cheese." He moved over to their woodburning stove, already in action thanks to the now resting firerod nearby. They never have issues lighting it anymore. A small warm glow from the embers heated up the metal on top which had a flat iron pan. It was well loved to say the least.

Shadow watched in awed curiosity as he placed a slice butter down with a soft sizzle, added the cheese and then the other slice butter up. Being a creature made entirely of light and dark particles he didn't necessarily have a need to eat anything. In fact it was recently over a dispute of who can cook the best did he actually begin to do so. It makes him feel better after using his magic, plus it tasted good. Usually.

Vio was not usually one of those who was let into the kitchen. Sure he could make some damn good tea or hot cocoa, but cooking? Not really his thing. He had researched it profusely as an exact science. It often led to strange combinations and burnt foods.

However, there were a few things Vio was the best at. A few simple things he has spent a lot of time sneaking downstairs to master to impress a certain someone. In this case: grilled cheese.

Vio playfully smacked Shadows wandering hand away from the hot burner. "Patience. And don't touch you'll burn your fingers." Shadow pouted at him. He flipped the sandwiches over revealing a beautiful lightly toasted side as the cheese started gooey dripping out the sides.

"Woah."

After another minute Vio brought over a plate and plopped the toasted slices onto it while shutting off the burner top. Just the coals started going out. Shadow tried to touch the sandwiches again but stopped at Vio's pointed look.

"Trust me. I know what I'm doing."

"I'm pretty sure the last house fire says otherwise." Shadow gave him his classic lopsided grin, one fang poking out.

"Oh shut up." Vio flushed in embarrassment. "I was learning!"

"Learning arson maybe."

Vio swatted his arm. He used the butter knife to cut the sandwiches into perfect triangles. They were cooled just enough that the cheese stayed inside while still warm enough to be perfect. He held a piece up to Shadow. Shadow looked between the offering and Vio several times before deciding to still be a brat and take a bite of it right from his hands.

"Owhmayhgawd." Vio's favorite mannerless heathen spoke with his mouth full. He took the sandwich from him and shoved the rest in. "Thishsofickinghkgood"

"Shadow!" Vio's scold devolved into laughter. "You're gonna choke, don't just shove it all in!"

He swallowed it whole.

"Pah! That's what she said!" His hat behind him was swirling in joy between curling up and making a heart. Despite himself Vio snorted at the immature joke.

"Eat your grilled cheese." He sat on the counter and took his. Shadow leaned on the other side of the plate, having the other half of his own. Properly this time.

"Next time I'll ask Green to make his tomato soup with it, and you dip the sammich in the soup. Oh Gods damnit now Red's got me saying sammich instead of sandwich." He pinched his nose bridge.

"Haa! Told you it was contagious. Mr. Linguistics have different connotation blah blah blah snooreeee" Shadow imitated one of Vio's info dump rants.

They bickered like that for a while while Vio cleaned up their dishes. As they left the kitchen Shadow looked back briefly, a fond smile on his face. Maybe sometime he could learn this grilled cheese and make it for Vio too.

[izzy-ikigai]

[Browser names in bold if you just wanna skip to the paragraph you want to tell me I'm completely wrong about because that's your browser]

So, in light of the possible future where some of the chromium-based browser might get kicked right in the content-blocking code with Manifest Version 3, I actually felt the need to look around for alternative browsers to our holy lord the Google Chrome if we can't even have uBlock anymore.

Obviously I'd love to have a browser that won't die in the next 2 years, so either backed by a company or backed by a large community would be neato. It's fine if it's chromium, as long as content blockers will keep functioning or at least have alternatives. I did consider MS Edge for a hot second, I read somewhere it's supposed to not yield to Google for the new APIs but couldn't find it again, but then I remembered that Microsoft is an anti-consumer oriented company that pours billions into AI and making our lives worse in general and that even if it does run on Linux I do not fucking care.

I went over a few of the obvious choices and while yes, Firefox is oh-so-different, the basic threat/security model of FF is still lacking. Trading one security issue(not being able to run full-fledged content-blockers) for another one seemed a bit like a letdown to myself.

And while yes, the company Mozilla puts a lot of money in advertising how privacy-oriented they are(on social media, with targeted ads, lol) the have gotten to a point where that's simply not completely true anymore.

I also looked at Brave, it has a few cool features and the notion of a crypto wallet built right into the browser gave me the ultimate anti-climax and the tab was closed with Mach 10(someone please make a video about what would actually happen with a finger going mach 10).

For now I arrived at Vivaldi for testing. It has a few decent built-in things like tracker/ad-blocking(via url lists, which works pretty decent on it's own but I decided to additionally also run uBlock since URL list don't catch everything).

It also has an absolutely overwhelming amount of customization that made me realise how "default chromium-based browser" is basically like plain rice and I've just gotten used to plain rice every day to the point where I didn't question if that's good or nah. Vivaldi made me realise that spices exist. I know it sounds ridiculous, it's just a stupid browser, after all, BUT...

Just look at this Tab Cycler.

Or this Spotlike-esque in-browser search

Oh you would like your tabs on the side, cuz that's what the cool kids do? WELL WHICH SIDE IS IT THEN????

Oh you said tiling your windows in your operating system's UI sucks so your browser should do it? Yup, if for some weird reason that resonates with you, it also does that.

Pause button so you can focus on something non-internetty? That little shit hides in the corner of the status bar.

A weirdly functional and also overly customizable side-bar? Got that as well.

Honestly, when I say an overwhelming amount of customization, I mean it. I've been playing around with this piece of shit for like 4 hours and I watched the intro videos to some of the things and I really feel like I haven't even scratched the surface.

Someone please tell me some dealbraker about this browser, it's almost 3AM and I need to sleep. Like holy fuck this thing feels like someone went "imagine if your browser was as much of a full-time job as emacs was".

And no, I'm not switching to Vivaldi (yet). I'll obviously give it a solid month before I'll make such an obviously life-changing decision. I might even do a cheeky install on my phone I guess.

[nine-fingered-entity]

one piece live action episode 1 thoughts:

yeah, i'm months late. who cares?

also. full disclaimer: i have both a huge sentimental connection to one piece (first ever manga, first read when i was like. 8.) and am an enjoyer of it current day (have read the whole thing 3 times. can and will bitch about it at length but genuinely do love it. have posted like. 45k worth of one piece fic.) so absolutely biased as hell.

anyways

show is silly goofy which is correct. one piece is silly goofy first and foremost. just relax, enjoy the ride, accept the cartoon shonen logic. once i did that i had a good time.

i 'm actually a fan of the changes made to pacing. breaking up the first chapter with all the luffy flashback lore makes a ton of sense for live action and makes more space for present-day stuff. we don't need to know all that right away. we'll get to it. episode was still a bit rushed but tbh the manga had that issue too with the early chapters (had a lot to do and oda did not yet have free rein to bloat)

along the same lines, introducing nami and zoro at the same time makes a lot of sense. gives us more time with both of them. get to see nami in her element a bit more-very cool. also the map gives them all more of a reason to be in shell town causing havoc.

i especially like the reworking of how zoro and luffy meet and how zoro teams up with him (not a crew! yet!). it always kind of bothered me that luffy somewhat coerced him into joining in the OG - thematically that was a cognitive dissonance, so luffy freeing him without expectation felt a) more luffy and b) will make zoro eventually joining more meaningful imo

do sort of wish that they'd somehow managed to keep zoro stubbornly hanging there starving for like. days. because i think that's a really good intro to his character and what's important to him but at least he still managed to eat the floor rice. like overall i think the changes were a good idea but they do give a different spin on him. (i think he accepted being freed too easily in this one. but. oh well.)

big fan of the alabasta foreshadowing. and zoro's opening scene. kind of ate ngl. cool to see things only offhandedly mentioned in the manga.

acting/writing. hm. i think some of the serious dialogue was a bit clunky and some bits the acting felt a bit...self conscious? sometimes luffy seemed a bit Too Self Aware/and not relaxed enough. during the sillier bits though i thought he did better and loosened up. same with zoro. no notes for nami though.

i was expecting to hate the rubber CGI but. did not mind it. fight scenes felt a bit silly but that's okay they are silly. (it is a plot point in the early manga that luffy fighting looks bizarre.)

fight scenes pretty decent, considering the medium change. three-sword style does just look flimsy live, unfortunately.

why is Garp here????????????????????

surprisingly faithful to all the important bits, honestly. we'll see where this goes. interested to see what they do with orange town now that the set-up has changed.

fun thoughts:

was that crocodile in the execution crowd? oda was apparently pretty involved in all this, so if that Was crocodile then that counts as evidence for my favorite One Piece theory. crocomom real?

spotted Foxy and Bellamy bounty posters, which imply both of them have been to the East Blue. interesting but probably inconsequential set-building. curious on what posters i missed.

my instagram ads keep showing me a one-hole zoro earring set (all three dangles but you only need one piercing) and i've never been more tempted. damn the algorithm.

huge fan of koby's hair

was jumpscared multiple times by british accents. which is on me and my USAmerican-ness.

unfounded guess but i bet they're going to change how kuina dies. please.

[crmsnmth]

September Sky Chapter Two, Part 5

"Yeah, he got here, like, an hour ago?" That was Amber's only flaw. The word like. Yeah, I get she was young and that seems to be one of those things with every generation, but it always drove me nuts then. It drives me nuts now. Anybody else does that, I'm liable to just walk away. And then people think I'm rude, not knowing walking away is better than letting out my inner asshole. I don't like letting that out. I like it too much. And that scares me.

"Oh cool. This been it since you've been in?" I motioned around the room.

"Pretty much. And they were done eating when I got in. So about a half hour of making whiskey cokes." Amber liked her job. When she got to be what she thought a bartender was. She should've been working at seem theme bar, where the bartenders have stupid games and stupid little dances. Not making the same five drinks for the same five type of people that came here.

The five types? First dates; we're affordable for the type of food we put out. Be fancy without actually being fancy. Show off without destroying any chance to do anything for the rest of your night.

Celebration tables: some kid just aced his dissertation, so the friends and family wanted to celebrate. At least once every couple of weeks we have a table of at least ten people. And a lot of those times, these people don't understand how to make a reservation.

Quick business meetings: even on the edges of Riverwest and the Eastside, there sat the people who wore three-piece suits to work and made deals with five digits at the least. They ate fast, efficient and never left a mess. Or a good tip.

The tourist; this person has no idea how they got here. They wandered in somehow, and just said fuck it. They'll stick with the flow. They'll love the place for the night, and usually their waitress got a pretty bad ass tip from them. Tourists, are honestly the best to work for. I love them. No matter what, they will love the food. They care about nothing but the experience.

And finally, the middle-aged date night; these are depressing to watch. Two people who at one point loved each other and got married. Now they've gotten old, and busy, and life isn't this bright and full of opportunities. The spark died, and they don't want to admit it. So they try every trick in the book. And one of those, and it never worked, was weekly date nights. And every so often, they would show up here.

Those were the main five types. I mean there were other sorts that came in. But those were the five. The table right now, drinking? Business meeting that apparently went very well.

We clacked our shot glasses together and downed them. Amber made a gross face. She never was a fan of whiskey, and I was not a fan of vodka, which was usually her choice. I, on the other hand, enjoyed the smooth shot. Good whiskey is good whiskey.

I hopped off the stool. "I'll talk to you later. I should go see what Skeletor is doing." I said, grabbing my jacket and heading for the swinging door that separated the kitchen from the rest of the building.

"See you later," Amber said, going back to marrying bottles and wiping a spotless bar down even more than she needed.

"Skeletor!" I shouted as I came into the kitchen. I was officially and fully in the work part of my personality. The loudness, the living. The things you have to be to be a good manager.

"'Sup!" He shouted back from the line. He was there, a black t-shirt and blue jeans covered with a black apron. An apron that stopped above his knees. We only had one apron that fit him and it had gotten covered by a spilt pot of tomato sauce. Our laundry was done on Thursday nights, so he'd always have it on the weekend. Maybe you don't think of how your kitchen looks, but we do, and we do have the uniform. Burns and cuts lining the forearms. Pen or pencil in the ear. A sauce covered apron covering our clothes,

"How we standing?" I asked, walking into the back office, where the three desks stood. One was mine, the most covered in paper and it looked very messy to the untrained eye. But I knew where everything actually was so don't fucking touch it. Angela's desk was spot less and clean. Not a paper clip out of place. Just like her. We didn't get along all that well. And then Amber's desk. It was covered in little nick-nacks that she'd brought in. Even her laptop had a dorky sticker on it. I threw my jacket on the desk, grabbed an apron and headed back to where Justin was chopping up an onion.

[unsettlingcreature]

5, 7, 9, 13, 25 for the oc ask for Perseus 🫡 💖

5) how far is your oc willing to go yo get what they want?

So Perseus tends to make impulsive decisions that have large consequences. Typically his first reaction is self-sacrifice (like his life or his soul That One Time) but it's always something that only he's giving up. While he would rather find options other than violence, killing or the sacrifice of someone other than himself, that's probably where he draws the line - at least in pursuit of a bigger cause or to help someone else. For his own ambitions, he won't go very far at all partially because he is a very unambitious character overall.

7) what's one way your oc has changed since you first came up with them?

Honestly so much addjdhsksjddd. When I first made him, he was actually pretty bare bones because I was nervous about the (new) group I'd be playing with and wasn't sure how much backstory to give. A lot of the stuff that's now core to his character were things that were discovered through playing him.

If I had to pick one thing, it'd probably be his love life/sex life LMAO. Originally, I had him envisioned as a disaster bisexual and yeah, he definitely was in the end LMAO but I kind of viewed him as the kind of person to just end up stalling when it came to romance or sex. He was definitely awkward when flirted with and he was going to just pine uselessly when he realised Oh No I Have Feelings For An Idiot. And yet? The PPZG threesome happened so easily?? Good for him. Was a ménage-à-trois a sexual awakening for Persy? Yeagh. Good for him.

9) do you have a specific lyric or quote which you associate with your oc?

Lyrics are hard because I have a full playlist of songs that I think are Perseus coded and ordered according to his character arc/the campaign plot. Am I allowed to use a quote from my own writing?? Because I'm gonna. Also it's kind of long 😳

Once, he would have questioned where he fit in and what his value was. The templars would have made him a bishop. Caedis, a pawn. But Perseus knew who he was now, with his family - because that's what the Last Flame were - fighting alongside him. He was a Rook, one of the strongest pieces on the board and he’d stand between them and Unity for as long as he could.

13) if you met your oc, would the two of you get along?

I like to think so! Perseus is definitely one of my least abrasive characters despite his low Charisma and I think we could at least be on friendly terms if not become actual friends.

25) what is your favourite thing about your oc?

I think maybe his growth or just how through him, I've made some wonderful friends and created wonderful things with them. With Perseus, I got to meet all the players in the Last Flame and I think it helped me become good friends with Jojo (who played Aegis, Persy's brother, and is overall a really cool dude) and Rachel (who played Yesriel, aka the third honorary Rook sibling, and is really fun to play with at Empire) in particular. All of the players were awesome for that game tbh! Last Flame i miss u. Reunion tour when.

Not just that, but he really became a creative outlet for me - I drew and wrote so many things that I'm really proud of. I'll always throw Rook, Bishop, Pawn at people wanting to understand more about Perseus as a character because I think it's really well written (to toot my own horn) but having that fic be referenced in-game before the final fight was... it legit brought my to tears, I love my DM/brother so much sometimes.

It didn't even end once the campaign came to a close. Me and Lotus endlessly spawned AUs for that campaign, including the Velseus AU which we both loved so much (and that one day will definitely become more than scattered notes). There was the Modern/High School/Coffee Shop AU that became such a big point of collaboration between everyone and that is now the setting for my current big fic I'm working on!

I just ooouuurrgghhhhhhhhhh I love Perseus so much. He might be my roman empire.

[shadowthrone-ammanas]

Living Time Piece

I had this idea a while ago and even started writing it, never finished it though. But when considering what Snatcher related story I could write for Halloween this year I randomly remembered it so here it is, entirely rewritten because my original go at it wasn't that great, perhaps part of why I never finished it.

~

The living soul that had appeared out of nowhere in the middle of Subcon turned out to be Hat Kid again. Not surprising, she was the only would that could do that kind of thing as far as Snatcher knew. Still it had been best to make sure lest it be someone else. Now he could leave and go back to what he’d been doing. She’d no doubt find her way over to him sooner or later, but that would be a problem for future him. He didn’t quite turn away yet though, continuing to watch Hat Kid instead.

She was climbing the big tree in the center of Subcon. Despite having only been at it for what couldn’t have been more than a few minutes she was already halfway up. She was being reckless, not paying much attention to safety in her seeming rush to get to the top. The risk of falling was high to say the least and at that height it would likely cause severe injury if not death. Maybe Snatcher should…

As Hat Kid hopped to a new branch, it snapped underneath her. She fell without a sound. Snatcher teleported over, intending to catch her but… was just a bit too slow. She hit the ground in front of him with a horrid wet crunch of breaking bones.

Before he had time to do anything more than flinch, the world jumped and he was suddenly hidden in the tree line again, looking up at Hat Kid as she climbed Subcon’s large central tree. What the fuck? She deftly avoided the branch that had broken as if she knew… and well, perhaps she did.

It had to be a Time Piece, right? She had one on her person somewhere so it would break if she fell. Still risky though because what if she landed in such a way that her body would cushion it enough that it didn’t break? Also, didn’t she make a big deal out of how using the Time Pieces too much was dangerous? It could end the world or something like that. So why was she being so frivolous with its use now? Surely she should at least be more careful because once again as she put her full weight on another branch, it broke, sending her to the ground.

From over here, the crunch of her body breaking as it hit the ground was still unfortunately audible. But just like last time, the world immediately jumped back to when Hat Kid was safely up in the tree, only a short distance away from where she’d fallen.

Snatcher had had enough. Shifting out of cover of the shadows, he floated over to hover and loom over her. “Hey kiddo.”

Surprised by his voice, she messed up her jump. This time Snatcher caught her well before she hit the ground. He levitated her over so he could frown down at her.

She smiled, lifted a hand in a small wave. “Hi Snatcher.”

“Didn’t you make a big stink about not using the Time Pieces? So why are you risking breaking them to climb a tall tree of all things?”

“What do you… oh, wait! You remember me falling?”

“Uh… yeah.”

Her smiled widened. “It must be because of how much you’ve been wearing the hat I made for you. Or maybe the phone I gave you? I don’t really know. But you remember now too which is cool.”

“What are you talking about?” The hat – one similar in many ways to her own – and cellphone she’d given him as gifts more than a year ago now and had absolutely nothing to do with anything right now.

“I’m not using a Time Pieces to save myself when I fall and stuff. I’m like… a living Time Piece, I guess but also sort of not. When I die or break, time jumps backwards to shortly beforehand. Like the Time Pieces, yes, but I’m pretty sure the rules are different for me because most of the time no one except for Bow remembers when I break like they do when the Time Pieces break. And I’ve died a lot without anything bad happening so the way it works must be different and thus I can break and reverse time as much as I want and it’s fine. Other than the fact that it hurts anyway, that part sucks pretty hard but it only lasts for a super short time so it’s not too, too bad most of the time.”

If it wasn’t for what Snatcher had just witnessed he wouldn’t have believed it for a second. But that would also explain Hat Kid’s lack of fear and general recklessness; why be cautious and fearful of death if she’d always come back from it? … But wait, if this had always been the case but he was only just now able to remember it for whatever reason… “When we fought, did I successfully manage to kill you?”

“Yeah. A few times, more than anyone else actually.”

Yes! He wasn’t so pathetic to have lost to a kid during their first tussle. She’d had the unfair advantage of multiple tries and recalling all her previous attempts while he hadn’t. Of course he’d still lost which was embarrassing but now it was slightly less so.

“Now,” she continued, interrupting his triumphant chuckle, “can you put me back so I can get back to climbing the tree?”

“First, why are you like that? Is it an alien thing or what?”

She shrugged. “My theory is that I was made in a lab as an experiment and then something happened when I was still too young to remember and that’s how I ended up in an orphanage. I don’t really know though. Bow says I might be an entirely different kind of alien or maybe only part alien somehow. I try to keep it a secret. Which is easy because almost everybody doesn’t remember when it happens. Except back on my home planet, people there tend to remember more often, not always though. But still I almost got caught a few times and had to…”

Bored of listening to her chatter, Snatcher levitated her over the the tree and dropped her back onto it. She caught the branch just barely but pulled herself up with no problem.

“Oh, okay. Thanks. I’ll catch up with you later after I reach the top.”

Snatcher floated away without an answer. That revelation had certainly been interesting. The fact that she didn’t know why she was like that sucked though. Perhaps he could do some experimentation and figure that out himself. Like he’d been planning to do with the Time Pieces before she’d stolen them back. He was going to have to think on that idea for a bit to sort out how best to go about it. Perhaps by the time she caught up with him later, he’d have an idea in mind.

~

My original idea had this being longer via having this leading into the Death Wish contracts and probably multi-chaptered as a result. But due to lack of time, I decided to just leave it with a vague suggestion of that happening instead.

[timaeusturntech]

Tripp pants are a requirement for everyone at the wedding, it's just that ours (and Kermit's) have to be more flashy than everyone else's. I'm sewing a cutie mark onto the ass of mine and nobody can stop me. Also, the vows will practically be a full-length feature film. Though now I'm curious, what kind of cake are we having?

Listen most of the doubles I've met are fine (except this one where every time I'd talk about someone I want or whatever they'd be like "guess what :3 I'm like that" like alright fuckwad get out, this is MY blog.) Dirk splinter superiority complex is a real thing and I'm blaming you for it. Dove inherits southern accent and love of Mccafferty, I inherit...being better than everyone. I guess. Also it's funny because I've met a gazillion Hals but only one other Dirk besides you. So based off that you're technically best Dirk

JAKE FUCKING ENGLISH. HATE. LET ME TELL YOU- (gets shot)

Yeah. I don't like Jake. Back when I first formed it was a lot worse and I've sort of(?) gotten over it (not really). I remember a while back there were a lot of people in my inbox being like "well what if he felt bad about how he treated you?" and "I wonder how much you think about him?" which honestly only made it worse with those implications. I don't really have any issues with Jake fictives, never have but FUCK. I hate that stupid fucking piece of shit and I'd give him the IHNMAIMS treatment minus the toxic yaoi. I'll never be in toxic yaoi with Jake English

Oh yeah, for sure. The guests all have to wear vanilla Tripps, it's the dresscode. We can have all kinds of cool patches on ours though. Hell, I'll sew a matching cutiemark on mine's ass. The romance, swoon. We'll be a better ship than Appledash ever was. And I'm not actually too picky on cakes, at least flavor-wise. Probably orange or cherry or something like that. The decorations will be exacting, though. Thirteen tiers, each with shittier references than the last. I manage to somehow JPG artifact several of the layers. There are SBAHJ toppers. You know how it goes.

Lord, the superiority complex is real, I fear. I experience the 'I am More Dirk than them' moments far too often. And then spazz when I feel as though someone is better at being me than I am, but that's just the subjectively worse side of that coin. We've met plenty of Dirk introjects but I'm honestly not sure we've ever met another Hal besides one in an ex-friend's, so that's interesting. I wasn't aware there was a niche of Hals out there that I was missing out on. I almost feel betrayed, here. Guess it's alright though since I've also been bequeathed the 'Best Dirk' award out of lack of competition.

I would also give Jake English the IHNMAIMS treatment without the toxic yaoi. Dude. Dude. Again, I've mellowed out slightly about it as well - I'm not running off fictives or anything anymore, which was very much a real thing I used to do, like I said. But there is certainly still a large measure of resentment there, and I don't interact with content of him or fictives whenever possible. He's already pretty intolerable in source, but my memories of him just make it that much worse. He's such a fucking dick. And honestly this is a pretty well-known thing for people who've talked to me more than once or twice, but a solid seventy percent of the reason I can't stand him is the way he treated you/Hal. Pisses me off because although I haven't always been the best about the way I treated splinters, obviously I've fucking grown and learned to treat them like fully realized people. That's something that he, at least in canon, was never capable of. In general he was never capable of treating the people around him with respect. I may have had problems with boundaries, but that was always out of care for my loved ones, not a total lack of shits to give for anyone but myself. Fucking English, man.

[crocus-cryptid]

We're on to V1:E2, as listed on roosterteeth's website. I know what the E stands for, but it took me a second to realize it's V for Volume. I watched V1:E1 immediately before this, so it's two plays of the theme song back to back. The theme fucks severely so I'm not complaining.

I realized the airships have fins and it looks a bit like they're swimming in the sky. That's really cool. Holy shit they switch to standing on all fours to land, I love that. A lot of RWBY's design elements function on the rule of cool, I think. Is it practical to have a gun scythe? Do physics really work that way in combat? Probably not, but it kicks major ass so it's fine.

I feel bad for Jaune, that's one hell of a case of motion sickness. Poor dude's vomited at least twice.

I noticed one of the shadow people doing a jaunty little walk on the way into beacon, that made me smile. Oh damn this episode is only six minutes. In later seasons I remember everything being a more consistent length, but I guess the series was still finding its footing here.

It's funny how Ruby animorphs into 2d chibi art. The flat colors and style of it harken back to the sort of thing I used to see being posted on deviantart by younger artists, which gives me a nice warm sense of nostalgia. I remember posting my wonky anime art online once upon a time.

I think it's cute that Ruby's a weapon nerd. That could be a great vehicle to explain more about how weapons work in Remnant. How a character explains world details can tell you just as much about that character as it does about the world.

I kind of love the poorly recorded stock sound effects. It's something that really roots this in that era of youtube animation.

Weiss assuming that Ruby doesn't know what dust is is likely to explain what it is to the audience, but she's also a brat who would figure that most people are beneath her based on this scene alone. Blake just standing there reading a book is interesting- was she reading and walking at the same time? I forgot that she was a bookworm.

You can really see the anime influence in how they animate the characters. Also in how they're designed, but how they move and emote feels very anime.

I wonder about that wiggly clothing effect. Is it supposed to be wind? I've seen it happening indoors. I'm guessing it's not an error since they've consistently kept it in. Is it for emphasis? It's probably wind.

Blake bringing up the unfair labor practices Weiss' family corporation employs comes back later, I know.

I like Jaune's shield, and I thought it was funny that Ruby pointed out how it weighs the same. Even the "uncool" weapons are neat. It's cool that Ruby forged her own weapon, too!

The outro fucks severely too! The chorus reminds me of music from the 70s in some ways, with the strings and the bells. I clicked off to look up the full song. The guitar solo is pretty good, feels kind of Steve Vai to me.

Oh huh, V1:E3 is another six minute chunk titled pt 2 to the last one. I'll just keep going in this post since it's basically one episode. This was uploaded after the ten minute limit on youtube videos based on how V1:E1 was one ~12 minute chunk, so I'm not sure what's up with that.

Jaune going "Where am I supposed to find another nice, quirky girl to talk to?" And there immediately being another character with real details behind him is honestly pretty funny foreshadowing. If they were animating this one piece at a time before uploading, it'd make a lot of sense if they read the comments about Jaune clearly being an actual character and decided to make a gag from it.

The dialogue can be pretty rough. It reminds me of like. What people think Marvel movies sound like. And I don't like marvel movies.

Ruby reads as autistic to me, maybe some other flavor of neurodivergent as well.

Ozpin's glasses remind me of Vash from Trigun's glasses. I wonder if that was intentional or not.

I love Jaune's footy pajamas. The background boys having real detail was probably just to sell the gag but it might be fun to see them again.

Ruby's pajamas remind me of the Dead Tired line of g1 monster high dolls, with the graphic tank top, patterned pajama pants and sleep mask. I doubt she has high heeled slippers, though. She and Frankie Stein would probably get along pretty well.

Ooh it's a different song this outro! My guess is it's to show off the totally awesome soundtrack. If I had music that awesome linked to my project I'd want to show it off too. I should listen to Jeff and Casey Lee William's discography after this.