#Simple yet endearing :D

[milkamel]

Something cute with Killer being cozy and Cross being hopelessly in love 💜❤️ Just a small art that I didn't put too much effort into but it's still cute :D

Killer belongs to rahafwabas Cross belongs to jakei

[the-one-and-only-elita]

One thing that I absolutely love about TFOne's writing is that it manages to avoid a lot of the heavier criticism I've seen regarding MegOp's hero/villain dynamic over the years (trust me, the mid-2010s TF discourse was crazy)

*Spoilers Below*

First of all, the narrative benefits so much from the main 4 cast members all being a part of the same exploited mining class. So many takes on MegOp have Orion being of a higher status (an archivist, a cop, etc) while Megatron is much lower down on the social latter (a miner, a gladiator, often in the context of being a slave).

I've seen many people be put off by this, because it feels as if Megs is being villianized for being rightfully angry at the system that deeply harmed and exploited him, while Orion/Optimus is praised for taking a more pacifistic stance despite him not suffering as much from or in some ways even benefiting from the system he claims to oppose. I don't find their dynamic to be as simple as that, and I do find these takes to be a bit reductive, but I do very much see where they are coming from.

I am definitely one of those people who's very frustrated with the way pacifism is hailed as the one true path of morality, and the inherent implication that taking any sort of revenge on the people who abused/exploited you makes you just as bad as them. Also, Marvel's particular brand of demonizing any form of radical political action, despite the system clearly being broken and corrupt, but being completely unwilling to offer any other alternatives to meaningfully change things for the better.

When looking at what I described above its pretty easy to see how a lot of versions of MegOp's hero/villain dynamic unfortunately fits into that trope. Bringing it back to TFOne, you can see how Op and Meg coming from the same political/social status subverts this. The existence of Elita and Bee only further illustrates that out of the 4 people of the mining class who were all deceived, exploited, and literally mutilated in the same way it is only D-16 that completely loses himself to his rage, even to the point where he loses compassion for his own companions and disregarding the safety of the other miners (when he decides to "tears everything down" and Elita exclaims he's going to "kill everyone").

What I think I love most about the characterization in TFOne is that Orion is the radical one. Not only that, but he is praised by Elita and by extension the narrative for it. He is constantly challenging authority, and is the first to have the suspicion that their society is structured in an unjust way.

Meanwhile D-16, to be frank, is kind of a bootlicker. He fully believed in the system and that Sentinal Prime, as someone with power, had the right to decided "what was best" for those who are weaker/lesser (I wish I had the specific quote from D-16 to support this, but the movie's still in theaters). It illustrate that D-16 already held certain fascistic ideals, and that he and Orion already have fundamentally opposing moral/political values, it simply hasn't been of any consequence yet. It shows that their eventual falling out was inevitable, even if they had decided to rebuild Cybertron together.

It should also be noted that D-16's feelings of anger and betrayal do not necessarily have anything to do with the unjust system itself, but that said unjust system was predicated on a lie. Hence his fixation on deception in the post-credits scene and him naming his faction the Decepticons. Meanwhile, when Orion learns the truth he's just sort of like "yeah, I always kinda knew something was up" because again, he understood on some level that their system was predicated on injustice.

Even D-16's obsession with Megatronus Prime, while initially an endearing aspect of his character, is also an indicator of the questionably large amount of value he puts on one's strength. It foreshadows the "might makes right" ideology that the decepticons follow, and is a key part of their ideological characterization across continuities.

Instead of the narrative we often see in Transformers media were Optimus is idolized by the narrative for being more moderate and Megatron is villiainized for being radical (or so people often claim), it is instead Optimus who is rewarded and praised by the narrative for being radical, and Megatron who is villainized and punished by the narrative for holding potentially fascistic values.

I do agree with some criticism I've seen that the whole thing with killing Sentinel and D-16's final turn into villainy felt a bit rushed and more than a little cliche, but I also understand it both had a limited runtime and that it is ultimately a family film meant to be accessible to children. More importantly though, I think the movie set the groundwork early on that, no matter how this final act played out, D-16 was always going to turn to darkness, and Orion would not have been able to stop him.

Its perfectly tragic, the way all MegOp should be, while also feeling really well thought out from a thematic standpoint. I love it.

[sheyfu]

in sleepless nights, i find solitude in you

FEATURING itoshi sae, itoshi rin, oliver aiku, chigiri hyoma, mikage reo, nagi seishiro, and shoei barou

CW oliver aiku

SYNOPSIS what they like to do on sleepless nights with you

NOTE these are hcs and are not reflective of their characters!

⋆˚✿˖° itoshi sae - hearing you talk about your day

- a mundane, yet intimate moment between you two - he finds it so endearing when you talk about your day and get so passionate about it too - he just loves hearing your voice; the way you speak, the way your voice just sliiightly raises when you’re telling him about some person you abhor (big boy word), and the way you ask him for his thoughts on something you’re yapping about makes him feel like the luckiest guy in the whole world - you both end up not sleeping D: but it’s okay, he’s not complaining because it’s you

⋆˚✿˖° itoshi rin - binge watching horror movies

- you hate him for this. - but at the same time, you love it because he holds you close to him - he knows you’re scared, especially when it’s ass o’clock in the evening (more like morning) and your room’s only source of light is the television. so he holds you tight :D - he has the urge to make fun of you because you’re oh so scared, but he stops himself from doing so because he loves holding you close

⋆˚✿˖° oliver aiku - holding you close to him (in his words, spooning)

- surprisingly, he’s not horny  - i guess bc of practice, he’s tired and he just wants to de-stress and go on about his night without tiring himself out more, you included (LMAO NOT ME SPEAKING LIKE IM GANG W GREEN GALLAGHER) - so he holds you close :D  - and its not like the hold you close and talk about stuff type either - literally the hold you close and sit in silence type with occasional kisses from him :D 

⋆˚✿˖° chigiri hyoma - gossip (okay so some of you probably don't tolerate gossip but gossip culture has been SUUUUCH a big part of my life that i cant help but associate it w chigiri im so sorry you can bitch slap me for this LMAOAOAO ANWYAYS)

- he loves gossiping. he usually has THE ggoat (greatest gossip of all time) - this usually ranges from people he works closely with, or people he knows but that person doesn't know him but for some reason the news reached him LMAOAAOA  - for some reason, he also has visual references??? like if theyre related to texting he has screenshots of their convo???? if irl, he has pictures????? YOU DONT KNOW HOW HE GETS THOSE 😭😭 (based this hc off my friend who has everything for some reason 😭😭) - and most of the time theyre literally so mind-boggling you have to stop him and walk around the room to calm your beating heart down - he also loves using a soundboard while doing so LMOAOAOAO

⋆˚✿˖° mikage reo - slow dancing

- ah yes. the typical rich boy activities. - but like even if he wasnt born in that class (GANG DONT TWIST MY WORDS IM NOT A CLASSIST WLANSISOS), he'd most likely still love doing this (idk theres smth about him that js makes me think he would love dancing) - in the kitchen, dimmed lights, his hands on your waist, yours on his shoulders, herb alpert playing in the background, and his lips on your forehead  - im leaving it at that :))

⋆˚✿˖° nagi seishiro - playing roblox

- typical nagi.  - what roblox games you ask? dress to impress. - he likes playing simple games at night. and those simple games dont include dress to impress :)) - buuuut. he still plays it because the satisfaction he gets from beating 12 year olds outweigh the stress he gets from said 12 year olds - he loves to duo with you - literally caseoh just more nonchalant - he also likes to play those 2 player tycoons :DD

⋆˚✿˖° shoei barou - baking

- his love language is quality time  - and what’s more quality than baking time >:D - hes not someone for consuming sugar at ass o’clock. but he’ll tolerate it bc it makes you happy :DD  - he has those #probakingskillz bc he used to bake TONS of stuff with and for his sisters (HE ALSO BAKES THEIR GIRL SCOUT COOKIES GRAHHHHHHHH) - you also make him wear those silly pink frilly aprons (you have matching aprons but instead of yours being pink and frilly its literally the opposite) 

© sheyfu on tumblr

[joequiinn]

And You're Driven Like the Snow | s.h. x mall goth!reader

Summary | Just when you thought Christmas Eve couldn't get any more stressful at Starcourt, that pretty boy from Scoops Ahoy (that you did not have a crush on) walked into your shop and threw your whole night for a loop.

Prompt | You need a last minute gift, but man that sales clerk sure is cute…

Warnings & Notes | fem!reader, mostly fluff, sorta merry little meet-cute (?), mutual pining, post-S3 au in which nothing bad happens, nervous & awkward Steve, reader's appearance not described only parts of her wardrobe are referenced

Author's Note | This was an idea I had started only a couple of days before @littlexdeaths posted the Twelve Days of Promptmas list, so when I saw a prompt that fit the vibes, I made some little adjustments to the story! This is my first go at writing Steve, so I hope I've done him justice.

Recommended Listening | very merry gothmas

WC | 12.5k

[masterlist]

!!! MINORS DNI !!!

Still night, nothing for miles // A white curtain come down Kill the lights in the middle of the road // And take a, take a look around

The guy in that stupid little sailor suit should not have ever caught your eye, not for anything more than a simple laugh at his expense before moving on with your day. And yet - as you entered the mall before hours, running late and knowing that your manager would chew you out for it - you caught yourself doing a double-take, looking from his gorgeous head of hair down to the near dangerous length of his shorts.

It only lasted for perhaps a few seconds, but nonetheless you had to shake yourself from the moment, utter confusion written across your face. Why the hell had you looked for even just that second, eyeing some pretty boy who most certainly wasn’t your type at all?

Once you had entered Spencer’s Gifts through the staff door and gotten the expected scolding from your manager who was on an authority high, you’d all but forgotten about your strange lapse in judgment on your way here. And so your day carried on as usual, your week carried on as usual, and that stupid looking boy from the ice cream shop wasn’t even a blip in your mind.

Until a week or so later, when once again you spotted him from afar as the two of you entered Starcourt for your respective shifts. This time, you couldn’t help but stare a little longer, looking him up and down with an insatiable curiosity as he walked far enough ahead of you that he was most likely unaware of your presence at all.

You tried to convince yourself that you were staring this time simply to figure out why he caught your attention in the first place - it had to be because of how stupid that Scoops Ahoy uniform was, right? There was no way you were oddly charmed by how well he wore it, or how his hair looked incredibly soft, or how his absentminded expression had an endearing quality to it. Nope, you weren’t staring out of any sort of interest in him at all, it was simply some morbid sense of curiosity about someone so clearly unlike yourself.

It was the third time you were staring, however, that made you kick yourself, because on this occasion the Scoops Ahoy guy caught you.

You’d been walking quite a fair distance behind - hoping that you didn’t look like a total creep watching how his long strides carried him - when his keys fell from his hands. When he turned to pick them up, the two of you met eyes across the expanse of the empty mall; you hadn’t even realized that you stopped walking until that moment.

You were instantly flustered by his brown eyes and the curious furrow of his brow, trying in vain to look around yourself and act as if you totally weren’t staring at all. Of course, you knew even as you did it that the act wasn’t going to work; when you nervously met his eyes again, you thought perhaps you saw something like amusement there. So, panicked and not knowing what else to do, you glared harshly as if to dismiss your staring and briskly continued on towards the escalators without daring to slow or look back at him one last time.

Why you’d been so caught up in him at all was a mystery to you, and so from that point you made a conscious effort to ignore him in the hopes that eventually your intrigue would be forgotten. So, you briefly found some guy cute? Didn’t matter, especially considering that you had no intention of ever speaking to him anyway.

Most days, that stupid Scoops Ahoy guy never even crossed your mind, but when he did, it was nearly an annoyance. If ever you visited the food court for lunch, it was almost aggressive the way you ignored the ice cream parlor, acting as if it wasn’t even there. During some of your morning walks through Starcourt you tried to keep your head down, but more than once the two of you had accidentally fallen in-stride with one another, which would prompt you to practically stomp forward and act as if you didn’t know he was there at all.

Then there was one day when you were convinced that your coworker was conspiring against you, because Shelley all but dragged you down to Scoops Ahoy despite your protests. Evidently, her ice cream craving took precedence over your arguments against accompanying her.

You could feel the tension in your body and across your face as you awkwardly stood there beside Shelley, your eyes trained on the floor as if that would keep you from doing something foolish. If your coworker was aware of your rigid demeanor, she didn’t draw attention to it, far too focused on ordering the most annoyingly intricate sundae you’d ever seen.

As luck would have it, you weren’t invisible simply because you wouldn’t look at the Scoops Ahoy guy, because he turned his attention to you and asked, “Anything for you?”

You looked up with a mean expression, which was somewhat unintentional - your nerves always managed to make you seem bitchy rather than anxious, which was a win depending on who you asked. You could see the exact moment that he recognized you, his expression faltering for a brief moment; you weren’t sure if his surprise was good or bad.

Your eyes bounced around his face for a moment, flicking down towards his name tag just long enough to read that it said “Steve” in bubble letters; shit, having his name made this so much worse somehow. But you found your voice quickly - although it felt like a lifetime - giving him a blunt and mildly rude, “No.”

You could see a bit of tension between his brows at your response, but he was able to mask it quickly, putting on that false customer service smile while turning his attention back to Shelley. That interaction was damn near mortifying for you, and for weeks after you avoided the food court like a damn plague.

Then, of course, there was that one time you were cleaning up shelves near the front of Spencer’s, minding your business and trying to zone out everything around you, when you felt as if there were a pair of eyes on you. So, you looked around quizzically, up and down the wide aisles of Starcourt, when finally you spotted Steve rubber-necking from across the way just so he could stare at you. Beside him was his fellow Scoops Ahoy employee, and under other circumstances, their matching uniforms would have made the sight of them comical to you, but in this instance all you felt was confusion and nervousness.

Now it was your turn to pull a bewildered expression as a flustered look flashed across Steve’s face. He abruptly pulled his gaze away, pretending to look at the mannequins in the shop window next to him, though he practically tripped over himself in his panic.

Despite your utter confusion, something about it made you smile to yourself while turning back towards your work, though you just as quickly shook off the expression. You were not about to get giddy just because some guy was looking at you - for all you knew, his stare was a bad thing. Maybe he was just trying to remember your face so he knew which store to avoid, or maybe - an even worse thought - he was confusing you with someone else. Regardless, you kept your head down until you were finally done with your task, whisking deeper into the store the moment that you were free.

You were a pretty far cry from Steve Harrington’s usual type - the all-black wardrobe, the intricate make-up, and the wild hair of the goth scene had never been of any interest to him before. In fact, a younger, more entitled and rude Steve would have probably mocked your appearance. The only time he would spare a second glance at someone clad in black was usually because their attire was garishly off-trend, but otherwise he’d never once spared any goth chick a second glance.

That is, until that one morning when he dropped his keys and caught you staring at him.

Steve was almost certain that he’d seen you around before, though only sparingly and in his periphery; he could have been confusing you with some of the other mall goths he’d seen lurking about, but he was pretty damn confident that he recognized you specifically.

He was taken aback by the fact that you were watching him so intently, his interest only amplified by the way your expression morphed from curiosity into a glare before you briskly walked off in the direction of your respective workplace. Steve couldn’t help but watch you go, an intrigue planted in his brain as he looked you up and down, perhaps trying to commit your appearance to memory. He wondered why you seemed so focused on him, which quickly morphed into wondering about you in general.

It was almost refreshing to have someone new to be curious about, considering that chicks seemed to abruptly lose interest in Steve over the summer. It bolstered his confidence to catch you staring at him, a confidence that he didn’t realize had wavered so much.

Oftentimes, Steve would go days at a time without thinking about the goth girl who gave him pause, but every time he thought he was free of you, you’d appear again like clockwork. He’d see you in the parking lot as the two of you rushed into work, on a lunch break trying to scarf down your food so you wouldn’t be late, talking with people who were maybe coworkers or friends. And even that brief, stinted interaction when you were in line at Scoops Ahoy managed to intrigue him despite your rudeness.

Again, it was usually only in passing, but Steve was becoming increasingly aware of your presence… and increasingly aware of the fact that he found you very attractive.

He didn’t know a damn thing about you - not your name or what your voice sounded like or your interests - but Steve was beginning to enjoy those random sightings of you around Starcourt, even looking forward to them as if you were a rare lunar eclipse. Watching you walk quickly across the mall and towards the escalators became a guessing game for him, wondering which shop you worked in - though, he didn’t want to be that guy who would swing by your workplace just so he could catch a glimpse of you. He wasn’t sure what it was about you that he was so drawn to, yet he couldn’t resist looking each time you were nearby.

Robin, of course, wasn’t stupid and caught onto the fact that someone was drawing Steve’s attention every now and then, but for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out who. Although they’d only been friends for a few months at this point, the two of them were practically attached at the hip, so it was strange that Steve wasn’t talking about whoever this new distraction was.

Considering that he all but gave up on flirting with girls at Scoops and hadn’t been on a date in months - so far as Robin was aware - it only made this scenario all the more intriguing to her. Now, Robin was committed to figuring out who had caught Steve’s eye and why he wasn’t saying anything about it.

She finally got her answer one day as the two of them were walking through Starcourt after work, Robin insisting on stopping into a couple of stores before leaving. She noticed Steve clearly focused elsewhere, and so she tried to slyly look around, hoping she’d pinpoint the chick that had Steve’s head turning. Evidently, he must have been caught, because Steve whipped his attention around rapidly, even stumbling over his feet as he tried to play nonchalant.

So, Robin looked back while stifling her laugh, eyes scanning the crowds for anyone who could be the culprit - she was expecting it to be obvious, to see a gorgeous girl in preppy clothes with equally as generic hair and make-up. But when no one instantly stood out, it made her pause, eyes focusing in on each and every face more carefully.

Steve hadn’t realized that she stopped walking until he was a few paces ahead, looking either side of him before turning around towards his best friend. His brows furrowed with confusion as he asked what she was doing, but Robin was too focused to answer; so, he walked back towards her, trying to follow her line of sight, still feeling a touch frazzled by the fact that you’d caught him staring at you so damn openly.

It took a minute, but Robin was still coming up blank - no one looked to be Steve’s type at all. She turned her attention back to him, eyes narrowing with a scrutiny that was making him nervous all over again.

“Who were you looking at?” Robin asked. Steve’s brow rose with worry that he’d been caught before he tried to put on a false show of innocence.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Bullshit.” Robin’s expression became even more scheming, eager to play detective and uncover what Steve wasn’t telling her, “Don’t play dumb, I know you’ve been distracted by someone recently, so who is it?”

Despite it being an uphill battle, Steve still tried to feign confusion, “I haven’t been distracted by anyone.”

“You’re not as subtle as you think.” Robin smiled devilishly, looking around Starcourt again, “So, why are you afraid of just telling me?”

Steve stared dumbly at her for a moment, heart drumming nervously as if he’d committed some kind of crime. With a deep sigh, he shook his head while looking down at the ground in defeat - he figured the worst Robin could do was pick on him a little, so there was no reason to be this secretive about it.

So, Steve looked back towards Spencer’s, half hoping you wouldn’t be at the front of the store, but you were still there directly in his sight. He pointed towards you, praying that you wouldn’t happen to look back up just like you did a couple of minutes ago. Robin followed his finger, her brow knitted together when the only person who fit the bill even slightly was you, the goth chick with the “don’t talk to me” attitude.

She looked between you and Steve, back and forth enough times that it was nearly slapstick; everything she knew about Steve up to this point hadn’t prepared her for the realization that maybe goth could be his type. Is that why he hadn’t mentioned it, why he hadn’t once discussed a new crush he was maybe developing?

Once the shock of it had passed, Robin’s eyes lit up with amusement, which only made Steve sigh in preparation for the inevitable annoyance she was about to be, “How the hell do you know her?”

“I don’t know her.” Steve insisted quickly, “I just started noticing her, that’s all.”

Robin’s expression grew giddier as she bumped her shoulder into his, “Then when are you going to try to get to know her?”

“I’m not.” Steve rolled his eyes.

“Why?” Robin couldn’t help but grow invested in the scenario, especially because Steve was being so resistant to it, “What’s the harm in just talking to her?”

“I don’t know if I’m even into her, let alone if she’d give me the time of day.” Steve argued as if it were the most obvious thing.

“Only way to find out is to try.” Robin sing-songed, delighting in her best friend’s torment.

“And be on the receiving end of that glare again? Yeah, no thanks.” Robin shook her head at his stubbornness, prepared to keep up her taunts, but Steve spoke again before she got the chance to, “Look, drop it, I’m not gonna talk to her.”

“But aren’t you at least a little curious? Maybe she’s your soulmate.” Robin teased as Steve began walking again, all too invested in putting as much distance between you and him as possible. She had to jog a few steps just to catch up with him again, “Come on, Steve, just go for it.”

“I’m really not as interested as you think I am.” Steve argued as Robin looked back towards Spencer’s again briefly. She hummed with doubt, clearly not convinced by the disinterested front he put up; as Steve’s best friend, she decided it was her job to just give him the little nudge he needed, she just had to figure out how and when.

As if he could tell that she was scheming, Steve raised his brows with a warning look that was far from intimidating, “Robin, don’t.”

She continued to mull things over, quite intent on her new mission, but to appease Steve, she nodded noncommittally while rolling her eyes, “Sure, whatever, I’ll drop it…”

Eventually, Thanksgiving had come and gone; with the cold weather now a mainstay in Hawkins, you stupidly mourned the fact that Steve (and god how you wish you could just forget that name) was now wearing pants instead of those little shorts. Despite your best efforts not to think about him too much, you could no longer resist letting him cross your mind from time to time.

Around that same time that the shorts were retired for the coming winter, your manager had roped you into a supervisor role that you didn’t even want; it was more thrust upon you once they began hiring seasonal staff to help with the influx of holiday customers. This meant that you were constantly swamped with tasks, overworked and underpaid as you seemed to spend every damn day at Starcourt covering shifts or counting inventory or arguing with the delivery guys over damaged shipments.

And all for a minimum wage position at some gag store like Spencer’s freaking Gifts? You decided that you may have to do some job hunting once the holidays had come to an end.

To top it all off, you were now stuck short staffed for the closing shift on Christmas Eve thanks to two employees calling out “sick;” really, you thought it was ridiculous that Starcourt was even open on the holiday, but nothing was going to stop capitalism America from catering to those last-minute, needy shoppers.

Honestly, you didn’t celebrate the holiday, so it wasn’t as if being at work was keeping you from family or friends or parties - but you really weren’t excited to deal with argumentative customers and theft and the impatient crowds of people who simply couldn’t be bothered to do their shopping any sooner. That was the kind of shit that was bound to make you rip your hair out.

But, alas, here you were, trying to keep it together as shoppers crammed into the small store, ruining displays, asking for price checks, being rude and dismissive with the kids at the registers. It was exactly the kind of chaos you were expecting, and yet somehow it was even more insufferable than you had prepared yourself for.

Considering that you were the keyholder for tonight, you tried your damnedest to keep the ship known as Spencer’s afloat - you were all too happy to get confrontational with rude customers, get your fellow employees off the registers when it was clear shit was becoming too much, ran back and forth from the stockroom to the store floor in your best effort to keep the shelves full. The stress of it all dared to turn you into an addict of some kind, because right now you could definitely use a fix of something that you couldn’t even name.

The shop was only set to be open for another half hour, and although the crowd had thinned, there were still far too many customers here for your liking - at this rate, you’d be stuck at work half the night just trying to get everyone out of here and get the store closed properly. At least the staff looked less stressed than before, at least you had the chance to breathe between shopper complaints and demands, though that did little to alleviate your frustrations.

As you were busy putting out the last few boxes of He-Man figures that had been flying off the shelf all goddamn night, you could sense someone approaching you from the corner of your eye, a question hurriedly leaving their lips before you even had a chance to greet them.

“Would it be a little vulgar if someone gave this as a gift to the person they were interested in?” Your brow furrowed as you met the eyes of a girl about your age, her freckled face cute and friendly as she held out a pillow in the shape of tits. You looked back and forth between the gag pillow and her face a few times; although you were exhausted by the day you had, something about her question dared to amuse you, as if she knew that you needed some kind of pick-me-up.

And it had almost worked, too, until you noticed the man who had followed just a step behind her; he dragged his hand down his face uncomfortably, shaking his head while hissing her name frantically beneath his breath. His posture suggested he was exacerbated - as if he didn’t want to be here or as if they’d already had this conversation or as if he was embarrassed. It then took you another split second to realize who he was, as he wasn’t wearing that familiar uniform that you’d been trying and failing to ignore for months.

It was Steve.

Your expression instantly sobered as he looked between you and the girl, his panicky, apologetic gaze making you nervous instantly. Just like you had done nearly half a dozen times since learning of Steve’s existence, you impulsively glowered at him as if to dismiss your fears, although you immediately cursed yourself for doing something so stupid.

But maybe he didn’t notice, because his attention was already on the girl instead, brows raised with surprise at her behavior, his attitude akin to that of a scolding parent tired of their kid’s shit, “Jesus, Robin, really?”

Robin shrugged defensively, although there seemed to be some kind of knowing amusement in her eyes, a twinkle of mischief, “Well, I wanted a second opinion.”

“Oh yeah, sure you did.”

You looked between the duo awkwardly, not wanting to walk away considering that you were on the clock, but so wishing to be anywhere but here right now, as you could feel your face growing warm simply because Steve was standing right here in front of you.

In a measly attempt to calm your nerves, you returned focus to the box of figures you’d been unloading just a few moments ago. Beside you, the two bickered in hushed tones, just quiet enough that you weren’t really sure what the problem was or what they were saying to one another.

You took a deep breath through your nose, pressing your lips together as you put the last Skeletor up on the shelf; you had to decide if you were going to leave them to their squabbling or try to assist them. And for whatever reason, you chose professionalism over your selfish desire to get the hell out of dodge.

“Depends on how well you know the person.” You said plainly, cutting through their spat and quieting the both of them. You picked up the now empty box while looking from one pretty face to the other, your gaze tired from the long day that you’d had, “If they’re already a friend, hopefully they’ll laugh, but some fake tits probably won’t make someone interested in you.”

Your nose scrunched as you mulled over the girl’s question again, looking down at the stupid pillow that was dangling forgotten in her hand. A silent conversation was clearly happening between Robin and Steve, if their expressive faces were anything to go on. You sighed deeply, closing your eyes for a moment to compose yourself - it was damn near closing time, and the last thing you needed was to be stressing out over the guy that you did not have a crush on. He was just nice to look at, that’s all, though having him here just a few feet in front of you made you antsy as all get-out.

“Is there anything else I can help you with?” You asked dully, drawing their attention back to you; you tried not to swallow nervously under the inviting warmth of those deep brown eyes.

Although he looked about ready to say something, Robin spoke first, her tone purposeful to the point that it was suspicious, “Actually, if you don’t mind, Steve here was looking at something behind the counter; could you show it to him?”

Steve shot Robin a look that seemed to be either a threat or a plea, and you continued to look between them with doubt, uncertainty, and trepidation; your shift had already been ridiculous as it is, and whatever shenanigans were clearly going on here was the last thing you wanted to worry about. Once again, you could see some kind of conflict happening even without any words being spoken between them.

So, you sighed decisively, shaking your head a little, “I’ll meet you up at the counter whenever you’re ready.”

You ducked into the storeroom to discard your empty box, taking a moment to breathe and relax before peeking out the door to see if your walking away had prompted Steve and Robin to leave or if they were still lingering around somewhere. A muttered “fuck” passed between your lips as you saw them clearly bickering near the front entrance, as if one wanted to go and one wanted to stay. You rolled your eyes up towards the ceiling because of course this would happen to you tonight, obviously the one person you’d been mildly attracted to recently would show up at your workplace when you were at your most stressed. So damn typical.

Collecting yourself, you walked from the storeroom towards the front counter, curious if they’d actually come up to look at whatever the hell Steve was supposedly interested in; really, you were hoping they’d just give up and leave, it would certainly make your night easier. You tried your damnedest to not look back over in their direction, letting the other customers serve as a much needed distraction, ringing up their purchases and trying to shoo them out and close shop as quickly as possible.

You were starting to think that the rush to lock up the store for the night had dissuaded Steve and Robin, because you couldn’t see either of them from your vantage point at the checkout counter. And by some miracle, you didn’t have any customers in need of assistance - at least for the moment - so you let your shoulders deflate, a relieved sigh escaping you. Less than ten minutes and you’d be able to lock the doors.

But your luck had run out almost immediately, because you saw someone coming up to the counter from the corner of your eye; preparing yourself, you took a deep breath and turned, though your confidence had withered away the moment you met their eyes.

Steve approached you alone, Robin nowhere in sight, which made your nerves even worse than before. His mouth was open as if he was about to speak, but no words were coming out, looking like he was frozen beneath your gaze; you had to resist that impulsive urge to glare, though you were certain you nonetheless didn’t look terribly approachable.

He leaned stiffly against the counter, trying his best to look easy and unbothered despite clearly feeling the opposite. You simply stared for a moment, unsure of yourself, before you managed to pull it together at least briefly.

“What was it that you wanted to look at?” You asked in your monotonous customer service voice, bracing your hands on the counter as if that could keep you calm and steady.

“There wasn’t actually anything,” Steve finally found his voice as he looked nervously between your eyes. Your brow curved up curiously, though a part of you had nearly suspected that answer.

“Yeah, I figured.” Your tone came off colder than you intended, and it caused apprehension to immediately flashed across Steve’s face. Realizing your mistake, you looked around yourself before rounding the counter, walking purposefully as if you had something else you needed to be doing, though all you were really doing was trying to escape. You could feel Steve following, the crowded shelves of merchandise forcing him into nearly too close proximity behind you.

“Sometimes Robin just says things, you know, she can be funny like that.” Steve explained as your expression furrowed, wondering what his deal was. You stopped walking abruptly, causing Steve to bump right into you, ill-prepared for the sudden halt. As he quickly apologized, he steadied his hands on your shoulders for the briefest of seconds, just as suddenly snatching them away as if he’d been burned by you.

You spun around to face Steve, his body so close to yours that you practically bumped noses in the process; your eyes widened nervously, taking in his handsome face as you tried to keep yourself composed. Steve’s string of repeated “sorry”s tapered off, his mouth ajar as his eyes grew larger, too, gaze bouncing around your face rapidly.

“Well,” You started in what you hoped was a confident, disinterested tone, “we close in about five minutes… so if you plan on buying something, you should probably go check out.”

Steve nodded dumbly as he looked between your eyes before he dropped his gaze towards the ground; you realized he had absolutely no merchandise in hand, “Uh huh, yeah, I’ll do that.”

You licked your lip, taking in the pretty way his hair fell in his face and the unsure look in his eyes. For a moment, you became engrossed in him, feeling your own expression soften the longer you stared. But just as quickly, you shook yourself out of it, trying to speak with an air of finality that simply didn’t land, “I… hope you have a good holiday?”

Steve looked up at you through his lashes, though you turned quickly to continue walking away before you could get caught up in his eyes. But apparently he wasn’t ready for the conversation to end just yet, because he followed after you and continued, “Sorry, wait--”

You paused with a deep, nervous sigh, getting more and more edgy as the moments ticked by. What could this clean-cut, vanilla guy possibly want with someone like you?

You spun again, crossing your arms comfortingly in front of you while raising a brow; you realized after you’d done it that you probably looked pissed and defensive rather than nervous. When you didn’t say anything, Steve tripped over himself while trying to find his words, cheeks tinged with pink as he looked anywhere but your eyes.

“Look, I know I’m holding you up and you probably want to get home to your family or a boyfriend or something, I mean, it’s Christmas Eve, of course you’d have plans,” he started quickly, and there was something so damn charming about it that you couldn’t help the way your eyes lit up, gaze softening as you studied him; even still, your heart beat quickly inside your chest, “but I just, uh, I’ve seen you around the mall and thought I’d… introduce myself.”

Steve finally looked between your eyes again, and it appeared that your expression only made him more anxious, because he began yet another spiel, “God, that makes it sound like I just go around introducing myself to every damn person in the mall. I don’t - honestly that would be a lot of work - I mean that I wanted to talk to you specifically, you know.”

You couldn’t help the surprised grin that tugged at the corner of your mouth, absolutely taken aback by the unexpected personality behind the handsome face. Considering that you’d only ever watched Steve from afar and barely interacted with him once before, you let yourself think he was some uninteresting, dull guy. That little assumption made it so much easier to ignore the desire to stare at him, to forget about him more often than not. Now that you were so close and seeing his actual personality come through, he was, unfortunately, winning you over far too easily for your liking.

“Oh, you’re smiling, that’s good,” Steve said, his eyes growing larger as if he hadn’t planned on saying that out loud. Pushing his hair back in a fluid motion, he looked around the store while trying to take a deep breath, “You’re kinda scary, you know that?”

An unexpected laugh escaped you, your rigid posture relaxing a hair more, “Yeah, I’ve heard that before.”

“It’s not a bad thing,” Steve held up his hands as if he were approaching a skittish animal.

“I know.” You responded without thinking; once again, your goddamn nerves were making you come across like a total bitch, “Uh, usually it makes people less interested in talking to me.” 

There was something of a frenzied look in Steve’s eyes, and you realized that maybe your blunt attitude was causing him panic. His posture had grown a touch more tense than it already was, and your fear of fucking up was causing a chaos of butterflies in your chest.

But in that same moment, you remembered that you were still on the clock and desperate to close the store, your mind going back into work mode as you hissed a small “shit” beneath your breath.

“Look, I gotta close,” You started, catching the way Steve’s face fell in defeat. You quickly added in what you hoped was a more friendly tone than the one you’d been using all night, “but, uh… it was nice talking to you.”

Your expression furrowed with uncertainty, looking between Steve’s eyes as you awaited a possible acceptance or rejection to what you just said. Mirrored back to you was his own trepidation and doubt, as if he hadn’t quite understood what you said.

When he didn’t respond right away, you raised your brows questioningly, “Maybe… we’ll chat sometime?”

The question prompted Steve to nod quickly with a slightly improved look on his face, though he still seemed dumbfounded, “Yeah yeah, totally.”

You stared at each other for a long, awkward minute, neither really knowing what to say or do next. The tension between you filled your head with concern, and you were growing more and more confused the longer that you lingered.

“Well, uh… bye.” You said dumbly before awkwardly turning your back, walking deeper into the store so you could take even just a minute to calm the fuck down. You pulled a critical face at your own stupid behavior, muttering about how crudely you handled that pathetic excuse of a conversation. You tried to shake it off, knowing that you still had to get the rest of the customers moving so you could lock the damn doors, but you feared Steve would be a nagging little distraction in your mind until you finally made it back home.

Despite knowing better, you couldn’t help but look back over your shoulder apprehensively - you weren’t sure if you wanted to meet Steve’s eyes, or if you were hoping he’d already walked away. A jolt of anxiety shot up your spine when you found that he was still watching you, looking to be in deep consideration as if he was trying to make sense of that frazzling interaction. You both startled and turned away from each other at the same time, and all you could wonder is if you had fucked up enough that you’d scared Steve away.

When you finally had Spencer’s closed for the evening, you walked out in a group with your coworkers, everyone bracing themselves for the cold, teeth chattering and arms shivering. The parking lot was still littered with a couple dozen cars as you all moved together - clearly other Starcourt employees were stuck working even later than you.

You were barely listening to the eager conversation happening between the others, who were discussing their plans for the holiday; stupidly, you were still hung up on your conversation with Steve. Your day had already been stressful and shitty, so totally biffing that interaction was yet one more dumb notch in your belt. You really shouldn’t have gotten yourself worked up over it, but your nerves clearly had other plans, because now it was the only thing you could think about whether you liked it or not.

The group eventually all went their separate ways as you continued meandering to your stupid little car, not in any rush to get back home. Packed snow crunched beneath your feet as pretty flakes stuck to your face and hair; although it was cold, the night was still and the temperature almost soothing after the long day you’d had.

Unlocking your car, you carelessly tossed your bag into the passenger seat and slid behind the wheel, fumbling with the key as you tried to slot it into the ignition. But once you turned the key, all you got was a sad sputtering sound from the engine, which filled you with instantaneous dread. You paused for a moment before trying again, yet once more, the car wouldn’t start.

Really? One more goddamn thing to worry about tonight. Grumbling and huffing, you kicked the door open again and popped the hood of the car, though what you were looking for you had no idea - you knew absolutely nothing about cars, hell, you could barely put air in the tires without it becoming a whole goddamn ordeal.

With your hands braced on the lifted hood, you stared down into the old engine as if you’d miraculously figure out what needed to be done; you tried to take deep, calm breaths so that you wouldn’t freak out unnecessarily, but you could feel that impulse slowly bubbling up inside you.

To let out some of the frustration, you kicked the front bumper, your heavy boot protecting you from feeling any pain on impact. Your arms fell with defeat to your sides, because, unfortunately, simply staring at the engine did nothing to resolve the problem.

Around you, other cars left the parking lot slowly, but no one made an effort to stop and offer you assistance, not that you were really expecting any help to begin with. Headlights reflected off the glistening snowy surfaces, frost and ice crackled under tires, and you stood there like some sad, pathetic ghost of Christmas whatever-the-fuck.

“Need a hand?” A voice called from behind you, taking you by surprise, considering that you assumed the driver was simply going to pass by and ignore you. You sighed deeply to get your stress under control, because without looking you already knew exactly who it was that offered you assistance; at this rate, it was damn near ridiculous and ironic that he’d be the one to show up to your rescue.

You turned slowly to face Steve, hoping you didn’t look too pathetic as a small glare settled in your eyes. He hung out the window of his car, brow knotted with worry as he looked between you and your shitty vehicle; you leaned your rear against the front of your car, crossing your arms to protect yourself from both the cold and Steve.

“You’re not following me, are you?” You jested with little amusement, because what else were you supposed to do after the shitty day you’d had?

“Not on purpose.” Steve answered simply, pulling in next to you and putting his car in park, “Battery?”

You shrugged with a melodramatic sweep of your arms, a defeated, sad laugh escaping you, “Who fucking knows.”

There was a decisiveness to Steve’s expression as he climbed out of his vehicle and popped the hood, opening the trunk and digging out some jumper cables. The focused look on his face helped to ease you despite the way your night was going, and it very nearly made you smile through your frustrations.

“Well, let’s hope this works.” Steve said as he hooked up the cables, double checking his work along the way to make sure he didn’t blow up either engine. Eventually, he pointed towards your driver door, “See if we can get this started up.”

You nodded quickly as the two of you slid into your respective driver's seats, Steve starting his car up first; but after three attempts, your damn car still wouldn’t start, and you slumped back into the seat, groaning loudly while tugging at your hair in frustration; god, what kind of shit luck were you dealt?

Steve came up and leaned in the open door frame, eyes sympathetic as he gazed down at you; you didn’t even have the energy to be nervous about his close proximity or the gentleness of his gaze. A weak laugh escaped you as you shook your head, “As if tonight couldn't get any worse.”

You met Steve’s eyes, looking between them pitifully as the cold of the evening began to seep into your bones. He stared back sympathetically, his expression troubled by the fact that he couldn’t fix the problem for you. Despite all your earlier nerves and awkwardness around him, all you felt right now was amity between you two.

“Thanks for trying.” You sighed, resting your head back and staring absently at the ripped and tattered ceiling. You swallowed down the upset lump in your throat, “I meant what I said earlier - about wanting to chat sometime, I mean.”

A faint smile graced Steve’s lips as he glanced down at his feet a moment, meeting your eyes again kindly, “Bet you weren’t expecting it to go like this, though.”

You shook your head while closing your eyes as a smirk dared to tug at the corner of your mouth, “Not in the slightest…”

Steve wet his lips as his brow furrowed again, looking around at the parking lot that was growing emptier as the minutes ticked by. His face was contemplative for a long beat before he brought his attention back to you while taking a deep breath, “Let me give you a ride.”

You balked at the suggestion, shaking your head quickly, “You really don’t have to do that, I’ve caused you enough trouble--”

“What else am I supposed to do, leave you stranded here?” Steve interrupted, raising his brows for emphasis, waving his hand in a “follow me” motion as he stepped back. You stayed planted in your seat, watching him with uncertainty; Steve gave you another look when you didn’t follow, “Come on; gives us a chance to chat some more, right?”

You hesitated a couple moments longer, but eventually you scooped up your bag and stiffly climbed out of the car; Steve was already in the process of unhooking the cables and closing your hood. As you awkwardly stood there waiting for him to finish, he studied you from the corner of his eye, which prompted your brows to furrow as you went on the defensive.

“You better not be kidnapping me.” Your statement caused Steve to laugh and shake his head at how ridiculous that notion was; he closed the hood of his car next and rounded to the driver’s side.

“You’re scary, remember? I don’t have the balls to kidnap you.” You couldn’t help but smile gaily at his response, which seemed to please Steve, as an equally delighted look crossed his face, “Oh, another smile, good.”

You rolled your eyes, though you were nonetheless still fascinated by how nervous Steve seemed to be around you. As you stared at him for a brief moment, he chewed the inside of his cheek and made another hand gesture before ducking into his car, “Come on, it’s getting cold.”

So, you followed his lead and slid into the passenger seat, though once you closed the door it was like another wave of tension washed over you - stupid as it seemed, you found there to be something so personal about being alone in a car with someone you barely knew. Your posture grew stiff almost instantly, eyes staring straight ahead into the snowy night as Steve cranked up the heat and began a slow crawl across the parking lot.

“Where am I heading?” Steve asked while glancing over at you; you kept your eyes forward as you told him your neighborhood. For a very long minute, the two of you were silent as the strangeness of this scenario dawned on you both. Steve cleared his throat, “Sorry about earlier.”

You glanced over at him with a confused look, trying not to shrink nervously when he turned to face you, “What do you mean?”

“I was bothering you at work,” he started with a shrug, “kinda wasted your time.”

Timidly, you looked back towards him again, thankful that his eyes were back on the road, “You weren’t bothering me.”

Steve made a face as if he didn’t believe you, “Yeah? Could’ve fooled me.”

You hummed in acknowledgement of your earlier attitude, forcing yourself to be a little more communicative so he couldn’t misinterpret you again, “We didn’t really get the time to talk much… and I was nervous.”

Steve laughed, an inviting sound that drew both an amused and confused look across your face. He glanced at you again, shaking his head humorously, “You, nervous? That’s not the impression I got at all.”

The corner of your mouth tugged up as your eyes looked about his face, “Then what impression did you get?”

Steve took a breath, searching for the right way to phrase this, “That you didn’t want to talk to me in the slightest.”

“Oh.” You answered dumbly; when Steve shot you another look from the corner of his eyes, you tried to find your words, “No, I did want to talk to you… just didn’t know how.”

A far too charming smile spread across his lips as he turned to you again, “Didn’t know how?”

“You’re a little scary, too.” You shrugged with a faint grin, which grew larger at the amused twinkle in Steve’s eyes; again, he laughed, a sound that you could easily get used to.

“Never been told I was scary before…” He focused on the road for a long beat, fingers lightly drumming on the steering wheel as he mulled that thought over. Evidently, it prompted another question, because he gave you another curious glance, “Why were you scared of me?”

Your brows rose as you opened your mouth, but you hesitated before any words could come out. Nerves started to drum in your chest again as you felt heat rising up your neck and into your cheeks; and with the way Steve patiently kept looking over at you, the heat became even worse, “I, uh… no reason.”

Steve���s face twisted with suspicion at your lack of an explanation, narrowed eyes shooting a critical look in your direction. Feeling the intensity of his stare, you kept your unblinking gaze on the road, watching the snow falling gently in front of you.

Steve mulled your answer over, recalling that first day he caught you staring, the time you came to Scoops, and finally your first conversation earlier this evening; of course he could suspect reasons for why you would be nervous or hesitant, but he also wasn’t stupid enough to assume anything about you either.

“Well,” he cleared his throat, drawing on all that confidence he once harbored back when he was still King Steve, when he could land any girl he set his sights on. Though that was a side of him that he hadn’t seen nearly this entire year, he figured he had to shoot his shot eventually, “I can tell you why I was scared…”

The way he trailed off made you curious, although there was something dubious about it. You looked back towards him with a knot between your brows, and now that he had your attention, Steve’s face lit up, his smile almost causing you to drop your guard.

“I’ll tell you, but then you have to tell me why you were scared.” You shook your head with an unamused laugh, knowing that when the other shoe dropped it would be something like this. Despite yourself, you grinned, still falling for Steve’s charm even when he had you backed into a metaphorical corner.

“Oh, you wanna know real bad, huh?” You teased, because really that was your only defense between Steve and the nervousness that was crawling over you again. He gave you a short nod, his expression taunting and challenging.

“I mean, the least you could do is tell me, considering that I’m giving you a ride and all…” Steve’s unexpected playfulness took you aback, causing you to gape for a moment, which only seemed to amuse him even more. You tried to relax your expression, to put up a front of disinterest, but it was far too late for that, “So?”

You rolled your eyes and smirked, even as your heart stuttered; shit, you did not want to tell Steve what you thought of him. Maybe you could come up with a convincing lie, or maybe you could just intimidate him again until he gave up. But admitting to the fact that maybe you were crushing on him, that this ordinary pretty boy was somehow winning you over? Nope, that was something you did not want to do.

And yet… why had he come to talk to you in the first place? Why did he want to introduce himself, why was he so willing to help you on Christmas Eve when he should be off somewhere with family or a partner? Your curiosity was growing by the minute.

“Fine.” The word left your mouth before you could second guess it. Steve looked at you almost in disbelief, as if he had convinced himself you wouldn’t take the bait; you stared back, hoping your eyes didn’t give away your hesitation. Despite the warmth in the car, you shivered with nerves and apprehension.

Steve swallowed while looking back towards the road, nodding faintly to himself as he considered whatever the hell was going on in his head. You waited, impatience making you fidgety as your eyes practically burnt a hole in the side of his head.

“How much further to your place?” Your expression twisted with surprise, anticipation put to an abrupt halt thanks to the whiplash that came with the question. You studied Steve for a moment before realizing that maybe he was trying to buy some time or simply avoid the subject all together. Now, you were growing evermore curious, opening and closing your mouth smally as you considered whether or not you’d play along.

“Um, five minutes up the road.” You answered, trying to shake yourself from your mild stupor. Steve simply nodded, and you couldn’t help the way you leaned towards him just a little as if you were studying a newly discovered species, “What, you scared now?”

“No.” Steve looked back at you, “Just wanna make sure I don’t miss your house.”

Your faint smile and narrowed eyes made it clear that you didn’t believe him, though he tried to remain convincing. Slumping back into your seat a little, you kept your eyes locked on Steve, studying him and looking for evidence of hesitation. Considering it was per his suggestion that you agreed to admit anything, you couldn’t help but suspect that it was nerves that got to him, regardless of what he said.

Realizing that your brief time with Steve was soon to come to a close, you frowned forlornly, gaze dropping from his face. Considering that this whole night had been a little weird, you weren’t sure why you were so disappointed that it would end, but… perhaps that was because it felt like something was only just beginning, cheesy as that sounded. A part of you felt that if shit stopped now, it wouldn’t get to start up again - whether that was true or not didn’t matter.

Your heart picked up speed in your chest as you turned your eyes back towards Steve, words spilling from your lips before you could even realize what you were saying, “Can we just drive for a bit?”

Steve’s brows rose in surprise as he looked back over at you, his lips parting as if he had a question to ask, though no words came out. Suddenly embarrassed by your silly request, you raised your hands up as if in surrender, though your tone ended up being defensive.

“I mean, only if you’ve got nothing going on. Stupid of me to ask considering it’s Christmas Eve, but I’ve got nothing to go home to so I just thought…”

You weren’t sure what you thought, that was the whole problem. The look on Steve’s face was tough to read as he considered what you said, and, feeling foolish, you melted into your seat a little as your face twisted self-consciously.

“Let’s drive.” Steve finally said with a certainty to his tone, taking you aback as he gave you a winning look, “Where to?”

You shrugged dumbly, still trying to fend off your chagrin. Steve took you in for a moment before returning his eyes to the road and driving towards an unknown destination.

Only a minute later, he broke through the silence again, “So, is no one home?”

You shook your head, though you realized he almost certainly didn’t see it, “Dad works nights.”

Steve opened his mouth to add something, but stopped to mull it over first, “My parents are out of town. No one’s waiting for me at home, either.”

Although your brows drooped down, you gave a good humored smile as you two met eyes, “Hm, and they didn’t take you?”

“They never do.” Steve smirked and rolled his eyes, though you suspected that a part of him wasn’t nearly as okay with that as he led you to believe.

For a long beat, you studied him in silence, enjoying his profile as he focused on the road; you took in the thoughtful look in his eyes, the inviting shape of his lips, the downturn of his brows. God, you shouldn’t have been feeling all these butterflies thanks to some guy you only just met, and yet they became harder to ignore the longer you stared at Steve’s pretty face.

He, too, looked towards you when he had the chance and took you in closely, making you squirm as his dark eyes trailed from your eyes to your lips, down your neck and body before jumping back up. Lucky for you, he still had to drive, otherwise you may have melted under his intense, deliberate gaze.

About a minute into the silence that settled between you two, Steve turned up the radio, just enough to have background noise but not too loud to be disruptive. Coming through the speakers was some classic Christmas song that made you cringe; as if he caught your averse reaction, Steve switched stations, though the pop rock that took its place was no relief to you. You tried to ignore the music, not wanting to be sour about something as unimportant as that.

Although you still felt tense given the quiet that was stretching out between you and Steve, there was a certain comfort in the silence; driving down an empty road, snow falling gently, and a cute boy to keep you company wasn’t half bad.

Again, you found yourself studying Steve’s features, questions and inquiries coming to mind as the minutes passed - what were his hobbies? Was he from Hawkins, or was he a transplant like you? What were his friends like? Hell, what even was his last name? So many things you could ask, and you didn’t know where to start.

Well, there was one place to start, if you were feeling a little mischievous, but even the thought of it made you anxious and antsy all over again.

“Why were you scared earlier?” You blurted out, your own brows rising in surprise; maybe you had to get a better hold of your nerves, else you might keep saying things without thinking.

Steve shot you an apprehensive glance, though he tried to mask it with a smile, “Ah, so my distraction didn’t work.”

“Not in the slightest.” You grinned even as your nerves made it appear sheepish and noncommittal, “And don’t just say it’s because of the whole goth thing.”

“Well, not the whole goth thing,” Steve teased, pleased with himself when he caught you fighting back an amused look. After a moment, though, he sighed smally, looking around at the neighborhood he was driving through; apparently knowing where he was, he took a turn with some destination inevitably in mind.

You pulled a curious face when Steve didn’t elaborate, when his face settled into a decided look; you considered asking again for fear that he was going to find a means of distracting you once more from the question. But quickly enough, Steve pulled into the lot next to a park - it’s playground covered in snow - and you started growing nervous all over again.

With the car in park, Steve finally turned his undivided attention to you, causing you to unintentionally shrink back in your seat a little; there was a sort of safety that had come with him being preoccupied by driving, but now that his eyes were locked on you, your confidence began to diminish just a bit.

The look on his face held a sincerity that took you aback, and even in the relative dark of the night you could see the unsure gleam in his eyes. He took a deep breath before admitting plainly and assuredly, “I was scared because you were cute and intimidating.”

You blinked at him a couple of times as you processed his words, though they made your heart drum loudly enough that it was damn near distracting. As the seconds ticked by and you didn’t respond, briefly stuck in a dumbfounded look, Steve’s expression slowly fell into a look of dismay.

Getting antsy, he fumbled to elaborate, “I was interested in you, is what I mean. I wanted to get to know you, maybe flirt and see if we were compatible, you know, that sort of thing.”

Stupidly, you blinked at him again, feeling heat rising in your face - fuck, he thought you were cute, too. That should’ve been a relief, so why the hell did it make you even more nervous than you were before? You forced yourself to look away from his face as your eyes got big, because shit the butterflies in your stomach were going absolutely crazy right about now.

“You�� were interested in me…” You muttered like a total idiot, but at least you finally found your voice again. Gazing up at him through your lashes, the look on Steve’s face was damn near worried as if he were preparing himself for rejection. Chewing on the inside of your lip, you finally smiled, bashfully dropping your gaze even as you tried not to sound as nervous as you felt, “I thought you were cute, too. Never had the guts to talk to you, though.”

A relieved little laugh leapt from Steve’s throat, his posture relaxing as he stared at you wide-eyed, almost as if he didn’t entirely believe you. Looking back up at Steve made your face and ears grow even hotter, his excitement at your response unexpected but nonetheless encouraging, even as you picked at your nails nervously.

“Oh, thank god, that makes this so much easier,” Steve breathed out, causing you to giggle, a delighted sound that was so unlike you.

As Steve continued to stare at you with disbelief, you tried to stop fidgeting with your fingernails, tried to relax the nervous energy in your chest because yes, this should be easier like he said, yet your body’s reaction would lead one to assume you were in all-out panic mode.

“You didn’t have the guts?” Steve asked with a laugh, “You saw how nervous I was to talk to you, right?”

You rolled your eyes with a fond shake of your head, “At least you did it; I figured a pretty guy like you wouldn’t be interested in me.”

“I thought you wouldn’t be interested in me.” Steve found himself staring at your lips, the temptation to lean over and kiss you coming over him abruptly, though he tried to shove it aside and ignore it, “So, I guess maybe I should ask you out now, right?”

You nearly giggled again as you looked between his eyes with a pondering expression, “I mean, we’re already here - alone, getting to know each other…”

Steve laughed smally, his eyes taking you in, “Oh, so this is a date now?”

You raised your hands in a vague, unsure motion, a faint knot between your brow, “Could be?”

Another charming smile crossed Steve’s lips, and you were still astounded at the fact that you could make him grin and laugh so damn easily. The look on his face was sweet as his gaze swept gently over your face, looking between your eyes and your mouth like he was studying you closely; when he finally drew his attention away, it was to stare out the windshield and watch the snow fall.

“You're not what I expected,” he started as you absently began to fiddle with your nails again, “I was worried you’d be mean, or that you’d laugh at me.”

An embarrassed smile drew across your lips as you took the opportunity to enjoy his profile again, “If I didn’t like you, I would’ve been mean… and I did laugh at you, once, when I first saw those stupid shorts you used to wear.”

A chuckle leapt from Steve’s throat as he looked back at you, “Yeah, they’re kinda ridiculous, aren’t they?”

“Your entire uniform is ridiculous.” You laughed gleefully, “But I… liked it.”

Steve’s eyes narrowed teasingly, “Oh, so that’s why you were staring.”

Easily flustered, you diverted your gaze down towards your hands, focusing on the chipped nail polish that you’d been fussing with, your face growing hot yet again,“Well, I just… yeah, okay, that’s why I was staring.”

Steve leaned in close towards you, dipping his head to try and catch your eyes, “If you hadn’t been staring, I wouldn’t have noticed you.”

You glanced up through your lashes, a faint grin on your lips as you met Steve’s attentive stare, “Then I guess we’re both lucky you have nice legs.”

Steve laughed again with utter amusement, something almost like wonder alight in his eyes; you thought he may have leaned in a little bit closer, but you weren’t quite sure. He glanced down at your hands briefly, watching the way you continued to gently scratch at your nail polish before meeting your eyes.

“I mean this in the nicest way possible, but you’re a little strange.” Your brows rose at the comment, and so Steve continued, “Well, wait, don’t get mad about that. What I’m saying is that your energy is really nervous, but you don’t come across like you’re scared at all, you know what I mean?”

You looked between Steve’s eyes, wondering how he had managed to clock you so damn easily. Your nail picking became a little more aggressive as you came to your own defense, feeling jittery as you spoke quickly, “Yeah, I know I can come across pretty bitchy when I’m nervous, it’s landed me in trouble before. I don’t always think when I speak or I don’t know when to shut up, because my head gets all messy and loud, so it’s impossible to think clearly anyway--”

“Can I kiss you?” Steve blurted out with awe in his voice, disrupting your train of thought and causing you to look back at him with large eyes. He even looked surprised at the question, as if it leapt from his mouth without warning or thought; his expression was much like your own, taken aback and confused. He quickly tried to course correct, raising his hands defensively, “Sorry, you don’t have to answer that, that was totally out of left field--”

“Yes.” Steve paused and looked as if he didn’t hear you correctly, brow furrowed while trying to read the look on your face, which was torn between sheepishness and eagerness, “I’d like it if you kissed me, actually.”

Steve, admittedly, had not anticipated your approval of the idea, especially considering how it was asked. He just got so hung up on how damn cute your rambling was that it drew him like a moth to a flame; he wasn’t thinking when the question left his mouth. Shit, you said “yes” and it made his nerves spike, heartbeat eager in his chest as he took in your features a little longer, biding his time so he could calm down.

From where he leaned over the center console, Steve moved in a little closer, looking between your eyes and lips. You mirrored this as if in a trance, body drawing towards him; when you paused, a smile graced his lips as he said firmly but quietly, “Come here.”

You felt a chill up your spine thanks to the simple yet wanton direction, Steve’s delivery of it far more enticing than he probably realized. Despite wanting to kiss him, you felt momentarily frozen as you took him in, hooded eyes becoming enraptured by his lips.

Coming back to yourself, you took a calming breath and moved in closer, and once you were but a few breaths apart, Steve carefully cupped the back of your neck, fingertips grazing through your hair. The touch made you sigh longingly, your body melting in response; a knowing smile graced Steve’s face.

There was a moment’s hesitation between you as Steve’s warm breath brushed across your lips and cheeks; you swallowed down the lump in your throat just before Steve leaned in, closing that short distance between you to capture your lips with his own.

Your body jolted at the feel of his kiss, so soft and tentative, and yet charged with your combined pining for one another. As your body relaxed despite the frantic beating of your heart, your fingertips trailed up Steve’s arm, gently grabbing at his shoulders through the fabric of his coat. His mouth was tender and explorative against yours, touch gentle on the back of your neck as he pressed forth more confidently; you met him with equal need and curiosity, your body growing eager for more as your nerves slowly dissolved away.

When Steve tried to pull back and catch his breath, your grasp became assertive, fingers tightening on his sleeve as your other hand moved to cup his cheek. You felt a small, surprised laugh in his throat, taken aback by your eagerness, though he was just as enamored by it.

He carefully gripped your jaw with both hands, pulling you back just enough for him to take in a gasp of air; you, too, took a deep breath, delighting in the way his lips grazed against yours, the way his thumb lazily trailed along your cheek.

After a beat of consideration, Steve kissed you again needily, fingertips firm along your jawline as a fire lit up inside you. Your lips grew feverish as you leaned in closer, curling your fingers in his soft locks while an eager sound rose in your throat. As you kissed him with zeal, Steve matched your desire, mouth growing urgent against yours, grip becoming increasingly possessive while his tongue trailed along your lower lip. With another hungry sigh, you opened your mouth to him, tongues swirling together impatiently, desperate for one another.

You pushed closer to Steve, though the center console pressed irritatingly into your stomach, causing a faint sound of annoyance to rumble in your chest. Wanting to be so much closer, you broke away from the kiss abruptly, though his lips chased yours, gently nipping at your jawline as goosebumps broke out across your skin.

Finding your voice, you managed to instruct breathily, “Move your seat back.”

A huff of a laugh escaped Steve as he muttered against your neck, “What?”

You gave his hair a tug, directing him to look you in your lusty eye while repeating slowly, “Move the seat.”

He looked between your eyes for a moment before your reasoning dawned on him; he nodded quickly, pulling away so he could slide the seat back, creating enough space between him and the steering wheel for you to slot into. And you did just that, gracelessly crawling over the center console, careful not to crush Steve with wayward limbs or unsteady knees.

Once situated in his lap, you laughed smally at yourself while resting your hands comfortably on either side of his neck. Steve smiled at the way you bit your lip, hands firm as they settled on your hips; his hooded eyes took you in adoringly. Impatiently, your lips crashed onto Steve’s once more, feeling his fingers flex against you, eager little sounds escaping your throat.

Hooking your arms around Steve’s neck, you kissed him yearningly, his hands creating a hot, greedy trail down your back, pressing you flush against him as if he couldn’t get enough. The movement caused your hips to roll against his, making the both of you moan into the other’s mouth from the friction. The way your lips moved together was aching and salacious, tongues explorative and hands grabby as if trying to consume each other whole.

Even as he kissed you and groped at your body lewdly, there was something undeniably tender about Steve’s touch; his lips were endlessly hungry for yours, he held you close as if fearful of letting go. It caused a knot of arousal to twist in your stomach, your body blazing and impassioned after all these months of watching him and wondering what he tasted like.

Steve’s hands roamed your body in a slow, amorous crawl, teasing down your spine and grabbing at your ass, sending an eager shiver through you as if there weren’t all these layers of clothing keeping your skin separate from one another. Your mouths became even sloppier, kisses ravenous as you breathed each other in and tasted each other’s tongues, keen moans passing between your lips to his.

Your own grip at Steve’s neck and hair was growing possessive and domineering, tugging at his locks and scratching his skin enough that he whined shamelessly. Emboldened by the heat scorching between you, your hips rolled once more, slow and deep, making Steve’s fingers dig into the meat of your ass as he groaned; the sound was far too encouraging, causing a coil to tighten in your center. You moved to hold his jaw softly in either hand, breaking away from his lips hastily with a big gasp for air.

For a long beat, you stared at one another through lusty, hooded eyes, watching the way Steve licked his lip as he watched the rise and fall of your chest. His lips were so damn inviting, and you wanted to lean right back in for more, yet you didn’t want to get ahead of yourself, didn’t want to be greedy for more than you could take. Steve’s hands gently trailed up your back again, finding a comfortable resting place at your waist, where his fingers drew absentminded circles into the back of your coat.

While staring at Steve’s handsome face, an airy laugh fell from your mouth, your eyes lighting up softly; his brow furrowed in response, leaning forward to tease at your lips, nose gently bumping yours.

“What?” You could hear the grin in his whispered question, causing you to laugh again, your smile causing your lips to brush gently; the intimacy of the moment dared to give you butterflies as you nearly shivered.

You bit the inside of your cheek in an effort not to giggle again, pulling back from Steve so you could trail your thumb along his jaw and to his plush lower lip, “You got a little something…”

Steve looked as if he was about to ask you to elaborate, but the gentle way that you cleaned his lip with your thumb stalled him as a captivated sigh left his throat. He realized then what you meant, noticing the way your near-black lipstick had smudged around your mouth; he laughed, too, while trying not to moan from how much he enjoyed your sweet and careful touch. Once you were certain you’d gotten most of your lipstick off of him, you delicately held his chin as if to inspect your work.

“Is making out with you always going to be messy?” He teased, bringing a hand up to help you with a smear of lipstick that was under your nose. Your cheeks warmed as you fondly rolled your eyes, half-tempted to lean back in for another kiss as if to prove a point.

You hummed smally in your throat, “Only if it becomes a regular thing.”

Steve’s brows rose cheekily as a large smile spread across his face, “Oh, I plan for it to.”

Heat rose in your cheeks again as you bit your lip, laughing faintly while looking away from his eyes as if bashful, “Do you?”

He leaned towards you again, trying to catch your eyes with his, “Well, I’d still like to take you on a real date, so, yeah, I’m counting on this becoming a regular thing.”

Another uncharacteristic giggle left you as a swell of excitement filled your chest, “Then maybe I have to do something new with my lipstick so you’re not wearing it by the end of every date.”

Steve shook his head, hands gently sliding down your neck and to your back as he stared at your lips again, “Don’t change it, I like it too much.”

You leaned in close again, lips grazing with Steve’s as you whispered flirtatiously, “Good, because I think I like kissing you.”

Steve’s nose brushed gently against yours, his lashes tickling your skin as you felt a faint smile on his lips, “You think?”

“Might need to do a little more of it just to make sure.” You planted a teasing kiss against his lips before pulling back, which made his hands grip tight on you as if you were something coveted.

“Well,” Steve’s lips were gentle as they grazed against yours, his voice low and sweet as his fingertips trailed along your back, “should we make sure now? You’ve got me all night, if you want.”

You hummed as if you were mulling the suggestion over, hoping that you were making Steve antsy from the wait. You smiled fondly as your hands wove into his hair, tugging gently as your lips hovered just centimeters away from his; when he tried to kiss you, you pulled back tauntingly, causing a faint sound of impatience in Steve’s throat. Unable to resist the laugh that escaped you, you caved to his desire and you pressed your lips longingly to his.

.

.

Addt. Author's Note | I'm currently working on a follow-up to this oneshot because I just can't get enough of these two! If you'd like to be added to the taglist for that, please let me know, I hope to get it out soon!

Tags | @doomsdaybby @eddiernunson @k-yurieee @mediocredreams @raven-hawkins

@thecreelhouse @viviennemcgloine

[ink-perfect]

thinking about...

luffy and the way he is unapologetically full of love. living in an era that craves being detached and playing hard to get, he's a breath of fresh air - so uncomplicated, pure, and just. real.

he has that kind of charisma that can be charmed to lead a fleet, hypnotise a tyrant, or win over an island in a second flat. but the thing is, he doesn't care about any of that. he's not wanting to be cool or a player or anything of that sort; he's just monkey d. luffy, future king of the pirates.

this is a man who would hug you in the middle of a thousand people with absolutely no thought or care, grinning that big goofy grin of his, eyes sparkling with that childlike glee he can always seem to have, because he saw you across the deck. he doesn't do subtlety, he doesn't play games. he's an open book, loud and honest; when he loves, he loves with his whole chest - a hurricane of laughter, a whirlwind of warmth. in a world that has blurred the lines between love and lazy, luffy wears his heart on his sleeve, and it is so damn endearing.

and if there's one thing he sees other than meat, it's you. he sees you everywhere, even in himself: in the sparkle of his eyes at the tone of your voice, or how he will stop mid-bite (a big deal for luffy) just to listen to you talk.

he will let you cry on his shoulder, even when he doesn't know what to say, because sometimes, he understands it's enough to just be there.

he's one of those guys who's always chasing adventure, always running toward the horizon, yet without you even realising it, he had been bringing you along this endless journey, his hand clasping yours. you are sewn into the tapestry of his dreams, tucked between the discovery of the one piece and the thrill of the next battle. not to woo or prove anything to you, but more so because you have become as integral to him as the sea breeze at his back or the open expanse of ocean before him - freedom he holds so dear.

for luffy, love isn't about dramatic gestures or sweet words, though he does make a point of doing those for you as well.

it's more in the way he reaches out and snatches your hand up, yanking you off after him toward some mad new adventure without any afterthoughts. in the way he laughs with you into the dead of night or always manages to keep a place open beside him at banquet even when the food's all but gone (because of him, of course).

it's in the silent promise of his loyalty, as unwavering and steadfast as tides pushing his ship toward unknown shores.

and the crew? they, too, see this, no matter how observant they are. zoro, blind to everything but his training, and nami, with eyes that just always know, both notice the beauty of your connection to the same degree despite their disparity in intuition. they see how instinctively you two move toward each other, faces lighting up before a single word is even exchanged. even sanji has stopped teasing, not because he's run out of one-liners, but because he's actually, surprisingly, impressed at the sheer power of your love. usopp sometimes seriously wants to take notes for kaya after seeing just how enamoured the two of you are by each other.

and that is what it's all about: it is all so real with luffy: no games, no masks, no holding back. all or nothing, and with you, it's all. even during the filler episodes of your life, he is still there, soaking your presence like the sun seeping through sails.

to be loved by luffy means to be taken along in his world, the joy he feels is your own, the laughter yours mingled with his, carried off on sea breeze. it means knowing that no matter where the grand line may take you, or what dangers may come your way, there's always that simple, sincere smile waiting to greet you on the other side of the storm. and somehow, it will always be enough.

── ౨ৎ masterlist

[s4toryuu]

please watch me | xavier — shen xinghui

kinktober day 12 — reqs open! (no restrictions)

tags: voyeurism/exhibitionism, masturbation, eventual mutual masturbation, sex pollen trope but it’s protocores (on xavier’s part), hella dirty talk, shy but desperate !xavier, a little humiliation kink, whiny!xavier, sub!xavier, kinda very dom!reader, afab!reader, handjob, talking kink (?), xavier begs, a little cunnilingus at the end… that’s about it I think…

a/n: this was pure smut :D it’s ovulation week :D

xavier calls your name as he enters your apartment unannounced. you yelp out from the sofa and stick your head up from your laying position to view the door.

“hi, xav!” you beam at him. he walks to you and crashed onto you over the back of the sofa, not even bothering to walk around it. you giggle. “um, I missed you too?”

xavier groans. “today was so… hmp…” he huffs, complaints unable to escape from his lips. you figure it could be a old habit from his royal status back home. he buries his head into your chest, going a little low into the valley of your breasts. but you find it adorable.

“aww, did someone have a tough day hunting?” you caress his hair. he nods and he scoots up to bury his face into your jaw. it tickles.

“you…” he breathes. “smell so good…” he kisses where his lips reach your neck.

“that tickles.” you giggle at the sensation. he groans breathily, moving to press his chest against yours and look up at you.

“why do you smell so good..?” he asks, looking up at you. there’s a glaze over his eyes. it looks familiar.

“do I?” you’re genuinely confused, as nothing about your fragrance products or soaps have changed. xavier leans down to sniff your neck again, this time a quiet whine escaping his lips. you grab his face to look at his eyes. “did you encounter a weird protocore again?”

xavier doesn’t respond and instead stares at your lips. you figure that he did encounter a weird protocore. he starts breathing faster and you notice him swallow thickly. “i think.. I need you right now.” he states, staring at your lips.

“what?”

“I, um.. yeah. I was warned about special protocores… um, I’m sorry… I had the most contact with it.” he rambles. “I feel… sensitive.” he pulls away from you.

you’re taken aback, as he’s usually composed regarding this manner. “xavier…”

“I’m sorry.. but could you… do me a favor?” he asks timidly. his cheeks are a deep red and it spreads to his ears. you feel their warmth.

“sure.” you say softly. he’s on top of you, supporting himself to look up at you with his palms at your sides.

“could you just,” he looks away. “just… watch me?” he blurts out timidly. his shyness reaches you and you feel your face warm up.

“watch you?” you swallow thickly. “watch you do what?” you know what he means, but you decide this situation is amusing.

frankly you find it incredibly erotic; his shy plead for something as simple as watching him masturbate. xavier has quite the dual demeanor, in bed and everyday. for some reason right now he’s a mixture of both, which you find endearing and extremely entertaining.

xavier bites his lip. you can tell he’s trying to avoid saying what he wants explicitly. “I’m feeling a little… excited? I want you to watch me.. take.. care of it…” his face is flushed deeply now. you’re not satisfied with his answer.

“take care of what, xavier?” your fun starts here and you try to hide your smirk.

“please.” he interrupts you. “please watch me masturbate.” he looks up at you and his eyes are glassy. you smile, deciding between working him up more or letting him have it.

you decide the former. “and how are you gonna do that?”

xavier frowns and groans. he can’t believe it’s gone to this point, yet the heat in his stomach is an undeniable indicator of his arousal. “please, y/n… i need you to watch me touch my.. cock… I can’t bear it anymore…”

you smirk. “sure, baby.”

xavier wastes no time as he quickly gets up and unbuckles his weapon straps from his thighs followed by pulling his pants off. you push yourself up to sit up against your sofa’s armrest, with your legs still laid in front of you. you watch him intently. he leaves his boxers on and stands in front of you. you look up at him and his eyebrows are knitted upwards. you want to scoff. you realize he wants your approval.

you look down to his crotch. his dick strains against his boxers and you watch it twitch. “you’re so hard, aren’t you?” he nods quickly. “and all you’re asking is for me to watch you? how dirty…” you tease. xavier whines and palms himself. “you can take it off.”

he pulls his boxers down and his hard cock springs out. it bounces and hits his stomach. the tip is pink and swollen, twitching every now and then. his pubic hair is neatly trimmed, but not too short. he pulls the boxers under his balls and he walks closer to you. you hear his heavy breathing and you look up to him.

“fuck, you’re so cute, you know that? just wanting me to watch you touch your cock…” you drift your attention back to his hard member. “are you gonna make yourself cum? is that what you want? you want me to watch you make yourself feel good?”

xavier sighs. “yes—” he finally grabs his cock and starts stroking. he circles his tip with his thumb. you scoff at this, finding it so erotically endearing.

“yeah… fuck…” you mutter to yourself as you watch him stroke his cock. “is this how you touch yourself when you’re alone?”

xavier moans. “yes… I think about you..“

“you think about me?” you smile and he strokes himself faster. “mm,” you hum in approval. “good…”

“hah.. I.. yeah.. please watch me.” he looks up and closes his eyes, seemingly ridiculously turned on by the situation. he walks closer, his shins now touching the couch. his cock inches away from your face.

you give into the stir inside your own stomach, needing to relieve the pressure accumulated in the upper part of your cunt. you press your hand against yourself. “you’re so frustrated, aren’t you? do you feel good like this?”

“yes…” he whines again. “mmhm… I like it when you watch me… I like it so much…” he pants and he looks down again, to see you rubbing yourself outside your clothes. “are you.. do you enjoy this?”

“yes.”

“p-please… let me see you.. I want to see you…” xavier softly groans into the air as you keep your eyes on his cock.

“tell me what you want to see. use your words, baby.” you press yourself harder and he slows his hand.

“y/n.. I want to see your pussy… is your clit swollen from watching me? I want to see it, please…” you watch his hand grip himself tighter at the base. you curse and strip your bottoms, not even noticing the long string of your slick until it bends and lands on your knee from the long stretch. xavier curses.

he bends down to pull your knee and spin you to sit properly. you close your legs instinctively, and he kneels in front of you.

“y/n, please…” his eyes are still impossibly glassy and the flush from his face has dripped down to his chest. his neck is satin from a slight sweat. you let him part your knees. he kneels in front of you, staring at your pussy. his cock is on display as he leans back on his heels.

you look down to your own core. it’s glazed with your wetness; and it tickles as it runs down to your perineum and you clench your cunt to relieve some pressure.

“you’re so wet.. agh..” xavier strokes himself again, eyebrows still furrowed, staring at your cunt. “fuck…” he leans closer to your heat, then looking up at you. “you smell so good…” he twists his fist at his tip, now wet with precum. “aughnn, y/n… I feel so good…” he leans on his heels again, cock and thighs on display for you.

you watch him become entranced with your body. youve never seen him like this, and your shock comes from an intense arousal. he’s so desperate and whiny, truly hypnotized by your body…

you bring three fingers down to your entrance and coat it with yourself. you pull your fingers apart in front of xavier’s face, and he cries out a moan. “open.” you say and xavier opens his mouth. “so obedient…” you chuckle and xavier wraps his lips around your fingers. “oh… you’re so—good.” you pull it out and it’s clean apart from xavier’s spit. you curse under your breath as you admire it.

you can’t help but lick it off too, placing your fingers in your mouth as you taste the mixture of your wetness and xavier’s saliva before rubbing your clit…

“oh.. i’m gonna cum, y/n. I’m gonna cum…” xavier pants. he looks up at you with pleading eyes.

you rub yourself faster, slipping your other hand in your shirt to play with your nipples. you prop one leg up and focus on your clit, enjoying the audience and the view. “yeah? you liked this that much? are you gonna cum for me, xavier?” you pant out as you chase your own high.

xavier nods messily. he shuts his eyes and strokes himself fast before grabbing your hand and licking your fingers. he looks up at you as he sucks your slick off again, still stroking his leaky cock with the other hand. he’s whining into your digits before nibbling on a fingertip. “mmghm..!” he moans into your finger and tries to keep his eyes open.

his eyebrows twitch and you feel warmth spurt on your inner thigh and knee… “oh… hah.. you’re cumming so much, aren’t you? mm..” you watch his cock pulse and twitch as he uses his grip on your hand for leverage. his cum is a perfect viscosity; leaking out generously after his initial shots.

“mhm…” he moans shakily. he tries to catch his breath, but you grasp your hand away and move it back to rub your clit. you focus it on the underside, rubbing it side to side.

“xavier…” you moan his name and he watches you again. “angh… I’m gonna cum too…”

“yes… please. make yourself cum.. I want to see you cum too…” he says so obediently that you feel almost aggressive. you push the back of his head to direct his face into your pussy. he instinctively licks and laps at your soaking cunt and you cum when he sucks your clit gently.

your orgasm washes over you like a wave, moaning into the air as xavier grabs your thighs to keep himself between your legs. he licks up all of your juices and your legs shake. you mutter curses as you relax into the sofa. you push xavier’s head away to prevent overstimulation. he wipes off your click from his chin with the back of his hand.

you catch your breaths and he sits next to you.

“what the hell was that protocore..?” you whisper jokingly.

—

rb for more sub xavier

not really proofread… but hope you enjoyed! my reqs are open teehee

[fandomfablesunleashed]

Soft respite

Law x reader (she/her)

Tags: established relationship, fluff

Summary: Amid his exhaustion, she gently soothes him with her love and care, turning his restless night into peaceful slumber, and he finally finds the courage to voice his feelings.

Words: 2,4k

English is not my first language

Masterlist

She slips into the office quietly, carrying his favorite cup of coffee. The day has been long, and she can see the exhaustion etched into his features. Without a word, she places the coffee on his desk and moves behind him, her hands instinctively finding the tension in his shoulders. Her fingers begin to work skillfully, massaging the knots. Leaning in, she presses a gentle kiss to the top of his head.

He exhales a small sigh of relief as her fingers dig into his tight muscles, the tension beginning to release under her skilled touch. The simple act of bringing him coffee and massaging his shoulders brings him comfort.

She continues her ministrations, her touch firm yet tender as she expertly works out each knot and eases the tension away. As she feels his muscles gradually relax beneath her fingers, she leans in closer, her voice a soft murmur as she asks, “Long day?”

With each movement of her hands, the tension slowly dissipates, replaced by a soothing calm that sinks deep into his core. He closes his eyes, allowing himself to get lost in the sensation as the day’s weariness catches up with him.

At her question, he nods slightly, his voice gruff and tired, as he replies, “Yeah, it's been a long day.”

Her hands continue to work, moving to a particularly stubborn knot. She can hear the exhaustion in his voice and still feel the stress lingering in the tightness of his muscles.

“You’ve been pushing yourself too hard again,” she says softly, her gentle rebuke tinged with concern. When he doesn’t respond, she sighs, “Don’t stay up too long. The bed is empty without you.”

He knows she’s right. He’s been driving himself too hard, working long hours, and ignoring the toll it’s taking—not just on him but on her as well. Yet, she’s always there, making sure he eats, urging him to sleep, and bringing him coffee when she knows he won’t rest.

Her quiet reminder about the empty bed stops him in his tracks. He looks up, meeting her eyes, her concern evident, and before he can stop himself, the words spill out: “I love you.”

She stops massaging his shoulders as he blurts out the words, her heart skipping a beat at the unexpected declaration. She’s been waiting for him to say it, but she didn’t expect it to come out like this, in the middle of the massage. The woman stares at him for a moment, her eyes widening in surprise and her heart racing in her chest. The office is silent, except for the sound of their breathing and the ticking of the clock on the wall.

Then she smiles softly. “I love you too,” she says, leaning in to kiss his cheek gently.

He can see the shock in her eyes and immediately regrets blurting it out like that. He knows he should have waited until they were in bed, or maybe at least until she wasn’t in the middle of massaging his shoulders, but the words had tumbled out before he could stop them. When she responds with her own, "I love you too," a wave of warmth rushes through him. His cheeks flush slightly at her soft kiss, and he finds his voice again.

“I’m sorry… I should have said it differently.”

She smiles again, her touch gentle as she resumes massaging his shoulders. She appreciates his apology, but she doesn’t really mind how he said it. The fact that he said it was enough for her.

“It’s okay,” she reassures him. “I’m just glad you finally said it.”

A small smile spreads across his face at her reassurance, and he feels a flutter in his heart, coupled with a touch of embarrassment for not having said it sooner.

“I should have said it sooner,” he admits, his voice slightly sheepish.

She smiles at his bashfulness, finding it endearing. Her touch remains gentle as she continues the massage, aware of how difficult it was for him to express his feelings.

“Better late than never,” she replies with a soft chuckle, her tone teasing yet affectionate.

“You’re too good to me,” he says softly, his expression sincere as he turns slightly to look at her.

“You’re worth being good to.”

She sees the earnestness in his eyes and the warmth in his voice. Though words don't come easily to him, she can feel the depth of his emotions in the way he gazes at her, as if he's speaking directly from his very soul.

He can’t help but feel a wave of gratitude and affection for her, knowing deep down that he doesn’t deserve her patience and understanding. Another soft sigh escapes him as the last remnants of tension melt away under her skilled hands. He turns more to look at her properly, his eyes locking with hers.

“I love you,” he says again, this time more confidently, his voice firm and sincere. He wants her to know just how much he means it.

She smiles, her heart swelling with emotion, as he repeats those words. It's the second time tonight he’s said it, yet each time it sends a shiver down her spine. Pausing the massage, she gently cups his face with her hands, leaning down to kiss his forehead. She knows he’s struggling to express his feelings, but the fact that he’s trying and that he’s slowly opening up to her is enough.

“I love you too,” she answers back easily.

As her hands gently cradled his face, a flood of emotion washed over him. The softness of her lips against his forehead quickened his heartbeat, and a surge of love filled him. He reaches up, gently cupping her cheek and pulling her down slightly until their foreheads rest against each other. He looks into her eyes, his gaze filled with affection. The office is silent except for the sound of their breathing, and for a moment, he forgets about work and the long day. All that matters is her.

She leans into his touch, her forehead gently pressed against his, their breaths mingling in the narrow space between them. For a moment, nothing else seems to matter; the world around them fades into the background as they remain close together.

She can see the exhaustion in his eyes and the stress etched on his face, making her worry about him. However, at this moment, she sets those worries aside, savoring their closeness and intimacy. Her heart races, and a rush of warmth spreads through her body. Their gazes are intense and intimate.

“You should go to sleep,” she says quietly, her voice slightly hoarse.

“I know,” he nods slightly, his forehead still touching hers.

He understands he needs rest, but he's not ready to let go of her just yet. He pulls her down a little more until she’s sitting on his lap, her body pressed against his. His arms wrap around her, holding her close, and he buries his face in her hair. He inhales deeply, taking in her soothing scent.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she holds him close, her nose buried in his shoulder. A wave of contentment washes over her—the profound sense of belonging and being precisely where she’s meant to be.

“You’re exhausted.”

He lets out a small sigh, his hold tightening slightly. She’s right—he is exhausted. The day's events have taken their toll, and he can feel the weariness deep in his bones. He knows he needs rest, but there’s still work to be done. He remains silent for a moment, holding her close with his face still buried in her hair. He’s reluctant to admit just how fatigued he is, but he knows he can’t hide it from her—she understands him too well.

Despite his stubbornness and reluctance to admit his fatigue, it’s clear from the way he clings to her and buries his face in her hair. Gently lifting her head, she strokes the back of his head and speaks with a soft, resigned tone.

“Drink your coffee and finish up. You’ve got half an hour before I drag you to bed.”

“Half an hour?” he asks, his voice gruff but tinged with a smile at her gentle yet firm instructions.

Reaching for his coffee, he takes a sip. It’s lukewarm now, but he doesn’t mind. He takes a few more sips, glancing between the paperwork and her face as her fingers continue to stroke his hair.

Observing his concentration as he tries to balance work with her insistence on rest, she maintains her firm but soothing touch.

“Yes, half an hour. And that’s being generous.”

He sighs, mixing exasperation with acceptance. Knowing he won’t win this argument with her firm stance, he concedes, “All right, all right. Half an hour, I got it.”

Another sip of coffee follows, but the paperwork blurs as exhaustion takes over. He lets out another small sigh, his body gradually relaxing under her gentle touch. The stress and tension begin to melt away, replaced by a comforting sense of ease. Although he tries to focus on the paperwork, the sensation of her fingers working their magic on his hair makes it difficult. Despite his determination, the minutes seem to drag as he glances up at the clock, watching the hand inch closer to the thirty-minute mark.

Her skilled and gentle touch continues to ease his tension. She senses his struggle to stay focused on his work, as her presence and touch wear down his resolve. Watching the clock, she notes each minute passing by slowly, bringing them closer to the end of his allotted time.

When the thirty-minute mark arrives, she speaks up, her voice soft but authoritative, “Time’s up, Law.”

He lets out a grumble at her words, his shoulders slumping slightly. Although he expected this, there’s a tinge of disappointment at having to leave his work unfinished.

“Fine, fine,” he mutters, the sound heavy with reluctant acceptance as he sets down his pen and leans back in his chair. Rubbing his tired eyes, he lets out a long sigh. “You win, as usual.”

Her smile deepens, a glimmer of satisfaction lighting up her eyes as she savors the small, yet meaningful victory.  She knows his frustration all too well, but deep down, she understands that his need for rest far outweighs the importance of finishing his paperwork.

Rising from his lap, she takes his hand with a confident smile.

“Damn right, I do.”

He takes her hand, standing slowly, as his exhaustion weighs him down. Leaning into her slightly, he seeks the comfort and stability of her presence. “You’re too good at getting your way,” he mumbles, a tired smile tugging at his lips.

She smiles warmly, wrapping her arm around his waist to support him. Sensing the depth of his exhaustion only reinforces her decision to insist on rest.

“I just know what's best for you,” she says softly but firmly. “Now, let’s get you to bed.” She leads him to the bed, guiding him gently to sit on the edge.

He follows her lead, his movements automatic with exhaustion. As he sits down, his eyes are heavy with fatigue. A pang of guilt strikes him for leaving his work unfinished, but the prospect of finally lying down brings undeniable relief.

“I’m fine, you know,” he mutters groggily, though he knows he’s not fooling her; he’s been running on fumes for days.

She rolls her eyes subtly, her hands reaching out to help him remove his shirt. The drowsiness in his voice only confirms that he’s trying to convince himself that he’s okay.

“Sure, you are,” she teases softly, her voice warm and affectionate. “Now sit still and let me help you get comfortable.” She continues undressing him, carefully removing his shirt and loosening his belt and jeans.

He allows her to assist, too tired to protest. The touch of her hands, deftly unbuttoning his shirt and removing it, is comforting. He lifts his hips slightly to help her slide off his jeans. Once he’s in just his boxers, he eases onto the bed, letting out a deep sigh of relief.

She watches him settle onto the mattress, his body sinking in with a deep sigh of relief. The exhaustion is clear in the way his face softens and his eyelids flutter as he struggles to stay awake. Moving gracefully, she lies down beside him, pulling the covers up over both of them. She nestles close, wrapping her arm around his waist and resting her head on his chest.

“Just relax and close your eyes,” she says, her voice soft and soothing. “You need to rest.”

He melts into her embrace, finding solace in her warmth and the steady comfort of her presence. Her arm around his waist feels like a grounding anchor, reassuring him in his weary state. He’s filled with a deep sense of gratitude for her. As he closes his eyes, the sensation of her head resting on his chest causes his heart to flutter. He takes a deep breath and exhales with a soft sigh, trying to let go of the day’s stresses.

“I love you,” he murmurs, his voice low and hoarse, repeating the sentiment for the third time.

She smiles against his chest as she hears his repeated confession. Each time he says it, it sends a shiver down her spine, and she tightens her embrace, drawing him closer.

“I love you too,” she whispers softly, her voice filled with affection. She can hear the exhaustion in his voice and sense how desperately he needs rest. Gently, she runs her fingers through his hair, her touch slow and soothing. “Now close your eyes and sleep.”

He lets out a contented sigh. The sound of her voice and the gentle caress of her hand guided him toward sleep. He feels his muscles unwind, the tension and stress of the day dissolving as he focuses on her soothing presence and the rhythmic beat of her heart. The darkness behind his eyelids brings comforting relief from the day's chaos. With a deep breath, his body succumbs to the heaviness of exhaustion. The last thing he hears before drifting off is the soft rhythm of her breathing.

[licorice-tea]

Could I Be Loved By You? Pt. 2

Pairing: Monkey D. Luffy x reader, Usopp x reader, Nami x reader (separate)

Content: some suggestive jokes in usopp’s part, just general silliness besides that!

Word Count: 0.9k (total)

A/N: first time writing for all three of these characters- say whatttt! usopp’s part is my fave, but i love all of them!!! also if you check my master list for more content or anything, just know that im working on making it looks more aesthetically pleasing (it’s a mess right now😓) anyway thanks for reading and enjoy <3

Part 1

What happens when you ask them; “Do you think we’re together in every universe?”

Nami - 0.2k

With a singsongy voice, you announce your presence to Nami. “Babe!”

“Y/n!” She responds in a similar cadence. However, she doesn’t look up from drawing her map.

You round her desk so that you’re standing behind it, and she finishes off a line before setting down her pen. “What’s up?”

“I have a question for you.”

“Mhm…?”

“Ok. Don’t laugh.”

“I won’t laugh at you, babe.” Well, she might, but only out of endearment.

“So… Um, do you think that we would be together in every universe?”

Her lips, once pressed together in a resting expression, curve upwards. The shake of her shoulders is an unmistakable sign of held back laughter, which is only solidified by her hand covering her mouth.

“Hey! You said you wouldn’t laugh!” But in all fairness, you’re smiling too. It’s a silly sort of question.

“I’m not, I’m not!” She defends herself through giggles, then clears her throat.

“So, do you think so or not?”

Nami taps her chin with a smirk. “Yes. Yes I do.” The faintest blush colors her cheeks, though she’s much too proud to ever admit to being flustered by the idea. To think; you want to be with her just as badly as she does you, in any every lifetime or world where the two of you coexist. It’s enough to make even her swoon.

“Awww, so you do love me!” You tease. Your next course of action is to run out the door before she can (lovingly) hurl a book at you.

Monkey D. Luffy - 0.3k

You and Luffy are the last crewmates left at the table. Neither of you were late to dinner, nor were you ever. No, you had arrived to the dining room on time (even a little early), but he is still on his 3rd main course. Meanwhile, you are a slow eater. It’s no bother, though; you’d take almost any opportunity to spend time alone with Luffy.

With a soft smile, you tilt your head as you watch your boyfriend and captain stuff his face.

He pauses, noticing your staring. “What? Something on my face?” He licks his lips.

You shake your head. “I was just thinking.”

“Oh, ‘bout what?”

“Do you think we’re like this in every universe?”

“Like what? Still hungry? I know I am!”

“No,” you giggle, “I mean like… in love. A couple.”

This time, Luffy is the one to giggle at your curiosity. “What a weird question, y/n.” He cracks his blinding grin at you. “Of course we are.”

Luffy proceeds to stretch one arm around the back of your chair and pulls it closer to his. The proximity allows you to lay your head on his shoulder, and now everything feels right with the world…

Still, the “what if” scenario runs rampant in your imagination. “But if there is a world where we aren’t-“

“Just means we haven’t met yet.”

“… Hm. I guess you’re right.”

“Yeah, and I found you this time, right? So, I always will.” He says it all like it’s some simple, known truth. As if there are no doubts in his mind- nor should there be in yours- that you’re meant to be together. It’s not surprising though, given Luffy’s view on his own destiny. Naturally, yours is part of his, and vice versa.

With a simper, you swipe your thumb over the corner of his lips to brush away a crumb. “Or maybe I’ll find you.”

Usopp - 0.4k

You and Usopp like to play this sort of game where you ask each other questions. Sometimes they’re deep and introspective, others silly and random. It’s not really a game, per say, but… Well, it’s a fun little thing for when you’ve exhausted other topics of conversation or both of you are bored of other, cleverer topics.

“Ok, favorite temperature?”

“Favorite temperature? That's so specific!”

He chuckles. “Thats the point, baby.”

You hum in agreement before responding. “True… 74 degrees.”

“Celsius, or fahrenheit?”

“…Usopp.” You deadpan. “74 degree celsius would be, like…”

“Around 165 degrees fahrenheit.” He grins proudly. How some people, such as your boyfriend, are such naturals at mental math, you would never understand.

“Hmph… if you say so. But, yeah, why would I say my favorite temperature is 165 degrees fahrenheit?”

Usopp shrugs, “I wouldn’t put it past you; I know you like things hot.”

You’re too caught up in the way he leans toward you teasingly to notice his arms snaking around your waist. Without warning, he pulls you close to his chest. You shriek as Usopp spins you around, but your arms remain looped around his shoulders even after he sets you down.

“That was a dirty trick.”

“I think you enjoyed it.”

And you did, so you just smile and accept defeat. It’s your turn to ask a question now. “Do you think we’d be together in every universe?”

His smile falters. “I… Well, I don’t know.”

“…Oh.”

“I want to be, of course, I just…”

“Just what?”

“You have so many choices, y/n. Who’s to say you’d always choose me? I definitely wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t, in this hypothetical alternate-“

Your lips stop his from moving with a forceful kiss. They linger there, just for a few moments, before you pull back less than an inch away. “Don’t talk like that.”

“Sorry.”

“And don’t apologize. I’d always choose you, Usopp, no matter what.”

His confidence grows back, along with his smile. “Then yes,” Usopp places another small peck to your lips and pulls away to gauge your reaction, “I think we would be together in every universe.”

Your eyes seem to shine with some emotion that could only be described as love. “Just what I wanted to hear.”

[hisui-dreamer]

hi hi!!! i hope you're doing well :D !!! i really really love how you write the octatrio (ESPECIALLY AZUL BC BIAS YK) and i was wondering if i could request some headcanons for the octatrio with a s/o that has an acts of service love language? no pressure ofc, you're never obligated to write anything <3 thank you for all the lovely writing you're shared so far!!! i am in loves w the way you portray azul btw have i gushed abt your characterization enough yet WHAHWHAHWA <333

at your service

Characters: Octavinelle (Azul, Jade, Floyd)

Synopsis: how he is with an acts of service lover

Tags: fluff, fish shenanigans, bot proofread

Word count: 885

Notes: @azulashengrottospiano auburnn! here's your very belated wedding gift! congrats on becoming mrs. ashengrotto <3 i hope you like it!

Masterlist

let's be real, he is too dense to know you're showing affection

he's like playing 4D chess in his head thinking about why you keep helping him with tasks???

do you want something from him?? he will pay you handsomely?

wait you don't want pay??? seriously he's tries so hard to think about how you might benefit from helping him, but this octopus never considers you're doing it out of affection

he keeps finding ways to repay you or see if there's a contract you're working under

it's only until one of the tweels point out that you seem to be in love with him, that the realisation hits him like a cauldron to the head

after that, he starts returning your affections by helping you with anything you might need, tutoring, miscellaneous duties Crowley threw your way, etc., or just throwing gifts at your direction

he'll walk into his office ready for another day of work only to find that you've already sorted out most of the paperwork for him

there's a lovestruck smile on his face as he plans what he could do in return or get you as a gift

he finds it so odd that he'd do anything for you, and not expect you to do anything in return

oh how far the businesses man has fallen

Azul's voice, soft and sincere, carries a touch of gratitude as he addresses you. "Angelfish, I am truly grateful for your help with the mountain of paperwork," he says. A smile, warm and affectionate, dances upon his lips as he continues, his voice infused with a hint of excitement. "As a token of my gratitude, would you like to join me for dinner tonight? It's on me," he offers.

jade's a bit confused when you start offering your help to him, but it doesn't take long for him to understand you're doing it out of affection

he might feel a bit obliged to return the favour, so sometimes he'll refuse your help

but he can't deny how endearing it is when you offer to take care of his mushrooms when he's too busy at work

or when you join him on hikes to help him find whatever mushroom is in season

he's very much used to taking care of people around him, with him basically acting as a secretary to Azul, and always having to act as the more reasonable twin in comparison to Floyd

you make him feel seen in a way and he finds himself smiling unconsciously when he sees you trying to help him in whatever way you can

he finds himself wanting to rely on you more, while also reaching out to you in concern when he sees you're struggling with something

he's so glad to be offering his services to you

sometimes you take up shifts in the Mostro Lounge when Jade's also working to alleviate some of the work on his shoulders

it's not obvious to others, but he works more efficiently and there's a slight smile on his face

he loves the simple connection the two of you have, having a great dynamic that plays off great when working together

"We make quite a nice pair, don't we?" Jade's voice comes from behind. You turn to see him, a gentle smile on his face that feels more genuine thank the usual he shows. "It's always a joy when I'm working alongside you. Thank you so much for offering your assistance," he says, before reaching for your hand and placing a kiss on it, his eyes piercing and never looking away from yours.

this eel loves that you're offering to do work for him!

most of the time he's doing his duties purely out of obligation and complaining the whole while

so if you offer to do it for him, he'll be elated and run off to do whatever he's in the mood for

definitely takes your willingness to help him for granted and starts asking you to do his work for him

jade will tell him not to be too spoiled with his demands though

and if he sees you're overworked or upset while working he'll whisk you away from whatever is hurting you

wraps his arms around you and squeezes you, apologising that he's been too irresponsible

his affection for you grows so unexpectedly, but with you were always there for him, willing to lend him a hand, he found himself always in a good mood when you were around

he'll return your affection with lots of squeezes, random gifts that reminded him of you, and he's always willing to help you if you need a hand

this eel can be very efficient when he's determined and motivated, so you'll see the best of him when he's actually doing tasks for you

"Shrimpy!" Floyd exclaims as he catches sight of you. He envelopes you in his arms, squeezing gently while mushing his cheek into the top of you head. "I'm sorry I gave you so much work," he murmurs softly, his voice laced with sincerity and regret. In a swift motion, he lifts you effortlessly off the ground, cradling you in his arms as if you were the most precious treasure in the world. "Let's ditch work and go on a date!"

Masterlist

if you liked this post, don't forget to reblog!

[sluttybwunni]

Pearly Whites

masterpost

▎wc: 1.2k

pairing: monkey d. luffy x (GN)Reader

summary : in-which reader can’t help but find luffy’s presence and pearly whites more than endearing, especially after a bad day.

‎ ‎ ‎ 

warnings : slight angst, hurt to comfort(?), fluff, strawhat!reader, post-timeskip luffy, kissing, crying, reader can’t seem to sleep, mentions of anxiety, stress, luffy has a knack for making everything better, brief mention of injuries, use of profanity, luffy smells like cinnamon and reader wants to eat him (non literal its more so an affectionate urge to just.. nom)

‎

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ 

you didn’t quite know what led up to this as you were sat on your bed, hands in your hair feeling the lump in your throat grow larger. everything felt so overwhelming lately. maybe all this exhaustion had strum off from too many nights keeping watch over the sunny, or from the constant struggle of attempting to keep the pit of worry that formed in your stomach under control when escorting one of your injury ridden crewmates down to choppers office after a battle.

nevertheless whatever the reasons, you were feeling awful today, and the final straw was when you spilled hot coffee over the book robin so kindly lent to you. it was a simple mistake, yet it made you feel so incompetent. “fuck” you heaved out silently, tugging on a loc of hair as the tears threatened to spill. though you had already cleaned up and attempted to dry the pages off, it was still evident from the light brownish color on the now wrinkled paper. “air, yes i just need air..” you thought to yourself, arising from the bed and slowly pushing open the door of your room. you were creeping out of your quarters ever so careful to not make noise for the snoring strawhats who weren’t ridden with insomnia, headed into the open deck on the sunny attempting to take enough oxygen needed to help clear your head. 

staring into the vast ocean and watching as the water shone under the stars had always worked when in momentary distress. but for some reason tonight, the sinking feeling that had plagued you refused to leave so easily. you wanted to sink down and cry, but you couldnt. the tears you once held back now refuse to resurface. it angered you, not being able to even cry when you wanted to. as you spun to face the opposite way deciding to head back to your bed, you met the eyes of a sleepy looking luffy in shorts and a black tee.

“hey (name)!!! why aren’t you sleeping??” your boyfriend prodded, his voice slightly too loud and cheerful for the silence of the night. you gave the dark haired boy a light smile, admiring his features thanks to the slight gleam from the sky perfectly shining down on his face. “im just not quite sleepy enough, lu” you lazily replied, turning your attention back at the stars. luffys gaze followed you, approaching slowly from behind so you could be beside eachother. he hummed in response to your words, trying to find what was so interesting about the sky to you.

though he quickly grew bored of boring his eyes into the stars, instead of rambling to you about his thoughts or midnight snacking like what would usually occur when you happened to find your captain awake, luffy turned to look at you, studying your expression. even though you’re not quite the chatty type, you’re not one to keep absolute silence. especially not with luffy. so when he saw how your eyebrows were furrowed, and the way your lips carried a small frown he spoke up again.

“love?” luffy whispered. “do you need a hug?” you gave him a small “huh..?” , not understanding why he had suddenly asked you and not daring to make eye contact. the emotions which bubbled up throughout the day threatened to spill out once more. “c’mere” he spoke in a warm tone, stretching his arms around you and pulling you in. luffy’s head rested on your shoulder, his hands gently stroked your back a couple of times. the enchanting scent of cinnamon coming from him made you weak. he smelt so good, he felt so soft around you. you didn’t want to let go, and neither did he. so you stayed in that position for a good minute, enjoying eachothers warm shelter from the breeze that danced on your skin. you could feel his heart beating, yours was too. so rapidly that if it wasn’t for luffy puling away, your heart may have over palpitated. though the relief was short-lived. he giggled after breaking the hug showing you a glimpse of his signature pearly whites. those gorgeous teeth that twinkle brighter than the stars. 

it seemed that was all you needed and more to finally let the tears spill over. luffy stopped smiling when he noticed your wet face. “hey…... hey it’s okay.” he pulled you in once more slightly swaying you from side to side. luffy didn’t know what to do, he was slightly panicked when you started sobbing a little harder in his embrace. so out of instinct he pecks your forehead not once but twice, then a third time. however many times was needed to take away your sadness. “(name), whatever's wrong just know im here for ya okay? im always here.” you were already out of the gutter thanks to the way he whispered into your ear and snuggled his head into the crook of your neck, gripping onto you tightly to let you know he was there for you as you sobbed. you didn’t have the chance to tell him the exact reasons you were feeling so upset, as you didn’t really know why as well, but it didn’t matter, luffy listened patiently as you went on about how exhausting things felt, and how you were having difficulty with simple daily tasks. hours could’ve went by while you were in his arms and you would never notice. you felt safe, mumbling a “thank you” and wrapping your hands around his torso. luffy was confused. he couldn’t understand why you had thanked him despite doing so little. he accepted your gratitude anyways, looking into your eyes and grinning. 

maybe it was because of the moon glistening so angelically onto his face or the gentle but crisp sound of waves in the background that made his smile, him, ever so prettier tonight. you couldn’t put your finger on why you felt more lightheaded than usual as he slid one arm away from your middle, taking your hand in his, but you didn’t care. you didn’t care when you both seemed to be inching closer together, and definitely you didn’t care when the urge to kiss overpowered the both of you. 

it was airy, messy and eager. teeth clashing onto one another as you both smiled and giggled into the exchange. trying to mush yourselves closer together. it confessed a lifetime of words you have yet to express out loud. luffy whined when you tugged on his hair, deepening your kiss. if i weren’t for human urge to inhale and exhale, luffy would’ve kissed you forever.

“can i just eat you?” you mumbled without hesitating. luffy tilted his head in thought, but only for a moment as he still kept your gaze. 

“not if i eat you first!” he laughed attacking your neck with little nibbles. you pinched his rubbery cheek, signalling him to stop before you guys wake someone up. luffy somehow always knew how to comfort you, even if he was unaware of doing so.

“i love you.” he breathed out, his doe eyes giving you those familiar butterflies you always felt. you smiled at him, and he graced you with his own once more. “i love you and your pearly whites too.” you replied, a blush creeping up on luffy’s face. 

“i’ll always smile for you then.” 

©2023 sluttybwunni ‎   you are not to plagiarize, translate, modify or post my content on tumblr nor any other platforms.

[whackk-kermitt]

Nicknames

EDITED CAUSE I FORGOT TYR! oops🫢

Genre: Headcanons

Warnings: None

Summary: Your nick(pet)names for each other!

≫ ────── ≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫ ────── ≪

Kratos

Kratos doesn't do nicknames..

But every now and then, when you guys are alone and he's holding you, he'll call you “My Love”.

Other then that, he just loves your name.

However you have about a thousand nicknames for him.

Only a few nicknames stick around for a while.

Like; Love, Old Man, & Handsom.

Some of them are one hit wonders.

Mostly things related to recent events.

Most most of the nicknames flop.

All of them confuse the hell out of anyone who's recently met you too.

Calling him things like; cutie patootie, snookums, Pumpkin pie, Cuddle bear, softy, Cuddle butt, sweetie, sugar, love muffin, etc.

Noobody understands how any of them apply to the man your talking to, but their to intimidated to ask.

Kratos doesn't mind them; he’ll never say it, but he thinks they’re sweet.

Atreus thinks they are hilarious!

Mimir will totally tease him for them..

Atreus

Atreus would likely only ever call you an abbreviated version of your name.

But also one or two that comes up every now and then to tease you. 

Most likely related to an animal you resemble characteristically or physically.

You'd call him Tre, or cutie.

Whenever ‘Cutie’ comes out he blushes like crazy.

Even if he's heard it a thousand and one times.

Mimir

He's old-fashioned, so simple and sweet works for him!

He'd call you, Dear(my dear), Lovely, Honey.

And if nobody else is around: Sexy.

You'd keep it just as simple with him; sweetie, honey, hubby.

Or if your mad at him… ✨Bowlingball✨

Freya

She's not really ever put effort into giving you a nickname.

You don't think she's ever called you anything but your name, actually.

Yet you've called her, my love, beautiful, dove, & honey.

They never failed to make her smile.

And it’s not even the nickname, it's the look in your eyes when you say them.

So genuine and sweet she can't help it.

Sindri

This man is awful at nicknames!

He has never settled on one he likes for you.

Every time he tries a new one out he thinks it's horrible says it out loud and goes right back to the drawing board.

You don't think they are that bad.

You almost always call him Sin, or Sweetie.

‘Sweetie’- especially when you got that love-sick look in your eye- makes his knees weak.

They completely buckled the first time to said it.

Brok

Doesn't matter who’s around, if he's not calling you by your name, it's Hot Stuff.

You'd just call him Baby, or Brokie.

He loves ‘Brokie’, but he groans and complains when you say it cause it's of the teasing he gets from Sindri and the others.

He'll tell you, “Come up with something else!”

But you never will, and he's secretly grateful.

He just likes how cute you look when you greet him saying, “Hello, Brokie.”

Heimdall

Yeah.. He definitely doesn't do nicknames.

He has none for you.

The few times you've called him by a nickname(like Honey, sweetie, cutie) he just gives you side eye.

But he lets it slide cause he knows when you do it you're just teasing him.

Plus he enjoys your laugh when he gives you that look.

You don't dare to do that in front of others.

Tyr (sorry I forgot lol)

Tyr adores your little names for him.

Despite cranking your neck to meet his eyes, you call him nicknames that don't apply to his size.

Names like, Baby(often telling him “You're just a little baby.” All cute like.)

Calling him Tiny, Cuite, and to tease him Little Guy.

He thinks it's as funny as it is endearing.

In return he calls you Big Girl/Boy.

He loves the way it catches you off guard every time, makes him chuckle when your face goes red.

But in reality, he typically will address you as Love or Lovely.

“Hello, my Love.”

“You look wonderful today, Lovely.”

It's to the point where someone thought that was your name for a short while.

The irritation on Tyr’s face when they called you that by mistake. . .

“They didn't mean it, little guy.”

He just groaned and smile down at his Lovely.

≫ ────── ≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫ ────── ≪

I’m itching to write, but I'm running out of ideas! Someone give me ideas for oneshots, headcannons, something! Before I lose all motivation!

Kay, thanks, byyyeee!

Not proofread!

•Kermitts Masterlist•

[shootingstar3]

Max Caulfield x insomniac reader

gender neutral reader :D short story fluff and sfw

You had unbearable insomnia keeping you up at night, preventing you from getting shut-eye. Therefore, it caused you to preoccupy yourself with other tasks.

At 3 in the morning, tossing and turning, unable to acquire some rest, you grab your phone from the bedside table with the goal to aimlessly scroll until your body forces itself into sleep.

Your girlfriend, Max Caulfield, places her hand on your shoulder as she looks over at you. "Another restless night?" she asks, a small pleasant smile on her beautiful face. Her voice is velvety and calm, welcoming a feeling of comfort. You look up at her, a smile of your own on your face as you admire her, like always. "Yeah," you reply, looking at her affectionately.

You find every single feature of hers endearing. You could stare at her day and night without boredom striking you. Her soft features carry a wave of calmness and adoration into your heart. The expressive eyes she owns bring upon you a plethora of emotions.

You turn your phone off, placing it back on the bedside table, and turn around to face her. The moonlight is the only source of light illuminating through the window. Max places her soft hand on yours as she takes in your features, admiring them. Both of you enjoy each other's presence for a while before she speaks, "We can listen to music or watch a movie, or we could just stare at the ceiling together." She makes many suggestions for you to choose from, hoping that one of them would put you to sleep, as she cares deeply about your well-being and always wants you to get a good night's sleep. You frown slightly at her suggestions. Max has to get up in the early morning for an important class she can’t miss, and you don’t like the idea of her staying up late with you just so you wouldn’t be on your lonesome battling the great evil, insomnia.

"Hey, you have an early class tomorrow…get some sleep." Your voice is gentle yet has a hint of sternness to it. You don’t like it when she sacrifices important tasks just to be by your side. She gives you a warm smile and shakes her head. "Nope, sorry, staying by your side tonight." Regardless of how mad you want to be, her radiance combined with the tenderness of her voice makes you lose all simple anger you had over this situation. Damn...how selfless You think to yourself a big grin covering your face.

She leans over you to reach her phone placed next to yours on the bedside table with some wired headphones. "What’re we gonna listen to?" you ask, smiling at her actions. She ponders your question for a moment before answering, "How about some Adrianne Lenker, Jim Croce or Mojave?" she says, plugging in the headphones. "Yeah, okay, that’s perfect, baby." An enormous, endearing smile on her face at the nickname you called her.

You both share the headphones, being close to one another, finding solitude in each other’s aura. She holds you close as calming music plays in your ear. Not long after, Max is deep asleep, wrapped around you, softly breathing. You close your eyes placing a caring soft kiss on her forehead. Content with the moment, as you slowly manage to drift off into a deep slumber.

A/N: Thank you for reading loveliesssss ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ hope you enjoyed...if you did drop a request i will be more than happy to write something have a wonderful day and thank you for reading. ( ˘ ³˘)♥︎

/)/) ( . .) ( づ♡ TAKE THIS HEART!!!

⠀⠀⠀⢸⣦⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀���⣏⠻⣶⣤⡶⢾⡿⠁⠀⢠⣄⡀⢀⣴⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⣀⣼⠷⠀⠀⠁⢀⣿⠃⠀⠀⢀⣿⣿⣿⣇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠴⣾⣯⣅⣀⠀⠀⠀⠈⢻⣦⡀⠒⠻⠿⣿⡿⠿⠓⠂⠀⠀⢀⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠉⢻⡇⣤⣾⣿⣷⣿⣿⣤⠀⠀⣿⠁⠀⠀⠀⢀⣴⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠸⣿⡿⠏⠀⢀⠀⠀⠿⣶⣤⣤⣤⣄⣀⣴⣿⡿⢻⣿⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠟⠁⠀⢀⣼⠀⠀⠀⠹⣿⣟⠿⠿⠿⡿⠋⠀⠘⣿⣇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢳⣶⣶⣿⣿⣇⣀⠀⠀⠙⣿⣆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠛⠿⣿⣦⣤⣀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣹⣿⣿⣿⣿⠿⠋⠁⠀⣹⣿⠳⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣠⣽⣿⡿⠟⠃ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢰⠿⠛⠻⢿⡇⠀⠀⠀⣰⣿⠏⠀⠀⢀⠀⠀⠀⣾⣿⠟⠋⠁⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠋⠀⠀⣰⣿⣿⣾⣿⠿⢿⣷⣀⢀⣿⡇⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠋⠉⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⢿⣿⣿⠇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⢿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

[ixiot-ghostrebel]

My next brainrot what if there was a aeon representing fear like evryone kn universe dears this aeon so much to point of refusing saying thier name only calling the aeon by nicknames and the only ones who call the aeon of fear like just another aeon are the pepole who walks on path of fear and reader is one of them before they gets on path of fear they were terifited of the aeon to but one day they understands that fear is needed becose withote it humanity wodul be doomed

As for reader personality they are more stoic to terrifying point but when helping pepole with thier fears or phobia they are very gentel and friendly

As for charaters

Selle

Asta

Natasha

@Zardas75 you are literally the sole reason why my blog is even alive at this point. I need more ppl to enter in some requests fr 😭 my motivation dies on me too quickly 😔

Btw, I'm mainly going to just focus on the fact that Reader follows the Path of Fear than the Aeon of Fear in general if that's okay with you.

Path of Fear!Reader With Stelle, Asta, and Natasha!

Stelle

Color yourself surprised: She saw right through your stoic and terrifying point.

How, you might ask? Well, the story's very simple: She was out searching for trash cans, and stumbled upon you with some random stranger she doesn't know, trying to coax them because (to her horror), they were afraid of trash monsters.

Okay, first of all—how dare this stranger! If Stelle wasn't digging in another trash can at the point, she would bonk the living daylights out of them. And you looked cool, so she didn't give into her murder tendencies.

The moment you and she interacted, Stelle was caught a little off at how stoic and terrifying you were trying to be—but come on, she's not afraid of you no matter how hard she tries.

Sorry, but after being stabbed with a giant ice lance thing through her chest, someone glaring holes into her isn't going to scare Stelle off. Besides, she's seen the other side of you while hunting down trash cans. If anything, her...unique quirkiness and traits kind of scare you.

"Stop digging in the trash cans." "I FOUND TREASURE!" "...You are so annoying." "Okay :D"

Safe to say though, you aren't getting rid of Stelle so easily.

Asta

She meets you when several scientists on the Herta's Space Station starts to become very pale, some even running off in the opposite direction they were walking towards. She turns around, and bam—she's also a little terrified to see you.

Even the way you walk was enough for her to drop her precious telescope she carries along with her.

Were you not with the Astral Express Crew, she thought you might have been a new recruit for the Stellaron Hunters or something. You were terrifying!

Yet something about you was very endearing as well. It only amplifies more when Asta catches you taking care of a scientist and their phobia. She almost envies the attention from your soft side.

She tries her best to steel her own nerves as she tries to get to know you better—it's obvious that, despite that stoic and cold facade you have, you were someone of a kind heart and of pure intentions.

"The stars....they're all just a lie, in one world." (did you catch the reference? 👀) "W-well, I assure you, they aren't here! If anything, uhm—they're much more fascinating here at the station!" "Hm. You're about to drop your telescope thing." "R-right! Ah, shoot—uh, sorry!"

Yeah, she's still failing. You're terrifying yet fine as hell.

Natasha

The moment she sees some of her patients pale and a few children cry and running off to hide, she thought some rogue or criminal entered her infirmary.

Turns out, it was just you. You were as terrifying as you were beautiful. If she didn't know better, Natasha would've said she mighy have gotten a heart attack just simply glancing at you.

She tries her best to be polite to you despite her fear of you, and Natasha really adores your soft side when she catches how you help children overcome their fears.

"A-Ah, Y/N! I didn't see you there. How can I helo you?" "I got stabbed in the arm." "Alright, don't worry—I'll be sure to...check up on it."

Whenever you arrive to the infirmary, be it injuries or other reasons, Natasha fumbles on her own words. The question is if it's out of fear or romantic attraction 👀

Ghost Rebel Side Notes: I am so sorry that this took longer than needed! I was caught up in a lot of IRL events, and couldn't finish thid earlier than I wanted it to.

Please, feel free to send requests to me! I honestly need them—the sagau genshin series I'm working on is dying due to my lack of motivation :')

✦ Check out The Ghost Rebel’s Blog Description & Info Page to See if Their Mailbox is Open! ✦

[kneelingshadowsalome]

I promised, promised myself that I wouldn’t read the Roman König x Fee fic until it was completed because I knew i would get absolutely drawn in, wrapped up in your exquisite prose, then get addicted and suffer from withdrawals. Unneeded to say I broke said promise and welp here I am 🤡

Thing that surprised me was how quickly he endeared himself to me? A cock swinging village massacring brute that I was FULLY prepared to hate had me sighing by then end of chapter 3 with the “you care about my head?” ✋😩 YES I worry for your stupid head you adorable monster.

It’s uncanny how similarly Fee and I felt as the plot progressed. I know this is a self insert and though I made an OC for fee, you were able to capture the feeling of hate to curiousity to distrust to budding emotions on the readers side so beautifully and in only three chapters?? What sorcery is this?? I could go on and on about how I’m just… in awe of your writing skills.

It’s the small things too. The effort he went through to understand Fee, learning her language like he desperately wants to be a part of her. It’s just his delight in the simple things like having a woman and buying her pretty things. I AM GOING TO GNAW OFF MY ARM THIS IS SO GOOD!! I don’t know if you’ve watched HBOs Rome, but they remind me of Pullo and Eirene so much! Like you can’t tell me König doesn’t fit that goofy brawdy soldier who’s only hobbies are drinking and fucking and fighting to a T!

Then it got me thinking…. If König is Pullo then Simon is Vorenus. He has that straight laced, no bs aura about him. Now I’m imagining them both in this universe and please excuse me while I melt in a puddle 🫠

This is perhaps the best piece of fiction I’ve read in a while. I can’t wait for part 4, I have no doubt it will be wonderful as usual. Please accept my maladaptive daydream interpretation of Fee (first she was supposed to be a wood nymph, then the earth goddess then a fairy queen?? I’m not sure anymore. There was so much great imagery couldn’t settle on one. Your honor, we lost the plot.)

Oh my goodness OH MY GOODNESS ❤️❤️❤️

You shower me with praise and I’m over here like aaahh... for me? 🥺❤️

And yes I’ve watched Rome like four times at least! Every time I watch it just gets better, the producers and crew really outdid themselves with all the details in that series. I consider it one of the best TV shows ever made and excuse me but you opened a Pandora’s box here, I'm just so pleased you brought this up...

It took so much time for Pullo to grow on me, I was so frustrated with his character but when he killed Eirene’s man because he was so in love with her and was just like: “Oh there's something in the way of our love? Oh well. *there*, solved.” Gosh I was IN LOVE. I’m sorry, I’m a horrible person, but I fell in love with Pullo right that second. And yeah König is kinda like Pullo in that sense! Eirene wails at the corpse of her ex-lover and Pullo is just like “Um, yeah nasty business but… why are you crying? Oh, oh yeah, oops. But hey, we could be together? Oh, you don’t want me? Damn. How come?” I wanted to shake and kiss him for being so dumb and adorable.

And Ghost is Vorenus YES, you get it 100 %! And the tragic love story of Vorenus & Niobe, oh god, took me about a month to get over it. And Vorenus being under the protection of Mars first and then literally becoming Pluto, the Lord of the Underworld… The mythology nerd in me is swooning over here. The only thing about Vorenus that's slightly König coded to me was when Pullo had to explain to him what a clitoris is, and Vorenus is like “How do you know this about my wife?!?!” and almost kills him :D That’s so so Roman!König.

But AHHH let me squeal about your maladaptive daydream adaption next: she’s the most gorgeous Fee ever, so lovely and feminine and yet, strong and possessing that earthly power in her. I love the color of her dress too!! There’s a lot of earth & water elements linked to Fee so that color (green to turquoise?) is the most perfect combination of earth and sea, while König is more like fire & air, coming from the mountains and slow to anger but when the fire rises, no one is safe...

This was so lovely, thank you so much! I hope you enjoy the rest of the story 🩷💋

[tyrantisterror]

While we’re on the subject of Dungeons & monsters, what are your top ten favorite D&D monsters & why?

I'm going to limit this to monsters that are either original creations of D&D or so divorced from their mythological roots that they might as well be original creations, or else this would just be me listing dragons. This is also in no particular order.

I'm gonna start with the Otyugh, because I think it's a result of D&D creating a very interesting ecosystem to justify its mechanics. You have all these artificial dungeons filled with different man-eating monsters, right? Well, what about the waste products they create? Carrion, yes, but also, you know... poop.

Well, you get Otyughs, a species that, depending on the setting, was either artificially engineered to take care of the waste products of a dungeon, or naturally evolved to clear out the waste of enormous megafauna predators like dragons. Is it mostly just an excuse to introduce yet another weird monster with a unique attack mechanic (say hello to sepsis and other infections, players)? Yeah, but it's a good excuse, it gets the imagination flowing.

I've actually played a lot more Pathfinder than D&D proper, and Pathfinder went out of its way to give Otyughs love by exploring all the aspects of their ecology that were only lightly outlined or implied in D&D, including the fact that they're technically intelligent enough to be capable of speech and reason - and thus, not necessarily a monster you have to deal with using violence alone. It really endeared me to them, to the point where Otyugh characters became something of a trademark of mine when running Pathfinder/D&D campaigns - and to the point where I ended up making up an expy of them for my own fantasy setting.

Bulettes are one of the coolest looking D&D monsters for my money, especially given that their modern designs take two inspiration from two very different animals - sharks and tortoises - and manage to combine them so beautifully to create something at once very cool and yet perfectly plausible as a "real" creature.

I love Rust Monsters for the same reason I love Otyughs - it's a monster that was made to showcase a game mechanic (namely, destroying players' weapons and armor, making sure they know how valuable those things are) and ends up creating a weird but plausible and interesting aspect of the ecology and world-building as a result. Also like Otyughs, they're very cute in a groady monster way.

Not every monster needs to have a big mind-blowing concept for me to be happy, though. Sometimes a creepy guy with a squid for a head who eats brains is enough. Mind Flayers are iconic and often imitated despite/because of being such a simple and easy to grasp concept.

Speaking of iconic monsters, Beholders feel like such an obvious cool concept that is shocking to me that they're more or less an original D&D creation - and it kind of sucks that they are, because a giant monster head with one main eye and several smaller eyes on stalks feels like it should be as ubiquitous in fiction as dragons and unicorns, and yet it can't be without paying Wizards of the Coast a shit-ton of royalties.

I will say that the lore D&D gave Beholders is pretty good, though - namely that each Beholder thinks it is the apex of their kind, and hates all other beholders for their perceived imperfections. Because beauty is in the eye of the beholder, you see. It's great, no notes, but beholders should belong to the people, not copyright holders.

I'm pretty sure Mimics originate from D&D, though I guess they just couldn't keep the idea of "a treasure chest that fucking eats you" from the people, since they appear in a lot of non-licensed stuff. As they should - man-eating treasure chests are another monster concept that should belong to the people.

I was talking about Froghemoths the other day on here but I want to reiterate that I love them despite/because of the fact that there really is no greater concept at play here than "what if there was a big fucking frog freak," and not once in the long history of this game has anyone decided there needed to be more at play than that. A big fucking frog freak is enough for all of us.

I just think this one looks neat.

D&D kobolds are in the category of "so far removed from its mythic roots that it's basically a new monster," and in that case the new monster is "scrabbly little dragon people with extreme anxiety," and I love that. Kobolds are my favorite humanoid species in D&D, and I'm glad 5th edition finally gave them a stat block that's actually playable, as opposed to previous edition's attempts, which made the prospect of being a kobold character the equivalent of having a public humiliation kink.

Finally, and also in the category of "technically named after a mythic monster it no longer resembles in almost any way," we have the Tarrasque, which went from a turtle/lion hybrid dragon in myth to a nigh-indestructible monster that's explicitly compared to natural disasters for its immense size, vast destructive power, and near inability to be harmed thanks to its armored hide and insane healing abilities. Or, in short, D&D lawyer friendly equivalent of Godzilla. How can I not love D&D Godzilla?

[siren-serenity]

who is luffy to you?

characters: red-haired shanks, monkey d. luffy, portgas d. ace, straw hat crew (all platonic) warnings: fluff, angst, brief mentions of suicide?, spoilers of marineford a/n: - i've always liked the idea of luffy being this god that no one can touch, yet everyone wants to covet and hold precious to them - but i love the idea of the straw hats being so possessive over one another. like "he's mine and i'm his" vibes - the platonic soulmate vibes from the straw hat pirates??? i want that - @officialdaydreamer00, here is some ace angst for you!!! :D - feedback is appreciated!

if one were to ask shanks, akagami no shanks, the fourth emperor shanks, who was luffy to him, he would have grinned so brightly (his smile reminiscent of a man long ago, who had brought change…great change to the world that they knew of) and simply said, “he is my anchor. And i am his shanks.”

those who knew him best would have chuckled, a knowing glint in their eyes. their captain was fond of short, simple answers, concise yet confusing. To shanks, one of them smiled, kindly explaining. a similar glint of fondness could be seen in their eyes. luffy was his anchor in the midst of his mourning. before luffy, he was just akagami no shanks, floating aimlessly with no purpose, no life in him. alive but not truly alive. but luffy…he came crashing, tumbling, and flying into their lives and buried himself in their hearts, especially the captain's. to shanks, luffy was his savior. he lived everyday knowing that he had a home to go back to (and a ‘D’ shaped smile to look forward to.

"I'll leave this hat with you. It's dear to me. Take good care of it! Bring it back to me someday, once you've become a great pirate!"

if one were to ask ace, portgas D. ace (never gol D. ace), fire fist ace, second division commander of the whitebeard pirates, who was luffy to him, he would have laughed heartily. ‘he’s my little brother of course!’ ace would have laughed, a loving smile crawling onto his face.

but luffy meant much much more than that to ace. if luffy was shanks anchor, then luffy was ace’s tether. a tether, a chain, a rope, something to keep him in the mortal world. a reason to stay alive even though he had to hear those bastards spew curses at ‘gold roger’s child!’ every single day. a reason to stay alive even though he knew he had a demon's blood flooding his veins. even though he knew that he was the sole reason for his mother's death (if he was never born, portgas D. rouge would have been alive. alive and thriving. if only he was never born)

"Even though I've been good for nothing my whole life, even though I have the blood of a demon within me... You guys still loved me! Thank you so much!"

if one were to ask the straw hat crew, the unofficial supernovas, the rookie crew who had shaken the world from its core, the everything-but-blood family, who was luffy to them, you would have received many different answers. some would have said luffy was their savior, dragging them from their mental torment and raising them to become something great. some would have said luffy was their brother. he was the younger, annoyingly endearing sibling, he was sometimes the older sibling, giving advice as if he had seen the world before his eyes. most would have confessed that luffy was irritating (but in a loving tone, as always). some would have said luffy was just...luffy. he was undefinable, unexplainable, yet they loved him the same.

some would have said luffy was a god. with drums echoing in their minds and resonating in their hearts before every battle. the fire of freedom licking at their souls, igniting something great, something life-changing again. sometimes, they would stare at tiny, stretchy, silly luffy and then imagine a tall figure, scarred with a cross on his chest, straw hat on his head, and then blinked. gone, dissipated in the wind. they could imagine a white-haired, floating being beside luffy sometimes, winking at them straight in the eye, before disappearing with a flash.

but luffy? luffy was theirs. luffy was their captain, luffy was their brother, luffy was their pirate king, luffy was theirs, theirs, and only theirs. at the same time, their souls knew that they were his. and he would never let them go.

so to the straw hat pirates? luffy was theirs.

and you don't touch what's theirs

"Luffy will become king of the pirates!"