#also I have no clue why y’all are following me now

[romanticize-until-you-drop]

2023-09-25

Of:

early mornings — late nights

hastily ordered coffee — gently steeped tea

fearing to wake up — dreading to fall sleep

[just-a-fluffy-knight]

Little Sass Factory

Word Count: 1.8K

Warnings: canon typical language, Logan being ruthless and Wade being a teasy asshole

A/N: LETS GOOO DEADPOOL AND WOLVIE FIC‼️‼️ I’ve been wanting to write for these guys ever since I saw the movie y’all have no idea I am so obsessed with them right now 😞 AND A PLUS BEING THIS DOESNT NECESSARILY SPOIL THE MOVIE SOOOO YALL CAN READ IT 🙌🏻🙌🏻

I really hope y’all like this bc I cannot stop thinking about them and yapping about them to my buddies 😭🙏🏻 Like as much as I’d love to wreck these two, I cannot stop thinking about them as a ler duo so have this :]

OKAY HAVE FUN READING YALL 🫂❤️

Tag List: @prairleedog (THANKS FOR THE TITLE INSPO POOKALOOKS 🙏🏻❤️) @kittenwhiskers @cherry-bomb-blush

“Y’know what? I’m actually real excited for this! Moony has been wanting to write a thing with us for a while now! Good on her for pushing through the writers block, that shit sucks ass.”

“…What the hell are you talking about?! We’re looking for the kid, remember!?”

And that they were. They’d been scouring the apartment for like… six minutes now trying to find you. But somehow, you’d been able to consistently switch hiding spots without them noticing.

How? They had no clue. The pair wouldn’t have been surprised discovering you were also some kind of mutant but with advanced sneakiness, if that was even a thing.

Wade was actually having a bit of fun with this, whereas Logan… he was getting pretty pissed. More so than usual.

“Kid, I swear to god, if you don’t show yourself in ten goddamn seconds, I WILL start tearing this fucking place down!”

Logan crouched, his claws instantly coming out, making Wade panic.

“Woaaah, woah, woah, woah! Easy, Peanut, we’re trying to find ‘em! Not kill them, which may sound a little rich coming from me-“

“I’m pretty sure I’m allowed to be angry. The kid decided to pull that shit on us and then split. And now we can’t find ‘em.” The older man growled, his claws retracting back into his hands.

“And this is the moment we start working together!” Wade announced, an arm slung around Logan’s shoulder that most likely would’ve been sliced if he hadn’t allowed the latter to shrug it off in annoyance.

However, Logan swiftly turned at the sound of a noise nearby, his eyebrow raising as he went to check it out, leaving Wade to keep rambling about nonsense he didn’t understand.

“God, where’s Peter Parker when you need him?? Actually, I don’t think I’d mind a lil bit of Miguel O’hara…” Wade let out a long whistle.

“…Ah wait, he doesn’t have that Spidey-Tingle , fUCK-!”

The merc suddenly yelped as he was grabbed by his collar, being yanked towards where Logan was moving.

Meanwhile, you were curled up, both hands over your mouth as you tried to shut yourself up, anxious titters threatening to give yourself away.

You mentally berated that stupid floorboard that just had to creak at the slightest bit of goddamn pressure.

“Ohhh, Y/NNNNN! Come on out now, we’re not gonna hurt ya!”

The sound of the merc’s goofy teasing made you snicker even more, but when you heard how close Logan’s voice was to the closet, you froze.

“Why the hell do you have to talk like that?”

“Whaaat? It turns up the fun knob a little bit! And I know they can hear meeeee!” Wade crooned in that same sing-song tone, followed by an unamused huff from Logan.

“We’re gonna getcha, we’re gonna getchaaaa!”

God, could they just get out the room?? You had to throw them off again and fast. During your panicked inner monologue, you were soon met with… silence.

You relaxed, knowing you must’ve had an opportunity.

…At least you did until you realised something. When the hell is it ever quiet when those two are together?

Then, you heard a hushed voice coming from outside the closet door.

“Ladies and gents, this is the moment you’ve waited for…”

…Oh, fuck.

Without warning, the closet doors were swung open by Wade, and the merc jokingly vocalised (very off-key too) while throwing his arms up with a flourish.

“WOOOAAAAAH!”

As you yelped in fear and dashed out the closet, Wade laughed and made a glance towards… well, air.

“If ya know, ya know!”

You quickly slipped past Wade, also laughing as you ran out the door to the room you’d been hiding in.

“Yohou’ll never take me al- ACK-!”

You yelped again as two strong arms wrapped around your torso, hoisting you up and off the floor.

…Shit.

“And just where do you think you’re goin, bub?”

“Wait, wahahait! Logan, hohold on-“

“No no no no no, I’m not waiting for anything.” Logan interrupted, carrying you back into the bedroom. “Not after you pulled that shit.”

“Oh, whahat? A little bit of water?”

“I wouldn’t say the rubber band on the sink trick counts as a little bit of water, Y/N.” Wade snickered, crossing his arms and smiling proudly at the fact you’d been caught.

“Come ohon, it wasn’t that bahAD-!” You yelped again as you were tossed onto the bed, still giggling. “Whahat’s the matter? Couldn’t shake the water off, kitty cat?”

The older hero scowled threateningly at you, ignoring Wade who sniggered at the joking insult.

“What?”

“You heheard me!”

Just as Logan was about to full on lunge towards you, Wade grabbed him.

“Hey, hey! Easy now, boy.” The merc spoke like he was talking to a feral dog, making Logan glare at him and growl.

“God, what now?”

“We gotta approach slowly! It builds up anticipation…” As Wade spoke, he began slowly approaching, carefully clambering onto the bed. “And proves to this little prankster how royally fucked they are!”

And it was working. Your giggles soon turned nervous, and you curled up, attempting to shy away from Wade (but not actually putting a lot of effort into getting away, much to Logan’s surprise and Wade’s amusement).

“And theeeen I’m juuust gonnaaaaaa…”

Suddenly, the merc’s arms swiftly looped under your own, lifting and leaving your, well, everything pretty much exposed and unable to be protected.

“Go on, boy! Gettem! Gettem, boy!”

Logan’s fury was way too fuelled by Wade’s stupid comments to even allow you to get a word in edgeways, instantly lunging forwards before digging and vibrating his claw-shaped hands right into your ribs.

“OhoH SHIHIHIT-! L-Logan, gehet OHOHOFF-!” A squeal left your mouth as you burst into frantic giggles and tried to kick, only for the older man to firmly shove right back at your legs, rendering you unable to fight back.

“God, will you just- quit the kicking?” Logan growled, a surprising air of playfulness behind it as he shot his hands right down to your thighs, firmly kneading there.

Despite already squealing your ass off, you couldn’t help but make a quip.

“Mahahaking biscuits reheally isn’t gonna hehehelp you beat the kitty allegahations, buhud-!”

Another low grumble filled the room, before Logan turned his head to Wade.

“Shut the kid up.”

“Roger that!”

Wade did a dumb salute before unhooking his arms from under yours to wiggle his fingers right into your armpits.

“Getchagetchagetcha!”

“AAAAHHHHHAHA DAMMIHIHIT-!” You practically shrieked, your giggles instantly shifting into full blown laughter as you pinned your elbows to your ribs, trying to squirm away but failing thanks to that iron grip Logan had on your legs.

“Ooh! I think I got a killer spot here, Logan!”

“Hmph, that’s nothin. Watch this.”

Logan earned another screech by mercilessly drilling his thumbs into your hips, making you buck instinctively and cackle uncontrollably.

“Nuh-uh! Armpits are the killer!” Wade protested, the merc speeding up his tickles on your underarms.

“Fat chance! They’re like a banshee when you get ‘em here!”

You wanted to protest, but all you could focus on were those hands attacking your weak spots.

Eventually, you felt them thankfully let up.

…For now, anyway.

“Now, Y/N. There is a way we can squash this beef, y’know.”

Logan sighed at Wade’s words, never understanding this ridiculous slang he dropped into conversation like it was nothing.

“Maybe a simple phrase such as… ‘I’m sorry?’”

“I can do one better.” Logan interrupted. “How about ‘I’m sorry I was a jabbering little sass factory who had the audacity to pull a dumb fuckin prank on people who didn’t do jack?’”

While catching your breath, you sealed what was basically your death wish.

“Oh, yeheah, Captain Caveman? Wheheres your helicopter cluhub, you gonna hit mehe with it?”

Logan fell silent again… while Wade couldn’t help but let out a wheeze at the quip.

“Ohoh, my god! Baby’s first character comparison joke, I’ve taught you so well..!” Wade sniffed dramatically, wiping a fake tear of proudness from the corner of his eye.

However, he froze once he heard you mutter something else.

“Thahat’s right, Mr Clehean-“

A strong gasp of offence left the merc as he placed a hand on his chest, while Logan gave him a smug look at not being the only one who was insulted.

“I beg your finest fucking pardon?! You think that’s any way to talk to Marvel Jesus and his very hairy disciple here!?”

Logan gave Wade another unamused glare.

“Y’know what?”

Wade then swiftly grabbed you again.

“Give ‘em the whiskers, Peanut!”

“They’re not whiskers, they’re muttonchops, you dumb fuck.”

“Same thing! Or shall I pull the move and do a much better job as always?”

The older man snarled, lowering his head down.

“I’ll show you who does it better, asshole…”

“Okay, wait, wahait-! W-What mohove is thiHIHIS-?!”

You cut yourself off with yet another shriek as Logan suddenly blew a giant raspberry right against your stomach, the added sensations that his facial hair provided making you near silent laughter.

It was clear that Logan was basically taking out all his pent up annoyance at Wade on you, and good god it tickled super bad.

And Wade? He was being no help either, as usual.

“Awww, wook at the giggwy wittle baby! Are the Badger Berries making their tummy all tickly? And are they having the time of their life? Yes, they are! Yes, they aaare!”

…Asshole. (Even if he was right.)

You did pride yourself on lasting about five raspberries (Wade could only ever really handle two), but you eventually had to tap your hand against one of Wade’s arms that were still hooked under yours.

“Okahay, Logan. Give em a rest.”

Despite his annoyed hesitance, Logan leant back up, allowing you to get your breath back in shaky pants.

“Geheez… you twoho are juhuhust..!”

“We’re waiting, kid.”

The older man interrupted, giving you a playful but threatening look.

“Fihine… I-I’m sohorry..!” You sighed, your face red as anything as you blinked away little tears that had pricked in the corners of your eyes.

“There we go! That wasn’t so hard now, was it?” Wade teased, resting his chin on your shoulder, in which you just rolled your eyes.

“Anyway, we better get ready for round two, huh?”

…Uh oh.

“WHAT?! B-Buhut I apologised!”

Wade did a pretend ‘apologetic asshole’ wince.

“Yeah… but this attack was more only to get you to apologise. This one is to actually teach you a lesson!”

“But thahat’s bullshit-!”

“Well, it’s a good thing we don’t give a fuck.”

Logan shared a look of pure mischief with Wade.

“Let’s gettem.”

And just like that, you were screaming and laughing the apartment down once more, as Logan nuzzled his furry face right into your belly again, pretending to eat it and growling playfully while Wade wrapped his arms around you and blew a raspberry right into the crook of your neck.

Yeah… you were gonna be here for a while.

[grimoireofhayley]

Of Friends and Horror

Stu Macher x Fem!Reader x Billy Loomis

WARNINGS: Graphic content, eventual Smut (MINORS DNI), Language, Talks of SA (rape), Cheating, Obsessiveness, Gore, 18+ content, Stalking, Jealousy, Angst, Possessiveness, (let me know if there’s more that needs to be added!)

Word Count: 1.02k

Tag List: @ev3ningrain @nerdytif @m-the-little-witch

A/N: Ah, I hope y’all feel lucky. Two chapters in one day! I hope you enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope I captured Randy, Billy, and Stu’s personality correctly. Thank you so much for reading! I’m hoping I’d get an update out tomorrow, but if not, it should be up later on this week at some point so keep an eye open. I also wrote this on my iPad, so I apologize if there’s any grammatical errors. I’ll proofread again tomorrow and put out an updated version. Oh, again, if you wanna be added to the tag list, just comment down below. Thank you :)

All chapter links! 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

OF&H Masterlist

Chapter 3

“Remember, your principal loves you, and I want you to be safe. All students are encouraged to return to their homes promptly from school grounds…” The principal spoke over the PA, “Avoid strangers, walk in twos and threes—“

You pinched the bridge of your nose, visibly stressed from all the questioning. You haven’t a clue why you were so upset about everything, you weren’t the killer, but for some reason it felt like you were. Maybe you should’ve lied? Twisted the story a bit so you didn’t reveal you were a mistress at some point in your life.

“I am a slut..” You mumbled, dragging your fingers down your face, causing your eyes to droop. “Now Brooke is definitely going to find out, how am I to confront her on that?” You asked no one in particular.

You stared at the vibrant blue sky, squinting when the sun flashed your eyes. “Have mercy on me, please?” You begged the man upstairs, not expecting an answer in return.

“What kind of questions did they ask you, Sid?” You heard Tatum’s voice in the distance.

You blew a raspberry, putting your brave face on and sauntered over to your friend group at the fountain.

“They asked if I knew Casey…” Sidney’s voice soon followed.

“Hi, guys!” You chirped, sitting in front of Stu, Billy, Tatum and Sidney, unintentionally stopping their conversation.

“Hello, Sweetcheeks!” Stu blurted, eyes glazing over you, a small smirk planted on his lips. “What took you so long?” He groaned, “It’s always so boring when you aren’t here!” He frowned, tossing his head back.

“Gee, thanks Stu..” Tatum snipped, causing you to giggle.

You looked over to Billy, seeing Sidney leaning against his legs, your face contorting in disgust as jealousy was creeping up on you. You mentally slapped yourself, looking away and back at Stu.

“Uh, they had me stay longer for questioning…” You admitted, leaning back against your bag, stretching out your legs.

“Huh? Why?” Billy asked, curiously.

“Yeah, why’s that?” Sidney mumbled.

You swallowed the lump that formed in your throat.

“Just reasons, I guess.”

“Speaking of questioning, did they ask if you like to hunt?” Stu looked at Billy and Randy who seemed to have shown up out of nowhere.

“Yeah, they did. Did they ask you?” Billy answered and probed, Randy nodded in agreement.

“Hunt? Why would they ask you if you liked to hunt?” Tatum voiced.

“Because their bodies were gutted.” Randy spoke up, shoving a peanut in his mouth.

“They didn’t ask me if I liked to hunt…” both Sidney and Tatum declared.

Stu looked around, but his eyes always seemed to land on you, which caused you to blush, and chew on your fingernail.

“‘Cause there’s no way a girl could’ve killed ‘em..” Stu laughed.

“That’s bullshit. The killer could easily be female, basic instinct.”

“That was an ice pick. Not exactly the same thing…” Randy butted in.

“Yeah, Casey and Steve were completely hollowed out. And the fact is, it takes a man to do something like that.” Stu grinned, still staring at you without realizing it.

You leaned in, placing your chin on the palm of your hand. “Really now? If that’s so, then why did they ask me if I liked to hunt, Stu?” You smirked, catching all of them off guard. “Like Tatum said, the killer could easily be a girl. Though, with how they were killed it was clearly a man. They’re all the same, messy. They like to play with their prey. A woman on the other hand, knows how to get things done, swiftly and cleanly. Why do you think they don’t get caught as easily?” You finished your statement. Drumming your fingers across your lap in triumph.

“That was— I was not expecting that.” Stu laughed loudly, bewilderment lingering around him like an aroma of some sorts. Billy was just as shocked, but more amused.

However, Sidney wasn’t having it. “How… How do you gut someone?” She asked.

“You take a knife—“ Stu started and Billy looked up from his lunch. “And you slit ‘em from the groin to the sternum..”

“Hey.” Billy cut Stu off, glaring at him. “It’s called tact, you fuckrag.”

You sighed, shaking your head.

“Hey, (Y/n)..” Sidney asked, ignoring Billy and Stu’s former conversation.

Your ears perked and you looked at her confused.

“Didn’t you used to date Steve Orth?”

‘Now how in the fuck could she have possibly known that…’ You thought, your ears turning red from anger and you clenched your fist.

“Yeah, for like a couple of months..”

“Hold up, did I miss a chapter or something? When the hell did you date him?” Billy asked, looking somewhat pissed.

“Uh, yeah, I have to agree with Billy here.. when the hell did that happen?” Tatum’s eyes widened, she felt betrayed.

“Jesus, guys, it was only a couple of months, I don’t even know how Sidney found out.” You started, shooting Sidney a glare.

“Can we change the subject, please?”

“Did you sleep with him?” Stu mumbled, starting to get irritated as well.

“All of you, please just shut up. It is not a big deal.” You demanded.

“Are the police aware that you dated the victim?” Randy asked, ignoring your pleas.

“Hey, what are you saying? That I killed both Casey and Steve?” Your mouth gaped at the accusation.

“It just makes sense, ex-girlfriend not over the relationship, gets jealous seeing her lover with someone else… You know, the scorned ex who kills for revenge!” Randy shouted, earning a few stares in the process from passersby’s.

“(Y/n) was with me last night, okay?” Billy spoke, winking at you from behind Sidney.

“Yeah, I was…” You stated, catching Sidney’s eyes darting your way.

“Was that before or after you sliced them up?”

“Hold on, you went to (Y/n)‘s after you came by my place? You said you were going to Stu’s!” Sidney flared her nostrils, anger bubbling to the surface.

“Oh, brother…” You whispered, face-palming. Seeing Sidney hurriedly packing up her things, she didn’t give neither you or Billy time to explain...

<- Previous Next ->

[depressedhouseplant]

Just Fucking Write - Day 58

Prompt: A continuation of Day 56

A/N: Everyone pretend to be shocked it’s a Juyeon ship. I wanted to save this a little longer but I started a new medication a few days ago & have almost no energy right now.

“How’d it go with Y/N?” Juyeon asked when Eric got back to their hotel suite. He didn’t miss that Eric’s eyes were looking puffy.

“I told her I loved her and she said that she thought it was just a casual thing. She’s also apparently been hooking up with Miles since I came back from hiatus,” he replied.

“So you thought y’all were exclusive and she didn’t,” Kevin said.

“Pretty much,” Eric replied.

“Did you tell her that you wanted to be exclusive or more than just fuckbuddies?” Jacob asked.

“Why am I the one being interrogated here?” he glared at the other three.

“I mean, you can’t expect someone to just know that you want more,” Kevin said.

“I sent her flowers for her birthday. We would text for hours. She knew I couldn’t take her out on dates, but she seemed okay with it,” Eric said.

“But you never talked about any kind of exclusive relationship,” Jacob continued.

“How is this my fault?” Eric demanded.

“No one is saying it’s your fault. They’re just saying you can’t expect someone to know you want something without saying it. Right?” Juyeon looked at the other two.

“Exactly,” Kevin agreed.

“I’m gonna go lie down,” Eric told them. Juyeon followed him.

“Can I help you?” Eric asked when he realized the older man was behind him.

“I thought you’d want some company right now,” Juyeon replied. Eric looked like he was going to refuse then stepped back to let Juyeon in the room.

“Thanks,” Eric said quietly. He curled up on the bed and Juyeon nested himself behind Eric.

“I know it hurts. Kevin and Jacob weren’t trying to make you feel bad,” Juyeon said.

“They did,” Eric said curtly.

“Kind of ironic that the couple that knew they were in love without saying anything are telling someone that they need to communicate their feelings,” Juyeon hooked his chin over Eric’s shoulder. The younger man nested deeper into Juyeon’s chest.

“Maybe I didn’t really love her,” he said.

“Maybe. You’re the only one who will ever know that,” Juyeon told him.

“Has that ever happened to you?” Eric rolled over to look at Juyeon.

“I told someone they loved me and they didn’t say it back?” Juyeon asked.

“Yeah,” Eric nodded, rolling over to look at Juyeon.

“I did. It hurt pretty bad at the time. In retrospect I don’t think I actually loved him,” Juyeon replied, brushing a hair out of Eric’s eyes.

“Can I kiss you?” Eric asked, his brown eyes still slightly red from earlier.

“Are you asking because you want to kiss me or because you just had your heart broken?” Juyeon asked.

“I want to kiss you. I want to see what it’s like to kiss someone I know cares about me,” Eric replied.

“Y/N didn’t care about you?” Juyeon questioned.

“She did, but I know how you feel about me. Like Jacob and Kevin know how they feel about each other,” Eric answered. “I know you feel more for me than just a friend or band mate.”

“Was I that obvious?” Juyeon bit his lip.

“Showing up in my bed in just your underwear when you knew I was in the shower was my first clue,” Eric smiled.

“I do feel more for you than just friends, but I didn’t want to interfere,” Juyeon replied.

“Now there’s no one to interfere with. So kiss me?” Eric asked again. Juyeon pressed his lips against Eric’s, a vision that had haunted his dreams for years. Now it was real. He was kissing the boy he fell in love with almost as soon as they’d met. Through every hookup or short term fuck buddy, it had always been Eric. Juyeon swore he’d never say anything because he knew Eric was seeing someone else. He poured every ounce of love he felt for the younger man into the kiss.

“Wow,” Eric said when they finally parted.

“Wow?” Juyeon repeated.

“So that’s what it feels like to kiss someone who loves you,” Eric told him.

“I’ve loved you for longer than you’ll ever know, Eric Sohn,” Juyeon kissed him again.

“I think I love you too, Lee Juyeon,” Eric grinned.

[themissingnumbers]

Hey, Guys! It’s been awhile and my brain won’t shut up, so you know what that means—It’s Theory Time!

Ok, hear me out, y’all. I’m about to ramble on about this, and I’m either going to be making a lot of sense, or sound like a complete madman. Try to follow along, because I write things down in the order they appear in my brain, so it’s probably going to be a little sporadic. Please enjoy my yap session.

Ahem- Todays Topic: Red and MissingNo. (This is sort of building off of my last theory about them, so just keep that in mind.)

I want you all to know that if this actually happens, I called it- But, this entire theory came from this idea. And that idea is both very simple, and very complex:

My Idea is that MissingNo has already done to Red what Red will (inevitably) do to us.

And what is that, my fellow theorists? Use us.

Yes—I firmly believe that Red will try to use us should we ever prove ourselves to be trustworthy. After all, he’s already used/manipulated Professor Ace Maple. So, why wouldn’t he also try his hand at manipulating the Players? What reason would he have to not try and use us?

Now, you’re probably all thinking: “Wow, Red’s a crazy evil scheming little bastard-“ BUT NO! Hear me out- Red is not the villain here. No, Red is not completely innocent in all this; and Yes, Red is mentally unstable—how could he not be after spending upwards of 28 years alone in the broken remnants of his home—but Red is not the bad guy. MissingNo is. Ketsuban is the scheming bastard.

Are you still here? Good! Lock in right about now, because I’m about to get more rambly than a raccoon. Things might seem a little wack here, but just remember—these are my thoughts. Nothing here is concrete.

Alright! Hear me out y’all- Let’s talk about MissingNo, or at least, what I think about MissingNo. My initial observation about the Glitch was that MissingNo was a parasite, but now, I’m starting to think that Red and MissingNo have a more “symbiotic” relationship.

What I’m thinking here, is that MissingNo has invested in a long-term plan by latching onto Red. Think about this: MissingNo can’t get out of the distortion on its own. It needs help to reach the new world, to be summoned or pulled out by other means. If Leaf and Red met in Glitch City all those years ago, MissingNo must have seen that escape is not impossible them. After all, Leaf got out. So perhaps it’s taking a chance by latching onto the only other Player Character in hopes that, he too, would escape—and take it with him.

Think about this, too. Let’s take a moment to look at Red. Red is super skinny and malnourished, so he’s probably physically weak. He’s isolated and alone, which likely makes him mentally weak. And (while this is just an observation on my part, mostly taken from context clues and other pieces of art) Red can’t die. He’s weak, mentally beaten down, and cannot die. That would make Red THE perfect host for MissingNo—especially if MissingNo can play its cards right by manipulating him.

I believe that MissingNo has been plotting on Red’s downfall since day one. I believe that MissingNo has latched onto Red and allowed him to believe that he’s the one in control—when it’s really the Glitch that’s been pulling the strings.

Red has his own goal when it comes to escaping Glitch City—and that’s to go back home. He wants to go back to his family, his friends, his loved ones. But MissingNo doesn’t care about that. MissingNo doesn’t care about what Red wants. MissingNo only cares about what MissingNo wants. And what MissingNo wants—is out.

Red’s so mentally broken that he probably can’t see what’s going to happen. And if he can, he’s probably too desperate to care. Maybe he thinks he can handle it somehow, but I don’t know how he could.

We are Red’s ticket to freedom, just as Red is MissingNo’s way out. I think that Red, upon escaping, will backstab us, betraying us no matter how many promises we make with him���only to then turn around and be backstabbed by MissingNo, who will abandon him, leave him weak and alone, forced to watch as he corrupts and destroys the world Red wanted to desperately to be a part of again.

In short, freeing Red is not the problem. Red is fine. It’s MissingNo that makes it an issue. MissingNo is Red’s plus one, and it doesn’t look like it has any intention of letting him go until he’s outlived his usefulness. Trust and believe that I want Red to be free. I want to give Red his life back. But if MissingNo gets out—it’s GAME OVER for EVERYONE. Red included.

If MissingNo is allowed to go free, then the world of Missing Numbers and its characters are doomed. Fire would be doomed, Leaf would be doomed, Blue would be doomed, all of the other characters that we haven’t even met yet would be doomed. All of it. Red would be able to do nothing but watch as his only other place to belong is turned into a duplicate of Glitch City, as the people he knew and loved were reduced to nothing but a mess of glitches, forced to listen to broken sound bytes of his family’s dying screams on repeat forever as he gets put right back where he started—but with no hope of returning home and left with a crushing feeling of guilt, knowing that everything he cares about is gone and it’s all his fault.

But think about if Arceus saw all of this happening and decided to reset the whole world. Who’s to say he wouldn’t just get rid of Red for real this time? Everything that would have proven his existence to other characters would have been destroyed by MissingNo, so if Red goes and the world is reset, there would be nothing to say that he ever existed. Nobody would remember him, and Missing Numbers would be as close to modern-day canon Kanto as possible. It would just be FireRed, Leaf, and Blue. Just like it was supposed to be.

Hoo boy- Okay. I… think that’s it? Probably. If not and I left some gaps In my sleepy, 3 am brain ramblings, I’m sure y’all can fill in the gaps. Again, this is just my thoughts and ideas. It’s a theory. You don’t have to like it, or you could just take bits and pieces from this—it’s your choice. I’m just rambling about what I think.

Last minute ramblings about things before the end:

Hey look guys, it’s a theory that wasn’t about Fire for once-

Okay, on a serious note—can we NOT push the envelope with Leaf? Seriously. Like, pushing her for answers is like making an attempt on her life. We gotta play the game. We gotta be in it for the long con. Everything that we need to know has to come out with time—either from her or from other sources. She knows that we know. And she knows that we know that she knows. We’re aware. So let’s just chose to ignore it for now and try to be friends with her. After all, lying about what we are to each other just makes things easier for us both, right?

OKAY! That’s actually it this time. If there was anything else, I’ve since forgotten it because I’ve been writing this for a couple hours on and off. That’s all my ramblings for now. Sorry that got so long. Have a good day, y’all!

.

[searenbound]

Oh it’s Shouto’s turn with my obsessive brain cell today it looks like!

Do y’all want some secret himbo agenda from me today? Well you’re gonna get it!

We’re working with the himbo rules: kind of heart dumb of ass, handsome, respectful of women

Shouto is very kind to his friends and while smart, this does not negate his social obliviousness and dumbass behaviors such as following Midoriya into danger because if bestie’s fighting THEY are fighting TOGETHER. Thems the rules.

Handsome doesn’t need defending, look at him. He’s perfect.

The only argument I need for respectful, is that he had the chance to sneak a peak at Yaomomo and kept his eyes glued the other way. He also has a big sister and most guys with older sisters that I know are pretty respectful to women so there’s that

Now that I’ve explained my thoughts, here’s some head canons.

He doesn’t immediately know if you’re flirting with him.

He thinks you’re just being nice and you’re the touchy-feely type.

Pretty boy has no clue that playing with his hair while you praise him is you flirting with him so you have to be very straightforward and tell how you feel.

Or if you want to fluster him just start talking about how handsome he is and how your babies would probably be pretty like their daddy. It’ll take him a little bit but he’ll get it.

This one is actually canon, but Todoroki will often just do whatever is asked of him.

If you tell him you like a certain thing and really want it, he’ll often interpret this as you asking him to get it for you and buy it as a nice little gift.

He doesn’t get why you’re surprised but he doesn’t question it because he gets thank you kisses and he really likes those

That’s it for now but feel free to ask me more about it

[bihansthot]

My little ham is being extremely cuddly tonight and I am very here for it, I was very sad earlier because I can’t remember what Jäger smells like anymore. I find myself smelling Denny often hoping I won’t forget him too. For some reason I’ve been thinking a lot about Jäger’s final moments lately which prompts trying to remember what he smelled like, what he felt like and I just can’t remember, all of those memories are wrapped up and laced with so much sadness and trauma I just can’t separate them. I don’t know what’s bringing these feelings back up lately, maybe because I haven’t been feeling well and have been unhappy because I feel unwell. I need a nice distraction and neither of the guys I’ve been seeing are providing it. Maybe I need a hobby? Writing seems too constricting lately and not fun. I’ve been thinking about crocheting again but a) I have to learn again which no biggie YouTube taught me when my niece was born 15 years ago, it can teach me again, b) I have no clue what to make? I’d make something for Denny but he has so many clothes lol I guess he can always use more? Maybe cute hats like Good Boy Ollie has? Denny deserves all the cute clothes and hats, he’s such a good baby. I don’t deserve him.

In non depressing dog stuff I made some video game resolutions for the year that I’m not sure I’ll accomplish. If you’ve followed me for a very long time you know I also love Soulsborne games, I’ve beaten DS3 and Elden Ring but my resolution is to beat the DLC for DS3, I want to beat Malenia and Placidusax in Elden Ring and finally play Bloodborne. I’ve never played Bloodborne despite absolutely loving it. The problem is I haven’t touched DS3 since I beat it so I can’t remember how to play it and Elden Ring I’m reasonably confident I can beat Placidusax but Malenia woof waterfowl dance am I right? THB I had enough health to tank most of it if I could avoid at least one but it’s her stage two form scarlet rot dive bomb that killed me. Admittedly I’ve only tried Malenia 2 or 3 times, my partner got Let Me Solo Her themselves to beat Malenia for them. I don’t know where to start though, I have to restart them all from the beginning because I’m on PS5 now, I guess I should go in order? So Bloodborne first? I’m so scared though everything is so fast 😭 I’m a big dumb, clunky over level and use the biggest axe in the game type player and I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep up. I don’t know if I can do the DLC I don’t know if I can beat Lady Maria or the Orphan of Kos but I guess I’ll try. Wish me luck y’all, I’m not embarking back into Soulsborne until I 100% Season of the Cryomancer though and of course this will have no bearing on my MK lust/content or anything, I don’t really have Soulsborne husbandos/waifus though I guess there’s boy Anri and Vicar Amelia (yes I’m a monster fucker, deal with it) oh oh and my precious stingray boyfriend Lorian, I don’t write for any of them or self ship with any of them so there will still be lots of dumb egg jokes. Don’t worry I’m in no way taking a break from MK I’m just indulging in another franchise I love deeply too, multitasking. So I guess just a heads up that there may be an influx of rage posts about Soulsborne bosses lol Or me professing my endless love for Greirat and Boc lol Will I ever go back to Baldur’s Gate 3?? Who knows! Probably not tbh I don’t like anyone other than Gribbo and Scratch not to mention I’ve seen my partner put just hours into it. I’ve seen the game and maybe I’m just bad at it but it’s just not fun for me which is why I’m going back to Soulsborne games lol I’ll tag my posts with “Soulsborne” if you don’t wanna see my rambling about the games though but like I said I promise I will still be all MK all the time after all it’s my true love ❤️

This has been a pointless Sol rambles, thanks for reading 🩵

[taehyungfirst]

i’m sorry, i generally like what you post, and i think calling out (or at the very least acknowledging) unfair treatment is important. but comparing hybe’s treatment of a solo contract with a major coffee franchise to jm’s DAD, a member’s fucking family member, is so unserious.

family members can do shady shit, they don’t automatically get a free pass, but i don’t know of any reason why that’d be an assumption ?? like of fucking course a franchise, which has a contract w/ a single member and only w/ set photos of that member and not ALL photos of the member, nor a contract w/ the group, can’t host shit that they don’t have the rights to. and it’d set such a poor fucking precedence if they were able to. like that would literally allow ANY fucking brand/company/corporation to start using that shit after signing w/ one member. and i don’t think tae is exactly contactable right now when it comes to looking at a contract or discussing w/ hybe & compose abt what alternative use of his images they are able to display.

(and in relation to that, i DO think that jm’s dad can have easy access to negotiating any contracts or licensing necessary to do whatever he does. esp bc he’s, once again, a member’s fucking father)

and i have no clue abt where i saw this talked abt, but i’m pretty sure in the past hybe or bighit had posted photos of a member’s solo sponsor (or something)(not just retweeting) that had to be taken down bc that photos were licensed by the company the member was working w/ and not hybe.

like idfk, tryna defend the “rights” of another company to act as if it has a larger attachment to any member than they actually do (bc contracts exist! and hybe ensuring that companies follow that contracts w/ the members is actually a good thing! if compose suddenly starts supporting shitty political groups they will only have the rights to what was agreed upon before hand!), and also again compare it to (my knowledge) a small business, owned by the members family, and which we have no clue abt any official contracts that might exist, is such a joke.

Why so aggressive, why you guys don’t talk in the same tone I talk to y’all? You sent this 8 hours ago, I hope you relaxed since then.

What you and someone else failed to understand or just straight up ignored is when I typed “I’m confused” hence why I listed some examples, my focus was never on Jm’s d@d c@fè (have to censor I’m too tired for them today), my confusion came from the fact that in my opinion it’s something harmless. Armys brought albums and Jm’s pics in that café that were previously bought by the fans so they were not displayed for sale, and the same happened in C0mpose, like it’s just harmless to me that’s why I was confused. Jm’s d@d may have a contract of whatever you wanna call it (that it’s speculation too, because you’re speculating, just like me), but he is also displaying other members’ stuff and merch, and this is again why I was confused. That’s it. Literally guys, you blew something out of proportions for NOTHING when I wasn’t even rlly focusing on that, you read Jm’s name and thought I wanted H/ybe to sue him, be fr.

[kinfeelings]

Stream of Consciousness: Looking Back, Labels & a Bit About Dysphoria.

I first began believing I was “strange” and “more/other than human” in elementary school (I distantly remember I had feelings of it before then but it became blatant in elementary) and then also the horrible daycare I was placed in for many hours after school ended. Probably had a lot, if not everything, to due with my undiagnosed autism and untreated trauma. I spent recesses wandering around the playground or digging in the dirt, stuck in my head, mostly ignoring my peers who wanted little to do with me anyhow, and then at the daycare, where it was near-constant torment, I was still always pretending to be Something Else. A non-canon OC Warriors cat, a tiger (sometimes even an aquatic “water-tiger”), a werewolf, many different things. Before elementary school and that daycare I was simply obsessed with thinking I was an ordinary house-cat every now and then.

Skip ahead years later and suddenly I am a teen in middle school scouring Tumblr, fixated on Tom Hiddleston at the height of the Avengers-mania. I begin hearing glimpses of something called “otherkin.” It’s so harshly ridiculed that I veer away from it immediately despite it vaguely catching my interest for some reason. More time goes by and I’ve become a young adult, who’s ready to learn more about this concept that I only caught snippets of before. I find I relate to a lot of it, but haven’t any clue what my kintypes are yet. I tried so many freaking labels, y’all. It was ridiculous. Meowth and persian pokémon, a sable working-line German shepherd dog, an Eastern water-spirit dragon, a Maine coon, Bluestar from Warriors, Star Catcher from My Little Pony, Zira from The Lion King, I even attempted to test out an archetrope…

None of these were true, but it’s good I searched, and developed more understanding of my identity.

I am currently twenty-seven, and I call myself: spiritual/psychological, alterhuman, voidpunk, and beastpunk. My current kintypes are as follows: feline cladotherian, all the eeveelutions including eevee itself (pokémon), and various fluctuating fiction- and OCkintypes. My favorite animals are felines, which is cool considering that I am literally all of them at once. I don’t dislike anything that I am, to be honest, which is pretty lucky—some individuals hate what they are, and I feel bad for them. Species euphoria comes to me as a sort of inner peaceful feeling, like all the bullshit of living humanly is ignorable and tolerable, like me-as-my-’types are having no trouble piloting this body I inhabit. I do recognize I value humanity and don’t scorn it anymore, which is why I choose to say I’m alterhuman instead of purely nonhuman. Though, I’ve been wondering about that, lately. Not that I’m going back to hating it as I did when I was younger, just that...am I latching onto the idea of being only a “human but slightly to the left” out of habit and fear of repercussions?

Someone in the OtherConnect Discord server told me “alterhuman” doesn’t imply either having humanity nor lack of it, it’s an umbrella term that includes examples of both. So I guess I was kinda mistaken? So I’m calling myself nonhuman from now on, too.

Dysphoria is a hellish time when it does occur for me, especially since I’m already mentally ill to begin with. Everything feels discordant, borderline painful; the air itself that I breathe has a blunt and mocking edge to it, cruel and relentless. You will never be anything you are within. Fuck my intrusive thoughts and anxiety disorder, frankly. They can kiss my ass.

[allnightbatman]

Batwoman x Reader ! Platonic

A/n: Hello y’all! This is just a quick lil something I thought of and whipped up and this is a two parter! I thought that would make more sense as too not make things feel too cramped or rushed. Not much of a romantic fic just something fun and interesting. Also I feel like I might write with too much spaces/paragraphs but I feel like it makes it easier to read?? I’m definitely always trying to improve so please let me know what y’all think. Much love hope you enjoy!

Landing on top of the roof with Batman, “Why does it have to be so cold?”

“It’s winter”

“Well then why don’t you warm me up?” Turning to him you pressed your body against his, wrapping your arms around his neck.

“Y/N, focus.” You place your hand on his cheek and stick your tongue at him, making him smirk.

Kneeling at the edge you take out your binoculars, looking through a window seeing a group of men sitting around a large table.

“There y’all are.”

You were investigating the Falcon Crime Family and a shipment of guns and grenades that were about to enter Gotham. The only problem was you weren’t sure where and how. It could be through the docks or masked as a delivery of semi-trucks. Either way you decided to pay a visit and ask the man himself.

After rustling a few known thugs that work for the family, their words are proven to be true as you watch Carmine Falcon enter the room.

You told Bruce your plans for the night and he decided to tag along. You didn’t mind, he would still let you keep all the glory you always love to bask in. Plus it wouldn’t hurt to have some backup. Letting you still take the lead you two made a great team not stepping on each other's toes, and although both stubborn you two were always thinking the same thing for any conflict to arise.

As you saw the room settling down you had everything right where you wanted but right when you were about to move in you saw a red dot landing itself right on Carmine Falcon.

Quickly following the line you see someone on another edge propped up with a sniper. Immediately you reacted, grappling over, standing front of the gun, and kicking it down the building.

A punch coming right for your face but you blocked it just as quickly as they jumped up and threw it at you. Grabbing the front of their neck you harshly push back till you hit a wall holding them there while they claw at your hand. This is when you got a good look, she had bright red hair, a mask as if Batman made it for just her with those pointy ears then right in front of your face a bright red, just like her hair, bat symbol on her chest. Now that confused you.

Guessing you both took this moment to identify each other because you felt her relax a bit so you let go of the grip you had on her neck as she stood there looking at you.

Taking a step back but not breaking eye contact, you asked Batman knowing he was right behind you. “Is this a friend of yours I should know about?”

“I’m not a friend of any of you people.” She interjected sternly.

Squinting your eyes at her, “Clearly.”

Looking at the red bat symbol on her chest again you laughed a bit, “You sure do like to dress up just like us though.”

“Just because I wear this,” she places a hand over it, “doesn’t mean I’m a part of your little cult.”

Sighing at her, “Well I have business to attend to and I suggest you step out the way, you wouldn’t want to get on my bad side.”

As you walked away she threw back at you, “Oh yeah, I’d hate to see what would happen.”

Watching her glide away off the roof top you rolled your eyes. Fully turning around to look at Batman, he was looking at you amusingly making you scoff.

“What are you looking at, old man?”

Returning home, your mission was a success even with your small encounter with the masked bat woman.

“I can’t believe you took her gun Y/N.” Bruce spoke up chuckling at you.

“I can’t believe she left it. I have no plans to use it just gonna see if it gives me a clue as to who she is.”

“Sure she wants you to know that?”

“Well if she didn’t she should be more careful.”

Throwing the sniper down onto a metal table and taking your cowl off, you got right to work.

[deus-ex-mona]

Even Our Private Lives Are Great Too!: Epilogue

in which aizo of lipxlip hosts a radio show with some average joe

previous part (chapter 7)

A few days later—.

Aizo & Yujiro: “Welcome Julieta” to LIPxLIP Radio.

Aizo: Good evening, I’m Aizo.

Yujiro: And I’m Yujiro.

Yujiro: Let’s get right to business by reading some fanmail, yeah?

Yujiro: “The other day, I read that you guys had performed at a live on the spur of the moment…”

Aizo: Eh? A spur of the moment performance? What in the world could they be talking about, Yujiro?

Aizo responded to the sentence in the letter with exaggerated surprise, which had probably been due to the fact that their agency had explicitly told them not to acknowledge their last-minute performance.

Yujiro: (His acting is laughably bad… But I guess I’ll just follow his lead for now.)

Yujiro: I’m not too sure myself… But all I can say at the moment is…

Yujiro: It’d be great if the staff at the live with the last-minute performers didn’t get into trouble because of them.

Aizo: And so? Sorry, but could you read the rest of the letter?

Yujiro: Hmm… “Do you get along well with FT4?”.

Yujiro: “As a fan of LIPxLIP, I get really happy when I see you guys befriend others.”

Yujiro: …Thank you. Ah, we get along as long as we’re off the stage.

Yujiro: We’ve met up for meals several times, and we’ve also participated in lessons together.

Yujiro: In fact, we met up for a meal with YUI and FT4’s DJ, IV, just the other day.

Aizo: Yup, yup. All of you know how much YUI loves ramen, right? So, y’know…

Aizo: All of us ate ramen normally at first. But then, for some reason, I, and I alone, was dragged off for super spicy tanmen after that…

Yujiro: You were pretty out of it when you guys returned, weren’t you, Aizo? It was quite the funny sight.

Aizo: You think? You didn’t eat it, so you don’t understand my pain at all.

Aizo: It was suuuper spicy! Wait, no, the word “spicy” doesn’t cut it! Eating it was a really painful experience!

Yujiro: It was a painful experience, hm?

Aizo: Though, I was able to talk about all kinds of things with YUI when I was alone with him—.

Yujiro: Really? What did you guys talk about?

Aizo: Y’know, stuff that even we talk about.

Aizo: Like, you know that feeling that you’re coming down with a sore throat that you get the day before a live or a recording session? We talked about stuff like that.

Yujiro: Ah—... I know that feeling too...

Aizo: YUI said that he’d “Eat spicy foods!” whenever his throat is sore. “That way, I’ll be able to sing even better!”, he’d claimed.

Yujiro: Eh? Where’s the logic behind that…?

Aizo: I have zero clue as to what he means either. But I think he’s talking about relieving tension in the throat or something?

Aizo: I’m pretty sure that eating spicy foods would only make your throat hurt even more, though… Just how strong is his throat anyway?

Aizo: …Anyways, do you guys get sore throats real often? The two of us do, y’know?

Yujiro: Though, if you guys do get sore throats, please don’t be like YUI, okay?

Aizo: On that note, you were alone with IV, weren’t you, Yujiro?

Aizo: What did you guys talk about? Did he tell you secret info about FT4 or something?

Yujiro: Of course not, stupid.

Yujiro: But, hmm… About that…

Yujiro: (What we talked about… huh…)

IV: Regarding my dream…

IV: One of my dreams has… Already come true, I think.

Yujiro: …That’s a secret.

Aizo: Eh?! Why?! Can’t you at least tell me the gist of what y’all talked about?!

Yujiro: (Don’t wanna. I want to keep it a secret between myself and IV.)

Yujiro: Well, I may tell you about it someday, okay?

Aizo: Huh?! You’re as stingy as always!

Yujiro: Do you mean to say that I’m usually stingy, or something?

Aizo: Am I mistaken?

Yujiro: Completely and utterly.

Aizo: But, hey, listen to this, Julieta. Just the other day, Yujiro was—.

The recording of the radio programme continued on at a good tempo. Following that, Aizo pestered Yujiro to “Tell me what you talked about with IV!”, but that was a story for another time—.

[remcycl333]

Void/LOA success by 💇‍♀️anon

This post is gonna be a bit lengthy , blunt and unbelievable 😭 also very sloppily written cause i’m havijh so much fun. i really have got out of my comfort zone and I’m so happy i did. No you do not have to follow every step I did! This is simply for motives and inspo.

So, yeah it's obvious i was one who struggled with void and loa blah blah blah for a LONG TIME! I was a hardcore druggie, physical and mentally abused all my life, had a very rare illness and so much more. But who gaf ab the old story. ☠️

So after a day of sending that cringe ass message to u i ended up prioritizing myself. It’s clear I was idolizing void and I’ve been doubting in LOA too like ??? So in the 3D i moved in with my one and only friend, got a job at a fastfood place (pls this is sorta embarrassing), and decided homeschool was much better for me. Also between that time I learned how to correctly manifest and shiz by you and @theandreiaeffect<3. And girlllll literally less than the next week I manifested perfect mental and physical health, my dream job, desired appearance, and 7,000,000$ with a 15,000,000$ home me and my bestie now live in. I was already so happy how it was. Yet after that crazy ass week passed by i woke up in the fucking void. I have no clue how but i did.

Now for what I manifested in void.

- ‘i heard a rumor’ power - a power of this girl from a netflix show. basically you say ‘i heard a rumor ____’ and it happens. its like a brainwash power? its simple to explain but idk. (If u watch that show my fav character is klaus whats urs?)

- Time travel(?) - so when i got in void it was prolly like september 11th 2022. i just said in the void ‘it is August 30th’ and when i woke up it was august 30th as you can tell so now I’m just relapsing my days but in a goodway.

- changed family - my bestie is like family and i changed her appearance to her desired appearance, more cousins, siblings, aunts etc. my dad being a famous nfl star.

- Revenge - basically just fucking with my abusers life the same way they fucked with mine. I have no regrets so🤷‍♀️

- Name and age revision - I always hated my full name so i changed it. I was 17 and just revised that i’m 21. yeah it was a big gap but idc it was worth it for me honestly. i also manifested i’m not gonna die till like 90 and age like wine so.

- a bf- oh let me tell u. i’ve always had a crush on ralph macchio. and now i have a boyfriend who is his twin but even more attractive. his personality and the way he showers me with love is mwah.

- Removing phobias - i’ve always been scared of animals🤦‍♀️ not anymore tho now i have 2 cute lil puppies and a parrot:)

- Vegan restaurants and shops opening up close to me - I’ve been vegan since the beginning of the year due to animal cruelty and just not enjoying meat.

- Immune from getting preggo til 25 - its self explanatory what i be doing but i’m not ready for a baby yet so🤫

- Being protected and safe 24/7 - anyone around me also is aswell its like a invisible barrier to danger

Now those are just a handful of what I manifested. I literally manifested sooooo many other priv things. Just get ur shit together. I have nothing else to tell u. Honestly idk how LOA coaches don’t get fed up with y’all constantly crying ab how u dont got ur shit when u are the reason why. U have a cheatcode to life. Not many people are spiritually awoken. Do you know how fortunate you are to have discover LOA???? Keep this in mind and maybe ya know manifest ur dream life. To Rem, I thought I’d be on tumblr way longer as your anon, but I’d rather go live my life to the fullest for a while. I hope my story leaves an imprint on the LOA community. Andreia, you have also really inspired me. I’m so fucking happy I made a whole 180 with my life. Rem and Andreia, i will NEVER forget what you have done for me. Thank you so much really. I love u guys so much🥲🥲

yesss im so proud of u!!! when u said u traveled back in time from september i got the chills! and baby go live your life and enjoy it, you deserve it!!! come back whenever u want and update us <3

[contentconsumer]

but you don’t like coffee?

a/n: just something to get me back into writing and rn i’m crushing so hard on steve harrington, maybe a future series? just some fluff lol, not my gif!

word count: 1k(ish)

requested?: no, requests are closed but ships are OPEN

pairing: steve harrington x reader

warnings?: usual stranger things vibes/warnings, steve being wholesome, 

summary: mutual pinning between the scoops ahoy worker and the barista across the food court.

robin was sick and tired of watching steve stare at the new girl across the mall. ever since you started working at a cafe opposite scoops ahoy in the food court, steve had suddenly taken a new found enthusam for being on the front desk - and robin wasn’t stupid, she had noticed his ‘slightly creepy’ staring at the poor girl who she remembered from their shared timed in high school. what was also creeping robin out was the fact steve was now early to his shifts, steve was many things but early was not one of them. robin’s breaking point was when she picked up on the fact steve had stopped trying to hit on every teenage girl who entered a 5 foot radius. 

on this particular wednesday robin could make out your figure clearing tables, simply minding your own business, with a sigh she turns to face steve who’s eyes are already following you, “why don’t you just talk to her?” “talk to who?” steve tries to play dumb, “the cafe girl you’ve been ooggling for the past 2 weeks” “her name is Y/N” “oh, she has a name!” robin claps her hands sarcastically, “brillant, so enlighten me - why do you know her name?” “because we went to high school with her” steve raises an eyebrow finally taking his gaze of you to stare at robin, “steve, do you really expect me to believe you remember a girl from high school who you probably never spoke to.” “how do you know i never spoke to her?” steve counters “did you ever speak to her?” “no, but-” “there is no but, why do you know her name? oh my god- have you been stalking this poor girl?” “what? NO! i just may have started visiting their cafe everyday before or after my shift” steve admits somewhat sheepishly “so you’re telling me that you’ve spoken to this girl” robin gestures wildly with her hands, “but not asked her out of made a move? thats not very king steve of you” she uses quotation marks with her fingers, “look, i’ve tried but she’s just” steve looks around exasperatedly, “different” robin gasps, “she makes you nervous” “no, i never said that!” “but that’s what it is, isn’t it? isn’t it?” robin repeated over and over poking steve in the side causing steve to lose his temper and bickering to occur, what they don’t realise while caught up in their argument is you walking into the store, in fact neither of them have any clue you’re there until you cough slightly and mumble a very quiet, ‘excuse me’.

the pair in front of you physically jump apart at the sound of your voice, “sorry i um didn’t mean to scare y’all” you cringe, “i was just wondering if you guys had any spare whipped cream we’ve ran out? i know it sounds so stupid but theres this kid at the cafe i work at right now having a full on meltdown because i said i couldn’t put any on his hot chocolate and i swear to god if i have to listen to a 2 year old screech in my fucking ear one more time i’m gonna loose it” you press your lips together offering a smile after your small rant.

for once in her life robin decides to actively help steve out by giving him the chance to reply to you yet after an awkward amount of silence she glances at him out of the corner of her eye to find his cheeks a deep crismon, he is nervous, she thinks before deciding to cut in to help whatever the fuck is going on, “uh yeah we do, i’ll go grab some!” she wanders off leaving you and steve again in silence, slightly cursing him to do something - anything. 

you cannot take much more of steve’s gawking at you, “so how's it going?” you offer a conversation starter, this helps snap steve out of his daze, “uh yeah, it’s um, it’s going - h-h-how are you?” he slightly stumbles over his words and you can see a red creep up his neck, “yeah i’m good” and soon you fall into a small conversation in which you decide to ask, “i was actually wondering if maybe you want-” “i got it!” robin reappears cutting off your almost-date proposal, with a sigh you slap on a smile and take the cream from her, “thanks so much,” you start to back out of the store, “oh and steve? i’ll have your regular ready for you tomorrow” you smile, “you’re a lifesaver” steve calls after you, his mind racing through what just happened and if you were going to ask what he thought you were going to, “your regular?” robin cocks an eyebrow, “black coffee.” steve mumbles, “steve!” robin exclaims “you don’t even like coffee!” “i might” “no you don’t and that’s a fact! once i let you try some of mine to which you said and i quote it tastes like ‘satans asshole’” “well maybe it’s grown on me” “no,” robin tuts “Y/N has grown on you” robin teases, “yeah well you ruined that chance,” steve pouts slightly, “what?” his best friend stares blankly at him, “she was gonna ask me something but you cut her off with your stupid cream!” “she asked for the cream!” “well you couldn’t wait 5 minutes?” steve shrugs with wide eyes waving his arms manically. 

you wander back across the mall, and a sigh escapes your lips once you get back to your cafe, where your friend and co-worker is staring at you with an expectant gaze, “well?” she asks, to which you shake your head, “i didn’t get to ask him, i got interrupted.” “ah too bad kid,” Y/B/F says ruffling, “well there's always tomorrow, when he comes in for his coffee which he throws away after talking to you” “yeah” you giggle, “there’s always tomorrow” “and once he says yes to going out with you please stop staring at him across the food court, you’re making many families and myself uncomfortable with you eye undressing” “hey!” you get defensive “i don’t eye-” “yes, yes you do Y/N” a blush covers your face, “in my defense, i think it’s the hair” this leaves both you and your coworker in an abundance of laughter all while robin and steve are back in another argument, going back and forth about how ‘robin ruined the moment’. 

[kithtaehyung]

SOLmates (teaser) (m) | OT7

title: SOLmates (teaser) pairing: ot7 x reader(f) rating/genre: m (18+) ; angst , smut ; soulmates au (negative), arranged marriage au, futuristic dystopian  summary: “What awaits after Inferno? Ashes.” teaser warnings: lots of intro!, all intro!, jin is a bit of a menace, manhandling, cursing, fingering, scratching, yoongi is rude af, choking, jin wears a chain bc i can’t help myself, warnings to be added as series starts note: so.. this is a project i’ve been working on for awhile now. i don’t normally plan things, but something that started on a whim grew into this entire universe that i ended up having to plan like never before lol. i just wanted to show y’all a small piece of it, and i hope you enjoy! note 2: thank you to @wwilloww​​, @kookskingdom​​, and @sugaurora​​ for encouraging me to keep going on this! y’all gave me much more hype than i could ask for and i’m really excited for what’s to come. this is also a rough draft so it will be polished later :D teaser word count: 5.4k 5.5k release date: july 27th, 2022, 7pm est  updated: august 3rd, 2022

-

-

PROLOGUE

The first time, you feel a spark.

The second, a fire. 

But what happens after the third?

What awaits after Inferno?  

Ashes. 

-

-

// LOGDATE: 3021.01.32, 0700

// LOCATION: PLANET EARTH, HOME POD

// SUBJECT: HARDLOCK

No matter how hard or long you sleep, the soft clicks and whirrs of your bedroom’s bootup routine never fail to make you stir. 

Face scrunched, your gaze sweeps across the mostly empty space beyond your sheets. Pale blue light spreads over everything like a blanket, and you are quickly reminded of when you ported off-planet for the first time, watching the rush of a million blue streaks encompass your peripherals. 

Why that memory flits about your mind, you haven’t the faintest clue. That was ages ago.

“AE-AI, what’s today,” you grumble, knowing your Homepanion will register your drowsy, garbled speech. 

And, like always, her calm voice drifts over your head. 

[Today is Saturday, January 32nd, 3021.]

[Reminder: you have one meeting today.]

[Atmosphere Aura Temperature: Suboptimal.]

A meeting? You may be exhausted as all hell, but you know it’s definitely your day off. Reaching to swipe your phone off your nightstand, you check the screen to see if something slipped into your schedule last second, dropping it with a thud when nothing appears. 

The ghost of a kiss accompanies the soft touch of rough fingers between your shoulder blades. “Isn’t it Saturday,” a sleep-leadened voice asks, and you hum in response, settling into your bedfellow’s embrace when they tug you backwards. “We never have meetings on Saturdays.” 

“I know.” 

The lithe forearm around your torso starts to slide downward, and a small knot in your belly tightens when fingers wander across your bare pelvis. “Jin,” you whisper, hushed and breathy, “Let me figure this out first.” 

“Just cancel,” the man’s coarse suggestion matches the tone of his voice before he lazily bites your ear. “There, I solved it.” 

You don’t hide your groan, but you do close a hand over Jin’s wrist just as he slips a lone finger between your folds. “Thirty seconds,” you sigh in compromise. Because you absolutely want the same thing he does. 

The random notification is just throwing you off. 

If this meeting has nothing to do with work, it better be a good one; it’s stealing hours of your rare, precious rest time. Lately, none of your squad had been gifted with any, which is exactly why you and Jin made the most of last night. 

“Fine. Not like AE-AI’s gonna care,” he relents, albeit petulantly. 

[I do not.]

As Jin fires off an insult to your intelligent and apparently saucy assistant, you laugh and wrap his arm back around your stomach. “What’s the meeting for, AE-AI?”

[The meeting has no title or subject, but the location is as follows: Phode Industries, Floor 112, Room 34-B.]

“Damn him,” you mutter, the absence of anything important in a meeting drop being the mark of your Guardian. “AE-AI, call the meeting organizer, please.” 

[Calling: Kim Namjoon.]

You turn, observing shut, tired eyes under wavy black locks. “Looks like it’s gonna be more than thirty seconds.” 

Without moving a muscle, he teases, “I’m heartbroken.” 

“You’ll get over it.” 

“Say hi to Joon for me.” 

“I’m going to be saying a lot more than that.” 

As the rings echo throughout your spacious bedroom, frustration is the sole energy source that thrusts your legs out of heated blankets and your feet onto cold floors. To combat the chill, you swipe a large shirt from the foot of your bed.

“Hey, that’s mine!”

Jin’s scent hugs you like a second layer as you shrug. When you walk away, your arms stretch high above your head, knowing his stare will drift straight down to your ass.

And as planned, the next thing you hear is a groan.

“Damn. Fucking keep it.”

You’re almost to your bathroom when your annoyance finally answers the call.

“Oh, good. You’re up.” 

“Namjoon, what the hell is this?” Warm lights bloom when you enter the spacious area and, with one eye squinted, you scratch your head while reaching for your toothbrush. “You better have a brilliant reason for this meeting or else I’m not stepping foot out of this pod.” 

“It’s not that I have a brilliant reason. It’s that we have no choice.” 

You pause, the toothpaste glob missing the bristles of your brush. “And that means what, exactly?”

There is a bout of silence in the speakers. In your buildup of anger, you rest your hands on the counter, both tools still resting in your curled fingers. “Namjoon,” you repeat, drawing out his name. 

“What else do you think we wouldn’t have a choice in, kid?” 

Ugh. You should’ve just stayed in your bed with Jin. It’s too damn early for your Guardian’s mind games. “Is it Ngoya wanting to reup his implants again? I know we have to keep that relationship pretty solid but it’s one more day. Just don’t walk outside for twenty four more hours! It shouldn’t be that hard.”

“No, it’s not that—”

While you’re successfully coating your toothbrush with paste, you fire off another guess, “Oh, never mind, I know. It’s that damn Spark Suppressor asking for business again. Why did I have to be chatty and tell him my—”

“Not that, either. Listen to me? Please?” 

Nonchalant is too stiff of a word to describe the way you’re brushing your teeth, slightly slouched and observing your eyes in the expansive mirror. 

Eyes that hadn’t been out of a shield in days. 

A gruff exhale crackles the sound system in your ceiling before Namjoon speaks again, and you stand there speechless, toothbrush hanging limp in between your lips. 

“You’ve been summoned. It’s damn Hardlock, kid. I’m sorry.” 

Fuck. 

You’ve shaped your life how you wanted it to be, despite all of the adaptations that society has gone through and thrown at you. 

Every single one except Hardlock, apparently. 

The Arranged Marriage Pact that cannot be refused. 

-

-

// LOGDATE: 3021.01.32, 0800 

// LOCATION: GLISA STATION, EALIONA DISTRICT

// SUBJECT: WHEN YOU STARTED BELIEVING

Adjusting your eyeshield, you sigh as you step into a hovertrain with a group of other passengers. 

Suppressor gloves forgotten at home, you were quick to shove bare hands in jacket pockets, rushing to the back of the compartment to isolate yourself. On the way, you accidentally brush someone’s arm, apologizing but not stopping in your haste. 

Even if you’re fully clothed, you still have a moment of panic when you make contact with someone. It’s the norm to have that instilled in your nature. 

Will it happen? 

Or not? 

Well, you don’t know what it feels like, but according to your relatives’ experiences, it’s a situation you don’t want to encounter. Ever. 

An automated announcement blares right before the doors close, and you don’t hear a word spoken on the train as you sit, backpack taking up most of the seat. 

With your stop five long minutes away, you have some time to think.

How did it get to be this way? Who the hell is choosing you of all people? People in your line of work never get chosen for Hardlock because of the risk factor. 

Maybe they know how lucrative your job really is and they just want the money. You can’t blame them in that case.

Rolling other careers around in your mind, you can’t think of another one with higher pay than a Salvager. The only one that comes close is someone in Namjoon’s position: a Guardian that protects a Salvager’s livelihood. You don’t know what you would do without him. 

It’s a miracle that a Spark didn’t happen when you accidentally saw his eyes in that one wanderhouse, when you entered a room you didn’t know he was occupying. 

He was simply reading a book—one of the old ones that required hands to read—which he promptly dropped at your entrance. 

You remember both staring at each other for a good while, shocked to death and then relieved. Relieved to see another pair of true irises in organic colors and hues. 

If he ended up being a SOLmate, that would’ve been the end of a relationship. It was even company policy: you would’ve had to make arrangements to part before acquiring a new Guardian within hours.

You heard the stories. Broken friendships, crumbled company deals, crushed empires. 

Because nothing could overcome the initial Spark—much less an Inferno.

Which is why you are going to keep your hands hidden in your jacket at all times. You can’t risk touching another human and possibly igniting. 

Don’t connect your bare eyes. 

Don’t connect your bare skin. 

The two ways a Spark can be initiated.

You don’t know what the hell birthed the curse of SOLmates, but you’ve learned how society has adapted. The rise of quarantining and social avoidance became the norm, with entire civilizations working remotely and citizens avoiding the Outside altogether. 

At first, you didn’t believe in SOLmates. You thought it was just a ploy carried out by the Heado Council to keep commoners in their pods while they went about their shady ways. 

It wasn’t until your cousin suddenly appeared in your Tele-Port with a barren look in their eyes, hunched over and refusing to speak to you until three days later. You remember having to force food and water down their slimming throat, along with sleep medicine to fight their insomnia. 

When they finally spoke, voice gravelly and dusty, you understood. 

“If you ever ignite,” they started, unblinking and haunted, “Never meet them again.” 

“What are you saying?” 

“Promise me.” 

“Hey, snap out of it. What are you talking about?”

They finally lifted their eyes, and you fought the urge to lurch forward seeing the specks of sharp grey swirling around obsidian—volcanic ash in their depths. “You will want to. But fight it. Don’t let there be a third time. Lock yourself away if you have to.” With each pointed plea, their body thrummed, their words as jittery as their shoulders until you rushed over to hold them. 

“You have to relax,” you whispered, but your cousin fought against your arms, their voice suddenly shrill and desperate in your ear,

“Never see them again! You can’t! Anything is better than this!” 

“Hey, wait—” 

An elbow connected with your stomach, forcing your grip loose. Frantic, your visitor wrenched themselves from your form and tore their way through your living room, hair whizzing and flailing. 

You called out for them, but your plea fell on deaf ears. Right as they scampered onto the transportation disk, they slammed trembling fingers onto the console as if they didn’t care where the hell they were sent. 

“Wait!” 

The yell dispersed throughout your empty room, rebounding off the furniture and dark grey walls. Feeling the weight of the loud silence that followed, your arms slowly fell back to your sides, and you wondered if you would ever see your cousin again. 

You still haven’t seen them since. 

[Now arriving at: Phode District]

The hovertrain warbles to a stop. Cracking your neck, you make your way out of the compartment, almost going to adjust your backpack straps until you realize you can’t unpocket your fingers. 

Shit. You’re going to have to swallow your pride and admit to Namjoon that you don’t have gloves. 

He’s going to notice anyways; you won’t be able to take out the docu-discs you have stashed without showing your bare skin. With a thought, you blink three times to bring up the HUD on your eyeshield and ring him. 

His answer is instant. 

“Hey, where are you?” 

Peering up at the obnoxiously tall glass building, you watch heavy raindrops splash your helmet before you groan,

“I’m here.” 

-

-

// LOGDATE: 3021.01.32, 0810

// LOCATION: PHODE INDUSTRIES

// SUBJECT: THE MEETING

Thank whatever deities people come up with nowadays that Namjoon has a spare pair. 

After you rushed out an excuse on top of your mistake, your Guardian only sighed and told you to just get your ass to the room. He claimed that he brought extra gear because he had business two districts over, but you didn’t put it past him to be paranoid.

Gliding across the almost barren floor of the lobby, you hear faint announcements about keeping suppressor gear on at all times while on the premises. 

Shit. You have to make it to the elevators before you’re questioned by a roboguard.

But your worries are for naught, for the short trip to the glass tubes goes smoothly. It’s possible that you escape suspicion while in regular civilian garb instead of your Salvager suit. 

You understand completely; the suits are pretty damn noticeable with their reactive energy displays. 

After a low humming ascent, you’re now on the 112th floor, wandering around and sneaking glances into every room not shielded by Darkglass. Peering through the clear walls, you watch as helmeted business people go about their days. Some are negotiating trade deals by the looks of the tablets they are cradling, and some are simply staring out of the building windows and watching the rain. 

People do that a lot. Ever since it’s been next to taboo to show bare skin in the Outside. 

What you would give to feel rain again.

There aren’t many rooms that have the glass activated, but you do pass one that apparently has a commotion going on inside. 

You faintly remember learning about Darkglass. How it shrouds both sight and sound when flipped from clear to black. If something is pressed against the material, there’s a subtle vibration that can be seen.

Just like now, as you walk by a room in the middle of the hall. When you turn to regard the slight waves, you make out the faint outline of a handprint. 

Weird. Maybe someone resting against the wall out of sheer boredom.

It would make sense. You would absolutely hate being chained down to a place of business like this. 

Being a Salvager means you aren’t attached to a building, or a cubicle, or even a central hub. Your job resides wherever the missions take you—wherever some rich asshole ends up needing you to go—whether that be into a local penthouse or the next planet over. 

And you love it. The experiences you get to have, the places you get to see—all of it has been remarkable despite the gritty truth.

It’s not an honorable occupation. Not that honorable is a common word thrown around nowadays. But it’s one that many a wealthy person will shovel out liquid cash and ONIcoin for, so you’re able to live a lavish lifestyle. 

Your hands are practically drowning in your pockets. 

Are you going to have to give up that life because of Hardlock? 

Surely, the family that chose you knows what you are. Your file omits a staggering amount of detail, but your base information is clearly defined next to your known SOLmate count, age, and ancestry.

You finally see a floating LED rectangle that reads 34-B, and the room’s Darkglass is deactivated. Glancing inside, you see Namjoon’s tall, cloaked form standing a safe distance away from what you assume are the mother and father of your chosen partner. While the woman occupies the lone chair at the end of a conference table, her husband simply rests gloves on her sagging shoulders. 

They seem… Lost. 

There wasn’t much time for you to run through their files, but Jin skimmed through while you got ready earlier. 

“Yah, why are there so many redacted sections?” 

“Nothing new,” you threw over your shoulder while slipping on pants. “Happens with a lot of older generations. Elders and their privacy.” 

You could picture Jin’s eyes scanning his HUD back and forth within his sleek eyeshield, legs spread on your traditional sofa. “Jung Family… Blastia District… Shit.” 

“What?” 

“Heado Council puppets.” 

“Fuck.”  

After removing his shield, Jin ruffles his hair and smoothes it back down. “You sure you can’t pull out?” 

“It’s Hardlock, Jin. Non-negotiable.” 

“Isn’t that incredibly unethical?” 

“Severely, but what do they care?” 

“I have a bad feeling about this.” 

You shrugged, faking confidence and hiding the tremble in your bones. “Relax. I don’t have to like the person. Just gotta marry them on paper and tell them I won’t be around.”

Run. You can just run, right? Run away, portcast to the farthest, most decent planet you can think of and live off your dirty pension? It sounds so much better than walking into that room.

But Namjoon turns and notices you through the wall, and he’s only one long stride away from opening the door. 

“Come in!” You can hear the forced smile behind his shiniest blue helmet—one he saves for special occasions—but he whispers his next words, “We may have gotten a little lucky.”

“What? What do you mean?” As you stand in the thin doorway, you drink in his response. 

“The dude isn’t even here.”

“Fantastic,” you drawl, sparing a quick side eye at the parents under the cover of your shield. Maybe he portcasted to the farthest, most decent pla—

“It doesn’t mean the contract is void, but it does give us some time to adjust. Here,” Namjoon steps to the side to allow you entrance, and you clench your fists in humid pockets when you enter the room. 

You have no clue what your Guardian means by that, but you decide to dismiss it when you finally notice something about the reticent couple at the table. 

They’re wearing Navim Shields.

Even you choked seeing the price of those.

This family doesn’t need a drop of your money.

So why the fuck are you here?

-

-

// LOGDATE: 3021.01.32, 0900

// LOCATION: HOMEPOD

// SUBJECT: STRESS RELIEF

“Did I hear you right? The guy didn’t even show?” 

“Why are you still here, Jin?” 

The slide and click of your door shutting behind you means that you’re finally cut off from the Outside, temporarily severed from responsibilities and new expectations and anxieties. No matter how often you left your home for missions, entering the Outside always caused your shoulders to tense until you set foot back in your entryway. 

And even though you will never admit it, seeing Jin’s sweatpants-clad form greeting you is already enough to ease your mind this time.

You shuck your backpack off in an unceremonious dump, sighing as you proceed to remove your eyeshield. 

Fuck.

The moment after removing protection is always a bit disorienting. Your corneas have to adjust to true colors after being suppressed by the shield technology, and it doesn’t help that depth perception changes dramatically. Jin is a lot closer than you think as you lower your eyeshield, and you flinch when he backs you up into your door. 

With one large, capable hand next to your head, he flashes a tiny smirk at your rain-soaked form. “You act like you don’t like it,” he whispers before leaning forward to mesh his lips with yours. 

You melt into his lazy kiss before grunting, meekly pushing his bare chest away and feeling the metal of his chain. “Jin,” you sigh, feeling a twinge of want when he swoops in again and pushes you flush against the door. 

This effectively shuts you up, throwing your need into overdrive as you give in and start tearing your clothes from your limbs. 

The gravelly chuckle that slides between your mouths sends heat between your legs. “Looks like I get you to myself for a bit longer.” 

You scoff as your damp jacket hits the ground with a plop. “We aren’t exclusive,” you hiss before grabbing his hair and tugging him into another sloppy kiss, chilled skin welcoming the warmth of his. 

His wonderful, enticing, tender skin. 

You don’t know what or who decided that Jin isn’t one of your SOLmates, but you still feel like you owe them everything. 

Because if he was, you would have only crossed paths with him three times max in your life. 

And you don’t think you could have lived with that circumstance.

Your hands fly to your pants next, but your focus is cut off by the hot mouth latching onto your throat. “We aren’t,” he agrees after a suck, “But I don’t see anyone else here. Do you?” 

Jin uses one hand to unhook your bra while the other slots between your thighs, grinding into your clothed cunt before giving it a firm swat. 

Fuck, he knows what you need. After the absolute waste of a morning, you’re ready to do whatever the hell he wants. 

But your drenched pants are your worst enemy at the moment. “Help me,” you bite out as you shove him away, frustrated that something so small is the thing that sets you off. 

It wasn’t the fact that you were a Hardlock match, nor the fact that your partner ghosted the meeting and you had to awkwardly stand there with his parents only to slink back home through the rain. 

No. Just your pants keeping you away from your fuck buddy’s leaking dick.

Jin stumbles back with a laugh before coming back to your aid, his fingers looping into your nemesis and pulling them and your underwear down your legs with ease. “Sweetheart is extra bossy today, isn’t she?”

“Just hurry up,” you grunt, going for another shove and stilling when a hand flashes up to block your arm. 

His eyes are lust-blown and determined as he stares you down, grip on your skin and tone just as hard, “Push me again and see what happens, sweetheart.” 

“Call me that one more time and see what happens, bitch,” you counter, eyes squeezing shut and stomach fluttering when Jin attacks with his mouth. 

Your hands are all over each other as he practically throws you back into the front door. While his are roughly palming your breasts and gripping the back of your wet neck, yours are scratching stress lines into his hair and raking through his shoulders. Desire seeps from your cunt, the entrance hot between your cold thighs. 

Everything is almost a replica of last night. Except this time, Jin still has his pants on. 

“Take those off,” you breathe out, water droplets falling from your head, “Just fuck me.” 

“Let me prep you.”

You moan when he rolls his pelvis into yours, ready to be just as split apart as you were a mere twelve hours ago. Desperate, you shake your head. “Don’t need it,” you lie, “I can take it.” 

“You sure?” 

“Yes.” 

“Shit. Okay.” 

After Jin loses his sweatpants, he doesn’t even stand back up fully before you’re clutching his cock, sliding your cold fingers along his shaft once before reaching to cup his balls. Hearing his breathy groans causes more slick to build in your center, and you lean forward to swirl a tongue over one of his nipples. 

“Fuck, baby.” You feel a hand grip the back of your head before it’s tugged back. “Come here.” 

Saliva rims your mouth from your sloppy work, but Jin doesn’t care as he smashes his lips back into yours, tongue on a mission to close your airway. A commanding hand grabs one of your legs to widen your stance, which is the reason for your shock when you’re suddenly spun around. 

Years of reflex and combat training save your face from butting the doorframe, but you still grunt, smirking when you feel hands roughly tug your hips. 

As Jin’s deep voice slides onto your bare back, your cunt flutters while your mouth widens. 

“You can take it, right? Prove it. Sweetheart.” 

For the rest of the night, he makes you forget. 

Your shit job. 

The shit Hardlock. 

And whatever other bullshit you have to be prepared for come morning.

-

-

-

-

CHAPTER I

-

-

Just because it happens once, doesn’t mean it can’t happen again. 

There have been countless records of people with more than one SOLmate, which spurned humanity to escape and flee into the stars. Voyagers are synonymous with cowards, hermits comparable to corpses in coffins—the inevitable has been proven and yet everyone still runs from the truth. 

However, there are people that run towards it. People that forego any armor or suppressor clothes or eyeshields. Those are the ones that suffer the quickest, all because they yearn for that feeling of ignition. The Great Flare. The Eruption. The Inferno.  

It’s a high. 

But everything ends just the same. 

Ashes. 

Ashes walk with no purpose, no soul, no life. What were once vibrant, intentional humans are now husks of a being, nothing but dust with wisps of memory. 

And when left alone too long? 

Their veins protrude and shine like lava; their eyes burn like dying stars. Light shoots from their mouths in a bright beam, angry and orange and devastating, as if a furious sun is fighting for escape. Skin hardens. Splinters. Breaks. 

And the only instinct that remains is to ravage everything around them until they are effectively stopped. 

-

-

// LOGDATE: 3021.02.01, 0600 

// LOCATION: HEADQUARTERS, BRIEFING ROOM 

// SUBJECT: NEW GUY 

“Took you long enough.” 

“Fuck off, Min.” You dump your boots on the nearest surface, which so happens to be a glowing console with multiple buttons and levers. 

The man situated behind it jolts his arms up at the bang, stuttering out as his helmet reflects the lights in front of him, “Hey, you might—” 

“It’s fine,” you snap, getting a snort out of the drowsy man at your back. 

“Damn. Did you two not fuck at all or something? Why’re you so pissy?”

Jin is the one that answers for you, voice taut and raspy from the little amount of sleep you both got last night. “Watch it.”

“Cute.”

Both of you groan a less-than-hearty “Shut up” before parting ways, taking your seats around the circular planning station occupying most of the room. 

Well, Jin takes residence next to a chuckling cohort and you settle on the other side of the table, holograms of mission details and discovered Ashes that need to be salvaged hovering over its dark surface.

One of them looks like your cousin, but you blink and the illusion is dashed. 

The person only looks like her. 

It pains you all the same.

Once you realize how many are filing through, you click your tongue. “Fuck, again? I thought this many Ashes was a rare thing…”

Yoongi—the one that unceremoniously greeted you and someone you cannot stand—pipes up immediately, “Apparently not. But at least they’re all around the same area this time.” 

“I can see that,” you drawl. “But didn’t this just happen? I’ve never seen this many after we just salvaged a big group.”

Something feels odd about the reports flying in. Normally, a day would consist of checking into Headquarters to pinpoint Ashes, and flying out on hovercrafts or portcasting to whatever planet you needed to for a quick salvage. Once you were done with the jobs, you would either rendezvous with another unit that needed backup or simply go home and hate your life because of how fucked up your job really is. 

But right now, observing how many Ashes are pinging off a small planet in the same solar system, you’re wondering if this is going to be another Longnight. 

You just came back from one. That’s exactly why you and Jin… 

Shifting your helmet to face him, you can already see that he’s looking your way. Fuck, how you want him to whisk you back to your Homepod and make you forget your name and occupation a fourth time. It looks like he wants to do the same. 

A voice rumbles across the table as the most quiet salvager decides to offer input, “It’s strange, isn’t it? How we haven’t gotten new recruits for months until now?” 

“I dunno, Taehyung.” You tilt your head back to the displays smoothly cycling in front of your shielded eyes. “Could be the reason why we’re getting more recruits. We’re gonna start needing backup if this keeps continuing.” 

A helmet lowers as the man folds clothed arms. Seemingly to himself, he mutters, “I feel like they started recruiting before all of this, though.” 

“There’s another thing you should know about,” Jimin—the one with the least amount of salvage experience—chimes in, voice strained as if you might not like what he’s about to say. 

“Don’t be shy,” you bite. “Out with it.” 

“Well… Speaking of recruits, we have a new—”

The obsidian doors of the circular space hum low as they slide open, and every helmet in the room snaps toward the newcomer’s easy strides. 

On instinct, you size them up under their salvager suit: masculine body type, strong shoulders but lean lower frame, slight tilt of their head indicating low level of interest or attitude, minor slump in posture. Seems a bit too laid-back for your tastes, but you keep the bulk of your opinions until you’ve seen someone in action anyways. 

“New guy,” Jimin finally finishes his statement, his tone changing from timidness to piqued curiosity. “Hello.” 

The stranger simply shifts their helmet Jimin’s way without a word.

Mm. You might end up liking them. 

Standing from your seat, you approach and stop some distance away. “First day?”

A nod. 

“Last name?”

“Jeon.” 

Stunned at how soft their voice is, you pause before asking, “How was training, Jeon?”

A shrug.

You huff through your nose in amusement, knowing that the training regimen is a bitch and a half. “Well, the real shit is nothing like it, so take a seat.” You start to stride back to your desk as a few laughs punctuate your statement. Because it’s true. “Especially since this mission might be a bit different.” 

You go over the briefing while circling through the holo displays, assigning everyone their pseudonyms and roles and targets. After a quick meeting, you check for understanding. “Group One first. Jin, Tae, Park: review.” 

Jin’s the first to speak as he slides fingers across the table, the motion transferring files into his eyeshield. “Callisto. Armory. A-142 and A-211.” 

A light voice cuts in right after as Jimin follows suit. “Elara. Retriever. C-002.” 

“Europa. Surveyor. B-299,” Taehyung sounds with disinterest, arms still crossed and back still slumped into his chair.  

“Good. Group Two.” Since you’re part of this one, you start. “Metis. Armory. A-327 and A-410.” 

The newcomer waits for Yoongi to review. When the guy is silent, they fill the gap. “Ganymede. Surveyor. C—”   

“Shouldn’t we check this dude’s stats before assigning him?” 

All of you shift focus to the lean frame at the back of the room. Miffed about everything that’s happening, you snip, “There’s no time for that, Min. We’re running low on our window as is, and training prepares recruits for all roles.” 

“New kid,” Yoongi asks, his words launching straight over your boiling head. “What are you good at?” 

Jeon doesn’t respond for a beat, instead swerving his helmet to you for some kind of approval. When you tilt your head as a sign to answer, he stutters out, “I, um. Armory.” 

“Huh. Took me two seconds.” 

Slamming the planning station, your frustration almost fogs the inside of your head gear, “I don’t have time for your insubordination, Min. Either get this out during planning or save it and shove it up your shitty asshole.” 

“Jin, seriously, tap that a little harder next time, yeah?” 

A ruckus starts on that side of the table before you get two steps out, with Yoongi’s dark material in Jin’s fiery grip. Jimin tries to separate them while reminding them about the mission, and Taehyung stays burning his gaze into the black glass in front of him. 

You already know that the new guy is a bit spooked from the commotion, judging by the stiffness of his shoulders that you caught before joining in the fray. He doesn’t know how common this really is—the snippy attitudes, the pre-mission tension, the pent-up anger. Eventually, he’ll get used to it if he stays.  

But fucking hell, it always has to be Yoongi getting you so riled up every time. If the two of you didn’t work so well together, you would have requested his transfer to the Venus or Pluto Units expeditiously. 

Frankly, you would send him straight to Mercury if you had that power. They always have problems happening there. 

But you’ll settle for a firm grip of his collar for now, shoving Jin aside as you take your place in front of your verbal sparring partner. “Don’t fuck with me today, Min.” 

“I’ll settle for fucking you never, thanks.” 

“What’s with you? Nervous? Is our little kitty boy scared of the rain?” 

You can’t see his face, but you know that statement received an eyeroll, which you’re happy about. Releasing him with a shove, you make your way to the doors, not looking at any of the hovercraft pilots at their consoles or the new kid still glued to his seat. “Jeon, take Armory. We’ll switch roles but keep our same targets. I’ll figure something out before we portcast and fly out.” 

“Okay.” 

“And Yoongi?” 

The figure across the planning station straightens, as do Jin and Jimin beside him. 

Childishly, you gloat, 

“Never is right. You couldn’t get this pussy even if you begged.” 

-

-

// LOGDATE: 3021.02.01, 0800 

// LOCATION: PLANET VALGA, HOVERCRAFT STATION 

// SUBJECT: ANOTHER LONGNIGHT  

-

-

-

end of teaser.

-

A/N: if you managed to make it here, hello! i know this is vastly different than what i usually write, but i am having so much fun with this universe already and it’s super refreshing. let me know what you think/what you liked, if anything!  ++ feedback box: ⇥ of course, any reblogs/comments/messages are appreciated! ⇥ for the ones that are too shy to reblog with a review, comment on this, or send a message, i went ahead and made another anonymous form where you can send in what you think! ⇥ no emails collected, no need to put in a username. it’s literally just a comment dropbox :D feedback can be as short/sweet or as long as you’d like! ⇥ here! ++ ⇥ masterlist

[runnning-outof-time]

The Line | Tommy Shelby x Reader

Request: no - for @noforkingclue ‘s 2.5K follower celebration.

Pairing: Tommy Shelby x reader

Summary: (Y/N) does something she thought she'd never do in her entire life.

Warnings: language, weapons, violence (typical to series), character death

Word Count: 2832

A/N: I’ll be honest with y’all…I had no clue what I wrote here at first - it was just word vomit that turned out to be pretty decent once I read it over again. The two prompts that I based it off of are italicized in the story. I hope you like it. Enjoy! :)

Let me know if you’d like to be tagged in future stories similar to this one!

———

(Y/N) was standing at the end of a dark alleyway, wondering what the hell she'd done to have herself put in that position.

She should have known that tagging along with a brother one day to the Shelby household, despite said brother saying that it was a bad idea over and over again, would have brought her to this point. Now she was a member of the Blinders.

She started off small, helping out on the floor of the betting shop and making sure that things were running up to snuff at the Garrison. But then she tagged along when Tommy and Arthur were going to a meet with some men from a neighboring organization. She was easily able to get them to agree to the terms that the Shelby brothers were offering, and was not afraid to sweet talk her way into reaching a deal.

Because of this, Arthur was immediately on board with moving (Y/N) from the floor to the negotiating realm. Tommy, on the other hand, wasn't so excited about this proposed change. There may have been some reasons behind this though.

Tommy and (Y/N) shared a close relationship pretty much from the moment that she showed up at the betting shop. He recognized that she had a similar ambition inside of her to what was inside of him. She was determined to excel in a world that women normally weren't found in, and she was determined to do it without any coddling from the men who were in charge. So Tommy didn't coddle her, but he certainly became captivated by her.

And so after a shared kiss in the stockroom of the Garrison a few weeks ago, the two decided that they wanted to pursue each other romantically. There was one, major kicker though...no one else within the family or company could know of it.

So when it was proposed by Arthur to have (Y/N) meet with the leader of the gang that operated in the North side of Birmingham solo, Tommy had to try hard not to let his true feelings show. Arthur knew that (Y/N) was up to the challenge, and he also knew that this particular leader, a man named Roy, got skeevy if he was approached by a group of people. It made sense to him that (Y/N) went in by herself because she would have the most persuasion power over Roy...the most that there could be without violence being resorted to.

What surprised Tommy the most was that (Y/N) was up for it; that she wanted to go and meet with this man solo. When it was just the two of them later that night, and he asked her why she chose to agree with the plan, she told him that it was because she knew he'd be waiting just around the corner if things went awry.

That was what she kept reminding herself as she stood in front of Roy, who looked like he was ready to launch into a full-fledged deliberation against the prospects that she'd metaphorically laid out in front of him. Usually she was able to talk whoever it was right into submission, but those tactics didn't seem to work on Roy. He seemed to have something set in his mind, and it was quickly becoming apparent that he wouldn't rest until he got just that.

"I'll tell you what, Roy," (Y/N) said after he'd had the floor for more minutes than she could count, "how about we settle this with the terms you agreed to initially...before we decided to come to this alleyway."

"And what would those be?" Roy raised his eyebrows.

"You have your control over your neighborhood indefinitely, and on top of that, we'll provide protection for you when you decide to make moves outside of your lines," she laid out the terms that had brought them to the meeting they were in.

"And what do you want in return?"

"Just the laced stuff that you’re trying to push to your people," she answered him, then glancing down to the bag that he had in his hands, "which is what I'm hoping is in the bag you've got there," she added, nodding to the bag.

"You'd give me all of that for this little bag of shit drugs?" Roy sounded surprised.

"That 'little bag of shit drugs' has been killing people all over Birmingham, so yes, I would give you all of that," (Y/N) responded, using the same terminology as he did, although her words took on a dry tone. She was more than ready to be done with him.

"Now that's an offer I can't refuse now, isn't it?" he remarked, a grin spreading across his face as he finished speaking.

"I don't know," she shrugged her shoulders slightly, obviously playing coy, "is it an offer you can't refuse?" Roy pursed his lips and stared at her for a moment, making it seem like he was trying to sort out if she was being honest or not. (Y/N) got tired of waiting after several moments had passed. "This is the best deal you're gonna get, Roy, and it won't be on the table for long. So I suggest that you..."

"I'll take it," he cut her off.

"What?" (Y/N) asked, her eyebrows raised. She wanted to hear it from his mouth directly.

"I'll take the deal. I'll give you the laced product and take the protection and immunity," he spelled it out for her, just like she'd wanted.

"Brilliant," (Y/N) grinned as she stepped closer to him so that he could make the hand-off, "I knew you'd see sense in this deal."

"Makes it easy when the terms are coming from such a pretty mouth," he grinned as he handed the bag over. (Y/N) tried hard to keep back the gag his words brought on as she took the laced drugs into her possession. She knew that many lives were being saved just by taking ownership of it.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Roy," she continued to play along with the act, keeping a smile on her face, "send a call our way whenever you need."

"Of course," he grinned before he turned and began walking away from her. (Y/N) wasn't even able to let out the breath of relief before he turned back around to her. "On second thought..." he started as he retraced his steps to be standing in front of her once more, "I wanna keep the product too."

(Y/N) wanted to be shocked by his sudden switch up. This wasn't the first time she'd been in charge of making negotiations though. She knew to expect things like this; to expect sudden swings in what the other party was thinking, as well as last minute attempts to sway her into getting the upper hand. It wasn't going to work. So she calmly began laying down the terms of the negotiation process for him in hopes that he'd see sense. "Deals don't work like that, Roy. You've got protection and immunity, and you've traded those drugs for them. If I hand them back to you, the deal's..."

"I said give me the fucking drugs back, woman!" he cut her off harshly while lunging towards her. She hated that she flinched at his movement when all that it was was just a bluff tactic.

"Roy..." she kept her voice steady, but didn't really know what to say next. She knew that she had to talk her way out of this somehow, but he was getting heated for no apparent reason. "Why don't we just calm down and think about what you're really trying to do here."

"No," he was shaking his head immediately, "why don't you think about what you were trying to do to me with this 'deal' you've laid out. You're taking my product, my fast track to income, and you're taking it in exchange for some half-assed promise that we'll be protected by your men, who may not even be there when the time comes."

"I can promise you that you will be protected by our men should you need to be," (Y/N) stood her ground, discreetly reaching her one hand around to hook her fingers into the waistband of her skirt. Tommy's just around the corner, she thought to herself as she prepared for what he'd say, or do, next. Tommy was around the corner, but she didn't want to rely on him. She knew how to get herself out of this. She'd done it before and she could do it again.

"You can sweet talk your way around the deal here, hun, but you can't make me blind to common sense," the man seethed, his eyebrows raised as he inched closer to her.

"This has nothing to do with common sense, Roy. We're giving you a fair shake...I can assure you of that," she insisted, trying her best not to let her voice waver.

"I said give me. The fucking. Product," he enunciated his statement distinctively, making sure she heard each and every word he said. His voice dropped lower with each word he uttered until he was nearly standing toe-to-toe with her.

"Think about what you're doing here, Roy," she kept her cool.

"Now," he demanded, pulling something out of his pocket. (Y/N) instantly recognized it to be a blade, one that he was surely intending on using.

"There's no need for you to use that," she told him, her voice steady as she inched her fingers towards the weapon she kept tucked into the back of her skirt.

"Give me the fucking drugs then," he wagered with her, his eyes widening as he spoke. Another quick glance down told her that he had a white-knuckle grip on his blade.

"If I do that, the deal's off...you know that," she was still trying to wager with him, to talk some sense into his mind. Things didn't have to go this way - by way of violence.

But then they did. Roy lunged towards (Y/N) while bringing his knife upwards. It was obvious that he was going to grab her and use force as leverage to get what he wanted. He had no care for her life. So she acted within seconds and pulled her gun from out of her skirt's waistband, brandishing it and firing as quickly as she could. She squeezed her eyes shut as the loudest 'bang' she'd ever heard echoed through the alley, and she waited for the feeling of the knife piercing her skin to greet her. But it never did. Instead, a loud 'thump' sounded off of the ground, and it was quickly followed by her name being shouted.

Tommy ran as fast as he could into the alleyway after he heard the shot ring out. He couldn't help but expect the worst. "(Y/N)!" he called out as he approached her. She was standing with her back to him, and it took him to physically turn her around for her to actually look at him. "Hey...you ok?" he asked as his eyes frantically roamed over her body, "you're covered in blood," he commented then, hating the feeling of his stomach dropping as he said those words.

"I...I don't think it's mine, Tommy," she told him, not trusting her voice at first. Surely it couldn't be hers. No part of her body hurt, but yet she could feel the liquid that was splattered across her face and arms.

"That's good," Tommy said, breathing a sigh of relief then. "Come...come here," he continued, beckoning her to follow him over to the lone car that had been parked in the alleyway. She listened, following him over and watching with a glassy stare as he placed his one hand on the wheel well of the vehicle so that he could bend over.

"T...Tommy..." (Y/N) trailed off after stuttering out his name.

"What, (Y/N)?" he asked her as he stood upright again to let out a breath.

"I just killed that man, Tommy," she said, her eyes still focused on the body that was lying motionless on the ground.

"You did what you had to do," he told her, his voice back to its normal, steady tone after realizing that she was unharmed and ok.

"I know, but...but I crossed the line. I did the one thing I said I'd never do; I took another person's life," she spoke in an hesitant tone, like she was unsure of if the words she was saying were even real.

"What do you mean 'the line', love?" Tommy sounded confused.

"The line of morality, the difference between right and wrong. I didn't think that I'd find myself in this position, ever...I didn't think I'd be the one who decides whether or not to take a person's life," she explained, coming to grips with what had occurred with each word she said.

"People like that don't deserve to live, (Y/N)," he told her, hoping that his words would persuade her into changing her outlook on the situation. The immediate shake of her head told him that he'd failed.

"Don't say that, Tommy. Even people like that deserve the chance. I've still crossed that line. Regardless of how terrible that man was, I made the choice to do what I did to him," she continued to disagree with what he was saying. Her hands were starting to shake now as the reality of it all set in.

Tommy looked her in the eyes for a moment, searching inside of her in hopes that he'd find what she was truly feeling at the moment. It quickly became apparent that she was wearing her emotions on her sleeve; that she'd truly felt bad about what she'd just done. "That line disappears once you cross it. It's all different now," he told her then, holding her gaze as he spoke.

(Y/N) held her breath as she let his words sink in. "I...I don't think I like that," she choked out then once the realization of the situation hit her fully.

"It's ok," he said to her, reaching out and grabbing onto her shoulders so that he could pull her into his chest. He held her close to him and let her cry, knowing that she'd feel better once she got it all out. He let her go when she took the smallest step back, and he reached out to tuck the loose strands of hair back behind her ear before he cupped her cheeks with his hands. "There'll be no more of this, do you understand?" he asked her, speaking in a soft tone, "no more meetings...no more deals. You'll stay back at the shop with Pol, help out around there again.”

“I’m fine,” (Y/N) insisted, swiping at the tears that were betraying her by leaving her eyes, “I’m ok, Tommy. Like you said, the line’s gone now that I’ve crossed it.”

“No. Not for you,” he disagreed, shaking his head, “not for you it’s not. I’m gonna need you, (Y/N),” he told her, bringing his face ever so slightly closer to hers, “I’m gonna need you when these back street dealers turn into businessmen and fucking politicians. I can’t have you losing your sense of what is right, do you understand me?”

(Y/N) held his gaze for a few moments before she nodded her head as best as she could with his hands still fastened to her cheeks. “Yes, I understand you,” she affirmed, letting him know that his words had sunk in.

“I’m gonna take you home now, yeah? I’ll get you cleaned up and then we’ll find a way to forget about what happened today,” he then let her in on what they’d be doing next.

Although his plans sounded very welcoming at the moment, one thing was still burning on her mind. “What…what about the body, Tommy?” she asked, thankful that his frame was blocking her from seeing the gruesome scene again.

“I’ll have some men deal with it,” he brushed her concern off, letting her know that he had it taken care of, “you don’t need to worry about that side of it all anymore, ok?” he then checked to make sure she understood.

“Ok,” she answered with the slightest smile. Tommy released his hold from her cheeks then so that the two of them could exit the alleyway to head back to Watery Lane.

(Y/N) was thankful that there weren’t many people out on the streets at this time of night. Even if there were, she really wouldn’t have paid attention to them, or their reactions, at all. She knew where she stood in the mind of herself and the people who cared for her most, and that was all that mattered to her.

———

Tagged: @mgcllovdrms @the-anxious-youth @cloudofdisney @look-at-the-soul @golden-hoax @elenavampire21 @peaky-cillian @mrsalwayswrite @julkaamazing @evita-shelby @lilyrachelcassidy @notyour-valentine @shelbydelrey @december16-1991 @onlydeadcells @peakyswritings @just-a-blackhole @watercolorskyy @strayrockette @peakyduchesss @alexxavicry @captivatedbycillianmurphy @yummycastiel @dark-academia-slut @tommystargirl @stevie75 @lyarr24 @signorellisantichrist @zablife @anotherblinder @midnightmagpiemama @cillmequick @rangerelik @lovemissyhoneybee @dandelionprints @letal-y-poetica

MASTERLIST

[gracebutnotgraceful]

patchwork - ted lasso

pairing: ted lasso x gn!reader, no Y/N

warnings: language, roy is here folks

word count: 1.5k

notes: finished this one a little early so i thought i’d post it a little early :-) hope everyone is having a good week! this is inspired by this article that talks about a shop owner within the area tl is filmed and how she embroidered face masks for some of the cast. i thought that was so cute and wanted to make a little story about something similar! 

summary: one day a hat embroidered with afc richmond’s logo suddenly appeared on ted’s door step. every time he wears it, the team wins. he and the other coaches go on a mission to find out who made it. 

Another win.

After the game, the coaches did a little celebrating with the team in the locker room before letting them go. With how well they’d been playing lately, they didn’t really need to spend a ton of time talking about what they could improve on. This wasn’t the Richmond that fought themselves just two seasons prior. This Richmond was stronger, more cohesive. They were winning as a team. 

“It’s definitely the hat,” Beard said after the final player had left, leaving behind just the coaches and Higgins who had come to chat after the game.

“It’s gotta be. Why couldn’t they play this fucking well when I was out there?” Roy agreed with a huff. 

“Come on now, I’d like to think we’re doin’ a little something to make this happen,” Ted responded, though he also thought the hat had at least a little something to do with it. Roy rolled his eyes and gave a grunt in response before plopping into one of the office chairs. 

“If you don’t mind me asking, where did you get that hat? It’s not official merchandise, I know that much.” Higgins asked. 

“You know, I actually have no clue where it came from,” Ted answered, taking the hat off and running his thumb over the AFC Richmond logo embroidered on the front of it. “It just showed up.” 

“Showed up?” Higgins’ brows quirked up questioningly. 

“On his door step, outta the blue.” Beard replied, standing up from where he’d been lounging at the desk. 

“That’s fucking creepy,” Roy grumbled. 

“Come on now, Roy, you were just saying it’s got some magic in it,” Ted joked.

“Well, we do win every time you wear it,” Beard said. “You ever find out who dropped it off?” Ted shook his head. 

He’d been trying to figure out who made it since it showed up a couple of months ago. He figured it had to be a local, someone who lived or worked near his flat. He wouldn’t put it past fans to somehow figure out his address though. It’d happened in Kansas. He didn’t get a nice hat then. Instead, he’d gotten eggs splattered on his front door and windows after a terrible loss. 

“The only real lead I’ve got is that quilt shop up the road,” He answered, “but it’s always closed by the time we finish up here, and it’s not open on Sundays. Figure I’d be able to find a time to go soon, let y’all take over training for the morning if I have to.” 

“You know,” Higgins started, checking his watch before continuing, “it’s only two. How late is it open on Saturdays?” 

“Higgy, you genius! Let me look it up,” Ted pulled out his phone, typing the name of the shop into Google to look up its hours. With any luck, they had at least a couple of hours before it closed to go ask around before going to Crown & Anchor for their usual after-game dinner. The guys waited patiently as Ted searched for the shop’s hours. He looked up at them shortly afterwards, a giddy smile on his face.

“Well?” Higgins asked.

“Five! We got time. Let’s go!” Ted threw the cap back on his head, grabbing his wallet and keys from the desk before darting out the door. Higgins followed, and Roy stood up with a groan. 

“You know, you don’t have to come,” Beard said in response to Roy. 

“Oh, I’m coming. I want to know about this fucking hat.” He muttered, gesturing for Beard to go out. He followed, shutting the door behind him. 

After a short walk, they found themselves standing in front of the little quilt shop a couple of doors down from Crown & Anchor. Ted saw a couple of people strolling about inside looking at various quilts and embroidered items on display. All of a sudden, he felt a little nervous. This was the moment. If the person who made this lucky charm of a hat wasn’t in here, he had no idea where else they could be. 

“Are we going to just stand here or are we going inside? Bloody hell,” Roy complained, snapping Ted out of his thoughts. 

“Right, well, I guess this is it,” Ted shrugged. He opened the door, waving the others through before walking in himself. The woman behind the register looked up at the sound of the door opening.

“Oh! Welcome in, welcome in! Is there anything I can help you find?” She asked, coming over to greet them. They all looked at Ted.

“Afternoon, ma’am! We were actually just wondering”—Ted took the hat off and held it out to her—“if maybe you knew who did the work on this hat? It showed up on my doorstep on mornin’ and I just wanted to thank the person who did it.” 

The woman took the hat into her hands, running her fingers over the stitching. Her eyes widened, the corners crinkling as she smiled.

“Oh! You got their hat! They’re here, I’ll be right back!” She gave the hat back to Ted and ran to a door behind the counter, opening it and disappearing up a staircase. They came down shortly after, someone else trailing behind them. 

“Laura, I’m off today and I’m still working on a commission! Can’t this—Oh my god. You’re Coach Lasso.” You stared wide eyed before looking down at the hat in Ted’s hands.

“The man himself,” Ted joked. “Laura here told me you did this,” he held the hat out. 

“Uh, yeah,” You fiddled with your hands, not making eye contact with Ted. “I hope you don’t think it’s weird that I left it at your door. I live upstairs, so I see you come through here a lot.” 

“Better than some of the things left at my door across the pond,” Ted laughed. You smiled. “I just wanted to thank you. It’s beautiful work.” Your cheeks flushed.

“Please, it’s nothing. I just wanted to give you something to celebrate the return to the Premier League!” You responded.

“It’s not nothing. That thing is bloody magic or something!” Roy exclaimed. You looked at him in shock, as if you had just noticed him, before looking back at Ted.

“Magic?” You asked. 

“We’ve kinda won every game that I’ve coached with this hat on,” Ted answered. “Bit of a good luck charm now.”

“Oh, wow. That’s awesome.” You replied. 

“And I think we owe you a bit of a thank you. Would you maybe want to come with us to dinner? We were just going to go to Crown & Anchor,” Ted pointed over his shoulder. 

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to impose!” You said, shaking your head.

“Nonsense, you’ve helped us win six straight games! The least we could do is buy ya dinner!” Ted waved his hands. You gave a small smile. 

“Let me just grab my coat.” You went back upstairs, returning shortly after and walking over with the guys to the pub. 

Dinner was pleasant. The coaches talked about the team and the past few games, spilling some secrets about the players and some of their weird pre-game traditions. They also got to know the maker of the team’s good luck charm, asking you about your shop and how long you’d worked there. Ted felt incredibly comfortable with you, something that didn’t happen all that often. After dinner, Roy split off to meet with Keeley and Higgins left to go home to his family. Ted and Beard offered to walk you back. It was on their way, after all. 

“You said you take commissions?” Ted asked. You nodded in response. “I think we may just have to getcha to make a couple more of these for the rest of the coaches. You know, extra luck,” 

“I think I can manage that,” You laughed. “Thank you for dinner and for walking me home.” You bid them both goodnight before walking inside.  

Ted and Beard walked for a few minutes in silence before Ted broke it. 

“I’m glad we did that,” he said.

“I can tell,” Beard responded. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ted asked with a laugh.

“You just seem happy, that’s all,” Beard answered. That was definitely not all.

“They were super nice. I don’t know why, but I built the whole thing up in my head. I thought they were gonna throw us out or something, like they left it for me on accident.”  Beard listened as Ted rambled about you, how kind you were, how he liked getting to know you. When they reached Ted’s door, they stopped walking. 

“You know, it sounds like you finally found someone to stitch up that heart of yours after Michelle,” Beard said. 

“Hey now!” Ted exclaimed, his face flushing. “I just wanted them to be comfortable!”

“Mhmm, ‘You said you take commissions?’” Beard mocked Ted, earning him a smack on the shoulder. 

“Come on, Coach, it’s been long enough. You deserve a little patchwork. Good night,” Beard walked away, leaving Ted standing outside his door dumbfounded. He’d not really felt feelings for anyone since everything happened with Michelle. He’d tried, the occasional date or hook up, but nothing seemed to be what he’d thought it should feel like. That is, until now, and he couldn’t believe Beard knew it before he did. He turned back toward where your little shop stood, wondering if you could see him from here before shaking his head with a laugh and walking inside. 

Maybe he could negotiate a dinner for each hat he wanted to commission.