#although I'm sure nobody would mind

[untitled-tmnt-blog]

You run risequotes?

"Run" seems like a generous term, haha. But yes, that blog is mine!

[charlesemersonwinchesteriii]

Garak in "Second Skin": I will NEVER sacrifice myself for you people I will ALWAYS selfishly save my own life that is a PROMISE

Garak in "The Search, Part II", three episodes earlier: [sacrifices himself for these people even when he could have selfishly saved his own life]

[sukunasweetheart]

Sukuna, a middle aged man jaded by the harsh realities of his life. He steps outside for a smoke nearby a convenience store, completely bored out of his mind.

A lady is handing out flyers nearby, although nobody is bothering to look her way, including sukuna himself.

You approach the man who's getting irritated by the lighter that refuses to work in his hand.

"Hello there, sir. Would you be interested in taking up classes for arts and craft?" You offer the cute flyer up.

Sukuna scoffs. Is she serious?

"No thanks."

"Are you sure? You look like you could use a bit more colour in your life."

He's too exhausted at this point to get angry at a random woman on the street.

"...You're not too far off, i suppose," sukuna mutters, still trying to get the spark to stay on his lighter. "Even so, I'm not interested in the likes of arts and craft. Do i look like a child to you?"

You withdraw your offer of your flyer, and inspect him for a moment.

"Arts and craft can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of age. But moving past that... you seem a bit down. If you'd like to confide in a stranger for a night, I'm happy to listen."

What a strange, persistent woman. Sukuna gives up on his lighter, and takes out the unlit cigarette in his mouth to think back for a moment. One thing does come to mind.

"I'm not feeling down. But i remembered something, now that i think about it..." he confesses, feeling weirdly compelled to tell you about it.

"Today is supposed to be my birthday."

Birthdays have never been special to him. Nobody celebrated his birth as a child, and in turn, he's never paid attention to the birthdays of others.

"Oh, happy birthday. Are you doing anything special for yourself today?"

"No. I've never cared for birthdays. And I'm getting too old for that anyway."

"Well, that won't do... Hold on for a second."

Puzzled, sukuna looks back at you but you've already gone inside the convenience store. Whatever you're up to now, couldn't possibly be more enticing than getting in a proper smoke right now. Sukuna begins to zone out.

He only snaps out of it when something mildly cold grazes past his cheek, leaving a ticklish and moist sensation on his skin as it disappears upon impact.

Bubbles. Bubbles are flying past him, and floating away into the sky.

For a moment, he gets mesmerised by the swirl of colours that are harboured in each one. Even just from the light of this dingy street, they fly up while holding a multitude of different colours inside them. Time seems to slow for a split second, and he doesn't understand why.

His gaze follows the trail to identify it's source. And unsurprisingly, it's you, standing behind him. You blow a couple more out, and then grin at him childishly. He finally looks at your face properly for the first time.

"Birthday bubbles. For the birthday man," you chuckle sheepishly, knowing that you probably look a bit silly right now. You put the bubble wand back into the small bottle of the soapy mixture, and screw it tightly.

"Here, you can have it. Next time you're feeling a bit antsy, why don't you try blowing some yourself? They're pretty, aren't they?"

You also hand him a different small item.

"And i also threw in a little something else, while i was at it."

He looks down, and sees that it's a new lighter. He slowly pulls his hand out of his pocket to take both of them from your hands.

"I hope you get to do something more special next year. Birthdays are supposed to be joyful, after all," you comment.

"Thanks for putting up with my nosiness. Farewell."

And then you leave him after a quick wave.

Sukuna stares wordlessly as you walk off, wondering what to name this ticklish feeling rising in the pit of his stomach.

The small bottle in his palm reminds him of a moment in his childhood. Kids in the park bragging about their bubble wands that were gifted to them. the laughs that resounded as they all ran off to catch the fragile spheres as they blew away in the wind. The tiny feelings of envy in his heart.

The item he tucks away into his pocket is the lighter. And when nobody is watching, he blows a couple more bubbles into the night sky.

-

Every time he passes by that convenience store, the thought of you comes to his mind. A flashback of your smile in the back of his mind. Every so often, he comes to this particular store. Despite having closer options, he comes to this specific one.

At times, sukuna regrets not taking one of the flyers that you were handing out. He wouldn't have had to mope around a convenience store in hopes of running into you again.

Today is a rainy day, and this calls for a hot piping cup of instant ramen. He doesn't usually enjoy convenience store food, but he wants a reason to stay around inside for a bit longer.

He needs to wait five minutes for the noodles to soften. In this time, he stares out the glass frame of the store, and watches the various rows of people walking past with their umbrellas opened.

There appears to be one anomaly in the crowd, however. Running without shelter from the rain, clutching her bag as if it contains something important in there. Sukuna realises that it's you.

Forgetting about his instant ramen, sukuna grabs his umbrella and dashes out the door.

You're mildly panicking about being stuck behind the red light at the zebra crossing without anything to save you from the rain, but the sensation of the droplets hitting your body come to a stop all too suddenly.

You look up, and there's a black umbrella sheltering you, big and strong looking. You spin around and recognise the stranger with pink hair and sharp eyes. Seemingly out of breath.

He signals to the light that has now turned green behind you, and ushers you forward to cross the road before you can say anything to him.

Now safely on the other side of the road, you begin to converse with him.

"It's you! Hello. Thank you for sheltering me. How have you been?"

"... So-so. Nothing's changed since the last time we met."

"I see. You look better than last time, though." You get the feeling that his eyes have a little more light in them.

Sukuna doesn't really get what you mean, but he moves on.

"What’s in your bag that's so important for you to be protecting it like that?" He asks, effectively changing the topic.

"Oh, this? I literally just bought some brand new origami paper... i can't risk getting them wet and unusable. The children would be disappointed."

"Origami, huh? How original."

"Hey! That's not all... there's a lot of options i offer them. They voted on origami this time."

"You got a lot of people signed up?"

"Not really... but I'm sure it'll start picking up soon. Slowly, one at a time."

You smile up at him hopefully.

"...is the offer still open?"

You cock your head to the side slightly, confused. Sukuna grits his teeth, feeling a little bashful about having to ask more specifically.

"You know. Lessons for grown adults."

"Oh! Of course, anytime! Would you like to come sign up today?"

"Do you offer one-on-one sessions too?"

"Yes, I do."

"Alright. Let’s go."

Sukuna can't fathom the words that are coming out of his own mouth. But fuck it, what's the worst that could happen? You've somehow intriged him, and he can't think of a better way to approach you.

You chatter his ears off along the way, and he nods along while his shoulder gets wet from the way he leans his umbrella closer to your side.

[writingwithciara]

paper rings -jack hughes-

summary: y/n's brother used to give her paper rings all the time. he did it for as long as she can remember. so after he suddenly passes away, y/n figures she won't see any new rings. but she is shocked to find a new ring in her mailbox every day following her brother's death.

word count: 6.8k

pairing: jack hughes x reader

notes: grieving reader, mentions of death. i loved this at first then i started hating it towards the end. not my favorite thing i've written, that's for sure. but you guys might like it :)

tropes: brother's best friend, childhood friends, friends to lovers, shared grief, happy ending

marcus was a good person. not a single bad bone in the guys body. wherever he went, he made friends with everyone. his favorite friendships were with the ones who resisted him briefly at first, who he eventually wore down.

his smile was infectious and he went out of his way to make sure nobody was ever left out. everybody loved him for it.

but nobody loved him more than his sister, y/n. and the love was the same for him. no one mattered more to him than his sister.

he loved his sister from the moment she was born. he had only been 2 but he remembered everything about the day their parents brought her home. she was perfect to him and he vowed right then and there that he would always protect her.

when she was 9, she was a witness to her parents constant fighting. marcus made sure she had everything possible to drown it out. he saved his money and bought her the best headphones in the store.

luckily, the fighting never lasted long. and just a few months later, their parents got divorced and their dad walked out of their lives. and that was okay because their mother was everything to both of them. she sacrificed so much to make sure her children were happy. their family was closer than ever and the 3 of them were happy together.

and then, out of nowhere, their mom got sick. she was admitted to the hospital when y/n was only 11 and she never left. it was where they had their final moments as a family. it killed y/n to see the family fall apart.

but thankfully, y/n still had marcus to hold on to. he kept his promise to protect her. he fought to keep them together and found a safe place for them in the home of his best friends family.

the hughes family immediately took them in once they learned about their situation and ellen made sure y/n and marcus knew they had a home for as long as they needed it.

everything was changing and although y/n didn't know how to feel, she knew she would grow to accept it eventually.

the only thing that remained the same throughout her life were the paper rings she received on a near-daily basis from her brother. marcus had learned how to make paper rings from a girl in his 4th grade class and he used the skills to make something for y/n to show how much he loved her. she was grateful.

jack once asked marcus about it and he informed his friend "from the moment i met my sister, i vowed to protect and love her for the rest of our lives. and she loves these so i'm happy to keep it up for her. i do it for her."

when she was 16, y/n watched as marcus and jack were both drafted to the nhl right out of high school. jack was going to new jersey and marcus was going to san jose. she wanted to go with her brother but she knew she couldn't. there was still the matter of her schooling. luke was still with her, luckily. and he made a promise to marcus to protect her.

at 19, y/n was in the middle of her freshman year at umich when her brother called ellen and informed them that he was being traded to new jersey. she remembered the conversation she had with ellen when they got off the phone.

"is there any possible way i could transfer to school in jersey?"

"i can check with your professors and see what's possible. any school you have in mind?"

"no. i just know that jersey is where i need to be."

and ellen knew what she meant. she understood that y/n and marcus couldn't be apart much longer and that their bond was never going to be destroyed.

so she talked to the right people and found a work-around for y/n to transfer to princeton.

y/n was happy again, being with the 2 people she loved the most. jack and marcus. they were her rocks and with them, she felt the safest she had ever been.

a year later, however, that happiness was ripped from her hands.

y/n had been stood up for a date by a guy she thought had really liked her. he had her wait outside the restaurant for almost an hour before he had the nerve to call her and tell her he was not gonna show up. he didn't even give a reason.

she didn't have enough money for an uber so she was going to have to call marcus to come pick her up.

as she she pulled out her phone, the screen was being covered in drops of water. when she looked up, she was just now noticing the rain was just starting to pour down. it was too late to cancel the call to her brother, as his voice filled her ear 2 seconds after she hit the dial button.

"y/n, are you okay? aren't you supposed to be on a date?"

"he stood me up, marcus. made me wait and hour before calling to cancel. and with no explanation."

"where are you? i'm on my way."

"no don't. i know you have plans. i don't know why i called. i'm just gonna call jack and see if he'll come get me."

"y/n, that is not an option. i'm already in the car and i'm tracking your location. be there in 5 minutes." he didn't give her time to protest again before he hung up.

y/n waited the 5 minutes. but her brother's car hadn't pulled up to the curb she stood on. she waited. and waited. and waited. for nearly another hour before another familiar car pulled up beside her. jack got out and ran to her.

"y/n, let's go."

"where's marcus?"

"we'll talk on the way."

"on the way where?"

but jack couldn't tell her. so when he pulled up to the hospital, he had to physically lift her out of his passenger seat and help her into the waiting room.

everything from that point on had happened in a slow motion blur. the doctor informed her of the accident but she couldn't believe it until she saw it. and she didn't want to see it. because to her, if she didn't see it, it never happened.

but she knew it had to happen sooner than later. so jack held her hand as she slowly walked into the room to say goodbye to her brother. her one constant in her life.

for 4 months following the funeral, she was lost. she stopped going to school and hid herself in her bedroom. her roommate, lydia, tried everything and even jack had tried to help coax her out of her room. but nothing seemed possible anymore.

all y/n did was stare at photos and videos she had created with marcus. it killed her to see his smile on the screen when she could no longer see it in person.

angrily, she tossed her phone across the room, knocking the shoebox off the top of her bookshelf. it tumbled to the floor, spilling its contents onto her rug.

"shit!" she muttered to herself before dragging her body out of bed and making her way to the mess on the floor. she had to stop for a second and prepare herself for what she was about to see.

the tiny paper rings had scattered across her carpet, and as she bent down to pick them up, she burst into tears. something she thought she was done with 2 days ago.

hearing the noise from the other side of the wall, lydia came rushing in to check on her. when she found y/n on her knees with her head in her hands, she approached slowly.

"y/n, are you okay?" she knelt beside her friend and rubbed her back gently. lydia was aware of how much the paper rings had meant to y/n and the meaning behind them. so she knew as soon as the question left her mouth, that y/n was not okay. it was confirmed when y/n shook her head and collapsed into lydia's arms. the two of them sat together for a few minutes before y/n stopped crying.

"i'm sorry you had to see me this way."

"y/n, you're my best friend. you don't have to apologize for being emotional. especially for something this valid. it's okay." lydia rubbed her back and helped her stand up. "i think you should get some rest. in my room."

"i'm fine, lyds. i promise."

"you need to be away from the reminders of him. and yes, i am aware that memories exist but that's a good thing. just, please go get some real sleep. i'll be here for as long as you need." she gently lead her roommate to her room and as soon as she made sure y/n was actually asleep, she called jack.

a few hours later, y/n woke up with a pounding headache. the room was dark but she could vaguely make out a figure sitting in the chair across the room. she thought she was seeing things at first so she tossed one of lydia's pillows into the darkness.

"ow." responded a familiar voice. the pillow came flying back towards y/n but she dodged it and it hit the wall. y/n turned on the lamp as jack sat next to her.

"what are you doing here?"

"lydia called me after she put you to sleep. figured you'd need me here." he gently rested his hand on top of hers and ran his fingers over her knuckles.

"you didn't have to come all the way here. i'm sorry."

"i promised marcus i would always be here for you when he couldn't be." he felt y/n stiffen at the mention of her brother. it was the first time anyone had said his name in her presence since the week following the funeral.

"i don't know why i got so emotional. it's been months, jack."

"i know. but it's okay. you miss him. we all do." he sighed and linked his fingers with hers. "he was all you had and i get it. it's okay to lose it every once in a while."

"i don't want to keep living this way. i want to be able to move on from his death." y/n looked at their connected hands. "i want to see a photo and not immediately burst into tears."

"lydia filled me in on what happened and i get it. those rings meant a lot to you and it's okay. i promise it's okay." he held her as she rested her head on his shoulder. "if you ever feel like you're in the midst of a breakdown, call me and i'll be there to help you through it."

"okay." she whispered, afraid to let her voice get any louder. "how long have i been wallowing by myself?"

"4 months. but that's alright. nobody's holding it against you."

"i didn't mean to shut you out, jack. i should've let you in." she could feel the tears pricking her eyes. jack noticed and he held her cheek, ready to wipe away anything that escaped.

"i'm here now. and i will be here. always."

"thank you." she whispered again and cuddled closer to her best friend. she was asleep within seconds and jack stayed with her for the rest of the night.

the next morning, y/n woke up in lydia's bed alone. she decided it was time to get out so she finally made her way to the kitchen. lydia and jack both looked up as they heard her enter the room.

"good morning." jack slid a plate of food over to her while lydia handed her a cup of coffee.

"how are you feeling today?"

"not great. but a little better than i have been." she sipped the coffee before taking a bite of the muffin in front of her. "i should thank you guys for being here for me, even if i was being difficult."

"you were most certainly not being difficult, y/n." jack took the seat next to her and tossed his arm around her shoulder. "i told you last night your feelings were valid. everyone processes differently. there's no set timeline for grieving. it's different for everyone."

"yeah. you took the time you needed and that's perfectly fine." lydia sat on the other side of the table and reached for y/n's hand. "we love you so much and we would never leave you alone."

"i love you too. and i'm for grateful you guys are in my life." she looked between them. "oh shit. i should go clean up my room."

"already taken care of, darling." lydia squeezed her hand. "cleaned it up while you were sleeping."

"yeah. i tried to help when i got here but she told me to be there for you when you woke up."

"what did you do with the rings?"

"i put them back on your shelf. but i put them lower so you could easily reach them if you ever wanted to look through them."

"thank you, lydia. that was thoughtful of you."

"he made you a lot of those rings, didn't he?"

"almost daily from 2nd grade until the week before he passed." y/n let out a shaky breath. "i'm never gonna get another paper ring again and i know it sucks, but at least i have the current ones."

"exactly." jack rubbed her shoulder. "he loved making them for you."

"i know. said it made him happy."

"it made him happy to see how happy you were when he gave them to you." jack wiped a stray tear off her cheek.

"what are your plans for the day?" y/n looked at jack, then at lydia.

"well, i was thinking i could stay here tonight again. if you wanted me to."

"okay. but that's later. what about now?"

"i have to get to work in about 20 minutes." lydia finished her coffee and brought the mug to the sink. "i'll see you later, y/n. bye jack." she waved and walked out the door.

"but i'm free." jack smiled. "well, i'll be free after practice. wanna come with me?"

"is that even allowed?"

"no idea. but i don't want to leave you."

"it's alright. i can be left alone for a bit."

"no. i can't do that. not when i made a promise."

"i don't want you to get in trouble, jack."

"i won't. will you please come with me?"

"fine. but if you get in trouble, i'm going home."

"fair enough." jack smiled and y/n stood from the table. "go get dressed and i'll grab your stuff."

y/n nodded and headed into her room. her eyes went immediately to the shoebox of rings and she walked over to it. instead of ignoring it, she opened the lid and pulled one out. it happened to be the green one she adored. marcus bought a special kind of paper meant for paper rings after the ones i first gave her got destroyed.

she slid the green ring on her finger and stared at it. she must've zoned out because jack was by her side when she turned her head.

"oh. sorry. i'll be ready in a second."

"no worries." jack's thumb instinctively swiped the tear off her cheek and he walked to her door to wait.

30 minutes later, they were pulling up to the practice arena. jack got out and went to y/n's side of the car.

"while you were getting dressed, i called coach. he said it was fine for you to sit in on the practice today."

"okay good. i'm glad." she took jack's hand and they walked into the arena. y/n sat in a seat behind the glass and watched the guys skate around. nico waved to her whenever he skated by. jack kept his eye on her the entire time and while one might think it would've messed up his concentration, it did not. he was capable of putting focus on more than one thing.

nico skated over to him while they were working on their final drill. "it's nice to see y/n out of her apartment. she seems to be doing better."

"yeah. she had a breakdown last night and her roommate called me over to help. guess it was what she needed."

"what did she breakdown over?"

"it took awhile for me to get it out of her but i guess she was going through her old photo album on her phone and got angry so she threw her phone. it hit her bookshelf and knocked down her shoebox filled with paper rings. one look at the pile of paper on her rug and she burst into tears."

"they meant a lot to her, didn't they?"

"yeah. marcus learned how to make them in 4th grade and he gave her a new one nearly every day since then. she loved them. they made her happy and he lived for making her smile."

"that's sweet." nico tapped his stick. "do you know how to make them?"

"i tried a couple times but none of them ever turned out as good as the ones marcus made her."

"i'm sure with a little bit of practice, you could make some and give them to her. she might appreciate it."

"yeah, maybe. but i don't know." jack looked over to where y/n was sitting. she was leaning forward, talking to sheldon through the glass. she had a smile on her face. it was small, but it was a start. when she lifted her head to catch jack's gaze, she waved. "she is so strong. i don't know how she does it."

"she's got you, jack." nico nudged his friend. "and you don't have to worry about replacing marcus. nobody could ever. but you're a good substitute for the love she lost when she lost him. but it could be different if you let it."

"what are you talking about?"

"you're smart. you'll figure it out." and with that, he skated in the opposite direction. jack headed over to y/n.

"hey. ready to go?"

"yeah." y/n met him at the entrance to the tunnel. "sheldon was telling me how glad he was glad to see me doing better."

"everyone was glad to see you, y/n. you might not know it but we were all worried about you. you're like the unofficial little sister of the team."

"that's how you see me?"

"yeah. we all love you. not as much as he did. but we've got the same intentions."

"okay. that makes me feel alright." y/n took his hand and they walked to the locker room. "i'll wait for you out here." she waited for 25 minutes before she saw his face again and she was instantly calmed down when he emerged. y/n found that he has been doing that to her for years and she suddenly always wanted to be near him.

on the way back to the apartment, y/n fidgeted with the ring she put on earlier. jack took notice and nico's words played in his head. maybe he really should make some rings for her.

a few days later, y/n was sitting in her room when lydia came in. she handed y/n a small package.

"what's this?"

"i don't know. but it was in the mailbox." lydia shrugged and sat down on the bed beside y/n as she opened the package. "so, what is it?"

"it's a," she ripped the tape off and opened the box. "oh my god. it's a paper ring." she pulled it out and held it in the palm of her hand. it was a decently made one, nowhere near the quality of the green one she was still wearing. "who sent me this?"

"is there a return address on it?"

"not that i recall." y/n flipped the package around but didn't see an address on it. "i think it was jack."

"why do you say that?"

"well, other than you, he's the only one who knows how much the rings mean to me. at least i think he is."

"okay. that makes a lot of sense i guess."

"oh, there's a note." y/n unfolded a piece of paper and read the words.

you deserve so much more but these rings meant a lot to you so from this day forward, i will make and deliver a new ring every single day.

she knew immediately, just by the handwriting, that jack had made this ring. and it touched her heart in ways she didn't think were possible.

"lyds, what am i going to do?"

"what do you mean?"

"this is the sweetest thing anybody has ever done for me. and i love it a lot. it's making me feel things. but it's jack. i can't be feeling these things for him. he's my best friend."

"but maybe that's exactly why you should feel these things."

"what?"

"think about it. nobody knows the pain you're going through more than jack does. you lost a brother and he lost a best friend. and sometimes, people connect in so many ways while they grieve."

"but....it's jack." y/n looked at the ring again. "it would be weird, wouldn't it? i mean, i've never even thought about him in that way before."

"okay so you're telling me you've known this really hot guy for years and you've never thought once about him in a way that wasn't friendly?"

"have you?" y/n raised an eyebrow.

"of course i have. like i said, he's really hot." lydia smiled. "but he's never going to be into me. not the way he's into you, at least."

"are you high? jack is not into me."

"dude, are you blind? you can't be serious right now." lydia chuckled and shook her head. "he drops everything when you call. or just to be here for you. he's been your best friend for years and constantly, he's shown up for you. even on days when you didn't ask. he's intune to your feelings. it's like he knows how you'll be feeling and he's prepared for anything when it comes to you." lydia looked at her friend. "if he's not in love with you, then my radar is way off."

"it's off. just watch. i'll show you."

every day for the next 2 weeks, y/n received a paper ring in the mail. each one better than the one before it. she hardly saw jack but when she did, he would only be around briefly. so she didn't have the opportunity to ask him about what she and lydia had discussed.

but even then, with each passing day, y/n was beginning to doubt her own words. jack was going above and beyond in her friendship but it didn't feel like things a friend would do.

she really needed to talk to him.

and she got her chance one saturday.

jack was packing for a road trip with the team while y/n watched him run around his room. she enjoyed the moments like this when it was just them.

"i know you're the one who keeps sending me paper rings, jack."

"it wasn't really a secret, y/n." jack stopped folding a shirt and faced her.

"but why?"

"the rings meant a lot to you. i wasn't gonna let you continue on with your life without those rings." he looked down at his feet. "i hate seeing you upset, y/n."

"i don't deserve you." y/n smiled before lydia's words came tumbling through her mind. they fell out of y/n's mouth before she could stop them. "oh, um, interesting story. lydia told me she thought you were hot."

"oh. really?" jack's face began turning red and y/n suddenly wished she hadn't told him that.

"yeah." she took the opportunity to gauge his reaction carefully. "so, what do you think of that?"

"well, honestly i'm flattered. and she's gorgeous."

y/n's heart constricted a little. "oh."

"but she's not my type."

"are you crazy? lydia is 100% your type, jack. she's blonde, gorgeous, smart and funny. how is she not your type?"

"she just isn't, okay? yeah she's all those things, but she's just not-"

"ready to go, jack?" luke interrupted his brother thenn turned to y/n. "oh hey, y/n. didn't know you were here."

"i come here before you guys leave for every away trip. how are you so surprised every single time, luke?" y/n walked over to the tallest hughes brother and hugged him.

"i know. just like to tease you." luke chuckled. "you gonna miss your boy for a week?"

"what boy?"

"forget about him and come back here for a second. i have something for you."

y/n walked over to jack and smiled when he placed a paper ring on her pinky finger. "what's this for?"

"it's my favorite one i've ever made and i was gonna have it sent to you from the road but since you're here, i figured i'd give it to you now." jack's smile was infectious. "do you like it?"

"i love it." y/n couldn't help but wrap her arms around jack. he immediately pulled her tighter while luke smiled to himself.

"okay, lovebirds. let's go." he grabbed jack's bag and headed out. while they were alone, jacks cheeks turned pink.

"uh, ignore him."

"i always do." y/n smiled and headed out to the living room. "i'm gonna miss you guys. make sure you win for me."

"we always try our best for you." jack put his arm around y/n as the 3 of them headed to the parking lot.

luke got in jack's car and waited for his brother. he watched as jack and y/n embraced for what felt like the millionth time in the last hour. and he couldn't, for the life of him, figure out why they were still dancing around their feelings.

by the time jack drove away, he had shed his sweater. y/n held it in her arms and smiled before climbing into her car and heading back to her apartment.

lydia was sitting on the couch when y/n walked in. her eyebrow raised when she noticed the sweater. "jack's?"

"jack's" y/n confirmed as she collapsed next to her best friend.

"so does that mean you guys finally had the talk?"

"no. we didn't. but i did tell him you thought he was hot."

"you did not!" lydia slapped y/n's arm and laughed. "what did he say?"

"he said you were gorgeous, but that you weren't his type."

"right. because you're his type."

"When will you let that go?"

"when you and jack finally have a talk."

"okay. so never?"

"it's like you love to piss me off."

"you love me."

"i do." lydia smiled and turned her attention back to the tv. "i can't believe THE jack hughes called me gorgeous."

"that just made your day, didn't it?"

"honey, it made my entire life."

a week later, y/n and lydia were watching the devils play the golden knights. when jack collided with eichel and they both went down, y/n jumped up from the couch.

"oh no."

"that looked painful."

"he's not getting up, lydia." y/n covered her mouth and watched as eichel slowly slowly got up. he leaned down to check on jack but he was still not getting up. "that looked terrible."

"it really did. i can feel the pain." she rubbed her shoulder. "oh. and it's the same shoulder from last season, isn't it?"

"i don't know." y/n grabbed her phone and sent luke a text. "i hope he's okay." she was surprised when her phone vibrated in her hand. she looked at the screen. "jack's requesting a facetime."

"answer it!" lydia jumped to her feet and joined y/n.

"hey. what happened?" y/n looked at the screen, only to see luke's face instead of jack's. "is he okay?"

"he's stubborn. doesn't want to believe it's as bad as it could be." luke turned the camera towards jack.

"stubborn, or stupid?" lydia shook her head.

"little bit of both." y/n and luke answered at the same time.

"who are you talking to? is it y/n?" jack called from behind the camera. luke leaned to get his brother in the frame. he smiled when he saw y/n on the screen. "i promsie it's not bad."

"jack, the doctor said you might need surgery again."

"i don't need to surgery."

"jack, what's going to be worse? continuing your season without fixing what could become a potential problem down the road? or getting it fixed quickly so you can heal faster and come back stronger?" y/n stared at her best friend.

"ugh. stupid logic."

"i do it because i care."

"i know. and i love you for it." jack chuckled. the doctor came back into the room to inform them of the extent of his injury. he wrapped the shoulder as tightly as he needed and left the room again.

"i'm sorry this happened, bro." luke sighed. "you're the star of our team. without you, we're basically screwed."

"don't say that, luke. you guys are still strong without jack. you proved that last season."

"y/n, babe, i love you. but last season, we sucked." luke chuckled. "i strongly believe it was because we didn't have jack."

"you're feeding his ego, luke." lydia shook her head and smiled. "hope you heal fast, jack. the team needs you."

"who's the one feeding his ego now?" luke playfully raised his eyebrow. jack laughed in the background.

"i miss you guys." y/n sighed.

"well i won't be home for a while. gotta fly to colorado and get some surgery."

"oh. that sucks." y/n looked at her best friend. "this isn't fair. you should be healthy. you deserve it for at least one full season."

"i know. but it's like i'm cursed or something."

"all of you guys have been injured this season and i think it's bullshit."

"it is." y/n looked away for a moment. long enough for her to miss the longing look in jack's eyes. but lydia noticed.

"hey, if you miss jack so much, why don't you fly to denver and keep him company before and after the surgery?"

luke, who easily caught on, nodded. "oh, that's a great idea. i'll book the ticket now and send it to your email." he was already typing on his phone before she could protest.

"this will be good for him, i promise." lydia whispered. "you'll have time to talk to him about you know what."

"you're never gonna give up, are you?"

"you know me so well. i'm gonna go pack for you while you're on the phone." lydia kissed her cheek and headed down the hallway. y/n turned her attention back to the screen just as luke was putting his phone away.

"done. flight leaves tomorrow evening. you'll be in denver in less than 48 hours."

"can't wait. kiss jack on the cheek for me and tell him i'll see him soon." y/n smiled and hung up the phone. part of her wanted to be upset with luke and lydia's meddling but the other part of her knew jack would enjoy the company.

so, when the plane landed in denver 30 hours later, y/n rushed to be the first one off the plane. luke had sent her a text with the hospital information on it so she got in a cab and gave the driver the directions.

when he pulled up to the hospital, she gave him a generous tip and headed inside. it only took a few minutes before she had arrived in jack's room. when he looked up, his eyes met hers and he smiled widely.

"hey. you actually came. i thought the discussion was all a dream."

"of course i came. you needed someone here with you." y/n set her bag down and sat in the chair next to his bed. "how do you feel?"

"better now that you're here." he smiled genuinely. "but still in a little pain. surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning and even though it's happened before, i'm a little scared."

"there's nothing to be scared of, jack. your doctor is one of the best in the country. he's had tons of successful surgeries, yours included." y/n grabbed his hand. "you're tough, jack. you can do this."

"wow. i didn't know how much i needed you here until just now. thank you." he squeezed her hand 2 times harder. "you take the pain away. for real."

"i try my best." y/n looked down at her feet, the blush inevitable. "jack, there's something i want to talk about and if i wait any longer, i'll probably chicken out." she took a deep breath before speaking again. "i think i may love you. a lot. and i never realized it until i lost marcus. you helped me out of my depression and you brightened my life up, even though i didn't make it easy. you are my best friend and i think that you making me these rings may be a sign that you like me too. and i might be wrong about it so if you don't feel the same, please tell me now." she waited for a few seconds. the silence was enough of a confirmation that she was wrong. taking a breath, she looked up, only to find that jack had fallen asleep. she let out a sigh of relief and leaned back in her chair, never letting his hand go.

the next morning, y/n woke up to the soft sound of voices whispering to each other. she opened her eyes and the doctor was standing by the bed, talking to jack. his hand was still holding onto y/n's so when he felt her move, his head turned immediately.

"good morning."

"good morning." she sat up straighter. "what's going on?"

"the doctor was just coming in to get me ready for surgery."

"oh. okay. well, i'm gonna go get some coffee." y/n stood up and stretched. jack reached for her hand.

"wait. please?"

"okay." she sat back down and watched the doctor do his thing. when it was finally time for the surgery, the doctor began wheeling jack out. he looked at y/n.

"you're gonnabe here after, right?"

"of course, jack. i wouldn't leave you."

"okay good. i have to tell you something when this is all over."

"i'll be here." she watched the doctor take jack to the operating room. as she waited, she thought back to her confession last night. she had no idea if she would have the courage to say it all to him again.

a few hours later, jack was out of surgery and asleep in his room. y/n kept her eye on him while the nurses came in and out to check on him.

around 9 pm, jack finally woke up. y/n had fallen asleep with her head on the edge of jack's bed. he gently tapped the top of her head and she stirred. when she opened her eyes, she smiled at jack.

"hey. how are you feeling now?"

"better. a lot better." he smiled as y/n moved her chair closer to the bed.

"that's good." y/n held his hand for what felt like the millionth time in the past 2 days. but neither of them cared. it felt right.

jack's eyes travelled to their hands. "you're still wearing the ring."

"of course i am. you gave it to me. i love it."

"i love you." jack closed his eyes. "this was not the way i wanted to tell you though. you deserve better than a damn hospital room."

"it's okay, jack. i could be anywhere with you and it would be enough." y/n squeezed his hand and smiled. "i love you too, by the way."

"i thought that's what i heard last night but i figured i was dreaming." jack chuckled. "i heard your whole speech and i'm sorry i didn't reply."

"you were tired. i don't blame you." y/n looked at his shoulder. "i'm glad you got the surgery instead of being stubborn, like usual."

"well a really wise person i know made a really good point." jack smiled. "i'm gonna come back even stronger than before and it's all thanks to you."

"i'm sure your doctor would be very happy to hear that." y/n couldn't help but laugh. "i guess i'm gonna be the one to take care of you while you heal."

"hopefully you'll be a better caregiver than luke was last season when i was hurt."

"i'll be the best caregiver ever. but only for you. and sometimes lydia."

"does lydia still think i'm hot?"

"she does." y/n grinned. "but i think that she thinks luke is hotter. and even if she doesn't, there's still some vibes between them, right?"

"you noticed that too, huh?"

"yeah. i've noticed it before but that facetime call was like the icing on the cake."

"they'd be cute together though, don't you think?" jack grinned.

"oh for sure." y/n looked at the ring on her finger. "thank you for learning how to make these for me."

"they mean a lot to you, y/n. i like seeing you happy. it's gotta be the best sight for me."

"you must really like me then, huh?"

"i do. i definitely do. and i have for a while." jack looked away from y/n before speaking. "i know this might make me sound like an asshole, but the night you had that date with that one guy, i was hoping the entire night that it would be a terrible date. i wanted you to come home and complain about him. i had planned to tell you how i felt that night. but after everything, the timing just never felt right. i'm sorry about him, by the way. he didn't deserve you."

"i know. i was way out of his league. but i spent so long thinking the opposite. so when he finally asked me on the date, i was happy." y/n sighed. "it was supposed to be a good day. but it was the worst day of my life."

"i know. i remember picking you up at the restaurant. you were broken before i even brought you to the hospital. i felt terrible having to do it."

"it's okay, jack." y/n climbed onto the bed next to jack when he scooted over. "sometimes things have to happen. and it's not like marcus won't live on in our memories. he's always gonna be in here. and in here." y/n pointed to her head first, then her heart. "especially in here."

"good. never let him fade away." jack kissed the top of her head and sighed. "so, i love you."

"i know. and i love you too, doofus. we've established that." y/n turned to look at him. "maybe we can finally go on a date when you get out of this hospital."

"or we can have the first date here." jack raised an eyebrow. "the food isn't too bad."

"okay. you're definitely still on the drugs." y/n smirked.

"i wish. the pain is a little terrible."

"want me to get the nurse?"

"no. i have a better idea." jack dropped her hand and used his own to grab her chin gently. he leaned in and slanted his lips over hers. their first kiss may have only been a short one. but it packed a lot of emotions in it. jack rested his forehead against hers and chuckled.

"how's the pain now?"

"still hurts. but only a little now. the kiss definitely helped."

"good. i'm glad to hear that." y/n grinned and leaned on his good shoulder. "i'm proud of you."

"thank you for being proud of me." jack stroked her hair and closed his eyes. the two of them drifted off to sleep, content to finally be in each others arms.

[liiixsturniolos]

♱ chris sturniolo (nsfw) alphabet ♱

not requested*

(smut warning!, letters of the alphabet as headcannons chris would do)

A ... (how he is after sex?)

Aftercare. Chris loves it weirdly enough. He will of course clean you up gently. He'll stroke your hair, hold you in his arms, and rub your shoulder. Often he'll make you food after.

B ... (fav body part?)

Body part. Chris' favourite body part of yours, quite obviously your ass. He's a big PDA guy. He'll grab it as you walk, slap it when you walk up stairs, stare at it when you turn around, He's pervy with it but it's funny.

C ... (cum)

Cum. This man is a lil freaky with it. He'll come on your tits when you let him, your stomach, mouth. He lowk has a slight breeding kink/cream pie thing.

D ... (Dirty secrets?)

Dirty secret. This man has loadsss of nasty thoughts and shit he'd love to do. He's a little perverted ngl. I'm sure you can imagine.

E ... (experience?)

Experience. Chris really isn't too experienced, he's only had sex with about 4 women before you. He will of course act like he's fucked hundreds, but he hasn't, and you could sort of tell.. you had to teach him how to slow down.

F ... (fav position?)

Favourite position. This man wants you in missionary. Let's be real. He wants to see your face. But he's definitely open to any other positions. He'll try anything you ask for.

G ... (How good is he?)

Good. This man is reallll goooood. He will try almost* anything too.

H ... (hair....?)

He's clean, not fully hairless but trimmed LMFAO. In regards to you, he doesn't mind. However you're happy with it, he's happy too.

I ... (intimacy?)

He's sweet. Although he's a rough guy sometimes he can switch it up too. He holds your hand through it when he can, likes to watch your face and kiss you too.

J ... (Jacking off?)

Surprisingly, not as often as you expected. And almost always to pictures of you, especially before you guys started dating the guy would stroke his shit to every one of your tiktoks or insta posts.

K ... (what are his kinks?)

Kinks. He has a little breeding thing, wants to get you pregnant BAD. And maybe a little degradation but never too mean, he could never be mean to you.

L ... ( favourite place to do it?)

Location. He's a fan of public sex, but that's often hard to get away with. So he'll opt to tease you under a table with his fingers scoping out your inner thigh. He likes table tops, and bathroom counters to pin you against.

M ... (what gets him going?)

Motivation. Seeing you in slutty outfits. Fucking loves you in a skims dress where he can see your shape, loves you in lacy underwear.

N ... (what he wouldn't do.)

No. Anal stuff is definitely off limits. Him, you, he doesn't care nobody's goin' near his asshole and he ain't gonna go near yours. He's not into anything too rough either, like knife play and blood, he cares about you alot, it's not just lust. He wants to make sure you're always safe.

O ... (oral?)

Oral. He will 100% eat you out with delight. for example, my blurb HERE ... You'll return the favour every now and again.

P ... ( what pace will he go at?)

Pace. He can be fast, but you've taught him how to wait a little, and how to be slower. He will switch between his paces. Depends on how you both feel.

Q ... (opinions on quickies?)

He likes 'em. But sometimes not, he likes to take his time with you. He actually likes the whole foreplay stuff, he likes making out and running his hands through your hair, or kissing your neck.

R ... (risky?)

He is down to take risks with semi-public sex. He loves fucking you on the couch and just hoping his brothers don't come in.

S ... (how long can he go for?)

Stamina. He will go for as long as you like. As long as your up for it, he'll go twenty more times.

T ... (is he into toys?)

Toys. Yeah, sure. On you though. He'd happily mess around with a vibrator on you. He'd definitely be a bitch with it though, teasing you and edging you until you beg him to stop, pleading to let you shut your legs as he holds it there longer.

U ... (is he unfair?)

Unfair. Is he Unfair with you? Tease you? He's never selfish, but will tease you a little on occasion, especially if you've been bratty and bitchy that day, he wants a sliver of revenge but eventually he has to give in to your moans and begs to let you come.

V ... (how loud is he?)

Volume. He is LOUDDD, you will litterly have to put your hand over his mouth sometimes. This man is grunting and whining like there's no tommorow.

W ... (what are his insane fantasies?)

Wild cards. He secretly wants you to suck him off as he drives. It's a dirty and illegal thought. You would do it though. HERE is an idea of what it'd be like...

X ... (what's he got?)

X- Ray. He's big. He cocky about it too.

Y ... (how highs his sex drive?)

Yearning. He's pretty horny, pretty often. Works out well for the both of you..

Z ... (bitch I have nothing..)

Hope you liked this thanks for reading!

okay see you later bitches. I hope you liked this, if you did please interact so I keep writing! thank you! ꨄ︎

taglist babiesss! : @matthewsroses @pvssychicken @chrislilcumslvt @ivysturnss @mattsbitchh @sturniolo-fann @matts-myloverboy @emely9274 @sophand4n4 @uncannyguava @chrisfavoritewhore @certifiedstarrr

[changetyre]

Broken ⒾⓈⓌ

SUMMARY: You and Max are having trouble trying to grow your family and your daughters are affected by it. Part of the Verstappen Family Verse

WARNINGS: Angst, miscommunication, pregnancy issues, a smidge of smut at the end.

A/N: This was requested over on Wattpad. Despite the angst, this is one of my favorite parts of this series.

Max stretched out, his back feeling painful after carrying all the presents he'd bought up from the parking lot before stashing them in a high cupboard in the house where he was sure nobody would look. It was late and he'd spent most of the day out looking for gifts, although truly it was also an excuse to get some space since the environment at home wasn't the best right now. 

The house was quiet when he arrived, a good indicator the girls were already asleep in their room and you as well probably. Although only a few months ago there wouldn't be a day you wouldn't wait for Max before going to bed, physically unable to go to sleep without hearing his voice but lately things had changed and you and Max often went to bed without exchanging any words at all. 

Once he finally made his way to your bedroom he wasn't surprised to find you were in fact asleep, clothes scattered around the room which you also hadn't bothered to clean up. Max sighed, he was tired having not really had a day of relaxation since the season ended despite imagining he'd spend his winter holidays differently, that things would somehow get better. 

He proceeded to pick up the room a little bit making it a little more presentable before taking a quick shower and joining you in bed. While his skin screamed to feel yours Max didn't feel comfortable enough to do so anymore, not knowing how you'd react to him placing an arm around you like he had done every night since you'd gotten together..until a few months ago. 

The next morning Max woke up to find you'd woken up but stayed laying there simply staring up at the ceiling, he knew your mind was spiraling but truly didn't want to ask anymore knowing you'd shut him out.  

"Hey," Max asked. His voice almost felt too loud for the silence. 

"Hi." Your voice was barely above a whisper, the sound almost strange to him not used to hearing it often anymore. 

"How d'you sleep?" Max asked. 

"I'm gonna go make breakfast for the girls." you ignored his question avoiding eye contact as you left the room leaving no more space for conversation. 

Once Max got himself ready for the day he went out to join you for breakfast finding you'd already eaten and were in the process of washing the dishes. He'd be lying if he said this didn't hurt him but held back from saying anything not wanting to start an argument. 

The rest of the day was mostly spent in silence apart from the laughter and ruckus from your children there were no words exchanged between you and Max. At some point, Max left the house once more wanting space. 

"Mama," Ivy called you as you played with both your daughters in the balcony. 

"Yeah, baby." Your daughters naturally made you smile, probably the only time you showed any sort of emotion lately. 

"Do you and Papa not love each other anymore?" She asked. 

Your heart skipped a beat, the immediate urge to cry reaching your throat and you only hoped your eyes gave no indication to the sudden burst of emotion. You noticed the way Lea's smile also dropped at the question, her attention ready to hear your answer. 

"Uhm, of course we do baby why would you think that?" You asked hoping your shaky voice didn't worry your daughters. 

"Papa doesn't blink at you anymore...like dis mama." Ivy showed you by blinking her eyes hard three times just like her father used to do to you almost daily before. 

The reminder of this almost broke you, you began picking up the girl's toys making sure they weren't able to see your face properly as you began crying. "You don't have to worry girls, everythings okay with Papa and me." You lied to your daughters, and it was evident by the weakness of your voice but you weren't sure what else to say. 

"Mama, are you okay?" Lea asked this time, her voice filled with concern, she was growing up, she of course noticed things, possibly understood things a little more than her sister and you knew you were hurting her, hurting them both and thought of this killed you inside. 

"I'm fine Lea, why don't you take your sister to your room and watch a movie, I'm gonna shower." You tried your best to force a smile wiping your eyes with the back of your hand before facing your older daughter. 

Lea simply nodded not wanting to cause you more distress before taking Ivy's hand and guiding her away. Once they were gone you let yourself cry it out. 

Trying and failing to conceive another child had been more emotionally draining than you had ever imagined it would be. You and Max had tried, tried, and tired to the point making love to him wasn't exciting anymore, it was frustrating, full of desperation, and so eventually, you stopped. You stopped trying, stopped connecting, stopped loving.  

Silence seemed like the easiest solution, not willing to face the reality of it all. Drowning in your own thoughts was exhausting but it seemed like the better option since potentially hearing the way you let down your partner, your family was worse. 

But it was obvious now, it was obvious how much this was already hurting your family so you had to toughen up now, muster enough strength to talk to Max, talk to your husband, and face whatever was next for you, whether good or bad it had to better than letting your daughters see the way things were falling apart between you. 

___________

Max once again came home to silence, he could hear the TV on in the girl's room and he didn't want to go to his room so instead decided to try to wrap up the presents in secret while he had the time. 

Max was semi-successful, his daughters had walked out of their room and been insistent on wanting to know what Max was doing despite him telling them several times to go back to their rooms and his patience was wearing thin. 

He was only able to get them to stay in their rooms after promising them a play date with their uncle Lando on the weekend if they behaved. Finally knowing they would stay in their rooms Max took the time to try to hide the gifts again so he could put them under the tree by the end of the month. 

He'd headed to the bathroom and when he came back anger and frustration flooded him at seeing Lea helping Ivy up to the counter to try to open the cupboard where he'd stashed the gifts. 

"LEA!" Max yelled letting his emotions control him for the first time with his daughters. 

Lea and Ivy both gasped and Max ran to catch Ivy who almost slipped off the counter trying to get down quickly. 

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING! WERE YOU EVEN THINKING!? YOUR SISTER COULD'VE GOTTEN HURT!" Max yelled at his older daughter. 

You heard the commotion from the room running out to check on the situation. "I WANT YOU BOTH IN YOUR ROOMS, NO TV, NO GAMES, GO STRAIGHT TO BED!" Max continued yelling. 

Both Ivy and Lea were in tears at seeing their dad so angry for the first time in their lives, running straight to their rooms. 

"Max calm down." Your heart broke, you knew Max was never like this with your daughters and it scared you to see this side of him come out, feeling partly guilty for it. 

"Oh wow...so now you decide to talk to me." Max scoffed pushing past you and into your room. 

Your heart broke at the action, but he was right. You knew he needed time to cool off so you headed to your daughter's room to check on them. 

Opening the door you had to try to hold back your own tears at the sight. Lea held Ivy in her arms as they both sobbed. You couldn't say anything to afraid to burst into tears so instead sat by your daughter's bed and hugged them both. 

"I-I-I'm so-so-sorry-ma-ma." Lea hiccuped not being able to catch her own breath at how much she cried. 

This time you felt a few tears run down your cheeks. "Hey baby it's okay." You took her face in your hands trying to soothe her. "Lea honey it's okay." You blew gently on your daughter's face trying to calm her down. 

"Pa-pa's- ang-angr-angry." she continued hiccuping. 

"I know darling he shouldn't have yelled like that baby. He loves you so much, we both do." You reminded her kissing her forehead. 

Eventually, Ivy had fallen asleep crying on her sister's lap so you picked her up and moved her to her bed tucking her in. You then went back to your older daughter who was having a little bit of a harder time settling down. 

"Lea listen sometimes people get angry at other things and they feel so angry for a long time that when something else happens they just blow up and scream." You tried your best to explain to your daughter. 

"Like papa?" She asked. 

"Yeah like Papa Baby, Papa's feeling a lot of things because of something else and unfortunately he just took it out on you." You revealed. 

Little did you know Max was listening from outside, after cooling off a little he felt bad and meant to go apologize to his daughters but stopped once he heard you inside with them. 

"But why?" Lea asked. "Why is papa angry mama?" Lea was almost 6, you knew she was starting to get a better grasp of things and you also knew being honest with her would be the best thing for her right now so after thinking about it for a few seconds you decided to just be honest with her. 

"Do you remember on Ivy's 2nd birthday when she wished for a brother?" You asked your daughter. 

"Yeah," Lea replied moving her head to look up at you. 

"Well your Papa and I after that, after talking a lot tried to make another baby..."Your voice broke. 

Max's heart broke at hearing you struggle to speak. 

"Well, we tried for a long time and Mama just couldn't get another baby in her tummy which made both Mama and Papa really really sad." You revealed. 

"Why won't the baby go in your tummy mama?" Lea asked innocently, reaching for her little hand to wipe some tears off your cheek. 

"I don't know baby, maybe mommy's broken." You were full-on crying but you could see your daughter's understanding eyes at the situation. 

"Is that why Papa doesn't say I love you with his eyes anymore?" Lea asked again, oblivious to the impact her question had on her parents. Max fell to his knees outside the room distraught at the guilt he could hear in your voice, and about the fact that his daughters and possibly you thought he didn't love you anymore. 

"I don't know honey...maybe. It's not easy when you want something really really bad and you just can't get it so it can make you feel a lot of things, mommy feels like it's her fault that the baby doesn't want to go in her tummy." You tried to finish explaining. 

"I'm sorry Mama." Lea apologized once more. "But even if you are broken mama I'll still love you the same, I'll even say it with my eyes if you want." Lea smiled imitating her dad by blinking her eyes I love you just like her dad used to do. 

This time your tears were of gratitude at feeling the love your daughter had for you, the simplicity with which her mind understood the situation and tried to make you feel better. "Thank you, baby." You hugged your daughter placing kisses on her cheek. 

Lea settled enough, feeling a little better at understanding why things had been a little weird at home lately. You watched her fall asleep. You took a deep breath ready to have a difficult conversation with your husband praying it might go a little similar to the conversation you had with your daughter. 

You walked out of their room and were surprised to find Max sitting outside, his back to the wall with his face in his hands. You could tell he'd been crying from the wet spots on his shirt and trousers. 

"Maxy." You fell to your knees beside him. 

Max pulled his hands away as you both wrapped your arms around each other at the same time. You both started crying in each other's arms, Max holding you tightly against him. 

"You're not broken, I never thought so either I just wanted you to talk to me." He whispered. "I love you so much and I'm sorry I ever let you doubt it, and I'm sorry for screaming at Ivy and Lea, I'm just- I'm so sorry for everything" Max cried tucking his face in the crook of your neck.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry I felt so useless and frustrated I couldn't get pregnant. I know how long you've been trying to hold it together for us, for all of us and I shouldn't have ever let you carry all of it on your own. I'm sorry too for everything."  You also apologized. "I love you, Max, I don't think I'll ever be able to stop loving you I just wanted to give us another baby." 

"I know." Max sighed pulling back and wiping tears from under your eyes with his thumbs. "Look I would love to have another baby with you, I'd have a 100 if it was with you but I'm so enamored by the family you've given me already, our girls...they're the best thing that have ever happened to me and if trying to have another baby is gonna cost us...us...than I don't want it." Max was honest. 

You nodded agreeing with his words. 

"It doesn't mean we stop trying, we can if that's what you want but I just want you back first, I need us to be okay before trying again okay?" He asked you. 

"Yeah." You agreed once more. 

Max rested his forehead against yours. You heard him take a deep breath. "God I missed you." he sighed before leaning down to place his lips against yours. 

You kissed him back harshly almost desperate to taste him again mentally questioning yourself how you were able to survive without this for as long as you did. "I love you," you whispered as you momentarily pulled away to catch your breath. 

But Max kept kissing you not wanting for this to stop, as if his body was trying to catch up on all the time he spent without your touch. "I love you." He whispered back scooping you into his lap, your legs wrapping around him as he stood up with you in his arms before taking you to your bedroom. 

Laying you down on your shared bed it once again felt right, being shared with him. Max was quick to get you naked, teasing you as he prepared you for him.

"I adore you." He whispered as he slipped into you. You'd be okay.

[jambalaya-enthusiast]

Could you do the crew with a surprisingly aggressive reader? Like if an altercation they tried to de-escalate resulted in them getting hit and reader kinda snaps and punches the dog shit outta the person? On some “don’t you ever touch my man/girl”

HOT STUFF— CREW MEMBERS X HOTHEADED! AGGRESIVE! READER.

warnings: none i think.

synopsis: someone makes not so nice comments and you lose ur crap. crew reactions follow.

CAPTAIN, CURLY

He is literally golden retriever ™

Curly is not an aggressive man by any means, he prefers the pacifist way out in any situation, maintaining peace and harmony.

And you were the complete opposite, always ready to pick a fight if anyone looked at you the wrong way.

Curly always tired to explain how being so hotheaded wasn't gonna be good for your health, you just never listened.

something happened at the pony express meeting room and a co-worker remarked something to curly in a tone you weren't quite fond of.

And the next thing anyone knew, you were beating the living crap out of the fella. Everyone just watched on in shock as nobody dared to stop you.

Curly came in and immediately grabbed you in his grasp, not letting you go. He was surprised as to how difficult it was to restraint you.

"y/n you really ought to stop putting yourself in such situations, not everyone has to agree with everything i say. i can't always pull you out of fires, you know that right?".

He knows that you're not the one to learn, so makes sure to keep an eye out on you more.

Thinks it's kinda endearing that you care that much about him.

He asks to join him in the gym for weightlifting. :D

CO-PILOT,JIMMY

Even though jimmy isn't the most pleasant person to be around, he too isn't too fond of altercations and confrontations.

He prefers to always safe side his way out of everything, just making sure his peace isn't compromised.

That is until you came along, always ready to hand a person their ass for saying something wrong at the wrong time.

He wouldn't admit it, but it was quite amusing to him seeing you always ready to fight someone head-on.

He was just annoyed at the consequences which followed after.

Like at the local bar where you guys were out drinking, some girl tried to approach jimmy in the wrong way and welp.

Suddenly her makeup was off and was instead replaced with a black and eye and several bruises. The police had to be called and it was a whole ass thing.

Although jimmy scolded you for being so ill-tempered, he was smiling beneath all that, that you would go to such lengths for him.

Just stop getting your ass pulled into such idiotic situations, aight? It's annoying having to visit the station all the time.

kinda proud.

NURSE, ANYA

Anya is in the medical field, empathy and level headedness is one of her strong pursuits.

She is a pacifist, like curly she prefers to deal with things in a peaceful manner.

Plus, she personally does not like arguments or fights, at all. She herself is quite timid in nature.

After knowing you, she always reminded you to keep your cool and maybe read self help books to help you control your anger.

You guys were out on a date at the park,and a fuckass decided to catcall anya, right in front of you.

Next thing everyone in the park was witnessing was the guy laying face down with some of his teeth knocked out.

While anya was glad, that you looked out for her to such an extent, she did still believe such levels of anger weren't healthy for the body and mind.

So she signed you up for anger management classes.

" y/n I'm doing this for your own sake, who knows when something drastic might happen, please do this? For me?".

Also started making you attend the meditation classes she goes to.

MECHANIC, SWANSEA

Swansea is literally too old to deal with people by beating them up.

He's just way too tired to deal with stuff like this.

Prefers to just leaving things as is, and being "whatever helps you sleep at night". If anyone pisses him off.

Prefers peace and quiet.

So you were, infact a pain in the ass for him.

He was always yelling at you to keep it together or atleast try to get a grip on yourself whenever you feel like losing your shit.

During a maintenance meeting some young lad decided to tell Swansea 'let us handle this one yeah, old man?' and his tone definitely indicated that he didn't mean it with a friendly intent.

Swansea was just gonna let it go, i mean he was infact getting old, he couldn't help it.

But what he didn't expect was you jumping out of your seat and grabbing this dude by his collar and throwing him out of the room like a freaking ragdoll.

Shocked™ what the actual fuck? Why would you beat up a guy, for his sake?

"kid i don't know what was going on in that head of yours beating that guy up like that, but okay."

will die before admitting it, but he was touched seeing you so upset that someone was being unkind to him.

Doesn't scold you.

INTERN, DAISUKE

Daisuke is young and dandy, he is new the buisness and stuff and just wants to be friends with everyone without being on anybody's bad side.

He didn't like confrontations, and was frankly afraid of arguments with anyone for that matter.

So seeing you so fearless and ready to hand a guy his teeth over trivial things was like a breath of fresh air for him.

He liked it whenever you got into fights, he would cheer you on, and was always ready to haul your ass away to avoid any consequences.

This one time you guys were fixing something in the vents in one of the smaller freighter of pony express, and Daisuke accidentally ended up unscrewing one of the vents, which caused some wires to malfunction.

And one of the co workers, decided to be extra harsh on Daisuke for some reason, yelling all sorts of things to him.

But when that guy said 'this is why pony express shouldn't hire mama's boys'. You just simply lost it.

You ended up beating the guy to a pulp and he was put on bed rest for atleast 8 months ,which resulted in a trip to the HR

but Daisuke? He was more glad and giddy than anything or anyone.

"hey..I know that you kinda got into trouble for what happened back there, but i just wanna say, that was cool as fuck. I've never had someone care about what I felt like that much. Thank you, so much."

You both are inseparable after that.

[all-purpose-dish-soap]

I'm really thinking about that one Ghost post you wrote about him basically making himself at home at the reader's place when she found him near dead in the woods and it still is scratching my brain all right 😭 him devoting his life to her and the fact her husband is there completely upset about this all is the perfect drama.

the thing i love most about this is that i never mentioned ghost by name in that post <3 not once <3 but you're right. it is so, so ghost-coded. ghoded, if you will.

you're the hands in which he rests, a weapon; submissive in the way (as was once said) a sheep-guarding hound is submissive to the livestock it protects. 

so mismatched is his demeanor with yours--harsh and scarred--and that it frightens the townspeople around you. and your guards.

when you do get hurt, they jump at the chance to accuse Ghost of hurting you. no matter how you insist you're fine and demand the townsfolk see reason--you witnessed the attack, for god's sake! not to mention your wound is shallow and looks much worse than it is. but the guards lock him up in the small dungeon under your family's estate.

at your direction, Simon doesn't fight his captors. you both know, for all his strength, he'll be killed if the guards see their chance to take his life. they've never trusted him.

and so he's hauled off, chained up like a dog, lying in wait for his sheep. 

when you return to see him, having pushed through those who insisted you stay away, that he's dangerous, that he hurt you--only then does Simon strain against those chains. he wants to be at your side. he's driven half out of his mind with worry that the assassin who hurt you might come back and finish the job without him there to protect you. 

he'd pull the chain bolts clean out of the rotting brick to get back to you if not for the guarantee you'd be kept from him if he did. although it's not by your choice. 

he's even willing to confess to crimes he never committed, would never commit, if it meant being in your debt, imprisoned in your home, back by your side.

you stay with him as long as you can. his arms are locked behind him and he rests on his knees, more animal than man, as he presses his face against your waist. his desperation abates once you take his face in your hands to comfort him. he's lightheaded.

you assure him you'll be back, that you'll figure this out and get him home and out of those chains soon. he strains against the chains again as you pull away.

it's not until there's a second attempt on your life that he's vindicated.

the only story anyone knows is that when you screamed, by the time your guards made it up to your bedchamber, the blood from your attacker's corpse was already soaking into your rug. one of them tried and failed to coax the bloody dagger out of your shaking hands. your palms were clean. 

you tell the guards this was the man who attacked you before. you tell them to bury him and not speak of this again; to leave your chamber for you to clean.

once they're gone, Simon emerges from the shadows, hands bloody, to disentangle your hands (white knuckled) from the dagger, to usher you into the wash basin. you see the iron cuffs on his wrists, chains snapped off, and say nothing.

nobody is ever quite sure who released him. just as nobody is sure who the assassin worked for.

strangely, your husband seems to avoid you after that.

;)

more Ghost / masterlist

[rainyvandragon]

Oh those precious memories~

See I could tell myself that it's okay that I'm writing this because I am a catholic woman but let's be real those things just aren't true any more. So instead I am going to claim this as an emotional craving because of that time of the month. Definitely nothing along the lines of 10 year revival of my fanfiction writing phase. And it's totally, in no way related to any issues I might have. Totally sane, I tell you.

! 18+ Minors do not interact, I am NOT a fckn daycare!

Yandere! Hazbin Hotel x GN! Reader

Content warning: obsessive behaviour, stalking, slight NSFW (more in some parts then others), just a bunch of red flags and things that I do not condone irl

Charlie:

Honestly Charlie might be the most sane of the bunch in this regard

She isn't to interested in stealing anything from you, that is just not something she would be comfortable with – in general but especially with her Darling

However she doesn't mind keeping things that you let her borrow

It doesn't even matter what

You gave her a hair tie because one of hers broke? She'll cherish it forever

It was raining on a day she had to go out and you suggested she could use your umbrella? Pretty much hers now

Of course the greatest thing for her would be you lending her some of your clothes

She would most likely spend the next nights cuddling up to it in bed

Oh the frustration when the fabric no longer smells like you but rather her!

Yeah sure, she can give you your things back. She just forgot them in her room, oops! Don't worry she'll get them later

Unless she forgets again...

Vaggie:

She would never take anything you truly need or value

In all seriousness, Vaggie could never stand the idea of inconveniencing her Darling

However unlike Charlie she is just not close enough with you (yet) to count on you giving things to her

So instead she uses the position she has in the Hotel

There was a movie night with everybody invited?

Well somehow ever since the clean up the blanket you were cuddled up in is gone. Oh well, Vaggie will just get a new one, they weren't that expensive to begin with anyway (and if she is fast enough with it nobody is even going to notice anything)

Sadly those lucky occasions that allow her to grab some reminders of your shared time don't come around to often

And Vaggie respects you and herself to much to steal from you or go through your garbage bin

Thankfully she has the patience to wait for those windows of opportunity

And hey, since everything went relatively smoothly this week why not suggest another movie night to Charlie? Everyone involved seemed to enjoy it anyway – so there really is no harm done, right?

Angel:

Anybody who immediately thought of Angel stealing his Darling's underwear needs to take a cold shower!

Now don't get me wrong – he has thought about it

He does have a relatively high drive and desire for intimacy and sex

So sure the idea of taking something rather personal from you did cross his mind

But deep down Anthony just is a little sweetheart and he just couldn't take something like your underwear or other intimate items from you without any sort of consent

As for other, less private things

It doesn't matter if Angel and you have the same of different sizes – he WILL steal your clothes and wear them

If you wear make-up or nail polish he will definitely “borrow” things – especially lipstick

Now if his Darling is somebody who likes to keep a lot of pillows or plushies in bed he is definitely not shy about taking things from that pile either. Although, depending on how well Darling keeps track of those things, he might only borrow them for a night or two – maybe rotating between some, making sure to leave them under the bed upon returning so it looks like it just fell off the mattress

Alastor:

Now Alastor is already rather torn apart when he first noticed his desire for your belongings

He never once though about stealing from you...until you forgot something in the lobby – a book, notebook, pen, whatever it was – it was just lying there on the table next to the couches

Ever the gentleman he obviously wanted to return it to you but something inside of him fought against the very idea of it. This might be the closet he gets to having you (at least for now), his Darling

As his obsession towards you continues to grow some of his past life's interests stir awake inside of him

One day whilst helping out you cut yourself on some damaged bit of furniture. Alastor is immediately there to offer you a handkerchief to stop the bleeding – a handkerchief that quickly becomes one of his most prised possessions

If his Darling has a period he might steal some...used goods

However in comparison to some of the others, he is a lot less hungry for souvenirs

Although that is really just because, unlike them, he can use his shadows to be around you whenever and as close as he pleases

Husk:

Husk would never just go into his Darling's room to steal things from them – even if the idea sounds lovely

No instead he just checks for things you leave behind

Now his job at the hotel really helps him with that

You almost exclusively talk at the bar (“Redemption Based Group Exercises” being the only real exception)

At this point he has a rather large collection of napkins that you used or doodled on

Sometimes they disgust him but then he looks at them, the little doodles (even just to test a pen) you left on some of them, all those marks of you (bonus points for lipstick stained napkins) and he just can't

The guilty feelings are even worse with a tissue you once cried it. It's just to close of a reminder of you to throw away!

Anything small that you forget at or close to the bar gets saved by him – pens, small pieces of paper, hair ties, buttons from your clothes, whatever really. If it's small and unimportant enough for you to not really miss it he is going to keep it

Nifty:

Nifty is easily the worst of them all

She is small, fast, obsession driven and the hotel's maid on top of that

What matters most to her is how close to your body her little mementos are (it's pretty much the same way in wish the catholic church determines the value of a saint's relic)

Nifty will most definitely collect hair out of your brush

Or rummage through your garbage bins

Now if somebody is going to steal used period products!

She just really doesn't value her Darling's privacy in the slightest so she has no issues going through every little crevice of your room to look for some “hidden treasures”

Although her favourite thing to do is sleep in your used bedsheets

She is going to wash them – don't worry! Simply just not without first sleeping in them herself for a bit

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

Welp this is the first time in a long while that I've actually written fanfiction so I got those emotions to sort through I guess.

English is not my first language however given how arrogant I can be regarding my skills this should be well enough written. Prove reading was done by Open Office's spell checking system and my high ass.

[noxiatoxia]

Komaeda Nagito, and His Tendency to Use Filler Words

I've talked about this here and there, but I want to make an in-depth post with examples.

So, something that's always bothered me about the Eng release of SDR2 is the fact that Komaeda...does not use filler words as much as he should.

Let me explain.

I'm sure you know words such as "uh" "um" "ah" "er" and suchlike. When you don't know something or are thinking, you tend to say something like, "Um...yeah, so..." or "My, um, appointment is tomorrow."

These words add no "value" to the sentence, and are only placed involuntarily while speaking because you are trying to think as you speak.

Japanese has plenty of these, too. Words like えーと(etto), あの (ano), ううん (uun), ええ (ee), and so forth.

But there's other "filler" words out there. Like our earlier sentence, "Um...yeah, so..." "Um" is not the only filler word. "Yeah, so" is also a filler word, as it adds nothing to the overall sentence. It can be removed.

Really, any word can become a filler word. "You know" and "like" have real applications, but if you, like, start, like, talking like this, it's, you know, kind of repetitive, you know?

I think the vast majority of people on Earth are guilty of speaking like this in their day-to-day lives. It's just easy to do. But when it comes to media, you'll notice characters rarely stutter or repeat words. When they do, even if it's a small amount, it's noticeable because the surrounding context is that nobody else is doing it.

With all this information in mind, let's talk about Komaeda Nagito's dialogue.

実はさ、ボクは入学前に、ネットでみんなの情報を調べてきてるんだよね。

さ(sa), is a normal sentence particle in Japanese. It's used for a myriad of purposes, although many people seem to liken it to the American "Valley Girl" accent when overused, especially with another conversation particle, ね (ne).

It is a misconception that sa is "masculine". It used to be masculine way back, but nowadays it's more or less gender neutral.

This will be the topic of the post. Komaeda tends to use sa and ne in a way that is seen as "filler". These particles can be likened to "you know?" and "like" in the sense that they are real words that serve purposes, but can be repetitive.

In the sentence above, I would say the ne is not being used in a filler-like way. Sa, however, is.

"So, to be honest, before I arrived at this school, I, um, did a little research about everyone on the internet."

In this way, sa, ne, or any other particle when overused (な na is another big one, and I see Souda using it a lot) can be any filler word. Some would argue that the sentence should maybe look more like...

"So, you see, to be honest, before I arrived at this school, I did a little research about everyone on the internet."

And this is equally as correct. It's more in-line with how sa as a particle is normally used, but when translating it as how it's being used here - as a filler word - "um" may sound more appropriate in English. Neither is incorrect however, and there's a myriad of other ways you could go about writing this.

"So, you know, to be honest..."

"So, like, to be honest..."

"...I kind of did a little research..."

"...I, well, did a little research..."

etc.

ううん、いいんだよ。複雑なのはボク自身もそうだからさ。

Here, I wouldn't describe sa as being a filler word...necessarily. It adds emphasis, but it's still completely optional. Thus, I wouldn't translate it as a word imperative to the sentence's meaning.

"No, no, I totally get it. I have pretty mixed feelings about this, too."

最初はね…恐れ多いって断ったんだよ。でも、どうしてもって言われてさ。

Here is an example of him using ne in a filler-like way. You've probably caught on that particles which stand-in as filler are used usually at the beginning of a sentence before a comma or ellipses.

Komaeda actually uses ne in this manner fairly often. One of his default voice lines is "boku wa ne..." - I am unsure how this was recorded in the English dub. Probably just "I..." but personally I'd go with "Well, I..." or "I, uh..."

And unlike earlier, I would say the sa here at the ending is indeed more filler-like (not entirely still, though. Akin to the usage above).

"Um, honestly, at first…I was humbled, but I refused. But, well, they wouldn't stop insisting on it…"

By the way, Komaeda is not putting himself down in this scene. Japanese culture emphasizes being polite in a way Western spaces do not. "I don't deserve it" is a very direct translation, but in English, it makes more sense to read it as "I humbly declined".

And all these examples are just in the first conversation you have with him! You can imagine how many more there are through the whole game.

Now, here's a big question I'm sure you're thinking: "Why was this left out?"

I don't know to be honest, because...they did it with other characters.

Such as Koizumi in the same game:

だってさ、なんだか変なヤツばっかりじゃん。天才だか超高校級だか知らないけどさ…

Although Koizumi suffers from some of the same translation choices made with Komaeda, hers appears to be more consistent.

Finally, we need to talk about Naegi Makoto. He and Komaeda share beyond a voice actor - they talk the same, too. They both use the same self pronoun and you pronoun, use the same script, and also have a habit of using ne and sa in excess...though Naegi maybe does it slightly less.

Also confusing, this sometimes gets translated, like here:

そうそう、こんな危険な学校だしさ、何があるかわからないでしょ？ だから…念の為にさ。

The only reason I can think it only happens sometimes or, in Komaeda's case, not at all, is some translators on the team either didn't feel it was important to include/didn't think about it, while other translators did. Game translation typically has more than one person at the helm. A lack of good management can lead to weird discrepancies like this.

Anyways, that's all I got for now. I hope you find it interesting, because it's one of my absolute favorite character quirks of Komaeda and I am so sad it doesn't get any love in English...

[scribblesofagoonerr]

— I'm never babysittin' again!

Thanks to the anon who requested this one, I've been working on this since I got in and fun fact, I've had no sleep whatsoever, so definitely gonna regret that at work later...

Anyways, I am working through other requests and stuff. If anyone has anymore, let me know. Always willing to write stuff within reason.

Also, massive thanks to @alotofpockets who helped me come up with some of the idea's to add in.

pairings: kim little x monkey!reader, leah williamson x monkey!reader, arsenal wfc x monkey!reader

summary: monkey is a menance on the trip to melbourne along with her partner in crime, kyra, and poor kimmy's almost having a nervous breakdown over it, so she has to call in reinforcements back home in london.

“I’m bored,” You let out an exaggerated sigh and kicked your legs back and forth as you had been forced to sit on one of the seats in the secluded lounge area as you had to wait for your flight to board.

You were partaking in a friendly game in Melbourne with the rest of your Arsenal teammates against an A-League team, and you had been so excited about this ever since you found out that you’d made the squad.

“How much longer?” You couldn’t help but be bored, being forced to sit in an airport certainly wasn’t your idea of fun–neither was being stuck under the watchful eye of your Captain either.

You swear that the club, and more so Leah in particular, had planned this on purpose.

It’s like they knew already, somehow.

You wouldn’t call yourself a troublemaker, persay, but what fun is life without causing a little mischief, sometimes?

Apparently, the rest of the older girls’ didn’t have the same thoughts about it.

At least you had Kyra on your side to involve her in the chaos. The girl was a bit older than you, but she was your partner in crime, and you two were always causing mischief together.

“It won’t be much longer, Monkey. Just be patient,” Kim, your Captain and unofficial babysitter for the tip, tried to reassure you, but nevertheless, you just felt further restless.

In your defence, you can’t help the boundless energy you have inside of you, and it’s like your body feels like lightning bolts are itching to strike and you just want to be up and racing about.

The confines of the hard plastic seat make it difficult to do that, though.

“But I’m bored, Kim,” You repeated in a whiny tone of voice, throwing your head back in frustration, “Nobody’s letting me have fun around here!”

“There’s a difference between fun and trouble, kid,” Steph, another one of your older teammates, chimed in, amused by your antics.

“It won’t be too much longer now, Monkey. I’m sure you can wait just that little bit longer,” Kim stated, although her patience is wearing thin.

It hasn’t even been 24 hours yet, and the Scottish woman was already on the brink of a nervous breakdown.

“Are you excited to be going to Melbourne, Menace?” Steph wondered, trying to keep your mind occupied for the time being, already being able to see how fidgety you have become, “It’s a cool place, I reckon you’re gonna love it!” She added.

“Uh-huh. I’m excited—Oh wait, I still need sweets for the flight!” You made the sudden realisation, attempting to make a break for it when you can.

Kim shook her head in disagreement, “It’s too late now, Monkey. We’re going to be boarding the flight soon,” She interjected, trying to reign you in, and wondering how she had ended up with the short straw of keeping an eye on you.

“Yeah, and you definitely do not need any more sugar because you’re already hyper enough,” Steph added in, which you responded to her with a pout, “Oh no, don’t give me that look. I’m not foolin’ for it this time.”

“Awh, shucks. You know if my mum were here, then she’d let me” You try and protest, however, your words are very much incorrect, and of course, the rest of the girls aren’t stupid enough to believe that either.

You know if your mum, Leah, were here, then she would most definitely not allow you to have any sugar at all.

In fact, she’d purposely try and make ham sandwiches in an attempt to steer you from even going in the direction of the shop.

“No, she wouldn’t,” Katie, another teammate and also someone who you consider one of your closest aunties, commented as she passed by.

In actual fact, you think of most of the girls here at Arsenal as your aunties—after all, you’ve known most of them since you were a lot younger.

“Yeah, we all know what you’re like without sugar alone. You don’t need any more of it, Tiny,” Caitlin added in with a knowing look.

You huffed in further protest. Your boredom was slowly persisting, and it felt like you’d been waiting ages for the flight to board.

You desperately needed to try and find something to occupy your time, and you hit the jackpot when your eyes gazed upon the several dogs lined up near the barriers to get through security.

“Bingo,” You thought to yourself as your eyes lit up in delight, wasting no time to jump up from your seat and dart in the direction of the dogs.

All you wanted to do was pet them. They look adorable in your opinion.

Before anyone could stop you, you’d already successfully made it halfway across the terminal in the direction; however, the announcement of the flight boarding to Melbourne had gotten Kim’s attention now.

“Right, our flight has been called. See, Monkey? I told you it wouldn’t be that long,” Kim spoke aloud, not realising you’d somehow managed to wander off in the time that she’d turned round to speak to Steph, “Monkey? Oh for… Where’s the kid gone?!” She questioned, her eyes widened with panic when she couldn’t see you in her eyesight.

“Looks like she went to pet the dogs,” Kyra snickered, amused with your antics, and although she should try and stop you, she wanted to see how far you would succeed with your little adventure.

“She just wanted to make friends with them,” Teyah joined in, just as amused as she watched the scene unfold.

“And neither of you thought to try and stop her? You know what she’s like!” Kim shook her head in disbelief, and her eyes almost bulged out of their sockets when she spotted you nearing the dogs, “Oh, God—Monkey!”

“You might wanna grab her before she gets her arm ripped off, Kim,” Katie joked, watching in amusement.

“Unbelievable,” Kim muttered to herself as she raced quicker than ever in the direction of you.

Unfortunately, before you’d made it near the dogs, you felt a firm grip on your upper bicep that started to tug you back forcefully.

You spun around are met with your Captain’s stern face, “Kimmy!” You whined in protest while trying to wriggle free from her grasp.

“What on earth do you think you’re doing, Monkey? You can’t pet the dogs!” Kim scolded you, remaining to still have a hold on to your arm to prevent you from running off again, “Come on, we need to board the flight. I don’t have time for you to mess about now!” She added sternly.

“But the dogs, though… they’re adorable!” You pouted in further protest, not happy to be pulled away before you even had the chance to pet them.

“Mhm, yes and as adorable as they look, they’re patrol dogs and they have a job to do here,” Kim remarked sarcastically, dragging you back in the direction of the rest of your teammates and all the Arsenal staff so you could board the flight.

“Maybe you need to invest in a leash for her,” Alessia piped in as she watched you reluctantly be dragged back to the group, while Kim is already rubbing her temples is despair ahead of the flight before it’s even taken off.

“Pst, Kyra,” You nudged the older girl not so gently to wake her up, having been bored on the flight while the rest of the girls either seemed to want to sleep or do their own thing, “Wanna play a prank on some of the others?” You questioned, mischievously.

So far, the flight to Melbourne hadn't been that adventurous, somehow through luck, though you managed to be able to sit next to your partner in crime.

It was great for you, however, not so much for Kim, who had been frazzled and trying to keep things under control the whole time on the flight.

“Absolutely,” Kyra grinned in response as there was a matching mischievous twinkle in her eye, “What’d you have in mind?” She wondered curiously.

You grinned and proceeded to pull out a whoopee cushion from your carry-on, “Well, we could start with this?” You suggested in a quiet whisper not to get the attention of Kim, who currently had her head buried in a book.

“Genius!” Kyras’ eyes lit up in glee, “So, who’s our first target then?” She wondered.

“Caitlin is dozing off,” You gestured in the direction of where Caitlin was half in and out of sleep, “She seems like she could be a prime victim.”

You and Kyra both shared a look before the older girl out of the two of you snuck over to Caitlin and slipped said whoopee cushion underneath her seat.

“Showtime,” You smirked as you waited for her to sit on it.

Caitlin woke up startled when it suddenly went off and she looked around confused, “What the—?”

The pair of you couldn’t help but giggle uncontrollably.

“Monkey, Kyra,” Kim caught on to your troublemaker ways and narrowed her eyebrow, “Behave!”

“What? We didn’t do nuffin’!” You feigned your innocence, holding your hands up in protest.

“Let’s move on to Steph,” Kyra encouraged you to continue with your pranks.

“Yeah, good shout,” You nodded in agreement and found the packet of gummy worms in your bag, you could have easily ate them but pranking the Aussie woman was more worth it, “Let’s put these in her bag, and she’ll totally freak out ‘bout it!” You added in.

Kyra eagerly accepted the packet of sweets and snuck over to Steph’s seat, cautiously depositing the gummy worms into the older woman’s open backpack, “Done, now we just need to wait for her to go in there—”

“Ah! What the hell?” Steph shrieked, and if your facial expression was anything to go by then you guess she’d already found them, “Kyra! Monkey!”

“It weren’t us,” Kyra played it off and shrugged her shoulders.

“Yeah, you have no proof,” You gave the woman a smug grin.

The older Australian woman shook her head in annoyance, “Pests. You’re both a pair of pests, honestly,” She muttered aloud.

“Yer two are somethin’ else,” Katie overheard the commotion and shook her head.

“Dare I ask what you pair did now?” Alessia questioned, joining in as she overheard the commotion from her fellow teammates.

“I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about, we’re just havin’ a bit of fun,” You still continued to act innocent, although you personally didn’t understand what the fuss is about when you’re contained in a metal box with no escape.

Somehow, you needed to entertain yourself.

Pranking your teammates seemed like the perfect opportunity.

“Hey, Less! Do you like spiders?” Kyra smirked mischeviously, already ahead of the plan for another prank at the expense of the blonde girl, who you both knew had a bad fear of them.

“No, not really—Ahh!” Alessia cried out in fear with you tossed a fake spider in her direction, before doing no more than jumping up onto her seat before she realised it was a fake plastic on and proceeded to glare at you both, “Monkey! Kyra!” She yelled, annoyed with you both.

“That’s enough!” Kim shot up from her seat, giving you both a pointed look, “Both of you, sit down and behave!”

“Yes, ma’am,” You pretended to be serious and move back to your seat.

Kyra gave your Captain a mock salute and continued to follow suit, “Aye, Aye, Captain!” She joked.

“I don’t want to hear anything more from the pair of you for the rest of the flight,” Kim warned you both before she returned to reading her book.

It didn’t last long before you were causing chaos again.

“Pst, Monkey,” It was now Kyra’s turn to nudge you with a knowing look on her face, “We should try and see if we can balance peanuts on Frida’s head while she’s asleep,” She suggested the idea to you.

Never being one to turn down a challenge, you smirked and nodded your head in agreement, “You’re on. That’ll be easy to do!” You insisted.

With the task in hand, you both leaned across your seats and carefully began to place peanuts on Frida’s head, one by one.

“Wow, I didn’t think this would actually work,” You whispered in amazement and tried to stifle your giggles, however, that didn’t go to plan when Frida woke up and the peanuts went flying everywhere.

“What…” Frida looked completely baffled, while you and Kyra continued to hold back your laughter even more.

You couldn’t hold it in much longer before you ended up bursting out laughing, “That… That was great!” You stated in amusement.

“Monkey! Kyra! I swear if you two don’t behave then I will have the Captain come and talk to you!” Kim warned, feeling like she was ready to blow with the mischief that you pair had caused, “I mean it when I say I want no more trouble from either of you for the rest of this entire flight, understood?”

You still couldn’t help but laugh out loud at the misfortune of Frida wearing half a bag of peanuts on her head, “Geez, someones’ a bit salty. Get it, salty cos’ they were salted peanuts!” You cracked up into more laughter.

“I mean it, Monkey. I will get the captain, or when we get to Melbourne, I’ll have no problem ringing Leah and telling her the antics that you got up to,” Kim threatened, and your face immediately paled.

Sure, the captain of the plane might be terrifying, but your blonde vice-captain, who also happens to be your adoptive mum? Now that was seriously someone you did not want to be in hot water with.

Unfortunately, you seemed to find yourself on the end of the stern lecture with her one too many times.

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop. I’ll behave. Don’t… Don’t phone her!” You were quick to plead with your Captain, “I’m sorry, you know you’re me’ favourite Auntie. Please don’t phone her!” You really did not want her to make that phone call.

Kyra nodded, but she kept her fingers crossed behind her back, “Yeah, we’ll be good.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Steph muttered, shaking her head.

Caitlin nodded in agreement with the older Aussie girl, “Yeah, them pair are magnets for trouble.”

It wasn’t long before you had arrived in Melbourne, when your flair for trouble was encouraged once again by Kyra and the pair of you couldn’t resist goofing off inside the gym.

“Kimmy!” You all but plowed yourself into the older woman, who was peacefully minding her own business on one of the massage tables until you came running at her like a full whirlwind, “Auntie Kimmy! Shrek! Kimmy!”

Somehow, Kyra decided to get the idea to improvise giving Kim chest compressions or something along the lines of what it looks like.

Also while trying to encourage you to hang off the pull up bar with the overshadowing bet on the tables.

“Oof,” Kim let out a low grunt as your body crashed into her, “Monkey, that was cute when you were twelve, but not so much now. What’d you want, you tiny Menace?”

“Kimmy! Kyra reckons I can’t hang off the pull up bar, but watch this!” You tattled, scrambling off her and making your way over to the bar, “Watch this! Are you watching?”

“Monkey, no. You’ll hurt yourself!” Kim was quick to bolt up from the table to stop you from attempting to break your leg with your attempt to hang upside down from the pull up bar.

Kyra giggled mischeviously and watched as Kim almost had a near heart attack watching the trouble unfold, “Nah, nah, Monkey. You’ve gotta do it like this!” With that, she pulled herself up onto the bar and flipped herself over so she was dangling upside down.

“The pair of you get down now before you get hurt!” Kim chided, trying to keep a stern facade when dealing with the pair of you, “Monkey, I’m being serious now. Get. Down!” She repeated, trying to reason with your chaotic antics.

“Awh, you’re no fun. I on;y wanted to swing from the bar like Tarzan,” You huffed in protest and begrudgingly got off the car to save Kim from having an aneurysm.

Unfortunately for the woman, your trouble doesn’t seem to stop for too long, and between you and Kyra, you had managed to mismatch everyones boots when they were mostly preoccupied.

“Why do my boots feel suddenly different?” Katie was the first to realise, taking a look at them in confusion, “Wait, these aren’t mine…”

Caitlin was just as quick to realise her own pair was missing, “Hey! Who took my boots?”

“Seriously, guys?” Steph huffed, holding up two different sized boots in each one of her hands.

Kim spun around to look at you and Kyra, “Girls, did you do this?” She asked, her voice sounding calm, which was weary in itself.

“Who? Us? Never!” You couldn’t help but grin, which was a dead giveaway from your latest shenanigans, 

“Yeah, we were just standing here,” Kyra feigned her innocence, holding her hands up in mock surrender, “You can’t pin the blame on us this time.”

Alessia couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head, “I bet it was you two. You’re always up to something!”

“Alright, well it might’ve been,” You admitted, letting out a small giggle.

“Right,” Kim began, exhaling a sigh at your antics, “Switch them all back, now. We need to start training soon!” She told you both in a stern tone of voice.

“Yes, Ma’am,” You joked, pretending to be serious with the Scottish woman.

“Right away, Captain,” Kyra gave Kim another mock salute as the pair of you fixed the boots to the right players.

“Why do I even put up with this?” Kim muttered to herself, although it was loud enough to be heard from a few of the other girls, “Where’s that bloody time out chair when I actually need it?”

“Just remember what Less said about needing a leash for Monkey,” Steph chimed in, reminding Kim about the idea.

“At this point, I’m actually considering it,” Kim remarked, already having thoughts about it.

“Hey, I’m not a dog!” You overheard the conversation and shout in protest.

“Ha, could you imagine, Monkey on a leash at training,” Katie snickered in amusement, shaking her head, “That’d be hilarious to see!”

“Might actually be a good idea,” Vic chipped in.

“I’m deeply hurt by this suggestion,” You continued to act offended, looking directly at Katie, “And you, you’re supposed to be my Auntie—and you want to treat me like a dog! That’s… That’s completely outrageous! Shame on you!”

You should have a degree in acting with this performance.

“You know it’s true, Monkey,” Caitlin laughed at your own expense, going to take a sip of her water but pulled away with a frown when there was a revolting taste from it, “Ew. Why does my water taste horrible?” She asked, confused.

“Oh God,” Steph exhaled a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose, “Kyra, Monkey, what have you both done now?” She questioned, glancing in the direction of you both.

“Oh no, we must’ve got the bottles all in a pickle,” Kyra smirked, giving the clue away as you both shared a look with one another.

You couldn’t help but burst into a fit of laughter, meanwhile Kim is slowly rubbing her temples and trying to remain calm over the situation, “Right, that’s it!” She bellowed, across the room, “I’ve had enough now, I’m callin’ Leah, and she can talk to you! I’ve had enough of your troublemaking ways!” She stated in outrage, shaking her head.

You froze in your tracks and immediately started to shake your head in protest, “No, no, please, Kimmy… Please, Auntie Kimmy, don’t do that!” You pleaded with her.

“One more chance,” Kim warned, firmly, “One more slip up and I’m phoning her!” She added, shaking her head and questioning her life decision on how she got stuck babysitting the kids (the untrustworthy and non responsible young adults) for this trip.

Better yet, the younger girls that had joined them on the trip were better behaved than you were at times

You’d been to Australia once before, last year, when you went to visit Jacob, Leahs’ brother and your uncle, although with only a few years age difference, it felt odd to call him that so you just tend to call him Jacob, unless you of course want something–Leah injured her ACL, and you all went to watch the 2023 Women’s World Cup Final against Spain–you were so happy for Jordan to have made the squad, even if you wouldn’t actually say it aloud–but travelled on a flight with Leah, and your little sister, Buddy and you had a blast, even if the flight was long, but at least you were able to watch Shrek and other movies.

But this was your first time in Melbourne and you were keen to explore and when the prospect of a trip to the zoo was on the tables–you were more that ecstatic to visit there and see all of the animals.

Ever since Kim’s threat to phone Leah back home in London, you had been trying to remain on your best behaviour because you really didn’t want to be in trouble with the blonde, again. So you were doing your best to avoid your troublemaker partner.

However, that was easier said than done sometimes.

“Wow,” You spoke aloud in amazement as you walked through the entrance of Melbourne zoo, along with the rest of your Arsenal team mates and staff in tow, keen to see as many of the animals as possible.

“Stay close, Monkey. I don’t want to lose you,” Kim warned, already thinking ahead of your disappearing act in the airport previous to this.

“I want to see the Koalas,” You huffed in protest and tried to figure out a way to get away from them, “I wanna take some photos to show Buddy when I’m home!”

“You will, there’ll be plenty of time for that. You just need to be patient,” Kim reassured you, although her patience is way past the point of calm at this point.

“Come with me, Monkey. I’ll show you where they are,” Kyra offered you the opportunity to sneak away from the rest of the girls in search of the animal that you wanted to see.

“Okay,” You don’t think twice before being led astray by the older girl once again and make your way to the enclosure where they are, leaving the rest of the girls to think you were both still there.

“Maybe when we get to the gift shop you can buy Buddy a Koala teddy, too? I bet she’d love that, Monkey,” Kim continued to suggest, completely unaware that you had snuck off, again. She didn’t hear a response as she spun around, her eyes widening when she was unable to see you in her eye sight, “Monkey? Oh for God sakes. Not again! Where’s she gone now?”

“Kyra’s missing as well,” Caitlin told the Scottish woman.

“Great, just fantastic,” Kim mumbled, rubbing her temples to keep her impending headache at bay, “We need to find them—half of us go this way, half of us go the other. I should’ve known she would try and sneak off, this just reminds me off when she went missing at the training grounds when she was twelve!” She spoke her thoughts aloud.

“Oh yeah, yer mean the day she bit me? Oh, I remember that clear as day!” Katie chuckled, shaking her head as she peered down at the faint scar that she had from several years ago, “Took a right little chomp on my arm, didn’t she?”

“Katie! We need to find her—you look left, I’ll look right!” Kim insisted, splitting the group into half, “Text the groupchat when either of us find them pair!”

You were non the wiser of the search party going ahead to look for you both as you stood in front of the enclosure, “Whoa, they’re so cool!” You stare at koalas in amazement.

“Aren’t they just?” Kyra murmured, looking at them.

“Hey, I have an idea,” There was a twinkle of mischief in your eyes again as you looked at the older Australian girl, “Bet you can’t get a selfie with one of them!”

“Oh, yeah? You’re on!” Kyra wasn’t one to back down from a challenge, completely missing the clearly visible ‘no entry sign’ as she crept towards one of them. 

You get your phone out and hold it up, ready to take the photo, “This is gonna be great!”

“Hey! What’d you two think your doing?” The loud voice of a zookeeper startled you both, almost causing you to drop your phone in the midst of it all, “You can’t be in there!”

Without any hesitation, you both are quick to make an escape from there and scramble back over the railing and bolted from the sight, “Phew, that were a close one,” You mumbled as you hunched over to catch your breath back, “Where next?”

“Ooo, what about the Monkeys?” Kyra came up the idea, pointing in the direction of where the monkeys would be

Back with the rest of the girls, Kim led the search party to try and find you both.

“Monkey?” Kim shouted aloud.

“Kyra?” Steph and Caitlin called out for the younger Aussie girl.

“Come out, come out, wherever yer are,” Katie chimed in, jokingly.

Alessia exhaled a sigh and shook her head, “How can they wander off again without us realising it?” She wondered.

Steph looked around and spotted you both heading towards the monkey enclosure, “Oh boy,” She muttered to herself, “Looks like we’ve found them. Might want to text the others and let them know to call of the search.”

“You know, you might really want to invest in that leash after all, Kim,” Vic chipped in, amusedly.

“I’m starting to think so too,” Kim remarked, exhaling a deep sigh.

“I know you’d come around,” Alessia joked, overhearing the conversation.

“There you both are!” Kim stormed over to you both with a stern expression, not missing the chance to take a hold of your upper bicep, “That’s it. That’s the final straw, Monkey. I’m calling Leah!”

“B… But it’s not just me. It’s Kyra too!” You were quick to throw the older girl under the bus in protest, “Auntie Kimmy, please don’t call her!”

“Don’t Auntie Kimmy me, Monkey. It’s not going to work this time—you’ve gone too far!” Kim told you sternly, shaking her head.

“Hey!” Kyra whined in protest.

“You’re meant to be setting an example, Kyra!” Caitlin scolded the younger Australian girl, “Not leading her astray!”

“You’re older than Monkey, Kyra. You should know better!” Steph chimed in.

You couldn’t help but smirk in satisfaction that you’re not being scolded for once, “Can we go and see the kangaroos now?” You questioned, innocently.

“Don’t look too happy yet, Monkey. Time out, right here, right now!” Kim ordered, pointing her finger to a nearby bench as you continued to look taken aback, “Go. Sit. Now. I don’t want to hear a single peep out of you for nineteen minutes.”

“Seriously?” You groaned, throwing your head back in exaggeration.

“I’m not messing about here,” Kim told you firmly, pointing to the wooden bench, “March over there and sit down. The longer you protest, the worse it will be.”

You huffed, but reluctantly dragged your feet to plonk yourself on the bench, “This is… This is embarrassing!”

“Maybe you should’ve thought about that before yer decided to wander around the zoo, huh?” Katie chimed in, snickering as she took a quick photo—you weren’t sure if it was for evidence, memories, or she was planning to send to send it to Jordan, “Smile for yer Mama, Monkey. I’m sure she’ll love to see what her little menace is up too.”

Well that answered that question, at least.

You did no more than scowl at Katie, with your arms crossed over your chest as you kicked your feet in front of you.

At least you weren’t on your own, as Kyra was forced to sit on the other end of the bench. For an extra few minutes, considering she was older than you.

Kim stared at you in disbelief, “I’m phoning Leah as soon as we get back to the hotel, and telling her how much trouble you’ve caused over the last twenty four hours,” She remarked, which caused you to furrow your eyebrows, “And until we leave the zoo, I want you right by my side for the remainder of the time that we’re here so I know exactly where you are!”

“Sit,” Kim ordered straight away as you followed her into the hotel room, and she began to dial Leah’s number on her phone as she paced the floor back and forth, “Come on, come on, pick up, pick up,” She murmured as she waited for a response on the other end of the line, despite the time that it might be.

You couldn’t help but sit there and hope that Leah didn’t answer, because you really knew you’d done it now to be in trouble… yet again.

“Hey, Kim!” Leah’s voice answered on the other end of the phone, connecting the video call to where it looked like she was in the gym surrounded with some of the other girls back in London.

“Hi, Kimmy!” Beth popped her head in the view of phone camera and waved at her enthusiastically, “How’s Australia?”

“It’s a disaster, girls. I can’t take it anymore!” Kim told them, frantically.

Leah looked immediately concerned as her eyebrows knitted together, “Whoa, what’s the matter?” She asked, confused.

“Yeah, you look like you’re about to have a nervous breakdown there, Kimmy,” Beth joked, seeing the exasperated look on the Scots’ face, “What’s wrong?”

“Monkey and Kyra! Between them, they’re both driving me insane! I’ve had it with them both!” Kim admitted out loud, and you tried to slump down into your seat to try and hide from the telling off that you know is imminent from happening when Leah finds the truth behind what’s been going on.

Well… at least you only had to worry about Leah, and not Jordan as well.

One parent is better than both, even if Leah was the more stricter one out of the two.

By this point, all of the girls in the gym at London Colney had decided to surround Leah’s phone to find out about yours and Kyra’s antics.

“Uh oh,” Viv murmured, shaking her head, “What’ve they done?” She asked.

“I think it’s more like what they haven’t done,” Beth joked, trying to keep the mood light in the room.

Kim shook her head and settled onto the bed in her hotel room, trying to keep her attention between you and the phone call, “Leah, it’s like Monkey is out to be a complete menace this trip,” She paused as she glanced at you to make sure you’re not doing anything you shouldn’t be, “Together, her and Kyra have done nothing but cause trouble, from switching everyones boots during training and putting pickle juice in the water bottles, and causing trouble on the plane with their pranks—oh! And don’t even get me started about the airport either!”

“Wait, someone actually drank the pickle juice?” Manu looked considerably confused at the mention of the picke juice in particular.

“That doesn’t sound good,” Stina commented, laughing.

Laia smirked in amusement, “I can’t believe it.”

“Wait, what happened in the airport?” Lia asked, curiously.

“Oh, right, well let’s just say that Monkey wanted to go over and pet the friendly dogs,” Kim muttered sarcastically, shaking her head.

 “The friendly dogs?” Beth snorted in realiastion, “You mean the patrol dogs? Oh my God!” She said, shaking her head in utter disbelief.

“I feel like I’m at my wits end with both of them, and we couldn’t even go to the zoo without them wandering off and getting into trouble!” Kim ranted, taking a quick glance at you, while you tried to continue to hide from the impending scolding you were bound to get, “I put her in time out, Leah. I had enough of it!”

“Oh yeah, so that’s what the photo Jord sent me was about,” Leah hummed in understanding, “Haven’t had to that in a while. Was it that bad?”

“Alessia even suggested I get a leash for Monkey and I’m half tempted,” Kim continued to rant, ready to pull her hair out with dealing with both you and Kyra for last god-knows how many hours.

“I knew I should’ve come on this trip, Monkey is always a handful, but this sounds like it’s been too much,” Leah exhaled a sigh, biting her bottom lip, “Is my girl there with you now?”

“She’s right here,” Kim gritted her teeth, panning the camera to face you.

Your attempt to hide wasn’t going so well right now, and Leah looked irked with you.

“Hi, Mum… I miss you, and Buddy,” You waved, hoping to ease the tension, but Leah doesn’t crack a smile, “Wow, tough crowd…”

“I’ll speak with you in a minute, young lady!” Leah exclaimed, giving you a look that you knew all too well—you were in deep shit.

“Where’s Kyra?” Viv questioned, arching an eyebrow as she didn’t spot your counter part in the room.

“With Steph and Caitlin, I needed to separate the pair of them so they’re talking to her about it but feel free to call in as well,” Kim informed the Dutch.

“I’ll call her afterwards. Can’t let her go anywhere unsupervised,” Viv stated, shaking her head in disappointment.

“You’re doing great, Kimmy. Just a few more days!” Beth chimed in, trying to keep Kim in high spirits, “Hang in there!”

Kim shook her head in protest, “I’m never babysittin’ again! I’m gonna need another holiday after this. I’m… I’m getting grey hair! I thought Monkey was bad on her own, but she’s even worse when Kyra’ with her!” She exclaimed to the girls.

Leah exhaled a sigh, feeling for the older woman she pinched the bridge of her nose, “Right, okay, put Monkey on Kim, and maybe I can try and get through to her,” You could tell that Leah is trying to remain calm and collective, but she is annoyed at your behaviour.

“Please do,” Kim murmured, almost looking relieved as she turned to look at you, “Monkey, come here and talk to your mum on the phone.”

“Uh, no… no… I’m alright actually, I think I’ll just—” You tried to back out of talking to her, not ready to handle the telling off you were bound to get.

“Get over here right now, Monkey!” Leah’s voice came through the phone, calling you out directly and you inwardly groaned, knowing that you had no choice but to do as your told for once, walking over to where Kim was with her phone as she held it out for you to take.

“Er, ‘ello, Mum,” You waved innocently at the blonde, hoping that she’ll go easier on you.

It’s needless to say that the blonde looked far less than impressed and she didn’t beat around the bush, “What the bloody hell do you think you’re playing at, Monkey?” She asked you in a tone of voice, which made you want to shrink onto the floor.

“Nuffin, I swear, y’know I’m just havin’ a bit of fun…” You tried to come across as innocent, hopeful that’ll cut out some of the lecture, “How’s London? I miss you! And I miss Buddy! We went to the zoo today, she’d have loved it!”

“Cut the bullshit, Monkey!” Leah scoffed, shaking her head, “Listen, just because I’m not there with you doesn’t mean that you can get away with stuff like you have been doing, yeah? I trusted you to go on this trip, didn’t I? You have a responsibility to set an example, and there’s girls there younger than you, and this is the way you act? It stops. Now!”

There’s something about her scolding that has always scared you, but you’re not sure what it is yet. Maybe you’re just afraid of disappointing one of the women who has raised you since you were twelve when you were put in their care? Or maybe it’s the firm scary facial expression and the way her words just cut straight to the point?

Despite your initial fear, you still can’t help but act like a menace—after all, that is your nickname. Well, at least one of many.

“I don’t see what all the fuss is about though? I’m just having fun. It’s all halrmess, mum,” You shrugged your shoulders, carelessly.

Leah didn’t look the slightest bit phased, “Enough, Monkey. You promised that you would be good, and if you continue to keep causing trouble like you are doing then I’m going to take away your sweet privileges for a month!” She threatened.

You gasped aloud, “No way, mum! That… That is just outright criminal!”

“And if you continue to give Kim any more of a hard time then I’ll personally make sure that you’re on a leash, next time!” Leah warned, not bating an eye to your protest, “Consider yourself warned, my girl!”

“A… A month without sweets? And a leash?” Your spluttered, your eyes widening in realisation that maybe this time, just maybe, you had gone a bit too far, and maybe you really do need to sharpen up on your behaviour—with the threat of no sweets on the table, you actually have no choice but to do as your told now.

“Yes, a whole month without them and a leash if you continue to misbehave,” Leah stated, firmly, “Do you understand?”

Surely, she is just bluffing? Like she would actually do that… you’re unsure.

“You can’t do that,” You whined in protest.

“I can, and I will, because clearly you can’t behave yourself, and as long as you live under my roof then you will follow my rules,” The blonde told you, continuing to sound firm, “Do you understand?”

“B… But mum, that’s not… that’s not fair!” You couldn’t help but still whine in protest, really not liking the idea of that, “It’s cruel!”

“Oh, this is better than reality TV,” Beth joked on the other end of the camera, stood beside Leah, “You’d better listen to your mum, menace, or she might confiscate Shrek next.”

“Don’t give her ideas!” You exclaimed, eyes wide in protest.

Beth laughed wickedly in amusement.

“Beth,” Lia nudged the blonde, rolling her eyes.

“What? It’s true!” Beth exclaimed, shrugging her shoulders.

“It’s completely fair, Monkey. I want you to have fun out there in Melbourne with the rest of the girls, but not at the expense of everyone else,” Leah still stood firm on her words, “Behave yourself, or there’ll be consequences!”

“Fine, I’ll try and be good,” You huffed, dramatically.

“Good girl, that’s all I ask for please,” Leah’s voice softened slightly, “I want you to have a nice time out there, my girl, but don’t be getting led astray okay? And remember, if you wake up during the nightmares then you only have to go to either Kim, or Katie, or anyone else you feel comfortable with—”

“Muuuuuuuuuum, stop, that’s embarrassing. I’ll be fine,” You whined, huffing as tried to cover your face that had turned a shade of red from embarrassment, “I hate when you bring them up!”

“I know, I know, and it’s nothing to be ashamed about, Monkey,” Leah continued to want to have this conversation with you, whether you were wanted to listen or not, “But listen to me, yeah? I know you, my girl and I know that sometimes, you don’t like to always open up about these things, but just remember that if it happens then you can go to your aunties, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah… I know,” You mumbled, wanting to be done with the conversation.

“Promise me, Monks’ that if you get upset you’ll go to one of them,” Leah didn’t look entirely convinced, “I don’t want you alone and crying in the middle of the night—maybe I should’ve had you share a room with Kim instead!”

“Muuuuum! Stop!” You whined, covering your face with your hands, “Fine, fine, I promise, I’ll go to one of them if I need too, but I’ll be fine! You don’t need too… I’ll be fine!” You spluttered out, embarrassed to talk about the ongoing nightmares still.

“Oh, Le, stop you’re embarrassing the poor girl,” Lia chimed in, amusedly as she swatted the blonde’s shoulder, “Monkey, I’m sure your mum just wants to make sure you’re okay, and in good hands out there because it’s such a long way away from home. Right, Le?”

Leah didn’t look phased in her attempt to embarrass you, “I just want to make sure you’re okay my girl, and if you happen to have an accident—”

“Okay, alright, I’m going to hang up now!” You cut her off from what she was going to say to spare you even more embarrassment, “Tell Buddy I said hi and that I miss her, and I guess I miss you, too!”

And without even missing a beat, you ended the call to spare yourself the embarrassment of having that conversation—a bit like Peppa did in Peppa Pig when she didn’t want to speak to Suzy Sheep.

“Monkey!” Kim immediately scoded you, standing in front of you with her arms crossed, “That was rude to end the call then like that, you know that your mum means well!”

“Yeah, but Kimmy, it was so… embarrassing to talk about that in front of everyone else there,” You mumbled, blushing bright red, as the phone starts to ring again, “She’s ringing me again. I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Answer it, Monkey,” Kim told you, firmly, “Either you answer it, or I will. Your choice?”

“Fine,” You huffed, tapping your finger on the screen to answer the call to see Leah looked less than impressed.

“Did you just hang up on me?” Leah questioned, irked.

You scratched the back of your neck awkwardly, “Oh, er sorry mum… bad signal and all down under,” You lied through your teeth.

“Monkey,” Kim fixed you with a firm look, “Stop lying, and tell the truth.”

“Urgh, fiiiiiiine,” You groaned, throwing your back dramatically, looking less than thrilled, “I hung up on you because I was embarrassed, but um, can we uh… can we just move on from this conversation now please?”

“No, no, we cannot just move on from it, when I was trying to make sure to tell you that if you have an—”

“I’m not afraid to hang up again on you!” You threatened, ready to hit end on the call.

“Don’t you dare, Monkey!” Kim and Leah both said at the same time. Freaky.

“Fine, fine, alright I know, I’m listenin’ and I heard, and yeah, but umm can we just move on now, please?” You begged, wanting to crawl in a hole right now to avoid this conversation.

But Leah? Oh no. Leah Williamson was many things–your mum, your soft place to land, your biggest cheerleader and supporter–but when it came to manners? She was also the Queen of Teaching A Lesson.

“No, Monkey, we cannot move on,” Leah said firmly, though not unkindly, “You don’t just get to hang up on someone mid-sentence—especially when that someone is me and I’m trying to look out for you. You might be halfway across the world, but I can still discipline you if I need to–and I know perfectly well that Kim won’t have no problem sticking you in another timeout if needs be!”

“Mum,” You whined, mortified as you tried to shrink further into the seat.

“Don’t try and hide, Monkey. Your mum has a point, it was rude and you don’t hang up on her. Especially not when she’s worried about you,” Kim told you, firmly.

You slumped back, pulling the hoodie over your head dramatically, “I said I was sorry! It was humiliating, and she’s there in the gym with everyone else—It’s not fair! Okay, so maybe I did hang up, but at least I gave warning about it first!”

Leah raised an eyebrow through the screen, “I wasn’t trying to humiliate you, my girl. I was just checking in because you’re far away from home without me, or your mama for the first time, and I want to make sure that if anything was to happen then you’d be comfortable going to your aunties and knowing you have something there. But more importantly, you don’t hang up on the phone like that, do you understand me?”

You pouted, “Yes, Mum.”

“I don’t want any of this usual sass I’m getting with eye rolls,” Leah said, narrowing her eyes, “I want a proper apology please.”

“Urgh, fine, whatever,” You groaned like it physically pained you, “Alright, alright, I’m sorry for hanging up on you like I did. It was rude, and I got embarrassed and panicked, and I know you’re only looking out for me.”

“Thank you, that’s all I wanted,” Leah softened just slightly, “You’re allowed to feel embarrassed, sweetheart, that’s okay. But next time, just say that. Don’t cut me off mid-sentence, yeah? It comes across as rude, and I know you’re not like that.”

“Yeah,” You mumbled, cheeks still pink.

“And don’t even think about doing that Peppa Pig dramatic hang-up thing again,” Leah added, with a knowing smirk.

You gasped, “How do you know about that episode?”

“Because I’m your mum,” Leah responded, confidently, “And you’re forgetting I’ve seen every episode. Buddy used to watch it, too, remember? Where do you think she suddenly got her obsession with dinosaurs, huh? I remember these things.”

Kim grinned and ruffled your hair, “She knows all the tricks, Monkey.”

“I love you, my girl,” Leah said, getting far too emotional for you to only be gone less than a week, but this wasn’t a rare that you had ever really been away from her, and definitely the furthest, “Stay safe, and I’ll see you when your back home. I’ll check in with Kim to see how you’re doing. Be good, alright?”

“Love you too, mum,” Your own voice softened as tears sprang to your eyes and you quickly wiped them away to make it like you hadn’t been crying at all, “Now can you go and give Kyra the same lecture, cos’ it’s not fair if I just get into trouble for this!”

“Oh, don’t worry, menace. Viv’s already on that one,” Beth joked, panning the camera around to where Viv was stood off on the other side of the room giving a lecture through the phone to Kyra, where you could hear the tailend of the conversation, “Having fun at whos’ expense? That is no way to act!” You heard the Dutch lecture in the background.

You couldn’t help but giggle and shrug your shoulders, “Okay well that makes me feel better at least,” You mumbled as you wave to the rest of the girls and pass the phone back to Kim.

Leah shook her head in amusement at your usual care-free attitude, “Hang in there, Kim. She’ll be better now, but if she gives you any more trouble then just stick her in timeout and call me, alright?” She reassured the Scottish woman.

“You got it, thanks, Leah, I appreciate you talking to her,” Kim said in agreement, bidding their goodbyes and ending the phone call, “Right, you. How about we go find the rest of the girls?” She made the suggestion.

“Yeah, I wanna go and find out how bad of a lecture Kyra got,” You smirked mischeviously at Kim before you both exit the lobby in search for your troublemaker partner, “Race you to the lifts. Last one there is a rotten egg!”

© scribblesofagoonerr

[jenomi]

i miss you, i'm sorry

pairing: idol!jeno x idol!reader

you weren't anticipating seeing jeno at your gig today. you were at a live lounge to perform your new song and a cover of "I miss you, I'm sorry" by Gracie Abrams. you'd be lying if you said you weren't thinking of jeno when you picked that song.

jeno was here to promote his new song with his group, but you didn't bother to check who the other feature would be when you signed up for the show. nobody knew about your relationship except close friends, not even your manager so they couldn't warn you of this. both of you had to keep it a secret due to the nature of your careers.

but it was 5 years. 5 years with jeno, the love of your life. or was it now the former love of your life? it hurt your heart to think about it.

when you bumped into him and the rest of nct dream, you said your hellos politely. you used to be friends with the rest of the dreamies, but the relationship faded as you stopped dating jeno. every time you would look at jeno, it's like he had a radar for you so he would look back at you immediately. it hurt to look at him in the eyes, so you looked away quickly.

you went on stage first, performing the title song to your new mini album. it was an upbeat song, describing the freedom you feel when not bound by ropes holding you back. but for your real fans, they would study the undertones of your new song and know that it's actually a sad song about the longing for those boundaries you once had.

jeno listened to your song, because of course no matter what, he still supports you. he was by your side as you rose to fame.

looking back, you realized your relationship with jeno was a little suffocating. having to keep it a secret, not being able to eat out at your favorite restaurants, or even walk on the street together. it was fun at first and you believed you loved each other enough to make it work. but jeno started to get more and more nervous about your secret relationship, especially seeing how other male idols caught in dating scandals were treated. you tried to ease his mind on the topic, but as time went on, it was beyond saving.

you just didn't think jeno would be able to leave so easily.

"The next song I'll sing is a cover by one of my favorite artists. Um..." you weren't sure if you should give any background information, knowing jeno was backstage and might be watching, "I hope you enjoy."

"Do you remember happy together? I do, don't you?"

although the end was messy, you still cling on to the better moments in your relationship. when you went to the beach together, covered by hats, sunglasses, and a big umbrella, backs more tan than your chest from lying on your fronts to hide from the public. it was ridiculous and excessive, but you would always laugh at each other's uneven tan. when he would come home after being away for months on tour, locking himself in your house to catch up on lost time.

"You said, 'forever,' in the end I fought it. Please be honest, are we better for it?"

being together for 5 years, naturally you talked about marriage. it was forever for the both of you, you especially couldn't imagine yourself with anyone else. but now, you watch jeno from afar and online and see that he's happy. you also got some freedom back after breaking up. you can't help but wonder if maybe you outgrew each other? are you better off without each other?

a piece of your heart broke off every time you would answer 'yes'.

"You said, "forever," and I almost bought it. I miss fighting in your old apartment"

you begin tearing up as you reach the latter half of the song. you always found sanctuary at jeno's apartment. there were memories all over it.

jeno was watching from side stage. he could hear the slight quiver in your voice. he couldn't miss it, he could always tell your mood from your voice. he loved you for 5 years. how could he forget? he could also hear how much of your heart you were pouring into this song. he couldn't help but reminisce about your relationship. he felt a lump forming in his throat as he became overcome with nostalgia from your relationship.

"And I know you said that we're not talking. But I miss you, I'm sorry"

jeno told you to stop messaging him. it came out harsh, but it was too hard to stay in contact with you and not want to get back together. in the moment, he thought he was doing the right thing, but now looking back he doesn't quite remember the reason for breaking up in the first place. he kept up with your activities, he would watch your performance videos to see how you were doing and add up the streaming numbers for your success.

as he watched your videos and you performing live, he realized he messed up. how could he live without you? the time after your breakup were a blur, jeno kept busy to prevent himself from thinking about you in his free time. watching you now, crying as you sang a song about a messy breakup, much similar to the one between the two of you, his heart broke. he missed you, too. he'd like to think this song is dedicated to him - but he'll confront you after your set to talk.

as you sing the outro, you're trying your best to keep it together. too many memories were flooding back. you knew what you were getting into when choosing this song, but seeing jeno in person for the first time after he walked out on you opened the gates to all the memories you shoved in the back of your mind trying to forget.

when you finish, a tear slips down your cheek before you're able to swipe it away. the crowd cheers and coos as you bow and say your thank yous before rushing off stage.

you stop in your tracks when you see jeno standing side stage with sad, tear-rimmed eyes.

"y/n-"

the tears are about to burst just hearing your name on his lips. you hold up your hand and walk quickly towards your waiting room. you pass the other dreamies on your way as they call your name, their voices laced with concern.

you hear the producer call them on stage. good, jeno won't be chasing after you. after all, he put his job above you in the end. by the time they were done, you'd be long gone.

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊✩°｡⋆˚⁺

part 2 here!

[minas-linkverse]

I made a post about this a long time ago but I'm going to make it again: Silent protagonists are great when you're neurodivergent. The Legend of Zelda Echoes of Wisdom has once again proven this point.

I'm not just saying this because sometimes neurodivergence can lead to someone not communicating verbally, although that is a very nice cherry on top. WHY I'm making this point is that I've always loved the feeling of playing a silent protagonist in games like Pokemon, the Zelda franchise, and many more... And I want to share why:

No-one is phased by the protagonist being odd. Sure sometimes the game might make a 3rd wall breaking joke about it, but most of the time you can be a strange guy who runs around doing odd things and nobody really cares. You can be the only one running, the only one digging in the dirt, the only one talking to an invisible creature-- And nobody cares! Why would they? Some people just are different, and that's ok.

People are accommodating. So often npcs in these kinds of games don't care that you're not talking much. In the game X and Y you have a full friend group who are all thrilled to have you there but aren't expecting you to say much more than if you like the nickname they came up with. They don't care that you don't stick with the group and go on your own to dig in the grass-- They're just happy to have you there. You have your own interests and they respect that.

There's probably more to list but I can't think of it right now. The point is that being a protagonist in video games makes you inherently odd compared to the npcs around you, but games tend not to make a big deal out of that, (besides for a power fantasy,) you can be unusual and still be a beloved member of a village or a dear friend to your allies, or just... Accepted as you are. Sadly a very enjoyable fantasy for many of us. I've been having a lovely time playing as Zelda in the new game and it's been fun seeing how her character differs from the prior games now that she is in the protag's shoes. It really highlighted this thing in my mind again, so I'm sharing it.

Feel free to add on, and thanks for reading.

[akutasoda]

Hello! I saw that your request was open and I wanted to give it a go. If my request is sensitive, please let me know!

My request is the Anemo boys (including Aether) confessing their love to reader but reader thought they were joking or felt unsure. Reader has been used for their body which resulted being insecure and not believing in love. The convo would look like this.

Boy: I like you ..

Reader: For my body right?/ ..did you lose a bet or smth?

Or something along the lines. I want this request to be angst + fluff at the end cuz I only believe happy ending HAHDJSJA. Feel free to add more genshin characters in this. I'm in need of comfort and I'm praying you'll be able to do this request. If not then it's okay!

Thank you for your time!!! 💓💓💓

is this a joke?

synopsis - they finally confess to you but due to past experiences, your less inclined to believe its not a joke or such

includes - venti, xiao, kazuha, heizou

warnings - gn!reader, slight angst to fluff, maybe ooc (its been a while-), vague mentions of alcohol, vague hints of bad experiences in the past, wc - 1.9k

a/n: AAHH SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG ;; arfhs long time since you sent this in but im hoping you still found the comfort you were looking for in the time it took me to get this out 🫂 also i hope you dont mind but i did exclude aether since i wasn't exactly confident enought to write him apologies :')

venti ★↷

venti was always drawn to you, a kind of unexplainable force that would constantly drag his attention to you when he knew you were around. it didn't matter when or where as it seemed like venti had an uncanny ability to detect you within any radius anywhere.

on his end, it could quite simply be pinned down to the pure admiration and awe venti felt when he looked at you. he was very sure he could admire you for hours and because he contained zero lack of awareness that he'd stare for long periods, you'd often noticed the bard staring from a distance.

the first couple of times seemed like a pure coincidence but the longer it went on, the more confused you became - admittedly even a little bit awkward when you saw the bard.

although eventually, for venti, his feelings began to constantly gnaw away at him. he didn't know how to approach you or even how to articulate what he wanted to get across to if he did approach you. for a bard, he could be quite terrible with words sometimes.

and so at some point during another night at angels' share, those feelings reached a spilling point - with a little nudge of confidence from some alcohol.

the usual crowd venti hung with became quite sick of hearing venti talk on and on about someone he seemed to hold in high regards, going on about how special he thought they were and how he wanted to talk to them more and so on.

eventually one of them suggested that he just go find you and clear up all his feelings, which, to his intoxicated mind, was a great idea that he should've thought of sooner. and so venti set off to find you and nobody really thought to stop him.

you were kept up in thoughts as you trudged home, seemingly near oblivious to your surroundings as a whole. or you were, until you heard an unfamiliar yet familiar voice called your name, you couldn't put a name to the voice but you felt as though you heard it before.

you turned to see who it was just to be quite shocked to see the bard stumbling toward you. he seemed very inebriated and it almost concerned you to see nobody accompanying him but maybe that's what compelled you to stay when he finally reached you.

immediately he seemed to almost trip over and you caught him in the process, earning you a very clingy venti who held onto you more than you thought he would. you barely managed to get a word in before you began hearing venti start babbling on about how much he admired you.

his rambling ended in him looking you dead in the eyes and declaring how much he liked you.

you didn't really know what to say.

to you, you attributed his words to either the alcohol in his system or just some dare he'd been sent on. they nearly meant nothing to you, so you awkwardly laughed it off and urged venti to go back to his friends and stop joking around.

unfortunately venti insisted on staying with you. so with a sigh, you helped him back to angels share and asked around for his friends. upon seeing you returning with venti a couple of them recognised you.

you didn't really understand what they were saying when they started talking about venti finally finding them or asking if you were the one venti always talks about so you shrugged it off again, dropped venti off and went home - you were sure it would all pass over by the next day.

but little would you know, venti would then become more insistent on becoming closer to you despite all your suspicions.

xiao ★↷

xiao never really thought to himself that he'd end up developing feelings for someone in a romantic sense. so he wasn't exactly sure what to do when he started experiencing feelings that he vaguely could accommodate to falling in love.

it took him a while to even recognise the feelings he felt when with you were different to everyone else he spent time with, it took even longer for him, and a little outside help, to start realising just what those feelings meant.

so it took alot from him to even consider confessing to you. a part of him was always thinking about him misinterpreting his feelings or you not feeling the same, which one was worse he didn't know.

but at some point xiao would build up the confidence to do so, and he wanted to make sure that he'd get his point across.

it would involve xiao looking at you with his usual emotionless stare, although this time, for you, it seemed a lot more serious than usual and soon enough all he said was “i like you”

for a brief moment you were surprised before you awkwardly smiled, looked away insisting he doesn't say anything like that as a joke again. to you, there was no feasible way xiao would like you, it was truly lost on as you didn't exactly take xiao as a joking person let alone someone who would like someone else romantically - unless someone told him to as a joke…

xiao didn't understand why you thought it was joke. he was being dead serious so he said it again which simply earned an awkward glance from you which irked him a bit as he didn't know how to truly get his point across.

so he tried a third time, grasping your hands in his, looking you dead in the eyes and confessing to you.

now you were more confused than ever.

the serious look on xiao's face indicated he was being dead serious but you just couldn't wrap your head around it, and upon seeing the still evident confusion on your face, xiao followed up by insisting he wasn't joking.

all you could do was slightly shy away and ask for some time to think, which he greatly understood.

kazuha ★↷

kazuha always couldn't help but stare at you with pure awe.

he never really could pinpoint the exact moment his heart started skipping beats whenever he looked at you, he just knew that it had been a while since it started. although kazuha didn't quite understand why he had such troubles actually articulating those feelings.

which eventually, as those feelings grew stronger, would be translated into kazuha trying to find the words to eventually convey to you by writing them into forms of haikus.

while he wouldn't exactly consider himself the best at writing them, he found it a good way to figure out his feelings until he confessed to you. but unbeknownst to either of you, his confession would become quite rushed and unplanned based on the sole happening of you accidentally discovering such haikus.

at first, as you scanned through the countless papers you were beyond confused. all these well written haikus that had your name written on as the recipient, as if he was planning on giving them to you, you really didn't know what to make of them.

were they sincere or some product of some sick joke?

unfortunately you were more inclined to believe the latter due to your last experience with anything even remotely similar.

but before your thoughts could think anything else up, kazuha found you. immediately he was flushed with embarrassment at you finding all the haikus he'd written with the intention of never letting them see the light of day.

although as he noticed how you looked confused he thought he should bite back his embarrassment and maybe tell you what it was all about and why - although that only seemed to visibly confuse you even more.

you knew kazuha wasn't the type to make silly jokes like that, playing on someone's feelings and such, but you couldn't help but stray to those thoughts.

kazuha picked up on how your confusion quickly morphed into something more akin to awkwardness and a bit of suspicion - as if you were considering his words to be fabrication.

without thinking, kazuha took the haikus from your hand and held your hand in turn, looking directly at you with the same adorement he always did, before declaring he liked you.

while you weren't exactly going to believe his words so easily, by no fault of your own, kazuha was willing to wait and reassure you for as long as it took.

heizou ★↷

heizou had known he'd had a crush on you for a long time, too long for his liking.

as soon as he'd realised, he began making it into a common occurrence for him to make rather casual flirty remarks which were always brushed off by you as his friendly chatter or just how he normally was - namely as you only really caught him interacting with others for work or with his other friends so it never really was considered anything else.

heizou also didn't register that you took it that way. not at least until he started being more direct.

it wasn't like he was getting weary of you or anything even remotely like that, he just longed for you to finally be his lover. so when he became more direct with his flirting and it was yet again brushed off with you, he couldn't help but become slightly dejected.

heizou would eventually come to confess outright when he knew his subtle attempts were brushed off as nothing serious or meaningful. but that confused you.

initially, you took it as one of the usual occurrences and brushed it off as nothing more but when you watched heizou get more serious and say he liked you again, you gave him an awkward look and insisted he didn't take his jokes that far since it could be misinterpreted.

you could swear you saw heizou pout for a moment.

he groaned that you weren't getting it and you only dismissed him, yet again reminding him that he shouldn't take things so far even as a joke.

but heizou was going to make sure that you would understand, he would grab you by the shoulders, and as seriously as he could, he would tell you over and over how much he liked you and how much it wasn't a joke.

you were left in quite a state of shock. you truly couldn't fathom the idea of heizou liking you seriously, but if you knew one thing, heizou was sure not to give up until he made sure he got his point across.

[kvrokasaa]

omg i was js thinking abt timeskip kaiser, a renowed pro football player, attending some celebrity event and seeing his mother there SKDJEK 🫨 can you plspls make it a short angsty(?) story w a happy ending pls our boy deserves it :(

take care <3

I tried to make it as angsty as I could, but I probably just made a comfort fic, I'm sorry!

Cw: mention of food, mentions of mother's leaving, kaiser being sad, crying, comfort, angst(?), happy ending, comforting kaiser helps cope with the recent chapter :(, not proofread, 1.5k words

“I seriously don’t know how you do it,” you whisper over to Kaiser, your voice trailing off to a quiet giggle. A smile reaches his face when he hears your giggle, you never fail to brighten his mood. “Do what, meine liebe?” He questions, the pet name rolls off his tongue with such ease, that you’re sure he practices saying it every day.

“I don’t know how you manage to attend these events and functions all the time. It’s my first time and it’s so tiring already,” you hum, grabbing a strawberry covered in chocolate. “At least there’s good food,” you finish. 

Kaiser snorts quietly. That’s what got you to come in the first place. He almost begged you to come with him, but every time he asked he was met with your quick ‘no.’ So, like the man he is, he went to underhanded tactics. He promised to get you good food, and promised that there’ll be really good food there.

You’re thankful that he didn’t lie.

“It’s about keeping up with appearances, meine liebe.” His arm circles around your waist when he sees some nobody looking at you with obvious intentions. “Do you think if I didn’t blow so much money on these stupid things people would still respect me? No. I have to come to these to show people that I’m richer and better than they will ever be.” You almost wanted to roll your eyes. But would it really be Kaiser if he didn’t say something super egotistical?

He chuckles when he sees how close you are to rolling your eyes. Although most of his words were false, some of them were true. If he didn’t come to these and spend so much money, people would not respect him. The world truly is in his hands.

“Okay you goof, I have to use the restroom,” you pressed your hands against his chest as you raised yourself onto your tiptoes. “Make sure to stuff some of that food into my purse when I’m gone.” You joked.

Kaiser followed you with his eyes while you walked to the end of the ridiculously big room for the bathroom. His eyes show everything, especially his love and adoration for you. He laughs a little as he turns his attention back to the speaker. 

But something catches his eye. A slightly tall woman, with blond hair but almost gray now, no. That’s not what makes Kaiser freeze in his spot, that’s not what makes his heart beat ten times faster. It’s the unmistakable red eyeliner. 

Anyone could apply red eyeliner, he tries to reason with himself. Kaiser tries his best to divert his attention back to the speaker, but his eyes cannot seem to leave the woman. His gaze must have alerted the woman because the next second she is looking around for the person.

And when her eyes fall on him, he immediately panics. No way in hell. She can not be here. He must be hallucinating or something. He needs air, fresh air. Why can’t he breathe? 

Kaiser leaves the mansion as quickly as possible, trying to get away from the stuffy crowd. But just his luck, she follows him out. 

“My son, I have been looking for you.”

You leave the bathroom, with your disgust intensified. Why are rich people so weird? Couldn’t that couple have gone home? Who in their right mind would be doing that during a fundraiser? 

A sigh escapes your lips as you make your way to the crowd, ready to tell Kaiser what you just witnessed. 

But when you get back to the table of food, he’s gone. You swear that he wouldn’t just leave you, and he would’ve texted you if he moved somewhere else. Maybe he had gone to the restroom too?

After searching for a little, you end up spotting his blonde and blue hair. But you see a person standing if front of him and he isn’t moving at all. Your brows furrow in a quizzical manner, who is that?

“No.” You hear him say, it was more of a demand than anything. “You’re lying.” The woman in front of him shakes her head, a soft expression on her face. “You may think that, but we both know it’s not true.” She opens her arms, her hands awaiting his shoulders as to pull him into her embrace. 

“It’s me, your mother.” Your eyes widen, why is she here? Why did she decide to come back now of all times?

“I’m sorry for interrupting,” your tone is soft while you look at Michael, a worried expression on your face. “But Michael and I should really be going.” “Who are you?” Her soft expression never falls, almost like she got it implanted onto her face. But you can see the truth, the deception, the root of her lies. She’s only here for the spotlight. She wants to be seen as his mother, as his savior. But you know that she will only ruin him. She will only make him fall deeper into the black hole.

“Oh, I’m guessing you haven’t seen the news,” you start. You look at Michael’s mother, your soft expression immediately faltering. “I’m Michael’s fiancee. It’s very nice to meet you.” You give her a fake soft smile. You don’t want to seem too rude, but you know kindness with a person like this will only lead to your ruin.

“Ah, I thought you were his chafure. You seem awfully-” “Stop.” She turns her attention back to Michael, her faux softness resurfacing. “My dear, you seem tired. Why don’t we-” “No.” He can’t get his head around this whole situation. Why has she come back? Why did she choose now to come back? Does she want money, is that it? Maybe she just wants to be seen with him. Maybe she needs her acting career back and the only way she can get noticed is with Michael.

But he doesn’t want any of that. He tried so hard to look for her, and now she shows up out of nowhere. 

Michael feels like he’s on the verge of a breakdown. 

His mom tries to reach out again, but Michael is too preoccupied to notice. So, you step in, your body in the middle of both of them. Your glare is icy, never relenting when you see his mother’s expression falter. She seems to be caught up in her own little world. Does she not know the damage she created? How dare she walk back into his life like he owes her everything.

No, she owes him everything.

“I don’t know you, but I know of you. I know what kind of person you are and it’s fucking disgusting.” Your tone is sharp as if laced with venom, and it cuts right through her little facade. You can see the second her fake kindness leaves, and you’re left with the disgust and hatred that Kaiser should have. 

“You are not allowed to walk back into Michael’s life when it’s convenient for you. You don’t get to do that. That’s not fair to him at all. 

Do you know how many times he’s tried to find you? You don’t, do you? He’s tried almost his entire life to find you, to find some sort of comfort in his mother. But you left him. You left a child all by himself with someone neither of you could’ve trusted. 

Do you know the first thing he said to me when I first hugged him? He thanked me. He thanked me for being there, for letting him breathe. He has constant thoughts that I’m going to leave him because of your mistakes.

And if you’re a good mother, if you truly missed him, you would’ve reached out in the past and apologized for everything. But you didn’t.

So no. I’m sorry, but not. You do not get to walk back into Michael’s life right now. He can reach out if and when he truly wants to. Please leave.”

Michael’s mother juts her chin up, a little huff leaving her mouth before she walks away. You truly thought that you wedged a block between Kaiser and his mother. You’re scared that if you turn around, you’ll see the hurt and betrayal across his face.

But that’s not it in the slightest. Kaiser is so proud to be called yours at this moment. He’s so very grateful to you. He has never had someone stick up for him in this way before.

Yes, he always acts as if nothing can bother him, even if he shows it on his face a little. But at this moment, he realizes that he wants to be held by you, he wants you to nurture him and to care for him. He wants to turn to you for things he has never received in his life.

Before he knows it, tears gather in his eyes, threatening to spill along his cheeks. His body moves on its own as he makes his way to you.

“Thank you,” his arms looped around your waist, his hold tightening ever so slightly. You thank the Lord that everyone has left or else everyone would see Kaiser crying and you know that he hates showing that to the world. 

You let those thoughts leave your mind, your smile growing back onto your face. “No need to thank me, my love. I meant every word and I will protect you until you’re ready to see her again.”

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Gobblick

Debut: Mario & Luigi: Brothership

The embargo on Brothership enemies that-I'm-not-sure-if-we-actually-had-or-not is OVER! Which MOD TWEETER is happy about, because she finally gets to talk about her favorite creature from the whole game: GOBBLICK!

From the success of fictional pitcher plants like Victreebel and...er...Victreebel, it's no secret that they've captured the hearts of millions worldwide! And yet, finding a decent video game pitcher plant in this day and age is hard. And that's sad! Especially since Wet-Dry World has arbitrarily decided my rent should be paid for in articles about video game pitcher plants!

Gobblick is SUCH a good pitcher plant design though, definitely worth the wait!! Look at that gut! Those spots! That big, long licker! The ridges on its leaf and lower jaw, seamlessly combining pitcher plant and bear trap aesthetics!

But, of course, the BIG show-stopper: EYES IN A VOID, BABY!!!! I love it!! It works PERFECT with the pitcher plant design! In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they added them to REAL pitcher plants in a future update! They even remind me of that one talking pot in Winnie-the-Pooh that stuck onto my mind since I watched it as a child!

Since they're on the INSIDE of what is definitively its mouth, though, that raises the question...are these Gobblick's eyes at all? What if they're the eyes of something else? But...what would that something else be? A spider? A Lickitung? Perhaps it's the eyes of a treeshrew, and it's attacking out of embarrassment of us catching it using the bathroom? I'm sorry, hypothetical treeshrew! But you probably shouldn't stay in there, if that's the case, even if you're shy!

Or, most likely, these ARE the eyes of the noble Gobblick, and it uses them to watch its food go down! When you're a pitcher plant, is there honestly anything better to do?

Yes! And that thing is: attacking plumbers! Gobblick is such a fan of battling Mario & Luigi that he has not one, but TWO battles against them! That may not seem like a lot, but that's more than most Mario bosses in most single mainline games!

"Well, that's fine and all, but I bet none of its attacks include the coveted Root Attack," you might scoff. And you'd be wrong! Although real pitcher plant roots are, frankly, not really something to write home about, the root arms of Gobblick are able to dig through ground as they approach the brothers, in a way similar to Whispy Woods! Kirby's Dream Land 2 fans rejoice!

But, this isn't even Gobblick's only form! In fact, the first time I saw and fell in love with Gobblick was in its SECONDARY form! Warning, however, that this form is built off of integral spoilers for the game, so if you click below, do so wisely...!

Name: Glohm Gobblick

Debut: Mario & Luigi: Brothership

WOW! If you loved Gobblick already, then I hope Glohm Gobblick was worth the wait–it certainly was, for me!

Wine-red is just a perfect yet underrated color, especially for pitcher plants! I couldn't believe I had never thought about making a reddish pitcher plant prior, myself, but that just goes to show how ingrained plant color stereotypes are! I saw a picture of a pitcher eating a rat once, and it never escaped my mind, and THAT was red!

But Glohm Gobblick isn't just this beautiful shade of red for no reason! It's under the effect of being Glohmed, which makes anyone other than Mario & Luigi more powerful while amplifying their desire to be isolated and lonely! And unlike some other characters, there's nobody around that's worried for our poor friend Gobblick...it exists only as an optional boss you can come across on your own. Don't worry, Gobblick, we love you...!

Gobblick is never truly alone, however. Thankfully, the game specifies that this is not the Gobblick, but a Gobblick! It's one of MANY! Please expect Gobblick to make its way alongside Toads and Piantas as one of the main recurring Mario People, being charming background fodder for decades to come.

Or not, since it's canonically from another world. Too bad.

This should cover my Wet-Dry Rent for the next few weeks! Join me next time when I finally cover the last in the top three most popular video game pitcher plants: Weepinbell. Bye.