#also did not know ace actually lit his cigarette like

[baby5fanclub]

so how come i always liked acesan even after i realized they barely interacted when i read the manga, and now i’m watching alabasta and ace is just?? there???

honestly obsessed with the ace filler + simple ace presence and if he’s gonna have a yaoi moment with sanji in the process you know what so be it.

[bitchdafuqyousay]

At Mami's

The house was almost uncomfortably warm, despite the windows being open and the loud grumbling of the old ac system. Sam was sitting on the couch; ramrod straight with his hands folded tightly in his lap. It wasn’t the heat that was making him so uncomfortable- it was the massive, scarred man sprawled out near him. He was reclining on the arm of the couch, his forearm tucked under his head with the other one folded over his stomach. The real problem was that one long leg was slung over the back of the couch, his muscular thigh bordering on touching Sam’s shoulder and the other leg was hung off the edge which resulted in their ankles touching each other. Practically caging him in on the couch.

He also had no fucking idea who this guy was. 

The blonde had just waltzed in through the door and dropped down on the couch right next to Sam as if he lived there. Which Sam was pretty sure he didn’t; he thinks the woman who took him in would have mentioned that she had a massive roommate who had actual guns, plus in the four or so weeks he’d been with Mami he’d never seen this guy. He seems like something someone would mention.

Or maybe not.

This whole island was a fucking nightmare so maybe this was just another normal thing here. He silently prayed Mami would get back from the market soon. Though he didn’t believe in prayer or God anymore. Not after his parents abandoned him here. Hardcore christians who thought that somehow all their white, bible thumping, protestant glory would bring God and salvation to this place. Allegedly at least. That’s what they said. Yet for some reason of all their eight children they only took their seventeen year old son with them, and after a month of yelling about God on street corners they suddenly disappeared. He just woke up in the apartment they’d rented alone, finding his parents and their stuff gone. His things had all been left, save his passport. That’d vanished alongside his mom and dad. 

He’d come to believe that they came here with the intention of abandoning him.

The big man shifted some, his head lifting slightly and looking in the direction of the door; which opened just seconds after.

“What’re you doing in my house, gringo grande? I don’t recall inviting you to see me.”

Okay, so she did know him. But he didn’t live here. Sam was right.

“Sammy, if he shows up just tell him to get lost.” The old woman strode past the couch where the two males were and dropped her bags on the kitchen table with a grunt

“Oh, uhm- I dun’ think I…” The boy trailed off, glancing at the man out of the corner of his eye. He just huffed dismissively and reached into his vest pocket, pulling out a pack of cigarettes, but he didn’t get to take one out though because he got smacked on the wrist almost instantly by Mami, who’d gotten there so quick she may as well have teleported.

“Hans, que Dios te ayuda- do not light that trash in my house!” 

The man rolled his eyes but still closed the box and put it away, dropping his head back on the arm of the sofa with a groan. 

“You of all people should know that nothing gets lit in my house unless it's Cuban or pure cannabis.”

She turned away to walk back to the bag of produce she’d brought back when the man, Hans, spoke; “Sage. Incense.” 

The two words sounded rough; a harsh, whispered growl as if it was hard to get them out of his throat. Mami glared at him over his shoulder and Sam flinched a bit. He wanted to get up and step outside but alas, he was still trapped between this bastard’s legs. He couldn’t leave without clambering over a large thigh and Sam was humiliated at the thought.

Yeah, ‘scuse me big guy I'm just gonna climb over you real quick dun’ mind me as I scramble over your thigh to run out of here.

Absolutely not. 

“If you’re gonna be cheeky then get out of my house, pendejo.”

Hans grunted out something like a laugh, “¿Usted casa es mi casa, no?”

“No. What do you want?”

Sam followed Hans’ arm as he lifted it off his stomach and pointed to an envelope on the table. Sam hadn’t even noticed it, he had no idea Hans had even brought anything besides his twin guns. Though he supposed anyone normal would be more focused on the weapons a man was carrying and not a fucking piece of mail. Mami huffed and shuffled over to snatch it up; tearing it open to examine the contents- a piece of paper and a flashdrive. She scrutinized the paper and looked over the top of it to glare at her uninvited guest. If looks could kill, Hans would’ve exploded right there on the couch and taken Sam out with him. 

“No haga este tipo de trabajo, Hans. Y tú lo sabes.” 

Sam ducked as the man quite literally slung his leg over Sam’s head so he could plant his foot on the floor and sit up fully. He held up his hands in a placating sort of way. The old lady looked at the flashdrive in her hand and sighed loudly- running a hand down her face in exasperation. She stared at Hans for a second and Sam was surprised to see a soft look pass over her features. 

Then Mami waved a wrinkled hand dismissively, “I’ve gotta make a call, get out for a moment.”

Hans stood up and headed for the door, then looked over his shoulder and sighed before striding back to grab Sam by his collar- pulling him out as well. Sam didn’t protest. He had a feeling this guy wouldn’t listen to him and there was no way he would be able to fight him off.

Once they were outside with the rickety door shut behind them the other guy took his pack of cigarettes out again, tapping the bottom on the palm of a large hand before pulling one out and placing it between his lips. He paused and turned his head slightly to look down at Sam, quirking an eyebrow curiously. Sam hadn’t realized he’d been staring and started to stammer an apology.

A cigarette was held out in front of his face before he could get out a whole word, though. Hans must’ve thought he’d been looking at his smokes, that was good. Sam had actually just been staring in general, but this little misunderstanding was better- he was sure of it. 

“I’ve never smoked before.” He blurted out while taking it from him anyways. Hans shrugged and pulled out a lighter, lighting his before passing it to Sam. Sam flicked it, but startled at the spark and almost dropped it instead of successfully lighting the cigarette. His face burned, but not from the heat outside as Hans took the lighter and lit the cigarette for him.

Sam had seen people smoke before, breathe in then exhale the smoke. It seemed simple, and the guy next to him made it look really, really easy. So it’d probably be fine. Sam inhaled deeply.

It wasn’t fine.

Almost immediately Sam began to cough, it tasted awful and burned in his chest. His eyes watered up and he doubled over a bit. He was humiliated, honestly.

This is the worst I hate it here why did I take that thing he’s gonna laugh at me oh my god-

He felt a hand on his upper back, patting him as he choked. He glanced up though teary eyes and was almost more embarrassed to see that the man wasn’t laughing; his face was almost totally blank and unmoved, like he’d been expecting this outcome. He needed to detract from this moment; he needed to divert the attention, even though it was barely even there.

“So, uh, I’m seventeen.”

Hans stopped patting his back and looked down at him quizzically. ‘So what?’ was written on his face.

“I’ve only been here a few months. Mami took me in, she’s really good. I dun’ think I’d still be alive if she didn’t find me and decide to help me out.” He was blabbering, Hans just nodded.

“I’m seventeen-” shit, he’d already said that “-how old are you?”

Hans held up two fingers, then eight. Twenty-eight. “Woah!”

The pale man’s head whipped around to stare down at him- giving him a very sharp look. 

Fuck you mean ‘woah’!?

“I mean, uh, it’s not like you look old- or something like that, you just look tired? The people that I knew who were in their twenties were all just, peppy. Bright eyed and stuff. Though maybe that’s cause they're delusional. Culty. I dunno. Sorry.”

Hans looked away and sucked his teeth before he took a long drag of his cigarette. 

“You seem to know Mami, pretty well, I mean.”

“Stayed with her.” Sam perked up at the older guy’s gritty sounding response. Finally something in common. He could try to work with this.

“Like I’m doing now? When you were young- I mean when you were younger you stayed here? Does she take in kids and stuff often?” Hans grunted, turning to face Sam fully, leaning on the wall and pointed at it, before placing his hand on his chest and drawing it forwards slightly while bringing his index finger and thumb together. Sam paused and squinted a bit; Hans repeated the motion, slower this time, a halfway hopeful look on his handsome face. 

“Oh! Oh, I know that! That’s ‘like’! She likes to!” Sam had taken an asl course in highschool, and felt a surge of pride when Hans reached out and ruffled his hair, clearly pleased with him. “What does she like about it?”

Hans signed something else, but it was more complex than Sam knew, and after a bit Hans re-signed ‘likes’ then put out his right hand palm down and raised it slowly. Sam appreciated that, even though he was essentially being talked to like a toddler. Simple words in broken sentences. 

“Mami likes to see kids grow up, okay. That’s pretty nice, fits with the sort of tough love personality. But uh, why? I dun’ mean to pry, I'm just asking but it’s not serious though.”

The pale blonde paused, and his brown eyes visibly saddened.

Hers’ never got to.

Sam sagged against the wall when he figured out what Hans had signed, "Oh..."

“That's why she doesn’t work, now.” The man seemed to have found his voice again, he’d used his hands to give himself a break, probably. He sounded like he had trouble speaking. There was a little stretch of silence for a bit before Sam tugged Hans sleeve.

“Could I, uh, could I try another cigarette?”

Hans ruffled his hair again, and the weight of his hand made Sam bend over a bit. His request was granted; the man reopened his pack and held one out to him. And it was at that exact moment the door opened behind them.

“I’ll hold it for you, for now, but- Hans!” Mami lifted a hand and smacked him on the shoulder with a resounding slap, “You’ve lost your mind! Giving a boy a cigarette!” Her hand kept falling over his shoulder; Sam was surprised by the amount of power in them given the fact that she had reach up and stand on her toes to actually hit him. Hans made a something of a “weh” sound as he leaned away from her, but he didn’t actually make any real effort to actually get away. He was even smiling softly.

“It’s not his fault Mami! I asked for one- I wanted to try!”

“Gringo grande here is grown! Someone at his big age ought to say no, be an adult!” She ended her attack and crossed her arms, “Both of you get inside. It’s almost dinner time. Hans you’re prepping all the vegetables as penance for acting like a fool. It’s also tax for showing up here asking for a favor.”

The big man grinned down at her, all sharp teeth, and Sam was reminded of a snarling dog, despite the genuine happiness in his face. Sauntering into Mami’s house Hans bent down and pressed a large, dramatic kiss to the woman’s cheek.

“Aye, pendejo, don’t act sweet with me now-” She swatted at him but her eyes were filled with undeniable fondness “-now put your knife skills to work and get to cutting. Sam you set the table then go sit down and recover from dealing with this brute.”

Sam nodded and briefly wondered if he should also kiss her cheek before walking in; he debated and nodded in affirmation before gently pecking her cheek and jogging in after Hans. He didn’t see the large smile that took over Mami’s face as he went by her, not that she’d have let him see.

“Hans! I go by Sammy, that’s my nickname! Do you have one? Cause I’m Sammy!”

He'd already said that. Damn

[charmwitch]

a little character snippet I wrote last night:

(Note: Lawrence is a crow currently.)

“What’s wrong?” Huxley flicked the cigarette in his hand, fiddling with it but not lighting it near the bird. He really should quit, what with the precarious state Lawrence was in. It’d probably benefit Edel too, if he was ever allowed near him.

“I noticed,” his words drifted slightly, like be didn’t know how to approach something, “that your clothes are a little different lately. Are they from Belacuna?”

Ah, Huxley laughed. “That’s right, I’m half Belan. Got these from some folks there. Thank you gifts from previous clients.”

“Are you fluent?” Curious today, he was. “Somewhat,” he shrugged, “did you want to learn?”

Lawrence pondered it for a moment before shaking his head, “I don’t know any other language, I don’t want to sound dumb if I mess up.”

“S’not hard, just gotta start small.”

“Who taught you? Was it your mom? Dad?”

Huxley stopped walking then, the feathering silence without his footsteps caught Lawrence’s attention.

“It was my mother,” he quietly continued to walk, “and then my grandmother, after she died.”

“Oh,” Lawrence’s heart felt heavy, “… sorry.”

“Car accident,” he continued, “so they say, but that’s neither here or there, I don’t remember much, I was only a kid.”

Lawrence stayed quiet, thinking about his own mom.

“What’s she like?” Huxley shifted his shoulder to catch his attention, “Yours.”

“Mine? Well,” he had to think. Although he loved his mom, Lawrence always worried about putting her in a bad light when describing her. She was a little terrifying, after all.

“She’s pretty strict, but well meaning. We would always take care of the others together… I was her little helper. It was a bit suffocating at times, but I was always glad when she took care of dad’s business. He’s too soft, you know?”

“She’s a bull, huh?”

“She always cut my hair too short, I told her I didn’t like people looking at my face all the time. They would say things about our eyes…”

“Is she green-eyed as well?”

“Yeah,” he paused, “… I probably hurt her feelings telling her these things. She’s probably heard it all before. I should… talk to her sometime. I just worry- if she finds out, you know? She’ll take matters into her own hands.”

“Right, we can’t have that,”

“My little sisters are still at home, and dad’s health hasn’t been great. I don’t want to add more undo stress than I have already…”

“Is finding out her missing son isn’t dead more or less stress?”

“I don’t know, you tell me,” Lawrence huffed, “...you’re the adult here, what’d you think?”

“I think you’re right t’keep the status quo.”

“…”

“Oh! She’s also a great magician! A witch, even!”

“Is she now?” Huxley laughed, Lawrence’s eyes lit up talking about her, even if he still had those moments of being, well, a teen. “That’s strange, I know most witches in that area by name.”

“Don’t think she’s registered,” Lawrence mumbled, “she had to drop out of school for some reason. Heard her talking about it on the phone once. But she’s super smart, she would ace any exam! She’s been learning from home, but she never told me her affinity…”

He looked up, “… actually, you haven’t told me your affinity either.”

Huxley simply nodded, “‘s a secret, people get weirded when they find out.”

“Ah. I knew it. Necromancy.”

“Ya wish. Besides, that’s not an affinity.”

Some lil guys, (Lawrence and Huxley)

Huxley's hands are always gloved!!

[atlasshrugd]

But just maybe porsche should have asked kinn why not to trust vegas instead thinking kinn is an idiot in asking this?

Did the anon who sent this actually watch the show? Porsche flat out asked what was up on more than one occasion - the rooftop talk after Vegas lit his cigarette is probably the most direct request for information that we witnessed - and every time he asked, Kinn either evaded the question altogether, redirected the conversation, or gave Porsche some Vague non answer about family competition. People had to know that Vegas is the one who drugged Porsche at the auction (this plot hole bugged me because that was never addressed again) but like nobody ever frickin told him that! Of course he wouldn’t know it’s dangerous to accept a drink from Vegas because he didn’t know it was ever a threat in the first place. He also couldn’t keep his distance from Vegas completely. The Major family literally sent him to their home to be used as a tool because they literally own him. He had no choice when it came to… well… pretty much anything.

Porsche had a lot of questions that were blown off as inconsequential and he was actually overstepping the line by asking in the first place. OF COURSE he didn’t suspect anything more than family rivalry and typical jealousy. He saw Kinn was jealous but he didn’t have any of the info on WHY Kinn was so upset over Vegas pursuing Porsche. Then you add in all the other stuff that’s already been addressed and like, how tf was he just supposed to know all this? I don’t remember Porsche character being written to have telepathic abilities.

And don’t get me wrong, I’m not Kinn bashing, I really do understand his perspective and why he, and really both of them, have made some of the mistakes they have. I’m just so annoyed that this fandom loves to Victim Blame Porsche for a lot of the the things he’s had no control over. Like, you can’t pass a test if you weren’t given the material to study yet they were expecting Porsche to somehow ace it. Where’s the logic my dudes?

FACTS. you are right and you should say it anon.

[lupiningwolves]

Drunk confessions | Sirius Black x reader

summary: remus gets you drunk so you can tell Sirius that you love him

warnings: alcohol, cigarettes, just fluff apart from that

—

Gryffindor parties are the best parties at Hogwarts. Because of the Marauders and their map, as well as James‘ invisible cloak, they had the most alcohol. Whenever there was a party, they would sneak out the day before and steal something from Hogsmeade.

You were always there, as a „mental support“ what Remus liked to call it. You didn’t actually like those parties, just the people. To be specific, one person with black hair, grey eyes, tattoos and an earring. Remus and Lily knew you liked him, but Remus also knew that he liked you back. So today, he tried to get you both drunk.

„Come on, y/n. Don’t be a party pooper“, he said and poured you another shot firewhiskey.

„No, Remus, please“, you giggled. You were already tipsy and the night barley started. „You know how I get when I‘m drunk.“ You were the worst. Not that you were dancing on tables (though it happened one time with Marlene), but you sure were telling everyone your deepest secrets. When that would happen, Lily would take you back t your dorm. But she was involved in Remus‘ plan.

„Oh, don’t be dramatic. Sirius, here“, Remus shouted over the loud music, Queen, Bowie and everyone, who Sirius had a record from. Remus held out a glass for him, which he happily accepted.

„Thanks, Moony. Hi, y/n.“ He smiled at you as he saw you for the first time this night.

„Hi“, you answered, a bit to quiet for him to hear, but he still understood. He nodded at the two of you and then went back to James, who tried to get Lily to go out with him.

Sirius looked great. A black AC/DC T-Shirt with ripped jeans. His leather jacket was thrown over the armchair next to you, because it was way to hot in the common room to wear a jacket. His hair was tied in bun, but a few strands still fell out. He was gorgeous.

„Just talk to him“, Remus said smirking and took a sip from his drink, a cigarette was in his fingers. You didn’t even realise he lit it.

„No, I won‘t“, you answered, still not taking your eyes off of Sirius, who now turned around as he felt your stare. You quickly looked at Remus‘, who just laughed.

„You should. It‘s no secret you like him and he likes you back. Don’t be like Lily and James-“ You both looked at the two. It looked like James wanted to dance with Lily and tried to show her his moves, but it looked rather strange. „Well, maybe not like James - You know what I mean, don’t you?“ You nodded and drank the firewhiskey in one sip.

„But I need more of this if I really want to do that.“

~ The night just flew by. You drank way more than you normally did and now Remus had to experience the consequences of getting you drunk. „Please, Remus, just one dance“, you said and tried to get him up.

„Noo“, he whined. „Go dance with someone else. Maybe … ah, yes. Sirius! SIRIUS!“, he shouted a second time as named boy didn’t react. „Go dance with this lonely girl here. Pour thing has no one.“ You rolled your eyes at his comment, but were more then satisfied that Sirius obeyed.

He took you to the „dance floor“ and started dancing with you. Not soon after, and you didn’t know how it happened, you lips were only a few millimetres apart.

„I really want to kiss you right now. Not just right not, obviously. I want to for … a very long time, but-“ He made a surprised sound as you crashed your lips on his.

Remus cheered from his seat, James whistled. „God, I wanted to do that for so long“, you said grinning. If Remus wouldn’t have happened, this would‘ve never took place.

„Me too“, Sirius said and kissed you again, but this time it was softer.

~

Groaning, you woke up in a bed, but it wasn’t yours. You quickly looked under the blankets to, to your liking, find that you wore a quidditch hoodie and sweatpants, both way to big for you.

„Good morning to you too.“ Remus leaned smirking against the door frame. „Have you had a nice night?“

„I didn’t - did I have sex?“ You couldn’t remember a single thing that happened. Remus bursted out laughing and shook his head.

„No, but you had the hottest kiss with Sirius.“ Your eyes widened and your mouth fell open.

„Oh my-“ Now the door opened again and Sirius came in, smiling.

He went to you, bent down to you and kissed you on the lips. „Good morning.“

It sure was a good morning.

[marvelslut16]

Loving Jack

Jack Castello x reader

Synopsis: You meet Jack Castello while you both take classes at Ace studios. As you get to know him you fall in love with him. But he’s married, he can’t possibly love you back. So what happens when he arrives on your door step in the pouring rain with news that changes everything?

Word count: 2,534

Warnings: Talks of cheating, cross burning/KKK

A/n: I absolutely loved Hollywood and fell for Jack Castello. Sorry if this sucks, I just really wanted to write it. Also, as much I love Claire, she isn’t in this. SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE SEASON. I also made a shitty dreamland reference, whoops. I know the title is bad, but I had no idea what to name it.

His soft delectable lips were pushing hard on yours, his tongue roughly parting them so he could get a better taste of you. Reaching up, you card your fingers through his dark mussed hair, pulling hard on the ends. The action elicits a soft groan from him, spurring you on. You lightly suck on his tongue, his grip on your hips tightens, no doubt leaving bruises in their wake. You gasp as he pulls his mouth away with a loud pop, his lips make their descent towards your neck, but they never land. Instead, a knock wakes you from your dreamland. 

You let out a long drawn out sigh as you push yourself from your bed, who could possibly be bothering you this late at night? You grab your dressing gown, the cool silk a nice contrast to your overheated body. You tie the robe nice and tight, and turn on the lights as you walk through the house. You throw the front door open to yell at the person bothering you, but the words die in your throat at the view. 

Standing on your front porch is Jack Castello, a very drenched one at that. His eyes are red and puffy, tears still falling, mixing with the rain that has him soaking to the bone. Your heart breaks at the sight, who would do this to him? 

“Can I come in?” his low voice breaks at the end. You can see that he’s trying to stay strong, trying not to show the full extent of his pain. 

“Of course!” you grab his hand and gently pull him in when he doesn’t move right away. “I’ll go make us some coffee! Take off your coat, or you’ll catch a cold,” you call as you make your way to the kitchen of your modest home. 

You have been a contract player at Ace pictures for years, never making your big break. But now, now you finally get a supporting part, all of your hard work has finally paid off.  You got the role as Meg’s best friend, quite fitting since you became best friends with Camille since meeting her in one the acting classes. 

Ace pictures is also how you met the man standing in your living room, leaving a puddle on the carpet beneath him. The moment you saw Jack you were attracted to him, but the moment he spoke to you with those big eyes full of wonder, your heart became his. Your heart didn’t care that he was married and had twins on the way, all it cared about was the way his whole face lit up when he smiled, or how every time you ran lines with him he would compliment you and tell you how amazing and talented you are. 

You never acted on those feelings, of course. You would never steal another woman’s man, it’s wrong- immoral. A surprising and naive view to have in this town. It didn’t matter how much it hurts, watching him fiddle with his wedding ring every day, wishing you were the one he’d go home to every night and kiss goodnight. It didn’t matter how you felt, not even after he admitted to you in a drunken stupor one night after running lines that he didn’t actually love his wife. None of that mattered, not the heartbreak or the loveless marriage, you would not be the reason he started cheating on his wife again. And, you valued yourself more than that. You would never be the other woman. 

While you’re off in your thoughts, you don’t hear Jack enter the kitchen behind you. He shifts a little behind you, causing his worn out chuck taylors to squeak on the linoleum flooring. Neither of you say anything, neither of you know what to say. Your friendship had never been awkward with Jack, and yet the uncomfortable tension in the room is suffocating. You turn to look at Jack as the coffee starts to drip slowly into the pot behind you. 

Jack took his coat off like you told him to, leaving him in a tight white wife beater, the rain causing it to cling tighter to each rippling muscle. The wife beater is tucked into his wet black slacks, wrapping gorgeously around his thighs, highlighting just how strong he is. Last but not least, his silver cross hangs over his heart, the metal chain sticking to his wet skin as well. There was no denying that Jack Castello would be the newest heartthrob when Meg comes out. 

“If I had clothes that would fit you,” you break the silence, grabbing his jacket from his arms and draping it over the back of one of your chairs. “I would throw your clothes in the dryer for you.”

“I’m gettin’ a divorce,” he finally says why he’s at your house in the middle of the night, flopping into the chair his coat is hanging off of. The distraught look on his face makes you not care that his wet trousers are going to ruin your wooden seat. “The babies, they ain’t mine. The guy she worked with, the one I didn’t trust, they’re his.”

“Oh sweetheart,” you push off the counter you’re leaning on and drop to your knees in front of him. You reach up, grabbing his hands that are limp in his lap, gently running your thumbs over the back of his cold hands. 

He may not have been in love with her, but he would always care for Henrietta. And then it hits you, she cheated first. He confided in you about the gas station at the beginning of your friendship, said he only did it to support his wife and twins. He had told you about how angry she had gotten when she found out he was cheating, the nerve!

“She thought I would figure it out, thought I would realize there was no way they could be mine. She said I made her feel terrible. Am I a bad person?”

“No, honey,” you let go of his hands and instinctively grab his face, gently moving his head so he’s looking you in the eyes. “You could never be a bad person. You two just didn’t work, you both want different things. Jack, you're the most amazing person I have ever met, you're so kind and caring. You’re amazing Jack Castello.”

He closes his eyes and leans into your right hand, and you want to cry. His skin is cold and damp under your touch, a new set of tears bubble to the surface and spill onto your hands. You stand from your kneeling position and sit in the seat beside him, and before you can hug him, he stands and pulls you tightly to him. Your flush against him, he smells of rain and cigarettes, and the way his strong arms wrap around your waist is all you can focus on. You can’t bring yourself to care that your silk robe is now soaked in the front, you just want to make him feel better. Ignoring both parties wet garments, the two of you sip nice hot coffee and talk for hours. 

After some arguing, he insists that he can’t take your bed from you, so you give him your comfiest blanket and best pillow so he can get a good night's sleep on the couch. You're finally drifting off for the second time that night when you smell smoke, but your dream induced mind twists it into a barbeque at Ace studios. You’re grabbing some food and joking with Jack as the smell gets stronger, smoke wafting through your open windows. Jack runs into your bedroom, clad only in his underwear that reveal just how generous his package is, frantically trying to wake you up. 

“(Y/N),” he shakes you nervously.

“Hmm?” you groan out, rolling to the side and away from his loud voice. 

“There’s a fire!” you jolt up at the words, fully awake now. Ignoring the delicious sight of an almost naked Jack in your bedroom, you run to the front of your house, not caring about grabbing your robe this time. 

Your blood runs cold at the sight in front of you, gasping, you back away from the window. Right there in your front yard is a burning cross, you continue backing up until you bump into Jack’s warm chest. Instinctively, he wraps his arms around your front and pulls you tighter into him. Letting out a sob, you turn in his arms, burying your face in his bare chest. It’s a warning, your life is in danger. And for what? Because people didn’t believe in progress and equality? For being a part of a picture that deserves to be made, a picture with a fantastic script and an even better message.

“Put your clothes on,” you push him away as the wailing of sirens grows near. You quickly grab your robe and throw it on before walking out to meet the firefighters and police. 

--

At the studio the next day Jack won’t let you out of his sight. And you don’t know who it’s for, you or him. Not caring what people will say or think, Jack demands that he stay with you for the next few months. Just until all of the hatred and protests die down. He doesn’t think the security the studio is supplying will be enough, he doesn’t like the thought of you being the only one in the targeted group alone. 

And for the next few months you grow closer to Jack, creating a false domestication. You’ll wake up and cook him breakfast, and he’ll fix anything that isn’t working properly. With each passing day you lose more and more of your heart to the aspiring actor, and what you have left continues to crack. He could never love you, he would never see you that way. 

Before you know it, security isn’t necessary, and Jack goes back to his apartment. Henrietta gives birth to the twins and moves to Indiana. The divorce is finalized, and you’re back to living your hollow empty life again. Yeah, you have a job you love. But what's success with no one to share it with? You miss walking to the kitchen every morning and making breakfast for two, waking Jack up and finding the little bit of drool dripping onto the pillow. Your house feels empty, you feel empty. Was this what Peg felt like when she decided she wanted to end it all?

You try to distance yourself from Jack, hoping that with less time spent with him the pieces of your heart would return and repair themselves. But your actions only cause more pain, yours and Jack’s. Archie’s on your case, complaining to you that Jack is always whining that you’re ignoring him. Camille is trying to figure out what happened, wanting to know why in between takes you always seem so sad now. You’ve gotten good at avoiding Jack, knowing when not to get food because you two used to go together, and which route out of the studio to take. 

Until one day you arrive home after a long day to Jack sitting on your doorstep. He has his head in his hands, messing up his slicked back hair. He’s wearing his black slacks and a short sleeve white button up, the picture of handsome. Your heart starts to race, and you aren’t sure if it’s out of fear or desire. 

“Jack, what are you doing here?” your voice is softer than you anticipated it would be, his head snaps up to look at you when you start talking.

“Do you hate me?” his blue eyes full of pain and confusion instead of their typical optimism and wonder. He lurches forward, kneeling in front of you and gripping the bottom of your skirt tightly. “Let me fix whatever I did, please.”

“Stand up,” you talk through your teeth, keenly aware of the looks you're getting from your nosy neighbors. “We’ll talk about this inside.”

He flashes you his megawatt smile, causing your heart to stutter. He jumps to his feet and watches you closely as you unlock the door. As soon as the door is open, he has his large warm hand on the small of your back, guiding you inside and away from the prying eyes and ears. You take a few steps before turning to face him, jumping when you see that he’s practically on top of you still. 

“What did I do?” his voice cracks, much like the first night he showed up on your doorstep. 

“N-nothing,” you stutter, backing up to put space between you. You don’t trust yourself not to just throw your arms around him and give him a big smooch. 

“Then why are you avoiding me?” your heart starts to break at how crushed he looks, and the weight of the pain you’ve caused the both of you comes crashing down. 

“I love you,” the words come out in a breathless rush. You can’t look him in the eye, you can’t see that he doesn’t feel the same, so you stare at the ground. 

“I love you too,” he says it like it's the most obvious statement in the world.

“No Jack, I’m in love with you,” it’s your turn to have a voice crack. You hear his step forward, his dirt stained white converse appear in your view. His warm hand gently caresses your cheek, causing you to melt into it without a second thought. He gently tips your head back so you’re staring into those gorgeous pools of blue. 

“I’m in love with you too,” he admits, more confident and sure of himself than ever before. “I think I have been since I met you.”

A tear trickles down your cheek at his confession, his thumb quickly wipes it away. His lips make their descent on yours for the first time in real life, your heart beats fast and hard against your rib cage. Until it stutters to a brief stop when his soft, warm, lips land on yours. His hands move to hold onto your waist, and yours quickly tangle themselves in his hair. 

Your action spurs him on, he gets up enough courage to run his tongue across your bottom lip, begging for entrance. You deny him at first, teasing him until he splits your lips apart on his own. You sigh as his tongue invades your mouth, the taste of tobacco and the feel of him exploring your mouth is all you can concentrate on. Your knees go weak at this new and amazing feeling, luckily his strong arms keep you standing. You, regretfully, pull back when the burning in your lungs becomes too much. 

He’s grinning at you like a madman, placing kisses all over your face; your forehead, your left cheek, the tip of your nose, your right cheek, your chin. You can’t help but laugh at his silly antics, you love this man more than you ever thought humanly possible. 

“I love ya, (Y/N/N),” he leans his forehead on yours. 

“I love you too,” you bridge the gap, and kiss him once more.

Permanent tags: @crimson-knuckled-queen​ @rexorangecouny​

People who took an interest in me writing this: @elleclairez​ @antoouu​

[bechobbi]

Fortune favours the bold - SamDrake x Reader - (Chapter 5)

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The sun's rays illuminated the room in brilliant trails. The alternation of lights and shadows made the room warmer and more welcoming than it actually was.

Sam hadn't slept a wink after reading that one page of your diary.

You opened your eyes lazily at the sound of the front door closing. It took a few seconds to figure out where you were. The slightly moldy and unadorned walls brought back in your mind the events of the night just passed.

Another unfamiliar place that wouldn't have long remained etched in your memories.

You rolled out of bed and automatically made your way to the window. You were hoping to understand what time it was basing yourself on the power of the sun's rays that warmed the day ahead.

You pulled the curtain aside. It was probably 6 or 7 in the morning.

You hadn't slept much this time either, but you felt pretty rested.

Some movement caught your attention. A man from behind was smoking looking at the sky. It took you a couple of seconds to recognize him. He was the one who had disinfected your wounds hours ago. He was pacing back and forth along the narrow wooden corridor that joined all the doors of the rooms of that dilapidated motel.

"He seems nervous ... No, it would be more correct to say that he seems upset" you thought.

On the spot you headed for the door and, once outside, you stood staring at him for a few minutes.

"Did you sleep well?"

You didn't think he noticed you.

"L-llike a rock"

"You needed it," he said finally turning to you.

He looked tired, his eyes red and circled by light purple dark circles.

"You, on the other hand, look like someone who hasn't slept for days"

Sam, not too surprised by your statement, put his hands to his hips, puffed some smoke and said, "It is written in my face, isn’t it?"

"Quite"

He smiled and gestured in the direction of the room. “I got something for breakfast. There is also coffee. You like it?"

It had been some time since someone had bothered to get you breakfast.

"I love it"

The man came up, opened the door, threw his cigarette away and invited you to enter first.

"Ladies first"

"T-thank you ..." you said looking down at your feet.

"Sam. My name is Sam"

You faced him, he was waiting for your handshake.

“I am Y / N”, he had a strong grip typical of a person who could be trusted.

He had been smart, now he was sure of your name and he knew for sure that the diary he found was yours.

While he poured the coffee into two cups, you sat on the only chair in the room.

"Here it is. A good dose of energy to start the day” he said, passing you the cup. Then he sat on the bed.

"Thanks a lot. You know, my parents often brought me coffee in bed” you said as you lost yourself in the dark liquid.

"Really? Well, lucky you. "

Lowering your voice you commented “Not really I would say”.

"Why?"

"Long story. My parents are gone "

Sam bit his tongue "Man, sorry..."

"Don’t worry. It's not your fault. Rather, I have no money so I can't pay you back for hospitality and breakfast. "

He sipped his hot coffee “Don't even think about it, it’s on me. Never let a woman pay, unless she's rich and you're her toyboy” Sam joked to defuse the situation.

A smile appeared on your face.

"You're nice" you affirmed.

"Thank you" he winked at you.

You blushed for a moment. You could perceive the erotic charge of that man from a mile away.

To distract yourself from those kinds of thoughts you started looking around. But you ended up inspecting your interlocutor’s hands.

He had big and strong hands, that were probably skilled in different fields of action, and surely had touched an infinite number of women. He was clearly the one-night stand type, yet behind that facade in your opinion was hiding a person with a big heart .

"Look... what are you doing in a ramshackle motel like this?"

He tilted his head to one side and commented "I could ask you the same question"

"You're right" you shrugged.

He hesitated a moment after which he decided to answer anyway "I was expecting a person"

You made a face "... And?"

"She didn't come"

"I understand" you muttered.

Silence. He sipped his coffee noisily, so much to fill the silence of the room.

"Was it important?" you asked suddenly.

Sam narrowed his eyes and nodded.

Silence fell again and you felt a little embarrassed, but at the same time you couldn't stop the questions in your head.

You started making noises with your mouth to try to make yourself comfortable.

Then you noticed that he was staring at you from behind the cup, he was looking for eye contact with you. He was studying you.

"Why are you asking me these questions?" he seriously ruled.

You held your gaze and stammered “I-it was like that, just to talk. Sometimes the silence is too deafening "

Sam was very serious this time.

He lit a cigarette and headed for the window. He looked out after moving the curtain.

"You know, last night when I went out to get some food I found something."

Your blood ran cold as thhe man eagerly inhaled the smoke from his cigarette.

"I know what actually happened to you before you came knocking on my door."

At that moment the man in front of you scared you. He had changed abruptly. Now it was creepy.

"I-I ..."

He interrupted you “I live on lies too, but perhaps you already understood this. I noticed that you are smart. I could almost say that you understand more than you want to let others believe. "

"You-see ... I-I ..." you tried to speak again, but he cut you off again.

"You know I have this bad habit of always wanting to screw others, but not wanting to be screwed."

Finally he turned towards you, from that position you could see his height and his physical structure. A hand would have been enough to break you a bone.

He slowly moved towards you threateningly and you were frozen in fear.

Now he was crouching at your feet and, without taking his eyes off yours, he took a lock of your hair and put it in its place behind your ear.

You felt like you had a lump in your throat. You stood still.

“You remind me so much of a person I know. Now, will you please tell me who you are? "

You couldn't open your mouth so he kept on talking.

“I know you weren't attacked because they wanted to rape you. I know that you are a thief of books, records and food "

He was playing with another lock of your hair, rolling it around his fingers. You were ready to dash away at any moment to escape from that strange situation.

Then you saw a huge smile forming on the man's face. A wonderful and sincere smile.

"I like it" he commented.

You thought you would faint at any moment, but you held on tight.

Sam laughed “You should see your face! Don't worry girl, I'm not going to do anything to you. And... if you are in some trouble you can tell me about it, maybe I can help you " he winked at you and jumped up.

You were stunned, you no longer knew what you felt. Fear? Yes. Joy? Yes. A mixture of emotions.

You were baffled by that sudden change in his behavior, it was probably some kind of test you had to pass.

"I thought you wanted to hurt me" you said looking at him.

“Nah, I'm not that kind of man. Rather, I feel that you are in a situation bigger than you. Ah here." He continued heading towards the place where he had hidden your backpack "I believe this belongs to you".

He took out your stuff and handed it to you.

"Y-yes, did you find it in the trash can? I thought I had lost it ... "

Sam laughed "Yeah sure LOST, of course”

"Well, in a way I thought I would never find it again after yesterday ..." you justified yourself immediately.

Setting down the now empty cup of coffee, you took your diary and some clean clothes from your backpack.

“My name is Y/N  Y/L/N, and I'm on my way home. Or at least to what was my home. Let's say I want to take back my due. "

Sam was intrigued "And what what is that?" he pressed.

"As I said, my home and my legacy. Some people took everything away from me, even my parents, but obviously they made it look like murder-suicide, so ..."

The man was captivated by your story, by you, by your eyes, by your gestures as you spoke, by your voice. From the adventure that somehow lay ahead of him.

"You are alone?" he asked.

You nodded with a frown.

“So you want to take revenge and take back what's yours, all by yourself. It doesn't seem like a good plan to me. "

"I can shoot" you retorted determined.

Sam was stunned for a moment, then returned to his normal attitude “Shooting alone is useless. Besides, have you ever shot a person? I mean a real person? "

"Once."

“Wowowo! Aren’t you too young to play with a weapon? "

"It was self-defense, that's how they defined it"

"Who?"

"The judge and the jury"

Sam was more and more surprised and intrigued, for a moment he hesitated, then he asked "So you were also in court?"

“Yes, but they let me go. I told you: self-defense. " You repeated.

“Ok ok. Who are your enemies?"

"Relatives" you stated.

The conversation was becoming an interrogation, though the man in front of you did not make you feel uncomfortable as the police did. It seemed to you that by dint of telling the desire for revenge grew more and more.

"So your relatives, and you must have shot one of them, disinherited you and so you ended up on the street."

"In a nutshell" you shrugged.

Sam took another cigarette and lighting it he asked "Do you have an ace up your sleeve?"

You shook a no with your head.

He snorted and in a reproachful tone said “You need a plan, girl. Aren’t you thinking about walking into the house, shooting and getting out clean. If you shoot first, the jury won't be so kind. "

On the one hand you were discouraged, in your head there was only the desire to see  dead all those snakes. Material things and life itself had lost their value since your parents died.

Staring at the floor you whispered "I don't care about anything anymore ..."

"What the fuck?!" Sam snapped "You're wrong!" he took you by the hips and lifted you like a doll, dragged you in front of the mirror placed in front of the bed and put you down. He smoothed your messed up hair and placing his hands on your shoulders he said aloud “A beautiful and strong girl like you must not give in to the injustices of the world! Life can be better than this! Don't get your hands dirty. And if you really have to, let someone else do it! "

"W-what?"

“Listen to me” he said reaching your ear “I like you, you have the ability to see inside people and beyond things, I'm not stupid, I've known tons of people and you don't have to go down to the level of those who have hurt you. You have everything to lose. You have a whole life ahead of you. Start over, you can do it. I can’t, I'm in it up to my neck and I like it, the risk makes me feel alive, but you're smarter, you're better than that. Look at yourself!"

You did not have the courage to look at the reflection in the mirror, you would have studied and hated yourself.

"Don't you want to look at yourself?"

"No..."

“Then I'll look for you. Close your eyes."

You closed your eyes and took a breath. Never before have you met such a chatty and outgoing stranger. However, all in all it wasn't that bad. You let yourself go to the warm touch of his hands. The warmth of him, his not bad perfume and his cigarette smell. His important hands were now gently moving down towards your arms. It was all very strange, yet it was reassuring.

"In the mirror ... there is a young woman ... a woman hungry for life ... alone, and able to understand the hidden truths of the world, which is a considerable burden, but she’s capable of carrying it. She has intense eyes, an elastic and agile body, but her hand is not steady ... she is afraid and she would like to go back ... Unfortunately, however, it is only possible to move forward, otherwise she would not have make it till this very moment. She deserves to be better than that, the sad thoughts are dictated by the tragic events, by the fact of feeling alone. But Lord works in mysterious ways, remember that. "

You were filled with a sense of melancholy. Images of you as a child flowed before your eyes, the happy days when everything went the right way alternated within you.

“Now” Sam continued “it's time to open your eyes, in every sense, and to look at this young girl. To love her, to appreciate her ... to hug her. "

Slowly you opened your eyes and looking at your reflection the tears began to flow.

"Thanks ..." you whispered.

“So you don't have to do stupid and hasty actions. You have to come up with a plan and let someone else help you carry this burden. "

You stared at him through the mirror.

"And who?" you asked in a whisper.

Sam smiled and winking at you said "I can help you."

"Y-you can you shoot?"

The man laughed heartily "Among the many qualities I have, I also know how to shoot, but we will try to avoid it, what do you think?"

You looked away “I can't involve anyone. This is my battle "

Sam patted you on the back "When you get your inheritance back, you'll pay me back"

Your body stiffened, you looked down and said "So ... it's money that interests you ..."

"Well, let's say it would be a way to repay me for the help"

At that point you couldn't stand it anymore, you shook your hands off him and yelled facing him “You’re all the same! Money! Money! Only money! And all that idiotic talk you gave me ?! Eh ?!  Pure fiction! "

Sam couldn't help but burst into laughter and said “You're a tough one. Anyway ... do you really think my speech was stupid? "

"Hell yeah!"

"Now I understand why she dumped me." He laughed again putting his hands in his pockets looking at the ceiling.

“What do I care! You're just kidding me! "

"Ahahahah You're impressive, she would have answered like this too"

You insisted shouting “Get it over with! Who the hell are you talking about ?! I am me and no one else! "

Sam knew you were harmless, yours was just a small crisis. What was importanta was that after a long time he was having pure pleasure talking to a woman. A pleasure that went beyond simple sex.

The man sat down on the edge of the bed, poured himself some scotch and said "This speech, more or less, I had to give to my ... let's call it " marriage ", but she didn't show up"

Now you were at attention, your enquiring side activated, in a second your anger vanished and you were finally ready to listen.

"T-that person you were expecting ... was that your ...?" you stammered.

“Yeah, my future wife if you want to call her that. Obviously not in the Church, let’s say it was more like an officialization"

"And she dumped you?"

Sam nodded.

"Why?" you were curious, deathly curious.

“I've been wondering for years. I just know she was everything to me. It was my redemption. A new beginning."

"And is that why you drink, smoke and do bad things?"

“Hey hey, I don't do bad things. I am a bit like Robin Hood, I steal from the rich to give to the poor, including myself. "

"Robin Hood ..." you were perplexed.

"That's right," Sam said.

"Tsk-"

The man became serious again and said "So do you want a hand or not?"

[my-one-true-l]

Stoopid anon is here :-) How would the Wammy boys act if they're sick and their s/o wants to take care of them?

Hello Dear Anon! You are NOT stoopid, not at all!!! (Always feel free to contact me if you want or need to!!!) 🖤

(Hehehe, big babies the lot of them!!!)

L

His SO and Watari knew before he did that he was coming down with something.

Knows he’s sick and insists he’s not (at first). Tells his SO that they’re overacting and that he’s perfectly fine.

He’s paler than usual and his dark eye circles look more like black eyes. He says he doesn’t see a difference than any other day.

After a few hours, he says he isn’t feeling as well as he usually does, but won’t stop working on whatever case he’s on. Those in his HQ are already exposed to whatever he has and anyone else he’s in contact with is over the computer or phone, so he can’t see a reason to stop.

Finally he goes to his SO and flops on them and groans, “I think I may have caught something.”

He totally gives into their babying of him. They wrap him up in his favorite blanket, bring him Echinacea Tea with Honey and cinnamon (which he actually drinks without argument, so you know he really doesn’t feel good), and lies against his Love and until he falls asleep.

The next morning, he insists on going back to work. The compromise is that for the next few days there’s a lot of investigating from bed and consumption of soups and fruit salad.

He will be very happy when his Love decides he’s all better and can have coffee and cake again.

They do give him orange juice with a shot of vanilla syrup in it to give it a creamsicle flavor.  

He’s also happy every time they bring him a popsicle for his sore throat.

Not loving the amount of NyQuil he’s being told to take, but he won’t sleep otherwise.

Mello

Another one that will not admit he’s sick and he is super belligerent about it.  “How could I be sick? I haven’t been around anyone that’s sick?!”

When he does give in to the fact that he’s sick, he spends hours trying to figure out “what fucker gave this to me”.  

Insists his love stay away from him because he doesn’t want them to catch it, but after they tell him there’s really no way they haven’t already been exposed, he lets them care for him.

His love makes him lay down on the sofa while they bring him homemade chicken and vegetable soup (which is his favorite).

They spend the next few days at home and his Love has a hard time keeping Mello resting, so they start binge watching a show they know Mello likes and it helps keep him in bed.

Near

Immediately says he’s not well.

He’s very quiet, even for him.

Wherever he is crouching, he just lays down & curls up in a little ball.

Has no problem being taken care of by his SO. He goes to bed immediately and lets them tuck him in with his favorite stuffies and turns on whatever movie he asks for.

They make him chicken and stars and brings him orange juice, which he eats no problem.

His Love spends the next several days cuddling him and taking care of him, making sure he gets plenty of sleep.

Matt

Notices his sore throat is different than the usual one he gets sometimes after he smokes a cigarette. “Ah, shit. I think I’m getting sick.”

Gets into bed immediately and lets his Love baby him. He wants to feel better as soon as possible and the only way that’s going to happen is if he gets rest and let’s his SO take care of him.  

His love brings his video game system into his room and sets it up on the stipulation that they only play when he’s feeling better in a few days, which he agrees to.

They really don’t want him smoking because it can aggravate his cough, but they also don’t want him to go through withdrawl, so he agrees to chew nicotine gum until he’s better. (His SO secretly hopes this will start him quitting).

They make him homemade chicken noodle soup and buy him Italian Ices, the orange and lemon ones.  

Beyond Birthday

Is a HUGE baby when he’s sick. He doesn’t feel good and he wants everyone to know it.

He wants nothing more than to have his Love cater to every whim he has and they are more than happy to do so, even though he’s a huge pain in the ass.

First he’s freezing, so they bundle him up and he lies down on the couch to watch some old t.v shows. 5 minutes later, he’s roasting and wants the AC turned on.

He wants alphabet soup, which his Love makes him from scratch, but has to pick out every L in the noodles.

He wants a backrub because he’s achy, but not too hard, because he’s achy.

Wants the lights turned off because his head hurts, then complains because it’s too dark and he wants to read.

His love offers to read to him and 5 minutes into the book he falls asleep. His love puts a thin-knit afghan over him and turns on the hall light so the room is lit, but not bright. They curl up next to him in case he needs them.

[ddaengyoonmin]

BTS Friends to Lovers Series (Taehyung)

Pairing: Police officer!Taehyung x Badgirl/Stoner!reader

Genre: Angst, Smut, Fluff, small attempts for humor

Warnings: some slightly dark themes, drug dealer!Jungkook, swearing, lots of weed references, deep throating, cum swallowing, dom!Tae, face slapping with hands and with his cock (cleanse my souuul oops) assault on a cop, some abuse of power from a Pervy older cop. Getting arrested. (I think that’s all let me know if I missed any)

A/N: while this is a reader insert I put a lot of my own personal experience and life into this piece. It was also partially based on a dream I had about getting arrested by taehyung

Word count: 6k

Songs to listen to: ‘Free spirit’ - Manila Grey ‘Parking lot’ - Manila Grey ‘Play with Fire’ - Sam Tinnesz

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell my mom and dad about this. You know they’ll just go right to your parents about it.  As long as it’s the last time this happens... right?”  Taehyung turned around and cocked an eyebrow at you from the driver’s seat.

You let out a groan and rolled your eyes.  “Sure Tae, of course it’s the last time” you spoke with a hint of sarcasm in your voice.  

“I mean it y/n, you’re lucky it was me that got to you and not one of the other guys.  You’d be down at the station right now instead of sitting in my car with a milkshake” He scolded

You took a big sip on the straw of your milkshake “Yeah thanks for this by the way, I was really getting the munchies” You joked

Taehyung let out a loud sigh, taking off his police issued hat and running his fingers through his shaggy brown hair annoyed.  Then holding up the plastic bag that had the remaining weed that you hadn’t smoked yet in it.  “I’m keeping this you know that right?”

You shrugged “What for? are you gonna start smoking again Mr. Do-good?” you teased him. 

“y/n…” he spoke sternly. “Damnit, you’re so lucky we are friends.  I don’t think you realize how many times I’ve saved your ass from doing actual time over this stuff” 

“It should be legal anyways and you know it.  Besides...I knew a time when you would’ve been right there with me” you said matter of factly. 

“Well that was a long time ago y/n.  We were kids, now we are adults.  Well...I am at least” he shot you a joking glare and you pretended you didn’t see him and just took another long sip on your milkshake. 

“I’m taking you home now” he sighed and drove out of the parking lot the two of you had been sitting in. 

You had known Taehyung since the two of you were practically babies, he was a year older than you but the two of you had been best friends since as long as you can remember. 

Your mom and his mom were best friends at college and were each other's maid of honor for their weddings.  Your families were tied together like an unbreakable knot, dinners together at least twice a month and unscheduled random hangouts were just part of your life, and with it, Taehyung. 

You were there when he had his first kiss at the middle school dance, you comforted him after his first break-up with said girl that he had his first kiss with.  You both drank your first beer together, and smoked your first joint together.  Everything that you did, you had done with Taehyung.  Until he graduated highschool a few years ago, and had the grand idea that he wanted to become a police officer.  That decision put quite a damper on the shenanigans you were used to getting into with him, and you’d felt yourself grow slightly more distant from him as a result. 

But, he still looked out for you.  Times like today you were kind of grateful he had joined the police force, because he was right, if anyone else had caught you smoking a joint with a few extra grams to spare on you, sitting inside a big yellow slide on a playground thinking that no one would notice (Spoiler, they did…) They wouldn’t have just scolded you and then bought you a strawberry milkshake. 

 Taehyung pulled up to your house and walked around to open the back door of the police cruiser for you.  

“Stay out of trouble y/n.  There's only so many get out of jail free cards I can offer before someone notices you know.” he pulls you into a quick hug

You snuggle your head into his chest for the quick moment, that he hugged you. 

“Ah, Don’t make me smell” he quickly grabs your shoulders putting you arm's length from him with his nose scrunched, a disgusted look on his face. 

“Don’t act like you don’t miss that smell” you winked at him as you walked the cement path leading to your front door.  

Taehyung rolls his dark eyes and gives you a quick smile.  

He didn’t always used to be like he was now, he was the biggest stoner you knew.  Which is what always caught you off guard about his decision.  It seemed quite random, it was strange enough to you that you felt it could’ve made the news, ‘Small town Stoner Turns Good Boy Cop’  You chuckled at that thought.  

Though you missed your favorite smoke buddy. 

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

The next day when you got out of work you drove over to your dealer’s house to replace the Eighth that Taehyung had to confiscate from you. 

Your old beat up car had been running on its last leg for a while now, but it continued to get you where you needed to go, and you spent too much money on smoke to think about getting a new ride. 

Jungkook was lounging on his front porch smoking a cigarette, his eyes shut in a dreamlike state, his jet black hair falling slightly down over the closed lids.  The bright rays of the summer day blessing his sun kissed skin in an angelic manner. 

“Hows my favorite pot-head” you grinned as you approached him, catching him off guard and causing him to flinch at the sound of your voice.  

Realizing it was just you he grinned and extended out a hand for you to help him stand up from the step he was relaxed on in front of his house. 

He stood tall and smoked one last drag on his cigarette before putting it out and opening his front door with a welcoming gesture inviting you inside. 

The scent of weed burned into your nose instantly when walking into his house, you loved the smell, you loved everything about it.  

Taehyung used to too… 

He was the most knowledgeable stoner you’d ever met.  He could even tell the strain of the weed he was smoking after just smelling it.  You and your friends used to quiz him for fun and he’d always ace every test without fail. 

You wondered if sometimes when he’d pull someone over and arrest them for the exact thing he used to partake in, he’d catch a whiff and know the name of their bud. 

It all seemed pretty hypocritical to you, but you have to remind yourself you both have grown up, people change, though you haven't much, you can’t blame him for it. 

Jungkook went over to a drawer and pulled out a large glass jar, carrying it with two hands over to a wooden coffee table near his couch.  You, knowing the drill, doing this trip to Jungkook’s at least once a week, had sat down on the couch to wait for him. 

Jungkook pulled a long un lit joint from the front pocket of his red flannel and held it between his lips with his eyes focused on the jar in front of him.

He pulled out a few nugs from the jar and put them on a cheap gram scale he had on his table, weighing it out to the eighth he knew was your regular purchase. 

“Isn’t this a little early to be here, how fast did you go through your last bag?” Jungkook chuckled, placing the nugs into a ziploc bag carefully.  

“Ugh” you sighed.  “Taehyung again” 

Jungkook knew just what you meant by that.  Taehyung used to be close friends with him as well before he became a cop.  They had a big falling out when Taehyung joined the force, Jungkook hated cops with a passion and said some choice words to Taehyung that had severed their relationship permanently.  It hurt to think about how things used to be, the three of you laughing and smoking, riding around in your old car flying on cloud 9.  Literally, the strain that was your favorite at the time was called cloud 9. 

Jungkook shook his head and pulled out a lighter from the same pocket the joint came from, lighting the tip for a second before inhaling and letting the smoke glide down his lungs, then passing it to you. 

“I don’t know how you can stand to be around him anymore” Jungkook grumbled. 

“First of all, I really don’t have a choice, actually I think we are having dinner with our families together later tonight.  Secondly” you made eye contact with Jungkook “Hes really not that bad.  It could be worse.  All I got was a soft warning and a milkshake”  you passed the joint back to Jungkook. 

“Until he gets some pressure from his higher ups to be more of a hardass.  I think your days of getting off easy are short lived y/n.  Enjoy it while it lasts.  He’s sold his soul to ‘the man’ trust me” He spoke between coughs from the rough hit he’d just took.  Putting air quotes around ‘the man’. 

You didn’t like the idea of that and you shut up for a bit, sharing the rest of the joint and paying Jungkook for your bag.  

He gave you a hug and a smile on your way out.  “Be more careful out there y/n” he winked and bumped your shoulder with his fist playfully. 

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

You went straight from Jungkook’s to your parents home where you were to have dinner with Taehyung’s family.  You sat in your car and quickly sprayed a massively overpowering amount of perfume on yourself hoping to mask the weed smell.  Then putting in some eyedrops to help with your glassy eyed expression you’d seen in your car mirror.  You winced at the way that it burned but were thankful for the relief that it gave to your dry eyes. 

When you arrived through the door your mom instantly ran over to you and embraced you in her signature hug, that always included a large inhale. 

“You smell like Marijauna” her eyes narrowed at you. 

“Oh no, not the Marijauna” you feigned shock and put your hands to your cheeks a surprised expression looking like the boy from home alone. 

She glared at you, not amused.  You knew your parents didn’t care that much, your dad especially.  They didn’t smoke but you knew your dad was a hippie in his day so he had no room to judge.  Your mom was slightly more judgemental but she usually just let you off with some snide comments and rude glances before returning to her normal bubbly self.  

She ran to her room and grabbed some febreeze and started chasing you around the house with it while you laughed, tears forming in both of your eyes at how ridiculous she was being. She was mostly worried about upsetting Taehyung’s family most likely.  Not that they were the type to judge either, but it was still made for a slightly more awkward dinner if it ended up getting brought up with Taehyung’s current position in life.  No one in town really knew how to act around him.  

You thought that must be tough on him.  People that were once his peers were now all terrified of him.  No one wanted to talk to him about anything more than casual small talk, and it was always very shallow conversation.  No one wanted to open up all of their deep secrets or emotions in front of a cop.  On the surface no one would think that it bothered him much.  He was good at keeping a constant blank expression that never let anyone into what he was thinking even back in highschool.  But, knowing Taehyung the way you knew him, it must bother him.

He was the life of the party, and now he's the buzzkill who crashes the parties. 

Taehyung’s family arrived and you all sat down to eat.  Your parents asked Taehyung about his job and how it’d been going.  He said he liked it and he was actually getting close to a promotion. 

His eyes flickered your way, almost like a small apology was hidden in that look.

You knew what that meant, no more getting off easily anymore.  Jungkook was right, the idea that you had a cop friend on your side was just a fun fantasy.  Next time you got caught by him, he wouldn’t be treating you like a friend one bit.

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

The moment came sooner than you’d thought.  You and Jungkook had been going on a late night taco bell run, smoking a joint the whole way there, and you as usual were carrying a decent amount of smoke in your bag. 

You had stopped in the parking lot, parked in the back to hotbox and eat in the car.  Hotboxing was one of the funnest activities you used to do in highschool and you had mentioned to Jungkook that it’d been way too long, he was more than happy to oblige. 

You were giggling like a child over the way the word ‘Taco’ sounded if you said it slowly when you were startled by a tapping noise on the window. 

Not able to see through the smoke fogged glass who had knocked on your window, you squinted then glanced to Jungkook, who stared wide eyed at the colors of blue and red flashing to the side of the car. 

“Fuckkkkkkk” he groaned, hitting the steering wheel roughly with a flat palm.  “Fuck fuck fuck.  Y/n you’re carrying a bag aren’t you” 

Your eyes grew wide, “Y-yeah…are you?” 

Jungkook gave you a ‘what do you think’ look

Of course he was. 

You sighed and rolled your window down, a wave of smoke pouring out and flowing right into the face of the officer standing there.  Fuck, it wasn’t Taehyung. 

“How’s it going officer?” you asked sweetly.  He was less than pleased. 

“Both of you. Step out of the car” he ordered sternly. 

You did as he said, and now realized that another officer sat in a separate car.  Taehyung…

“Officer Kim, can you assist me here” The older policeman spoke Taehyung’s way. 

He got out of the car, his uniform fit him way too sinfully, you’d always though he looked more like the cop from an old porno , than one you’d ever have taken seriously.  But, the expression he currently held on his face gave you the chills, and not in a good way. 

He glared your way, shaking his head in disappointment.  Jungkook was throwing dagger eyes towards Taehyung as he started to approach him to pat him down. 

“Oh fuck off Mr. High and mighty” Jungkook scoffed, stepping back from Taehyung. 

“Kook” you pleaded at your friend to take hold of his temper. The older cop had started to pat you down as you held your arms out.  Upon finding the bag in your pocket he waved it in the air like he’d hit the jackpot.

“Look what we’ve got here Officer Kim.  Someone’s been a naughty girl” he playful spoke.  The way he said that made you nauseous, you didn’t like the way he had just started behaving one bit.  But, what could you do. 

He continued his pat down, his hands lingering on your breasts for too long.  You shot him a glare and tried to recoil away from his touch. 

“Ah ah, you’d be surprised how many ladies try to hide illegal items in their bra’s thinking I wouldn’t check there” he grinned evilly. Fucking pig. You thought. 

You turned to see how things were going with Jungkook just in time to see him winding up a fist and throwing it forward into Taehyung's face. 

Shit. 

The hit sounded out like he’d damn near broken Taehyung’s nose, and the other officer was immediately to Taehyung’s side.  Both of them tackling Jungkook and pinning his arms behind his back securing them with handcuffs.  The older cop holding him down with a knee on his back pressing his face into the parking lot’s asphalt. 

You stood shaking in realization that Jungkook had just gotten himself into some real trouble.  All because of his stupid grudge with Taehyung.  If anyone else had gotten in a small tuff like that with an ex best friend, it probably would’ve just ended with a couple bloody noses and both men walking away feeling like they got the better hit in.  But because Taehyung was what he was now...it’s most likely going to end with Jungkook doing some time.  Assaulting a cop was definitely not a minor crime. 

They had scooped Jungkook off of the ground and shoved him into the backseat of the older officers cruiser. Jungkook cussed and grumbled the whole time.  

“I’m gonna take this one down to the station,” the Officer pointed to Jungkook “You take our little lady here home.  Maybe teach her a lesson on picking a better choice in boyfriend” he winked Taehyung’s way.  

You were appalled but not surprised at the older man’s behavior.  Some cops felt like they could get away with that shit...cuz well...they could. 

You followed Taehyung to his car silently with your head low, only lifting it once to send one last glance Jungkook’s way, catching his eyes for a second and both exchanging looks of worry.  Possibly a goodbye for a little while. 

Once you were in Taehyung’s car the waterworks came.  You held your face in your hands and sobbed loudly, your body convulsing with the heaviness of your emotions. 

Taehyung was quiet, pulling a few tissues from his glovebox and holding them to his nose tilting his head back. 

The two of you sat there for a while, silence lingering between you like some delicate thing just waiting to break. 

“I’m sorry” Taehyung whispered. 

“For what? Getting Jungkook arrested or for your pervy boss and his grabby hands?” You spat out with some fire, still slightly fucked up on the drugs you’d been inhaling. 

“Both...All of it…” he muttered, staring straight ahead and avoiding your piercing gaze.

“Why’d you even do this Tae? This job doesn’t suit you, I just don’t get it.  We’re best friends.  And look at us.” You motioned to the way you were sitting.  Him in the front, and you behind glass separating the space between the two of you.  You noted on how much of a metaphor for that felt like for the distance he’d put between you, differences between you now… 

“Regular Catwoman and Batman huh?” he murmured. 

Goddamnit.  And there's the exact reason you could never hate him.  “You fucking nerd.” You sighed chuckling and falling back into the seat shaking your head. “Oh my god. You’re not allowed to make me laugh right now.” 

Taehyung sent an apologetic smile your way. 

As upset as you were, his joking really did shift the tone in the car and you decided to tease him back. 

You put your wrists together and held them to the glass near Taehyung’s head. 

“Aren’t you gonna cuff me officer?” you said flirtatiously, batting your eyelashes at him.  Expecting him to roll his eyes and groan at your joke. 

Instead you were met with a serious expression.  His eyes lingering on your wrists and then trailing over to your lips.  His tongue darted out and licked over his bottom lick slightly. 

“Holy shit did that actually turn you on or something?”  you gasped, lowering your hands from his view. 

He instantly snapped out of the state of mind he had gone into so suddenly.  “Of course not” he snapped “Don’t be ridiculous” 

“Oh my god.  It did! I didn’t realize how kinky you were Kim Taehyung.” you winked at him “Handcuffs get you going? No wonder you became a cop.  You’re going to turn into old pervy Officer whatshisname aren’t you? Gross Tae,” You started to laugh. 

“Shut the fuck up, I’m not like that.” he barked loudly.  Instantly catching you off guard and having you sit up straight and rigid. 

“Sorry” you mumbled. “Officer” you added with a bit a spite. 

“Damn right.  You think you can just get away with all of this, with no consequences and no worries.  One day you’re going to have to grow up y/n.” 

“Oh like you?” you raised an eyebrow “No thank you...sir” 

You heard what sounded like a low growl from Taehyung.  

In an instant he sped up and parked the car in the far corner of the parking lot where the lot lights weren’t reaching. In hindsight that was probably where you and Jungkook should’ve been parked. 

Taehyung got out of the car and stood by your door.  You wondered if he wanted you to get out and join him outside the car.  But the car doors of police cars are always locked from the inside unless you have the key.  So you waited, for what seemed like painfully long time. 

You glanced out the window to see Taehyung pacing back and forth outside of the car with a hand pressed to his forehead, he was stressed.  Probably from the fact that he’d basically just sent Jungkook, his former best friend, to jail. 

Taehyung turned and rested a hand on the door handle.  Was he finally going to let you out? He seemed to be hesitating.  After what felt like forever the door clicked open and Taehyung was climbing into the back seat with you. 

“Oh hello?” you spoke in surprise. 

Taehyung didn’t speak, he continued his hungry gaze from earlier, biting his lip slightly and staring at you with bedroom eyes. 

“Taehyung…” you started before you were cut off. 

“I wanted this job to protect people.  I care about those close to me.  The older I got the more I realized how important that was.  Everyone thinks that I just want to bust them for weed or partying and be the killjoy of our town.  But, that wasn’t it.  Remember that summer that girl got drugged at that party.  No one was able to find the guy.  I wanted to be the type of person that could look out for people.  That could maybe do something about things like that.  It sucks that I had to give up some of my habits that I don’t necessarily agree with the laws on.  But I follow it, I sacrificed that to keep this town safe.  To help keep you safe” he added at the end.  His expression sincere.

“I guess I hadn’t really thought of it that way.  Jungkook probably hasn’t either…” 

“Yeah Jungkook doesn’t give a shit about my reasonings.  Fuck the police and all that.” he rolled his eyes. 

“I get it” you shrugged.  “That's actually a pretty decent reason.  I miss getting to hangout with you other places than the back of your cruiser though” you teased, poking him in the shoulder. 

“Mmm then maybe you should start behaving little girl” he growled in a tone you’d never heard him take with you before. 

“Tae..” you looked at him with furrowed brows, your mouth hanging open slightly in confusion. 

Before you knew it Taehyung's hand was clutching you jaw lightly, one finger trailing over your lips. 

“I’d always thought…” he whispered.  “Maybe one day, you’d calm down with all of this stuff, and we could…” he trailed off. 

You blinked rapidly in realization of what he was saying.  Did Taehyung really just imply what you think he did? You felt your hands start to shake slightly.  Not that you were completely opposed to it, but you just couldn’t understand why he would feel that way.  You’d on and off had a crush on Taehyung your whole life.  He was your first crush when you were just in elementary school.  You weren’t even sure if he’d remembered, but one day when you were probably only 7 and he was 8 years old, tiny little Tae had run up to you on the playground with a bouquet of yellow dandelions clutched in his small hand.  

“Y/n.  Will you marry me?” he had squeaked out. 

You had chuckled and taken the dandelions from his hand “Taehyunnnng, we’re too young to get married.” 

He had pouted cutely, crossing his arms across his chest. “Fine.  Well one day you will.  And I’ll buy you a big house, with a puppy, and a big garden.” You had nodded and said “Fine. One day a lonnng time from now. Promise” and the two of you had continued to play during your recess and it was never spoken of again. 

You’d occasionally think back on it as a funny memory.  But now, looking at him here.  The way he looked at you…and those words.  ‘Maybe one day you will’ ‘Maybe one day you would…’

“Tae…” you stuttered out again.

“Maybe you just need to learn a lesson or two.  Maybe I need to teach you how to behave.” he growled, his hand trailing over your lips was now making its way to your neck.  His thumb slightly pressing down on your jugular as he eyed you dangerously. 

You whispered under his touch but didn’t try to pull back.  You couldn’t deny to yourself that this excites you, it probably shouldn’t but you’d always been a sucker for a little pain. 

“Is that was you need hm?” he asked authoritatively. 

Should you?

“Y-yes…” you stammered out.  

“That’s what I thought” he hissed out. “That handcuff comment was uncalled for.  Maybe you were the one who wanted me to tie you up hm?” He started to move to pull out the handcuffs he kept on him, twirling them around on his middle finger. 

Your heart started to beat rapidly, and your breathing was becoming so quickened at the sight of Taehyung, your best friend Taehyung...Police officer Taehyung, in front of you, uniform and all, about to handcuff you for mutual pleasure. 

You nodded innocently. 

A low groan rumbled in his chest as he leaned over to you, pushing you down onto the backseat so your back was flat against the cushions. He now hovered over you, his face mere inches from your own, and a look of pure lust gazing down at you. 

He started to grab your hands and cuffed you to a spot they had in the cruiser that made his task of securing you quite easy.  The metal bit into your skin slightly but you could tell he made sure not to put them on too tight.  Your arms were now held over your head, and any thoughts of backing out had been pushed away.  You wanted him, you craved him, you needed this. 

Taehyung’s lips crashed down on to yours sloppily and wet, instantly slipping his tongue into your mouth as he held your jaw roughly with one hand. 

“I’m gonna fuck that dirty mouth of yours.  I’m going to teach you how to respect authority little girl” he growled, now straddling your hips and unbuttoning the belt of his uniform and tossing it to the side. 

He didn’t continue to undress himself.  Instead his hands pulled on the bottom of your shirt, rolling it up over your breasts and letting it sit high up on your chest, not being able to fully take it off due to the way you were cuffed. 

He let out a lustful moan and bit his lip at the sight of you. 

Of course you weren’t wearing a bra, he thought.  It was so like you to be like this, always the tease.  Taehyung had loved you for as long as he could remember, and finally he had you here underneath him.  Strangely when he used to picture fucking you in the back of a cop car (because he totally had fantasized about that) he wasn’t the cop.  But, here you were, and here he was, grown up and still exactly the way he had always pictured.  Your tits looked so incredible, better in person.  He’d never told you but when you’d gotten your nudes leaked around the town at one point by an ex boyfriend he happened to get a copy sent to him.  He had deleted it right away...if right away meant after jacking off to them first and then deleting them…

He felt bad about that, but he loved you so much and your body was completely irresistible to him, he didn’t know how he’d managed to make it this long in life without having you for himself. 

He gave your tits a few squeezes and lowered his head down to them, biting now on your nipple grazing his teeth over your skin, and loving the way you squirmed under him at the sensation.  He sucked and bit at you, making sure to roll the neglected nipple in his fingers while he did.

You were absolutely loving it. 

Taehyung then pulled back releasing you with a pop. He now started to unbutton the black uniform pants and pull out his enormous cock. 

Your jaw dropped at the mouth watering sight. 

You’d always assumed he was big, you’d seen him get hard in some swim shorts once at a pool party when you’d shown up in a skimpy swimsuit, but now seeing it fully you realized you’d underestimated the length and girth of him greatly.  You licked your lips hungrily, wanting a taste. 

“ You like that huh baby? Dirty little slut, so weak for my cock right now?” he grinned stroking himself slowly. 

You nodded in response, your eyes fixed on the length in front of you. 

He moved to position himself so it was right in front of your face and he was leaning over you. 

“Hungry little slut” he whispered.  He smacked you hard against the side of your cheek with his heavy cock, you were surprised but mostly turned on at the fact that it actually hurt a bit.  

“Are you gonna behave for me?” he asked sternly, looking down at you with a fucked out expression.  

“Maybe?” you teased. 

Whack. He smacked you again with his cock, slightly harder this time. 

“Don’t be a brat now.  You are going to behave, or I’ll make you behave. Okay?”  he growled. 

“Okay” you whimpered, trying to pretend that you weren’t totally in love with how he was acting, trying to play into the game. 

“Okay what” he snapped. 

“Okay...sir?” 

“Thats right.” he nodded.  Then placed his hand back around your jaw, gripping you tightly.  “You’re gonna open up and take my dick, allll the way. Let me fuck this dirty mouth of yours” he ordered. “And maybe once you’ve sucked every last drop of cum out of me, you’ll think a little more before you go around acting out.” 

“Yes sir” you nodded, parting your lips showing him that you were ready to take him. 

“Fuck,” he whispered, breaking the stern voice he’d been maintaining for a quick moment, letting on to just how excited he was to be this intimite with you. 

He pushed his hips forward, his hand on his shaft and the tip of his cock now sitting on your lips. 

“You’re okay with this right?” he whispered.  Gentleman Taehyung making an appearance for a moment

“Yes sir” you purred with a grin. 

“Get ready to take me then baby girl” he growled, going back to his previous demeanor. 

He pushed his cock into your mouth all the way, slowly, getting you adjusted to how huge he was and getting a feel for how much you could take.  To his delight he slid all the way down until your nose was buried into his abdomen. 

“Fuckkkk” he hissed out. “Such a Good girl for such a bad girl.”

He quickly pulled out and repeated slowly fucking his cock all the way into your mouth and quickly pulling out again.  

“Get ready baby” he moaned.  Then started to speed up his pace, his hips rolling into your mouth quickly, causing you to gag lewdly a few times as he did which only seemed to turn him on more, causing a pleasured hiss each time. 

“I fucking love this mouth baby.  You take me so well.” Taehyung was biting at his lip and staring down at you in awe. 

You moaned around his cock, the vibrations making him stutter and throwing him off his pace for a moment. 

“So good” he whispered.  You felt like that one wasn’t meant for you to hear, but you loved knowing how good you were making him feel so your heart skipped a bit at his praise. 

Taehyung gripped your hair, steadying your head and pumping himself into your at a fast pace.  

“Thats fucking it y/n.” He panted out “Fucking. Learn. How. To. Behave.” he growled and smacked a hand to the side of your face.  

Your eyes were watering and you felt a warm pool of wet growing between your legs.  You could get used to this Taehyung. 

“I’m gonna cum in your mouth and you’re going to swallow every. Last. fucking. Drop.” he pounded into you in sync with each of those last words. 

You stared up at him with flirtatious eyes and smiled slightly. 

“Damn those eyes are dangerous” he groaned and with that you felt him tense up and his pace grow uneven.  

“Shit. Fuck. Y/n. Oh my god” he screamed out while emptying himself into your mouth.  His cock twitching wildly as he fucked into you.  You closed your lips around him as he pulled out, sucking slightly to get every last drop as he’d ordered. 

He looked down at you with pure joy as you stick out your tongue to show him his cum pooled up and gathered in your mouth before rolling it back into your mouth and swallowing with a loud gulp. 

“Wow.” he stared wide eyed at you.  “So fucking hot”  gasped out

He now went to the cuffs and pulled his key out, releasing you from your restraints. 

Taehyung rested down on top of you where you still laid.  His head on your chest. 

“You alright man?” you chuckled running your fingers through his sweat drenched hair.

“Mhm” he smiled widely with his eyes closed “That was amazing” 

This cute Taehyung that cuddled up next to you now was a Taehyung you thought you’d lost long ago.  Your heart felt full and warm seeing him this way. 

“Soooo are we returning the favor or?” you joked

His head snapped up he hovered over your face and looked at you with a playful expression.  “Nope. that’s your punishment for getting caught.” 

“For getting caught huh?”

“Well yeah.  You don’t have to stop doing what you love y/n.  For God sake, if you’re going to date a cop you can’t be that reckless with it thought.  Keep it in the house and where you’re for sure safe from anyone catching you or calling me to come check out the situation” he rolled his eyes. 

You sighed. “I guess I can manage that.  Wait...date? A cop? Wait…” you started to stutter realizing what he’d said. 

“Well you promised you’d marry me one day remember? but, I figured dating is a good place to start” he grinned with a wink. 

You felt butterflies in your stomach at his recollection of that day so long ago. 

“What an odd pair we’ll be” you chuckled. 

“Yeah… oh also I’m gonna get things with Jungkook figured out okay.  I feel like shit about it, and I’m going to make sure everyone at the station knows he didn’t mean it, and I barely got a scratch on me.” he let you know. 

You nodded, almost forgetting about Jungkook. 

“I think that’d be a good idea Tae, I think he honestly misses you, you know?” 

“Yeah I miss him too…”

You planted a small peck on Taehyung’s lips.  “You’ll get it figured out.  I know you will.” 

Taehyung smiled down at you and returned your quick peck. 

“How are you so bad and so good all at the same time” he shook his head. 

“I guess that's just what you like in a future wife” you teased. 

“I suppose so,” he replied.  Except he knew, that he meant every word.

  Love is such a funny thing.

[wickednerdery]

Title: Out of Time: Family Time Author: @wickednerdery Fandom: Marvel Pairing/character: Loki x Stark!OC Rating: Mature Summary: “Dare I ask?” Notes: Continuing my strange little foray into cyberpunk with Loki on a futuristic Earth (after his escapes with the Tesseract in Endgame?). Nothing bad here, but the language, lol!

Masterlist - Previously

“You chat me about a score, one I-Man, and you fucking bone out? Turn on me?”

“I’ve never met this man before in my life,” Loki dismisses to the guard on the docks. Low-level, no tech in or out, ripe for misdirection.

“Jesus, you’re an asshole,” Cyno snickers. “How long we known each other?”

“By my calculations? Two minutes.”

“I can’t believe you do me like this, man.” He keeps the cigarette between lips, but doesn’t light. “Chimpira.”

“Fuck you!” Loki’s favored Midgardian curse for its sheer universality.

“Woah, hey, how ‘bout you take it off the docks?” Security finally cuts in, heading towards them. He stops short, stunned, as Loki vanishes. “What the -” He’s cut off by the knife at his throat.

“Be very calm and very quiet,” Loki warns, holding blade firm and steady from behind. “This needn’t be your last day.”

Cyno lights, drags deep, then blows the smoke into the guard’s face. The man sways, wobbles, goes down. 

“This may prove easier than first thought,” Loki grins as he shifts shape into the guard. “Now, to get the shipment,” 

“What about me?”

“Obviously I’m bringing you aboard for interrogation.”

“Seriously?”

“You’ve a better idea?”

Cyno didn’t. He dampens the smoker, tucks it back in its case. 

Ana settles into her private VER room, jacks in via wrist. More intense than popping into the AI, her wiring immediately lights up to improve and increase sensation. She can feel the heft of the old Iron Suit, the heat of it cocooning her. No, not her, but Anthony Edward Stark. The landing jolts from the knees and bottom of her feet up. “Your move, Reindeer Games” Her lips move in time with Tony’s words. She watches as Loki’s latest mirage fades into something more humbled. She knows this story. He’s playing possum. He wants to be captured. 

She forces the AI forward, to the battle itself. Takes in the chaos, but keeps focus on Loki’s part. That’s what’s important to her. What he did and how. His abilities. Ana pushes aside the nausea of Tony’s rough ride in those early suits to focus. The god is quick enough to catch an arrow midair, durable enough to take it exploding and tossing him into a nearby building. The glimpses she’s able to catch of his skirmish with Thor shows him well-trained and willing to do whatever is necessary to win.

When Tony returns to Stark Tower, she begins to lose the connection in his removal of his suit. Piece by piece her senses are disconnected. She refuses to give up, switches to JARVIS embedded in the building itself. Loki and Tony’s banter is muffled, but she feels the impact of the window being struck, shattered, when Loki tosses her great-grandfather through it.

The only thing able to truly stop him is The Hulk pounding him into the floor. She closes in as the battered Loki wheezes and notices something of great interest. A change in eye color...what starts as a sharp and angry blue flickers and fades to the deep green she saw when he caught her. 

Unaware of The Stones, she wonders at the tech...

“Wiz diversion tactic, but I’m not one of the boys in black. I don’t drop on a smoker or zone out on the eye. Who’s your angel?”

Loki chuckles. “I’m sorry, I’ve no idea what you just said.”

“Who sent you, Ronin?”

“My name is Loki and as for who sent me...well, it’s a long story.”

“Always is.” 

“This isn’t a Stark shipment, is it?” The Iron Man mask on the crate is different from the one he saw at the gala. Not by much, most wouldn’t catch it, but he did. Whatever this shipment is, it’s a knockoff at best.

“What do you care? You’re trying to steal it.”

“Call it a curiosity.”

“Where’s your ace?”

“My what?”

“Partner.”

“Oh, him. Hardly matters.” Loki allows the change in subject, there’s still the task at hand. “I’d much prefer we negotiate this deal by ourselves.”

Cyro smiles. “Not gonna happen.”

“I assure you, with or without your consent, I’ll have this crate.”

“You’ll die before you ever deliver.”

“I’ve died before.” Loki grins, steps forward. “How many times have you died?” He sets hands on the metal crate.

A shuffling comes from within, then growling. Metal scrapes metal, then pops through the top in the form of three blades that stop inches from Loki’s face. The god jumps back, wide-eyed, then looks to the other. “Dare I ask?”

Before he has a chance to reply, to deny his own knowledge, Cyro’s brother steps through Loki’s wall illusion. “Cyno?”

“What’s in there, Cyro?”

More new characters, I know, but now you know Cyno and Cyro are related, so that’s cool right? And Ana’s not a robot, but has interior wiring that, when lit up, actually looks a bit like a glowing, circuitry, version of Jotun lines...they also appear under certain UV lights. Also, this little side quest with the shipment WILL relate to bigger story, don’t worry, lol!

Still/Always playing with this one, feel free to share ideas/thoughts/suggestions/headcanons!! 😉

Tagging: @lady-crowned-with-stars, @beccaliciooouuusss​, gravitational-anomaly, @fuckthatfeeling​, @v-2bucky​, @ultrarebelheart​, @tarithenurse​ @latent-thoughts​ @chibiyanai​ @lukeevansandjdmobession​ @sweetfictionalworld​ @ladyfluff​ @theangelsfightwithdevils​ @holykryptonitekitten​ @kpopgirlbtssvt​ @michellearel1​ @mousee555​ …If you wanna be added, just lemme know!!

Gifs made off ones I found on Google, then combined myself.

[kookadoodle]

call you at midnight

PLOT: Insomnia was always a bad thing until now

PAIRING: Yoongi x reader GENRE: fluff, minor angst, S2L!AU WARNINGS: idk, yoongi smokes (?) WORDCOUNT: 2.8k A/N: it’s been a little while, but i finally wrote something again xx

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

It was late, when you first met him. The sky was dark with stars sprayed across its canvas, looking down on you and bathing you in their subtle light. The air was fresh and inviting but you had not dressed yourself properly for the cold. You were to blame for that. A thin pair of black jeans, a t-shirt and a flannel did not do much against the chilly autumn wind. But you did not care. You had to get away from home, and you were not turning back now. You went for a walk at night to be by yourself under the moon’s pitiful eyes. You always found the world to be more forgiving, when it was darkened from the sun’s absence in the sky. The calm and quiet of the night had soothed you plenty of times before. You hoped that it would work its magic that night.

It was the scent of a cigarette that gave his presence away before you even knew that he was there. But you did not register him in time before you turned the corner and bumped into his frame and halted you in your steps. He looked at you in surprise, and your eyes met, slightly widened. His skin was pale in contrast to his black clothing and bucket hat and his features were softly rounded. The streetlight gently reflected off his leather jacket, and his calm nature reflected in his eyes. “Oh, sorry,” you spoke quietly, almost failing to deliver the words, but he heard you. “It’s okay,” he said back, face mask covering his chin yet revealing his lips and button-like nose. Those were the first words spoken between the two of you. You would not remember later what exactly made you start talking to him or ask if you could join him on the steps, but those first exchanged words led to more, and a late conversation and a shared cigarette later, the two of you had become new acquaintances under the dark sky. You shared deep thoughts, hopes, and dreams before you even knew each other’s names. You could not explain why, but it felt so natural in a way. The two of you clicked somehow, and maybe if it had been any other time of the day, you would not have. You guessed it was the night working its magic as you had hoped.

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

Days later, you went for another walk around the same time, and you met him again. He was sitting on the steps outside his apartment, smoking a late cigarette and scrolling through his phone. He invited you this time to take place beside him, and you did. With that, the two of you became friends, who knew each other’s names, and soon, it resulted in meeting every other night, where you would talk and bond through your shared insomnia. However, one night was different than the rest. It was about six months after you first met when you told Yoongi that you had to move across town. You could no longer meet up with him and hang out on the steps to his apartment, and the thought of suddenly having to be without you made his heart drop. He had not expected you to mean so much to him in such a short amount of time, but somehow, there was a comfort in your presence that he had so easily gotten used to. “Oh,” was the only reaction, he showed, yet you could tell that he was disappointed through just that one word. But you could not change the way things were. Your parents had decided on moving for you, and you could not ask them to stay because of a boy you met in the neighborhood. They would not understand, and they would not change their minds if they did. “We don’t have to stop talking, though,” Yoongi stated, looking over at you with stars reflected in his irises. You could tell in his expression that he hoped you would agree. With a nod, you did, and the two of you finally exchanged numbers, so you could stay in touch despite the distance, you would face. The next couple of times you met up, the mood was different. Sad in a way, but also lighter somehow as you both wanted to get most out of the little time, you had left. You could have questioned why the two of you immediately connected like you did, but you did not. And neither did he. The important part was that you both wanted to keep talking, and together with determination, you could. On your last night together, you sat on the steps and talked like you always did, when Yoongi took off his hat and put it on your head. Later, when you had to leave, he did not properly say goodbye. He merely told you to keep the hat and not forget about him. He was a man of few words, but those he spoke said a lot. You promised him that you would see each other soon again, and you knew that you would keep it. You could not forget about Yoongi if you tried, and distance was not about to break the deep connection you had with him. Neither of you would let it.

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

Time went by quickly after you moved since there were so many things to get done and get used to, but Yoongi and you stayed in touch. You texted each other every day about little things to keep each other company throughout the sunlit hours. Then later at night, when both of you were restless under the moon, you would talk over the phone in the same manner that you used to on the steps to his apartment. You would tell him about your new school and your difficulty of making new friends, and he would listen and calm your nerves when he said that no matter what, you would always have him. He was sweet like that. Even if he looked tough in his all-black outfit and spoke with very little emotion to the people around him, you would always hear his laugh through the phone and imagine his gummy smile on the other end. One time, he called you at midnight like he usually did, but you noticed that it sounded different as soon as you picked up. “Hello. Yoongi?” you asked, sitting up in your bed in your dark room only lit from the one window. “I miss you,” you heard him pouting. It took a minute before the words were registered in your mind, and it made your heart flutter. “Are you okay? Where are you?” you asked as you noticed the noise around him. It did not sound like his usual spot. “I’m at a party with some friends,” Yoongi answered with a sigh, seeming unsatisfied with the event. You could not remember anything about a party, so you guessed, he had not told you about it. It had probably been a spontaneous thing. “Are you not having fun?” you asked, worrying that he was feeling left out. He sighed again. “I don’t know, maybe. I can’t really tell,” he said. His words gave away how unbothered he truly was with it all. “I miss you, though,” he repeated to show its importance, and this time you had to respond to it. “I miss you too,” you said as you nipped your duvet between your fingers. It felt a bit odd to know that he was not sitting alone on his steps as usual but surrounded by other people, who could ask him who he spoke with. It made you wonder what he would say about you to his other friends. If he even had said anything at all. “I’m not drunk by the way, so this isn’t some kind of drunken confession or anything,” he explained to you, not wanting you to think that his words were influenced. “Okay, good,” you grinned as your cheeks blushed at the thought. You silently appreciated his inability to see you then as the thought of his sober mind wanting you to know set your face aflame. “Can I come see you?” he asked, and you stiffened for a second as you worried, he could read your mind. “What, now!?” you asked a bit stunned. Your reaction made him laugh. “No, but soon. We haven’t seen each other for like two months,” he said, the annoyance present in his statement. You agreed with a hum. “Okay, sure. But why don’t I come visit you, instead?” you offered, and Yoongi felt your hesitance against his suggestion. “You still haven’t told your parents about me, have you?” he asked suspiciously. You bit your lip as you thought of what to say. “I’m sorry, I just don’t think they would understand,” you explained to him. “It’s okay,” he said truthfully in return. “But you will come visit me, then?” he asked for confirmation, and you smiled. “Yes, I will,” you said back. It both made you excited and nervous. You knew him well, but the thought of seeing him again felt different than before you went away. Suddenly, it felt more important somehow.

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

The late afternoon you went to see him, Yoongi was standing and waiting for you as you stepped off the bus. The sight unwillingly made your heart flutter, yet you tried to hide it from him. It was just so good to see his face again after what felt like forever, and Yoongi would agree. With the right person, two months can feel like that. The two of you got coffee and chose the longer path home, so you could drink and talk on the way. At first, you were both grinning a bit excessively, but you figured that suddenly seeing each other again had that effect on you. Eventually, it turned more natural, and the usual flow came into place, especially after the sky turned dark, becoming a more familiar setting. When you came to his apartment, you realized that you had never actually been inside. You had only sat on the steps with him since both of you enjoyed the night’s fresh air, but in those six months, the two of you never went inside together. You guessed it was a way of keeping the magic you had. There was just something beautiful about the mystery it left, knowing what the other’s story was without getting directly involved. But visiting him defied it, which meant that you were entering a new stage of your friendship. Waiting for him to unlock the door and let you in, you got nervous as you thought of what your parents would think, but you chose to shake it off. That was an issue for another day, you decided. His apartment was different than what you had expected. It was minimalistic and bright instead of the dark and grungy images you had in mind. The place was actually neat and inviting, which made you realize that just like his apartment, Yoongi was that way too. At first, you would expect something more rebellious, but in reality, he was much softer on the inside than he looked. He just did not care much for proving himself to other people. He did not care whether or not his image was a true reflection of who he was. As long as he got to be who he wanted, he was good, and you deeply admired that about him. You sat down on his couch, and he turned on the TV, wanting to keep the mood casual as it had been until then. You agreed on something to watch, and Yoongi pulled you close to rest against his chest before laying out a blanket over the two of you. Your widened eyes immediately found his face, cheeks pink-dusted while he scoffed. “Don’t look at me like that. We both want to, so I’m just making it happen,” he said shyly, eyes on the TV instead of on you as he barely had the courage to do it in the first place, much less explain why. He hoped, he did not have to, and you let him off the hook, simply smiling and laying your head back down. It was even nicer than he had imagined it to be. “Y/N?” Yoongi then said, and you hummed in return, feeling a bit sleepy, which Yoongi could sense in your response. He could feel the way you got slightly heavier on his chest as you relaxed, almost drifting off, and he decided to wait. “Never mind,” he said, and with that, you shut your eyes for a bit.

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

Waking up from your nap, you were still in Yoongi’s arms, but the closeness suddenly overwhelmed you a bit. You sat up and met his eyes. “I think I fell asleep,” you said embarrassed, but Yoongi’s soft smile put you at ease. “Don’t worry, it was nice,” he stated lightly. With the absence of your weight on him, Yoongi got up from his seat and went to fix you two something to eat. Being a good cook, he made you something amazing. You sat for long at the table after eating. You talked and laughed, and time went by so fast. Suddenly, you had to call it a night as you had a bus to catch. The last one would be leaving at 10 pm, and you really had to be on it, so you put on your jacket and shoes. Yoongi did too, and despite your efforts of explaining to him that you would not mind walking there alone, he insisted. He felt bad enough about you taking the bus by yourself as it was. Making sure you got safely on the bus was the least he could do, and honestly, he wanted to. So, you made your way to the vacant bus stop to wait under the beloved night sky, and without a word, Yoongi slipped his hand in yours, not wanting to waste a single moment. You were slightly taken aback at how affectionate and touchy he had been, but at the same time, it put a permanent smile on your flustered face. As you stood there, your curiosity got the better of you, and you had to bring it up. “Uh, did you have something to say earlier?” you asked gently, referring to the moment before you had fallen asleep. Yoongi then remembered it too, and his free hand came up to scratch at his neck. “Oh, yeah, that,” he said. You ran your thumb over his, encouraging him to go on. “Okay, so I wanted to say that I am really glad you came today and seeing you made me realize just how much I’ve missed you since you moved away,” he started as his shy eyes could barely meet yours. “I like you. A lot. And I want you to know that I’m interested in you… as more than a friend,” he explained as he lifted his gaze to meet yours, searching for an answer in your expression. Calming to his beating heart, he had found that his words had made you smile. However, much too soon for his liking, he also saw your bus approaching, and he knew what that meant. “Oh, that’s me,” you said as you noticed it too, getting a bit pressed with time. Lastly, you ran your thumb over his again with gleaming eyes. “I’m interested in that too,” you answered, and it relieved him. He wanted to kiss you then. Badly. But the bus was already here, and he knew that he did not have the time. Yes, he could choose to give you a quick peck on the lips, but even as tempting as that was, he wanted to savor it. The first time he was going to kiss you, he would kiss you right. The bus stopped before you and opened its doors. You let go of Yoongi’s hand and stepped inside, turning to look at him for one last time tonight. It was 10 pm, but it did not nearly feel late enough for you to go home. Yoongi felt the same way, and you knew it from the last words he spoke. “I’ll call you at midnight,” he said as the doors closed between you. But you could still see him smiling through the glass, and he saw your smile too, following it as far as he could see while the bus drove you away. He could not wait till midnight.  

[fforsythiaaa]

well folks, it was only a matter of time before I made something out of my “Marlene is always a witch, no matter the AU” headcanon. this is very silly and very much indulging my Tarot nerdiness. <3 you can also read it on AO3 here!

Marlene was really gonna do it: she was going to quit her soul-sucking marketing job, pick up a few bartending shifts as security, and start reading tarot professionally. She had waffled back and forth on this decision for a long time, worried not just about the money, but also about the energy it would take to be tapped into others’ intuition and her own. Dorcas was the most supportive voice in this decision. One lazy morning after making vegan pancakes in their pajamas, she took out a notebook and talked Marlene through a three-month plan to start her tarot business. It was detailed, organized, and ambitious. They hung the plan on the fridge. The first stage was for Marlene to practice all the time, for other people besides all the girls she’d been reading for free since they dormed together in school.

That’s how Marlene found herself at the island in Remus’s kitchen, with a cone of incense lit on a sea shell and a silk scarf laid over the granite, giving him her spiel: “The Tarot shows us images that might awaken the truth that already exists within us. You’re the one with the knowledge, here; you’ll pick the cards, I’m just here to read them.”

Remus nodded silently.

“Don’t look so nervous, Lupin. It’s not satanic unless you’re into that. I’m not going to predict your time of death or something.”

“I didn’t think you would.” He pulled his sleeves down over his hands, looking nervous that Marlene was going to predict his time of death or something.

She guided him through shuffling the cards and picking six from the deck spread in front of them. “I’m going to lay them out here in a cross shape. Let’s start here…” Marlene turned over the middle card and looked up quickly at Remus to gauge his reaction to the image of a person blindfolded and surrounded by huge swords.

“This person on the eight of swords is representing you now. You might feel trapped, like there’s no way you can break out of your current situation. But see how they’re not really tied down to anything? They can wiggle free, if they stop overthinking so much.”

He studied the card, but didn't say anything. This is going to be tough, she thought.

“Now these two are what you want and what you need. What you want is to try and think your way out of this situation, using logic and reasoning. That’s great sometimes, but when we see a figure like the Knight of Swords, we want to make sure we’re not rushing into it, without considering how our emotions play in. And what you need….” She turned over the Star. “What you really need is to consider your dreams, the desires that maybe you don’t want to acknowledge. You’re going to need to tap into your unconscious, instead of relying on your logic-brain.”

Marlene could see that Remus was getting a little squirmy. She thought she’d seen that look on his face before, but couldn’t quite place it.

“The thing that’s holding you back is this card, the four of cups.”

“He looks so ungrateful,” he chimed in, and she smiled, thinking she was finally going to get some participation here.

“Exactly! He has opportunities being presented to him by, like, an enchanted cloud hand, and he’s still not seeing it! Does that resonate with you? Is there maybe a relationship that you’re saying no to?”

“A what?”

“Well, whenever we see cups in the Tarot, that signifies our emotions and our loves - platonic, romantic, familial. Maybe this is something to do with your parents, instead?”

“No, no, I don’t -- I don’t get it. I’m not really sure what that could mean.”

She sat back in the chair, a little deflated. “Here’s the thing that can help you,” she said. “The ace of cups. Your emotional landscape is deep and alive, you just have to find the source. In other words - just feel your fucking feelings, Remus!” He gave an indignant snort, but smiled back at her. “And lastly, what you should do about it - the Fool. Don’t be afraid to start something new.”

Remus was really nice about the whole thing, but insisted that nothing had really resonated with him, and it put a damper on the excitement Marlene had been feeling about her career move. She meant it when she told him that she wasn’t pretending to be psychic. But if her role was to interpret in a way that helped other people, what did it mean that she couldn’t interpret in a way that helped Remus, who she’d known for a decade? She hoped that her reading with Sirius would be better, and looked forward to another chance.

“You’ll pick the cards, and I just read them. I’m not going to predict your time of death or anything,” she started, smiling and waving her hands gently.

“That’s a shame,” Sirius deadpanned.

“Hey! Quit it! If you ask, the Tarot will tell you. Don’t ask for stuff you don’t want to know about.”

“I’m sorry, Madam Marlene.”

“Don’t call me that!”

“Okay. Okay! I’ll behave.” He winked and held up his hands in defeat. She hadn’t expected quite this much pushback from someone currently wearing black nail polish and an enamel “The Truth Is Out There” pin on his denim jacket.

She walked him through shuffling the deck and picking the cards with his left hand. “We’ll start here, with where you are now. The Wheel of Fortune can feel lucky, but when it’s reversed like this, it’s a reminder that just going with the flow doesn’t always serve us.” Sirius looks up at her and down at the card again, so she prompts, “Do you feel like you’re just…. letting life happen to you, instead of making your life happen?”

“Sometimes,” he shrugs. “I suppose in some areas of my life, more than others.” He doesn’t offer anything else, and she continues.

“Now here’s what you want --”

“A crypt, nice.”

“Sirius, if you keep making death jokes, I swear to goddess--”

“Okay! Okay. I’m sorry, McKinnon, please, tell me about the swords.”

“You want a break from your own brain. Sometimes there’s such a thing as too much thinking; it can keep you from being able to rest, reset, and move forward.”

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.”

At last, some recognition. She turned over the next card. “And what you really need -- the two of cups,” she smirks. “You don’t have to bear everything yourself, you can trust someone to share with you.”

“Someone to share, like…?”

“Like share a bed, Sirius. A lov-er. Do I have to spell it out?” Marlene knew she should try to be professional, but he was so easy to tease, sometimes. “Are you even seeing anyone right now, actually?”

“I’m not,” he said quickly. Did she hear his voice crack a little? “What are the other cards?”

“This one is what’s keeping you back. You’ve thought through two choices, two options, but you feel like you can’t make a move in either direction. Maybe this is to keep things the same or change them; you probably feel stuck.” This was sounding a lot like the reading she did for Remus, she thought. “And here’s what can help you - aw, it’s your friends. Rely on your friends to help you break out of this stagnation and not being able to make your choice.”

“Huh. Okay, that makes sense. I was just thinking I should finally talk to James about this the other day -- about. About feeling stuck. This is great, Marlene, thanks.”

“Wait a second, Black, there’s one more. Here’s what you should do about it --” the Fool. “Huh. Remus drew this one, too, in the same placement. It means that you shouldn’t be afraid to start something new.” Marlene looked up from the card, starting to figure it out. Overthinking, check. Stagnation, fear of moving forward, check. The two of cups. The Star. Starting something new. Sirius, and… Remus.

“Marlene, I know that face. You know something. Tell me what you know.”

“I don’t know anything!”

“Come on, you have a direct line to the universe through these cards. Don’t read me all this, tell me Remus pulled the same card, get your Gossip Girl face on, and then tell me you don’t have insider information.”

“I don’t have insider information, darling. I have nothing. I’m a translator, not an author. If you want the plot to go somewhere it isn’t going yet, then you better get writing.”

Okay, she thought, that was a good line; I’m saving that one for later.

At the Prewetts’ birthday party that Saturday, Marlene poured herself a whiskey ginger and beelined for one unsuspecting Lupin. She had a record to set straight.

“Remus, we’re friends, right?”

“Yes.” He was clearly concerned about where this was going. “Why?”

“Just checking. Because if we’re friends, then that means you definitely wouldn’t lie to me. And you definitely wouldn’t have been lying when you told me that nothing in your reading the other day meant anything to you.”

“I --”

“A friend wouldn’t lie to me just because he couldn’t face the fact that he was lying to himself.” Marlene knew she was scaring the poor guy, and she stood up a little straighter knowing that she was getting her message through.

“I suppose the part about feeling my feelings made some sense.” He squinted, uneasy. She let the silence hang between them for a moment.

“I just saw Sirius stepping outside for a cigarette, if you want to go talk to him alone.”

Remus looked at her wide eyed. This is the look of a man who truly believes that I Am A Witch, she thought, and filed the feeling away to draw power from later.

“I think I’ll step outside for a cigarette,” he said, and turned away, pushing through the crowd to get to the door.

“You don’t smoke, Remus darling,” Marlene muttered into her drink.

And if she saw them half an hour later, cheeks flushed and lips red and Remus curiously missing the t-shirt he’d been wearing under his button down, who is she to take responsibility? They picked the cards, after all, and Marlene just read them.

[elopez7228]

Scenic Route 31/47

Read on AO3 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/18268208/chapters/43229774 

Start over : https://elopez7228.tumblr.com/post/620919089893933056/scenic-route-0147

***

King con. He couldn’t say he didn’t deserve the title.

Just last night he’d been the happiest man alive, watching her return his kisses and share his desires, or better yet, take the initiative. He had been betrayed by his most loyal followers and forced to forfeit his position at FORCE. He was screwed.

Lord, he’d been screwed ever since she came into his life.

Her and no one else.

He would have sold his empire for her. Never in his life had he wanted someone so badly. He had realized in a matter of hours that he had never truly been in love before.

Before Rey.

Idiot. Now what? What was he suppose to do with this grand revelation when he couldn’t resist fucking things up when he had the chance?

It dawned on him that Syed had been right all along: Rey was nothing more than a diversion act set up by Earth Soldiers. He should have known. She was too real, too uncomplicated and disinterested in his past as Leia Skywalker’s un-prodigal son to ever be a part of their hippie cult. Had she been a true believer, she would have reacted differently to him.

Even the bottom-feeders in Leia’s organization knew who Kylo Ren was. They would never be able to play the part convincingly in his presence—either they would try to get back at him for undermining their glorious leader, or they would bend over backwards for him because they wouldn’t dare displease Leia by hurting her son.

But Rey? She threw the playbook out the window. She laughed in the face of them all, be it FORCE, or Earth Soldiers, Leia Skywalker or Kylo Ren. She only ever had eyes for Ben Solo.

The thought made him stop in his tracks. No one had ever wanted Ben Solo before.

Not his own mother, who saw his likely unplanned birth as nothing but a complication in her promising military career (perhaps why she left him with faceless nannies for eight months of the year) and certainly not his rakish father, who could never relate to his soft-spoken, taciturn son. The man only had an appetite for speed and dirty jokes, which Ben found equally unappealing.

His fellow boys on the base were no better. They constantly made fun of his bad posture and  lanky frame, if not his unmasculine passion for calligraphy which was too far from their fanboy worship of Rambo and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

And then you had the girls. Lord, the girls. With his too-big ears and elongated nose they happily christened him “rat face”, shoving him deeper into his self-imposed solitude.

Worst of all was his uncle, who Ben lived with after turning thirteen and losing his father. Luke worked at the FORCE headquarters in San Francisco where he became obsessed with carrying on his father Anakin Skywalker’s legacy—a grand ambition for the future of the family enterprise that was also forced upon his new intern-nephew. But Ben never liked the projects they designed for him, not that they ever bothered to stop and ask him for his opinion anyway.

Year after year, silence after silence, the anger accumulated. A deep, unvoiced rage against the whole world, against himself. He hated his own ugliness, his shyness, and his parents’ apathetic disdain. He was always an outcast, never able to make friends or fit in.

Just thinking about the atrocity of his childhood and teenage years was making him chew the inside of his cheek raw. He had spent years trying to please the people around him, in vain.

His life changed the day he enrolled in Harvard and began going by the name Kylo Ren.

His mother hardly had the means to pay for his education there. Even less could be said for his uncle, who in his lunacy had managed to get kicked off of FORCE’s board of directors after staging an internal coup. Luke was facing a defamation lawsuit from the president, Snoke, and had nothing to offer his freshly-graduated nephew.

In fact, the way Luke and Leia put it, Ben wasn’t talented enough to attend an Ivy League school. They didn’t even try to pull strings to get him hired at FORCE. Ben couldn’t help but feel that they saw him as little more than a culmination of both of their failures in life.

FORCE was rife with corruption now, they told him. An apple with worms, etcetera, etcetera.

And then they declared that the family enterprise, founded by very his own grandparents, Anakin and Padmé Skywalker, was barred to him forever? When did he become so despised and useless that he was denied a place at the table when it came to his own heritage, his own fucking bloodline?

It was then that Snoke reached out, unexpectedly. In the name of maintaining the family business and keeping the Skywalker name in the game, he offered Ben a privately funded scholarship to attend university. His mother had pushed him to refuse the offer.

Truly, she had been unbearable. Finally there stood a genuinely lucrative opportunity for him to take and she demanded he refuse it? What for? What did she have to offer in return? Nothing. Not a single alternative to humor him with other than a measly “trust me”.

And with that, he was willing to take a chance on that scholarship.

Ben managed to ace all the entrance exams, despite his hatred for standardized testing and the nagging feeling that he hadn’t done well enough.

Maybe he was finally learning to believe in himself?

In his eagerness to leave the past behind, he began calling himself Kylo Ren. New name, clean slate.

Kylo Ren was everything that Ben Solo wasn’t. He was muscular and popular with the girls. He aced his classes easily and all but owned the campus scene. For the first time in his life he had enough confidence to play his music, drink, smoke, and not care what his mother thought of him.

Not that she thought any better of him, of course. All complaints as usual. His new name was ridiculous, his longer hair was unruly, and he only worked out to impress others. Furthermore, his cigarettes smelled terrible, his music sounded worse, and could he please date girls who were a little more respectable?

So he stopped visiting her entirely. He was never the son she wanted, anyway. It was time to stop pretending.

It was at about the same time that she established her own environmental awareness initiative, named after one of Padmé Skywalker’s utopian projects, and declared war on FORCE.

The newly rebranded First Order Capital and Resource Extraction office, still helmed by Snoke, reached out to him once more. After college he could have a future there: money, a senior position with near-total freedom, and a seat at the proverbial family table. He could restore the legacy of his grandfather.

After ten years of searching, he thought he had finally found his place—standing to Snoke’s right, taking on Luke and Leia who were no doubt envious of his success.

That, was before Rey came into the picture.

With her arrival, Kylo Ren was tossed aside like an empty shell.

She rejected him and his unrestrained passions—she barely wanted him to begin with.

She only respected Ben Solo while having nothing but disdain for Kylo Ren and he...fuck, he was actually okay with that. It only made her more appealing.

The sound of a car horn forced him out of his reveries. He looked up to find Shakti behind the wheel.

He got into the car and immediately lit a cigarette. Shakti said nothing. When he’d texted her to come find him at the intersection of 89 and Carbella in Gadiner at 4 AM, she obeyed.

But Ben could see her staring out of the corner of his eye. He relented.

“What?”

“New look?” Shakti grinned, pointing with her chin in his direction.

It took him a second, as he touched his head to find the braid still intact. Time to get rid of that, before the other Knights assumed he went into the woods last night to play dress up.

And yet he found himself reluctant to do so, when it was his only remaining evidence that the night spent with Rey was real. That she had touched him, and cared for him, with tenderness and good intentions. If he undid it another piece would disappear into the void, nothing but a dream.

It had been hours and he could still taste her on his lips. She was right. He had made bad choices and now he had to face the consequences.

Why had he tried to find the chip in the dog collar when things were going so well?

Easy. Because he was sure it would be there. As soon as he realized she wasn’t an acolyte—at least, a willing one—he suspected she was a mule. Hand-picked for the job by his mother. Yes, she would be able to muddy the waters without ever having to lie.

Leia always had a certain knack for casting; she was unrivaled in the art of picking and choosing who to manipulate next. And who better to trust with the actual cargo than the dog, in case the girl proved incompetent? Knowing Rey, she could have easily lost an envelope, or her bag, or her phone...hell, the Millennium Falcon too. She could have just left it to rot when Syed started chasing her. But who in their right mind would abandon a defenseless puppy?

It was a stroke of genius.

That morning, it had been time to see if he was right, if he had correctly predicted the end of his mother’s master plan. To see if he was as clever as she never gave him credit for.

He’d tried to resist the urge. He really did. He’d kissed Rey and hoped to drift back to sleep with her. But it was no use, he had to know.

And so he got up, silent as a shadow, to dress in the clothes that were scattered on the ground outside. Thinking back, it was the other evidence of their moonlit  tryst. He found her keys in her bag and opened the car door.

BB8 was so happy to be out that she forgot Luke’s instructions to attack Ben on sight. The only thing she did was relive herself in the bushes.

In one smooth motion, he had grabbed her collar, easily finding the metal latch of the hidden compartment that popped open right there and—

And that’s when he saw her standing there.

In hindsight, he knew right then and there that there was no fixing this. Nothing he could say or do that would make her believe that he hadn’t meant to do anything other than confirm a hunch. He’d been caught like an idiot with his hand in the cookie jar, hours after promising to be honest with her.

There was no way he was getting her back now. She slipped through his fingers like water, gone forever.

A hard bargain for one microSD chip.

Her love was worth more. He wouldn’t have admitted a few days ago, but after Syed and Skylar’s betrayal, after Snoke and Hux and the endless blackmail? It was over. FORCE had turned against him, so swiftly and violently that it left him breathless. Like it did to Luke. And his grandfather.

But the girl, Rey, had been there for him.

And even as she screamed at him in rage, even as she claimed deception—she had proven him right too. The mule, the secret, the dog. All of it.

She had started out innocently enough, a tourist on holiday. But by moving the chip on purpose she had become a willing accomplice.

That alone was enough to make her the enemy. But did Ben still have a side here?

Syed had managed to turn Skylar against him in impressively short order. What had she promised him in return? Money, or sex, maybe both?

Had she managed to turn the rest of them too? Maybe there was no one left to trust, and he was alone again. A total reject, a pariah, Leia’s failure of a son.

Looking at Shakti behind the wheel, it was impossible to tell. She didn’t seem any different but Syed could have tried to manipulate her regardless. The two women were never close despite working on the same team, Syed’s brutal tendencies often clashing with Shakti’s militaristic discipline.

He could see it clearly now: Syed and Skylar’s mission had been Ben himself.

The other knights would reveal their cards in time.

And as for Snoke and Hux...nothing was certain. They could have very well asked Syed to dispose of him. But knowing her, the attack was likely more of a personal choice. She wanted him to give up Rey’s location, making Rey the final target. The fact that Syed and Skylar got to beat him up in the process was just icing on the cake.

Maybe he still had a shot at redemption here, if he played his cards right. The list of tasks was endless.

The only thing he was absolutely sure of was that Rey had a couple of very competent assassins on her trail. After last night, they would stop at nothing to get back at her.

He had to warn her...he had to stop them.

His deceptively prim metropolitan belle had proven to be far more resourceful than he expected, but she was still no match for two Knights of Ren.

Decision made, he took out his phone.

Shakti was right beside him as he made the call, but that no longer mattered. Either she was with him and she was going to understand the stakes in a matter of time, or she was against him and he would personally ensure that she wouldn’t tell a soul.

Rey didn’t answer, it went straight to voicemail.

“Rey, it’s Ben. I know you don’t want to talk but hear me out. Syed and Skylar are tracking you and they won’t stop after what happed last night. You have to go to the police, you’re in imminent danger. Call me, I—“ he hesitated, his voice breaking.

Should he say it?

“I’m an ungrateful bastard and I’m sorry. I love you.”

Next to him, Shakti turned red. She glanced away as best she could to hide it.

Mentally, he added another item to the list: maintaining control of his team after just having revealed his greatest weakness. After Rey, there would be nothing left of Kylo Ren.

[luccislegs]

Idk, I think it might be bc you're early on in the series/are a new blog? Just a guess, since a lot of people like Ace/Law/Kid or whoever. Anyhow, could I have some headcanons of Sanji with a crush who hides their mouth under a slip-on mask? They were told were told by their village elders that they have a disturbing grin and the mask doubles as a partial disguise while going out. Hope you get more requests soon!

i can appreciate that actually. also if that’s the case i should probably dip lmao i hate having to beg for asks. i do however appreciate you trying to help! also explain to me where you get these ideas bc they are stellar

–

“Hey.”

You jumped a little as a voice sounded from above you. Out of pure habit, you reached up and adjusted your mask, making sure it hadn’t slipped. When you looked up, you found a young man in a straw hat hanging upside down from the lowest branch of the tree you were seated under.

“Hello,” you said hesitantly. He wasn’t blinking as he stared, which would have been unnerving enough, but the straight line frown he wore made the whole of his upside down face downright disturbing. Closing the book in your lap, you prepared to run.

“Why doesn’t your mouth move when you talk?” he asked. His voice was deadpan, with little to no curiosity, which was in opposition to the fact that he had asked you a question that bordered on too personal.

You weren’t sure what possessed you to answer. Maybe it was that he seemed a bit dense, maybe it was the fact that he made you feel normal, but whatever it was, it made you say, “It’s…a mask.”

With that, he flipped out of the tree, landing on his feet in front of you. His mouth stretched into a wide and silly grin, instantly putting you at ease. “Why are you wearing that?” His question, though asked with no malice, set off alarm bells in your head, and you began to shut down.

“That’s none of your business, straw hat. I have to go.” But that wouldn’t be the last you saw of him.

You met the rest of the crew later on in the week, at the same time you found out they were pirates. It didn’t take them long to realize that the villagers seemed to avoid you unless absolutely necessary, and that you wore that mask like it was a defense against them. Each of them asked, at least once, and though you were less frosty than you had been with Luffy, you still made it abundantly clear to them that the topic was off limits.

They took the hint, and took it well, which maybe attributed to why you agreed to join their crew the day they decided to leave port. That, and they didn’t act like you were a freak for wearing it, even though they had only ever seen half of your face. They didn’t pressure you to remove it, to let them see it. They accepted that you may never show them, and invited you anyway.

You didn’t turn around to wave goodbye to anyone on the island, you knew that no one would be there waiting to see you off. It was likely only your imagination, but you thought maybe you could hear the whole island breathe one collective sigh of relief as you sailed away on a boat full of relative strangers. You did, too.

One person that seemed to care less than any of the others was Sanji. He treated you just like any of the others on the ship, except maybe Zoro. You weren’t sure what that was all about, but the others seemed to ignore it, so you did too.

You had been on the ship for a few months when you began to notice a change in his behavior, however. It was such a gradual change that you didn’t notice it at first, in fact, you weren’t really sure why you noticed it all of a sudden. You just did.

A big tell-tale was less flirting with Nami and Robin. Not that he didn’t still freak out periodically, but it was just…less.

A less obvious tell, and one you thought you were imagining at first, was that he began to watch you. More than he was before, and in a different way than before. It wasn’t suspicious, maybe concern, maybe confusion, you weren’t sure. But the more you watched him, the more he watched you.

It wasn’t long before it began to bother you, and you began to grow paranoid. Maybe he was finally wondering what was wrong with your face that you had never shown it, maybe he was going to demand you reveal yourself. Panic filled you at the thought, and you began to contemplate jumping ship at the next port of call. You wondered how long it would take them to notice you hadn’t come back, and that thought made you feel so lonely it was almost unbearable. It was the first time you had actually felt like you belonged somewhere, with no one judging you, no one casting dark looks over the shoulder as you passed, not ducking down alleyways as you approached.

The idea of leaving left your head swimming, and it was as you were starting to drown in it that Sanji approached.

The call of you name snapped you out of it, just enough that you could respond, but realizing that it was him sent you spiraling again. He wore a serious, contemplative look, the cigarette between his lips casting a strange shadow across his face.

“Woah, what’s wrong?” he asked, stopping just shy of your personal space.

“Nothing,” you said, a little to quickly, and even to you it sound hollow and untrue. But you couldn’t think of anything to add, too lost in your own negativity as you were, and you were content to stay there, until he spoke again.

“So, uh, we’re going to be landing soon. I was wondering…I have to go shopping so…do you maybe want to go into town with me?” he asked, his cheeks a flaming red that only grew brighter the more words tumbled out of his mouth. He was scratching the back of his head, his eyes flicking towards your face but never quite meeting yours.

Whatever you had expected him to say or ask, it wasn’t that, and you began to gnaw at your bottom lip as you considered his request. Throwing caution to the wind in the wake of the relief that filled your chest, you nodded, allowing a small, shy smile to creep up onto your face.

You shut it down just as quickly, slamming the happiness down as hard as you could before it could really manifest itself. It was too much to hope that he would go any further, too much to hope that it was more than it seemed. But still, you couldn’t help the tiny spark that lit in your chest.

From that moment until the time the anchor dropped at the dock, your heart fluttered against your ribs like a trapped bird, hope and despair playing tug-of-war with your nerves the whole time.

They eased a little when Sanji looked to you and offered his arm, which you took hesitantly but quickly came to enjoy. As you strolled through the square, he chatted amicably, like you were his best friend, and you found yourself reciprocating with ease. It was easy to forget for a while that you weren’t like everyone else, Sanji just treated you like that.

The facade was broken by a child screaming out, “What is that freaky mask your wearing? Are you ugly?”

As soon as you registered what was said, you deflated and sunk in on yourself, hunching your shoulders as you used your hair to hide your face. On the verge of tears, you yanked your arm from Sanji’s, wanting nothing more than to run back and hide on the ship. A strong hand on your wrist prevented you from escaping, and to your astonishment he began to yell at the child, calling him rude and demanding he apologize.

Unable to look up, you missed the terror on the boy’s face, followed by his mother ushering him away in a hurry, casting scathing looks back at your companion.

The grip on your wrist relaxed, and his thumb began to rub circles on your skin. “Hey, don’t listen to him. I don’t have to see your face to know you’re beautiful.”

It was such a typically Sanji thing to say you couldn’t help the snort of laughter that escaped your lips, but you quickly clamped your hand over the mask covering your mouth and cast a quick glance at Sanji.

“You can laugh. I’m not offended,” he said with a shrug. His hand slid further down, linking his fingers between yours before he began to pull you along in the direction you had been heading before the rude child called out.

You let him, watching the back of his head in bewilderment.

That initial outing didn’t establish a pattern exactly, but it quickly became apparent to everyone that something more was going on between the two of you since that day. Gentle hand brushed, a hand on your lower back as he passed by you, and soft smiles in your direction were too obvious to miss.

He still had his outbursts about Robin and Nami, but now they seemed reactionary rather than attention seeking, and even they could see the difference. Something about you had enamored him, and all without him ever seeing your full face.

The idea that he ever would filled you with dread. So you began to pull away.

He didn’t give you very long to try, though, and approached you about it exactly one week into your avoidance scheme. Naturally, you tried to duck away from him, but his hand around your wrist stopped you. It reminded you so strongly of that first day, that date, as you had begun to think of it, that you wanted to cry. It hurt to be so afraid of something as natural as this, but you couldn’t take the rejection if he decided, like your village had, that your smile was too unnatural to be normal.

“What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly avoiding me? Did I do something wrong?” he demanded, but he didn’t sound angry. Just hurt.

It twisted your heart, and you stopped trying to pull away. He was so kind, and funny, and charming, and all that coalesced into as strong a pull as you had ever felt towards someone before, and that frightened you. “No, Sanji. It’s– I–” You sighed in frustration at the words that wouldn’t come. You wanted to let him down easy, but it was impossible when you didn’t want to let him down at all. “I think– it’s better this way. I have a lot of…problems, from my past. I don’t want to drag you down.”

“It’s about that mask, isn’t it?” he asked, pulling at your wrist so you would turn around to face him. You went willingly enough, but wouldn’t look him in the eyes. “I don’t care about what’s under it. If it’s a scar or– or you have big lips or–”

You snickered at that, placing the back of your hand to the mask to stifle the noise. A flicker of a smile appeared on his face as well, but fell quickly.

“I mean it. I don’t care what’s under the mask. I like you, I want to get to know you better, if you’ll let me?” It was more question than statement; he was asking permission, and that endeared him all the more to you. For such a flirt, he sure was polite.

You looked up at him, trying to gauge whether he was lying at all, even though you knew from his tone that he wasn’t. He was only every this serious about food and fighting. And you, it seemed.

Trying to tamp down the rising panic in your chest, you began to reach up towards the ties that held your mask in place, your head starting to swim as your breathing became more shallow. Hands on yours stopped your progress though, and through the fog you could hear Sanji say, “Hey, you don’t have to show me. Not until you’re ready.”

Tears sparked at the sincerity, but you shook your head, words coming out in a hoarse tumble. “I need to know you’ll accept me as I am, before I get too attached and you hurt me. It’s better this way. Believe me.”

You could hardly see him, but thought you saw him nod, and the hands slipped from yours. The ties came loose a second later, and you cradled the mask gently in your hands as you brought it down from your face. It was the first time in many, many years that you had allowed someone to see you without it, and it felt like you were standing on the deck naked without it.

Sanji remained quiet as he stared at you, drinking in your face in it’s entirety like it was his first sip of water in a week. “Well, I don’t see any big lips, or a mustache, so–“

You cut him off with a snort, your lips curling up in a smile before you could stop it. Immediately, you clapped a hand to your mouth, barely daring to look at him but needing to know what his reaction was.

His brows furrowed, and his hand came up to tug gently at yours. You reluctantly allowed him to pull it down, clasping it in his like he was afraid you were going to hide behind it again if he let go. “Is that what you’re so afraid of? Your smile?”

The nod you gave him was a forced one; it felt like a weakness admitting it. The villagers never expressly made you wear the mask, but they made it clear they liked you better behind it. It became an unspoken rule that you had to wear it, and pretty soon you began to believe something actually was wrong with your smile, and with you. But the way Sanji was staring at you, not with disgust but with confusion, made you believe, just for a second, that maybe nothing was wrong.

“I don’t see anything wrong with it. Maybe it isn’t exactly like mine, but that doesn’t mean you have anything to be ashamed of.” His free hand came up and pushed a curl of hair out of your face, his fingers tracing a gentle path down your cheek afterwards. “I understand if you’re afraid, but my personal opinion is that you’re gorgeous. Wear the mask if it makes you feel better, but you don’t need to be ashamed of anything.”

More than anything, besides the fact that he didn’t outright run from you in horror, you were relieved that he didn’t diminish your fears. They were long kept and deep rooted, and they weren’t going to be conquered in one night. But even with just one person on your side, by your side, you felt better already. Like maybe one day you would be able to face everyone without your mask.

“Thank you, Sanji,” you whispered, your voice thick with unshed tears.

“You’re welcome, princess. You gonna stop avoiding me now?” he asked, flicking you gently on the forehead.

You giggled, and before you could even consider lifting your hand to hide it, it was already coming up. But then his was wrapped around it, squeezing gently. “We’ll work on that,” he said, leading you into the kitchen. “I think it’s time we celebrate to seeing that pretty face of yours.”

–

let me explain something to y’all it is 11pm here and this got wildly out of hand and it’s too mushy and i have an extreme paranoia of characters being ooc without meaning for them to be event tho sanji is hella easy but this was also super fun to write

also i suck at endings but tbh this one is like, top 5 for me so kudos me ima pat myself on the back. i’m posting this now bc idk what a schedule is :^)

also x2 i realized i didn’t edit this stupid thing, then i reread the ask for the third time and realized you asked for headcanons so long story short no headcanons, just scenario, and one very tired, incapable of reading admin

[yayninjabob]

Author Commentary

Ramblings from Yay Ninja Bob about her monstrous creation~

Besides working on my fic, I personally try to journal every day, and I realized that a lot of my journaling has become me pretty much rambling about the process of writing this damn fic lol.  So I thought I'd share some of that for those who may want to know more behind my chapters from my author's perspective. 

It's certainly not everything I can say, but it is a lot haha..

Chapter 1 - Thirteen

Behind the title:

    Well, when I first began writing VillainR, I hadn't planned on having chapter titles at all.  Mainly because coming up with chapter titles (or titles for stories in general) has always been something I struggle with personally.  Anywho after I decided I wanted to challenge myself with chapter titles, I went back and named chapter 1 "Thirteen."  Why?  Well, it is the PpG's thirteenth birthday, of course there is that.  VillainR as a whole is many things, but one major thing is it is a coming of age story for Buttercup/Joey/Jojo, as well as a story of self-discovery.   There's a few important ages I wanted to cover and 13 is around the age where many kids start to "develop" and being a super-powered kid,  Buttercup finally begins to develop her own "special power" at this age.  I wanted this "growing pain" to be the catalyst for the events of Part One.  So, I gave the chapter the title of "Thirteen" to try to highlight the significance of that age for Buttercup. The self-discovery made at this age is that special power (although they are unaware of it at this point).  It's considered an unlucky number, and as it turns out, it is an unlucky year for our main character.

During the writing process:

     First draft was written on Halloween night 2019 and pretty much all of it was completely scrapped haha. 

     I started writing it in first person, like the original Villain, in Buttercup's POV.   I kept the events but approached it again in third person and liked it so much better that way.  One major thing I wanted to improve on with the rewrite was character development which is pretty hard to achieve when writing in a limited POV of a character who eventually loses sight of much around them.  I debated briefly on maybe doing alternating POVs between Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup, but then I felt like it would still exclude a lot for other major characters like Mojo and Princess.  I could add them too but I thought alternating too many POVs would be overwhelmingly difficult (for me as the author for sure but I imagine for the reader too)  Third person seemed to be the best way to handle everything and really my only challenge with that was tweaking the whole "unreliable narrator" trope which I will be honest is my favorite trope ever. It is a challenge to try to recreate the same effect in third person, but I decided that a close third person was the best way to 1) tell a broader story and 2) still set limits on the reader's perspective, and control when and how I drop information and attempt to recreate a similar experience in an entirely new way I've never tried before heh.  (I guess I will spend more time on this on my notes for Chapter 6)

     Second draft I scribbled out in another few days with this new approach.  It began at the start of the carnival and ended where it ends.   Simultaneously I was reworking my overall outline for the fic and began to narrow down all the characters I wanted to be my key players for this epic.  Once my outline was expanded to include everyone, I added the scene with Mojo and Him.  For me, that's when I was like "Ayyy it's all coming together 👍👍" haha.

     Another thing I wanted to improve on was setting and world-building.  So final draft I decided to include some "history" behind Townsville and that's when I worked out the final draft.

    This chapter definitely had the most trial and error during the writing process than any other chapter other than 5 so far.

Inspirations:

     Townsville world-building/history - much of it is inspired by the city I grew up in (for the most part) which is Los Angeles. I mean it has all the sort of settings we've seen in the show which are all pretty diverse right?  Townville had to have a diverse cityscape ranging from a busy downtown setting to quite suburbs to upperclass mansions, beaches, an island, forests, etc.  Well I knew LA had all that and so I tried to re-imagine Townsville as basically an alternate universe LA lol. Monster Isle, I based on research I did on Catalina Island.  I imagined the Utonium household was in a middle class neighborhood like Pasadena- close to the heart of LA but still a relatively "calmer" part of the city.  Morbucks Manor would be in the Hills like Beverly Hills.  Downtown was the heart of the city like Downtown LA.  I debated briefly whether or not to have the Gangreen Gang be from an area modeled after South Central or East LA, but eventually I went with East LA because TBH I am just more familiar with it since that's where my mom's side is from and where I grew up early on in life.  PLUS East LA actually has a pretty big punk scene so that fit the story too with Ace being in a punk band and all that. 

1998 PpG Show References:

     "Oh my gosh they have giant Bunny-Bunny's at the prize tent!"

    (Super Zeroes)

Pop Culture References:

   (OK most of my pop culture refs are just punk references lets be honest lol.  Why Punk?? - because it is rebellion and rebellion is the heart of this fic)

     The Clash - OK in original Villain I established that this was Buttercup's favorite band so I HAD to have that back for the redux. Here's all the refs I crammed into chapter 1 lol:

   "Oh, Man! It's so hard to choose, like, I love literally everything by them. But I gotta say it's a tie probably between their first album and London Calling."

"Hell yeah. Jimmy Jazz is my jam."

"You know, my band does a cover of White Riot," Ace continued to talk music with the teenager as he lit his cigarette and took a deep drag. He held the smoke in his lungs as he continued, "Only we call our version Green Riot."

Blondie:

     The one artist Buttercup had introduced Robin to that she instantly obsessed over was Blondie.

(Some) Symbolism:

     - Blossom is 5'9" and Buttercup is 5'8" - Buttercup is always falling one step behind Blossom.

     - Bumper Car scene - has some foreshadowing and well...

Blossom sat behind the wheel of a red bumper car at the opposite end of the metal floored rink. Buttercup crossed her arms in protest, "No way. I'm driving." she demanded.

Blossom also crossed her arms from where she sat behind the metal wheel. "So you can just rampage and crash into everybody here? No way." She fastened her seat belt with a quick snap and placed her hands firmly on the steering wheel again.

"Ugh. That's the whole point of bumper cars! It's to bump the other cars! You're supposed to try and bump everyone before the times up!"

"You always take it too far, Buttercup. I'm driving, so get in." The redhead grasped the steering wheel in her hands firmly, and refused to move.

And...

"You drive like an old lady," Buttercup shook her head in disbelief as her sister managed to avoid yet another collision.

"Well, that's your opinion," she shrugged off the insult, "Personally, I think it takes just as much skill to avoid every single car in here, as it does to hit every single car," she smiled at her sister.

And finally a brief allusion to the OG Villain lol...

"Blossom!" Buttercup shouted louder so she could get her sister's attention. She pointed at the fast approaching purple car that zoomed towards them from their right side. Behind the wheel of that car was Bubbles who wore a rather determined look on her face as Robin cheered for her.

Blossom saw, but by then it was too late. Bubbles and Robin's car slammed into Buttercup and Blossom's car at full force, spinning Buttercup and Blossom's car into the wall of the arena. The loud buzz which signified the end of the ride then sounded.

    - the roller coaster is Buttercup's ideal carnival attraction; it's got the thrills, twists, turns, ups and downs.  And makes Bubbles sick.

     - the Ferris Wheel is Blossom's ideal carnival attraction; it's a staple of any fair, grand and big, overlooks everything, and traditionally romantic

YNB's favorite scene:

     Personally, I loved writing the whole exchange between Buttercup and Blossom in the car.  Establishing their rivalry, Buttercup's jealousy over Blossom's special power and heroism, Blossom's projection of her own insecurities, their differences, and their commonality. 

Final thoughts on the chapter:

     I was pretty satisfied with how it turned out but I did wait to post it until I had a decent headstart on chapter 2.  I was pretty nervous about whether or not I could stay personally committed to writing this fic so I just wanted to make sure I was really feeling it first, lol.  It had been so long since I'd written fanfic so I just needed to be sure.

     When I outlined everything I estimated the chapter length to be around 6-7k words... And I was surprised that it was double that at about 12k.  Which was wild because on my outline each opening chapter for Part 1, 2 and 3 were supposed to be shorter and more like preludes to everything else.  Well, I guess they ARE shorter chapters but STILL definitely longer than any chapter I used to write for my multichaptered stories.   At the time I thought "Ok obviously my writing has changed but surely I wont go much longer than 12k for future chapters...."  Hurr hurr.

     Personally, I was pretty proud of myself for spending so much time on it and rewriting it over and over and all that.  In the past, TBH whatever was my first draft was pretty much also my last draft haha.  I cranked out a chapter in one sitting usually and edited it mayyyybeee lol.  I just wanted to get it posted so I could move on and get to that next point in the story.   But I suppose now that I'm older and a bit more self aware, I realize a lot of my own anxieties manifest a lot in my writing though and I can recognize it in my old works like the OG Villain where I JUST WANNA GET TO WHAT I WANT TO WRITE RIGHT NOW OK??  I forced myself to slow the hell down this time, take it one scene at a time, and when things felt off I took breaks, slept on it for a few days and came back with new approaches or ideas.   And so far that's how I continue to work on it.

   Also, CHVRCHES.  I listened to a ton of that band while working on this chapter especially.

[bapyess1r]

Amphetamine

WARNINGS: you already know lol

Chapter 2

Talia’s POV

I was awakened by the sound of live music being played in the distance. I winced a bit as I looked over the clock. 9:30 AM. ‘Are they practicing already?’ I thought with a groan as I sat up. I scratched an itchy spot under my messy bun and stood to crack the bones in my back. Stretching my arms, I made my way to the bathroom. I almost startled myself as I noticed my swollen eyes and dried drool in the corner of my mouth. I had to fix it. I briefly adjusted my nose ring before ridding myself of the large tee shirt and began my shower. I took a deep breath as I stepped into the hot water, basking in the pleasantness of the morning sun coming through the windows. I could hear some solos being played from the shower and began to imagine Sam with his guitar in hand. I grinned, actually excited for the night ahead. Then I remembered him pointing a pistol at me and pouted a bit. I couldn’t just forget about that. What started off to be a great morning suddenly turned dull from the thought. I changed into a black AC/DC crop top (cut off purely because I was bored), white cargo pants fitted to every curve, and beat up black converse, the laces wrapped around my ankles. I combed my hair and put on a fair amount of makeup, thick black wings lining my eyes and lashes not too long. ‘Don’t wanna fly away and shit…’ I thought with a brief guffaw. I left the bathroom, drying my hair a bit more with my towel as my Godmother left from the kids room carrying her baby boy. The youngest of her three.

“Good morning, night owl! I was afraid you weren’t gonna wake up in time, you were up and out so late.” She laughed.

“I know! I’m sorry! I hung out with the band for a while after practice- hey baby!” I was distracted by their youngest daughter, Ava, who walked up to me with open arms in hopes to be picked up. Of course I did. She wrapped her arms around me as I sat her up on my hip, continuing the conversation as I followed my Godmother to the kitchen. “And that Sam guy came back so there’s that….”

“Oh yeah?” She smoothed a blonde strand of hair behind her ears as she put JJ in his baby booster seat.

“Yeah. I spooked him on accident but he was really nice about it.” I told her, skipping over the part about the gun as the baby gave me a big juicy gummy smile as he laughed joyfully. ‘Oh to be that carefree again…’ I thought with a smile as I turned on Disney jr for the kids and started on breakfast.

“Oh so you’ve met him already?” She began to grab bowls and spoons for the kids before walking to the kitchen, passing me as I made way to the stove.

“Yeah. He’s kinda cute for an old guy.” I smirked.

“He is good lookin’, right?” She whispered to me with a girlish grin, hoping her husband hadn’t heard. It was adorable. “Are you gonna play with the band tonight?”

“Well I was but he wants to play with just them tonight since it’s been a while. I’m gonna play next weekend.” I prepared to make bacon and eggs as she poured cereal on the booster seat tray and in the bowls for her daughters.

“Well that’s very nice of you, Talia.” She sounded proud of me. But I was honestly just being courteous.

“I wanna go see Sam!” The oldest of the three, Mariah said, waving her spoon in the air as she smiled at her mother.

“You’ll get to see him tonight when they play tonight, sweetie! You guys wanna go hear some music before bedtime tonight?” And with that, the girls cheered. “James gets off early today so you won’t have to worry about watching the kids tonight.” She said to me.

“Thank you! Because I had not a clue about how I was gonna watch the three of them and prepare for the block party.”

“Did you need me to ask your Godfather to stop somewhere and grab anything?”

“I may need some ice. Possibly some lighting fluid for the grill. Marcel is gonna grill what I prepare. And then Louie and Jules were gonna go purchase the alcoholic beverages…” I wiggles my eyebrows thinking of how absolutely trashed I planned on being tonight. And my friend from New York was supposed to come down and visit as well. Remembering that- “SHIT- I mean….dang…” I switched up my language, remembering I was in the company of children. “I forgot I have to pick up Anna from the airport! I’m gonna have to pick her up.”

“Do you need the car seats for the kids? I can set them out for you when you get ready to go.” She asked as I scooped up all of what I cooked into a plate with a piece of toast.

“That would be great! Now… I’m gonna take my breakfast to my spot on the docks and consume a bit of Can- Do- Nicotine.”

“Ok. I can take care of them til you’re done but then I gotta go to hospital.”

“Will do!” I hollered, grabbing my cigarettes and lighter on the way out the door.

As I exited into the driveway, I could hear the band practicing behind closed doors. I bobbed my head to what I thought might’ve been Orange Crush by R.E.M. It sounded almost exact. I sat down with my legs hanging off the ledge of the docks and lit my cigarette, ready to relax and consume breakfast. But then they stopped playing. “Booooo!” I said to myself in disappointment. I wanted to catch Sam singing; guess I missed it. I took a healthy drag and it wasn’t too long before he found himself outside with me.

“Y’know I definitely recall finding this smoke spot a long time ago.” He said and I turned with a large grin. He was decked out in a tight white v neck and a bold palm leaf printed Hawaiian shirt, his eyes hidden behind black shades. He smiled at me as a cigarette dangled from his mouth as he tried to light it against the winds.

“Finders keepers. And you were here to be fair.” I said before scooping the eggs and bacon onto my toast and holding it like a taco, taking a massive bite out of it. With an amused chuckle, he sat down and joined me. “Nice duds.” I gestured to his outfit of choice for the day with a slight look of judgement.

“What- you don’t like this?!”

“I didn’t say all that… It’s just an interesting look.” I giggled, diverting my eyes to the calm morning sea.

“You don’t like it.”

“I…. think there’s better Hawaiian shirts out there. Ones that don’t give off narc vibes.”

“Now I look like a cop?!”

“The shades and the conceal pistol doesn’t help your case either.”

“Wooooooow…..” he said in disbelief causing me to deliver the ugliest laugh. “Speaking of…. I just wanna apologize again for how I reacted to you last night. It was a long night and I’m still a bit jet legged.”

“Where’d you come from?”

“Peru.”

“Oooo what’s in Peru?”

“The Lost Treasure of Lima…” he waved a hand across the horizon of the sea for dramatic effect. Shit, it worked on me. I ooo’d in the background and allowed him to tell me about it. “Captain William Thompson was supposed to be in charge of transporting all of Lima��s riches to Mexíco as they were about to be on the edge of a revolt. He couldn’t resist the temptation of all that money and turned pirate.”

“How did I know this was gonna be about pirates?”

“What can I say? I’m a sucker for a good pirate story.” He smirked before continuing. “Basically, he and his crew were caught by the Spanish, they made a deal that they’d take them to where they ‘allegedly’ buried the treasure, got them as far as Cocos Island which was pretty close to Costa Rica, then split up to divvy the treasure. They managed to escape the jungle and were never seen again. The Spanish still never found the treasure.”

“And you did?” I asked, extremely impressed.

“I did not. Unfortunately.” he replied sourly, taking a drag of his cigarette. “We were close though…”

“What stopped you?” I asked, letting the nicotine fill my lungs. He sighed and began fidgeting with his lighter again.

“Would you believe me if I said we weren’t allowed to hunt there?”

“I see…” I definitely didn’t believe him. He didn’t seem like the type to just stop when he was so close. I began to finish the last few bites of breakfast and lit a second cigarette.

“What are your plans for the day? Seeing as you’re not playing tonight.” He said with a sneaky smirk.

“Go ahead and rub it in.” I joked. “I am preparing a few foods for Marcel to grill after your set.”

“A woman after my own heart!” he dramatically placed a hand on his chest and began fanning himself. I felt comfortable enough to punch him in the arm playfully. “Whatcha cookin’?”

“Devilled eggs, potato salad, chicken salad, kebabs, I have some chicken I managed to marinate before bed last night, burgers, and corn on the cob. And I have YET to start on a good chunk of these things AND I’m watching the kids until my Godfather gets off work. I also have to pick up my best friend from the airport. She’s visiting this weekend.” Just thinking about all of it, I got stressed out all over again.

“Well you do have a lot on your plate. Who’s your Godfather?”

“James Edwards.”

“You’re James’s kid?! Shit. I’m in big trouble.”

“How so?” I asked with a curious smile. He readied his mouth to answer but I could tell he made the decision to change the subject.

“Listen, I’m done rehearsing for the day. I can come over and help with the kids while you cook and run n’ grab your friend.” he offered. I looked at him with so much hope.

“Oh my god would you really?”

“Yeah! I love those kids! I kinda missed 'em since I’ve been gone.”

“So you’re close with my Godfamily then.”

“James and Barbs are good pals of mine. They never mentioned you to me not once.”

“I just moved here a month ago. I guess right before you left-” Just then I was interrupted by my Godmother’s call. “That’s my cue.” I began gathering my plate and ashed out my cigarette, he did the same.

“I’ll come with.” He smiled. For some reason, my stomach lurched and I became really nervous about it. If we were going to work together on the band, I was going to have to get used to it. He hopped up from his spot and offered a hand to me. With ease he pulled me up and grabbed the plate out of my hand to trash it for me as I walked towards the gate. Still, he beat me to it and opened the gate for me, gesturing to the entrance all corny-like. “Ladies first.” he said rather smoothly. I took an exhausted deep breath and brushed by him quickly, not allowing him to see my burning red face. “Howdy, Barbs!” He greeted my Godmother as she rushed to her car but stopped to hug him briefly and hand me JJ. “Hey, slugger.” He poked the baby in his little pudgy tummy and I smiled.

“Hey Sam! I heard you got in last night! We missed ya around here. Been too quiet.” she said opening the door to get in her silver accord.

“I’ll take the compliment.” he chuckled heartily. “So just a heads up, I’m gonna help Talia with the kids while she cooks and runs her errands.”

“That’s sweet- are you sure? I know you just got home.”

“Nah, I’m well rested and ready to get this show on the road. It’s no problem, really.”

With that she sighed. “Well the kids will be happy to see you, that’s for sure.” she quickly checked her watch before turning her attention to me. “Now, I gotta go. They’ve eaten breakfast. Just let ‘em play for a while, give them lunch, put them down for a nap. They should be good to go until James gets home.”

“Got it.” I nodded before she winked at me and smiled at Sam as he closed the car door for her. Sending her off with two heavy pats to the hood of the car.

He followed me into the cool air conditioned house and with a sigh he took off his bold hawaiin shirt and wiped the sweat off his face with it before hanging it on the back of one of the bar stools. As soon as the kids saw him they screamed their heads off swarming him. “AYE! There’s the little princesses!” He shouted, scooping them both up into his big arms. A man with kids was easily one of the most attractive things on the planet and he was really doing it for me. My thoughts were interrupted by a sharp tug on my hair. JJ had grabbed a fistful and tried to eat it.

“Lord, child….” I grunted as I tried to pry my hair out of his strong little baby hands. JJ just giggled at my struggle. “I love you, but you’re a pain!” I said kissing his forehead.

“Are you gonna stay to play, Sammy?” Mariah asked him, sweetly.

“I sure am, sweetheart.” he winked at her and she hugged his neck tighter.

‘Christ, that adorable!’ I thought as I walked over to him to give him JJ.

“Alright kiddies, while I’m doing a bit of cooking, you guys are gonna hang out with ‘Sammy’.” I said, emphasizing his little nickname to tease causing him to dart his eyes my way. I winked at him and backed away into the kitchen. “Have fuuunnn….” I sang as I stalked off. And with the kids outta the way I began to prepare for tonight's shindig. Just when I was getting started, I got a text on my phone from my best friend Anna.

Anna: I’m in the air, should be there in a few hours!

Me: get off the phone! Ur in a fucking aircraft!

Anna: well fine! Be that way bish! <3

Me: see you in a bit! Lol