#and gave me permission to actually crush instead of just

[captainsophiestark]

We're Good

Kol Mikaelson x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for my personal fic writing challenge for 2024, Sophie's Year of Fic! Featuring a new fic being posted every Friday, all year long :)

Fandom: TVD/TO

Summary: Kol meets Davina and finally seems serious about someone, so his best friend convinces herself to finally let go of her secret crush. But when Kol gets jealous of her paying attention to another guy, what once seemed settled might not actually be finished.

Word Count: 3,092

Category: Angst, Fluff

A/N: Title is lightly inspired by the Dua Lipa song, although the fic doesn't totally fit it.

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

I tried not to scowl as I watched Kol from the second level of the Mikaelson compound. He was down on the dancefloor, in the middle of the latest party he and his family had decided to throw. I knew Nik or Elijah had some ulterior motive for hosting, but I hadn't cared because this time, I'd had my own ulterior motive. I'd put on my absolute best outfit and made sure I looked like a knockout, all so I could finally tell Kol Mikaelson, my longtime friend and crush, how I really felt about him.

And now, before I could, he was standing at the edge of the dancefloor trying to make a move on Davina Claire.

I should've known. Kol and I had been friends for a long time, and despite pretty regular flirty moments between us, he'd never taken any steps to make us something more serious. Instead, he flirted with, hooked up with, and even dated whatever mortal he'd most recently fallen for while I stood by pretending not to get my heart broken.

This time, I was done with it. For good.

I set my jaw and squinted, refusing to let the tears fall as I turned from the balcony. I almost made it into a hallway off the Mikaelson compound where I could disappear from everything, but of course, I couldn't quite get that lucky.

"He's a bloody idiot, you know."

Rebekah Mikaelson, my best friend in the world, stood before me with her hands on her hips, blocking my exit.

"Rebekah-"

"I'd love to have you for a sister-in-law, but you deserve better than one of my idiot brothers. As a boyfriend and as a friend."

"Bex, I don't want to hear it right now."

The sympathy on her face almost killed me, but she stepped aside. I thought that would be it, but then she called out to me just before I could turn the corner and escape this whole mess.

"Mourn all you like tonight, but tomorrow we're going out! There are plenty of men in this city to help you forget all about Kol!"

****************

Rebekah gave me exactly one day before she started hounding me about going out on the town to forget her "idiot brother". And honestly, I might've ignored her, except for the fact that Kol spent the entire day after the ball with Davina.

I'd always known he was a flirt, but this time, he actually seemed to mean it. So I gave him more space than usual, for my sake as much as his, and spent more time wih Rebekah. We baked and went on walks, and after a while, I stopped shooting her down when she tried to drag me to bars. Kol kept hanging out with Davina, but slowly, seeing them together was starting to hurt a little less. I always thought if he found a girl to get serious about, it would be me. And a tiny little part of my heart still tore to shreds when I saw how wrong I'd been. But unlike those first few days, the heartbreak wasn't eating me alive anymore.

Which is how I ended up out at a bar with the entire Mikaelson family, dancing my heart out on the dancefloor without a second thought for whether Kol would join me.

We'd first started a montly tradition of the firve of us going out and just having fun a few years ago, and despite various dramas and the siblings scattering to the winds, we'd more or less managed to keep it up. We always picked a place a few hours from where any of us were living and planned to stay the night, so we could well and truly forget everything but having a good time together. Normally, I spent the night orbiting Kol, to the point that Nik usually had a field day giving me shit about it. Tonight had been a little different.

I'd joined Nik in dragging Elijah out of the house, gone with Rebekah to order all of us some truly strange, fun cocktails, and danced the night away on the dancefloor with all of them, without my mind or gaze constantly circling back to Kol. He didn't seem to even notice the shift, and I was surprised to find that it didn't really bother me. Kol was a good friend, after all, and with a little more time to process, maybe we'd even be better off.

"Hey!" Rebekah shouted into my ear, still barley making herself heard over the music around us. We'd been here for hours, but none of us showed any signs of slowing down just yet. "That guy at the bar has been staring at you all night!"

I turned to follow her gaze and found a handsome guy looking back. He smiled, a little sheepish, and I returned the gesture before whipping around to Rebekah.

"Why are you so fixated on setting me up with somebody?"

"Because it's fun! And I haven't got to do it once in all the time I've known you because you've been so hung up on Kol. So come on, let me have my fun!"

I made a face. I wasn't sure I wanted to take a chance on the random person Rebekah had found, regardless of me finally being over Kol. She huffed, then leaned in to speak in my ear again.

"Just trust me! I compelled him and asked him some questions, and he seems like someone you'd get along quite well with!"

I closed my eyes. "You compelled him, Rebekah? Seriously?"

"Well how else was I supposed to make sure he wasn't some sleezy werewolf or something? Go on, just talk to him!"

"Fine! Fine, but it's still our Mikaelson Family Fun Day, so I'm just going to talk."

"That's fine with me! Although I promise not to judge you if you don't come back to the room tonight-"

I picked up the nearest thing I could find (a stack of napkins) and hucked it at her, which she easily dodged. I did my best to ignore her laughing behind me as I headed for the bar.

The guy smiled as I approached him, and I smiled back. I headed for an open spot standing next to him at the bar, and he started speaking as soon as I came within hearing range.

"Hey! I've been hoping you'd come over and say hi all night."

I smiled. "Why didn't you come over and say hi yourself?"

"Didn't want to interrupt you and your friends if you didn't want to be bothered," he said with a shrug. "Although, that girl Rebekah tried awfully hard to get me to come over once or twice."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, Rebekah loves nothing more than meddling, especially in my life." I paused. "I'm glad she convinced me to come over and talk to you though."

"So am I! I-"

He broke off at the same time as I felt someone slide up to the bar behind me, chest almost pressed into my back. I started to turn around to tell whoever it was to back off, but a familiar voice spoke up before I could.

"Why don't you go find someone else to bother, mate?" said Kol, his tone laced with the slightest undercurrent of a threat. Apparently, he'd decided to make sure he got what he wanted, because a moment later the guy whose name I hadn't even been able to get yet turned on his heel and walked away.

I rounded on Kol with a furious scowl, but he just grinned back at me, still very close and in my personal space. Normally, the proximity would've left me with butterflies, but right now all I felt was anger growing in the pit of my stomach.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I asked, an edge to my voice that I'd really never directed at Kol before. His eyebrows shot up, but otherwise, he didn't seem bothered.

"I was getting rid of that creep who was bothering you. Come on, darling, I thought you'd be thanking me-"

"Thanking you? Kol, he clearly wasn't bothering me! I came up to him, for God's sake!"

"Well I'm sorry, it just looked like you might want me to step in-"

"How? How did it look like that, Kol?"

My voice was getting louder now, enough that a few people were starting to take notice, but I didn't care. I was furious at my so-called friend and he was going to hear about it.

Kol cleared his throat. "Love, maybe we should take this somewhere else-"

"Knock it off with the pet names! Kol seriously, what the fu-"

In a split second, the bar disappeared around me. Instead, I found myself thrown over Kol's shoulder as he vampire-sped out of the bar. When we finally stopped, it was just inside the front door of the house we'd all rented, with Kol's back to me as he closed the front door.

I took my opening and hurled the nearest pillow at his head. It hit its target dead on, and I got halfway through picking up another one when Kol used his vamp speed to close the distance between us and grab my wrist.

"Hey! Knock it off, alright? What's the matter?"

"What's the matter? Are you kidding me Kol?" I wasn't sure whether I wanted to laugh, cry, scream, or all three, but I focused on the screaming part as I faced a bewildered Kol. "You absolute hypocrite, how dare you pull me out of that bar, and how dare youstep into my conversation like that!"

"What? Is this seriously all about me scaring off that one guy? You hardley knew him!"

"Obviously it's not completely about him, although that move still sucked, Kol! It's about you thinking you have some right to barge into my life and scare off a guy who might be interested in me! Because that's what it was, right? There's no way you thought I wanted him gone, so you did all this because you wanted him gone, right?"

"...I- I guess I didn't really like seeing him with you, but-"

"But nothing! Kol, we've had just a kind of flirty friendship forever. And whenever it seemed like we might be heading into something else, you were always the one to bail out. And last month, when you found Davina and got serious about someone else, it ripped my heart out. But I forced myself to take some time and get over it! Because that's your choice, and I care about you regardless of if you want to date me. But Kol, you have been clearly, specifically going after Davina lately. Which means you have absolutely no right to come tell some guy at the bar to back off when he's flirting with me."

"Darling, come on-"

I held up a hand to cut Kol off. The storm of emotions had finally started calming, hardening into something more manageable. I'd let myself struggle in this relationship without ever having an up front conversation for far too long. We were going to set some boundaries and have it all out, whether or not Kol wanted to. I was done with the rollercoaster ride.

"Kol, I know you call a lot of people 'darling', but if you want to stay friends with me then I'm going to need you to stop calling me that."

Kol just stared at me for a few moments, blinking and apparently processing everything I'd just said. His eyebrows knit together and he looked seriously distressed, but I refused to back down. After a moment, he took a half step towards me, his hand reaching out slightly towards my own.

"...And what if I don't think I want to be friends anymore, darling?"

I scoffed, another overwhelming wave of anger rising up and over me. I shook my head and turned around, walking a few steps away and hoping the space would help me cool down.

"You better not be flirting with me right now, Mikaelson, after everything I just said and everything you've been up to with Davina lately."

"Davina and I aren't together, love. We went on a few dates after Nik's little party, but we've hardly seen each other since then, and I don't intend to keep anything going. You might have noticed, but you started avoiding me after the ball and I had no idea why."

I turned to face Kol at last, scanning his face for any hint of something that might help me make up my mind on how to feel about all this. The corner of his mouth quirked up in a smile, and I scowled.

"I wish you'd said something earlier about this little crush of yours, honestly. I didn't think I had a shot in hell with you. It would've saved us both some time."

I shook my head, slowly at first and then much much faster. Before I completely realized what I was doing, I crossed the room and smacked Kol in the chest. He was one of the oldest vamipres to ever live, so it didn't have much of an impact on him, but it definitely made me feel better.

"Kol Mikaelson, you jackass! You do not get to use this as an excuse to confess feelings for me!"

He laughed, holding up his hands and clearly fighting a beaming smile. I slowly tapered off my assault, instead opting for crossing my arms and absolutely fuming at him.

"Seriously, Kol, this isn't funny. I show interest in someone else for the first time in our friendship, and all of a sudden you're dropping everything to come and confess feelings for me? You get why I don't feel like that's completely sincere, right?"

Kol sighed, the smile finally falling off his face. He moved to close the distance between us again, and this time, I let him.

"I'm sorry. I'm not joking because it's a joke to me, I promise. I've had feelings for you as long as I've known you, darling, but I didn't think I had a chance with you. And you've been important to everyone in our family for just about as long as we've known you. If I made things complicated, or made you want to stop spending time with all of us, my siblings would've literally killed me."

I snorted, looking down so Kol wouldn't see me fighting a smile off my face. No matter what, Kol always seemed able to make me smile when I least wanted to. Normally, it was one of my favorite things about him.

"What can I do, hm? What can I do to prove I mean what I'm saying?"

I sighed, crossing my arms and at last looking up at Kol. With wide eyes and no hint of the sardonic smile I knew so well, he looked more serious than I'd ever seen him before.

"...If you're really sure about this, Kol, that you really mean this...?"

"I do. Darling, I swear I do. I promise you, I won't waste the chance if you give me one."

"Okay, then prove it. I've never seen you go more than a week without flirting with some human, witch, vampire, werewolf, or whatever other sentient beings we come across. Make it a month, and maybe I'll believe what you said about being serious about this."

"...And will we be dating for that month?"

Slowly, I shook my head. "No. I want to, Kol, and I want that to be where this goes, but... I need to see that this is real first. I want to believe it is, so badly, but after centuries of meaningless flirting and dancing around each other without a conversation, of seeing you have flings every chance you get and watching each one of those burn out... I can't just take it on faith."

Kol sighed, glancing down at the ground before meeting my eyes again. He didn't say anything, just closed the little remaining distance between us as he brought his arms up to circle my waist. He pulled me to him, leaning down with a glance at my lips, and I didn't stop him as he pulled me into a kiss.

Fireworks exploded in my chest. My knees went a little week as I leaned further into Kol, resting my hands on his shoulders. After a few long moments, just as my common sense started returning to tell me what a mistake this was, Kol pulled back with a grin.

"Sorry, darling. But I couldn't wait a month to do that."

I snorted and shook my head, stepping carefully out of Kol's grip. He watched my every move with a smile, and my heart did a backflip when he licked his lips. I told my heart to calm the hell down.

"I... certainly didn't mind the potential preview," I admitted.

Kol laughed, running a hand through his hair as he looked at me.

"This is going be the longest month of my life... but if that's what it'll take, I'll make it through. I know it'll be worth it, especially now."

I rolled my eyes, but this time, I couldn't quite keep a smile off my face. Finally, my heart started returning to a normal pace, and I managed to meet Kol's eyes again without having a cardiac event.

"Alrlight, so... what do we do now? I don't know about you, but I don't particularly want to go back to the bar."

"Is that a joke, darling?" He raised an eyebrow at me, but I just shook my head. His mouth dropped open like he couldn't believe I was serious. "I may not get to do the activity I most want to do right now for another month, but I did just get my best friend back after extensive radio silence. We have so many episodes of our favorite shows to catch up on!"

"...You didn't watch them without me?"

"Of course not! Did you watch them without me?"

"Of course not!"

"Well then, there you have it! That's our evening. You make the popcorn, I'll turn on the tv."

I laughed as Kol turned on his heel, getting immediately to work. I still wanted to wait the month I'd made him promise; I still wasn't confident his romantic affections wouldn't wander. But despite all that, a massive weight lifted off my chest as I headed into the kitchen for snacks. I had my best friend back, and finally, after a ridiculous amount of waiting and dancing around each other and poor communication, we were actually getting a shot at our happy ending.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989 @space-helen

TVD/TO Taglist: @elenavampire21

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

i was thinking about how ariel from the little mermaid is criticized so harshly for "giving up her voice and family for some guy" when there was definitely a lot more to it than that.

ariel had dreams outside of eric. she wanted to see the world, she wanted to get acquainted with humans and human traditions and she wasn't satisfied with her life underwater. that was the whole point of "part of your world", she barely mentions eric in it. he was just a bonus in her new life, not her entire purpose.

why am i talking about a random disney movie? it's because i was thinking of lumity, and how amity also rebelled against her family for a new life. except.. amity really only mentions luz (and "the others" because let's be real, she did not give a shit about willow and gus at that point). amity's sole reason to go against her family's values was luz.

this, if anything, could be considered "giving up everything for a love interest" but people don't see it that way because amity's parents were shitty to begin with. but if you look at the little mermaid from a different perspective, you could argue that king triton wasn't a very good parent either.

he literally throws a temper tantrum just because his teenage daughter has a crush on a guy. ariel is legit terrified in that scene, and regardless of whether triton had good intentions or not, he made his daughter feel unsafe and turn to an impulsive decision in a moment of emotional distress.

all of this to say, you could argue that ariel had no reason to stay with her family either, given that her father lacks emotional sensitivity and does not sit down and try to communicate with his child, instead of destroying her collection and scaring her away.

coming back to amity, i can understand that luz inspired her to actually do something about her abusive parents, and that's sweet. but we never get to see what else amity wanted. since they never established a friendship arc between amity and gus or willow (she apologized to willow, sure, but the rekindling of their relationship happens much later on), all we know is that amity is tired of being abused and she wants to be with luz.

from an abuse victim's perspective, amity standing up against her parents was powerful. but unlike ariel, amity doesn't seem to want anything besides luz. and she never explores what she wants to do, now that she has successfully cut herself away from her mother's influence. her whole life revolves around luz after that.

there was that abomination brawl episode but even that ended up being about luz. the brawl was just a quick montage, it only existed for the emotional drama that came later on. in fact, even when the plot was focused on amity, it was more about her relationship with her father rather than her autonomy and personal interests.

there's a reason why a lot of people liked the mean girl version of amity. she had personality, she had interests and goals, she had CHARACTER. it was all fake and a result of trauma, but it was there and it helped flesh out her character. but after she is redeemed? there's nothing left of the old amity, not even the more positive/neutral traits, and her only personality is "luz's awesome girlfriend".

amity's arc should have been about exploring what she wanted outside of her parents' wishes. abuse often turns you into a shell of a person and recovering from years of trauma isn't as simple as getting a romantic partner. it takes therapy (and that is canonically an option in the boiling isles, let me remind you), it takes self-reflection, it takes giving yourself the permission to choose your own destiny and explore yourself outside of your abusers' expectations.

and amity gets none of this. her trauma and arc was resolved too quickly, even for a show that was cut short. they just gave her a makeover, got her into a relationship with luz and called it a day. the only reason people aren't giving her the ariel treatment is (probably) because lumity is a queer ship.

[badchoicesworld]

i hear you requested requests! ive got one!!

hobie x masc reader that's gwens older brother (ik its not canon, but the canon can fuck itself) (sorry miggy)

i dont really have anything in mind for reader's personality or whatever (so thats up to you!) but id like if reader liked to draw (thus ended up drawing hobie and got caught by him hahaha cliches i love them)

where hobie meets gwens older brother (you !)

hobie x masc!reader

this actually gave me hella ideas, im gonna link it to what happened in the movie (sorry it took a while, life fucked me)

didn’t specify if it was platonic or romantic (WHICH IS FINE ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥) so i’ve just done general shit for both lmao

warnings: none

pairing: hobie brown x masc!reader

requests: open, i cant let the demons catch me

★⋆ ⋆☆⋆ ☠︎︎ ⋆☆⋆⋆★✧

when you first meet hobie you’re so very thankful to him for taking care of your little sister

if gwen managed to hide her being ghost-spider from your guys’ dad, then she likely hid it from you, too

but obviously, your dads gonna have to tell you why gwen didn’t come home one day

you’re crushed, naturally. likely furious at your own dad for literally firing a warning shot at her

might have ran away yourself, maybe hobie comes to your rescue too

or maybe you two meet while hobie’s dropping off his homemade gizmo for gwen, and you’re so unbelievably thankful for him and his generosity when you meet him

of course you will be, he took your sister in while you couldn’t do anything to help

hobie’s probably side-eyeing yours and gwens dad but is happy to get along with you if you’re gwens bother

he cant stay for long at that moment in time, got a multiverse to save and all that

but the brief interaction opens doors to many opportunities in the future

hobie gets to hear about the brief reunion between you and gwen from her, after she went back to her own dimension before it was show time

he becomes very intrigued by you

next time you two meet is likely after they save the multiverse (WHICH THEY WILL WITH ZERO CASUALTIES UNLESS ITS MIGUEL.)

BUT GENERALLY SPEAKING NOW

miguel definitely doesn’t approve of hobie using his watch to travel dimensions just to see you or gwen, still does anyway if he doesn’t just build his own

probably came to see gwen, pick her up to bring him to his own dimension, whatever

sees you instead, target acquired

hobie’s heard plenty about you from gwen, likes to think you aren’t strangers so is super friendly, overly even

catches you in your room, drawing in a well loved sketchbook

definitely does that thing where he just fucking appears behind you, he’s that quiet when walking despite the accessories

he’s looking over your shoulder while you draw silently, you might be too distracted to notice or you’re immediately started by him

smug asf when you finally catch on, is especially entertained if he’s caught you drawing him, god forbid

wouldn’t be surprised though, he likes to make people stare so is honestly complimented if you’ve been trying to draw him since first seeing him

doesn’t just snatch ur sketchbook and start looking through it though, unlike someone

as an artist, he gets it

you’re probably super protective over ur sketchbook actually because of gwen, smh

will probably banter a little bit about that, tease something about gwen that you’d both be victim to, like her tendency to borrow things without permission

find common ground yknow

“ain’t it a pain when she [gwen activities]” but you’re not being mean ur bonding it’s fine, we don’t slander gwen (i do however have some strong words)

starts hanging out with you on the odd chances gwen isn’t home, just casually in your room at first

starts off talking about your guys’ interests, seeing if you have things in common

probably listening to music together

the closer you get, he starts to actually travel dimensions just to see you

casually waves to gwen before ducking into your room

is happy to just kick back there, but is also happy to go out and do things at that point

the more you hang out, the more your dad and gwen begin to tease you- which is nothing in comparison to the shit hobie faces

gwen easily told everyone else about you two hanging out, he never hears the end of it now regardless of dimension

hobie starts using the front door instead of just appearing in your room “son, your boyfriend’s here” ur devastated why would ur dad say that

THENN hobie starts to come to your dimension for you more than gwen, has probably already invited you back to his once or twice but now he’s a lot more frequent with invites, wants you to consider his place a second home (in case you ever wanna run from home, cough)

say something does blossom between you two, obviously you don’t label it cause hobie’s not about that

you get promoted from “gwens brother” to “hobie’s boyfriend” at some point even if you don’t use labels- that’s only if ur not like too close to the rest of the friend group, but i imagine you’ve gotta be

hobie probably talks more about being spider-man relatively early on considering the topic, but since you know his secret identity it doesn’t really matter to him

the closer you are, the more into his stories he is

is ready to reenact the whole thing for you now so it’s like you were there

draw each other, i dare u

make playlists for each other, perhaps ?

there’s a lot of gwen snitching to each of you

and then you two do with that information together what you will later

like if you’re just being gay for each other it’s wild how fast gwen goes to the other and is like “guess what he said” she is not slick about it

hobie can be found at ur place more often then not, your dads a little more iffy about you going to a different dimension

still, very grateful to be welcome in your home but hobie definitely prefers to kick back at his

hobie loves to bother gwen about your whereabouts, if you are a thing or not “where’s your brother at?” he’s pretending to be cool about it

does your dad approve ? who cares

but nah he’s way more open minded after the incident, thinks hobie is a peace of work and probably his own son too if you’ve got a similar personality, in that case you’re perfect for each other

if not he’s just happy you’re happy, that’s all he cares about

obviously gwen supports it, likes to claim she introduced you guys and you owe your relationship to her when she tries to win in an argument/conversation

★⋆ ⋆☆⋆ ☠︎︎ ⋆☆⋆⋆★✧

[chil-aglia]

𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐞 |ROTTMNT| (Leo X Male OC)

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧 & 𝐇𝐲𝐩𝐧𝐨, 𝐒𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐞

I’m back from holidays! I can finally get back to our regular routine of updating my ROTTMNT books! So, uh…enjoy this chapter yall!

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

Adriaen, the brothers and April were driving inside the turtle tank late at night around New York. Balloons and banners decorated the inside as the boys chant out to April about it being her birthday.

"I don’t know why you are even bothering. I told you guys my birthday’s are always a disaster. It’s cursed."

April lightly smiles fondly at the boys who smile back. Adriaen was watching the road, mostly because Raph was looking at April, so Adriaen didn’t want him to accidentally crash the tank. “Curse smursh. We’re gonna birthday so hard, you’re gonna need a permission slip." Leo grins, wrapping an arm around Adriaen and pulling him in, making the mutant roll his eyes playfully as he gave an assuring nod.

”For once, Leo’s right. I mean, how bad can your birthdays be?”

Suddenly, an air conditioner comes out of nowhere and hits the tank in the front, causing the tank to stop and the boys and April to brace themselves as they blink and look around in utter confusion. Leo had to grip onto Adriaen so they wouldn’t smash their faces against the control panels.

"What was that?"

Raph checked out through his window where we hear him let out a startled yelp of concern. Adriaen blinks and climbs slightly over Leo, who blushed at the closeness, but he of course didn’t mind it as Adriaen peeked out from behind Raph to see what made the tank come to a halt.

He widens his eyes when he saw an air conditioning unit impacted on the front of the tank. 

Oh, Donnie’s not going to like that.

He slides back inside and looks to Mikey. “Mikey, go help Raph out with, the uh….just go outside with him.”

Mikey tilts his head but being the nice turtle he is, nods and gets out the tank with Raphael. The two going to the front to inspect the damage.

Leo leans forward to rest on the dashboard as Adriaen sat in his respective chair, waiting patiently. Donnie of course was mostly concerned about his tank, whereas April hung back.

"Okay, give it to me straight. How bad is the damage?"

"Oh, It’s, uh, not that bad." Raph assures but Adriaen knew that wasn’t the case. "Oh, it’s real bad. Real, real, real, real, real bad." Mikey wasted no time on emphasising the actual truth, making Donatello twitch his eye.

“See. I told you my birthday was cursed." April huffs, feeling somewhat bad but Adriaen shook his head and walks over to her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“No, no. It’s not you. Things like this kinda always happen to us, you know? Trust me, it’s not your fault whatsoever.”

Leo nods and pipes in his own comment, “Exactly! This is just a mini bump in the road. A hiccup. There’s no way this night gets worse." He assured but the moment he finished talking the sound of an explosion happens and next minute the tank once again jolts up. 

Adriaen yelps and lost his balance, collapsing onto Leo’s lap. The slider was reading a comic but threw it away when Adriaen landed on him. Leo gave a cheeky smile at his crush who was blushing in utter embarrassment before shaking his head and looking around in bewilderment.

Donnie, once again, was mostly concerned about his tank.

“What was that?"

They got no response making Adriaen suspicious, but he didn’t straight away go into concern mode. He instead, lifts himself off Leo and sat down in his seat, this time he decided to remain there to avoid any accidents.

Leo was none the less satisfied with the earlier results of Adriaen falling on him. 

Outside, Warren and Hypno were avoiding being caught by none other than Draxum who was persistently trying to snatch the gauntlet off Warren Stone. Raph and Mikey having to witness this fiasco.

Next to Draxum, standing in the now blown-up apartment above, was Ronin, donned in his usual disguise.

“Your gauntlet will be mine, worm man." Draxum threatens, only to move his head to the side when Warren fired an energy blast at him, using the gauntlets power.

"Breaking news, the gauntlet stays with me!"

He fires again at the two who effortlessly dodge the blast. Draxum jumped down, sliding past the lasers with his vines that he created. Ronin runs along the vines and takes out throwing knives from his pocket. 

He jumps up and throws a few at Warren who managed to barely dodge the attacks.

"Enough of this."

Draxum spun around and fired brick projectiles at Warren. The worm dodged jumping all over the roof of the Turtle Tank, at one point Warren was about to get hit until his partner, Hypno saved him.

“Alakaboom!"

A razor ring slices a large brick in half and flowers fall on Warren.

“Take that you horned headed freak." Warren laughs out, going to stand beside Hypno. Draxum and Ronin jump off the tank and notice Mikey and Raph who were watching with flabbergasted looks.

“Oh, my turtles! How very not nice to see you!" Draxum hissed, using his vine powers to attack them. Raph quickly grabbed Mikey, and they jumped out the way in time.

The vines scaling up the tank to attack Hypno and Warren instead. Ronin glances over to Mikey and Raph, using this distraction to sneak his way over to them.

“April’s birthday really is cursed." Raph muttered out loud, “We cannot let her see this." Mikey exclaims the obvious, but before they could get back to the safety of the tank, Ronin appears from behind. Arms behind his back and head tilted to the side. 

“What’s this about a birthday?”

Raph and Mikey let out a startled shout, jumping back in shock as Ronin calmly looked at them. His mask hiding his actual emotion, but no doubt he was grinning underneath.

”Ronin, what the heck is going on?!” Raph growls out lightly, gesturing to the mess that was Draxum and the other two villains. Ronin chuckled lightly, “Yeah, that right. Totally an accident that you guys got caught in the crossfire. But we’re trying to take that gauntlet off that worm guy.”

”Why?” Mikey asks innocently as Ronin hums, placing his hands on his hips in thought. “Sorry, can’t say. But don’t worry about it. But if I were you, I’d get back to your tank.” He says, jumping out the way when vines grew out the ground and almost grabbed the mutant turtles who quickly separated.

Raph and Mikey got inside the tank safely.

They drop down inside which was enough to send April to the ground. Leo, Donnie and Adriaen also look at the two in puzzlement.

"Real quick, uh, we just need to take care of this tiny, no-big-deal, non-life-threatening situation. Then it’s onto April birthday fun.” Raph strains out a smile, coming off awkward.

Donnie, Adriaen and Leo share glances at each other.

”Prepare to fire some cool weapons!" Raph suddenly shouts, making Donnie perk up excitedly as he hovers over the buttons to press.

"Which ones?"

“All of them…"

The sudden voice of someone else had the turtles stare at Warren who had a menacing look.

"Okay, who is that and how did he get in there?" Leo spoke up, as Adriaen raised an eyebrow at him. He looks familiar but he couldn’t quite pinpoint where exactly he might’ve seen this strange worm mutant.

April gets back up and recognizes the worm, gasping in shock. “Hold the phone. You’re Warren Stone! I’d recognize that hair anywhere!" She gleefully announced, as Warren Stone proudly beams at her.

“Why, yes I am. Are you a stonehead? That’s what I call my fans."

“Member since 2010!” 

April pulls out her wallet and shows a long list of herself over the years of her being a fan of Warren. “Excellent. Now by the power invested by me, by my own fan club, I’m deputizing you to get my hippo roomie back."

He points to where Hypno is fighting Ronin and Draxum outside. The villain Hypno slicing at the vines coming for him as Ronin perched atop a lamppost.

"Where's my roommate slash friend slash magical assistant?!" He hissed out at the group, Ronin blinked under his mask as he scoffs playfully, leaning against his palm.

”Well, we certainly don’t have him. But side note, look behind you; they got him.” He smirks, his tone teasing as he gestured over to the turtle tank.

Hypno turns around to see Warren and Donnie fighting over the controls inside the tank.

"Get off my console!" Donnie spat out as Hypno jumps over, landing on the hood of the tank. “I’ll save you, Warren!" He exclaims, cracking the window which knocks Donnie back. The purple masked mutant flailing his arms as he was caught by Adriaen, who held him up.

Warren placed his hand to the glass with endearment before he watched Hypno get captured by the vines that wrapped around the tank.

"No! Give him back!"

Warren starts slamming his gauntlet on the controls, accidentally activating nitro mode, the rockets that Donnie installed to make the tank go fast activate, causing the tank to break free and pass Hypno.

Warren and Hypno reach out for each other, calling out for their partner as their hands fail to reach each other as the tank takes off into the sky. 

Hypno shed a few tears as Draxum and Ronin approached him. The latter crouching down as he tilts his head, his mask hiding the fact the fact that he was grinning.

”So…you and the worm guy dating?”

The brothers, Adriaen and April reach a park, making sure no other humans were around, they quickly tie up Warren to a pole with Mikey’s whip.

"What does this thing do and why does Draxum want it?! Hm? Hm?" Mikey interrogated but Warren blinks as he starts patting the gauntlet.

"I don't know, but it's amazing! I call her Charlotte. She's like a toupée, but for your fist!"

Adriaen sighs as he placed his hands on his hips. “It’s obviously part of the dark armor. Which means we cannot allow Draxum to get his hands on it.” He states with determination as Donnie nods in agreement before whipping out his staff which turns on all kinds of sharp and dangerous weapons coming out from it.

“So now to do some light removing of a thing attached to another thing."

"Donnie!” Leo exclaims in shock at the bō staff, as Adriaen steps back to not get accidentally stabbed. “Is that a flamethrower?” He uttered out, using Raph as a shield.

"It’s fine. He regenerates, remember?”

The brothers and Adriaen all look at each other before Leo shakes his head in distress and confusion.

“Uh…no."

April gets between them, making Donnie halt on his terrifying actions. “Stop! This is a sign. Maybe this is finally the year my birthday is awesome." She calmly confesses, as Adriaen crosses his arms together, deadpanning.

"This is what you think makes a birthday awesome? You need to raise your standards.” He bluntly informs, Leo nodding beside him as the red eared slider leans against Adriaen.

“Preach that.”

April groans and stands her ground. “This is my birthday, and Warren Stone is the goat of news anchors. We've gotta help him get his friend slash roomie slash, it's complicated, back from Baron Draxum. It's my birthday wish!" She announced which immediately had the turtles yell in frustration.

"You’re invoking bday rights on him?" Leo lightly glares at Warren, “He might be a villain, but so is Baron Sheepman and that, uh, masked creepy guy with him. And the enemy of your enemy is—monster!” April began to give a little speech until she suddenly pointed out behind the turtles when a rogue monster was charging at them.

When they turn around to look at what April was screaming at, the brothers screamed, Adriaen was more so shocked as he instinctively got into a fighting position, but to his and the others confusion, the monster dissolved into a jumble of vines.

A paper stuck to the dissolved monster was seen.

"Is that a note from Draxum?" Leo mumbled out, raising an invisible brow. “What, he couldn’t send an email?" Donnie sarcastically sassed out, Adriaen steps forward, cringing a little when he stepped into the vines as he grabs the note and reads it out loud.

"Give us the gauntlet or your kiwi friend becomes a smoothie. Let’s not be tacky and avoid a violent exchang...ie. Love Huginn and Muninn."

He tilts his head at the strange message, noticing a little love heart drawn at the bottom that was signed by Ronin. Leo peeks over and scowls a bit at the heart, he grabs the note and rips it up.

"Guys, we gotta help him." April informs which immediately had Raph shaking his head. "Hard pass."

Before anyone else could say anything, Warren started whimpering as he gave the group his best puppy dog eyes.

"I know I’m a famous worm villain, but I need your help."

Adriaen stood beside Leo and Donnie. Listening to whatever Warren had to say to get him out of this mess.

"When News fame left, so did everyone I knew. I was alone. I had nothing. Until I met a magician hippo, and my life changed.” 

Adriaen resisted the urge to roll his eyes, crossing his arms together, “For my birthday, he baked me a tiny cake. And then, magically, jumped out of it! He almost crushed me when he slipped on frosting. He's my brother! He's my—"

He was cut off by Raph who was sobbing in sympathy. Mikey, April and Leo also showing their own sympathetic expressions with only Donnie and Adriaen looking bored and uninterested.

"Fine! All right? Just please, stop. We'll get your roomie back." Raph assured as Adriaen looks between everyone, “Are we positive that they are just roommates? And not, I don’t know, something else?” He questions, watching how they untie Warren as Leo rubs his eyes to get rid of any tears he had.

Leo turns to Adriaen with a light smile. “Who knows, but he was convincing.” He announced, wrapping his arm around Adriaen and leading him away when the group started to walk to discuss the plan on getting Hypno back.

At the docks, Draxum had wrapped Hypno in his vines, holding him hostage on top of a shipment crate. Ronin was leaning against the said crate on the ground, perking up slightly when he saw Warren approach them. 

“Tonight’s top story. I’m here to make your trade Draxum."

"Good. Now hand over the gauntlet."

Ronin steps forward slightly at the words of Draxum, letting Warren know silently to hand it to him. Hypno tried to call out to him, but his words were muffled from the tape on his mouth.

"I love you, too!” Warren calls over as Ronin confidently placed a hand on his hip. “Totally called it. They are so an item.”

Warren blushed at the comment before coughing and clearing his throat. “Anyway, we could do that, or I can make you a sweeter offer."

Huginn tilted his head to the side, the two gargoyles perched atop of Hypno's shoulders. "Like what?" He inquired as Munnin smiles excitedly.

"A lifetime supply of gum?"

"No. How about your mutant loser turtles? I brought them right here."

Warren grins devilishly as he gestured upwards, Draxum and Ronin looking up to see the turtles and April hanging from above in harnesses as they were going to drop down and surprise attack Draxum.

Adriaen twitched his eye at the worm in annoyance, "Did he seriously give us up?” He growls lightly, before yelping in shock when Warren blasts them with his gauntlet and the gang fall to the ground. 

Purple vines instantly trapped them in a cage to prevent them from escaping.

"Betrayal! I feel like we should have seen that coming." Leo gasps out before mumbling to himself as he watched Adriaen grip the purple vines and glare at the worm.

”Listen here you pest, when I get out of here, I’m going to personally rip your arm off!”

Leo chuckled sheepishly at his crush’s threat and guided him to sit down next to him.

“Easy, Adri.” Leo soothed in a comical manner, which only had Adriaen scoff and look away, but he seemed calm. ”How could you do this?! And on my birthday! I was the Vice president of the Stoneheads!" April shouts her own frustrations as Warren eyed her.

“And he thanks you for your service."

Draxum speaks up, amused. “You drive a hard bargain but...it’s a deal. Free him." He agrees to the offer, commanding the gargoyles to rip the tape off Hypno.

They do so and push him towards Warren. Ronin walks away, going to stand back at his original spot. He passed the turtles who look at him, Mikey giving puppy dog eyes for Ronin to free them. But Ronin ignored the group and leans against the shipping crate.

Warren reached up when Hypno crouched to his knees, letting the worm villain hug him. "Tonight's headline: Best friends, reunited and it feels s—"

“I’m so sorry. It was the only way to let you live.” Hypno cuts him off, making Warren let out a noise of puzzlement as Hypno frowns at him.

”Oh…Mezmeroo!”

Hypno sadly hypnotizes Warren who was swaying from the mind control. “Oh…give them the gauntlet, my golden-voiced amigo." He commanded, watching Warren who was hypnotised slowly slither his way to Ronin.

"Oh, man, a double betrayal. Did not see that coming." Leo voiced out in amusement, smirking lightly. Adriaen deadpans at him, “Are you seriously enjoying this right now?” He muttered, but didn’t give Leo a chance to reply as he watched the scene exchange in front of him.

Draxum jumps down from the crate, picking up Warren in a magical sphere. "You get the gauntlet, and the turtles and Warren lives. That was our deal, right?" Hypno summaries the deal he made with Draxum who chuckled lightly.

"Yeah no. I lied."

Ronin takes out a few tiny balls of pellets that contained Draxum’s vines as he throws them at Hypno, who yells as he was lifted up in the air from said vines.

"Triple Betrayal! Everybody is on fire tonight!" Leo laughs, before losing balance slightly and fell down into Adriaen's lap when the cage was also lifted into the air.

Adriaen gave a light scolding look to Leo. “Here I thought Donnie was the crazy one. But you are seriously changing my perspective tonight.” He hisses out lightly as Leo gave a cheeky and awkward smile.

”It’s uh….how I cope?” 

Adriaen huffs and annoyingly leans his face onto Leo’s shell, having enough of this whole fiasco with the villains. 

The slider flinched at the sudden action but was silently chanting out for victory in his head.

"But you said you promised!" Hypno exclaims in panic and betrayal at Draxum. “Only a true genius could choreograph this many betrayals and double crosses." Draxum replies, making Muninn and Huginn become bashful.

"I mean, it was a total team effort."

"I am blushing."

Ronin joined in on the fun, “Draxum is quite humble to share how it was a team decision.” 

Draxum growls and glares at the three, "I was talking about me, you idiots!” He shouted at them, Ronin playfully holding his hands up in the air. “Yeesh, I take it back.” He taunted, smirking under his mask when Draxum groans and turns his attention to Warren.

”Now time to do some light removing of one thing attached to another thing."

Hypno began to struggle to break free and moved his rings to cut the vines loose.

“Classic April O’Neil birthday. Trapped in a cage, betrayed by my idol, and facing certain doom." She sighs in sadness, making Raph give her a warm look of assurance.

"Look on the bright side. We’re trapped in a cage, having been betrayed by your idol facing certain doom...together.”

This earned everyone to stare at him in silent judgment. “Hey, I'm trying my best here." Raph defended himself from the silence judging looks of his brothers and friends.

Suddenly a puff of smoke appears in front of them. "Tada!” Hypno announces but he wasn’t in front of the cage, ��Wait, almost there, a little higher to the right.” He talks to his doves who lift him by the clothes and have him hover in front of the vine cage.

“Hold on, and yep, you’re there. Allow me to help."

Donnie quickly pushed Raph out the way, his face expression that of caution and annoyed at the situation. "Okay, cowboy. I don’t know what kind of double-triple-betrayal you've got planned, but we’re not interested." He informs, Adriaen quipping in as well.

”Exactly. You can take your birds away before I give you the bird.” 

Leo once again, lightly pats Adriaen on his shell. "I’ve got nothing up my sleeve. I promise." Hypno assured but cards fly out of sleeve that hit Donatello in the face.

"Please, you must save Warren! I'm a—I'm a terrible roomie! I cheat on the chore chart, he pretends not to notice, but he does, I know he does..."

He began to beg, looking at the group with a pout. April turns to look down at the unconscious talking worm. 

"I just can't quit you, Warren Stone."

I totally can.

Adriaen thought, but didn’t say it out loud as Raph sighs and nods in agreement when Hypno. “To be clear, we’re doing this for April because it’s her birthday." He reasons as Hypno perks up happily and starts using his sharp rings to slice open the vine cage.

From below, Draxum makes a saw of his vines to cut Warren. Ronin watches as he glances up at the yokai. “Won’t this kill him?” He ponders in curiosity. “Hm? Oh, probably.” He shrugs calmly, no care in the world for Warren.

He was only inches away when Hypno threw a ring at the vines, breaking it into pieces. He looked up and saw Hypno and the others freed from the cage.

"Step away from my roomie." Hypno threatens, Ronin whistles in slight impressiveness, before he felt someone behind him. He turns around to see Leo sneaking up and grabbing Warren when no one was looking.

"I’ve got him! Let’s go!"

He starts running, only to be stopped and pulled back slightly when Ronin held onto the gauntlet from the other side, stretching the worm in two directions.

“Not so fast Bluey!”

Leo glared at his masked rival, "Little help here?" He calls out to the others who ran over to help pull Leo and Warren to them.

Ronin gazed to Draxum who made his way over and also helped on pulling Warren over to them.

“We can’t stretch him any further." Adriaen announces, his arms getting tired from pulling. But suddenly to everyone’s shock, April jumps in between and cuts the arm with a razor ring. The force of wind knocked all of them down.

Ronin tumbled back into Draxum but held the gauntlet as he and Draxum stand up. “Finally, another piece of the dark armor. Ew, gross..." Draxum appraised with accomplishment, opening a portal for him and his henchmen to go through.

He grabs the limp arm of Warren that was stuck inside the gauntlet and threw it to the side before stepping through the portal.

"New victory dance."

"With extra butt action!"

The gargoyles taunt, slapping their butts at the turtles before flying after Draxum. Ronin rubs his head slightly from the tumble earlier as he gazed at the group. Adriaen looks at him, but didn’t say anything as Ronin turns away and leaves, the portal closing.

Adriaen sighs, shaking his head as he looks over at Hypno who stands beside April. "How’d you know about our old trick?" He asks innocently, knowing that Warren was able to regenerate.

"What old trick?"

Warren suddenly wakes up, screaming in pain. He stared at his right arm that was missing until a new one grew in.

“I’m fine.” He assured before widening his eyes when he realises his gauntlet is gone. “Charlotte! My power! You’ve made a grave mistake. You are on my list." He glares up at April who just softly smiles at him, not taking his threats seriously.

"It was you or the gauntlet. And to some, well you’re kind of a big deal."

"I will haunt your dreams."

Hypno rubs his cheeks against Warren, "That's my Warren! Oh, it's good to have you back roomie, slash magical assistant, slash friend.” He hums happily and in relief before he kisses Warren's cheek.

”Doves!” He shouts which summons a group of white doves, which carry them off. “Let's go make fun of game show contestants on TV!"

Adriaen watched the two, one hand on his hip. “I think that confirms my suspicions.” He mumbled, Leo walking over and standing beside him. He glanced down at Adriaen’s hand that wasn’t on his hip, and decided to try and hold his hand.

But Leo didn’t get a chance to when Adriaen moved away to make his way back to the others. Leo frowns and glanced down at his own palm.

"April, so about your birthday…we’re really sorry we weren’t the ones to break the curse and uh—“ Raph spoke up, chuckling nervously before Donnie slides in with Warren’s stretched out arm that she chopped off.

"Happy birthday!"

April looks confused, but she accepted the gift none the less and jumps up.

"Best birthday ever!"

Adriaen chuckles lightly as he looks up at the night sky. “I don’t know about you guys…but I think we call it there for the night.” He suggested, which everyone mumbled and nods in agreement, all tired from this little adventure.

They brought April back home; she bids them goodnight as the turtle's wave bye and drive back home. Donnie parks the tank in an abandoned garage, where he pressed a button on the control keys he had, a platform under the tank appears and brings the turtle tank down into a tunnel that connected to the lair.

Once everyone was out the tank, they all say their goodnights and head to their respective rooms to sleep. Leo walks with Adriaen before he stops the black masked mutant.

”Quick little question…”

”Hm? Okay?”

Leo inhales as he taps his fingers together. “Let’s say…hypothetically, someone, a guy, has a crush on you romantically. Would you accept?” He asks, which surprised Adriaen as he crosses his arms at him.

”Is this because of Warren and Hypno? Cause I totally believe that they are dating.”

Leo shyly nods, it was only half true that the reason he was asking was because of how Warren and Hypno acted. 

“Then…I guess I would? I haven’t thought about it, but it sounds nice I guess?”

Leo perks up, eyes open wide as Adriaen shrugs his shoulders. “But I doubt that’ll happen.” He added before patting Leo on the shoulder briefly.

”Night Leo.”

He walks out the garage as Leo stands where he is. Watching Adriaen leave him behind as Leo looks away and jumped in the air slightly, raising his fist up.

”Yes! I have a chance!”

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

A/N: I APOLOGISE FOR ANY GRAMMAR MISTAKES THAT WERE MADE, I TYPE REALLY FAST AND OFTEN DON'T SEE THEM UNTIL I ACTUALLY PUBLISH THE CHAPTER. 

I apologise if this seemed rushed or anything of the sorts. I’m still kinda recovering from a long holiday and I also got injured a couple days ago on both my arms where they have massive bruises, and they still hurt so…yeah 😅

First Chapter here

Previous Chapter here

[viilpstick]

╰┈➤ 𝐩𝐮𝐬𝐡: Who told to sing for someone as a way to confess how they feel for you? No, scratch that, better question… Who gave them permission to play guitar?

𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔: Epel Felmier, Sebek Zigvolt, Kamlin Al-Asim, Ace Trappola x GN! Reader (separately)

𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆: Fluff, crack, kinda cringe, headcanons + small scenarios :) (if you squeeze your eyes, there is a tiny agnst in epel’s part)

𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔: Bad english, Reader is not necessarily yuu!! A bit OOC, Barbie spoilers (? I think, it was just inspired by one scene of it), use of the word "Prince/Princess" in Kamlin's part.

this btch is the reason why I am doing this scenario 😭😭

Blame Ashton. Literally.

Alright, but seriously, he thought it was a good idea. Ashton did NOT had bad intentions on putting on this situations.

And, that man is old/j

He probably did this in his early teen years and it worked

Plus, Epel trusted him more than Vil’s advice when it comes to you (for some obvious reasons)

So, when he sees you uncomfortable face as he tries to make you think is his the most masculine man ever, he heart aches a bit, like?

“What? How… I thought they would like me in masculine way— Did I do something wrong? It can’t be, I hate to think Vil was right… They hate me, now?”

He’s overthinking! Apologize. 😡

You like Epel, but, man… Is he /srs or /j?

You’ll have to sit down and explain why you actually were uncomfortable; he’s forcing himself so much to be what he wants, that he forgets he could just be his normal self, not the ultra mega macho man, but not also Rarity from my little pony. Just… Him.

Because that’s what you like

It was the best idea Ashton had. Literally he’s so grateful he ran to him, instead of Vil. Who would make him look like a pretty princess awhile you would look like a Prince Charming. It was all set up, nothing could or should go wrong.

Taking a deep breath at the point he could feel the air whirling through his lungs, he took the guitar, a nervous smile was now forming as the confident façade was starting to fall down from his grip. It can’t happen, it just can’t. You are now here standing looking at him with a confused look waiting for his move, Epel needs to prove himself worthy.

When he starts, you cringed… Just so badly. You really like Epel, and think it’s sweet of him, but is he really just singing you “Push” by Matchbox Twenty? Thankfully, you were able to put up with it. At least the forty seconds of it, when you actually started to sweat cold. You started to check the time more than once, give a uncomfortable smile, looking around anywhere but his eyes, and it was when his fingers slip through the chords that he noticed; your uncomfortable expression.

And it may seem something he wouldn’t mind… If it was anyone else, but this is you we are talking about. He’s been crushing on you for so long. He stops playing putting down. Muttering a “Forget it,” than a “sorry”. It was when, you realized. Your mistake!

Sure, the moment was terrible. It was cringe and painful to watch. You take a deep breath and analyze, why you didn’t like that moment. Was it because of him? Definitely no. Was it because of the song? Maybe?

It took you a moment, when you realized. He wasn’t doing it for you nor him. But for his desperation for self proven of showing how strong and cool he is, Epel hates being mistaken by someone cute and pretty. He wants to be like those masculine man, those who have muscles and bodies are big.

A sigh leave your lips, as you take him by the cheek placing a sweet kiss, that trails to his mouth making him speechless. He completely looses composure as he watches you with the awe struck eyes, making you chuckle.

“I appreciate the gesture, but, next time… Put more a detail of yourself as a whole. Not just that part who wants to be something else.” A smile was placed on your face. As you reassure, behind the small letters, and choices of words, you like him for him. And honestly, that’s what matters. Maybe, the use of “just be yourself”, makes sense.”

You see that pink haired mf?

That’s the reason of why are you staring at Sebek on the couch trying to get the chord right.

For the fifty time.

You and Sebek were already dating for awhile, but usually you were the one to plan dates and take him out away from Malleus.

That’s when Lilia comes up, and says he should be more romantic with his loved one.

So, why not… Learn to play guitar, learn Matchbox Twenty lyrics of Push, take you out to hang out on Diasomnia and listen you play to him?

Good idea old man! ☝️🤓

Everytime someone passes through the Diasomnia lounge and your boyfriend is playing the lyrics (or… Trying to), you start to panic in embarrassment.

Not 100% of Sebek, you really think it’s sweet his gesture. He did put a lot of effort on memorizing a song for you and etc… But why, this song? Why??? 😭

“Sebek— I think it’s really sweet… But, it’s getting late and we don’t want you to get noise complaints—“ You try to make Sebek stop of singing and playing. But his stubbornness, was speaking WAY louder.

Sitting there quietly you waited for him get the right chord. As he gives a frustrated expression. Cursing under his breath every time he got it wrong, he even watched a video showing his to play the chord.

“Why it’s gotta to be so difficult?!” He loudly says closing his phone and putting away the guitar. Crossing his arms, refusing to look at your face. Like an angry child.

“Oh, you were doing great.” You encourage, but a small part was hoping for him to not believe at you, so he would stop playing the repetitive song that would clearly play in your brain for the next twenty four hours.

“I just don’t get it! Lilia says it’s better for me start to planning things for our time alone. And then, Grim says people love music so why aren’t you liking this?” He confesses the true reason of why he is been getting the same chord wrong, over and over again. He knew what he was doing (and probably for the first he was too shy to ask you in fear of your answer).

You simply chuckle. True, you may or may not exactly be liking the choice of song, since it didn’t matched you nor him. But, were you in any way uncomfortable with him? Never. You take his hand and warmth feeling rushes through his body looking to him on the eyes.

“Sebek, I think what Lilia meant is a date where we can hang out and you are away from Diasomnia. Grim, on the other hand, was probably thinking of slowly dancing.”

“Oh.”

As you explain you notice the realization hitting him. Good. Because, now you both look at the guitar and laugh together. It felt good that moment where only you two matter.

“But, thank you. I never had someone playing Push for me in my life.” You chuckle once again, leaning to give a peck on his lips. “And, if you want, we can plan the next date—“

“YOUNG MASTER!!” Sebek soon leaves you for Malleus who was walking by, to assist him any way.

You simply shrugs, but when you noticed his red cheeks… His reaction was purely a way to cover his shy self. You smile at the situation, taking the guitar to give you a look.

“You hold evil powers.”

No, because he did it in a Allan energy with Alladin intentions kinda of way, yk? 😰😰

It was actually sweet seeing him getting ready when…

“Kamlim, why are you playing Push?” “Isn’t that what people like?” “No?” “Oh…” There was a silence between you both as he takes a deep breath and: “I can show you the world—”

It wasn’t supposed to be in a Ken way, but when he asked for advice it was for Ace. Since, you both were close.

And instead of Ace ACTUALLY ask you for an idea, he comes up with the most random song for Kamlin to play for you

“Should we blame Kamlin?” “Or blame guitars players?” “Or should we blame Matchbox Twenty?”

No! Blame Ace! 😡

I think, Ace did not had bad intentions but he at the same time he had... I don't know

Either way, he just shrugs laugh and play another song.

Like, another day, another slay, period.

At the end was just him being innocent and not following his heart when he was going to choose a song to sing for you

Don't worry, he sings "A whole new world" for you

"A new fantastic point of view, no one to tell us no--" "--From where do you know this song?" "I don't know-- It just came to my mind." "Cool." "A whole new world!"

You both sat in his room, him on his bed and you on the floor on the blue and red carpet, you could only look at him in a endearing way, when he told you he wanted to play you a song, obviously you couldn't say no.

He sings so well, is the small touch of calmness and sweetness of his tone that could melt you in seconds. But, when he plays the first few chords your face fell into a confused one... Why the fuck. Was Kamlin. Playing Push??? It's a great song, really but, him singing it for you is just so, out of character of his "sunshine persona".

You give an awkward smile and nod trying to actually not laugh, man, his voice was beautiful. But, why Push? Who gave him that idea? His eyes were caught on you and though he takes time to understand your feelings usually, he knows something is wrong. Like, instantly he stops his tracks to calculate, were you not liking the song? Him singing? Did he got any chord incorrectly and you noticed?

"Prince/Princess? Are you okay? You didn't like it?" He looks at you with his doe eyes, but there was a worried smile after all the last thing he wants is see you not enjoying his actions, specially when is him for you.

You chuckle and smile, shaking your head. "Why are you playing Push by Matchbox twenty?" You raise your eyebrow completely confused with a signature upside down smile.

"Ace told me you would like it." He says now getting confused, you cursed under your breath. "You don't?"

"Well, I do like the song and you... But, I never thought you would play something like that, you know?" Holding your breath, you chuckle with the consuming confuse aura taking over you both.

He looks at you before smiling and laughing, as he takes to think of the situation, it was indeed not like him.

He pats the bed for you to get off the carpet, you smile sitting "Well, makes sense. So, would permit for me to sing a more... Characteristic song for you?" You raised your eyebrow yet, didn't denied, he starts play a familiar yet unfamiliar tone. Like, you have heard it before, but at the same time it was something completely new. Softly smiling upside down to him, your hand went to your legs as you heard him play.

"I can show you the world, shining, shimmering, splendid!"

Did for the meme, I think...

Honestly, Deuce and Grim were watching you both from afar with popcorn

(I hope you are ready to have lots of memes of you face trying to NOT laugh)

Kinda cringe to see him thinking he's nailing it 😭

Girlie thought he slays 💅

He tried???

We can’t defend him, it was his idea and he thought it was a good one 😞😞

Honestly, you felt like doing those “don’t laugh challenge” but when you do…

At first he pouts as he stops playing, but man is so head over heels he can’t stay mad at you, honestly

He laughs a long with you, maybe he noticed how cringe it was, maybe not, but he never felt that good

You and Ace aren't exactly together, this is your second date, there was no kiss in the first date, and you hoped for this one you would be able to press your lips against his. And from all of things, he could've planned... All the things he could planned. Him singing to you Push by Matchbox twenty? Was out of your predictions to these year on your list.

From afar you saw Deuce and Grim laughing at the situation as you sat with a desperate look on trying to contain any laughter to come out of your lips.

It pains you, it was such a cute act. But, then it's Ace and he's trying to impress. Aside that, he does play really good. Now, does he sing well? Sevens, no.

Your lips trembles, holding you breath to calm yourself down. Your smile was there but each time he looks away it turns into an upside down smile. You were sweating cold, man.

Plus, the song seemed to never end! Like, you are struggling! And Deuce and Grim laughing behind you both, trust me. It. Didn't helped your situation.

"Well, I won't do anything at ahLL-" He sighs in dissapoint when he get that note wrong... "Shit. Ha... Sorry."

He says. But, how were you... When he got a note out of tune, it was the last drop. The small slip in a normal situation would be unnoticeable, but this was a try not to laugh at Ace, level impossible. When that one note was played wrong. You couldn't contain any longer. As you almost fell behind laughing holding your tummy.

Ace looks at you with a pout, why were you laughing? He made a mistake it was not funny! Deuce and Grim on the back were now laughing even harder, if that was somehow possible? Deuce even chocked on air.

For a moment, poking fun at others was no longer entertainment. But, you couldn't stop, it was really impossible at the moment. He looks at you laughing with a small tear at the corner of your eye, the surroundings seemed to freeze. You really look beautiful, honestly, it didn't matter if your laugh was scandalous or in mute, if you putted your hand before your mouth or opened your mouth fully. He was just, like, completely at your mercy, by your mere existence.

"Sorry, Ace. It was Deuce and Grim's fault, I swear--" Your apologise fell into his deaf ears as you slowly calmed down. But, you wouldn't be able to process it correctly anything else, after he puts his hand under your chin pulling you closer to his lips, his breath tickled your upper lip as he pulls you into an endearing kiss. It took seconds for him pull away, leaving you with a blank expression awhile inside of you there were not even butterflies, just exploding fireworks in your stomach.

His laugh was what brought you back to where you were, to reality, closer to him.

"Heh... It really wasn't what we expected or first kiss to be. Don't worry in another life, I won't sing Push for you."

(A/N: When I was watching Barbie, Epel was all I could think about in that scene 😭)

DO NOT COPY, TRANSLATE OR REPOST IN OTHER MEDIA MY WORK viilpstick © copyright 2023

[thefiery-phoenix]

YANDERE PETER QUILL X SHY READER (GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY)

You promised yourself that you wouldn't fall in love with anyone and yet here you were day dreaming and fantasizing about the star lord who was none other than Peter Quill. You just couldn't help yourself, you still remembered the time he saved you from some inter galactic beast and he made sure you were all right. That moment was magical for you because that was the first time you've met him. When you joined their team you were thrilled,you could prove your worth to Quill and impress him with your skills. It also gave you the chance to be more closer to him but however there was a tiny drawback to this wonderful plan of yours: You had a feeling he liked Gamora and KEYWORD, I said FEELING

You saw how close they both were with each other and you could understand why he'd chose Gamora. She was strong and skilled and extremely tactful. Not to mention she was pretty good looking too and she made you feel like an idiot most of the times. Gamora was never mean to you of course but her skills made your powers look like an absolute joke next to her. She was pretty friendly to you as well which was why you didn't really have the heart to split Peter and Gamora's relationship with each other so you just had to push your feelings deep down inside you and forget about Peter. However Peter wouldn't forget about you though

Quill was getting worried with the way you were acting these days. You barely talk to him now and it's making him go crazy and insane. He loves hearing your voice and when you talk about something you're passionate about your eyes sparkle and light up with joy. He found that endearing and it takes him all his self control to pinch your cheeks and hug you. You used to bring him coffee whenever he'd stay too late and convince him to sleep and get some rest. He was touched with your kindness and soft caring nature. Overtime he's become increasingly possessive of you of course but you haven't really noticed it. Whenever you talk to someone else he'll either interrupt the conversation with something he's done better than the other person or he'll just drag you the heck away from there and spend time with you instead

He doesn't mean to be a nosy snoop but it's hard not to when you leave your cute little black diary sitting out in the open like that. He tried to resist reading it since you know he was supposed supposed be your hero and heroes don't look at other people's things without their knowledge and permission. But temptation eventually got the better of him. Insecurity does wonders to a person in the most desperate times. He didn't see what he was doing was wrong because in his eyes he was just making sure his darling angel that is you was safe and nothing bad was happening to you else he'd go nuclear

He took it to his room and plopped down on his bed and started reading your diary. You wrote about this fictional character and how he was really cool which made Quill jealous. The only person you should be thinking about his him, your future husband. He got extremely irritated when you even wrote about Thor, he was itching to barge into your room at the moment to show and prove to you that you're only his and no one else's. He flipped through some pages and stopped when he saw his name. He was curious to know what you've written about him and he started reading

'I can't believe Quill actually made me dinner today that was really sweet of him. I really wanted to eat it with him and talk about the most random stuff but Gamora would probably hate me for this and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't really want to be caught dead hanging out with me anyways not when someone as strong as Gamora is there for him compared to my childish immature self'

His eyes couldn't believe what he was reading. Childish? Immature? You most certainly aren't any of the above mentioned words. You had a crush on him which he found endearing and was glad you felt the same way about him and the thought of him being in a relationship with Gamora was extremely amusing to him. True Gamora was nice and all but she was a bit unpredictable at times. He preferred to just stay friends with her and he felt bad that you were ignoring him because of this little misunderstanding. But not to worry he'll prove and show you just how much he loves you

He went out and saw you looking for something and he could guess what you were looking for, your diary. He decided to play the role of the knight in shining armor and return your diary back to you and when you got it your face beamed with joy as you hugged him and thanked him for it. "Oh, I'm sorry" you mumbled sheepishly after realizing what you've just done but he just pulled you back into the hug and replied "Don't be. I love this. I love you Y/N, you're mine" he said in a possessive manner and you couldn't help but blush. "Quill are you sure you're all right? This most certainly is a prank isn't it?" you asked him hesitantly and he grabbed your hands in his and replied " Darling, I love the way you look at me and smile. Your smile is the most beautiful thing for me in the world. The twinkle and the sparkle in your eye when we talk about something you're passionate about makes me want to listen to you for hours and hours as I get lost in your mesmerizing spellbinding eyes. You're the reason for my courage and determination. You're the only one I wouldn't mind losing my sleep for, I'll never let a tear fall down your cheeks and even if it does it'll be tears of happiness and not sadness. I love you Y/N" and you couldn't believe what you were hearing

"Quill... I didn't know you felt that way" you blushed but he replied "Y/N there isn't anyone I'd choose over you, you're made for me and I for you" and you felt happy. He confirmed he was very much not into Gamora and he admitted that he liked your soft and silly nature. It hurt when you're insecure of your own self but Quil would change all that. He loves you no matter what and he's willing to do whatever the hell it takes to make sure you stay with him. Even if he has to commit a few murders here and there but it's all in the name of love

[autiezo]

The idea of Emo Teen Jean Vicquemare lives rent-free in my head

[It comes from @slonechnik 's DE AU where Harry's still a gym teacher and Kim has to go undercover as one of Harry's new students, for an RCM case. JV's 15, so Kim's 24 and Harry's 25]

It's so fucking funny picturing Jean V. trying to talk to Undercover Cop Kim. I'm gonna strive to make JV such a cringy loser. BTW, I think emo kids are cool, but not Jean lmao.

Anyways, here's a list of JV emo teen headcanons (below the cut):

- Nicknames himself “The Dark Mare”, based on his surname Vicquemare (reference to in-game Narrator's incorrect pronunciation of his French surname)

- No one used to respect Jean or call him by his preferred ‘title’, calling him “Jelly Boy” instead. That is, until the Hex incident happened. Jean finds that any student using his actual name, ‘Jean’, is disrespectful; unless he gives them exclusive permission, then that means he really likes that person. He also loathes being called by his initials and all of Harry's nicknames for him (e.g. Mean Vicky, J.V., Emo emo emo, King Void.)

- If Jean is late for gym class, Harry will jokingly and loudly mimick an alarm that goes, "Emo emo emo" to announce the teen's arrival. Jean a.k.a The Dark Mare obviously hates this. In Harry's defense, HDB does this specific alarm thing for all the regular latecomers. Every student has their unique, mocking call.

- JV hates Harry with a burning passion, despite the man genuinely wanting to support him. JV also does everything to weasel out of group sports.

- When he was 13, he used to get bullied and shoved in lockers a lot. So he has learnt how to pick locks from the inside and outside.

- He has also stabbed his bullies with a sharpened metal fork before, to the point where he made them bleed. Thrice. Harry helped him to prevent JV from getting expelled. Jean did bite his bullies several times, and has bitten Harry before. Harry laughed it off and said, “Son, you can bite me anytime if it helps you relieve stress. You have my permission, I don’t mind”. Which appalled Jean, so he doesn’t bite Harry anymore.

- This is the Hex incident. One day, Cuno's uncle (Kubo) stole Jean's diary and tried to read it out loud to everyone, but J.V. used big words Kubo doesn’t understand, so only part of JV’s secrets got out. J.V. got mocked severely, and Kubo + his gang of idiots ripped JV’s diary into several pieces. Jean yelled that he’d curse them all.

The next day, Kubo got into a car accident, which resulted in him never being able to play football again. Someone’s parents divorced. The gang proceeded to lose at football against the girls' team three times in a row. They begged Harry to talk to J.V. so he did. After much of Harry’s pestering, J.V. reveals that his curses didn’t actually work since curses are specific and they didn’t do what Jean commanded. Jean refused to tell Harry his secrets and said he just wanted everyone to leave him alone. And so, a deal was struck, and everyone stopped being mean to Jean, but people avoided him a ton. Rumours did spread, so many students really did believe that if they upset Jean, they’d be cursed.

- Jean actually has great parents and an ideal emotional support system outside of school lmao. Loser.

- Does actually get decent grades in school. He advanced two years in education

- makes his own emo music and song lyrics. Gave up on his music dreams after studying Literature and Music in community college, when he realised that being an outsider musician won't support himself financially. At age 21, he became a cop and joined the RCM at the same time as Harry (HAHAHAAHAHA)

- Has a lil gay baby crush on Kim but would never admit it to himself. He's also terrible at hiding it. Kim is the only ‘student’ he'd allow to call him by his real name.

- Secretly loves disco music but pretends to hate it. Will subconsciously bob his head up and down to disco music slightly if it plays for long enough.

- Has two pet cats he adores and drops the emo/cool guy facade for. JV pretends and boasts to everyone that he actually wants a pet snake instead, but he's a fuxking LIAR

- Has a chronic need and desire to seem 'cool' whenever people are around(except his family)

[where-are-the-spooky-gays-2]

everything in this that I explain is very simplified because cultural context would be a nightmare to explain but :3 you gave me DAI TSS AU infodumping permission. Time to regret it.

when you open Dragon Age: Inquisition to play, you’re given a character creation menu. Your gender, race (DnD inspired so species TECHNICALLY) and your weapon class. I wanted to follow this formula for the AU but alas I am not going to because it gives me much more creative freedom to actually make it up

Also if anyone knows this game and I got something wrong, I'm already sorry LMAO I'm not great at remembering details correctly

Roman and Remus are human nobles from Antiva. Their family owns a winery and contributes to the massive export in the international trading. They use a sword+shield and a mace+shield respectively, often training together. They were brought up to carry on delegating the trade for their family business but not everything goes exactly as their parents planned — both kids are gay. No big deal, right? I’m not too sure on Antivan’s views of gay people so I don’t have much of a say. But I do know that — if they were in the AU the same time the DA:I game occurs — they’d leave their family in order to go be a part of the Inquisition. Roman is the favorite child because Remus is a bit of a pariah (we love him tho) and that has caused only minor bad blood between the two. I think that Remus and Roman would get along surprisingly well during this time, to be honest. I also think, if they were to travel and be a part of the game’s story, they’d be incredible allies to have. Of course, Roman is a bit picky about certain things (he’s a noble boy, idk what else to say) and Remus definitely has a fascination with magic and necromancy but. oh well. Roman is fond of the smart elvhen scholar and Remus has a big ol crush on V.

Virgil would be a Dalish elf (nomad elf, an elf that tries to preserve old culture and tradition, doesn’t live in cities, trades, has a clan) and I think he’d be a mage. I don’t think he’d have a particularly strong role in his clan (not like the Keeper (the leader) or their First (second in command)) but maybe he’d learn some healing magic alongside whatever comes to him naturally. I think he’d find Storm magic particularly appealing (I’m not kidding it’s called storm magic he could strike people with lighting it’s badass). I think he’d have vallaslin (facial tattoos dedicated to any elvhen god — later revealed to have a different meaning than what he’d believe but he doesn’t know that) of the god Falon’Din (god of the dead + those who guide others to the afterlife). I think he’d handle the pain of the tattoos well and be quite proud of himself when it’s done. If he were to travel and be a part of the game’s story, I think he’d be a good man to have on your side, as he’s always thinking of things to do and how to protect yourself.

Or he’s a spirit. There’s a character in game named Cole; he’s a spirit of Compassion. Who’s to say Virgil couldn’t be the same? He was once a human (or elf, either work, the main two I see fitting him mainly) and he passed away; a spirit found him and took his form. Became him, in a way. Became Virgil and stayed the spirit. Virgil but he’s a spirit now. There are types of spirits in the game but none that directly fit him — sooooooooo I’ll be lazy and not give him a type :3 he’d be a rogue instead of a mage this time, with daggers that he uses to pop up, fight, and then disappear with. Not everyone in the Inquisition would trust him but Virgil would be very shifty in defense of himself so he wouldn’t mind. Remus and Logan would be fascinated by him though.

I’m so unsure on Patton. I want to make him a qunari (tall, grey-toned skin, follows a strict religious code unless a deserter, then just operates on one’s own as basically a fugitive) but I also want to make him a dwarf. problem with this is I know very little on either culture in game and am not very good at putting it all together through the various wikis I have read. Just know that either he’s very tall or very short and he uses a sword because it’s very convenient and he usually doesn’t like to fight. I can see him trying to be diplomatic and it not working. We love him though. This is literally the one I can’t decide; I gotta make a character for each race and play through to figure it out then decide.

Human Janus who is from Orlais (fancy rich people with their noses so high in the air they can’t see where they’re walking) and is an expert at figuring people out. He’s always drawn attention because he has a massive burn mark over the side of his face that makes people give him weird looks — it was from a childhood accident that healers couldn’t totally fix. He’s in a very rich and noble scholarly family. Yes, he’s met the twins. Lets say he bonded with one and not the other (Remus and Roman). He’s essentially a spymaster for his own family. He runs the diplomatic relations and the family endeavors and if anyone tries to come across his family lineage (trust me, there are some, his family isn’t the most well liked and Orlais is all about screwing others over). He’d join the Inquisition in the main storyline and claim that he “needed a challenge” but it was definitely for a change of scenery. He’d work with the Inquisition’s spymaster and maybe help his own family out from afar. (weirdly fond of the puffball... Patton—)

Then finally Logan. I view Logan as a Dalish elf who was taken from his clan as soon as he showed signs of magic. it wasn’t by his choice. He was sent to a magic school (called a Circle) where he had templars (cops) breathing down his neck to approve what he was studying. He hated it. That’s an understatement. When the mage rebellion happened and mages wanted their freedom to study what they want, Logan joined. He became an apostate and, while unable to return to his clan because of the distance, joined the Inquisition. He was always very good at all sorts of magic and stories and mythos so he was considered a scholar despite his background. I don’t think he’d have vallaslin — too young for it when he was taken. But I think he’d be like this other character Solas (Solas when I catch you Solas you fucking egg /neg /lh) except… better. He’d be considered a city elf by then but he never forgot his family. Just made a new one. I think he and elvhen Virgil would bond over their backgrounds and mutual understanding of one another and that would be the blossom of their friendship. I think he would be intrigued absolutely FASCINATED by spirit Virgil and how it all works and I think he’d be sympathetic and defend the fact he’s a spirit and not a demon. But ngl he wants to kiss the wine guy.

it is one in the am and i’m very sleepy and I’m going to send this now. You can tell I don't know much about qunari or dwarves and I need to play as them in more runs of the game. I’m so sorry it’s so long. I didn’t even talk about the relationship dynamics in depth or the appearances I have in mind or anything. its so long sorry. :3 teehee

— 👑

Bold of you to assume that I (A man who's an absolute S L U T for RPGs) would regret wanting to hear something as cool as fuck as this!!! /light hearted /positive The roles and lore sound S O fucking badass and it really matches each of them perfectly!!! (Vee would absolutely use Storm Magic let the Emo strike bitches with lightning also Jan having a burn mark on his face gives me Zuko vibes and I L O V E it)

[marco-newgate]

Marco X CisFem Reader

2

The color drained from your face as you stared at the picture on your phone. It was posted that morning. The way the brunette cuddled up to him made your blood boil. Even if she was nothing, he fucking lied.

How many other dates were cancelled because he was out doing...whatever the fuck this is? How often was he not actually working? The phone tumbled to the table from your trembling had as you shot to your feet.

You needed to get to the bathroom.

"What the hell just happened?" Thatch turned watching you sprint out of the room.

"No idea." Marco muttered flipping your phone over, his half lidded eyes widening as he looked over the photo, "I'll kick his ass."

"Who? What?" Thatch crossed the room to look over his brother's shoulder, "Who's the broad? Wait...weren't they supposed to have a date last night?" He asked scanning the caption one more time.

Marco took a screenshot and opened your text fulling intending to send it to himself and take care of your Sanji problem.

"Don't." Thatch snatched the phone away, "I know you're protective but F/N has to decide what to do about this."

"If I kill him she won't have to worry about it." Marco growled.

"You aren't killing anyone. But you should probably go check on her." The brunette pushed him out of the kitchen.

Marco started down the hall that lead to the den passing the clusters of family photos, a lot of which you were in. Light spread against the linoleum in front of the bathroom door.

"Uh you OK in there yoi?" He asked pressing his ear to the wood.

You turned the knob leaving it slightly ajar. He took it as permission to enter quietly closing it behind him. You'd thought you were going to be sick instead you just stood there trying to remember how to breathe. Marco watched you huff for a moment before deciding to pull you into his chest. He hadn't given you an actual hug in a very long time. You assumed because he wasn't a touchy guy. Since the crush incident it was side hugs and light punches for you. But someone had to comfort you in Ace's absence.

"I wasn't trying to pry but I saw your phone." He murmured resting his chin on your head as you burrowed into his shirt.

"You guys warned me." You said weakly.

"I'm not here to gloat yoi." He began to sway, "You're an adult. He gave you every reason to trust him."

"I just feel really stupid." Your eyes began to burn.

"You? Stupid? Are you kidding? You're the smartest person in this house right now." He scoffed, "Look, I know you...love him, but Sanji doesn't define you. And he is definitely the stupid one here. You're just too precious and he doesn't know how to handle you."

"You have to say that." You whimpered.

"Says who? I also know what a shit you are. Don't forget that." A dry laugh squeaked passed your lips.

"Thanks Marco."

"So what do you wanna do about this yoi?" He placed his hands on your shoulders gently pushing you back to face him.

You stared up at his forever sleepy face, "I'm not sure. We were supposed to sign the lease for our apartment next week. And my lease is up on the 28th."

"You have a room here. Don't worry about that. I mean what are you going to do about him? Because I have a few ideas."

"No killing anyone... Yet."

"F/N!" Ace shouted from the kitchen.

Marco stepped back opening the door for you.

"Stop screaming idiot!" The blond called tugging you out of the room.

You were halfway down the hall when Ace scooped you up.

"I'll kick his ass." The ravenette muttered squeezing you tight.

"You guys have to let me get to him first."

_______________

"What the fuck is this?" You shoved your phone in the blond's face making him back into his apartment door.

His eyes widened in surprise, "Wha – what are you...."

"You lying sack of shit." You sneered.

It had been two days and you had only managed to get angrier.

"I-inside." He stammered fiddling with the door knob.

Ace and Marco sat in the car ready to intervene if things got too heated. 

"Let me explain."

"I'd love to hear why you felt you could sneak around behind my back without me finding out." You jabbed a finger in his chest, "Be honest. Did I not give you enough? You think I'm an idiot?"

"N-no...of course not. I just..." His voice trailed off.

"What?" Your stomach dropped.

Maybe you didn't want to know the rest of what he had to say. You suddenly didn't want to have any of your questions answered. You weren't prepared for how much it would hurt. 

Fight was fading away and flight was kicking in.

"I just ... don't think I can be with just one person." He lowered his gaze. 

That was it?

Before you knew it your fist was colliding with his jaw sending him to the floor. 

"Two years!" You reeled back for another blow.

He didn't flinch or shy away. He just took it.

You stood and stepped back wiping your face on your sleeve smearing your makeup.

"Just drop my stuff off at pops'." You breathed between sobs.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

"Fuck you."

You slid across the back seat slamming the door and slumping over.

"What happened to your hand yoi?" Marco asked climbing over the front seat.

You weren't capable of responding. Your chest was constricting, squeezing all of the air out of your lungs.

Marco sat down laying your head on his thigh calmly rubbing your shoulders and back while you sputtered.

"You punched him yeah?" Ace chirped proudly glancing in the rearview as he shifted the car into gear.

You nodded.

Marco slouched out of his black flannel shirt and wrapped it around your bleeding knuckles, "Let's get you home yoi."

[zenkor123]

Delly is taking the death of Arthur Cartwright quite well thank you

Katniss does not know how to approach Delly now that the mutt took away Finnick, and Annie asks him about Peeta hoping to strike up a friendship. 

The words come out involuntarily  

“What did you do to him?”  

“Peeta, I gave him the shovel to bury himself with,”  Delly replies, smoking morphling. 

I apologize “sorry, I’m on  his rotation”

“I’m sure Peeta’s soo  happy about that” Delly says sarcastically 

“He chased me off the rotation” I shout, Peeta  wants nothing to do with me “he hates me”

“He does not hate you, he’s giving you what you want, didn’t you tell Coin you want him to leave you alone, he’s doing that, Peeta thinks he’s giving you what you want, everyone in 13 saw your exchange with Coin, including him, if I gave him the shovel, you gave him permission, he would not have been so eager as he is now if he thought people cared, we told him you did but then I saw the smile on his face when he saw the news report stating that we were all  wrong.  And I’ve seen your meals with Finnick, why on earth would he treat you nicely? He wants you to leave him alone, he doesn't trust you to help him with his episodes, why would he?  It's not like you have any interest in that“

“Coin sent him to kill me, he told me I belong in his memories, and called me an unstable girl  and during those meals he said i should be thankful for him crushing my larynx because it brought me closer to Gale. He's not a child” I yell

Delly laughs “I don’t think he cares he’s too busy with the exposure therapy and  his ‘civic duty’ to 13 to treat you as anything more than an obstacle, he is dealing with enough that if you're not going to be helpful you should get out of his way. I don’t know what sort of crap he has come up with and I don’t want to know” 

The guard who insulted me in front of district television walks by and yells “Delly’s right, hasn’t Peeta suffered enough? He shouldn't have to suffer you. Now, piss the fuck off! I hope you get your ass removed as a guard” he continued walking. Delly says "He must have had a bad shift, also he's drunk on morphling"  she is joking but her voice becomes serious.

“Katniss I know your suffering I’m so sorry for what I did to him, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life but seriously you consented to him burying himself, he didn’t even need to seek you out hoping  you would call him a mutt, and let him go, you even said “I don’t want him.”  And don’t say you don't care I saw you. You know what is sad? After our spat in the  cafeteria he took what I said to  to heart and made every effort to get better, his rants stopped for one, and we both ruined any chance of his recovery just when it was picking up”

“I don’t care! How am I supposed to do my job on the rotation?"

Delly sips a drink 

“I really  can’t help you, you should quit his rotation. That's what Peeta wants, that's why he's chasing you off his rotation so you can leave him alone, he would probably thank you if  you got the fuck out if his way. But I know what he thanks you the most for. He is thankful to you for forcing him to ask " if I'm not Peeta Mellark, who am I now? What does it mean to be a mutt? Katniss you have to understand he believed us! It's terrible. I just know he gave up on reclaiming his memories, and now thinks he is a separate person. I don't want to know what that looks like. While the other guards are doing their jobs I heard you are going around and insulting him, instead of doing your job. In the den heard him say all sorts of stuff. He thinks you want to kill him and presents you as this weak girl racking with fear.

Hmmm I take the whole he's treating you like you want back, actually he's being a self righteous asshole. But not all his concerns about you on his watch are made up"

"Why are you smoking morphling?" I want to storm off. But the way she's talking sounds similar to something. . 

"my brother Arthur  got killed in 2, he was training to be a medic, Prim was friends with him, he went right into a dangerous pass where Peacekeepers ambushed him”

"I'm sorry, are 13 year olds allowed in combat" I say, I am afraid for Prim

"The nurses say that this is frequently overlooked especially for healers  from 12 and the other districts. I like morphling, it's really not bad, you should try some, I have it in everything now, I’ve managed to convince Thom to have some’ 

"No!" I cry out

"Alright so I have to go to work now,  best of luck with the rotation, Katniss, it was nice talking to you, I'm always here if you need anything

[connan-l]

bittersweet

Fandom: Ciconia: When They Cry Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationship: Mariana/Noor Summary: While Cairo Squad is on a trip to Lubango, Mariana invites Noor to eat cakes with her. [Femslash February 2024 Day 3: Cake] Words: 3,118 Link: AO3 | Fanfiction.net

Notes: Late annual Ciconia FemFeb fic delivery. It’s meant to be for Day 3: Cake, from those prompts.

I feel like the Cairo Squad girls could be a fun OT3 in and of itself, but admittedly Gannet is like Naima to me in which she feels too… young and childish compared to the others to really ship her with them? I know we don’t have canon ages for the Ciconia kids, but in my head Gannet and Naima are more 12-13 years old, whereas the others are 15-17 years old. (Though I admit I’m a bit of a hypocrite here as I do enjoy Naima/Rukhi as a pairing, if only for the pink/black aesthetic.) So that’s why I actually settled for Noor/Mariana as a ship, even though admittedly Mariana really don’t seem to appreciate Noor whatsoever so that was a bit tricky to do. As a result the fic feel more like an unrequited crush-fic than an actual pairing-fic, but I hope that’s still satisfying.

In Mariana’s profile, it is mentioned that she went to the “Lubango Toddler Brainpower Research Center” as a child, so that’s why I decided that Lubango was her hometown — though obviously I don’t know if it’s actually the case in canon. Noor’s profile also mentions her “ancestors,” so although it could mean anything I interpreted it has her having an actual biological family instead of being born through a factory.

Also I never went to Lubango or even Angola before and I know very little about the culture/country, so I hope I was able to be mostly-accurate from the tidbits about it I put in there. If I wasn’t you’re free to yell at me about it!

On the other hand, I still haven’t replayed Ciconia since. Well, 2019 now. And truthfully we don’t know much about Cairo Squad girls, so, not sure how… accurate to their game-self they feel. But it was still fun to try writing them.

No spoilers here except for the start of Phase 1, or content warnings except for the inevitable vague mentions of war/child soldiers.

* * *

The trip to Angola hadn’t been planned.

They were still in Cairo this morning when suddenly their superior let them know that because of some political complications their squad was needed in Lubango. Nothing serious, he’d assured them — and truthfully they were only needed to make act of presence more than anything — but they couldn’t just ignore it, either. So here they were, a few hours later, in Lubango. They’d taken part to the needed boring reunion, during which they hadn’t even been allowed to say a single thing. They should be used to it by now; as soldiers, the only thing expected of them was to listen to orders, but it was still frustrating to be treated that way sometimes. And once that had been over, their superior gave them permission to have a break and to do whatever they wanted. They’ll go back to Egypt tonight, but for now they had the whole afternoon entirely free.

Noor didn’t know Lubango. Since she’d become a Gauntlet Knight, she’d visited a lot of cities throughout the whole continent and even outside of the continent. She might not be as familiar with ACR’s countries as Princess Rethabile, but she still went multiples times to Lagos, Abidjan, Alger, Lubumbashi, Douala or Gqeberha. However, it was the first time she’d ever set foot in Angola; she’d never even been to Luanda before. The only thing she knew about it besides some surface-level history was the fact it was where the famous Lubango Toddler Brainpower Research Center was, and that it was Mariana’s hometown.

Which, despite how interesting the city might be otherwise, was actually what interested Noor the most. She tried to appears as her usual, composed self, but inside she actually felt herself fidgeting as soon as they landed to Lubango Mukanka Airport. As they strolled through the streets, she couldn’t help but look around left and right, trying to imagine a little Mariana running around here and how cute she must have been all while her ears kept catching bits of Portuguese and occasionally Umbundu conversations. Noor had decided to not use her Kizuna translator here, as she thought it would be good practice for her — she’d decided last year to start learning Portuguese and Umbundu not only because it could be useful even in their era, but also because she hoped Mariana would be more open to her if she were to communicate in her native languages; but so far, as usual with Mariana, her efforts had been in vain.

Even though they’ve been teammates for a while, Noor didn’t know much about Mariana. She’d heard about her being born in Lubango; about how she was the only one of the children who received mental training at the Lubango Toddler Brainpower Research Center to achieve the highest P3 levels of her country, and that the ACR Royal Brainpower Research Center has set up a research team just to raise her Aerial Augmented Infantry aptitude. But all of these were information anyone could know about her. When it came to more personal things, like how she grew up, whether she had a family or was born through a factory, if she had any friends or siblings… There was nothing. And whenever she tried to make conversation to know more, Mariana always shot her down right away. Gannet had no idea how lucky she was, to be able to gain her affection like that with no effort whatsoever — and yet she always rejected it. That was how their squad’s relationship had been since the beginning, but it was not any less so frustrating.

“Wow…! That looks so cute! Hey, hey, big sis Noor, have you seen this? Do you think it’d look cute on me?”

The smallest girl of their trio excitedly tugged at Noor’s skirt with a wide smile spread on her face and her blue eyes sparkling, but Noor only groaned. At the start of their break, Mariana had been kind enough to accept to take them on a tour to show them around — although it had only been at Gannet’s insistence that she’d accepted — and yet that damn puppy had not stopped being overexcited for one second, stopping and pointing at every little thing; and, of course, specifically soliciting Noor’s attention. It was always like that, so Noor should be used to it by now. She wasn’t.

“I told you to not pull on my clothes. And no, I don’t think it would.”

“How shameful to say something like that. You truly have no heart,” Mariana suddenly argued back with her usual blank face, although Noor could tell she was annoyed at her comment. “Don’t worry, Gannet. Of course this looks cute on you. You look adorable in everything. Come here.”

Mariana tried to pet Gannet, but the girl avoided her with a pout. “Stop petting me! You know I hate that. I only want to be petted by big sis Noor!”

And then she yet again tugged on her skirt, and Noor sighed, making it clear that no, she would not pet her, stop asking. She would never ever understand what Mariana found so endearing about that idiotic child. She was so immature and noisy and irresponsible; just the sight of her managed to give Noor headache.

And yet, Mariana spent all of her time fawning over her. Noor knew that it was silly of her, to be jealous of Gannet like that — but she couldn’t help it. No matter what she could try or not try, Mariana always favored Gannet over everything, and she always refused any attempt from Noor’s part to get closer to her.

That was, until today. Allah may have finally answered her prayers then, because right after that Gannet actually got lost.

Or, well, it would be more accurate to say she vanished on them. It wasn’t something unusual exactly, as Gannet was never able to stay in a same place for too long and always ended up wandering about — but that didn’t mean it was any less annoying when it happened. Still, in general Gannet would use her Kizuna to contact them right away, asking for help — but this time, there was nothing but silence from her. Mariana got worried of course, and admittedly, so did Noor; she might not be fond of Gannet even at the best of time, but she was still her teammate and she certainly never wished any real harm upon her. Thankfully, they finally managed to reach out to Gannet half an hour later, after they’d run around Lubango’s streets while screaming her name.

“Sorry,” the girl said, having at least the modesty to sound a little ashamed. “I needed to go to the bathroom and then I got lost. So I asked to find my way and realized we were close to the military base, so I went back there.”

“Why did you not contact us then? Couldn’t you hear us calling you?”

“I just forgot! Sorry!”

Noor tried not to get too mad at her in Mariana’s presence, but it was hard when Gannet had made them run around the city for no reason — and she suddenly felt angry she’d ever let herself get even slightly worried for her sake. Mariana was only relieved to know Gannet was fine, and they promised her they’ll find her back to the base once their tour was over.

And then, just like that, it was just the two of them; just Noor and Mariana. An embarrassing silence spread between them, and suddenly Noor — the top scorer of the ACR Egypt Aerial Knight Corps, one of the most talented teenagers in the world who received perfect training — simply didn’t know what to do with herself anymore. She kept steeling glances at the pretty girl next to her, wondering what she should say or do; and weirdly enough, she now actually thought that she missed Gannet. At least when she was here, there never was such awkwardness between them.

Mariana, as always, appeared completely unperturbed. She let out a small sigh, looked to her right and left — and then said the last thing Noor would ever expect to hear from her:

“Do you want to go eat cake with me?”

* * *

Of course Noor loved cakes.

She loved sweets in general — like most Gauntlet Knights. She didn’t think there was a single one of them who didn’t. Noor’s father was a big sweets lover himself, and when she was little he would bake her the best basbousa and qatayef that she’d ever eaten.

So, Noor loved cakes, absolutely. She’d just never thought she ever would have the opportunity to eat some alone with Mariana in a shop in Angola. It wasn’t even the first time she’d eaten cakes with Mariana, exactly, as their squad ate together most of the time; but it was the first time she’d ever ate with her alone — especially when it was something Mariana herself had initiated — so the situation was so strange and unusual to Noor that she honestly didn’t know how to handle it.

“Have you chosen yet?”

Mariana asked her in her perfectly controlled, monotonous voice, but Noor knew her well enough that she could detect the slight movement of her eyebrow, signaling her annoyance at her indecision. That hint of a scowl was a shame, as she otherwise looked quite cute sitting here in the middle of the shop. The place Mariana brought her to was a cozy, colorful little place decorated with curtains and garlands and traditional trinkets Noor couldn’t identify, with joyful Ovimbundu music resonating around them. It was small, with very few people, but it felt nice and familiar. Mariana told her she found this shop by coincidence once when she was a child, and she’d loved it ever since — it had become a bit like a secret base of hers. And Noor would’ve felt honored that Mariana opened up enough to her to show her such a place from her childhood if it wasn’t for her adding afterwards that she wished she could’ve shown it to Gannet as well.

“I-I’m still… trying to decide. I just don’t know any of these cakes, so…”

Mariana sighed, then looked the menu. “… Bolo de ginguba is very popular around here.”

“I can’t. I’m allergic to peanuts.”

“…Well, their bolo de fubá is quite good.”

“I… don’t like corn…”

“…I guess you can try their cocada amarela then.”

“…That’s not a cake, though, is it?”

Mariana stared straight into Noor’s eyes, and then, bewilderingly, threw at her an actual, expressive exasperated look, before putting down the menu. “See,” she declared. “That’s why I can never stand you. You never make any effort to be likable whatsoever.”

Noor felt herself flushing. “I-It’s not that I’m not making any efforts, it’s just… I haven’t decided on anything yet, that’s all.”

Mariana, of course, didn’t seem convinced by her excuse at all; she just sighed, then looked away at the street by the window.

And Noor… Noor just didn’t know what to do. Mariana was never satisfied with her, no matter what she did. She could try anything, and Mariana’s image of her never seemed to budge in the slightest. Noor never let this kind of things get to her usually, but today, she just couldn’t ignore the weight in her stomach.

“Did you bring me here just to be cruel?”

Her voice was soft, a murmur, a drop of water falling in a sea of strangers’ conversations and background music — and Noor hated how fragile she sounded right now. That wasn’t like her at all. Noor was a confident person, proud of who she was, of her heritage and ancestors and accomplishments, and she never spoke so shamefully. But somehow Mariana did always have that ability to makes her feel that way.

The other girl looked at her, and for once, there actually seemed to be a slight… surprise, in her pretty amber eyes.

“I know you don’t like me,” Noor continued, unable to look at her teammate and instead staring down at the table. “I’m not an idiot. Of course I’m aware — you don’t like me as much as I don’t like Gannet. But you know— I’m still trying, most of the time. And I just thought…”

She trailed, and couldn’t even finish her sentence. Honestly, she didn’t even really know what she was saying. The air between them felt so thick now, and Noor might hate herself a little bit. It was such a rare opportunity, to have just the two of them without Gannet around and for Mariana to propose on her own that they do something together… and here she’d messed everything up, again, somehow.

Why couldn’t she do anything right when it came to Mariana?

“…I don’t dislike you.”

Noor felt her breath get caught up in her throat. She swallowed, and with an insurmountable effort, stared at Mariana. Her teammate was staring straight ahead, her shoulders steady, her chin up; almost as if she was trying to challenge her.

“—What?” Noor blurted out, because surely she must have not heard that correctly; in what world had Mariana ever showed anything other than contempt towards her? Had ever extended any kindness to her?

And that was fine; Noor was used to that. She could wait and continue to make efforts for as long as it was needed, until Mariana finally realized Noor was someone worth investing in. It might be frustrating and hurt a little sometimes, but Noor was strong, and patient, and Mariana honestly just meant that much to her. But that was the thing — for now she still hadn’t showed any signs of progress, so what was she—

“I don’t really like you either,” Mariana continued. “But… I don’t dislike you.”

“But you… I mean, you always shot me down. No matter what I do or say.”

“Yes, because you annoys me. If you tried to be less coldhearted, or to actually be nice to Gannet, then…”

Noor almost snorted at this, because of course everything came back to Gannet in the end — but the way Mariana slightly vacillated at the end of her sentence here caught her attention. Her heart skipped a beat, and she stared at Mariana expectantly.

“…Wait. Are you saying that… that if I was nicer to Gannet, then… then what?”

“…Nothing. Just, it would be better.”

“Do you mean that you’d give me a chance then?”

“I have not said that.”

She pretty much had, but Noor knew now wasn’t the time to push her on the issue. Mariana sighed, then looked down, as if she’d suddenly noticed a very interesting thing on the ground.

“I wouldn’t have invited you here if I disliked you,” she added, her voice a lot softer than usual. “You’re still my teammate. You just could be cuter sometimes, that’s all. …Sorry about being mean about the cakes earlier, though.”

Noor should probably feel a little embarrassed about it, but she couldn’t hide the wide smile spreading on her face even if she tried. And she knew Mariana noticed it, too, as she could almost sees her rolling her eyes.

“…So. Have you chosen yet?” She repeated, and Noor could tell she was trying to not be as curt as before.

“Hmm, well…” She looked up at Mariana, then smiled. “What about you?”

“Me?” Mariana briefly glanced at the menu, as if hesitating. “My favorite is the bolo de cenoura.”

“Cenoura… Carrots?!” Noor exclaimed after a moment of doubt, unsure of the word’s meaning at first; without Kizuna, the translation didn’t instantly came to her mind as she almost never used that word. “Carrots in a cake?”

“Yes. You’ve never eaten one?”

“No…”

Somehow, the idea seemed a little ludicrous to her. Carrots weren’t common in Arab cooking in general, but as a dessert?

But Mariana had said it was her favorite.

“…In that case, I’ll take one too.”

Mariana blinked at her. “What?”

“You said it was your favorite, right? Of course I need to know all of your favorite things too. Maybe I could try cooking one for you, too. I’m a pretty good cook, as my father taught me when I was young.”

Mariana stared at her for a moment in silence. Her face was just as blank as usual, but there seemed to be something, in her eyes. Something more , that Noor couldn’t entirely figure out. It disappeared just as quickly as it appeared — but Noor wondered, then, if it would be possible to get her to have that something in her eyes while looking at her once again. To get her to smile, just because of Noor.

The thought made her feel dizzy, and she couldn’t wipe out her smile even after they left the shop. After tasting it, Noor decided that she didn’t like bolo de cenoura in the end — but that didn’t really matter much. She still would do her best to cook it for Mariana once they’ll be back.

“In Cairo,” Noor said as they walked slowly in the street, a bit shyly. “There’s, um. A cake shop I like quite a bit. They make great basbousa there. Not as good as my father’s, but… still good.” She took a quick glance at Mariana next to her, who seemed fairly determined to stare at the road and not at Noor. “I’ll… take you there, when we have time.” And then because it sounded a bit too commanding, she added: “I-If you want to. Of course.”

Mariana stopped walking for a moment, a slight frown on her face, as if thoughtful. Then she finally glanced up at Noor, very slowly.

“Is that a date?”

“…Wh-What? No! Just, erm…”

“All right.”

And then she started walking straight ahead again.

Damn. Maybe I should’ve said it is a date, after all.

She caught up with her teammate, and then suddenly felt a hand slip into hers, pulling her in the right direction. Mariana claimed it was because the streets were starting to get quite crowded, so she didn’t want to lose Noor and have to run after her like they did for Gannet earlier — but her grip still tightened firmly on her hand, their fingers intertwining, and Noor made no comment on it, simply enjoying the moment for as long as it could last.

When they finally got back to the military base, Gannet got jealous about their hand-holding; but Mariana reassured her it was nothing and only petted her, much to the girl’s dismay. Even so, to Noor’s surprise, she didn’t say a word about what they had done during the afternoon.

A brief, quiet encounter in a cake shop that would stay only between the two of them.

[talksliketherain]

Xavier Thorpe-Best friends

Background- You're Enid's sister and you've been best friends with Xavier since you were little.

Not proof read! If you have any requests dm me! I do not give permission for my work to be posted anywhere else <3

Reader pov-

I woke up in my shared dorm with Wednesday and my sister Enid. Enid and I had always been close, but I wasn't as energetic as her. I preferred a late start to my day and enjoyed my time alone.

But she had always been there for me. Even when I wolfed out before her. And even when I told her about developing feelings toward my best friend, Xavier Thorpe.

Xavier and I basically grew up together. We had been on countless vacations with each other, along with countless relationships and breakups, along with family drama.

We were practically inseparable.

But now school had started. And ever since I started liking Xavier, I was trying to avoid him.

Whenever I was around someone I liked, I practically shut down. Stuttering, fumbling my words, and nervous looks were my go-to.

Xavier knew this. He knew everything about me.

I couldn't let him see me.

Today was a leisure day. No classes would take place until tomorrow. I decided to take a quick run before the sun rose.

I walked out the door and down the halls, adjusting my watch to track my run. Even though I had successfully avoided Xavier for a week, we still had a competition going on to see who could run more.

I was winning.

I headed out onto my usual path and started. I loved the way running felt. How my lungs burned and the soreness of my legs after. It was truly a euphoric feeling to me.

It was cold this morning, so I didn't have to worry about overheating. The trees were covered in a light frost and the air had a certain crisp feeling to it.

I then looked down to see how I was doing, mostly looking to view how successful the run was going.

I then collided with another person.

Please. Don't be him.

It was.

Stupid. You know he takes the same path. You used to run TOGETHER.

He looked down and observed my face quickly before lighting up.

"Y/n! God, I feel like I haven't seen you in forever!"

He then pulled me into a tight hug, which I didn't return. I froze.

When he realized I wasn't returning the hug, or even saying anything, he let go and gave me a confused look.

"Are you okay? You never let down the opportunity to crush me."

I was looking in every direction but his face, trying to be subtle. But it wasn't working as well as I had hoped.

"Did I do something? You haven't been talking to me. And we haven't hung out in forever. What's going on?"

He gave me a worried look and put his hand on the side of my face to tilt my head and make eye contact with him.

As soon as his hand came into contact with my skin I stepped back a little bit.

"I-I gotta go." I mentally cursed at myself for how cowardly I was being.

It was just Xavier.

The Xavier you fell in love with...

Shut up.

Despite Xavier's protests, I ran past him anyway. My thoughts were no longer clear of my problems.

I thought the run would take care of that. But my problems ended up coming face to face with me anyway.

Maybe I couldn't run. But I could hide.

I got back to my dorm and showered. As the steam soaked into my pores and water poured over my skin I began to think to myself.

Maybe I should just tell him. I can't avoid him forever. We're best friends.

I decided to take my moment of confidence and reached out of the shower curtain to grab my phone off of the counter.

I quickly sent Xavier a text.

"Meet me at my shed. 8 pm."

I almost immediately got a reply from him.

"I'll be there."

I sighed in relief and set my phone down. My moment of confidence was over.

Fuck.

I have to do this.

——————————

It was 6 pm and I had been worrying about what to say all day.

Like Xavier, I had my own little place on campus where I could go and let loose.

I wasn't a painter or drawer like him.

I took pictures instead. My entire "studio" was actually a darkroom. Xavier had helped me get the supplies for everything.

Often he would help me take pictures, or even be the subject.

I had been prepping and processing pictures for a while. I lost track of time while I was listening to my darkroom playlist. "The morning" by The Weeknd was currently playing. It was the perfect song for the mood the red lights above me set.

My entire body was relaxed, this was where I was truly at peace. I looked over to observe my wall of Xavier. Filled with all of the pictures he had me take of him, along with ones I had voluntarily taken.

I smiled and looked down. I then remembered the task at hand later in the evening and my smile dropped. This would make or break our friendship.

I leaned over to place another picture in the developing liquid with the tweezers. As I leaned to carefully place the photograph in I felt a hand on my shoulder and dropped the picture in shock.

Let’s hope that doesn’t ruin it.

I took out my earbuds and turned to face him.

"Sorry" he chuckled.

I could see he was just as nervous as I was. His hair was also tied back, and his hands were covered in dried paint.

"So are you gonna tell me why you've been avoiding me? It's kinda starting to freak me out, you seem upset with something I did."

He put his hands in his pockets as if he had something to be ashamed about.

"I- you- UGH. You didn't do anything wrong, Xavier." I said with frustration. I was already starting to shut down.

"All I know is that we were cool and for about a week you haven't said a word to me."

I got a sudden boost of confidence again. Remember. It's just him. Chill out.

"Kinda sounds like you were starting to miss me, Xav," I smirked at him.

He shook his head and laughed a little.

God, that smile.

"Of course I did. Can't have my best friend trying to ghost me."

I crinkled my nose in disgust a little bit at the word "friend", trying to be subtle about it.

"What? What was that look for?"

"Nothing."

"No that wasn't a "nothing" look. Just tell me what's going on. Please?"

He started inching closer to me and I backed away until I hit the armrest of the couch that was in here.

He looked down at me and smirked.

"Just tell me. It's not like you can go anywhere."

I glared up at him. He was wrong. I could easily walk around him and out the door. But in my current position with him leaning over me, no way in hell I was moving.

"Fine. But you can't.. freak out at me or anything."

"Can you stop stalling?"

I shuffled in my seat a little bit before answering and looked down at my hands to avoid his eyes.

"Xavier...I think I like you. Like..more than friends."

There was a long moment of silence before I heard something.

What. Was-?

He started laughing. In my face.

He was inches away from my face. And I had just confessed to him. And he was laughing. In my face.

I wanted to cry. I closed my eyes a let out a shaky breath. I knew this was a dumb idea.

The laughing came to a stop when he saw me look up at the ceiling, trying to keep my tears from spilling.

"Hey hey hey. Don't cry don't cry. I'm not laughing at YOU. I'm laughing at myself. I've been planning on telling you I liked you for a while now but you started avoiding me and I decided now wasn't the best time... I thought maybe you needed space."

I looke down a little bit to face him and saw his expression. He was being genuine. He crouched down to wipe my tears off with his thumbs.

"I've been avoiding you because of how I shut down with the people I like. I knew you would be able to tell if I was around you."

I laughed a little to try and lighten the mood.

"Well now that we've got that out in the open..."

He lowered me down onto the couch and crawled on top of me, his face so close I could smell the acrylic paint he had on him.

"Can I kiss you?" He said, his cheeks turning a deep crimson.

I slowly nodded my head, in awe of how good he looked. The light brought out the colors of the paint, letting me see the little splotches he had on his face.

He leans down and presses his lips against mine. I never knew how much I enjoyed kissing until he kissed me. It felt right. Like a puzzle piece finally moving into place. I bit his lip and felt him moan against me, it was an insatiable moment. I wanted more.

He licked my bottom lip, asking for easier access. I decided to play hard to get and smiled into the kiss, not opening my mouth. He then moved his hand from my face to my hip, surprising me by lightly squeezing it. In response, I gasped just enough for him to gain access.

He tasted like spearmint.

I got so lost in the kiss I didn't even realize that I was slowly running out of air.

He pulled away and I gasped loudly, finally being brought back to reality. His lips were significantly darker than before. And a little swelled.

I could still feel the tingling on my lips as I leaned back and sighed.

I smiled up at him and pushed him off of me.

"Cmon. We gotta head back. Curfew starts in a little bit."

He looked at me in pure shock.

"Are you kidding?" He laughed.

“What?”

"That's all you can say to me?"

"Well you know I'm not good with that kind of stuff!" I laughed shaking my head at him.

"Fine fine. How about I say what we're both thinking instead then."

"Go right ahead."

"Y/n. Would you possibly want to be my girlfriend?"

"Mmm. Possibly. I mean we haven't even been on a date yet."

"We've known each other for our whole lives."

"Solid point I guess. Hm. Yes. I will be your girlfriend."

"Good. So now you can't be mad at me when I.. beat your score!" He said running away.

"WAIT THAT'S NOT FAIR I DIDN'T EVEN GET A WARNING."

I quickly gathered my things and shut everything in the dark room down.

I knew there was no way I would catch up to him.

I let out a sigh of relief, knowing he felt the same and I got it over with. I accepted my defeat and walked back to the school.

For the first time, deep within, I didn't care if I lost the running competition.

I had already won.

————————

AHHHHH. First time doing this on tumblr soooo. Wish me luck ig??? Thank you for reading!

————————

[vizthedatum]

You were an absolute child and monster the last 1-2 years of our relationship. You showed red flags from the beginning. And spare me the “why did you stay?” - I know I’m a codependent - I’m working on it. Actively.

Are you working on yourself?

—

Anytime I tried to find joy in something - somehow you’d ruin it.

Even when I started dating other people and/or having sex with other people… you’d ruin it. You know how much I need that for my regulation - I am in CHRONIC PAIN - I am already going through so much - and WE WERE POLY.

You would continue to speak with rapists (the very first friend whose house I dropped you off at on our first date), known harassers, randoms on the internet, your fucking ex… while telling me to block my casual situationships that brought me some meager peace and satisfaction during such a hard time. Fuck you. Who cares if it wasn’t healthy - at least none of them were ABUSING ME. At least they made me smile - I felt wanted, even if marginally.

I was so deprived. I was deprived of a safe environment. I was so scared of getting sick from the conditions in our house. I felt like I couldn’t do anything without your permission. I should have just kicked you out, got you a hotel, and called the fucking exterminator (you know, like how you made me get an Airbnb after a family trip that I had to go on? During which time you were supposed to get your covid booster but didn’t? You are such a loser.) You weren’t kissing me back. You just used me as a fleshlight instead of an actual lover or friend or partner. You only did things out of desperate obligation or if it was easy for you while you got yourself food. You controlled my whereabouts. You judged me for my friends, my interests, my emotions, my clothes, my ability to move, everything.

You told me I was crushing you when you knew I was self conscious about my weight. To this day, I am worried about crushing anyone I touch.

To this day, I ask for permission to just say my thoughts. I ask for things that I DO NOT NEED TO ASK FOR.

Your mind manipulation is sick and twisted.

I doubted every single thing I did or said. You stole my speech. You robbed me of my beauty. Your abuse caused me to flare repeatedly.

And now…

I do not understand why you won’t sign the paperwork. (Well, I do - it’s because you are a monumental asshole who hated me for years but kept me around because you wanted to take advantage of me while I loved you to the best of my ability)

Does your idiot programmer brain understand that I DID NOT PRESS CHARGES AGAINST YOU and I gave you an insanely quick divorce? Or do you want to keep feeding your lawyer lies about me leaving my lawyer and I incredulous at your LITERAL narcissistic behavior?

You suck.

I hate you.

[hannah-probably]

So this reminds me of something that happened to me several years ago.

So my highschool had this program where you could sign up and attend a technical school for half the day and then come back and do regular highschool stuff for the other half. Because I was an idiot, I signed up for Computer Networking because I didn't know the difference between that and programming, but I'm thankful I made that mistake because I learned a lot of very useful info and had a better time there than I did anywhere else.

One of the requirements of the class was to take on a real pink slip. We only had to do it once, but it was a requirement to pass. Wasn't so bad, I mean, what could go wrong at a technical school with it's on IT department? That was until, naturally, it was my turn to take the pink slip.

The teacher at the woodshop was getting a new PC for his office, and was having trouble retrieving his old files and transferring them. I was like "Awesome, this is gonna be a piece of cake! I mean, I just gotta plug in a USB and I'm done." I get in there and the computer won't turn on. At all. Oh... so the problem ISN'T that he didn't know how to extract his files, you know, like the pink slip said. Okay, fine, check the comnections, everything looks solid, nothing frayed, maybe it's an internal thing. I ask for permission to truck the tower over to the "lab" to pop it open and see what's up and I get the okay.

I set it on a table, remove the casing, and it's fucking filled to the brim with sawdust. How? I have no idea. While the office was connected to the woodshop, it had it's own seperate windows (which you couldn't open) and a door seperating it from all the air. Maybe there were vents leafing into the woodshop I didn't notice? But this was WAY too much, like it should have been a light dusting, instead I had to actually dump it out and start sweeping it into a trash bag.

So the computer is fucked. But that's fine! He's getting a new one anyways, I just gotta take out the hard drive, which looked pretty okay, I mean, relatively so. I hooked it up to my computer and... nothing. The hard drive would start up, like there was a connection, I mean I could feel the internals moving, but the connection was like... wrong. So I guess some dust did get in there. Okay, maybe I can open it up a bit and clean some of it out. So I did... and then it wouldn't even start up. Nothing. Bricked.

This all occurred over the course of weeks. I was doing everything in my power to save this man's testing scores or whatever. I was crushed. I bring it up to the professor, who was the funniest, kindest, softest teacher I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, and he gave me a 100 on it for all the bullshit I had to go through. Sadly though, I did have to tell the woodshop guy that he was gonna have to start over from scratch... Should have kept notes on paper, I guess.

Anyways, what I learned was, sometimes shit is just broke, sometimes trying to fix things makes it worse but it's the act of trying that matters, sawdust is course and rough and it gets everywhere, various yodeling facts, and the most importsnt lesson of all...

IT work is basically just knowing how to look shit up in a search engine and hoping you find that someone who had the same issue that you're having made a post on Reddit detailing how it got fixed.

[oinkgoesthecat]

Am I screaming internally?? Yes

This boy has taken over my thoughts. I don't think it's a crush?? It's more like an obsession. I just... I have no idea how to put this. I want to tell him things all the time?

When I hurt my self hers the first one I tell and I know he's going to make fun of me. I want him to make fun of me. I want to hear him gloat about being right and call me clumsy and helpless. And I can't explain it.

And the honesty! I'm so unflinchingly honest with him. It's addicting. I know he thinks I'm a bad liar but I'm not. It's just one of the defense mechanisms because if I lie badly about something that doesn't actually matter, then when I lie about something bigger there's no way I can be lying so they Believe me. I'm a scary good liar. I'm an actress and not by accident or trade anymore.

I think I just like getting to know someone new and feeling like they actually like me. I've known everyone for so long at this point. But he chooses to spend time with me. I like spending time with him. A lot.

He's not gentle with me. And I see past when he's trying to freak me out. Our defense mechanisms vibe well. I think he knows I'm not as vapid as I seem. It's just so much easier to be ditsy and bubbly. I think he's the only person who has ever given me permission to break down. I usually told not to. That I can't afford it, that I'm fine. But he told me I could that day. I'm incapable of crying now. Which is annoying because I might feel better if I did. But he told me I could cry that day since he was there. And I liked that. Something about that that made me trust him. I really do trust him, probably more than I should. Probably more than I do almost anyone else right now. I actively choose to be vulnerable with him sometimes and he sees it but doesn't make a big deal of it. He gives me the reassurance I need and makes a dumb joke usually in the form of some kind of flirting and makes things better.

My love language is definitely touch. I need it with my whole soul so I'm incredibly touchy-feely with my friends unless noted otherwise. Like Alex is big on touch so I let her initiate any touch. And when she does touch me it's like trying not to disturb a grumpy cat cuz if I make it a big deal it will scare her away. But with Sheik, I think he's the same way. Even if he doesn't admit it. He likes to touch me. We sat outside leaning against each other for a while the other night. It was really nice. I think about it more than I definitely should. In ways I probably shouldn't.

Maybe I'm over-romanticizing him in my head. Maybe I'm so grateful for a new friend that I making it into something it isn't. I mean I flirt with all my best friends. And when he flirts with me I giggle and know he's not serious. Am I trying to justify it? Maybe. But it's still true. I literally grope Kye and Lysie.

When I burnt my hand I told him first. I knew he was going to ridicule me for it, but he also gave me care instructions. I'm not convinced he didn't come to check on me. Sure he bought energy drinks but he wasn't sure if that's what he was gonna do. Even I saw him the first thing he did was look at my hand. He demanded I show my hand actually. And I just blindly followed his instructions. I usually do. It's the trust. He pretended to be annoyed by it all. But I know better. If he actually didn't care he would just laugh at me and move on. He instead took the time to truly inspect my hand and tell me how to take care of it. He of course denies such a thing but I know better.

There's a lot happening in my brain about him and it's starting to feel like going in circles while writing. So I'm going to end this here.

[surf-wax-canada]

Sunday, June 11, 2023, 10:53pm

I’m so mad at myself. I had a *fun* dream about a friend last night and I don’t want to ruin the friendship she and I have, my marriage, or the friend circle. Not that I’m going to act on it (unless my wife and said friend literally give me written, signed permission), but I think it’s lingering feelings of having a crush on her back in high school. Like I hate to say it, but I think if she hadn’t been religious all those years ago, I might’ve actually tried to shoot my shot with her. It wasn’t me being dissatisfied with her being religious, but me knowing she wouldn’t have wanted to have been with someone who wasn’t religious. That, and I was a dude who wanted to have sex, which wasn’t going to happen any time soon if she and I would’ve been a thing.

What made the dream worse was that I’ve had a few where it was a thing with her, my wife, and myself going at it, but that was the first time in 5 years that it’s been just the friend and I in the dream. It lines up fairly well with me moving away from home, so maybe it means I saw familiar places and was hanging around with her so my brain jumped to make connections? I also ended up taking her and my best friend on a scenic drive for almost 2 hours last night. The three of us slept at his parents’ house for a few hours before she and I left. I gave her a hug, and then had the tiniest urge to give her a cheek kiss. I fucking hate myself for that because I don’t want to ruin things. My wife talks about her “free pass” person and it’s a celebrity dude, but the fact that one of our mutual friends would probably be mine is really taxing on my conscience at times, honestly. Maybe this is compounded by the fact that my wife is only the second person I’ve slept with, and I’m slightly regretful of not getting to be with more people before pulling myself off of the market. I know my wife and I have the same issue to blame for two notably different body counts (which sounds toxic as fuck, but it’s the fastest way to type it, and our numbers are 2 and 17 including each other), but I was mildly reclusive for so many years (and still kinda am), and even then, if I’d known about and accepted all the people who I now know wanted to sleep with me, I’d be at like, 4 instead of 2.

I really should be sleeping but the guilt of that fucking dream threw me off. Wife’s history of being cheated on is especially concerning on my behalf because I can’t talk to her about this dream, especially considering her and the friend are like besties.