#What Is The Best Way To Get Your Ex Girlfriend Back Easy And Cheap Useful Tips

[realrichinmyhead]

﹡ ' 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 ' 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬.

( ૮₍´˶• . •🎀₎ა ) : ────────── dialogues taken from maisie peter's album , ‘ the good witch ’ . dialogues range from happy , sad , angry and more . edit and change as you deem necessary . please like and / or reblog if using and consider following !

❛ let's call this the calm before the storm comes rushin' through. ❜

❛ i wish it was two weeks ago. ❜

❛ i'm the greatest love that you wasted. ❜

❛ i need you less than i did. ❜

❛ if he makes you smile, he's blocked. ❜

❛ nobody actually happy and healthy has ever felt so desperate to prove it. ❜

❛ i'm dating but just dating for sport. ❜

❛ i thought it would be us for life. i thought it would be us for life. ❜

❛ and i don't know how i still can't make it make any sense. ❜

❛ if you don't love me, why you'd act it? ❜

❛ i know how your tone works. ❜

❛ i know i'm obsessed. ❜

❛ i know that you did bad, but if one more person says it i might go mad. ❜

❛ in your room that night, i wish i'd known. ❜

❛ it was letting go of everything but you. ❜

❛ the loss is yours. ❜

❛ your face in fluorescent looks different in the daylight. ❜

❛ the worst way to love somebody is to watch them love somebody else and it work out. ❜

❛ he likes a promise if he don't have to keep it. ❜

❛ i made it to september, i can finally breathe. ❜

❛ when you held me tight, wish i hadn't let go. ❜

❛ if you love her, was i just an idea you liked? ❜

❛ if you don't love me, what was april? ❜

❛ i know you remember. ❜

❛ that last kiss, couldn't look at you. but i wish i did. ❜

❛ i still love you, but you're taking me from your arms back to therapy. ❜

❛ now you're living the goddamn dream. ❜

❛ i'm hurting, but i'm certain it's still true: i'm the best thing that almost happened to you. ❜

❛ i know it didn't last, and what was cheap to you, to me was all i had. ❜

❛ he hates a sentence when he has to mean it. ❜

❛ still me here, do you think i forgot about you? ❜

❛ told her i was homesick, i hadn't thought of home twice. ❜

❛ wow, hey, it's been forever. do you wanna get a drink, like together? ❜

❛ the issue is, i know all of this and i still want you back. ❜

❛ you said we're like your mom and dad, knew you loved me babe when you told me that. ❜

❛ i'll smile and you'll have to face it. ❜

❛ i loved you babe, did i tell you that? ❜

❛ and everybody pretends that they're great, but what if you actually might be? ❜

❛ i thought it would be us for life. will you tell me just one more lie?❜

❛ loving you was easy, that's why it hurts now. ❜

❛ she'll have you every summer when i only had you half of the spring. ❜

❛ mister "i don't want a label", you made me little miss unstable. ❜

❛ you'll throw your rocks, and you'll scream that you hate me. ❜

❛ you wanna hear about it all, where do i start? ❜

❛ you've got every single thing you want and i just watch. ❜

❛ i'm not allowed to want you any longer. ❜

❛ he has a girlfriend now. ❜

❛ i couldn't believe it, how you could just stop wanting me? ❜

❛ he was too good to be true. swore a lot of things, none of them new. ❜

❛ you took a road trip into the mountains—i feel like all of my exes have done that. ❜

❛ oh, shit, i won the breakup. ❜

❛ you're kinda awful, but you're not awful on purpose. ❜

❛ and what about my wings? ❜

❛ i've heard some things that i will leave unrepeated. ❜

❛ i beg you and you don't understand. ❜

❛ but i know the girl that you want and it scares me. ❜

❛ it keeps hurting but i keep searching. ❜

❛ was it a love affair or just a lot of late nights? ❜

❛ will you tell me just one more lie? ❜

❛ i know that i should know better, i don't think i want to get better. ❜

❛ still upset but now i'm twenty-two. ❜

❛ so, i don't tell a soul that i'll be yours again tomorrow if you wanted. ❜

❛ i wish i woulda seen it sooner. ❜

❛ but it gets old being forever 20. ❜

❛ i save you a seat, and then you say you wanna stand. ❜

❛ i'm kinda busy, but like, stay in touch? ❜

❛ and you're pretty like a girl 'til you're vicious like a man. ❜

❛ well, fucking sue me 'cause at least then we could talk. ❜

❛ am i better yet? ❜

❛ if you told me what would happen i think i would have begged. ❜

❛ you broke my heart and my self-esteem for a girl who's a remix of me. ❜

❛ don't you know that you're losing this? is that what you want? ❜

❛ why did it take me ages to say it? ❜

❛ i couldn't escape you. ❜

❛ then i can't help thinking that she's got a better body. ❜

❛ that i will try forgiveness but i will not forget. ❜

❛ if i'm not careful, i'll wake up and we'll be married, and i'll still flinch at the sound of a door. ❜

❛ i know this is like the worst drunk message but it's okay. ❜

❛ i still argue like my mother and suppress stuff like my dad. ❜

❛ i still miss you but i know now it'll pass. ❜

❛ were you sorry like you weren't at the time? ❜

❛ if it was a first kiss how come it felt like a snakebite? ❜

❛ i am exhausting and you're not in love. ❜

❛ i'm not gonna wait, now i know better than that. ❜

❛ you have to do it in slow motion! ❜

[kingpreciouswrld]

Hi luv, can you do a angst to fluff Miranda Priestly imagine where Andrea comes back to Runway to confess her feelings for Miranda, but Miranda is in a relationship w/ the reader and has to choose between them. At the end Miranda chooses the reader!

Wants and Needs

Title from Drake's song -"Wants and Needs"

Pairing: Miranda Priestly x Reader

Genre: Angst -> Fluff

Word count: 2k

A/N: God you know I'm a sucker for angsty Miranda 😫 I hope you like it! All mistakes are mine ;-;

__________

The phone landed on the sofa with a soft bounce as you sat back into your own chair with a sigh.

You just got a call from Nigel. He called you right when he got back from leaving Miranda’s office and told you that he saw her walking into the office.

Her being the infamous Andrea Sachs.

The young journalist was known as the one who walked away alive. And thanks to Nigel, you also knew Andrea as the girl who was in love with her ex-boss and your girlfriend, Miranda Priestly.

It wasn’t new information to those who knew the young journalist. Nigel had told you that the girl developed feelings for the editor during her tenure at Runway. So far, the girl never showed any interest in Miranda after she walked away in Paris, and you hoped it stayed that way.

Your relationship with Miranda wasn’t public and you liked it that way. Miranda wanted to keep things underwraps until the both of you were ready to face the numerous paparazzi, critics, and the unavoidable page six, but keeping things underwraps meant that no one knew the editor was taken.

There was no reason for the girl to be at Runway unless...no, no, you needed to use a wise mind. But the journalist wrote small columns in a mediocre newspaper, so why would she be in Runway’s offices?

You tried your best to not jump to conclusions but if anything, you had faith in Miranda. She didn’t like to be bothered during Runway hours unless it was a family matter so you knew she would ignore the girl.

You hoped she would.

You didn’t know much about how Miranda felt about Andrea, she never talked about it.

Either way, there was nothing you could do with the information you were given, you weren’t going to call Miranda at work,

So you just waited.

~~~~~~~

The shutting of the front door followed by heels clacking on tiled floors told you that Miranda was home.

You didn't need to check the time for it to tell you that Miranda was late, more late than usual.

You followed her movements with your hearing, never breaking your staring contest with the painting in front of you.

She was getting closer.

You didn’t have to tell her where you were, you didn't have the energy to anyway but she always came to the study to work on the book.

“Darling there you are.” Miranda bent down and pressed a small kiss to your forehead.

You responded with a hum and watched as your lover made herself comfortable on the sofa across from you.

“How was your day? Did you manage to turn in your project on time?” she asked as she put on her reading glasses before turning to the book.

You were too out of it to answer her questions. Your day was...fine, it was tolerable, but your mind was running at a thousand miles per second and it made you despondent.

Not getting a reply from you, Miranda looked up from the book, “Darling?” she asked softly, "is everything alright?"

"Hm?" Your eyes found icey blue ones that were filled with concern. "Oh, yeah–yes, everything's fine."

Satisfied with your response, Miranda sent you a soft smile before she returned her focus to the fashion pages in her lap.

The silence that followed swallowed you whole, only broken with the few scratches of Miranda's red pen and the flipping of pages.

"Why was Andrea at Runway today?"

At least you held off for longer than you thought you would.

Miranda's focus didn't falter, the only telltale sign that she heard you was the sharp inhale through her nose.

"What are you talking about darling?"

"Andrea Sachs. Why was she there?"

Miranda made no move to stop her work and you sighed,

"It's just a question Miranda."

Knowing that she couldn't get any work done until you were addressed, Miranda finally looked up at you, taking her glasses off in the process,

"If you must know, she was just there to talk."

"Okay," you nodded slowly, "talk about what?"

The white-haired editor fluffed her hair before she waved you off, "It's nothing, really."

"Miranda you never just 'talk' to someone during work let alone an ex-assistant who walked out on you. She worked for you Miranda, I thought you wouldn't be caught dead with someone like–"

"Do NOT talk about Andréa like that," Miranda snapped.

Miranda had never raised her voice at you and it made you physically flinch. She was defending Andrea.

For the first time since the relationship started, you were shaken. You couldn't read Miranda at all and it scared you.

Without warning, your mask slipped in place and you became eerily calm,

"What happened," you said quietly.

Miranda had gone back to the book albeit working slower than usual,

"The girl merely wanted to have dinner."

The puzzle pieces were settling into place. You could feel your stomach clench. Your heart sped up, and you felt your nerves set off as the waves of anxiety spread from your chest throughout your whole body,

"That's why you were late wasn't it…"

Miranda simply continued with her work as she pushed some of her bangs out of her eyes, "Don't be ridiculous Y/N, it was just about friends catching up."

"You never talked about her, you refused to talk about her, she isn't just a 'friend' Miranda."

There was a silent pause as you observed your lover. Her own mask was in place and she was blatantly ignoring the situation. She wouldn't even look you in the eye.

"She asked you out again, didn't she."

A whispered 'yes' cut through the silence.

You took a deep, steadying breath,

"What did you say."

Silence. Miranda returned to the book, turning the pages and making notes here and there. She never once acknowledged you, it was as if the editor shut you out completely.

It broke your heart.

"I hope having your fun is worth it."

You quietly approached the editor, making sure you didn't jostle the book in her lap, before you bent down and placed your own kiss on her forehead.

You couldn't bring yourself to say anything else. The answer of silence was an answer in itself.

Quietly leaving the study, you made your way up to your– to Miranda's bedroom and gathered your clothes into a duffle bag. You didn't want to stay here, you couldn't. You didn't know what all of this meant, it was too much for you to process, but you knew you had to leave.

~~~~~~~

A year of being together and a journalist is what comes between the two of you. A year. A fucking year.

And now, here you were, sitting alone in a hotel room for the 8th day in a row.

How easy it was for Miranda to look at another.

Throughout the week you did your best to not doubt yourself. You knew Miranda's curiosity had nothing to do with how you were as a person or a lover, but you couldn't help that little voice in the back of your head that questioned why you weren't enough to satisfy Miranda.

After the second day of being away from the editor, she started to blow up your phone. Calls on top of calls came through, even during Runway hours and Miranda never called you during Runway hours, maybe texted, but never called.

The night you left the townhouse was the last time you talked to Miranda. Even though she's made many, many attempts to reach you, you weren't ready. Those self-doubts made you hesitant to pick up any of the calls that came to your phone.

On the third day she started to get Nigel and Emily to contact you. You told Nigel what happened and he wasn't happy with what Miranda had done. Emily heard what happened the first time she had contacted you and the redhead wasn't thrilled either. Although Emily was hard to deal with at times, you knew she wanted the best for you and right now she didn't think Miranda was what's best for you. Either way, both of them knew the situation and both of them promised to keep your location underwraps.

That, in turn, caused Miranda to double her attempts (as if they weren't enough already).

She started to send gifts, flowers, anything the editor thought you might like.

When you would arrive at work, there would be a bouquet of flowers on your desk, then throughout the day more bouquets would follow. Hell the woman would send you chocolates, not the cheap ones either, the best chocolates money could buy in New York City. You started to find Roy waiting for you after work and despite your attempts of refusal, you caved in after he personally wanted to see you make it back to wherever you were staying, safely.

Every mutual friend you had with Miranda knew where you were and what had happened between you two, and each of them promised to keep quiet on the matter.

You knew you couldn't hide forever, you just didn't know when she'd finally find you.

A knock on your hotel door snapped you out of your thoughts.

Your breath hitched. It couldn't be Miranda right? You've managed to slip away for 8 days, surely you had more time.

Looking through the little peep hole, you felt your body relax before confusion passed over your features. You never ordered room service. Unless you did and just forgot about it.

You shrugged, 'Free food is free food.' You opened the door and followed the bellhop as he pushed the cart in. Taking a closer look, you found that the cart held a tray of your favorite foods with a basket of your favorite snacks.

"Um, excuse me, where did you get all of this?"

"You only deserve the best."

You whipped around and found Miranda standing in the doorway.

She looked as if she came from work. Her famously white hair had fallen out of it's usual coif and there were a few wrinkles on her blouse.

What surprised you was the fact that the usual poised editor was fidgeting with her fingers. You could practically feel the anxiety rolling off of her body in waves. It was only then that you noticed that the two of you were now alone in your hotel room.

Miranda didn't know where to start, "Y/N, I…" she took a deep breath, "I love you and I-I'm sorry for my lapse in judgement about the whole..Andréa spiel."

You watched as Miranda took tentative steps forward, gaining more confidence when she didn't get any refusal from you.

She took hold of your hands and pressed kisses to them both, "Darling, it's you. I love you and only you. There has never been a moment since you left that I haven't thought of you."

"Miranda…" you whispered softly.

She shook her head and squeezed your hands, "I need you. I should have never entertained the thought of life without you by my side. I choose you Y/N, I love you."

You bit your lip before you sent a small smile towards the editor and Miranda's eyes brightened. She pulled you into a crushing hug and she clung to you like a koala as she kissed any part of your body that was in reach: your shoulder, your neck, your hair. All the while, she whispered 'I love you's' and 'I'm sorry's' and 'Y/N' as if chanting these things would keep you two in the moment. You indulged in the love that was showered on you and you hugged Miranda back just as tightly.

Miranda finally settled to hide her face in the crook of your neck,

"How did you find me?"

Her response was muffled by your neck but you heard it all the same,

"I may have threatened Emily with the banning of cheese in the offices."

You snorted a laugh.

'Ratted out for cheese cubes..are cheese gift baskets a thing?’

__________

Devil Wears Prada tags: @007giu

[aereres]

Stuck On You - Cale Makar

Summary: What started as a friendship between you and Cale takes a turn during one of the best summer vacations of your life - a week in a campsite with your new friends from Colorado.

A/N: A self-indulgent Cale fic, who would have thought lmao. Definitely not my best work but I hope you enjoy!

Word Count: 5k

Warnings: a couple swear words, mentions of break-up

Summer. Summer held something you couldn’t quite place. Maybe it was the road trips with music blasting from your car’s speakers, or the endless nights spent drinking cheap beers with strangers while sitting on docks. Maybe it was the seasonal loves, the ones you’d talk about with your friends after coming home, or maybe it was the memories.

Summer had always been something you had never missed, no matter how hard school got, or how good your job paid people to stay during the hottest months of the year; and, in Colorado, it wasn’t any different.

You were gasping for breath when you finally reached the perfect spot for camping, your backpack heavy on your shoulders as your friends walked past you. The excited giggles that left their lips joined the sound of birds chirping as they pushed their own belongings on the ground.

“Oh my God,” Johanna laughed, Andre’s arm wrapped around her shoulders as she looked around the empty side of the forest your getaway was going to take place in. “This place is beautiful,”

“It is,” Sydney said from beside her, eyes cast on her bag as she started to take some stuff out.

You were still taking the beautiful view in, a smile on your lips as you realized that summer was finally starting. A new summer, you thought, with new friends and a new spot.

“Y/N, just come here already!” Andre yelled from the distance, pushing you out of your trance. “Your tent is not gonna build itself,”

“I’m coming,” you giggled, jokingly rolling your eyes your friend’s way as you pushed your backpack down your shoulders, looking around for an empty space for yourself.

“I’m here-”

The breathless words were mumbled behind you, making you turn around quickly to find a flushed face. Cale’s cheeks were their usual dark shade of red, sweat lining his forehead as he tried to gain back his breathing.

“Oh- hi, Cale,” you smiled, heart fluttering when your eyes met his face. “You doing okay?”

“I was a little late,” he mumbled, waving JT’s way before his eyes gently settled on you. It seemed like he had realized you were there in front of him just then, his body tensing as a small smile formed on his lips. “Hi, Y/N,”

“Oh my God,” Nate huffed. “I’ll literally let the two of you sleep with the bears if you don’t start with the tents,”

“Fine, fine. You guys are annoying as hell,” you mumbled, brushing past him to reach one of the last two empty spots, throwing the bag that held your tent on the ground. The paper that slipped out of the opened zipper was filled with instructions, the words so small you almost struggled to read through them. If it wasn’t already difficult enough, the drawings explaining how to set up the tent weren’t helping, either.

You were just starting to understand something when your friends’ loud laughter filled your ears, along with the sound of bottles of beer being opened. You laughed to yourself, taking one of the many thin poles in your hands as you tried to figure out where it was supposed to go, one of your palms burying itself in your hair.

You had never been the greatest at building things, and you weren’t surprised when you grew close to calling one of the guys and ask for their help. Their tents had been built in less than half an hour, helping you prop up yours wasn’t going to be too difficult. Right?

“Here, give it to me. I’ll help you,” the familiar voice snapped you out of your thoughts, as deep as you remembered it to be. Cale was standing beside you, arms folded over his chest as he gave your work a quick look, a teasing smirk on his lips. “Never been camping?”

“Not really,” you giggled awkwardly, handing him the item in your hand as he figured the mess out. His feet carried him to the left side of the tent, sliding the first part of the tube in its place.

“Alright, go on the other side,”

With Cale’s help, building a tent had never been easier. He knew what to do and where to start, he honestly made it look easy. Your shelter was ready after just a couple of minutes, and you found yourself smiling Cale’s way as soon as he mumbled a quick ‘we’re done’.

“Really?!”

“Yeah,” he chuckled, taking his place by your side again as the two of you gave the results one last look. “Looks better than mine down there,”

You giggled, turning around to wrap an arm around him, pulling him in a quick hug. “Thank you so much,” you said, pushing a stray hair out of your eyesight. “Wouldn’t have made it, without you,”

“You’re welcome,” Cale said rather rushedly, his cheeks blushing slightly. You weren’t able to see the way he flushed, though, turning around way too quickly to unpack your bag and getting the last few things for your shelter out.

As you pushed your phone out of your pocket, you realized just then how messily the butterflies in your stomach were dancing. And it was all because of Cale.

-

The sounds of the fireplace were comforting you as everyone enjoyed the first night of the summer together with a beer in hand. Loud laughter was coming from the Avalanche players, and you could hear a few laughs and giggles coming from your own friends, too.

“I can’t believe they gave you a penalty, man,” Tyson admitted, referring to Nathan’s last call on the ice that cost the team a power-play goal. “It was a clean hit and we all saw that,”

“Yeah, man,” EJ agreed, tipping his head back as he finished his beer.

“Call was ridiculous,” Nate agreed, shrugging slightly to signal the end of the conversation before letting an arm wrap around his girlfriend. “What have you been up to, Y/N? You’re the only one we don’t see too often,”

You chuckled at his words, shaking your head as you swallowed the last piece of s’more in your mouth. “Just been working, trying to get a promotion,”

“You go, girl,” Johanna cheered, making you laugh. “And Christian?”

The laughter left your body as soon as your ex was mentioned, the last words of your final argument repeating themselves in your mind. “Christian?” Was all you were able to mumble, eyes cast on the fire as you buried your hands in the pockets of your hoodie.

“Your boyfriend,” Susanna stated, making you chuckle out bitterly.

“Well, ex-boyfriend,” you sighed, shrugging when you looked up to see a few shocked faces. “Broke up a few months ago, now,”

“And you didn’t tell us?!” Mikko yelled, his voice loud over the mixed words of shock from your friends.

“Sorry,” you mumbled, casting your eyes to your lap as everyone kept talking, slowly starting to express the way they all almost despised your ex. Nathan - and his girlfriend agreed with him - said something about Christian hitting on his girl, Tyson complained about the fact that he had never seemed to treat you good, and all the girls agreed with him.

Thinking about your break-up on the first day of your summer vacation wasn’t something you had planned, so you silently kept to yourself, hoping the conversation would drop quickly. Your eyes lifted up from the orange flames of the fire, finding the stars illuminating the dark sky, so subtle yet so beautiful. All the voices of your friends were silenced as you admired the beauty of the night, a breath you didn’t realize you were holding in finally leaving your lips.

A gentle hand nudged your elbow, your attention snapping towards the person to your right in a quick second. Staring back at you was Cale, a soft smile on his lips as he held a stick with a roasted marshmallow between the two of you. “For you,”

“For me?”

“I know you love roasted marshmallows,” he mumbled, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. “Just thought of making one for you, I guess,”

A small smile formed on your lips at his kindness, cheeks burning as you accepted the stick. “You’re too sweet, Cale,” you mumbled, your shoulder leaning against his as you grabbed the candy from the top of the branch, pushing it in your mouth.

He grabbed his own marshmallow and slid it in his mouth, your eyes meeting as you silently looked at each other. His cheeks grew bigger from the size of the candy, a small piece of it coloring the side of his mouth.

You giggled, his own laughter following yours as you swallowed. “Hang on, Cale,” you mumbled, coming closer to him as you tried to ignore your heartbeat picking up its pace. “You’ve got something-”

Your palm cupped his scarlet cheek, warm against your skin as your thumb smoothed the sticky substance away, your eyes barely leaving his as the two of you sat back in place. Both of your heartbeats were loud, cheeks burning as you acted as if the closeness hadn’t affected you in any kind of way.

You silently hoped nobody had paid attention to the two of you, knowing the guys wouldn’t hold down the chirping; but when you looked back at the team and wags, they all seemed to be too focused on their conversation to even notice Cale’s burning cheeks, or your fingers slightly touching.

You were the first one to wish everyone a good night, that day, to retrieve in your tent and listen to your heart beat loudly. You felt like a teenager again, feeling just so jittery after the interaction with the man you had always spent too much time looking at, and had always looked for whenever you’d join the group at any kind of event.

You had always repressed whatever you had been feeling for Cale, pushed it to the side to avoid any kind of rejection. But the way Cale smiled your way, the way he helped you out whenever he could, the way he tried to find subtle ways to gently touch you.

Something in you, that night, was guessing that your feelings might have been mutual.

-----

“Does this happen every time you guys go camping?” You asked Sydney breathlessly as you took a look at the hiking path in front of you. You were already two hours into the hike, the guys all walking ahead of you as if the uphill path wasn’t tiring them, at all. “Like, do you ever get a break when hiking with the boys?”

“Nope,” Sydney giggled from beside you, stopping in her tracks to take a sip of her water. “You’re a newbie to our camping trips, you’ll get used to it,”

You laughed along with her, looping your arm around hers as you followed the rest of the group through the sunrays-lit forest, sweat threatening to line your forehead. Walking in front of everyone was Cale, laughing along with Nate as you watched him, a smile of your own forming on your lips.

The moments of the previous night kept repeating in your mind as you silently walked, hoping the man living in your mind wouldn’t notice the fondness in your eyes whenever he looked your way.

“So, you and Cale?”

The words leaving Sydney’s mouth had your cheeks burning, the smile on your face quickly turning sheepish as you kept walking. “What about me and Cale?”

“C’mon,” she laughed, looking at you with an eyebrow raised. “Last night?”

You rolled your eyes with a chuckle, shaking your head slowly as you looked at the path in front of you. “That was nothing,”

“Nothing?!” She cried exasperatedly, pushing your shoulder as she kept walking. “You looked like you were going to make-out on the spot,”

“That’s not true,”

“That’s more than true, Y/N,” she laughed, silence settling between the two of you after her teasing words. Maybe you and Cale hadn’t been that smooth, you thought. Her elbow was quick to hit your ribcage after a few minutes, her eyes finding yours again as a small smirk formed on her lips. “He’s single, you’re finally single. You should give it a thought,”

“It’s just a stupid, small crush,” you admitted. “Nothing more,”

“Then why not try and see where things would lead?” She stated, knowing she was right. “I’ve never seen Cale act like that,”

“Like what?”

“Like a smitten teenager,” her honesty had you laughing, your head shaking as you were the one to push her shoulder, that time. When your laughter died down, her voice made its way inside your ears. “But really, you should try,”

She didn’t give you time to give her a response, slipping away from you to reach her boyfriend’s side, who had called her name. You were left on your own once again, staring ahead of you, your eyes focused on the back of Cale’s head as you struggled to keep up with the group.

Was it so easy to notice? The way your cheeks would heat up, or the way your smile would turn giddy as soon as he’d be close enough to have your fingers brushing against his. Was it that easy?

“C’mon, Y/N! We’re almost there!” EJ yelled from the front, his toothless smile shining from the distance as he walked backward. You laughed, throwing your head back for a quick second before meeting eyes with a smiley Cale standing by his side.

His cheeks were their usual scarlet color, hair slightly tousled from being pushed back too many times, but he still looked like the kind of person who would steal your heart in no time.

-

“Good night, Y/N,” Tyson was the last person to leave the fireplace, a smile on his face as he walked towards his tent, the silence of the night engulfing you in a warm embrace.

Your eyes drifted up towards the sky - as they always did - and found the patterns of stars painting it. The moon was shining brightly that night, its rays illuminating your face as you silently thought about your day. And Cale.

The hike had gone surprisingly well: the various hours under the hot sun had been worth it, the view from the top of the mountains so beautiful you could never forget it. But you couldn’t just forget Cale, his lingering touches, and the way his eyes would be staring deeply at you whenever they could.

When he had helped you down a particularly high, rocky step, your breath had hitched, the feeling of his rough yet gentle hands on your waist pushing the butterflies in your stomach back to life. You were sure you had never felt so deeply connected to someone, the way Cale was making you feel just so unknown to you. You didn’t want things to end.

“You sure you’ll be okay out here on your own?”

Your head snapped towards the source of sound, the nest of tousled blond hair you knew too well finding your eyes in less than a second. “Yeah, don’t worry, Cale,”

Your gaze fell back on the stars, ignoring the sound of his footsteps until the shuffling of his body next to yours snapped you out of your thoughts again. “The stars are beautiful, tonight,” was all Cale mumbled as your shoulders touched.

“City pollution doesn’t do them much justice,” you chuckled, wrapping your arms around your folded legs as you sent him a quick glance. “I should probably come here more often,”

“It’s such a nice place,” Cale stated, a layer of comfortable silence settling between the two of you. Your body leaned against his on its own command, your head almost resting on his shoulder as the sounds of the crickets surrounding you pushed you into a state of calmness.

His body seemed to tense for a second, but his arm wrapped around your middle when he realized there was nothing you wanted more than to feel him close to you. He was silent for a few minutes - just enjoying your closeness and the warmth your body held - before letting his eyes close.

You didn’t recall walking back to your tent, the next morning when you woke up, but his hoodie still covering your body was a tell-tale sign Cale had brought you back after a while. You buried your flushed face in your pillow, that morning, the sun warming up your tent as you still felt Cale close to you.

Did he feel the same way?

-----

“Oh. My. God. Y/N!” Johanna yelled, trembling as the chilly water of the lake hit her back, all thanks to your splashing. You giggled at her exaggerated reaction, dipping underwater to escape any of her splashes as she tried to look for revenge.

The sun was setting after another long hike, its reflection painting the lake an orange shade as you cooled down, enjoying the last day of the vacation with the team. It was a summer you were going to remember, but you felt stressed, in some kind of way.

Your heart was beating for someone, and that someone was Cale. You had never felt as close to him as you did on the trip, and you felt like something was going to happen. Eventually.

But the trip was coming to its end: you’d have to go home and get back to your schedule, the guys would go back in full swing to their own jobs, and you weren’t ready to give up on the progress you and Cale had made, not yet. It felt as if the universe wanted you to be happy, giving you Cale and feelings you just couldn’t hold back, and just a small time to find your happiness.

The water had stopped moving around you, and you realized just then that Johanna had left, and you were - yet again - on your own. The water had started to cool down even more due to the dark clouds already painting the sky, pushing you to sit on the dock with a towel wrapped around your shoulders to warm up.

The world seemed to grow quiet as you watched the clouds move, reminding you of the sleepless night you were going to spend in your lonely tent due to the upcoming rainstorm. You smiled, though, taking a deep breath as the sound of laughter from the distance slowly put your world back into motion.

“You’re going to get a cold,”

“Would be worth it,” you giggled, watching Cale move until he was sitting next to you on the dock. “What are you doing here?”

“I was looking for you, dinner’s almost ready,” he mumbled, his own eyes falling on the sky. You hummed, wrapping the towel tighter around your shoulders as you scooted closer to him.

“I’m going to miss this,” you whispered truthfully, your cold fingers busy on the strings of your bikini. “Camping, nights in front of the fireplace, you guys,”

“Same,” Cale admitted. “I don’t want it to end, you know? I’m going to miss you,”

Your heart fluttered at his words, sending the butterflies in your stomach in a spiral for a quick second as he kept talking. “And it’s stupid to say, because I see you just so often,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair. “But I’m going to miss you, and what happened between us here,”

You took a second to let his words sink in, just how quickly they made your body feel warm and how they made you feel like a teenager in love all over again. “It doesn’t have to end, Cale,” was all you whispered, your eyes meeting his as you let your heart beat loudly, not caring if anyone heard it.

“I didn’t think you’d feel the same way,” he said, honesty slipping from his lips as he let a hand cup your cheek tenderly.

“And I didn’t think you’d feel the same way, either,” you giggled, your chest warming up unexpectedly when his lips brushed up in a smile. You admired him, letting your eyes rake across his eyes, then his nose, his rosy cheeks, and - soon after - his lips. “Promise me we won’t let this go to waste,”

“We won’t,” he whispered back, his free hand lacing with yours as your lips finally met. Your world felt complete, at least, it seemed like it. With his hands on you and his gentle kisses, you felt alive, you felt like you were finally home.

One of his kisses turned into two, and two turned into three. As warm as he made you feel, your body heat was lowering and you had to pull away with clattering teeth before you bit his lip a little too hard. Your foreheads met for a moment, your eyes closing as you spent one last moment with him, the closeness having you weak.

“You’re freezing,” he stated, eyes carefully taking notice of your purple lips and shaking limbs. “Let’s go, you need to get changed before you die on me,”

“I’m fine, Cale,” you giggled, taking his hand to stand up with him before you started to head towards your camping spot, where the rest of the team was making dinner. His hand stayed in yours as he led you towards your tent, not caring - or worrying - if your friends saw.

Dinner was quite uneventful after that. You ate in silence as you missed Cale’s touch, a smile on your lips as you caught him staring your way from the distance. You didn’t set up the fireplace, that night. Rain started to hit your skin by ten, and everyone pretty much understood your last night had come to an end.

You had wished Cale goodnight with a subtle squeeze of his hand before heading towards your tent, sliding under your covers as you thought about the events of the day. Your mind went back to the man that stole your heart, thinking about the way your heart would stutter every time he’d look your way, or just how quickly your mood could change when his skin touched yours.

Saying you were stuck on him was an understatement.

The tiredness from the activities started to kick in - your eyes feeling quite heavy as you pushed your phone away from you - but the sounds the rain made, the fear of a storm and just what it could cause, they were keeping you up.

The raindrops were hitting the fabric of the tent harshly, and as much as you tried to relax, you just couldn’t. It was well past midnight when an idea popped in your mind, but you just couldn’t. It was too much, and too early.

You rolled to your side, your air mattress making a squeaking noise as you did so. It was too early. Your phone vibrated, pushing you out of your thoughts as the screen lit up, a new message waiting to be read.

I’m outside your tent.

Your brows furrowed at Cale’s text, looking up to see that, in fact, someone was standing outside your tent. You crawled towards the entrance, pushing the zipper down until the cold hair of the night hit your face, and your eyes met Cale’s frame.

“What the hell are you doing here? You’re going to catch a cold!”

“Would be worth it,” he repeated the words you had used earlier that day. “Can I come in?”

“Of course,” you whisper-yelled, almost dragging him inside before you closed the tent back up. “What are you doing here, Cale?”

“I noticed you couldn’t sleep,” he mumbled, sitting on the edge of your mattress as his eyes stayed on your features even in the darkness of the night. “And I couldn’t sleep either,”

You giggled, shaking your head when you had realized you had had the same idea at the same time. You had been so close to joining Cale in his tent to relax and let all your worries leave your body, but he had beaten you at your own game.

With your last ounce of courage, you pressed a quick kiss to his blushing cheek, pulling him along with you to lay on the mattress. “Just come here,”

You were facing each other after you slipped under the covers again, his eyes staring into yours as you felt your body snuggle closer to his at its own command. One of his arms wrapped itself around your body, pulling you even closer as you felt a tender kiss being pressed to the crown of your head.

“Get some rest,” he whispered in your hair, your face buried in the crook of his neck as he talked. “I’ll be here in the morning,”

“Good night, Cale,”

“Good night, Y/N,”

-

Morning came quickly, too quickly for your liking. The sun was weakly lighting up your tent, its rays shining against Cale’s skin just right. He was still with you - as he had promised - and you were sure there was no better way to wake up than to open your eyes and see Cale, before anyone else.

He was breathing shallowly, eyes still closed as his arms kept tight around your waist, no sign of him waking up just yet. Your heart was a fluttering mess: you’d gone from complete strangers, to friends, to what seemed like lovers. And, God- you didn’t want it to end.

One single digit of yours ghosted over his soft cheek, starting to trace his features as lightly as it could as you admired him with all you had, hoping he wouldn’t wake up from your motions. A long sigh left his lips at your touch, eyelids squeezing for a quick second before he let them open.

“Good morning,” he grumbled, voice gravelly as he closed his eyes for another moment.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you,” you whispered, retrieving your hand as he pulled you closer. “Slept well?”

“Yes,” he dragged the last letter, the smile on his lips making you giggle. “You?”

“Like a baby,”

“That’s good,”

Silence settled between you as you enjoyed his warmth, brain running way too quickly at just eight in the morning while you traced shapes on his clothed chest. “They’re gonna chirp the hell out of us,” you giggled.

“Oh, God,” Cale chuckled, his palm landing on his face as he remembered about his restless teammates. “Might as well just die in here,”

You giggled, tugging the tent’s zipper open and grabbing his hand to get him out of your bed. “Just let them talk,” you whispered in his ear before stepping outside, stretching your limbs. His quite taller frame struggled to exit the tent, but when he did, a chorus of gasps surrounded you.

“I knew it!” Johanna yelled, receiving a slap from a sleepy Sydney when her loud voice scared her. “I fucking knew it!”

“Cale is getting it, guys!” Tyson said loudly, making Cale’s cheeks heat up.

“Shut the fuck up, Josty,” you spat out jokingly, pushing his shoulder as you found an empty spot to sit on. “Don’t chirp my boyfriend,”

The weight of Cale’s body sitting next to you was enough to distract you for a second, but his thick voice in your ear really took your breath away. “Boyfriend?”

You bit your lip, looking up at him innocently before sending him a quick smile. “Only if you want to,”

He hummed, jokingly leaning down to press a kiss on your cheek, your heart beating loudly against your ribcage. “I’ll think about it,”

Breakfast was over in a rush, and you found yourself packing your belongings with sad sighs leaving your lips every now and then. Even though summer had barely just reached its peak, you weren’t ready to leave the memories of the camping trip behind just yet.

On the hike back to the parking lot, your hand stayed in Cale’s. It fit in his palm so easily you couldn’t help but think you were never going to stop holding his hand, as pathetic as it sounded. The air was chilly, and it held sadness as you two and the rest of the group walked back to your cars.

“I don’t want this to end,” Susanna said, hugging you tightly as you all said goodbye. “I’m going to miss you girls,”

“We’ll find a way to see each other, babe,” Sydney reassured her as they embraced each other.

“Y/N,” Nate greeted you with a smile, a smirk on his lips as he hugged you. “I’m hoping to see you at our next game with an eight on your back,”

You punched his shoulder jokingly when you parted ways, laughing along with him. “I’ll miss you too, Nate,”

Your last goodbyes were sad, numerous people piling in cars as you waved their way, your back resting against your car as you sighed softly.

“So,” Cale mumbled from behind you, stepping closer to your frame as he looked down at you. “Would be interested in our next game’s ticket and my personal jersey, as Nate suggested?”

You giggled, shaking your head as you wrapped your arms around his neck. “I mean, maybe,” you joked, biting on your lip as you let your eyes meet.

“As my girlfriend, you should probably say yes,” he said, looking down at you with a smirk as he gave you no time to respond, his lips meeting yours in a kiss.

“Girlfriend?”

He matched the smile on your face, leaning down to press another kiss before mocking your words from that morning. His voice was smooth, making your heart beat faster than usual, the butterflies in your stomach so crazy you were worried he could feel them.

“Only if you want to,”

Taglist: @thirstyybitch @bellaguarneri @boqvistsbabe @trashforbarzal @captaindaddies @keithseabrook27 @heatherawoowoo @sidscrosbyy @laurenairay @nathan-baelieu​

[thejudgingtrash]

Annabeth is a good person,but not a nice or pleasant one,IMO.

YES.

That’s it. That’s the post. Pack it up everybody, we just cracked the case and cleared up one of the most compelling fights in the PJO fandom since forever. Good job everybody, clap it out and there’s the door! Don’t forget ordering the drinks at Starbucks, Mitch! They’re on me!

Okay, but on a more serious note: YES. YES EXACTLY.

And before some of you roll your eyes or grab your pitchforks – put your biases aside and hear me out for once. I like Annabeth. She’s my in my top three characters only second to Percy himself. I love Percabeth. It’s my favorite ship in the entire series and to be frank, the only ship that I care about PJO wise. Hell, I spend my time creating my own headcanons or writing my own fanfics with Percabeth being the star in them.

But that is not to say that I’m unable to see how certain things have developed over the years or where they stand now in regard to Annabeth. I’m not here to ignore things that have been said and/or done due to or in the name of Annabeth and I’m not here to vilify anyone that doesn’t like her. And I’m here to admit that I’m guilty of some of the things that may be addressed in this meta essay that you will read in just a second. However, I try my best to assure you, that I’m for once able to recognize my own bias.

Warning: a monster essay lies right upon you.

This should count as a paper of its own.

Back to the statement on top: I would go out even further to reframe your claim, anon:

Annabeth Chase is a good character but not a nice or pleasant person.

Annabeth is a wonderful character but she isn’t a nice one. Or at least not nice to everyone. She is (construction wise if I dare say) the best character out of the series. She has her positive traits (she’s caring, she’s emotional, she’s encouraged and volunteers, she fights for what she believes in, she forgives (even if doing so begrudgingly)) but she also has her negative traits (she’s stubborn, she’s brash, changing her mind takes forever, she is prejudiced, she baits others). That balances things out. She is branded as the intelligent kid but does irrational things (like I’ve just said a) she’s a kid and b) she’s not a robot). She should probably know better, but we all make mistakes and hopefully grow and learn from them. The clouds in the sky do blur and cover our visions sometimes.

Annabeth had clashes with other characters or was about to have fights due to her stubbornness or jealousy (Rachel, Reyna, etc.) and has of course her problems with the mortal world and her family but she also found new friends, some things cleared up throughout the narration and she was/is quite popular in Camp Half-Blood.

The thing is: she doesn’t have to be nice or pleasant (as a character). Or at least not all the time. Her character is humanized. That is what or who she is. Human. She does stand out as a character, not just because she’s the (future) love interest. She feels like someone you could meet in real life and either adore from the top to the bottom or declare as your biggest enemy. And that’s totally okay if you lean either way – liking or disliking her. Or even feeling indifferent about her. Also great!

To say that she has been the best character that Riordan has crafted is easy to say, because she has been sculpted after Riordan’s wife. He had a model he could rub some of real-life events or traits on. That’s not the problem. The problem truly doesn’t lie on Riordan’s side for the most part for once.

The problem is inherently on the fandom’s side. What the fandom does, how it acts and how it treats Annabeth as a character is the problem. The problems vary but it’s mostly the mischaracterization of Annabeth, starting fights and fan/ship wars, internalized misogyny (in some cases) and how some of the Annabeth stans lash out (ha, got firsthand experience in that field among many of my friends and mutuals!). There is a reason why many people are wary of people that have Annabeth or Percabeth related URLs.

The fact that we see Annabeth mostly through Percy’s lens and (until the Heroes of Olympus saga hits) we never really see her in chill everyday situations is essentially Riordan leaving the back door of the house open, ready for all of you asshats to rob his mansion in Boston. Because a frame on a character means that we don’t get to see the character in its entirety (unlike we do with Percy in PJO for the most part). That means a bunch of stuff is left open for interpretation which is the reason why Annabeth gets so many polarized headcanon and opinions tossed around. I think that is one of the true appeals of Annabeth. You can add on stuff and it necessarily doesn’t have to contradict itself.

We have people calling her abusive due to a (n admittedly stupid and unnecessary) judo flip and we have people that act like she’s never done anything wrong. People sorta use this excuse to form and shape Annabeth however they want and distort her characterization.

People in the fandom act like Annabeth is some weird prized possession. We perceive Annabeth mostly through the eyes of others (Percy, Apollo, etc.) and when we had some sort of insight in her ways (MOA, HOH) it felt… weird? Somewhat? Like Riordan left two bullet points of her characterization and told the ghostwriter: aight, fuck it up, gringo, see you on Tuesday and greet Fred the next time you see him for me. 

There have been many posts lately (by Tharini, Simi, Sawasawako, Jewishpercy and Annie I believe?) that HOO Percabeth felt weird. That they felt weirdly constructed, that there was no conflict, no growth. It felt stagnating, like we’re turning back. We had five books prior where we had Annabeth and Percy slowly shifting from disliking to liking and crushing each other. True development. And when we finally got the cake it felt… dissatisfying. Like the cheap box stuff and not the delicious exquisite taste that we were promised.

I said it previously in my Percabeth ship roast, but let me repeat myself: many Percabeth related things are straight up fanon. Some of it is very old fanon so that’s been unable to distinguish unless you’ve read the books recently and subtract nearly 99,9% of things you see on Tumblr (and occasionally the other shitty parts of the fandom like Reddit, IG, Twitter. Although they mostly steal and recycle tumblr stuff oh well. But back to the topic).

The way people treat Annabeth is so strange. She’s either an innocent fluffy smush baby that’s never harmed a fly and all that she wants for Christmas is being Percy’s lapdog or she’s the devil incarnate, broke into your house, killed your parents Batman style, kicked your puppy and didn’t flush the toilet on the way out. I think this is what mostly makes people hate her or the ship Percabeth. And both extremes are wrong and right at the same time? She is multifaceted so both stereotypes are true and untrue and sorta cancel each other out in the same way.

The true reason why people dislike Annabeth is because the stans are doing the most. (The haters as well, don’t get me wrong, but oh boy. Piss of a stan and you’ll know what I mean). That isn’t inherently new. Are you guys old enough to remember the ship wars that have happened cross platform? Perachel vs. Percabeth? Oh boy, oh boy. I saw some kids on tumblr a few months ago trying to infiltrate both tags and start shit (and also fail). The fact that Rachel still gets used as the bitchy (ex) girlfriend in fanfics? It’s 2020 guys. I know this apocalyptic year is far from perfect and over but I think we can let this trope die, right? Right? I thought we’ve established that Rachel is a pretty chill charcter by now… right?

If you posted your stuff on FFN back in 2010-2013 and it wasn’t the typical cutesy Percabeth story (Goode High, the gods read TLT, punk/prep Percabeth, college AU, etc.) people would’ve come for your fucking throat. Not because the story or the narration was shit. But because the pairing wasn’t Annabeth and Percy (in the sense that Annabeth had to be paired with Percy. I mean Percy gets shipped with everyone and their mother but for Annabeth it was strictly Percy. As annoying as this whole Connabeth thing is – the people behind it actually had a point. She never had a different love interest unless it’s a Percy centered story and he goes off dating Athena, Artemis and Zoe at the same time for some odd reason. Yeah, FFN Percy ships are something). Or it wasn’t the action filled canon compliant story or it wasn’t an AU that was popular.

People were really stubborn, snobbish and wanted their stuff in the four five boxes that were the most popular ones and that’s it. People have been bullied off the site in many fandoms, so it’s not a PJO-only thing but it’s still sad that it happened. (Off-note: most of these FFN tropes are still alive and well and thriving on AO3. Don’t be so snobbish and pretend that every piece you’d find there is a holy grail. There’s a lot of trash you have to waddle through. Same with Wattpad, Tumblr or anywhere else where fanfics get posted. Also had this discussion with Annabeth stans. Sigh).

And Tumblr back then? Forget it, wasn’t much better.

That view has sorta changed (at least for people that have been in the fandom for several years or have managed to find a way to navigate through it) but some of the negative sentiment from back in the day has survived. Be it by new fans coming in or from old fans that never let their stance die. The aggression feels differently and somewhat not. (I don’t know if the anon function had been abused that much back in the day. I was an observer not a participant in the fandom).

Crack a joke at Annabeth’s expense (Kal’s famous “Annabeth is a Republican” post or Dee Dee’s and many others “Annabeth has the education of a second grader, chill with the college plans, girlie” stance) and you have people insulting you, making callout posts, unfollowing and blocking you (based on only that? Okay, honey), making aggressive counter-posts, etc. in a minute. If you respond with “It’s a joke, it’s not real” you have a 50/50 chance of either getting blown off or embarrassing them so that they apologize for once.

This isn’t just about jokes. You can make a headcanon that’s not the cozy cute convenient mainstream saga and people would react the same way. Or art piece (no, not including the whole Tannabeth Blackchase shtick done by Viria and others) or fanfics.

People project so much onto the unfinished canvas that is Annabeth Chase that any form of negative sentiment as little as someone not liking her to straight up criticism, regardless of how tiny it may be, seems like an affront. Like an invitation to a fight. Like an insult to them, their character, everything they believe in. Let me state something:

You are NOT Annabeth Chase. Annabeth Chase IS NOT you. Annabeth Chase is NOT real. Her feeling cannot be hurt. Someone criticizing, disliking, joking about her or even insulting her will not bother her. Someone making a statement about her is not an insult to YOU.

Let me repeat that:

Annabeth Chase isn’t real. Annabeth Chase isn’t you.

So think a little before you act? I get it when you’re a kid and new to fandoms or haven’t been up with fan cultures in the past and are back in the scene. But if you’re in your late teens or even older as an adult and you’re unable to understand that you aren’t what you like – you aren’t the extension of a fictional character – I feel incredibly sorry for you. Because that’s just incredibly sad. Someone disliking something you like isn’t an attack of your character. It shows you that you are you and the other person is a human just like you. That they just have different taste. Disliking something you like isn’t a crime, you know? But me feeling sorry for the way some of y’all act won’t mean that that’s even remotely okay. Especially if you’re no longer in the intended audience for PJO age wise and should know better.

This isn’t a “white stans” only thing. I’ve seen and witnessed firsthand how people of color, mainly women of color, act the same or not even worse when it comes to her character. People have projected their problems and real-life occurring events into her character (I’m sure that she isn’t the only character nor that this is the only fandom where this is happening) and in some cases like I’ve said cannot separate their own personality from the fictional world. Fights with woc happened because of Annabeth fucking Chase. So many things have happened in the fandom the past few months, mostly due to people being forced staying at home because of the quarantine but I’d say it’s 10% on quarantine and 90% on people for acting up like this.

So here’s a little story: There was the act of Riordan blowing the fandom up because of his own stupidity and being unable to apologize for his mischaracterization and lack of research (the whole Piper fiasco) back in June (?) and admits the upset fandom, people on Twitter, Tumblr and Discord legit thought that none of that mattered and that the outcry was destroying Annabeth Chase’s birthday. That’s right. People thought that Annabeth Chase’s non-existing birthday because she’s a fictional character had a higher priority than the rupture and prevalent racism in the fandom. Okay. This isn’t a great look, Annabeth stans. And this of course pissed a lot of people off. I made a post about it and someone not only berated three other people on said post but no, we had a mighty argument which had disrupted many friendships in our circle which haven’t recovered until this very day. We both had our parts in it and no one is innocent. But the cause of this still remains Annabeth Chase or how people prioritize her non-existing well-being. Anyway. I’m getting agitated just thinking about it.

Let’s go back to the characterization thing with Annabeth. Let me remind you:

Annabeth Chase is an asshole. There I’ve said it in a post ages ago (too lazy to look it up, sorry) and I’ll say it again. And that’s not me insulting her. That’s me actually loving that about her. Annabeth is one of the very few unapologetic female characters that really showed all young readers across the world that you can be a girl, a badass, smart, strong, standing up for yourself and what you believe in. You don’t have to be nice. You don’t have to hide your feelings. You don’t need a man in all cases but it’s also okay to accept help and defeat.

A large reason why I think she’s an incredibly important character in children’s literature/YA because many other novels (mostly (sadly)) have the “Oh, I’m a white skinny dark-haired girl that likes unconventional things like READING. I’m not like the other girls, that take care of themselves and pamper themselves by enjoying shopping and wearing make-up. No, I’d rather be one of the boys but a sweet cute little boy and not the jock fuck that drank vodka shots out of a filthy shoe once. Despite me calling myself hideous every man in a 10-kilometer radius falls in love with me and tells me I’m oh so sexy and by the way I’m only 16 years old” shit going on for no goddamn reason.

Yes, I do blame Twilight for this mostly in recent years, but this trope isn’t by any means knew. Pretty sure that you could even use classics as Pride and Prejudice and dissect them in the same manner (Bold statement: Lizzy Bennet is the OG Bella Swan. There. Go fight somewhere in the corner, people). The new wave of YA focuses on girls belittling themselves and only starting to believe in themselves because someone else (mostly the male love interest) tells them they’re worth it. And these books hit the mainstream because they’re incredibly bland and picture perfect white.

With Annabeth it’s different. She shows up for the job and is done with it. (Brie Larson would probably be the perfect in real life version of her. You either like or dislike her. Or you really don’t care). That is what is so refreshing about her. Her unapologetic nature. Can it be off-putting? Yes. Is it annoying? Yes! Hell, every time I read The Lightning Thief, I want to rip her goddamn head off. And it’s just so well written. Her shift from mistrusting Percy but secretly still believing in him to her opening up. Wow, Riordan did something right there.

Annabeth Chase isn’t a young character. She has existed along with PJO for 15 years. She’s on her way to the second decade. I’m pretty sure that with the success of Percy Jackson (and Harry Potter) many lives have been warped and shaped.

But when I say the problem lies mostly in the fandom, it doesn’t mean that Riordan’s completely innocent. The only problem that I have with Annabeth lies not truly with her but the fact that Riordan is only able to produce three variations of female characters:

The sweetheart (Hazel, Silena, Calypso, Hestia)

The strong feminist (Annabeth, Piper, Thalia, Reyna, Artemis)

The bitch (Drew, nearly every female goddess in the goddamn Riordanverse next to every female monster)

And these female characters only know three endings:

End up married with a mortgage, three kids, two dogs and a cat somewhere in Connecticut by the age of twelve

Get dumped into the hunt

Chill on Mount Olympus and only come down to be a nuisance and/or give a cryptic message before going back and doing a godly rave party or something

We know Annabeth as the badass strong female first (or the bitchy character we’re supposed to actually like. Choose your approach), the blueprint so to speak, so some of the other characters feel almost pale in comparison and almost not needed? Doesn’t mean that other characters can’t behave similarly, but it feels kind of redundant especially if their character arcs end in a rather anticlimactic way (Thalia, Reyna). The new additions are the much needed woc as the main story with PJO was inherently white (anyway stan black!Percy and Grover, folks). So it’s not to bash on the new characters, it’s more Riordan’s fault more than anything.

Since Riordan only knows three female character arcs it feels like he tried to copy the formula several ways with different nuances. Some more or less successful. This is where fandom actually comes in handy and helps create more distinguished and fleshed out characters in form of headcanons or fanfiction.

But even in these cases people still make it about Annabeth when it’s time for characters of colors to shine. Remember that whole spiel and discussion that broke out when people (Kal, diver-up, Caitlyn, Bee, reynaisalesbian, etc.) joked about or criticized that Annabeth thinks that she’s having it harder because she’s a blonde? In front of Hazel and Piper? If she would’ve been a real person that’s an invitation for getting decked. And then all hell broke loose because Annabeth stans couldn’t accept the fact that in the real world and/or in fictional worlds the woc/coc have it harder? That the white woman wasn’t the victim that needed the coddling? Yeah, that was mad pathetic.

I hope you people get my point?

Well fuck. I wrote so many things and have the feeling I’ve said nothing. Anyway, I hope I made sense. This is way too long.

TLDR: Chill about Annabeth please. She’s an important character but that doesn’t mean that everyone has to like her, regardless of being a character in the books or a reader/fan of PJO in real life. She isn’t nice or a sweetheart all the time. She also isn’t the monstrous asshole that some try to make out of her.

Peace out.

[ohh-baekhyun]

Sugar | 03

summary: Getting into a performing arts college isn’t cheap. In desperate need of money, you sign yourself up on an online dating site called Sugar. There, you match with a wealthy man named Mr Byun.

genre: Softdom!baek, sugardaddy!au, teacherxstudent!au

taglist : in comment section. im sorry if i missed you, i deleted some of my asks the other time. let me know if you wanna be tagged :)

One Month Later

Living in a spacious apartment had its own downside. More often than not, I felt lonely, but I wasn’t complaining. Baekhyun didn’t come over everyday because he wanted to give me time to do things that didn’t involve him. I think they called it me time, whatever that was. Baekhyun said it was to prevent us from growing too dependent on each other, which could be unhealthy. And as much as I disliked it, he was right. Our relationship wasn’t permanent, and there would come a time when either one of us had to call the arrangement off. I would be sad, because that’s human, but not to the point where I became depressed.

When I wasn’t spending the day with Baekhyun, I’d be practicing the piano. After my father passed away, my stepmother had sold off our Steinway and stopped paying for my lesson. I was lucky to know a friend who allowed me to practice at her music shop for free. When I wasn’t practicing, I would be at home, taking care of my little plants on the balcony. They were like my babies.

Since Baekhyun had suggested that I learned a new language, I’d decided to take up Chinese. He had offered to hire a home tutor for me, but I insisted on learning it myself because Chinese lessons were expensive. We argued about it for a while, until he decided he wanted to learn too. We had our lesson together every Sunday afternoon for two hours. Our tutor, Miss Fei, was a long time friend of Baekhyun. And for some reason, she was always picking on me over the slightest things. Sometimes when Baekhyun wasn’t looking, she would kick my leg, step on me or pinch my arm under the table. If I had to guess, I think she didn’t respect me because she knew Baekhyun was paying for me. That’s why I’ve been working a part time job as a piano accompanist at a ballet school. It was an easy job with a reasonable pay, and I only had to be there twice a week. Thanks to that, I had finally saved enough to pay for this month’s lessons. I just didn’t know if Baekhyun would accept it.

Today was a Saturday and I was doing the homework Miss Fei had given us. I’d actually finished everything but I wanted to double check to avoid mistakes. I was scolded for making just one error last week, and if Baekhyun wasn’t there, I thought she might even beat me.

By the time I was done, I was too tired to climb to bed so I’d fallen asleep on the desk. What woke me up was the creaking sound from the door opening. I lifted my head from my folded arms and looked at the door. “Hi Mr Byun,” I greeted, my voice soft and languid. He was dressed casually in a black sweatshirt and pajama pants, his hair tousled like he had just woken up from sleep and rushed here immediately.

“What are you doing?” Baekhyun asked, approaching me.

“Chinese homework,” I answered. “Can you help me check if there’s any mistake?”

He stopped behind my chair and bent over to rest his palms on the desk. His chest touched the back of my head as he scanned my workbook. Suddenly I stopped feeling sleepy but hyper aware. Baekhyun leaned closer when he reached for a pencil, and I had a feeling it was deliberate because the thing he was reaching for was just next to my book. I inhaled, feeling warm all over. Baekhyun remained silent as he continued checking my work. “This one–“ he drew a cross next to my wrong answer. “–is supposed to be a wǔ, not wù, they have different meaning, sweetheart, he explained.

I picked up an eraser and wiped it off before making a correction. If he hadn’t caught that, Miss Fei was gonna to go ballistic. I sighed in relief and glanced up from my desk. He was staring down at me. I wore a grateful smile. “Thank you,”

“Welcome,” He whispered, leaning down to drop a kiss on my lips.

“Why are you here, Mr Byun?” I asked when he pulled away.

His brow furrowed. “Do you not know what day it is?”

My eyes flew to the desk calendar, then I glanced up at him again. “Sunday?” I said hesitantly. Baekhyun frowned at me and I started to get anxious. “Did I forget something?”

Baekhyun sighed. “You are really unbelievable,” He mumbled, setting down the pencil before pushing himself off the desk. He clasped my hand and tugged me up to my feet. “I have a surprise for you,” he said as he walked me out of my bedroom.

He led me down the short hallway and as I stepped out into the open plan living room, my eyes widened. There were a combination of white and pink balloons floating on the ceiling, and rose petals scattered on the floor around the couch. Realization dawned when I saw cake on the coffee table along with other props and gift boxes. I was starry-eyed as he walked me there. I finally glanced at him, my eyes blinking in disbelief. “You did this? for me?”

He wears a smile. “Happy Birthday,”

My eyes flew to the grandfather clock. It was half past twelve. The fact that he remembered my birthday was shocking enough, he even came all the way here at midnight to surprise me. “I…” I didn’t know what to say. Thank you didn’t seem enough.

“Have I stolen your ability to speak, sweetheart?” He teased, one side of his lips curling up. I linked my arm around his and hummed. He chuckled at my sudden clinginess. “How could you forget your own birthday?” He questioned as we both lowered ourselves to the couch.

“I haven’t celebrated in a long time…” I replied, a tremble in my voice. My eyes were getting glassy and I had to keep them open so the tears wouldn’t fall. “Thank you for remembering, Mr Byun,”

“I was going to surprise you at twelve o’clock sharp–“ Baekhyun bent over to light up the candles and I used the opportunity to wipe the tears away. “–but I fell asleep. I hope I’m still the first to wish you?” He asked.

That explained the pajamas. And the hair. My heart warmed at his thoughtfulness. I shifted closer and slid my arms around his waist, giving him a side hug. “You are the first,” And the only one.

Baekhyun straightened his back once he was done and I unwrapped my arms around him. He held the cake towards me. “Make a wi–,” his speech halted as I blew the candles out. He raised his brows. “No wishes?”

I shook my head. “I have everything I need,”

Baekhyun regarded me for a while, seemingly confused, but he didn’t make any comment and placed the cake on the table.

I stared up at the balloons on the ceiling. They were so pretty. “This is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done to me,” I said, looking back at him, a smile on my lips. “I appreciate it, Mr Byun,”

“To tell the truth, it’s my first time doing something like this,”

“Oh?” my head tilted in question. “What about your subs, or your ex-girlfriends?”

“I wrote them a cheque as a gift and they loved it,” he said. “But you don’t seem to like money that much, which is still very strange to me,”

“Of course I like money. But only money I earned with my own hard work,” I clarified. “I look for a sugar daddy to help me pay for college, not to live a lavish lifestyle. So...you don’t have to keep spoiling me,”

“Sweetheart, I like how undemanding you are, but buying you gifts isn’t gonna make me poor,” He insisted gently. “Honestly, every time you say no, it makes me wanna do the opposite,”

I gave him a long stare, hoping for some magic to make him listen. But he just shrugged. I sighed, giving up. “It’s gonna be very hard getting you a present because nothing would measure up,” I muttered under my breath.

“Speaking of present,” he said. “I have another surprise for you,” he tugged at my hand. As I followed him, I really wished he didn’t get me something too extravagant. I’ve been keeping count of the money I owed him because I planned to pay him back one day. Counting all the gifts he bought for me, my hair would turn gray by the time I paid off my debt.

“You said you didn’t want me to spend too much on you, so–” He pushed at the sliding door that led to the balcony. At first, I assumed that he had bought me a new plant, but then, I heard a gurgling sound that wasn’t there before, and as I stepped further in, I finally spotted the surprise.

“You got me a fish?” The surprise made my voice sound a little squeaky. Grinning hard, I moved closer to the rectangular fish tank. They were three little gold fishes. I lowered myself into a squat by the tank and Baekhyun crouched on one knee next to me. My finger tapped on the glass lightly and I giggled when they swam towards me, their fins fluttering in the water. I admired them for a while, and when I felt Baekhyun staring at me, I turned to meet his eyes. “This is the best gift so far,”

“You weren’t this happy when I got you that Chanel bag,” he commented. “I’d do this sooner if I knew,”

“Why did you get me a fish though?”

“I thought you might feel lonely when I’m not here,” he told me. “They can be your company,”

Overwhelmed by this thoughtfulness, I let out a groan of frustration. “You need to stop being so perfect, Mr Byun, it makes me wanna kiss you all the time,”

Laughter filled his voice. “And why is that a problem?”

“Because kissing usually leads to sex…and if we keep having sex, my vagina might actually break.”

Baekhyun blew out a huff of laughter, his eyes full of heat with a mix of amusement. ”I wasn‘t thinking about sex at all, but now I am. Thanks to you,” he murmured, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. His fingers slid through my hair and he cupped the back of my head. I stopped breathing, my heartbeat accelerating when he leaned in to press his lips on mine. I let my eyelids drop naturally as he kissed me, soft and slow. When he pulled back, we shared the same desire-filled gaze. “We should go inside,” He whispered over my lips, his words an invitation.

I swallowed and smiled, albeit shyly. “We should,” I whispered back.

Baekhyun glanced over at the fish tank for a second, then his eyes reverted to me. “Do you wanna name them first?” He asked. I bobbed my head, and we were silent for a while as we considered their names. “Hm, what about Bubbles?” He suggested.

“Oh that’s nice! Maybe we can call them Bubbles, Blossom and Buttercup?” I proposed. “Since our names also start with a B, I think it’s perfect. What do you think, Mr Byun?”

Baekhyun gave me a soft look and smiled. He probably found it funny that I took this so seriously like I was naming my baby. “Alright, sweetheart,” he agreed.

For the next few minutes, Baekhyun taught me how to care for the goldfishes, like how many times I should feed it daily and how often I should change their water.

We returned to the living room and stored the cake in the fridge for tomorrow. None of us was hungry at the moment.

“I think we should tell Miss Fei to cancel today’s lesson since it’s your birthday,” Baekhyun suggested once we entered my bedroom. He shut the door behind us and stared at me for an answer. Remembering something, I put him on hold as I searched for my purse. This room was too big. Baekhyun took a seat on the edge of my bed and watched me. “What are you looking for?”

Finding my purse under the desk, I lowered myself to the ground and picked up an envelope where I kept my money. I was lifting myself up when Baekhyun reminded me to watch my head. Except it was too late and I’d knocked myself against the roof of the desk. I winced out loud, my hand flying up to rub the pain.

Baekhyun sighed out, shaking his head at my clumsiness. “You’re gonna wind up in the hospital at this rate. Can you please...be more careful?” he reprimanded gently. I flashed him a sorry smile and walked over to him. “Are you okay?” He asked and I answered with a small hum. Despite that, he still observed me closely, probably making sure I was telling the truth.

“I’m okay,” I reassured, climbing into bed and dipped my knee on each side of his thighs. He immediately slid a hand around my back as I lowered myself to sit on his lap, preventing me from falling backward to the ground. “I’ve been saving up,” I told him, holding up the envelope in between our chest. “Here’s this month’s lesson fee,”

He dropped his gaze to the envelope, his brows furrowing. “We’re done arguing about this,” he said firmly.

“Please accept it, Baekhyun,” I pleaded. “I think Ms Fei looks down on me because she knows you’re paying for me,”

He considered me for a moment, his eyes narrowing. “How exactly did you come to that conclusion?”

I tried not to read too much into his reaction. Baekhyun was a rational person, he probably needed to hear all the facts before he made a judgement. “For starter, she’s always picking on me over the smallest thing,”

“She’s a teacher, it’s her job to point out your mistakes, but that doesn’t equal hating you, don’t you agree?” He said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“But–“

“Not everyone is going to coddle you, princess. You’ll never improve that way,”

A sudden wave of anger flared in my chest. Baekhyun and I argued before, but I’ve never gotten worked up like this. I guessed because this situation hit home for me. I could take a scolding, name calling or even a beating, but not when someone doubted my integrity. I slid off his lap and stood on my feet. He stood up and tried to reach for my hands, but I backed away. He frowned and studied me. I stared back at him, my eyes cold.  “I’m not a spoiled girl who needs coddling,” I told him boldly. So unlike me. I wasn't usually the assertive one.

Baekhyun must've agreed because he was speechless for a moment. “That’s not what I said,”

“But that’s what you imply,” I argued.

“If you don’t like Miss Fei, we can always find a new tutor for us.” He persuaded me. “I don’t want us to argue on your birthday,”

I didn’t answer to that. I wanted to tell him about the kicking and the pinching, but I doubt he would believe me. I walked to the other side of the bed to stay as far away as possible from him. I got in bed, pulling the comforter over my body and turning to lay on my side. A few seconds later, Baekhyun appeared kneeling on one knee by the bed, his eyes full of concern as he checked on me. Tears welled in my eyes before I could stop it. "I’m not making up stories like you think I am, Mr Byun,” I said, my voice trembled.

His eyes widened slightly at the sight of my crying, maybe because it was his first time seeing me like this. “I don’t–“ he stopped and sighed, sounding so exhausted all of a sudden. His face was blurry through the tears, but I could still detect the guilt clouding his expression. “Sweetheart, shh,” he shushed and reached over to dab my tears with the sleeve of his sweatshirt. “I’m sorry I doubted you. Fei is an old friend of mine, but I should’ve known better. You’re not someone who complains unless something is really bothering you. Had she done something inappropriate to you?”

“I don’t wanna tell you. You’re not gonna believe me.” my words were snippy despite my state. Miss Fei was Baekhyun’s friend of ten years, and I knew him for merely a month. Of course he would trust her more than me.

“I understand if you don’t want to talk to me right now. But is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

I pulled the cover blanket my head, ignoring him. When he didn’t say anything, it proved that he acknowledged his mistake. Because on a normal day, he wouldn’t appreciate this no-manner attitude from me.

Although I couldn’t blame him for doubting me, that didn’t mean I wasn’t hurt. Dark memories flooded my mind, bringing me back to those tough days when I was still living with my stepmother. She had never believed me when I told her that her boyfriend had been making a move on me. Until it was too late. Well, at least Baekhyun didn’t beat me up like they did. And he apologized. I’d forgiven him, but I didn’t want to speak to him yet. I didn’t care that it was my birthday, the day had never been significant to me anyway.

Author's Note:

hi everyone, it's been a very long while. I updated the 2nd chapter last christmas and in the time i was gone, i was constantly feeling very discouraged and demoralized about my writing. I tried writing story after story but im always worried it isn’t good enough. I've never been confident of myself to begin with, and then with the lack of feedback, I feel even worse. I don't know if I can write any new fics, but I really wanna try completing my ongoing fics hehe thank you for reading this story, i hope this chapter is not that bad, I haven't written for so long. Next chapter is gonna be very fluffy and smutty once the two finally made up! :D and if you like my fic, please show some support by commenting, it's what keeps me going and I really appreciate it! Tell me what you think of this! see you again!

[blissfulparker]

Seasick→P.P pt.2

Parings→ peter Parker x reader

Warnings→slowburn, fake dating, fluff

Summary→when you lie to your mom about having a boyfriend before vactation peter steps in to help. But being in a fake relationship isnt as easy as you thought. especially not easy when you two have feelings for one another. 

A/n→ here is part two of seasick! @spectacularlyspidey made me this lovely moodboard, I love Ren 🥰 I hope you guys enjoy it and I’m going to try and post it more often if that is what you guys want💗

Toothbrush, Peter, you need your toothbrush.” May helps him pack. She seemed more excited than peter. Peter placed his clothes into bens old suitcase as if it was a chore. Hes scared, beyond scared. What if your family hates him, what if they think hes less of what they expected, what if they catch on? All the ideas and scenarios ran through his head.

“May, i've got it. I'm 19 not 14.” he reminded her and she pouted. She knew the whole plane, he had nothing to hide from her Anyways.

“You know that you can still say no.” she comes over to run a hand through Peter's hair. She knew when Peter had a crush, she always did. Although normally he'd get scared of going on a field trip with one or a study date, never a summer vacation.

“She needs me to do this. I told her i would and were setting boundaries on the plane so when we get there its not weird.” he told her and she hummed.

“I know you really like her, like more than a friend. I have a tingle too.” she teases and peter scrunches his face. “But think this can be a start, you maybe could start something here.” she kisses his forehead before leaving him in his rom to finish packing. He looks over at his phone to see the time, he sees how you’ll be at his house soon and picking him up for the airport. The airport where you'd meet your family in Florida where you’d go out to sea.

He shuts the suitcase and listens to the sound of it zipping up before flopping on his bed letting the time run out.

-

8 hours, it was an 8 hour flight filled with anxiety and fear. You had both agreed on a list. A list of things to do around your family

-forehead kisses are allowed(kisses on the lips not necessary unless needed)

-holding hands as often as we can

-snuggling up to one another

-going places together like the pool or restaurant

-pet names

-make up stories about each other

-hands always on one another

That was about it. That's all you two had to do and you'd keep it up for a week. Then when the two of you get home things go back to normal. Normal. That word hurt peters ears. Normal meant there were no real feelings and he'd have to let go of you.

“I-i can hold your bags.” he offered as you two got off the plane. He wore his Columbia hoodie with sweats, probably not the best option for landing in Florida but he was so nervous.

You give him a warm smile and nod. You were nervous too, for almost all the same reasons as peter. You wished you could have just taken ned, ned or another friend who was just seen as your friend. Someone you didn't have to think so much about kissing. Someone you didn't have to think about pretending to hold. Someone you didn't have to worry catching feelings for.

“Wait,” you stop him and he looks at you with soft eyes. “My mom is really....touchy. She loves hugging and she might kiss your cheek. It’s nothing to intentionally make you uncomfortable but i'm really sorry in advance.” you warn him.

He nods as from a distance your mom shouts your name. She's wearing a sundress and sandals, ready for a vacation. Your dad is next to her smiling ready to hug you, now he knew it was real. All of it was now real. If your mom and dad intimidated him he was scared to see the rest of your family.

“Oh sweetheart i've missed you so much, ugh New York is such a small yet big state. We wished college did hog you so much.” she kisses your cheeks.

“Mom, dad, this is my boyfriend...Peter, the one I've been telling you about.” you hold his arm and he's already smiling and going in to shake hands. Your mom takes him for a hug and gets pink lipgloss on his cheek.

He sees how much you look like her, the hair, the eyes, the smile that's so contagious, but the personalities are completely different. She was bubbly and happy all over the place while you, you were a little more reserved and only showed the good side to your friends. Save the best parts of you for the best people.

“Ugh i was starting to think she'd never get one, especially not one so handsome and smart.” she holds his arms giving them a squeeze. “Wow he works out too you can really tell.” You quickly take him back before he gets uncomfortable.

“Mom…” you warn and she scoffs.

“Sweetheart, you know I'm teasing. Your sisters are already boarded and waiting so we can leave when you two are ready.” sisters. You never told him about sisters. He didn't even know you had any siblings. He thought you were always an only child. You never talked about any siblings or really family except your mom and dad and occasionally your aunt.

But he can tell by your facial expressions that you were already dreading it more than him, dredging sisters but he didn't know why. He wasn't going to push it either. By the shift in your body he knew it was best to just question when you two were alone.

He willingly followed your family into a cab where you four set off for a week of one of the hardest masks he had to put on, the mask of pretending to love you when he really did but could never tell you.

-

Never being on a cruise ship before he had no idea what to expect. His bare knowledge being the titanic—which did not help his fear of the ocean—even for the smartest kid, normally, he didn’t know much about boats. He never even considered himself to be on one, until last summer he never even thought he’d be in Europe for his senior year of highschool. That’s how he had to think of this, Europe. Semi-relaxing, regular peter, Europe. This was a once and a lifetime opportunity for him to be on a cruise with no Spider-Man activity, No stress, nothing but the sun on his skin.

“So we eat dinner at 7pm, you kids can get all settled in...maybe find yourself at the spa or the pool. Don’t be shy to order room service, ugh the boy is handsome but skinny.” Your mom comments once again. You give her eyes and a groan as you follow her down the hall to your room. “Oh please, you eat too, you're starting to lose your color.” She picks up your arm and you take it back.

He didn’t think the teasing was that bad, sure the appearance comments were too soon but he thought it was all a part of her bubbly personality. May teases all of them to eat when they’re over. May has teased all of them but always in a nice way.

When Peter dated Gwen—his ex girlfriend—last year she was the same. Always telling Peter about his appearance but he never really cared what she had to say. He just really needed someone at the time to move on from you.

“Here is your room, you kids have fun.” She hands you the card and kisses your cheek. “Wear the sundress your sister picked out, don’t be late.” She warned and walked down the hall. Only a few hours in and you wished you would’ve made some crap excuse about having a late final or actually telling the truth.

You two enter the room and Peter is shocked. It’s a gorgeous beach themed room. If he were a child he would already be jumping on the bed and touching everything. You seem to just drop your bags on the floor and immediately go to the bathroom. He leaves you be, taking in the beauty of the room, the California king bed, the wall hung T.V. The view of the ocean that made him slightly nervous but he didn’t mind. There was a dress on the bed, the sundress your mom wanted you to wear.

“Oh fuck.” You rub your face seeing that there’s the one bed. You thought maybe she’d at least use some sense and get two beds, that or a two roomed hotel. “I’m sorry pete, I thought she would maybe get us two rooms or—“

Another thing he seemed to notice was how money didn’t seem to be an issue for your family yet you never seemed to come off as well off. You lived in a small apartment like peter, your clothes were mostly thrifted or old, you ate ramen about three times a week and if it wasn’t that it was cheap pizza. Just like the rest of the group. You never came off as rich, it shocked him to even hear about a cruise, it shocked him even more that you could just say about how they could’ve gotten two rooms on a ship.

“It’s a California king,” he gestures. “We’ll fit without touching each other.” He calms you with a soft smile seeing how stressed you were.

“You’re not too scared of ships are you?” You ask him remembering how he said something about being afraid of the water.

“Well...Uh...no but yes, it makes me nervous but—“ your hand places itself over peters for comfort and he freezes up. You notice and quickly take your hand away.

“It won’t feel like anything trust me, you don’t feel the ship rock or anything. It’s not the titanic.” You reminded him as you picked up your phone and looked at the time. You two had plenty of time to get yourself ready.

“So….” he clasp his hands together and you look over to him. “For dinner how should I act?” He questions. You’re getting comfortable in the bed already while he’s still scared to touch it.

“Just be Peter, um...maybe a hand around my shoulder at one point or hand holding? Just like our list said. Really sell it. They’re gonna ask a lot of questions of how we met and stuff like that but I can do all of them if you want.” You tell him and he nods.

“Right,” he responded thinking the best thing to do was just be peter, the peter you knew, not the peter who was totally in love with you. “Just be peter.”

And that’s all he had to do.

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[youare-mysonshine]

miss independent || oscar diaz

(gif is not mine. credit to owner💗)

Summary: Oscar has feelings for the reader meanwhile the reader has feelings for Mario. Oscar is struggling to accept that.

Requested: yes!

Pairing: Oscar Diaz x reader, Mario Martinez x reader

Warnings: a bit of angst, cursing as per usual.

Word Count: 2.3k

A/N: to whoever requested this, I hope this is what you wanted. I decided to use Mario because I just felt like he fit perfectly. Obviously this takes place during season 2 and amber isn’t a thing lmao I wrote this way before season 3 came out and I kinda just left it because I got stuck, but I’m back and I figured I’d finish it. It’s not the best but ENJOY! I’m open to doing a second part, I have been doing Oscar dirty and I am sorry lmao

__________

When Y/N and Mario had ended their relationship, there was absolutely no bad blood between them - they had been together for most of high school. They were each other’s first loves. They went through a great deal together. They essentially grew together. They had been together way too long to end on bad terms.

No, the reason that they had ended was because Mario had gone away to college and Y/N had stayed in Freeridge, having decided to take a break from school for about a year or so. It hadn’t been an easy decision, but they both ultimately agreed that they should break up - prior to him leaving for college, they had agreed that long distance would be just fine, that they’d be able to do it, but once he was gone, it was an entirely different story. They barely talked, Mario was busy with meeting knew people, going out with his new friends and focusing on school. It was something Y/N didn’t blame him for, she knew what the deal was when he went away, but still, life was getting in the way and neither of them wanted to make the other feel like they weren’t important.

Their break up had been hard but amicable. And it certainly wasn’t something that someone could just get over in a short amount of time. Neither of them knew if they’d get back together again, but the feelings were still there. Y/N was sure that they’d always be there. A connection with someone like that, it didn’t just go away. It’d stay with you, forever.

It had been a few weeks after their break up that Y/N had gone out to the liquor a few blocks away from her house to buy some snacks - call it comfort food - when a green car had slowed down across the street from her to match her pace. Inside the car, which was blasting music so loud she could almost feel the bass of it reverberate against the sidewalk, were about 4 guys. Prophets, she quickly realized, judging by amount of green they wore.

“Damn ma, what you doin’ out here alone? You lookin’ fine as fuck. Let me get that ass.” Was among one of the many things thrown her way. Being a young woman, it hadn’t been the first time that she had been cat called and it likely wouldn’t be the last, but that fact never stopped it from being creepy and making her uncomfortable, especially when it was coming from the Prophets, one of Freeridge’s known gangs. Especially given that they had been following her in their car, going as fast she was going to keep up with her.

Y/N had sped up her walking but that did nothing because they sped up too, still yelling things at her through the window. Her heart had begun racing and she could feel the cold sweat on her forehead - were they gonna follow her home? The young woman had contemplated just booking it and hoping that they’d lose interest and leave when she heard the rumble of another engine, this time heading in her direction. Up ahead she could see a familiar cherry red impala. She knew who it belonged too. Almost everybody knew who it belonged too.

Oscar had sped up just slightly when he had seen the green car, coming to a stop when he was beside Y/N, effectively blocking her from the view of the Prophet’s. Suddenly, she had gotten just that much more freaked out because she knew, everybody knew, of the tension between the two gangs, the Santos and the Prophets. She didn’t want to find herself in the middle of a shootout when all she had just wanted to do was go home and eat her damn fucking chips.

“The fuck you doin’ on this block? This is Santos territory. You punk asses know you shouldn’t be here.” She had heard Oscar say. “Get the fuck outta here. Now.” He left no room for discussion. That deathly calm, but frightening stare wasn’t something she wanted to be on the receiving end of. Across the street, she could see the Prophets in the car debating his words, contemplating on listening to the Santo and leaving or starting some shit. In the end, they decided on heeding his words and they drove off, not before throwing some comments his way, and her way.

“We’ll be seeing you, Spooky.” “Watch your back.” “We’ll be seeing you too, ma.” None of it phased Oscar, who watched as they disappeared through the side mirror of his car. Suddenly, his dark eyes were on her and she left out a tiny breath she wasn’t aware she had been holding.

“You good?” He asked, nodding his head at her. The y/h/c haired female gave a small nod, clutching at the plastic bag in her hand.

“Uh, yeah. Thanks for that. I didn’t think they were gonna leave me alone.” She admitted, sending a small smile his way. His dark eyes analyzed her for a second, and she began to grow hot under his gaze, feeling the heat creep up her neck, to her cheeks, all the way to the very tops of her ears.

“You’re Mario’s girlfriend, right?” And that sent a painful little jab to her heart, the remembrance that she and Mario were no longer a couple. Clearing her throat, Y/N shook her head.

“Uh, no. No, we broke up after he left for college. Long distance just wasn’t our thing.” She revealed. Oscar gave a slow nod at her words, letting out a little ‘hm’. She had figured the conversation was over at that point so she was about to turn away and carry on her journey home when his deep voice spoke up once more.

“You want a ride?”

Now, Y/N had been familiar with Oscar because of Mario, but they had never actually had a full blown conversation like the one they were just having. They had never been alone together, they had never spent copious amounts of time together. Oscar had gone to prison for a considerable amount of time as well. So, the fact that he had offered to give her a ride was a bit surprising to her, and she had almost declined his offer when the words of that one Prophet replayed in her mind.

“We’ll be seeing you too, ma.”

Were they lurking around a corner somewhere, waiting until she walked away from Oscar? Waiting to follow her again? Now, maybe she was being entirely paranoid but she certainly did not want to take that risk. So, giving Oscar a nod, she walked a few steps forward, pulled open the door and climbed into the passenger seat of his precious car.

That had been the start of an unlikely and very surprising friendship between Y/N and Oscar Diaz.

After that fateful day where he saved her from being harassed by Prophets, they had started hanging out more, they had become quite close. She’d spend more time at his house than her own. They’d drink cheap beer and smoke blunts and just talk about anything and everything. Dumb shit, funny shit, little shit. It was a friendship that Y/N had really grown to cherish. Hell, Oscar had even let her drive his car, and that wasn’t something he let anybody do, not even his brother.

(“You better not fucking crash my car, pendeja.” “Shut the fuck up, I’m not gonna crash shit. Relax, vato.”)

But somewhere along the line, it had changed for Oscar. Having a girl as a friend was something that he was never really used to - he hadn’t anticipated on an actual full blown friendship to form between him and Y/N but he couldn’t say that he regretted it. Y/N looked at him and saw something more than just a cholo, more than just a guy with two strikes working against him. He really did start to care about her, and he looked forward to the days where she’d go over to his house and they’d just hang out. Or the days where they’d get into his car, drive down to the beach and watch the sunset.

He had found himself wanting more than just a friendship - it was her smile, the way her smile seemed to light up the entire room. It was her eyes, the way they’d twinkle and shine so bright they could rival the stars. It was her nose, the way she’d crinkle it up every time she’d take a drink from some beer, which he’d always tease her about because she could never seem to get used to the bitter taste.

But the only issue was that she still had feelings for her ex. Oscar knew this, it wasn’t exactly as if it was a secret - Y/N openly talked about Mario with Oscar, she’d tell him how she missed him, how she often thought about them and their relationship. It was a tough pill to swallow, and it was why he had almost reconsidered inviting Mario to the Santos party, but nah, he wasn’t like that. He could be fucked up if he wanted, but Mario had always been good to him, he respected him too much to start acting like a dick.

———

Music played from the speakers that stood beside the DJ booth. People were dancing, drinking, smoking - it was a good time, everyone was having fun.

Everyone but Oscar that is.

His eyes kept drifting over toward Y/N and Mario as they sat on that worn, nasty old couch in their own little world, deep in conversation. He took notice of the way her eyes were shining bright, of that smile that never left her face. Or Mario’s face.

Y/N had arrived shortly after Mario and Ruby had and when she had caught sight of Mario, it was like she was that nervous girl going on her first date with him again. She thought that overtime her feelings for him would fade, that distance would make her move on. But it didn’t. And seeing Mario again.. she remembered just how much she truly loved him.

So, she and Mario had stuck by each other’s side throughout the entire party, talking, catching up, reminiscing about old times.

“So, you and Oscar? How’d that happen?” Mario asked her. He had been a little surprised when he found out that his ex-girlfriend had struck up a friendship with the gang leader. She had told him herself when they started talking again, and Ruby had told him that they had spent an awful amount of time together.

Y/N’s smile softened and she turned to glance over at Oscar who was having a conversation. But it was like he felt her eyes on him because he turned and looked over at her. Their eyes met and she sent him that sweet smile that had him falling for her all over again. Then she turned back to Mario.

“It was after you left, actually. I went to the store and some Prophets rolled up on me,” Mario looked concerned, his brows furrowing. “But, Oscar was riding by in his car, he saw and he helped me out. He gave me a ride home and after that, we just started seeing each other more. Hanging out. He’s cool, I like him.” She said, that smile never leaving her face.

“So, there’s nothing more going on between you two?”

“What? No! He’s my best friend!” Y/N said. “Honestly.. I.. I haven’t been with anyone since we broke up.” She admitted. “I miss you. It’s hard being without you. Oscar made it easier, but.. I still miss you. I’m glad you’re here, Mario.” She said. Her ex-boyfriend gave her a smile, that smile that had her weak in the knees.

“I missed you too, Y/N.”

Oscar knew he was probably being a cock blocker but he didn’t care. He walked over and you noticed him immediately, sending a smile his way. “Why you guys hidin’ over here? It’s a party. Little Ruby is making more friends than you two.” He nodded over to the young Martinez who was indeed having the time of his life. It was the happiest that Mario had seen his brother in a while and he was glad.

“We were just talking. Catching up. She told me how you helped her after some Prophets rolled up on her. Thank you for that.” Mario said as the two stood up off the couch. Oscar shrugged his shoulders as he looked down at the female, his eyes sparkling as he looked at her.

“It was nothing. I’d do anything for her. She knows that.”

“I do know that. And you know that I’d do anything for you too. You’re my best friend and I love you.” She said to Oscar and his heart actually sank down into his stomach.

Best friend.

That’s all he was to her. Her best friend and nothing more. She was his best friend but he wanted it to be more. But standing with her and Mario, seeing the way the two looked at each other.. he knew nothing more would ever come from it.

But at the same time… having Y/N in his life as his friend was better than not having her in his life at all. If she was with Mario, then all he could do was support her and be there for her because all he really wanted was for her to be happy. If it was Mario that made her happy then so be it. Mario was a good dude so he didn’t have to worry about him hurting her.

He had her in his life one way or another and he was just thankful for that.

[ghastily]

✎ — Gravity (4/??)

➥   Wolfpack x Reader | 3245 | Ao3

⚠️  Blood, Off-Screen Home Invasion

Things go from bad to worse.

note: I was worried I was putting Reader through too much at once, but a friend told me “when it rains, it pours”. I hope people enjoy this chapter for all the headaches it gave me.

You’ve never met this woman before and her comment catches you completely off guard, leaving you standing there in the diner looking baffled and confused. Tilting your head to the side, you wonder that

maybe

if you squint you’ll be able to discern what the woman wants exactly. Whatever the hell that may be.

“Uh, I’m sorry? Do I know you?”

That wasn’t what she wanted to hear apparently, and you didn’t need to be Force-sensitive to feel the aggression rolling off her as a result. It’s enough to intimidate you into taking a hesitant step back, putting space between you and her. Just what did you do to earn this much anger from someone?! She advances after you, jabbing a finger in your direction.

“You home-wrecker! Don’t act dumb, I know you’ve been trying to steal my boyfriends from me!”

What.

“What?”

“Don’t think I don’t know they’ve been sneaking around with you, you slut. Can’t even keep your legs closed, huh?”

“Excuse yo—”

There’s no chance to finish what you were saying because it feels like a bomb just went off in the diner — a bomb named Harmony . She’s a blur of blonde hair, and the pounding of heavy black boots on tile floor. The sound of her hand connecting with the woman’s cheek is deafening, and you stare at them in shock, frozen in place from the suddenness of it all. The woman stumbles back, clutching her rapidly reddening cheek and hisses.

“How dare you!”

“How dare I?! How dare you! Coming in here, insulting a person you don’t even know! A person I consider my best friend!”

The shouting was unbearably loud, nearing the point of screeching from both parties. It hurts your ears. You could see the woman’s face over Harmony’s shoulder steadily turning as red as her cheek as their anger mounted. The commotion draws Dex’s attention and he’s soon coming out from the back to stand between Harmony and the woman. A barricade to keep them from fighting.

“Enough!” His voice booms through the diner and your stomach tightens. You’ve never heard Dex yell like that before. He gently pushes Harmony toward you, “Harmony, cool your jets.”

He turns to glare at the other woman, “Ma’am I think it’s ‘bout time you left.”

Dex’s voice left no room for argument, and though she seemed ready to continue her fight she wisely decided against it. No doubt her only smart decision ever, in your opinion. She’s stumbling out the door shouting about getting the police involved.

You’re grateful there was no one eating at the diner at this hour. The tension in the room takes a while to dissipate after she’s gone.

“A few days ago Wolffe told me they had an ex and it ended badly,” You frown, rubbing your upper arm in an attempt to comfort yourself — something Sinker would do when he noticed you were unsettled by something, “Guess that was her.”

“Case of crazy ex-girlfriend, huh?” Dex hums, one of four arms stroking his chin while the others rested on his hips. “If she’s going to become a problem… I know a guy.”

Harmony huffs, “If we’re going to put a hit on her, I’ll do it for free!”

“Let’s just hope we won’t see her again after that.” You sigh heavily before slipping back into the kitchen, for such a short exchange it felt like it lasted for hours and was just as draining. It’s soft but you can barely make out Dex gently reprimanded Harmony for striking a customer. She retorts they’re not a customer if they don’t order anything.

It makes you smile.

You go home to an empty house that night. There’s no lights to guide you home, no one to greet you when you let yourself inside, no sound coming from the living room.. It’s empty. The darkness inside feels heavy, pushing down on you as you kick your shoes off at the door, next to the civilian shoes Boost and Sinker use.

“I’m home.” You whimper out into the void.

No one answers.

Dragging your feet into the kitchen and not bothering with the lights, you drop the bag of left overs from the diner on the counter. You didn’t want to seem ungrateful to Dex and Harmony, but the guys really did bring something special to your little world. You don’t even remember how you lived without them before.

They’ll come and go like this because of the war, you’ll have to learn and find a way of coping with that from now on. Or maybe they never come home. You take a deep, shuddering breath and bat away at the swell of tears in your eyes.

Whatever. You’re not hungry anymore.

“Cross that bridge when we get there.” You mumble to yourself, haphazardly throwing your leftovers into the fridge before heading down the hall to your bedroom. You don’t bother undressing and just fall face first into the bed with a loud sigh. The bed creaks in protest. Rolling onto your side, you cling to a pillow like it’s the only thing anchoring you here. It’s from Sinker’s side of the bed, the smell of shaving cream is a small comfort that helps lull you into a dreamless sleep.

She’s back again the next day, you can hear her screeching and making a scene in the front. And it’s taking every ounce of your strength to not start throwing Dex’s dishes out the window at her. She’s getting louder, practically shouting at this point, just to make sure you hear ever single venomous word she’s spitting.

“They’re only with you to get back at me! You’re just trash once they’re done playing!”

You do break a dish this time. Slamming it on the counter and it shatters into pieces, you grab the largest piece and barge out the door ready to finish a fight you didn’t even start. Harmony catches you before you can get far into the dining room, slinging her arms around your waist and hauling you back.

“Whoa, hold up, sugar!” Harmony pleads, “I wanna beat her face in too but Dex’s got it!”

Dex is on the other side of the diner, watching a Mandalorian haul the woman out of the diner. She’s hissing and spitting like a wet loth cat and the bounty hunter doesn’t seem even the least bit phased, the customers in the dining room just smirk and enjoy the show. When Dex turns and heads in your direction you can see just how unhappy and disappointed he looks — a cold wash of fear douses your anger leaving you feeling hollow and frightened .

“Harmony, take care of the diner.” The waitress nods quickly, casting a worried look in your direction before hurrying off to finish order tickets.

Dex’s hand is heavy on your shoulder as he turns you toward the back and into his office. You’re shaking when he guides you to sit in a chair, and thick alien fingers carefully pry your hand open. Dex takes the shard of plate you had been clutching and tosses it into the garbage. In your anger you gripped it so hard that it cut into your palm, blood running over your palm and along your fingers.

“I’m sorry,” You choke out around the lump in your throat, hot tears spilling down your cheeks, “Please don’t fire me, Dex. I—”

“Hmph, none of that now. No one is being fired.” Dex is careful as he cleans your palm, wrapping it up in a bandage, “You got nothin’ to worry ‘bout. I ain’t mad at you, I’m mad at that woman.”

You sniff loudly, wiping away snot with the back of your sleeve, “It’s my fault she’s even here in the first place.”

“That ain’t your fault,” Dex lightly squeezes your hand when he’s done. You bite your lip and try to blink away the tears, it’s so hard to look straight at him so you stare at a stain on the floor. “Her bad decisions are her’s alone and no body else’s.”

A small piece of you know he’s right, that none of this is your fault but you can’t help but feel like it is. Maybe if you had never met Sinker and Boost, Dex and others could’ve been spared this drama.

You squeeze your eyes shut and take a deep breath.

“Think you can still work, kiddo?” Dex didn’t want to send you home, not with that woman nearby and you so upset. He sounds worried and you crack open your eyes, finally, finally looking at your boss and nod numbly. He doesn’t look angry, there’s only worry and soft affection like that of a guardian looking after their charges.

“All right, whenever you’re ready come back out. Just be careful with that hand.”

Dex pats your head as he gets up, grunting and smoothing his shirt out with his other pair out arms. “Everything’s gonna be okay, just keep your chin up.”

A small smile tugs at the corner of your lips, “Yeah.”

The next day is better — a lot better actually. There’s no crazy woman screeching in the diner, you’re not breaking plates, and you’re definitely feeling better emotionally but you’re feeling cautiously optimistic. You’re slowly but surely getting use to not having the guys around, but it’s still rough going home to an empty house and your heart aches with the desire to see them again.

Work flows right by without any incidents, quiet and easy as it usually does, and just as you’re heading out at the end of the day Harmony bounds up beside you. She loops her arm through yours causing you both to sway a bit with her weight against your side.

“Hey there, friend!” Harmony beams, “So I had this idea since it’s the weekend…”

“Mhm, I’m listening.”

“You should come spend the night at my place! When was the last time we had a chance to bond?!” Harmony is practically vibrating with excited energy, “We’ll have some us time, watch trashy shows, pig out on junk food.”

You laugh. At first you thought to say no but the grip Harmony has on your arm says you can say whatever you want — this is happening. And she’s been not so subtlety pushing you in the direction to her own place. “Okay! Okay, you don’t have to twist my arm. I’ll go!”

Harmony lets out a ‘whoop’ of victory, pumping her fist in the air.

It was a night you wouldn’t soon forget. An evening filled with giggling as you built a pillow fort in Harmony’s living room, drank cheap wine, and ate left over desserts from Dex’s. You definitely wouldn’t forget the stomach ache and hang over the next morning.

The 104th Battalion return to Coruscant late the next day, and Boost is anxious to get off the transport and see you again. He had been on edge the entire mission, there was a constant nagging in the back of his mind that something right back home. Something involving you. Boost needed off this ship yesterday .

He let out a loud sigh, tapping his foot against the floor anxiously.

“I told you to use the ‘fresher before we left, Boost!” Sinker smirks under his helmet, holding tighter to one of the overhead rings as the ship swayed around the buildings on Coruscant.

“I did use it! I just wanna —” Boost falters, catching himself before blurting out that he wanted to see you in front of General Plo Koon, “— go get a drink at 79’s cause wow, what a mission that was!”

Wolffe bites the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.

The shuttle sways again as it finally arrives outside the GAR barracks, the side opening up as it slowly descends onto a landing platform. Boost can’t wait any longer and jumps off the shuttle as soon as the hatch is open wide enough for him to get through. He bolts across the platform the moment his feet are on the ground.

“Boost! That’s dangerous! Don’t run!” Sinker shouts and the ship settles. He sighs and chases after his brother at a brisk pace that was certainly not running.

Plo Koon watches in amusement as the two troopers run off. The clones were notoriously bad liars, but Plo Koon enjoyed a close relationship with the men under his care. He knew, though they never spoke of it outright, about their breaking regulations to pursue a relationship with a civilian — and the ultimate fallout of when it failed. Sinker and Boost’s spirits were low and Wolffe had been snappier than usual, until recently that is. “They’ve been quite lively lately.”

“Sir?”

“I hope you’ll introduce us soon, Commander.”

Wolffe’s cheeks grow hot and he’s grateful that the helmet hides his reaction from view. Though he’s sure the Jedi can see right through him.

“I will see what I can do, sir.”

Plo Koon seems pleased by the answer and that’s good enough for Wolffe. He carefully disembarks the shuttle and starts to make his way across the platform, trying to keep a casual and nonchalant pace. The last thing he wants to do is make a scene of chasing after Boost and Sinker. Once Wolffe makes it off the platform and away from prying eyes, he begins to run. He knows where his brothers are going, a tiny piece of him wants to be there too.

Home .

It doesn’t take him long to catch up with Sinker and Boost, but the sight of them lingering outside your door sets off warning bells in his head. Their good-mood is gone, replaced by an emotion they feel in battle.

“The door is busted.” Sinker gestures toward your door and what remains of the lock on it spitting blue, electrical sparks — a sign that someone had failed to hack it and decided to brute force their way in instead. There was no clearer sign that you were in danger, or possibly worse. Wolffe quickly falls back into the role of a Commander, he couldn’t let his worry for you cloud his judgment. He’d worry about that after he knew you were safe.

“Boost, let’s get inside. Sinker, talk to the neighbors and find out what they know.”

The two troopers nod and immediately get to task. It takes the combined strength of Wolffe and Boost pulling to get the door to slide open just enough for them to squeeze inside. Inside they’re greeted by a dark home torn apart by chaos, the walls slashed and marked up with obscene writing, furniture was broken and tossed across the room.

There’s no signs of a fight, just the aftermath of a storm blowing through, but it does little to ease the troopers’ minds.

Wolffe calls out your name.

There’s only a deafening silence.

Boost takes off down the hallway, Wolffe hot on his heels, and into your bedroom. There’s a heavy pit in both their stomachs as they fear for the worst, that they’d find you dead in your bed. It’s only a small relief for them when they find that you’re not here, but the bedroom is no better than the rest. Everything that could be broken — was . Your clothes, their civvies, and any little trinkets you had were destroyed and tossed on the floor.

Wolffe had an idea who was behind this, and an angry fire blooms inside him. He wishes, hopes , he’s wrong.

“Guys! I got something!” Sinker shouts from the front and both brothers rush to his call.

“What did you find out?” Wolffe demands as soon as he sees Sinker by the door, fists clenched tight. Boost stands at his side, his worried expression hidden behind his helmet.

“They’re at the police station.”

“Let’s go.” Before the words can finish leaving Wolffe’s mouth, the boys are squeezing back through the busted front door and racing to the nearest police station. This wasn’t what they wanted to come home to.

It startles everyone inside when three troopers burst into the lobby of the civilian police force, huffing and puffing from running through the streets. And that is where they find you, shaken but safe, sitting on a bench with Harmony beside you. It’s a huge relief.

The moment you’re on your feet is when you’re crushed between Sinker and Boost. It’s an awkward tangle of limbs as all three of you try to hug and cling to each other. It’s horribly uncomfortable with the way their gear and helmets press into you but neither you, Sinker, or Boost are willing to let each other go now. Not for anything.

You do let go, eventually, pulling away just enough to free your arms so you can wiping frantically at your face as happy tears start to swell forth. It feels like it’s been forever, and you’re so happy to see them again. Your voice cracks, “I missed you guys.”

“We missed you too,��� Boost rubs his thumb over your cheek, wiping away the stray tears.

You melt under his touch, and the world around you fades away. Everything will be fine now.

Harmony stands up from the bench with a quiet sigh and the barest of smiles tugging at the corner of her lips. You’re preoccupied with Sinker and Boost for now, he’ll have time later with you — privately. Wolffe slips past the three of you to join her, Harmony was there for you when they couldn’t be and she deserved some gratitude.

“Thank you for looking out for them.”

“Hm?” She tilts her head in Wolffe’s direction, curling a strand of blonde hair around one finger, “It’s nothing. That’s what you do for the people you care about.”

“It’s obvious you do,” Wolffe hums thoughtfully, “I wonder if we should consider you competition..”

“Only if you break their heart.” Harmony smirks mischievously at the trooper. Wolffe tenses up, he hadn’t actually meant it but now that he thought about it.. She was the closest person to you.

“It seems like you’re in good hands now, sugar.” Harmony gently pries you from Sinker and Boost long enough to give you a hug, planting an affectionate kiss on your cheek that leaves the faintest trace of red lipstick behind on your skin. “Gonna head back and let Dex know everything’s okay.”

You don’t even think twice about it, oblivious to the exchange between her and Wolffe, hugging Harmony tightly in return. “Thanks for staying with me. Be careful heading back. I’ll comm you later, okay?”

“You’d better!” She grins from ear to ear, sauntering her way out of the police station, but not before catching Wolffe’s eye again. Harmony points at her eyes then at Wolffe, mouthing out a silent ‘watching you’ before she leaves. He shakes his head, looking back at you and his brothers, each with a hand on your hip as you spoke quietly to one another.

“We can’t go back yet while it’s under investigation, and I’ve already imposed on Harmony enough..”

“Don’t think they’d allow civilians in the barracks either.” Boost frowns.

Sinker shakes his head, “Maybe a hotel room?”

“I think now might be a good time to introduce you to Plo Koon.” Wolffe joins the group, rubbing the red smudge of lipstick off your cheek with a frown. You lean away from him with a whine, face scrunched up at how rough the touch is, “He may have an idea of where you can stay until this is resolved.”

[popculturebuffet]

Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life Review

Happy Birthday To Me, as I continue my birthday celebration by taking a look at comics that have a personal connection to me.. And for our main feature, i’m taking a look at the first volume of a series that was vitally important to a teenage me, Scott Pilgrim. 

Scott Pilgrim is the brainchild of Brian Lee’O’Malley. O’Malley came up with the concept from a number of things. Being a fan of the band Plumtree, O’Malley was curious about the name of their song “Scott Pilgrim” and wondered who this Scott Pilgrim guy was. So over the years he slowly built the guy up in the back of his mind using bits of his life and what not. As for why he ends up fighting 7 evil exes, that came from a discussion with his then girlfriend, later wife and currently ex-wife Hope Larson, where he threw off the joke that her exes should form some kind of League. After finishing his first solo work Lost at Sea, O’Malley decided Scotty would be his next project and the rest is history. To date while O’Malley has written two works since, Seconds which is delightful and Snotgirl which didn’t grab me but I intend to try again, Scott remains his most popular work, in large part due to it’s SUBLIME video game and movie adaptations, the former of which is finally getting a rerelease next month. 

The series charm is in it’s style: A manga styled comic that combines two desperate kinds of story: Shonen Fight Manga and Slice of Life Indie Comics. The story shifts from Scott going through normal life stuff while trying to make his new relationship work and get his shit together and Scott getting into big bombastic fights with his new sweetie’s exes for the right to keep dating her and to you know, stay alive. The series effortlesly blends a video game like world with real grounded characters and is wonderful for it.  As for where I came in, one Free Comic Book day I found a little comic named Free Scott Pilgrim, which I genuinely loved and was instantly charmed by it’s humor and well done art. So I picked up the second and third volumes of the series proper and the first once I could find it and the rest ,as they say, is history. For my high school life, this was one of hte most important things in it and I wrote fanfiction, which I thankfully never put online and in general enjoyed the hell out of the series. Then I just kind of.. let it sit on my shelf for a while. It wasn’t BAD, I just never got back to it and as the franchise went dormant I just sorta slept on it and the movie and that part of me...

Cut to a few weeks ago, when Comixology did a massive sale for black friday that marked a ton of Graphic Novels down to just 1 buck each, and the color editions of Scott Pilgrim happened to be part of this, though only volume 1 was that cheap. But thanks to my best friend micheal and an early christmas/birthday present I got the rest and got to revisit the series as a whole, with me rethinking my previous thoughts of volume 1 and thus.. wanting to review it and share both why this series is so damn special and what’s good, and what’s not so good about it. I’ll also be covering the game, once i’ts re-released, and the movie once i’m finsihed with the comics so look out for that. And get ready to take a trip to the glorious land of canada... 

As a heads up and as you can tell i’ll be using the color version as while I could get scans of the black and white, I prefer the color version. While the black and white was fine and always will be, I think the impressive coloring job really adds to thing and makes the already great fight scenes pop more, as well as making certain background elements stand out a bit. While it does negate the black and white gags, the tradeoff is more than worth it. That being said either version is fine so if you can get the black and white cheaper that’s fine and i’ve kept my original copies, with volumes 4 -6 having been picked up as they came out. 

So as our story starts we meet our hero: Scott Pilgrim Age 23, a charming but jobless and kind of sketchy possible college graduate whose really been adrift in his life since a breakup about a year ago. And when our story opens he’s taken a turn for a worse and decided to date sweet but naive and inexperinced Knives Chau, a 17 year old girl. And why yes the power dynamics there are messed up and why yes Scott is pretty damn sketchy in this moment in time, and while yes I am aware the age of consent in canada is 16, it dosen’t make this any less greasy and the story knows that.  And how it knows that MOST of his friends aren’t on board. The only ones who seems to is Stephen Stiles, leader of Sex Bomb-Omb, the band scott’s in with one of the best names ever and even then it’s hard to tell if he’s being sarcastic or just a total douche. The other, Young Neil Nordgraf, Stephen’s roomate, is well 19 or 20 and kind of a dipshit so we just ignore him. I used to use him as kind of a projection, to put myself in the adventure when I was younger as Neil kind of lacks personality in the comics but in the comics.. he’s not hte best or most complex character. He is great in the movie though and Edgar Wright did an amazing job fleshing him out.  The rest of his circle are .. not so permissive. His best friend, roomate and king of all gays for all time Wallace Wells very much does not want to come with Scott to school to pick her up because every part of that sentence after hurt to type. Granted Scott gets him to come with him with promises of boys, but frankly knowing wallace he was probably just playing along/wants to protect this poor child. His ex and fellow bandmate Kim is clearly bothered by it and is flat out worried Scott is taking advantage of her. Kim and Wallace are easily my faviorites both for personality and because I have a massive crush on both. With Wallace it just didn’t manifest till the reread. Finally Scott’s kid sister Stacey chews him out over it before genuinely wondering if he’s gone insane or he’s actually happy. For my two cents: he’s not. He WANTS to be, but he dosen’t know how. And as someone whose both neurotypical, which given Scott’s troubles with empathy and relating to people like yours truly I strongly suggest he is, and has struggled with depression I can relate to that. He wants to move on but he just.. can’t, he just wants to get past the haze he’s been in since Envy dumped him.. but he dosen’t know how. So instead of doing someting constructive or finding a job or anything .. he just took the first and easiest way out of his depression he could. I’ve done that with video games and stuff. Scott did that by entering a relationship that’s really easy, requires only so much effort, and is with someone who utterly adores, looks up to him and will never expect better. Being with Knives makes him feel better.. but it dosen’t MAKE him a better person. As i’ve made clear dating someone just for a boost makes him actively worse and had fate not intervened, I shudder to think what Scott might have become. That being said his actoins are still creepy and since Scott has a habit of landing ass backwards into being an asshole here’s a counter to track that. That’s 2 for doing this overall, one for tleling her to be good, and 1 for trying to ply wallace with underage boys. 

Your the Scum of the Earth Scott Counter: 1

Thankfully fate does and Scott’s dreams, ones of him crawling through a desert alone, are interupted by a mysterious pink haired girl on skates. The next day he’s just sort of in a daze, kind of confused, and even more so when he sees her IN REAL LIFE, while at the library with Knives. He’s understandably frazzled but ends up finding out he’s not hallucinating when talking to MIcheal Cormeau. Micheal is a minor character and another artist and friend of o malley’s who represents that one guy in social circles who knows everybody. And indeed he knows the mystery girl, Ramona Flowers and that she’s there. Scott TRIES talking her up but just creeps her out, so Scott goes with plan b and decides to ask around about her. Enter Sandra and Monique, two college aquantinces of Scott, who just sorta show up at major events and aren’t that developed or intresting. They turn him to Julie who forbids him to date her. To which I say. 

Naturually we’ll aslo be needing a counter for this. 

Shut Up Julie Counter: 1

Scott however did find out she’s a delivery girl for Amazon Canada, and thus orders some CD’s on Wallace’s Credit card to hopefully see her. And while his behavior IS obessive.. it’s understandable. I’d be weirdly obessed with finding someone too if they showed up in my dreams every day and were apparently a real person. I’d probably play it cooler but still i’ts kind of understandable. So after a day with knives in which he’s clearly checked out she kisses him, he freaks out and it’s very clear that while Scott’s good at attracting women he’s just.. not good with his emotions and has finally woken up to how messed up this is, but has no idea how to get out now he’s intrested in someone he actually has a future with maybe.  Speaking of Scott’s package and Ramona finally arrive. Scott’s move is to.. ask her out abrubtly but after he mentions her Dreams, Ramona finally puts two and two together and explains things: She’s been using Subspace, a seris of highways connected by the subconcious and apparently more common in america, though it’s later revealed she was taught this but being the first book with a lot of the lore and what not ironed out this is fine. Point is she was just using his dreams as transit and didn’t mean to get him obessed. Scott continues to try his schtick and eventually gets her to agree to hang out with him. Why she does I generally do not know, as SCott basically fell ass backwards over himself conversationally, but whatever. If he didn’t succeed we wouldn’t have a plot. 

That being said things pick up a bit with the date though. The scene is really good and simply just the two.. talking. Having plesant conversations getting to know one another. That good stuff. it’s just really nice to read and it’s hard to explain why. Highlights include Scott’s x-men patch, Ramona not wanting to talk about her last job and Scott admitting he hasn’t been obessed in a long time.. and it comes off sweet rather htan creepy like that sounds. It just means he hasn’t fell this head over heels felt like this. As I said Knives was easy.. but this is hard.. and this.. feels right. So as things Snow Ramona yanks scott through subspace to escape the blizzard. 

So we end up back at Ramona’s place and she offers some tea which leads to one of the best gags of the volume as she lists them off: 

So Ramona goes to get Scott a blanket, Scott ends up following finds her changing, and she decides to warm him up another way.. by embracing him... cue.. the inevitible really. 

It feels organic though: The two are clearly attracted to each other and while Scott came on as strong as freaking colossus, he still rebounded well once they hung out and he could relax a bit and show the scott underneath the lairs of dumbass. The two end up cuddling in bed and Scott seems..genuiley happy saying he needed this... awwwwwww. They part the next morning with him asking her to his band’s performance. 

So Scott finds Wallace  at home who says what Scott needs to hear “You need to break up with your fake highschool girlfriend scott’ Granted the entire first 40 pages could’ve been titled that but now he’s actively cheating. He’s also got a letter. 

It’s a death threat Scott barely grazes through, just like an email earlier. 

But scott’s more concerned with his emotional distress.. i.e. the consequences of his throughly shitty actions finally hitting him in the face. 

Scott heads to practice for his gig and can’t bring himself to break up with knives, but does find out about the opposition: Crash and the Boys, based on an NES game title because of course it is. Crash, their leader, Joel their baseplayer who scott hates because he hates all other baseplayers (”I don’t hate myself kim) and Trasha, an 8 year old progedy they found playing Drum Mania. Don’t ask me what that is, i’m not going to get every refrence. 

So at the show Scott runs into Stacey and her new boyfriend Jimmy  with Stacey being supportive. And then Knives shows up and then RAMONA SHOWS UP. Oh no scott’s cheating might be discovered! 

So Scott books it while we’re introduced to Crash and the Boys. Wallace heckles them, to the band’s annoyance, until they eventually get fed up and we easly get the best gag of the volume. I was wrong this clearly tops the tea thing. 

So Crash and The Boys continue to play their set, including a song that supposdely kills the audience but really knocks them out.. which of course bothers kim because they play next. Meanwhile Ramona and Stacey meet and the two really get along.. and come back to find the audience ko’d and Wallace Making out with Stacey’s boyfriend. Oh no! Which is a dick move, no question. But Stacey’s next move is questionable even for a 19 year old: She says “You won’t steel another guy from me and tells wallace to sit over there”. Okay Stacey even if he is bi, and this series has trouble with the concept of bisexuals we’ll get into that later trust me, he made out with someone else entirely while on a date with you. Wallace is still an asshole, it’s part of his charm.. but it dosen’t change the fact your date kissed someone else seconds after you were gone and has been eyballing him all night, as seen even above. He’s not into you as you thought, just accept it, move on, and kick Jimmy in the balls and then wallace like a proper lady. So Scott prepares to play and this happens

And it’s here, at the very end of the comic the series main premise finally kicks in and the world takes it’s true shape. It’s a world where an indie comedy about a mess of a being putting his life together after finding his dream girl.. also has said mess being forced to get into fist fights with wizards, movie stars, vegans, half-ninjas, twin roboticists and a katana wielding douchenozzle record exec in order to continue to have the right to date his girlfriend. 

It’s where the series charm comes from and really what made it a huge sucess so it’s no suprise this volume perks up immensley for the climax. I’ll get more into it’s pacing problem at the end. For now it’s fight time and as we find out in a hilarious and awesome turn.. Scott is the best fighter in toronto.. which just makes me REALLLY want a Scott Pilgrim version of letterkenny. I mean who wouldn’t want to see wayne fight some guy who can turn his hands into dragons or see Squireely Dan do E.Honda’s hand slap move from streetfighter or see the skids all fuse into one mega emo. It’s just.. the possiblities are as endless as they are wonderous and I want this now. 

But yeah as Patel is both the first boss and Scott’s first real opponent Scott.. handles him really easily. This was by design as O’Malley wanted a shonen progression to the fights.. and honestly it’s a great way to do things. Since the fights are styled after shonen and video games, and both have power based progression in bad guys and threats, it just made sense. Patel.. is just pathetic even with his magic powers, and his habit of sending letters and emails just pounds it in. Though he is right to be a bit pissed Scott didn’t read a letter he hand delivered in a snowstorm. That’s just a tad rude. 

Mid-Fight, Scott, now he knows the whole evil ex boyfriend thing, wonders what Matt and Ramona’s past is and while Matthew refuses to tell.. Ramona spills easily. It was midddle school, all the jocks wanted her for whatever reason, likely because from experince in high school, guys really like indie girls. Matthew was the only non-white non jock, so they teamed up and with her strength and his mystic powers they beat them.. but since his use had dried up, she flipped him off and left.  Matthew dosen’t take this well and summons demon hipster chicks to fight while Scott and co, minus ramona, fight back with a finger gun routine and block his fire balls before propelling Scott into matthew somehow, and landing the KO Evil Exes Left: 6 Matthew bursts into coins though fun fact, O’Malley says the Exes all respawned back at home afterwords and learned their lesson. With Pattel I genuinely don’t think he did... but clearly given his penchant for formality what with the letters and emails, he probably felt it’d break protocol to attack before the rest were done. He probably jsut formed a hipster emo band and found more sucess using his magic for that instead and just forgot about the whole thing. Could be wrong but that’s what i’m going with.  So Scott asks Ramona to go out with him then make out with him, both of which she says yes to. Nice one scotty boy. Ramona then explains the whole evil exes thing: He’ll have to defeat each one as they come after him, and while Scott wonders if they’ll come one at a time Ramona’s not sure. As time will bear out, Scott is MOSTLY correct as most exes take him one on one, with the exception of the twins. But since as I said earlier the twins are basically one person, and as we’ll find out by choice, so it’s an exception. Plus their the last step before the final boss, so by that token it’s a bit fairer to have the penultimate boss get an unfair advantage. Scott is fine with that, he and Ramona share another moment and a kiss.. but Scott makes the mistake of asking if gideon is one and Ramona’s head starts glowing with her dodging the subject, though still going out with SCott and him worried.. it just feels.. off. not a bad ending but the only one of the series three cliffhanger endings that just dosen’t work for me, especailly since it is a bit before the Gideon mystery really picks up steam again. But with that we close this chapter

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Precious Little Life is a decent start to the story.  While Scott is loathsome at first, he’s still a compelling character and does get more likeable as things go, the humor when it is there shines and is one of the series best assets and while the fight is short and only at the end, it is oh so glorious especailly in cover with the impacts taking cues from the movie. It’s a good intro to Scott’s world and ther’es a reason the movie adapts this book the closest as it sets up the cast and premise well, with only Stephen Stiles feeling a bit off and ONLY for the first few chapters.  The volume is only really held back by it’s pacing, as before Scott runs into ramona in his dream the story feels a bit sluggish as we’re just watching some douche date a high school kid. While it is necessary to set up the world, it just dosen’t have the snappy pacing the series would be known for and that makes the rest of the series more charming. it’s nto BAD.. but it’s not FANTASTIC like the series would become. What keeps it from being bad is simple: These aren’t general badness signs but more just O’Malley coming into his owna nd getitng better and better as the book goes, to the point that by the next book the pacing is much better and by book 3 onwards he has it down pat.  Overall not a BAD volume but certaionly the weakest of the bunch.. which given it’s still really good says something about the ride we’re in for. I’ll be back sometime in the future, likely january. Yup i’m taking on YET ANOTHER PROJECT. but since this one, while clearly exausting and time consuimg, is much shorter in overall length, and i’m still proritizing the three I have running over this, I think i’ll be just fine. Until next time, have a happy holiday. 

[janiedean]

geralt/jaskier whump meme ficlet

sooo @haljathefangirlcat wanted geralt/jaskier + 33. I am supposed to be YOUR bodyguard, stop jumping in front of bullets for me AU, but that ask also had another prompt for another pairing and this came out long so I figured I’d just post it here separately, the other one is coming asap ;) have... some 2k of modern au I guess *drops and runs*

This job is so not what Geralt had assumed it would be when he took it.

Not that he complains, even if right now he kind of is for an obvious reason, but still, it’s only thrown him not for one loop but for a hundred by now, and this one is only the last, and it’s not that they’ve been bad loops, but fucking hell, this time —

“Jaskier,” he says, voice low, slowly stitching the wound on his supposed charge’s shoulder, “I don’t know if you missed the memo or not, but I am supposed to be the damned bodyguard. What is going to take to make you stop thinking that jumping in front of bullets for me is how this is supposed to go?”

He’s not surprised when for once, Jaskier doesn’t have a witty reply but just smiles sheepishly and tries not to shrug, since the bullet had actually grazed his shoulder so he really shouldn’t move right now.

“Eh,” he finally says after Geralt has stitched half of the wound, “I told you on the first day that I really don’t do well with following instructions now, didn’t I?”

He did, Geralt has to concede.

For that matter, his fucking father told Geralt before Jaskier could, and —

Well.

Geralt, having had a really bad dry spell when it came to finding work after that botched job in Blaviken where of course he ended up being framed for having tried to actually not see anyone dead under his watch, was not in the position to refuse a job from Viscount Lettenhove, who had just raised to fame for having made his way to ministry of war after Redania’s last elections… and needed a cheap bodyguard for his son who was apparently not worth a pricey one but still needed one because you couldn’t leave any family member without supervision until he was in office. So he had taken the job, figuring that he couldn’t refuse it when he barely paid the bills these days, and resigned himself to whatever it might bring — after meeting the father, he had figured that the son couldn’t be much worse but had also really, really hoped he wasn’t cut from the same cloth.

Turns out that said son, who’s named Julian but told him please call me Jaskier, only my parents use the real one and at least I picked my own damned stage name was not at all like his father, wasn’t interested in politics and only wanted to become a professional musician after graduating at Oxenfurt and couldn’t give less of a damn about why his father disapproved.

He also hadn’t looked at him wrong for a second, actually convinced him to spill the truth about Blaviken two weeks after they met, swore him that he would write a song about it at some point even if Geralt told him that there was no fucking need for that, proceeded to actually talk to him like they had been lifelong best friends two days after they met and — listen, maybe it was unprofessional and all, but Geralt did like that, not so deep down. After all, when your only two friends are your foster home roommates with whom you run the bodyguard agency (who also are the only reason he could pay his bills after Blaviken) and who are also off on jobs more time than not and your only other more or less steady relationship is your lawyer ex-girlfriend with whom you end up having a thirst once every three months before remembering exactly why you’re better off as friends… it’s nice to run into someone who’ll just talk to you like you’re a human being and not either a piece of meat paid to make sure you don’t die or some kind of barely-escaped-from-jail-almost-murderer just because you got framed by a piece of shit who wanted his own niece dead because she could have ended his political career.

Also, people don’t… usually like him at first glance, or meeting, or whatever, and Geralt knows he’s a hard person to like and that he doesn’t make the job easier, not when he’s shit at talking shop to people or at pretending he’s good at socialization (which his fucking social worker kept on harassing about for years, not that it ever worked), and instead Jaskier patently doesn’t seem to give a damn and talks for two people if he doesn’t, and listen, it’s been nice to spend all his time around someone who actually treats him like a human being. Yennefer would tell him his bar is extremely low, and she’d probably be right.

Anyway, it’s been six months and — it has been a good job. Until now, no one actually seemed to care much for Jaskier either way except a few paparazzi, and Jaskier kept on saying it was because everyone in Lettenhove knew that he and his father were not on good terms, and the most tedious thing he’s had to do has been tuning out Jaskier’s father whenever he asked for reports and kept on blathering about how much his son could spend his time more fruitfully than partaking in silly music contests (every single time Geralt just wants to tell him he’s happier doing music contests than he’d be studying politics, just let him be, but of course he never does). Other than that, he’s learned more about music theory than he ever imagined he would, he has threatened the few paparazzi that were a nuisance, at most he’s kept his eyes more open than usual if Jaskier ended up getting spectacularly drunk once in a while and he doesn’t even bother asking for free days because the commute between Oxenfurt and Kaer Morhen is too long to consider partaking. Of course Jaskier’s father doesn’t pay him for the hours he spends with Jaskier that are technically not in his contract, but — he hasn’t minded that.

And then it happened that someone actually realized that the Viscount has a son that differently from his daughters does not live with his family and is therefore an easy target, and they did manage a rather decent attempt at what Geralt supposes was kidnapping him, but he had that under control and he was handling it —

Until one of the criminals in questions shot him and Jaskier had the genius idea of throwing himself in between him and the damned bullet and thankfully it only was this superficial wound, and fuck but Geralt had almost fucking gotten a heart attack for a moment before getting his shit under control and disarming them and calling the police.

And Geralt is pretty damn sure that his heartbeat still hasn’t gotten under control even if it’s been an hour and Jaskier refused to tell the medics that he was wounded because now that wouldn’t have looked good on Geralt’s CV, and —

Fucking hell.

“You did,” Geralt sighs, “you did, but you do realize that taking bullets for people is my job?”

“Yeah, well,” Jaskier says after he barely manages to not shrug again, “I didn’t really think about it. You looked in danger, I just — I had to, all right?”

Geralt finishes stitching his shoulder and cuts off the thread.

“You also do know that if your father finds out that you got hurt on my watch I’m fired, right?”

Jaskier rolls his eyes. Very openly. “You do know that I would tell him that you made sure I wasn’t hurt worse and that my father only hired you to save face and not because he gives a fuck about me? He hasn’t called once since this whole thing went down, and it’s been hours.”

That’s… true, Geralt has to concede.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “I — I wish I had advice. For that.” Real smooth, he tells himself, but then again he never met his father and his mother just left one day when he was seven and never came back and he doesn’t even know where she is right now, if she’s still alive, not that he even wants to know, so it’s not as if he’s some kind of authority on this matter. On one side, it would be easy to tell Jaskier that at least he has parents, but on the other… he doesn’t know how much better it is to have family who cares about you so much that when paying for your security they get the cheap option.

“It’s all right,” Jaskier smiles, not much but sincere, “I’ve lived with them all my life. I know how they are. And honestly, I’m quite glad that my father thought he’d get me the cheap personal security.” He winks, and Geralt wishes his chest wasn’t feeling like his heart was about to burst out of it just at the damned sight because there is no way he has feeling for the person he’s supposed to fucking guard and who is jumping in front of bullets for him when it’s really not how things work —

“You — you are?” He says, and fuck he hates how stilted that sounded and he wishes he wasn’t like this for the umpteenth time in his life, but —

“Sure,” Jaskier says, still a bit too pale but otherwise looking fine for someone who just, well, went through a shoot-out, blue eyes staring right up into his own, “as much as I can’t follow instructions, I wouldn’t jump in front of bullets for just anyone.” He winks again, fuck, what — “And I think that maybe I haven’t been as forthcoming as I could have been.”

“You haven’t been what,” Geralt replies, and then one of Jaskier’s hands is on his face and he’s leaned forward and his lips have pressed a lone, soft kiss against Geralt’s and he’s moved back before Geralt can even think about kissing him back, and when he moves back he’s half-smiling and half looking like he’s not so sure he should have done that.

“Forthcoming,” Jaskier replies, “though I thought an entire EP of songs written about you would have been enough, but I suppose they weren’t as obvious as I had figured —”

“Wait, the EP was about me?” He blurts. He had no fucking clue —

“Yeah, I realized that maybe you hadn’t grasped that. Then again I guess you’re not much for subtle hints, are you?”

“… Guess not,” Geralt says, and he knows his damned face is most likely flushing and fuck, he can’t even remember the last time he did that. “You know that if — if I kissed you back, it would be the most unprofessional thing I could do in this situation now, right?”

Jaskier shrugs, still not breaking eye contact. “And you do know that I can’t give a damn for sticking to the rules and that it won’t be me informing my father of this one development?”

… Geralt knows that. It’s obvious, by now. And fuck, he wants to —

He wants to —

“Just don’t take bullets for me anymore, how about it?” He asks, inching closer, his own hand grasping the back of Jaskier’s neck —

“Sorry,” Jaskier smiles back, “can’t guarantee that, but I’ll try just because you asked so nicely.”

So maybe it’s not professional that he leans further down and returns that kiss and moans into Jaskier’s mouth the moment he kisses back, his arms moving around Geralt’s neck at once and dragging him closer.

He thinks that for now he really can’t give a single damn about it.

[itsamejin]

leave me || suga angst

Part 2

Warning: Use of the word "bitch" once, cheating, toxic relationship, yoongi is bad, really angsty

Summary: He's cheating and you're aware. You just don't know what to do about it.

–

"[Y/N], something came up at the studio. I need to get back. Don't wait up for me."

It would've been nice, you thought, if he at least looked up from his phone's screen and had the decency to acknowledge your existence. He struggled to put his leather jacket on as he kept typing away with his right hand.

He didn't even try anymore.

You heard him grab the keys and you couldn't help but clench every single muscle in your body. It was infuriating how easy it was for him to ignore you. To ignore the dinner you made and the effort you put into cooking his favorite food.

With a lost appetite, you slammed down the spoon in your hand onto the dining table.

You heard the front door close and heaved out a large sigh. Yoongi knew you would wait for him anyways, so why bother even mentioning it?

Making your way to the kitchen sink, you wondered where it all went wrong. If it was more your fault or his. If there was even a good reason for him to treat you like a stranger.

After aggressively scrubbing the remnants of food away from your plate, you had made your way to the living room and settled down on the couch. It'd be your best friend until Yoongi came home from "work."

The channel surfing managed to distract you from the dark thoughts that frequented your mind, but only temporarily. Once they would surface, the negativity would start to flow. It would make you start to wallow in sadness, becoming a destructive force that you would later take out on Yoongi in another argument.

You wondered why you were even shocked. Yoongi had never been affectionate in the first place and he wasn't the most attentive. Maybe it's because he always made it up to you in the end. Whether it would be a fancy seaside dinner or a midnight picnic. He always confirmed his love when it felt like you needed it the most, but now it's all reserved for the other girl.

The "other girl" was a cheap nickname for a beautiful yet naive supermodel that probably didn't even know of your existence. Her name was Jieun, not that it mattered. She was just the other girl to you. She'd never be anything more or less than a person that Yoongi chose to prioritize over you.

Maybe he thought he was being smart when he changed her contact on his phone to "boss". Maybe he knew you overheard him saying "love you too" in that soft, pale voice while he was hanging out at the porch. Maybe there was no Jieun and you were just a paranoid girlfriend that couldn't stop the neverending doubts that surfaced for the past three months.

But you knew that wasn't the case, even if you wished that it was. You were smart and so was Yoongi. He sometimes made it obvious, probably so you could break up with him first. Make him look like the victim. You didn't want to give up that easily, but your patience was waning. It wasn't fair, not at all. Six years of putting up with his bullshit and it takes one beautiful woman to ruin all of it.

An hour into waiting, you found yourself in tears with the television blaring in the background and the photo albums of Yoongi and you scattered around the living room. It always came down to this on the lonelier nights.

One photo in particular always caught your eye. It was a pair of interlocking hands, one calloused yet beautiful and the other being yours. It was taken the day you exchanged promise rings. Yoongi never wore his anymore because of "a possibility of being caught" but it was all bullshit. Staring back and forth between the photo and the real accessory that adorned your index finger, you realized that there was a slight rusting. It reminded you of something familiar.

–

It would be another four hours of scrounging through the pages until you realized it was way past 2 AM and that Yoongi probably stayed over the other girl's home. You don't know why, but it hurt more that night than the other times you naively waited for him to come home.

–

Two days until you'd catch a glimpse of Yoongi again. He hadn't even acknowledged you when he walked into the shared apartment. He just set his leather jacket down and proceeded to take a shower in the guest bedroom's bathroom.

You didn't understand why he'd wanted to move in with you when the members' dorm was literally two floors above your own. That's one of the primary reasons you two never got caught. They all entered the building together, but Yoongi happened to live separately. It was a good idea in hindsight, but it felt like a burden having to see them and their disapproving gazes.

You were never particularly close to the members, in all honesty. You were pretty sure they disliked you. Probably afraid of the destruction you could do to Yoongi's career. The thought of that was odd, of course, considering you should be the one weary of them. You knew him longer and you knew he never wanted to be an idol. His dream was to be a producer- a soloist at most. Not some manufactured idol that was showcased by the very people he despised in society. In time, Yoongi changed and soon grew to accept his new image.

Maybe you should too.

–

It would be a week after Yoongi's last visit that reports would start to come out about Yoongi and Jieun's possible relationship.

It would take only a few hours for it to be confirmed by both sides. Maybe your heart should've felt more broken, but you were so beaten down by now that it didn't even matter.

You told yourself six years ago that he deserved someone that could keep him happy and you had to change if he no longer was.

But you know better now and that it wasn't you who needed to change to make the relationship work. It would be and should be up to him.

What you needed to do was leave him, never turn back and start a life where you didn't have to feel like an embarrassing secret. Where a man would love you with his whole being and never take you for granted. At one point, Yoongi was that person. But the Yoongi you love is not the Yoongi that currently exists.

–

It took all your strength to pack up the items you owned in the apartment. All of the couple items were thrown in a trash bag, including the promise ring he had hid in the back of his underwear drawer. Your ring was still perched around your index finger. Taking it off would only serve to hurt you more. You'd put it back in a box and seal it away when your love for Yoongi was permanently erased. For now it will remain stuck to you like a battle scar.

The plushies he gave you, the paintings you made of him, and the photo albums with six years worth of memories were all stuffed into the trash. With tears smeared on your shirt, you piled plastic bags over the items to hide what you've done. That there was nothing to see and you definitely hadn't thrown six years of your life away into a Hefty bag.

Your luggage was packed with a minimal amount of clothes and while it was your place to begin with, you found yourself leaving it all behind and in the posession of your cheating ex-boyfriend. The only remainder of him left on you besides the promise ring was a physical copy of an old, unproduced mixtape of his. One unreleased song was in it and it was the only thing from Suga that you knew was exactly dedicated for you. Because he rapped it to you over the phone before his very first performance. The lyrics of the song played in your head to torment your sanity even further.

Even if you leave me

Know that I'll still love you

Fate will have us find each other

And then you'll love me too

One last look at the living room and you were off. There was no reason to stay in a place you no longer felt welcomed in.

–

{8:32 AM}

Babe: [Y/N] Did you only do your laundry and not mine? My clothes are dirty as shit would it have killed for you to do an extra load?

{12:39 PM}

Babe: [Y/N] You've been gone for like a few hours now. You good? I didn't mean what I said about the laundry thing I take it back.

{5:32 PM}

Babe: for fucks sake. Where the hell are you???

{7:18 PM}

Babe: If this is about Jieun then I'd prefer you and I just talk about it rather than hiding like a fucking coward

{8:04 PM}

Babe: [Y/N] istg

{10:45 PM}

Babe: Stop ignoring me I know you're getting these messages

{11:01 PM}

Babe: [Y/N]

{11:02 PM}

Babe: [Y/N]

{12:23 AM}

Babe: If this is your way of breaking up with me then fine.

so fucking be it you bitch

–

AN: i deleted my hendery angst pt 2 accidentally so here's a suga angst i wrote so long ago and decided to polish up now. Look forward to more content soon~ (should this be a series?)

[thesecondcircleofkel]

A First Time for Everything

Young!All Might x Reader 

5.2K 

Request: "Anonymous asked: Hello Circlekel, May I request a Young! All Might x Female Reader NSFW scenario? I would like it take place when he was in America. He saves his new Girlfriend from her villian ex-boyfriend, (she wasn’t aware the ex was a villian and when she found out she dumped him which made him mad 😡 lol) and after All Might saves her he gets rewarded with nice romp between the sheets 😉 (Also if possible have it all take place in Detroit, because the “Detroit Smash” 😆)"

Warnings: NSFW, first time (for All Might), vaginal fingering, vaginal sex, too much lube

Notes: I couldn't quite work out the Detroit aspect of this, but everything else should be in there. And speaking of first times, this felt like my first time writing smut all over again for some reason, so...it might be a bit rough. 

Toshinori wasn't much of a believer in the idea of love at first sight, or at least he hadn't been, until that auspicious day when he moved into his new apartment in the States. Love had been the last thing on his mind at that point in his life, the loss of Nana still so fresh on his heart, the threat of All for One constantly looming in the back of his mind. He had every intent of completely ignoring his social life, of focusing only on training and his hero studies and not putting any thought into making new friends. He'd only put them in danger anyways, he figured, because even with All for One supposedly on the other side of the world, he didn't trust that the villain couldn't pop up at any moment, and even if he didn't, Toshinori was sure that it was only a matter of time before he made even more enemies thanks to his heroics.

Fate apparently had other ideas for him, though, ideas that slapped him in the face as soon as he brought his last of his belongings into his new home. You'd been leaving for work at that very moment, in too much of a rush to give him a proper greeting, but the million-watt smile that you threw at him almost brought him right to his knees. Even as you scurried down the hall away from him, he was frozen in place, mouth agape and no doubt looking like a fool or some love-struck teenager as his heart tried to claw its way out of his chest. The whole thing threw him for a loop; nothing like this had happened to him before. None of the meager crushes that he had had in his youth could even hold a candle to this. He didn't expect it to happen, and it also happened at the worst possible time, at least in his opinion.

But again, fate seemed intent on pushing him towards you. He tried to avoid you, hoping that the infatuation he felt for you, a woman whose name he didn't even know, would fade away quickly when given some distance from its source, but it didn't. It didn't, and he was left with a burning curiosity that he had no business feeling after having only seen you once, and even though his mind told him to stay away from you, his heart made him gravitate towards you. A friendly nod in passing, a 'good morning' or 'how are you today' here and there- each met with that same brilliant smile that got him into this mess in the first place.

It took him about three months, but he finally learned your name, and he felt like it was burned into his very soul once you said it. It felt strange on his tongue, a foreign sound that still somehow seemed to perfectly match the beautiful face that had haunted his mind for months. He had told you his name in return, and that led to an even longer conversation, one that he cherished no matter how simple it may have been, where you discovered that he was studying abroad as a hero. Your face lit up at that new information, fascination and something almost akin to pride in your eyes, only marred by a hint of worry as you wished him the best of luck and thanked him for all of his efforts towards keeping society safe. You probably only said it out of common courtesy, but that didn't stop his mind from running wild with thoughts of how kind and gracious you were.

He thought he'd been saved about a month later, when some casual conversation in the hallway gave light to the fact that you already had a boyfriend. An almost nauseating feeling of disappointment swept over him at that realization, but he knew that it was for the best. You'd be safer this way, with him only being an acquaintance, a neighbor that you had no deeper feelings for so there’d be no reason for anyone to target you. He never saw your boyfriend, but he knew that you wouldn't lie to him, so he yet again tried to snuff out his feelings.

It was harder than it should have been. He didn't have it in him to completely cut ties with you, the joy and sense of peace that being around you gave him addicting beyond all comprehension. That led to a strong friendship budding between the two of you, and you became a constant presence in his life, one that he was grateful for, and one that he doubted he deserved. He eventually met your boyfriend, and even though it was a short meeting in passing, and even though Toshinori was positive that he had gotten a hold on his feelings for you, something felt odd and strangely ominous about the man. Toshinori just attributed the feeling to jealousy; what else could it be? He'd only seen the man face-to-face for about ten seconds, and he was sure that he hadn't met him before, so there wasn't much else that it could have been. That was the only time that Toshinori met him, though, so it was easy to forget that foreboding feeling as time passed by.

He had known you for about a year and a half, his feelings for you still lingering like a bad habit the whole time, when he found out that he should have trusted his instincts. He would never forget the look of pain and fear in your tear-filled eyes as you ran past him into his apartment, your whole body shaking as you held onto him for dear life.

Villain.

The word had never hit him as hard as it did when you uttered it. The man you loved so dearly, the man you trusted with your life, was a villain, and his tastes lied well beyond petty crimes. He was a dangerous man, and thanks to your efforts, he was now a wanted man. Your horrifying discovery of what he had done had brought all of his crimes to light, a fact that your ex was fully aware of. You were scared, and Toshinori would be damned if he wasn't going to protect you with all of his might.

You stayed with him that night, sleeping in his bed while he respectfully stayed on the couch, awake for most of the night so he could keep watch for any sign of your ex. He'd be lying if he said that the thought of you in his bed didn't also keep him awake, but that was hardly important at the time.

You never really left after that. Sure, you went to work the next day (Toshinori escorted you, of course) and carried on with your life as you normally did, but you always went back to him at the end of the day. He tried his hardest not to suffocate you with his presence, wanting to give you some space so you could work through your grief, but that apparently wasn't an idea that you agreed with.

It was like the two of you were glued together at the hip when you were both at the apartment, your own apartment only a glorified storage room at this point, and while he certainly wouldn't complain about having you so close to him, he was still afraid that he was taking advantage of you in some way. You assured him that he wasn't, that you wanted to be around him because he made you feel safe, and Toshinori would never admit to how woozy that confession made him feel. It would be unseemly for a rising hero to swoon in front of the woman that he loved (and yes, he had finally accepted that that was how he felt and that those feelings wouldn't be going away any time soon), but he almost did that day.

At some point, you convinced him to share the bed with you, saying that it was beyond big enough for both of you (and it really was, because Toshinori had long since lost the luxury of skimping out and getting a cheap mattress thanks to his size) and that you were both adults perfectly capable of keeping your hands to yourselves. He felt like he died and went to heaven that first night, your scent surrounding and overwhelming him in the best of ways, and his gut did summersaults for hours after you scooted close enough to him to use his chest as a pillow. He may not have gotten much sleep that first night, but he was pretty damn chipper the next morning regardless.

Toshinori didn't make any arguments against sharing the bed after that, because it truly felt amazing to wake up with you in his arms. He may have only gotten a few hours of sleep, but he still felt like his whole body and soul had been rejuvenated in those few hours. You seemed to be happy with the arrangement, as well, so you both stuck with it.

It was only about a month later when you both finally agreed that it was silly to keep saying that you weren't dating. To his embarrassment, you had been aware of his feelings for a long time. He didn't think that he'd been so obvious about it, but apparently, he was more of a blundering mess around you than he thought. Your confession truly touched his heart, though, claiming that he had helped you to heal from your breakup and that he made you feel safer and more special than anyone else ever had. He was pretty sure that his smile had never been so big and bright before, because it honestly felt like his face was going to split in half at that moment, but he didn't try to hide it. He couldn't, not with how overjoyed he was. He never thought he'd be this happy again after the death of his mentor, never thought that he'd have the chance to be, but you had proven him wrong about that in the best way possible.

He felt like he was on cloud nine for the entire first month that you two were officially together, and if he was honest with himself, that feeling never really went away. He tried to tone things down a bit so he didn't seem so lovestruck, but, well, he had a hard time resisting sweeping you into his arms every time he saw you. He also had a hard time sleeping without you in his arms and having to let you go in the morning felt like subtle torture to him. The smile that you gave him whenever you both returned home for the day made it all worth it, though, and for that short little bit, Toshinori didn't have a care in the world.

Something was bound to happen eventually, though. Nothing could stay so perfect for so long, and in this case, your ex finally worked up the gall to try get some revenge against you.

It started off like any other weekday; you and Toshinori woke up at about the same time, got ready for the day, and then enjoyed a quick breakfast together. You had to leave a bit earlier than him on this particular day, so after a quick goodbye kiss, you set off for the day.

Toshinori had never been so grateful for his instincts before. Sure, he hadn't been in the hero business for very long, but Nana had trained him well, and when that was combined with his natural capacities, his instincts were finely honed even at a young age. As soon as the door shut behind you, it was like a switch went off in his brain, the sinking feeling in his gut so strong that he thought he was about to be sick. Every fiber of his being screamed for him to go after you, so without further thought, he let his instincts take hold of him and he rushed out of the apartment.

He made it down the street just in time to see a hooded figure dragging you into an alleyway. You barely had enough time to realize what was happening before the harsh grip that had suddenly overtaken you was being ripped away, and when you looked back, there was Toshinori, holding your ex up off the ground by the front of his hoody, his usual grin long gone as he glared at the man.

"Are you alright, Y/N?"

You only nodded in reply, probably far too confused and stunned to put anything into words at that moment. Toshinori hummed in response, his grip tightening on your ex's hoody as he fought the urge to throttle the man right then and there. He had to take a deep breath to calm himself, mainly because he didn't want to subject you to something that violent, but also because he was a hero, and heroes always did the right thing, no matter how personal things got.

"Head back home. I'll be back in a little bit."

Part of him wanted to hand the scumbag off to a nearby hero or officer so he could take you home himself, but he didn't want to take any chances on your ex escaping and coming back to try to harm you again later. So, after taking one last look at you to make sure that you really were okay, Toshinori left at a breakneck speed, making it to the local police station in what had to have been record time. He took no small amount of pleasure in seeing that bastard put in cuffs, but once he was sure that your ex was properly detained, he left the station, intent on making it back home to you so he could make sure that you were safe.

He was afraid that you would take this hard, especially given how scared you were when you first found out that your ex was a villain. He was ready to stay with you for as long as you needed, never letting you go until you finally felt safe again, but, well, you always did have an uncanny ability when it came to taking him off guard.

You were sitting on the couch when he walked into the apartment, no doubt waiting for him, but it didn't look like you had shed a single tear yet. If anything, you looked impatient, and that confused him more than anything, at least until you ran to him and pulled him down so you could slam your lips against his. He was only expecting a quick kiss, maybe one born out of relief at seeing him again before you sought out some comfort from him, but what you gave him was something so desperate and passionate that it felt like it burned him to his very core.

You had never kissed him like that before, always keeping things chaste for his sake since he didn't have much experience when it came to romance. Apparently this had been enough for you to throw that caution to the wind, though, because there was nothing innocent about the way that you grabbed at him, one hand kneading the muscles on his arm as the other wove its way into his hair. Toshinori wasn't one to deny you what you wanted, but he wasn't exactly prepared for this, taken off guard and struggling to keep up with you as his hands awkwardly settled around your waist.

Your eyes were alight with something that he'd never seen before as you pulled away from him, a spark of mischief running through them as you looked at his face, no doubt seeing the blush that he could feel burning across his cheeks. The smile that you gave him was one of genuine joy, though, and that helped to settle his racing heart.

"You're my hero, Toshi."

And that just sent it racing again, even faster than before. Those words would have been enough to turn him into a mess on their own, but the breathless way that you said them truly sealed his fate. You gave him one more peck on the lips before tugging on the edges of his jacket, coaxing him to follow you. He went without question.

You brought him to the bedroom, and the devious look that you gave him made all sorts of anticipation bubble in his chest, and he tried to gulp all of that down in order to say something, but you didn't give him the chance, pushing him until the back of his knees hit the bed. He was still so flustered that he couldn't put up any resistance to the motion (not that he would have wanted to anyways), and he fell back onto the bed, his hands immediately shooting up to cradle your hips as you crawled over him.

"My hero."

You barely whispered it this time, and the only reason that he even knew you said anything at all was because he'd been looking at your face right then. The movement of your lips caught his attention, but your eyes trapped him, so full of adoration and so many other emotions that he couldn't even begin to name. It was so soft compared to how heated things had been just moments ago, and the switch was starting to make his head spin in a way that could only be described as wonderful.

Those soft and innocent feelings didn't last long, though, because you pulled him into another searing kiss that put the final nail in the coffin of any complex thoughts that he might have had. He was all primal urges and nerve after that, his hands aching to feel more of you but too shy in their inexperience to actually reach for you. That wasn't a problem that you shared with him, your own hands rubbing along his chest and kneading the muscles that you found there until you finally made to pull him up a bit, just enough to where you could start pushing his jacket off of his shoulders. At least he knew what to do at that point, and he quickly rid himself of both his jacket and his shirt before leaning back against the bed again.

You took a moment to look at him, as if you were trying to memorize every curve and dip of his torso. He would have felt self-conscious if it hadn't been for the sheer desire in your gaze, and then your hands followed the trail that your eyes had scoped out. Your touch was gentle at first, your fingers barely even brushing against him, yet it was still enough to send shivers running through him. And then you pressed harder, kneading again, and without his shirt in the way, he could feel those motions in their entirety. He was embarrassed by the groan that he let out, but it seemed to spur you on, and your massaging moved further and further south until your fingers came to the waistband of his pants, and then you suddenly stopped moving altogether.

"Damn..."

Toshinori's eye shot open (hell, he wasn't even sure when they'd shut), only to see that your own eyes were locked on the bulge that was covered by his jeans. His face really did burn then, and he coughed to get your attention, having to turn his head away when you looked up because he couldn't bear to meet your eyes at that moment.

"Something wrong...?"

"Not at all, big guy."

That cheeky grin you sported did nothing to calm him down.

"I think we're going to need some lube, though."

"...bedside table."

...

"Toshinori, you sly dog."

It was like you wanted him to pass out from sheer embarrassment. You leaned over him so you could rummage through his bedside table, your grin only growing once you found the bottle hidden inside it. You set it on the bed beside you, leaving it there as your hands moved to grip the hem of your shirt. Toshinori's heart pounded as you slowly brought your shirt up over your head, each new inch of bare skin revealing another reason for him to get over his shyness, and when you threw your shirt to the corner of the room, his hands finally moved, trailing up your torso.

Your skin felt impossibly soft beneath his rough fingertips, and even though his mind screamed at him to slow down, one of his hands raised up to palm your breast, even though your bra was still in the way. If you thought that he was moving too fast, you didn't show it, and you even encouraged him by reaching behind you to unclasp your bra, flinging it off to who knows where before you brought both of his hands back up to cup your breasts, moving his fingers around until he got the picture and turned his attention towards your nipples.

At first, he only lightly brushed his thumbs against them, entranced at how they hardened under his touch, before he took one of the peaks between his thumb and forefinger and gave it a light tug. The gasp that you let out had him aching, his erection straining within the confines of his jeans, and it also made him feel just a bit braver. He leaned up enough to where he could place a trail of kisses along your sternum before veering off so he could lave his tongue against your free nipple, his fingers still teasing the other peak.

He briefly wondered if he was doing this right, but little pants were still leaving your mouth, and when he closed his lips around the hardened bud that his tongue had sought out, your hips sharply rolled against his. That was the only verification that he needed, and it also had him bucking up into you. He must have done it at just the right angle, because the sharp moan that you let out was one of the sweetest sounds that he had ever heard and he was already desperate to hear more like it.

"I need you to touch me, Toshi."

He truly felt his inexperience showing at that point, because he didn't have a clue what you were talking about it. Wasn't he already touching you? Did you need him to touch you somewhere else? It wasn't until you stood up and pulled your shorts and underwear off that it finally clicked, and you handed him the bottle of lube as you retook your place on his lap.

"I-I don't-"

"I'll talk you through it."

That made him feel a little better about it, but he was still nervous as he reached for the lube, his hands shaking as he uncapped it and poured some out, although ‘some’ was a bit of understatement since he nearly emptied the previously half-full bottle right then and there.

"That might be a bit much, but I guess you can never be too prepared, huh?"

Well, at least you got a laugh out of it.

"Should I just...?"

"Just go for it and I'll help you figure out from there."

He really had no clue what to do, but it seemed like a good idea to at least spread the lube around a bit. So with that, he lowered his hand to your mound, his fingers tracing your outer lips briefly before spreading them. Even though his fingers were already slick with lube, he could still feel the wetness that already covered you, and the thought that he had such an effect on you made his chest burn with an odd mixture of anticipation, desire, and fondness. It also made him a bit more confident in what he was doing, and he moved his forefinger forward so he could trace it around your opening. He felt your hands moving up to the back of his neck, working their way into his scalp and massaging in a way that was both comforting and encouraging.

"You're doing great, Toshi. Go ahead and put one inside of me."

At any other pint, he would have turned into a stuttering mess because of how lewd that statement was, but at that moment, when he wanted nothing more than to please you, he instead eagerly complied with it. He wasn't oblivious to how big he was in any aspect, so he took his time, making sure that the lube and your own fluids were adequately spread as he slowly drew his finger back and forth into you, working into you little by little and giving you ample time to adjust in case you needed it. The grip that you had on his hair tightened, and he was afraid that he had hurt you for a moment, at least until you started to rock your hips against his hand and a breathless sound fell from your lips.

"Fuck, Toshi, just crook your little finger a little bit and touch my clit."

He immediately followed your demand, his finger bending to where it pressed against your frontal wall and his thumb moving to massage against your clit, just like you had asked. You were apparently content to take care of everything else. You rocked your hips at an angle that had you moaning in seconds, and Toshinori could have died a happy man at that moment with the way his name sounded as you gasped it right then, the sound going straight to his cock. In the hopes of helping you along, Toshinori leaned forward until his lips met your breast again, and as he took your nipple into his mouth, your gasps morphed into moans of pure bliss.

"I need more, Toshi, please!"

He immediately knew what you were talking about this time, and he gently eased his middle finger into you, working it in right next to his other finger. There a bit of resistance this time, but you slowed your pace to accommodate for that, allowing yourself time to adjust before your hips started their frantic pace again. One of your hands had moved down between his shoulder blades, and he could feel the marks forming there as your nails dug into his skin, although it was hardly an unpleasant feeling. And even if it had been, it would have been easy to ignore, especially when your walls started to quiver around his fingers and your hips jerked hard against him, your head falling against his shoulder as you cried out. The sound that you let out was something that Toshinori would remember for the rest of his life, right along with the glazed over, blissed-out look in your eyes that he saw when you finally pulled back to look at him.

"Are you...ready, Toshi?"

Even if he hadn't been right that second, the breathlessness in your voice certainly would have been enough to get him there.

“God yes."

You leaned back and reached down to unfasten his pants, pushing them and his underwear down far enough so he could kick them the rest of the way off along with his shoes. Toshinori couldn't help the choked groan that he let out when you wrapped your hand around his length, pumping it a few times before you settled your hips over his and then ran the head of his length through your folds. You were already making him feel more amazing than he ever had before, and he wasn't even inside of you yet. It was truly mind-boggling, at least while his mind was still working, that is, and that wasn't for very long at all, because before he knew it, the tip of his cock was being engulfed by your wet heat, and the feeling of it was indescribable. His hands twisted into the sheets underneath him as you pulled off of him a little bit, only to sink back down, working a bit more of his cock into you.

It was a bit of a slow process, one that had Toshinori panting and tensing underneath you, struggling to keep from bucking into you, and you had to pause at few points to get used to the stretch of him, but when your hips were finally flush against his, the pleasure that you both felt was beyond worth all of the effort. Your entire body was already shaking from exertion, but before he could even question whether you were alright or not, you slowly lifted your hips until you were almost completely off of him, before you quickly sank back down. The action caused you to throw your head back and moan loudly, so Toshinori could only guess that you felt just as good as he did right then, and he let out his own groan as his hands finally settled on your hips.

"Fuck, you feel so good Toshi. I've never-Fuck! It's never felt this good before!"

He wished that he could have told you how amazing you felt, how soft and warm you were around him, how you squeezed him so perfectly, but he could hardly form a comprehensive thought at that point, much less put anything into words. You were riding him with vigor by that point, and when you started to shake from the effort that your pace took, Toshinori easily supported and helped guide your hips against him.

"You're so damn big, Toshi, I can feel so much of you! I just- Fuck! I love you!"

Toshinori was torn. Part of him wanted to put a pause on things so he could make sure that he heard you right, but another part of him was more interested in what you were doing, because what you were doing was the most gorgeous thing that he had ever seen. He doubted that you even realized what you said, because you looked like you were completely lost in ecstasy, your eyes clenched shut as a tear rolled from one of them, your nails digging into his chest as you held onto him to try to anchor yourself to reality. Your hips slammed against his as your whole body tensed, and you practically screamed his name as your walls clenched him in a vice grip that had him gasping for breath.

When you finally slumped down against him, Toshinori ran one of his hands up your back, trying to soothe you as you came down from your euphoric high. When you finally had enough composure to look at him, a shy grin had taken over your face, your eyes still hazy from the remnants of ecstasy but also holding an uncertainty in them that let Toshinori know you were perfectly aware of what you said, and the thought that you actually meant those words had his heart swelling.

He gently rolled you over until you were lying under him, and a brief look of surprise crossed your face when you realized that he hadn't come yet. He didn't let you think about it for too long, leaning down to give you a searing kiss before he slowly started to grind his hips into you again. He'd wait until later to tell you that he felt the same way, because for now, he was content to show you how he felt about you instead.

[yesloverboy]

Never Let You Go (mgk! Tommy Lee x Reader)

Requested: Anon

“I have 2 requests but they are completely up to your interpretation anyways, so for one like tommy taking care of his drunk girlfriend or friend or whatever you want and then another request would be tommy (lol love my tommy) where like the reader and tommy are friends and they’re at a bar and readers ex is there and shit goes down. Hopefully those make sense, do what you want!”

Note: Listen, I know it’s been a hot minute but my love for Tommy and Crüe will never die so thanks for being patient! Love y’all bunches and I will be posting about my updated writing schedule shortly. 

word count: 2,712

[Warnings: blood, violence, cheating, toxic relationships, swearing, and alcohol mention.]

permanent tags: @colsonbakersnoseringmain, @lululovesgwtw, @kingbouji3

mötley tags: @lauravic 

tommy tags: @chlobo6

 After your breakup, you were almost certain that not even all the alcohol in the world could drown your problems. Heartache left an unfillable void in your chest that wanted to suck every last bit of your happiness deep down inside, never to be seen again. Luckily, your best friend, Tommy, was determined to spend the entire weekend proving you wrong. According to Tommy, alcohol can drown any problem if you’re with the right people– and he just so happens to be your favorite person in the entire world.

 If someone were to ask you weeks– maybe even days –ago, you would’ve claimed that your boyfriend Kyle, of three and a half years, held the position of favorite in your heart. That is, until you found him grunting and thrusting into a woman that most definitely wasn’t you. Hell, she wasn’t even a woman you knew. As it turned out, your beloved boyfriend had been fucking other women on and off since they day you’d met.

 Teary-eyed and utterly brokenhearted, you went to the only person you knew who could hold you together at a time like this– Tommy. In his usual fashion, Tommy had greeted your desperate raps on his door with a goofy grin and open arms. However, once his blue eyes met your red-rimmed ones, his chipper mood quickly dissolved into concern.

 “Hey button, what’s the matter?” Tommy asked, using his long arms to envelop you in a tight bear hug. Button had been his nickname for you ever since grade school. Tommy had always been bad with names, and the rainbow buttons of your first-day-of-school overalls sealed your place in Tommy’s memory from that day forward.

 You had prepared what you were going to tell Tommy on the cab ride over but, the moment he uttered your nickname, everything fell to pieces. Big, fat tears welled up in your eyes, dripping onto Tommy’s shirt like heavy rain. To your relief, he didn’t press any more questions your way. Instead, he shushed you softly and tucked you through the doorway with a protective arm.

 It wasn’t long before Tommy had you curled on the couch, wrapped tightly in a quilted blanket with your head resting comfortably in his lap. He gave you time to cry out the rest of your frustration as he ran his long fingers through the snags in your hair. Tommy didn’t say much, even if seeing you in crisis mode devastated him to the core. You were always the strong one of the two of you, and he wasn’t entirely sure how to keep it together while you crumbled at his feet.

 After a while, your sobs eventually devolved into pitiful sniffles, allowing you to catch your breath enough to finally speak. When you finally mustered up the courage to tell Tommy what your boyfriend– well, ex-boyfriend – had done to you, his blood began to boil incessantly beneath his skin. Tommy wanted Kyle dead. Hell, deader than dead. If you hadn’t just been sobbing in his arms for the past hour, he’d already be on the phone with Nikki to plot your ex’s demise.

 Tommy physically couldn’t comprehend how a slimeball like Kyle could possibly have it in him to cheat on a girl like you for so long. You were patient, kind, and positively beautiful in Tommy’s eyes. For most people, a guy like Tommy is a lot to handle, but you never asked him to shrink himself in the presence of other people. You loved Tommy’s ‘too-much-ness’, as you affectionately called it, and wanted nothing more than to bottle it up and save some for the rainy days. Unfortunately, this day had been the rainiest of them all.

 Although he would never admit it, you were Tommy’s dream girl, and he would do whatever it took to make you feel like your old self again. Even if it were only for a few, fleeting moments in between bloodshot eyes and broken cries.

...

 It’s that same desire to make you happy that has Tommy dragging you to some sleazy new wave club halfway across town. You and Tommy are renowned metalheads in the L.A. music scene, but you can’t deny the way that the heavy synth and pounding bass lifts your spirits from the inside. As much as you despise its trendy nature, the appeal of cheap pop music isn’t entirely lost on you, and going to the last place anyone would expect to see you is exactly what you need right now.

 The club is packed full of patrons, each demonstrating new and interesting ways to incorporate nylon and neoprene into their glowing ensembles. You and Tommy undoubtedly stick out like sore thumbs, but you can’t help the grin that spreads across your face as he takes your hands and swings you across the dancefloor. You Spin Me Round blares through the sound system, causing the light-up floor to vibrate obnoxiously beneath your feet.

 Tommy picks you up and begins spinning you around in his arms at a dizzying pace, causing you to erupt into a fit of cringes and laughter. The two of you haven’t even made it to the bar yet and you’re already giggling and shoving each other like a pair of carefree idiots. Tommy’s childlike sense of fun and comforting grasp bandaids the gaping hole in your chest for a moment, but the fear of your all-encompassing sadness leaking out again makes you shiver beneath the strobing lights.

 As if he can read your mind, Tommy’s roughhousing ceases so he can stop and look at you. His dark blue eyes scan yours for any sign of an imminent breakdown on the horizon, but you quickly plaster on a brave face. You have no reason to hide the wave of sadness passing through you, but figure there’s no time like the present to practice looking fine in front of those you love.

 Before Tommy can ask if you’re okay, you bounce on your tiptoes and grasp at his shoulder for leverage. “I’m going to get us some drinks, okay?” you project your weak voice into Tommy’s ear, practically yelling over the pulsating music.

 Tommy seems to get the idea and offers you a weak smile as you turn towards the bar. Stay here, you mouth and Tommy shoots a reassuring thumbs up in your direction. With a shaky breath, you maneuver your way through the energetic crowd, doing your best to scout out the farthest available bartender. Initially, the crowd and the noise did a great job of clouding your memory, but now you needed a little extra help from some good, old fashioned hard liquor.

 You belly up to the bar, relieved that the music is just quiet enough in this corner of the club that you don’t have to strain your voice as much. Giving the bartender your best fake smile, you order yourself a double vodka soda and a Jack and Coke for Tommy. It feels like it’s going to be a long night, and you could use all the help you can get to even dream of keeping up with Tommy’s excessive drinking.

 Just as you’re about to grab the glasses and search for your lanky companion, you sense an all too familiar presence at your side.

“Y/N? Baby, is that you?”

 You suck in a breath, the sickly sweet tone of Kyle’s voice driving an icy stake into your palpitating heart. No, no, no, no, you flounder, this can’t be happening. You turn around, mouth running dry as soon as your eyes meet the confident gaze of your ex-lover. It was a look you had seen a hundred times before, and yet the familiarity of it all is exactly what’s bringing you to your knees.

 Kyle takes a step forward and you immediately find yourself taking an instinctive step back, the base of your spin quickly bumping harshly into the bar’s edge. Kyle rests a casual hand on the bar next to your hip, not exactly pinning you to the spot, but making it more than apparent that he doesn’t want you to leave just yet.

 “Thought that was you, sweetheart, I’d recognize that tight ass anywhere,” Kyle purs, looking down on you with a predatory gleam in his eyes, “Miss me yet?”

 The ice in yours and Tommy’s drinks rattles in its glasses, giving away the tremor in your nervous hands. You want to yell, scream, cry– anything, but you find yourself frozen to the spot. The memory of Kyle on top of that mystery woman in your shared bed replays in your head like a threat, reminding you that he never really loved you at all. Feeling small and pathetic in front of the man that abused your trust for so long, you silently pray that the floor might swallow you up.

 You grit your teeth as hot tears blur your vision, but do not speak. A sob starts to build in your throat and, before you’re able to release it, a flash of movement catches your eye. Looking past Kyle, you’re relieved to find Tommy storming over to the scene with bared teeth and clenched fists.

 “Hey asshole!” Tommy growls, jerking Kyle’s shoulder back in an effort to yank him away from your trembling form. The look of overwhelming fear and anxiety in your eyes fans the fire in Tommy’s chest, and it takes all of his strength not to drag your ex to the floor right then and there. In all your years of knowing Tommy, you never imagined he could ever look this furious and you find yourself getting scared.

 You aren’t scared of Tommy, no, you could never be– you were scared for Kyle.  

 Kyle just laughs and brushes at his lapels for show, raising his hands in mock surrender, “Easy there, man. I was just about to ask my girl if she wanted a ride home, is all. Isn’t that right, hon?”

 The cockiness in Kyle’s voice turns your stomach as he looks back at you expectantly, silently willing you to comply. Your eyes dart between him and Tommy, and you can already picture how the next couple of minutes are going to unfold.

 Tommy steps directly into your ex’s personal space, the visible height difference making Kyle shift his jaw nervously. To anyone passing by, Kyle probably appeared to be in total control, but you knew him well enough to recognize the look on his face. He’s in deep shit, and he knows it.

 “Funny you call her that, Kyle,” Tommy spits, his voice dripping with venom as he presses an accusatory finger into Kyle’s chest. “Make no mistake, I heard you had a girl– actually, a long list of girls. But Y/N? Yeah, she ain’t one of them. Never was.”

 Kyle laughs nervously, puffing out his chest in a weak attempt to seem taller. “Is that right? Then what is she, then? Your girl?”

 “And what if she is? What the fuck are you going to do about it?”

 Tommy’s face is only a few inches away from Kyle’s, the tension in the air so palpable that even the bartender across the way seems to be frozen it. The bass from the dancefloor thumps ominously in the distance, its hollow thud matching the heaviness of your heartbeat.

 To your surprise, Kyle is the first to relent. Casting you a bitter glance, he shoves Tommy’s chest away from his and begins backing slowing out of the room. His eyes never leave Tommy’s, watching him with the same caution as a zookeeper getting ready to feed a hungry lion. You breathe a sigh of relief, but it comes far too soon.

 “Fine, have her,” Kyle hisses, “she’s a lousy lay, anyways.”

 The moment the insult left your ex’s lips, his fate was sealed. Tommy’s restraint melts away as he lunges forward, his fist swiftly connecting against Kyle’s nose with a sickening crack. Blood spurts out from Kyle’s face and onto the glowing floor like a broken spigot, instantly causing your stomach to flip queasily. Even in the low lighting you can see splotches of ruby red seeping into the fabric of his stark white shirt.  

 Kyle stumbles backward, falling disoriented to the floor. He cries out in agony but Tommy continues to stalk forward, relentlessly hunting him into a corner like some kind of feral animal. You know it can only get uglier from here and, as much as you’ve enjoyed seeing Kyle eat his words, you really don’t want to add bailing Tommy out of jail to your to-do list.

 Before Tommy can cock back his fist for another hit, you catch his arm. The glasses you were previously grasping in your hands clatter noisily to the floor, the watered down alcohol and soda pooling lazily at your feet.

 “Tommy, that’s enough,” you warn, but the words are cushioned by tenderness you feel for him. All ever Tommy wanted to do was shelter you from all the bad things in the world, and you’d be lying if you couldn’t admit that he did it well.

 With an angry sigh, Tommy begrudgingly allows you to pull him to your side. Snaking his arm protectively around your shoulders, he frowns slightly as you shiver beneath his touch. It pains him to see you this way, shaking with anxiousness in the presence of a man you used to give all your love to– a love that he didn’t even deserve. Without thinking Tommy presses a gentle kiss to the top of your head, the touch so faint you almost miss it.

 “I’ve got you, button,” Tommy whispers, his voice barely audible over the music. Your heart somersaults in your chest as you gaze up at Tommy, your watery eyes connecting with his soft blues. Even panting and red-faced from his encounter with your ex, he still has the same happy face that drew you to him all those years ago.

 Without a second thought, you lace your fingers with Tommy’s, holding his arm in place as it rests on your frame. “Let’s go home,” you sniffle, nuzzling his bruised knuckles with the side of your tear-stained cheek.

 You lead Tommy out of the club, leaving Kyle moaning pathetically in a pool of his own blood. Not even a bartender or a bouncer cared to bat an eye at his pitiful display, and you can’t help but wonder if he would look the same after suffering a broken nose. Kyle may have left a permanent stain on your heart, but Tommy made sure he wouldn’t be able to so much as look in the mirror without remembering what he had done to you.

 The summer air is balmy outside the club as you and Tommy await the next available cab. You stand in comfortable silence, your form still pressed firmly against his side as he puffs on a cigarette absentmindedly. Tommy’s free hand curls around the ends of your hair, the small, intimate gesture causing you to blush.

 “So,” you say finally, breaking the silence, “your girl, huh?”

 Tommy’s eyes widen, his blue irises swimming in orbs of white. “Oh, uh, that? That was nothing– just, uh, don’t worry about it–” he stammers, his face flushing pink with embarrassment.

 With a grin, you rise to your tiptoes and place a gentle kiss on Tommy’s cheek, stunning him into silence. “Someday,” you whisper, “Maybe not today, but someday soon.”

 Your words tumble through the night air like a promise, intertwining with Tommy’s ever visible heartstrings and grasping tightly. Tommy always fell for girls hard and fast, but with you it was different. His love for you only grew with each passing moment, embedding itself in every look and every action until it all culminated into a single punch. You were what he had always been looking for, and he was exactly what you had been missing all along.

 Tommy holds you tight for the rest of the evening, playing with your fingers on the cab ride home to eventually tangling his legs with yours as the two of you collapse in a heap on his couch. No matter what happens, no matter how long it takes– Tommy would be yours forever, and forever isn’t nearly long enough.

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