#and hes nearly caught up >:DD

[tinukis]

im not complaining but toei animators sure love shoving luffy's boobs in our faces like- getting into gear 4 or 5 hello??? it's like i got into a car crash and the airbags saved me

i don't think i'll ever be the same person once egghead is animated

[roger-that-cap]

seven summers

bradley bradshaw x fem! reader

this my first fic in what feels like a century for a completely different fandom. i have been gathering up the courage to do this again, and i've been sitting on this for about two months now. take it easy on me y'all i feel like a sixty year old veteran re-enlisting right now and i have NO idea how to reload my weapon

warnings: absolutely none! well theyre a little sad for a minute but nothing that tumblr can't handle

word count: 5.9k

Loud spaces weren’t really in your list of favorite places. You could tolerate bars more than you could do clubs, though, and your best friend took that into consideration when she planned the night out for you two. The music was loud and the people were starting to get rowdy, but at least no one was grinding on you or begging for a dance. That was always when you would wrap it up for the night, shaking your head at even thinking that it was a good idea. 

“Thank you,” you told the bartender, an exceptionally gorgeous older woman who always seemed to have a meddling look on her face. Her hair was lightly waved around her face as she looked you up and down for a second. You thought she was going to say something, but she just nodded at you once with a small smile before you turned away again, facing the crowd of people you were about to delve back into. You were just leaving the bar top with a soda (you were the DD, as always) when you tripped over someone else’s huge shoe. 

“Oh, shit,” a manly voice said as you tripped, and hands caught your arm before you fell over all the way. You looked up and saw a blond man in an achingly familiar navy uniform looking down at you, and your eyes narrowed as his eyes grew wide. “I’m sorry.” 

His uniform nearly brought you to a scene of painful flashbacks. You knew you were bound to run into attractive men in uniforms so close to a base, but there was an air about this man that made you feel like you were almost running right through the mist, right through the shadow of a man that you once knew, and a man that wore that very same uniform as he walked away. 

You loved Alexandra, your friend you met through other friends. The only downside was that she was in the Navy, and that meant that you were almost always surrounded with memories of your ex boyfriend when you were with her. Him and that stupid uniform that stole him away. 

“No worries,” you said after a few seconds, smiling at him. “It’s crowded here.” 

“Oh, nice tattoo,” he said, and your hand immediately went to your collarbone, where the one tattoo you had rested. It was a nicely done tattoo of a honeybee, a mark of your past. Something you probably should have gotten removed, but every time you tried to convince yourself, you gave another reason to not get it removed. Deep down, you knew why you couldn’t go through with it.

“Thank you, I got it a while ago.” That was all you could say as memories flashed in your mind, but you managed to smile. 

“You look really familiar,” he said, and you noticed that he also had an air of confidence to him as well as familiarity. He was an attractive man, almost too perfect. And he had a smile that you knew lured girls in far too often to be completely innocent. 

“I’m kinda new to the area,” you said, shrugging your shoulders. “Maybe we’ve run into each other at the grocery store or something? Or if you’re a frequent flier at the hospital.” That happened a lot. People you had never had as your own patients would sometimes recognize you, especially if they were often there. 

“Yeah, maybe.” He looked you up and down one more time, almost like he was genuinely trying to figure out what his own mind was trying to remind him, before he nodded his head at you with a small smirk and a toothpick between his lips and left just as quickly as he came. And then your friend was taking his place, jabbering on about something as you tried to clear your own head. 

You never wanted to be one of those people that lived in the past, and for the most part, you weren’t. You lived in the moment. You loved to make new memories, find new things to do, and meet new people. You loved meeting new people. However, the problem with meeting new people, especially men, was that there was that one guy from that one specific relationship that you had gotten yourself in that made it feel like everything was all for nothing. 

Bradley Bradshaw. 

You didn’t even know exactly what it was. You had been in plenty of summer flings that were passionate and fun, but you got over them easily enough. You had met so many people, loved and lost, and they all stuck with you in different ways that all felt sweet in one way or another. But Bradley? There was something about him that stayed with you in a different way. The thought of him kept a lingering taste of something distinct on your tongue. 

In a way, he was the biggest waste of time you had ever spent your life on. There were two years that you shared being officially together, but it felt like forever. You should have known he was trouble the second you saw that military-grade mustache, and the confident walk he always had. You should’ve known he would cause you some pain the second his eyes and his smile proved to be a deadly combo. You poured so much love into that man in a short time in the grand scheme of things, and looking back, it was as much of a waste as it was a privilege. 

For a while, you prayed for his return. He had broken your heart right before he left for his deployment, but that didn’t mean that you wanted anything to happen to him. You prayed for a while for him to come back safely and then come right back to you, and then that progressed into you praying to never see him again. You wished for his safety, you always would, but you never wanted to hear anything about him ever again unless it was saying that he landed safely back on US soil. After that, you wanted his name to be gone with the wind and buried with the dust of time. 

Either way, he was in your thoughts forever and always, regardless of how many summers passed or how many people there were after him, how many you had met to pass the time. And as you stood in the middle of the bar with Alexandra, you were frozen in shock as you realized that you probably manifested the very fighter pilot in front of you.  

He had seen you first. He was surrounded by attractive people in uniforms that you knew had to be his friends, and when you caught the eyes of the very blond man that you fell over before pointing at you with the angle of his head, your jaw dropped a bit. The man from earlier looked at you and slapped Bradley on his back, giving a blinding smirk before saying something to him that you couldn’t hear. 

You were sure you looked silly standing there, freezing up the second you recognized him with a pool stick in your hand. You felt all the tension in your body work together to keep you as straight as a board. You blinked when your friend nudged you, completely oblivious to the mini panic attack you were about to have, and you swallowed and looked away like it didn’t nearly hurt you to stop looking at him. 

You felt like you were drowning. 

“You’re not tapping out or anything, right?” Alexandra asked, narrowing her eyes at you. “We’ve barely been here an hour, and you already have that uncomfortable look on your face.” 

“What look?” You managed to murmur, completely aware that he was still looking at you. His gaze felt as familiar as it had back then.

“The one where you’re looking for escape routes,” she teased, even though she was starting to look concerned. “You do it all the time. Hey, are you okay?” 

“Yeah!” You said, way too loud to be normal. “I’m good.”

You prayed he didn’t approach you. He had plenty of distractions on his side of the room, lots of friends to talk to even though it was obvious they were trying to get him to go over to you. You were hoping that he would never come up to you or look your way again, but you were sick to your stomach when you realized that him walking away would mean he didn’t care nearly as much as you did. 

You closed your eyes for a moment as you tried to understand that none of what you were seeing was a dream. 

“Hi!” A woman’s voice from behind you said, and you turned around. You saw a woman in uniform smiling politely at both you and Alex, and you assumed that she knew her, but then her attention was on you. “I’m sorry, I just had to come over and say I love your dress.” 

You were a simple creature, and one of your fatal flaws was that you were exceptionally friendly. That easily, the tension left your body as you spoke to the woman. You smiled kindly at her. “Thank you! I got it at a thrift store, but you can check the back to see where it’s from if you want!” She grinned at you, and then you saw her eyes wander to your hand. 

“Oh, your ring is pretty, too!” The woman said. “When’s the wedding?” She joked, and you laughed. You wanted a big wedding, back then. Back when you could see the groom in your head, imagine the words he would say, and even imagine your first name combined with his last: Bradshaw. But that was nothing now. 

“Thank you! You’re so sweet. It’s from my mom though, she gave it to me a few years ago.” She gave it to you, her big, shiny ring that her first husband had bought her just as a gift. Instead of pawning it, you begged her to have it. It had no sentimental value to you at all. It kind of looked like an engagement ring, but you couldn’t bring yourself to take it off. It warded off men for the most part, and it was a piece of her. 

“Aw, that’s so sweet. I’m Nat! Most people around here call me Phoenix.” 

You grinned at her and shook her hand before telling her your name, and you knew right then that you liked her. She was extroverted, but very polite. Just your type of person. 

“It’s nice to meet you.” 

“You too!” She smiled at you before she continued her walk to the bar, and you didn’t think anything else of the nice girl in uniform.

The next few minutes went without any issues at all, and you felt like you could ignore the situation at hand and have a good rest of the night with Alex before it was time for you guys to head home. 

“Hey.” 

You weren’t hearing his voice. You just weren’t. You made your next shot in the game and ignored him. 

You could feel him get closer to you, so close you could smell his cologne. Your eyes watered when you realized it was the very scent you picked out for him all those years ago. He still wore it. 

You heard a very manly throat clear from beside you, and you realized that he wasn’t going to give it up. “Hi,” he tried again, and you breathed through your nose and finally turned around, looking face to chest at him before you looked up. 

He was smiling down at you. He was smiling down at you as if nothing had happened, and no time had passed. You smiled back at first like muscle memory, but then your face dropped to a frown almost immediately. His smile fell, too. He nodded at your friend in acknowledgement, but she was too busy eyeing him up and trying to decide if he was a threat to you or the night to know that he was being friendly. 

“Bradshaw,” you said, and his frown got deeper when he realized you called him by his last name. He hated that. You weren’t in the Navy and you had been together, you and he always insisted you reserved the rights to using his real name. Not his call sign, not his last name, but the one his parents had given him. “It’s been a while.” 

“Bradley,” he corrected gently, almost like he thought you genuinely forgot, or like you threw out his first name from your personal dictionary. As if you could ever forget a detail about him. That was the blessing and the curse that he left you with. “You look-” he stopped talking for a moment, and you could have sworn that you saw an ocean of fondness in his pretty eyes that shouldn’t have still been there. “You’re still so beautiful.” 

Your words felt caught in your throat. You wanted to tell him that his tan made him look beautiful. You wanted to say that he had filled out so nicely, and that his scars still fit his face perfectly. You remembered kissing them while laying in the summer sun and you remembered kissing them under the tiny Christmas tree you guys had bought together and plugged in. You were both so broke it only had about ten ornaments on it, but that never mattered. Never to the two of you. “You… still have that mustache.” 

“You always liked it,” he said, a small smile coming back into his expression, but you didn’t give one back. 

“So you’ve kept it growing in hopes to run into me?” 

“Maybe I have,” he answered, and you blinked at him. He had always had a flirty personality. 

You just blinked. “Uh, yeah. That’s nice.” Was it? It was opening every old wound you had ever had. Every wound that was partially healed by another person’s fleeting kisses was being torn right back open by one sighting of Bradley Bradshaw. 

“It’s- it’s amazing to see you, how have you been?” 

You were becoming more and more confused. How in the hell was he being so chipper? Maybe chipper wasn’t the word, he was being polite. Or, maybe it was that he wasn’t falling apart like you were. How? How was he managing politeness when you were hardly breathing? The thought that he would walk away from the conversation like it never happened made you irritable and defensive at the same time. “Why do you care?” 

His brows furrowed, and he was looking at you as if you were saying all the wrong things. “Because I care how you’ve been.” 

“Why?”

He took a look at your friend, who was still staring him down. “Uh, can we talk for a second?” He asked, and you pursed your lips together. 

“No, she’s good right here,” Alexandra said, and you gave her a small smile. 

“No, it’s okay, he’s fine. He’s big, but he’s harmless.” You saw his chest puff up in just the slightest at the mention of his physique, and you rolled your eyes. “We can step outside, but I’m not going home with you.” 

“Okay!” He said, a little too loud for the setting, and you fought back a smile at how excited he was just to talk. You squashed the fondness down. “Okay, uh, come with me.” 

The second your foot hit the gravel outside, his fingers were touching yours. The touch was innocent, but you still yanked your hand away. He backed away understandingly. “Force of habit, sorry.” 

And it was. You remembered his little quirks. You were always pretty independent, and he had always been touchy and protective, so the compromise back then was that he would lay off while you were inside of a building, but he would hold your hand and guide you all he wanted to the second you walked outside. 

“I- uh, I wanted to talk about us.” 

“The past?” You said, crossing your arms. 

“We’ve known each other for a long time,” he said slowly, like he was just then realizing he was treading on very thin ice. 

“We knew each other,” you corrected, fully aware of your friend piecing the situation together by the expression on her face, and you gave her a look that held promises of filling her in. 

“Don’t be like that,” he said, coming a little closer, and you felt your eyes burn when you smelled his familiar scent even more. Your tradition of buying men cologne that matched their personalities had died after Bradley. It was something you didn’t really understand why you did it yourself, but it was fun, and Bradley loved it. He was the fourth guy you had done it with, and he was the last. It just didn’t feel right with anyone else, and it was simply something else you kissed goodbye when you and Bradley went your separate ways. 

“I’m not being any certain way.” 

“I would definitely say that we know each other,” he said, a short chuckle dying on his lips, and you could hear the hurt in his voice.  “We were together nearly every day for two years. We’d sit on the river and on the beach and talk about everything for hours. We road-tripped cross-country. I remember everything you ever told me back home, and I remember the last summer we had together like it was yesterday.” 

You looked back up at him with eyes that you knew had to be full of sadness. “That was four summers ago.” 

You saw it set in with him how much time really had gone by. You watched his eyes widen and his lips poke outwards as he breathed out. “Wow.” 

Had time really not passed for him as slowly as it did to you? 

All you could do was swallow and turn your head away from the breeze. “Yeah.” 

“Do you have a boyfriend now?” 

Part of you was so thrown by his question and his lack of tact, especially because he had been such a good flirt back then. Maybe time had changed him. “I’m married.” 

Immediately, he shook his head with a small smile. “You’re not.” 

You narrowed your eyes at him, even though you were enjoying the back and forth. It felt so familiar. “How would you know that?” 

“That was the first thing I checked before I came over,” he admitted, and you cocked your head at him. “I looked at your finger and saw the ring before you even noticed me. And then I asked Phoenix to go over to you and make sure it was what I thought it was, and I was right.” 

You gasped. You should have known that that stupid nickname was a damn callsign, the glaring beacon of a person that meant that they were a pilot. And pilots were… they were hard to love. 

“I knew that if I came over to you, there would be no way I could hold my tongue from trying to win you back, so I had to make sure you weren’t married first, at least. But I’m not even sure that would’ve stopped me,” he muttered under his breath, and you rolled your eyes. 

You were still a little bitter over him sending one of his friends to talk to you, and how well he knew you. He knew you never would have responded to a random man the same way you did Phoenix. “How do you know I don’t have a boyfriend?”

“I’m praying.” And then he sighed. “I don’t have anyone either.” 

You would have laughed in his face if you weren’t so gutted. “I find that hard to believe.”

“What do you mean?”

“Considering you broke it off so you could run around and meet other girls, I would be very shocked if you didn’t have one with a ring on her finger by now.” 

His eyes widened to a size that was almost comical. “What?” 

You rolled your eyes at him. “Before you deployed. You know, when you broke up with me so that you could go talk freely with other women.” 

His facial expression was so shocked that you almost bought it. He looked genuinely thrown in a loop by your words. “I didn’t break up with you to meet other people, Bee.” 

You nearly caught whiplash at hearing your old nickname pouring like straight up honey from his mouth. No one called you that in a long time, mostly because ‘Bee’ was reserved for Bradley after a day he met you in freshman year of college, and you did an entire presentation on conservation of bees with passion that none of the other students had in their slideshows. It was what had drawn him to you in the first place.

 “That’s what it felt like.” It still felt like that, four years later. 

“No, no,” he said, shaking his head slowly. You hated how handsome he looked even when he was confused.  But he had no right to look confused. “That’s not what happened at all.” 

Your tone said it all for you as you crossed your arms. “Um, that’s what I remember, Bradshaw.” 

He ignored what you called him, but you saw it in his eyes that it still bothered him. “I cut it off because I felt awful that you were going to be forced to wait for me,” he said, taking a step closer, and you saw his sad brown eyes begging you to listen. “We were still so young, you were even younger than me. It wasn’t fair for me to ask you to keep waiting for me, especially because I kept going on dangerous deployments.” 

His words were bouncing around in your head. You calculated what he was saying, narrowing your eyes and trying to make sense of how it was changing your entire perspective of what happened, second by second. 

“Are you fucking stupid?” You blurted, but he wasn’t surprised. In fact, he looked relieved. You never really made a habit of swearing, not even while arguing, but when you rarely let a word slip, it meant that you cared a lot. 

Bradley wasn’t quite sure which way you cared and if it was in a good way or a bad way, but he was determined to change the passion to a way that would benefit the both of you. 

“If you want me to be,” he rasped, and you narrowed your eyes at him. 

“Did you just say you didn’t want me to wait for you?” 

He blinked. “Yeah. You were what, twenty three? Your whole life was ahead of you. It wasn’t fair for you to have to wait for me to come home when you… you’re full of so much life. You had just gotten your dream job at the hospital, and you were so happy. If you were to stick it out with me gone, you would just have to decide between your job and me anyway when I got home. I ended up getting stationed somewhere else not too long after I came back home, just like I knew I would.” 

“Bradley, I told you I wanted to travel, anyway. That job was not my forever job.” 

“But-”

“I was prepared to wait for- for forever.” It was his turn to look shocked. “I really would have, Bradley. You just never even gave me the chance to. You pulled the rug out underneath me. You didn’t even ask me.” 

He ran a hand over his face as the weight of the decision he made for the both of you settled heavy on his chest. “Oh, god.” 

“I assumed you were deploying and you wanted to meet new people. I mean, I know that a lot of… you guys are cheaters. The stereotypes are true a lot of the time. I just figured you were sparing me from the cheating and cutting it off before it could get to that point.” 

“Oh, god, no.” He shook his head. “You- thought I was cheating on you?” 

“Well- what else was I supposed to think?” 

“I would never,” he said, using his hands to make a broad “no” gesture. “You’ve always been it for me, ever since we met. There couldn’t have been anyone else, and there hasn’t been this whole time.” 

You tried to mask the way you were falling into a puddle at his feet. “You’re so dumb.” 

“Is it dumb of me to think you’ll hear me out a little more?” 

You rolled your eyes at him, but your skin felt like it was on fire being so close to him again. “You’re plenty dumb, Rooster.” 

“You never called me Rooster.” 

“Well, I don’t know Bradley anymore.” 

“I- why are you saying that?” He asked, and his face grew even more distraught. “You do know me. Nothing’s changed. Nothing is different at all besides the time. I still- there’s nothing that has changed about the way I feel for you.” 

“What do you want me to say?” You couldn’t confess your love to him again. You loved him, a part of you always would, but you couldn’t handle him coming out of the blue and telling you everything you had secretly been wishing he would say to you for years. He was coming in like a dream. It was far too good to be true. “We got lost in translation four years ago and there's nothing we can do about it. Unless you and your pilot friends have been smart enough to build a time machine.” 

“I would build a thousand time machines if it meant that I could change what I did, I was stupid. I was so stupid.” He stepped closer. “But I never stopped loving you. Not even once.” 

A tear ran down your face, and that’s when you knew it was time to go find Alexandra again. “I-I gotta go, Bradley.” Before you could even turn around all the way, he took you by your hips and turned you back around, both pairs of your eyes wide mirrors of the other. 

“I have been haunted by the thought of you for four years now,” he said, voice as soft and gentle as the breeze, but the grip he had on your hips was so desperate it almost made you sob. “I haven’t even- I’ve tried, but there hasn’t been anyone else. Not emotionally. Not even close, Bee.” 

You couldn’t say the exact same. You tried and succeeded for a time, but they were never complete fixes. Just when you thought you were happy with someone else and free of the clutches of Bradley Bradshaw, he snuck right back. He ripped that rug out from under you every time without fail without even being present. That was your problem with each “relationship”, you were looking for a remedy and closure for a relationship that the next person had no idea about and no obligation to make better. 

But you had definitely been haunted by the lack of Bradley Bradshaw. He was there all the time with you in your mind, whether you wanted him or not. 

“This,” you said, shaking your head, and judging by the look on his face, he knew he was losing you. “This is a lot.” 

“Wait, don’t walk away. I just got you back.” 

“I’m not back, Bradley.” 

“You’re back in front of me,” he said, and you stopped turning away from him. “That’s all I could ask for. Even if you want nothing else to do with me ever again, I just want to stand here and look at you for one more minute. Please.” 

You put your hands over your face the second you felt your eyes start to burn and overflow with tears. You could feel his energy before you even felt his true touch, and the second you felt his arms around you, you broke down. 

“I thought- I thought you were so nervous a few days before you left because you were going to propose to me.” 

You couldn’t believe the words that were leaving your mouth. You had been so humiliated about jumping to conclusions that you hadn’t even told Alexandra about that part. You never planned on telling anyone that was the reason why you were so hurt, especially not the man who caused you all that pain. It had been sitting heavy on your chest, the humiliation and the sadness alike, for all four summers. You never planned on letting it loose. 

But you had already said it. 

“You boys get married so fast, and honestly, I was ready. I thought you were nervous because you were going to ask me to marry you, not because you were breaking up with me.”

 “Oh.” 

“It gutted me so bad when you broke it off. I thought it was going to be the opposite- I thought we were going to start our lives together and then you just…” you looked down at the ground as you tried to swallow back down the memory, even though everything was coming back so strong. “It was gone, that fast. And I realized I loved you a lot more than you ever loved me, obviously.” 

“That's not even close to being true,” he said, shaking his head rapidly. “You can ask any of the guys I shipped out with. I was fucking miserable the whole time. And I know you don’t know the new guys I’m with, but this new squad even knows that there’s nobody else. You’re the one that got away.” 

“You let me go,” you corrected, and he smiled sadly. 

“Because I loved you.” 

“That’s so fucking dumb,” you said, but you couldn’t stop yourself from getting closer to him. “That’s for fairytales, stupid.”

You felt yourself leaning into him, and he was letting you. His body language was inviting you in. You could see it in his eyes and you could feel his hands trembling as he moved them from your waist to hover over your back, like he was ready to pull you into him the second you gave in. You knew it was only a matter of time before you did give in, and the longer you felt his hands hover over you like you were stained glass, the more you craved his familiar, burning touch. You felt the pull to him like you were magnets. Like he was the sun and you were Icarus. You were the moth to his enticing flame, but he had always seen you as a butterfly. You were terrified to get burned for the second time, and fall from grace all over again. 

“That one pilot said he recognized me,” you blurted, and you felt his eyes on you even though you couldn’t look at him. “I’ve never met him before, have I?” You might have. You used to know a lot of his old friends. He shook his head. “How did he know me?” 

Without hesitation, his answer came. “I have pictures of you in my cockpit.” 

That was what threw you.  “What?”

“Most pilots keep photos of important people in their cockpit. It reminds them to fly safer. In the worst cases, it’s so that they can see a glimpse of family before they go down.” 

Your heart was soaring so high that it was breaking with the pressure of it. “You have a picture of me in there?” 

He had absolutely no shame about it as he nodded his head firmly. “Yeah, I have pictures of you. In my cockpit and in my locker.” Were you his screensaver, too? You didn’t know. 

But you were in his locker. It made your heart flutter and it sent you right back to highschool. “More than one?” 

“I have so many that my squad recognized you without me even saying anything. Hangman was the one who told me you were here.” 

“Oh.” 

He kicked the rocks underneath his foot, and then he was squinting back down at you. “You thought- you thought I was going to ask you to marry me?” 

Just like that, your soaring, cracking heart plummeted again. “You don’t have to rub it in, Bradley.” 

“No, it’s not that at all. I just- you would’ve said yes?” 

“Of course I would have said yes, stupid.” You ignored how his eyes lit up and turned your body away with crossed arms. He was always so expressive, even when he didn’t want to be. “But that was a long time ago.” 

“Not too long,” he rushed, and you shook your head. 

You fought the urge to roll your eyes, especially because it was mostly to get the tears away. “It was a while ago, Bradley.” 

“There’s no amount of time apart that would make me not want to be with you, Bee.” 

Your head swiveled to him upon hearing your nickname from him again. “It- it doesn’t just work like that, dude.” 

“Why not?” 

“We were stupid back then. We lived off of blind faith and a whole lot of hopes. It doesn’t work that way anymore.”

“We make our own rules, that’s the glory of being adults.” He took your hands and you faced him, and the hope in his expression nearly floored you. “Who said we can’t pick up where we left off?” 

You scoffed, even though you weren’t even close to laughing. “You’re crazy.” 

“Crazy about you, but you’ve always known that,” he said with a smile. “You’ve always known how to work with it, too.” 

For a moment, you felt a glimmer of hope and you felt the whisper of a smile come onto your face. And then you crashed again, and he must have seen it all over your face because his own smile went away and was replaced by concern. Before he could even ask what happened that fast, you threw your face into his chest and wrapped your arms around him. 

He held you back just as quickly, and you knew he had been waiting for you. He smelled like home and he even felt like it, and when you opened your eyes all you could see was that stupid, loud Hawaiian print. 

“I-if we do this again you- I can’t handle it if you leave me again. I couldn’t take it. Please, Bradley.” 

“Don’t you even worry about that,” he said firmly, holding you so close that it felt like the two of you were physically molding together. “If you give me the chance, I want a shot at forever.” 

You pulled your wet face away from his shirt and looked up at him as your heart raced in your chest. “Huh?” 

He stared down at you for a moment, and you could see in his ever-expressive eyes that he was thinking about saying something to you that was about to change everything. “I fully intend to become your husband when we’re ready, if you let me. Just the way you wanted, and the way I’ve always dreamed about. I’m not going anywhere.” 

The logical part of you knew that he was being ridiculous. Bradley was nothing if not overzealous, nothing if not reaching for goals that were just short of being unattainable. He was the version of Icarus that always managed to get back to earth safely by the skin of his teeth. He always put the cart before the horse, but somehow he always managed to get there. 

So, you knew he was being serious. As crazy as he sounded, he was. 

“Do you really mean that?” You didn’t have to ask that question. In fact, the words felt like acid on your tongue, but your heart pressed you to ask it anyway. 

“Nothing could get me to leave you again, especially not my own stupidity.” He was holding you even tighter. “I promise.” 

You were going to hold him to that with the same intensity that he held you with. 

*****

oh boy.

so this one i’ve been sitting on forever and i’m tired of looking at it, but i have nothing but love for this fic that is pulling me out of a writing slump. i wrote it out of pure love for rooster though so i felt like i had to share it!! also- this comes from two main things;

two songs (“7 summers” and “ ‘98 braves” by morgan wallen) and then me being dumb enough to get involved with a military man of my own. he’s been gone for a while so i’m manifesting he comes back soon. anyone who is thinking about getting with a person- especially man- in the military (i can only speak for the united states military bc that’s where i’m from), you better be tough. i know they look good. i know they have this energy to them- trust me i’ve been obsessed since i was like 15. way before top gun maverick. but if you’re gonna be stupid, you better be tough 💀💀💀 and if you need any guidance to being stupid, i’m always here!!!

if you’re new here thanks for stopping by and checking it out! if you’re from an old fandom of mine but read it anyways i love you so much, it means a lot. 💕💕💕

[apompkwrites]

the freshman kingscholar || leona kingscholar

masterlist characters: nuru, jabali, jabori (OCs), leona (brief/platonic) genre: angst contains: some gore (gouging out eye), implied depression (bc its leona) summary: the members of mwezi miji guard are admitted into one of the two most prestigious schools for mages. notes: guys i promise i don't have a bias in the black sheep </3 ok but srs i am working on the other fics :DD its just lil king (and lil shroud) have a clearer plan than the others do :( parts: [og post] | [previous] | [next]

"it's only been a few days since he's gotten that mark," you sighed, wringing out the rag into the bucket. the water didn't help much, but it was the best you could do in the small village.

"i can't find anything about the substance..." jabori muttered under his breath, flipping through the pages of his book. his hands trembled the more he read, the mere thought of finding nothing in these old books seemingly eating him alive.

before you could offer any words of comfort, a loud thud sounded from nuru's bedroom. and at that moment, it felt like your heart fell alongside whatever it was that made the noise.

jabori was quick to follow you, abandoning both the book and the bucket outside in favor of nuru's room. and when the two of you stepped inside, you saw him.

nuru, despite his large wings behind him, was caught facing the makeshift mirror in his room, a piece of wood clutched in his hand and scooping out the remains of his glazed-over eye. he didn't scream or cry at that moment as if he felt no pain whatsoever.

the thud that had sounded just a minute ago was the chair that used to sit in front of the mirror, now tipped over on its side.

and all that remained on the desk containing the mirror were the chunks and bits of nuru's left eye.

your mind was... hazy, to say the least. it was as if you were floating in between consciousness and unconsciousness, helplessly floating in a state of being in which you both did and did not exist.

you did not have time to linger on those thoughts, however, when your vision was suddenly flooded by light. the container you had been shoved in was now open, revealing to you a dark interior with several people dressed in robes.

and, as if a gate had opened to let your memories flow out, you remembered. you remembered nuru being the first to step onto the carriage and into the coffin, his wings uncomfortably pressed against him as he squeezed inside.

"this is all for ma," he had said before the coffin closed. you and the twins quickly followed him, and that was where your memory ended.

"welcome, one and all, to night raven college!" the man, presumably the one to open the coffin, greeted you and the rest of the attendees, his arms extended outwards as if he were a magician showcasing his biggest trick. "i am your gracious headmaster crowley and i am honored today to admit the newest generation of mages into these distinguished halls."

it wasn't difficult for you to locate nuru, his wings the only things outside of his robe. the twins were a bit harder considering their ears were hidden underneath their hoods, but it was safe to assume they were beside you and nuru.

"one at a time, you will step up to the dark mirror and remove your hoods. allow the mirror to gaze into your soul, as its observations will all add up to your dorm assignment." the headmaster seemed to squirm uncomfortably in his spot, his eyes darting to and from a specific coffin in the room. "n-now then, i have released a number of you from your gates. let's see... we'll start with you." he quickly waved one of the attendees towards the mirror, placing his hands on their shoulders and positioning them in front of it.

"these robes are so stuffy," the figure beside you grumbled, pulling and tugging on the fabric.

"ah, good to know it's you, jabali," you snickered, earning an elbow to the arm from him.

"hush," nuru spoke, his wing extending to wrap around you. he pulled you closer to his side, nearly hiding you behind his mass of feathers. "(name), jabali, jabori."

"yes, sir."

"our goal is to learn as much about magic as we can," he informed the three of you, his voice soft and quiet. "no matter where we end up, that is our prerogative. and no matter who stands in our way, we will accomplish that."

"of course," you nodded, tugging the hood on your head.

"let's see... ah, your turn," the headmaster's voice quickly broke through your conversation as he headed towards nuru and began to gesture towards the mirror.

when nuru stood in front of the mirror and tugged off his hood, you could hear a few whispers around you.

"what happened to him...?"

"that's a nasty scar..."

"he doesn't even have an eye...!"

"nuru," he spoke straight and matter-of-factly, unbothered by the whispers that he had definitely heard. the mirror stared through him, inspecting every part of his being with a careful eye.

"the nature of your soul... ah, how interesting," the mirror hummed in its echoing voice. "i see great conviction in you. you are driven to a single purpose with no regard for any obstacle that may stop you. therefore, the dorm best fit for you... savanaclaw!"

hollars and cheers rang out from a certain section of the robed crowd. nuru stepped off to the side but remained in his spot, eyeing you carefully as he nodded up to the platform. without needing to be ordered twice, you stepped forward in front of the mirror.

"state your name," it instructed. you pulled the hood off your head, your ears flicking briefly at the sudden change in pressure.

"(name)." you heard the familiar sound of nuru's wing move from where he stood. and although you couldn't see him, you could tell he had, for some reason, raised his wing to cover something.

"the nature of your soul... a follower, but not of rules. of desire. of passion. and, i see... despite your hardship," your heart dropped at the sound of those words, "you have fought and pushed, and will continue to do so. therefore, the dorm best fit for you... savanaclaw!"

more cheers sounded from where nuru stood. you were quick to stand at his side, catching a brief glimpse of your new dorm.

so that was why he moved his wing...

even when you stood at his side, he used his wing to cover you, hiding you inside it and pulling you closer to his side.

see, nuru, after the incident, had garnered a strange sense to specifically lion beastmen. you had seen it firsthand when a few stragglers of the dens came close to the mwezi miji border. you had even seen it directed to you, seeing as how he seemed to have some innate ability to discern your location.

the brief glimpse towards the savanaclaw students greeted you with a familiar yet distant figure, his eyes practically burning into your soul like the mirror had just done a few seconds ago.

leona kingscholar stood just a few feet away from you.

leona really did not want to be here. he had seen plenty of orientations already, what was going to make this one any different? ruggie could handle all this on his own, so maybe he could just sneak off to the botanical garden to sleep.

sleep and desperately watch as his mind struggled to form the idea of a perfect family.

he wanted nothing more than to take a nap and pass the day as quickly as possible, but no, he just had to be a part of the orientation process because he was the dorm leader and he was the one responsible for the fresh meat that would be enrolled in savanaclaw. gods, what a pain...

he had gotten a fair share of the new attendees, but the ones that caught his attention were not the students that quickly merged into the crowd of students. no, no, no, it was the ones that were clearly familiar with each other and chose to stick together the moment they were designated to savanaclaw.

and, more specifically, the one that had those eyes that stared back at him in nightmares. the one who he could only remember being a little cub that loved to run out into the streets of the kingdom, who loved to toss bugs in his older brother's hair, the one who had ran away the second he got comfortable in night raven college.

(name) kingscholar stood just a few feet away from him.

taglist: @brokenncrown @help-meplz @destinationdesignation @rainys-personal-garden @kalims @sxftiebee @luxaryllis @auld-a @the-dumber-scaramouche @ayra2452008 @tinywho-man @spadecentral @justeclem44 @bajifairyy @mulandi @sadimon @stormyovent0aster @sn00zl4x @f1fty-f1fty @bloomed-night-flower @madusas-girlfriend @b0nkers-papaya @arandomeroacher @randonamedcl @potabletable @meerpea @luvcalico @chlousp @prettyinblack231 @dindarasuum @elizaboba @ravenlking @reveristmain @lasignoramybeloved @poto-de-michi @sherryuki-callmeyuki @cadit-in-aestus-sidereum @valeriele3

[sungbeam]

𝐨𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐝

nonidol!eric sohn x f!reader

1.7k words, YO! SUGGESTIVE, college au, kissing, swearing, mentions of drinking, the bra comes off but nothing explicit (uh minors... DNI), his shirt comes off, barely proofread bc i wrote this on impulse and tis late for me

a/n: i let my impulsive and intrusive thoughts win.

Hands—his hands were everywhere. Anywhere he could fit his palms, his fingers against and into—every curve and crevice would not be leaving untouched. He burned his prints into your skin, signed his name with his lips, tongue, voice.

"This okay?" He murmured against the column of your throat. He could probably feel the way your pulse raced at his touch as you arched yourself into him.

Your breath hitched, his lips pressing feather-light kisses, his fingertips dancing along the bottom hem of your shirt. "More—more than okay," you exhaled, tangling your fingers in his hair.

He gave a groan of approval from the hollow of your throat, then swiftly moved back up to capture your lips for himself and steal your breath away.

(before.)

"Yn." At the feeling of a nudge to your side, you turned to your friend Jisung whose face was fitted with the widest, shit-eating grin. "You know that guy's been checking you out all night, right?"

He inclined his head toward your 4 o'clock, and you curiously followed his gaze to see what he was talking about.

You caught sight of him across the room—red ball cap, white dress shirt with nearly half the buttons undone, exposing the smooth skin beneath and the chain hanging from his collar. He nodded at you, tongue poking the inside of his cheek as he smiled.

Your heart went and did a row of cartwheels.

You and Jisung had come with a group of friends to this one party tonight. There were no expectations, really, only that you had all Rock-Paper-Scissored and Felix was forced to DD. Jisung and you had lost the others pretty fast, but you hadn't minded the bit of one on one time you got with him. (You liked to claim you didn't have favorites, but Han Jisung was a little difficult to not love.)

"You know him?" Jisung asked you after draining whatever was left in his plastic cup. He gave a grimace at the burn down the back of his throat.

"Uhm yeah, actually." You smiled, lifting a brow. "Eric Sohn. Plays shortstop for the uni baseball team." Yeah, you knew him, alright. You never missed a baseball game, even since high school, and that tradition had yet to stop in college. Sometimes, you would even go with your other friend Seungmin, if he had time. It was something that reminded you a lot of life in your hometown, where all your closest friends would hit the neighborhood field to play a round or two. Of course, constantly being in the stands meant that someone was bound to notice your presence.

Maybe he'd finally figured out you weren't there for anyone in particular.

A crease formed between Jisung's brows. "What the fuck's a shortstop?—You know what? I don't need to know," he said with a shake of his head. He turned his body toward you, extending his hand, "Dude's coming this way, so I won't step on your toes."

You passed Jisung an incredulous look, but clasped his hand with yours. "Just say you don't wanna cockblock me, Ji."

He laughed. "Hey, you said it this time, not me! Use protection, my friend," he teased, patting you on the shoulder before taking his leave and melding with the crowd.

You rolled his eyes, but your heart still thundered in your chest. Jisung said Eric was on his way over to you, and you were a little nervous to turn around and look—

"I've kind of been wondering about something."

Here he is. You whirled around and came face to face with the man in question. From up close, his jawline was even sharper than it looked from all the way up in the bleachers, his hands veiny all the way down his forearms. And his shirt seemed to be hanging on just enough to leave something for the imagination, but you were sure your imagination would be pretty on the nose anyway. His smile was even prettier this close and there was something boyish about its edge that threw you for a loop. He braced an arm against the wall next to you, and you saw the glint of his silver watch and the rings adorning his fingers.

"And what would you be wondering?" You prompted with a small tilt of your head.

"What's a girl as pretty as you doing alone all the time?" He asked. "I've been racking my brain for an explanation, and none of my teammates say they know you."

"Maybe I'm just looking for a good time," you replied airily, leaning toward him slightly. Then it came to you, the replays of him on the field, the way he so effortlessly caught your attention like he turned double plays. "And someone who knows what he's doing, I suppose."

His smile widened a sliver, following your lead. "And what can I do to prove to you that I do?"

You could smell the expensive, but subtle cologne lingering on his skin and clothes over the smell of the party around you. Your eyes darted down to his lips and you saw him do the same to you. "Come a little closer and find out."

(now.)

He was addicted to the taste of you—couldn't stop and didn't plan to stop until he traced every inch of you with his mouth. Eric had lost his cap at some point between meeting you and getting you alone in this room. It was dark, it was hot—you were hot. Your skin was on fire, there was sweat dripping down the back of your neck. Your hands were in his hair, but he wanted them on his body, in his pants, and still in his hair.

You gave a tug as he pressed his tongue into your mouth, a pretty whine coaxed from you. God, you were so pretty. So pretty and perfect and—he couldn't believe you were single.

His nose slotted against yours, his knee sliding between your thighs and keeping your knees from buckling. He kept you up by his own strength and the wall behind you.

You broke for air and he dove for your neck. "Eric," you managed to say between breaths, the top of his head tickling the bottom of your chin.

He hummed, hands squeezing your sides. "I'm gonna stick my hands under your shirt," he rasped when he pulled back to look you in the eyes, a silent question of permission.

"Be my guest."

"You're cute," he chuckled, leaning over to press a kiss to your lips.

You smiled. "I can say the same about you." You reached for his face with both of your hands, feeling goosebumps rise on your skin as his hands inched up under your shirt. "Now let me eat you up, Eric Sohn."

You could taste his laugh on your tongue. "Mmh—fuck, I like the—the sound of that."

And you were all too soon consumed and suffocating on him again, choking on the feel of muscle beneath your hands that moved to grip his shoulders; ascending, as he pressed himself against you, until no air existed between your bodies. Your mind was blank, all that laid upon your tongue was his and his name.

Eric, Eric, Eric…

"Can I take your shirt off?" You asked between kisses, catching his bottom lip between your teeth for a spell.

His forehead rested against yours, noses slotted beside each other. He braced an arm against the wall by your head while the other wrapped around your waist. "Oh my god, please."

Lazily, he kissed you again, and he somehow made your toes curl even more.

He would turn his eyes downward to watch your fingers slide each button out of its slit, the curtains of his white shirt slowly falling open. And he would find your lips again, one kiss rewarded for each buttoned freed.

Eric shrugged the garment off and it fluttered to the floor. With your eyes adjusted to the dark and the minimal light streaming in from beneath the door, you could trace the hard lines of his arms and stomach. Line by line.

"You're beautiful," you blurted out suddenly. Inwardly, you winced; dear god, you hoped you didn't just kill the mood.

Instead, though, he giggled. No one had ever called him beautiful before, at least, not to his face. Eric cupped the back of his neck with boyish glee, then moved to hold your cheek. "I'm gonna kiss you for that."

That was so fine by you.

He made good on his word and dove for your mouth, expertly catching the back of your head with his hand for cushion against the wall. And if you hadn't had the wall for support, you were certain the force of his kiss would have you bending over backwards.

Your fingers dug into his arms for good measure. Heat pooled in your belly, a fire that kept you fueled and was fanned by Eric-motherfucking-Sohn.

He groaned into your mouth, an awfully delicious sound. "Bra clasp? Wanna feel you, baby."

As everything seemed to be, permission was granted immediately.

His fingers flew up your shirt again and cupped you through your bra. You felt him wrap around your body, nimbly flicking at the clasp—

There was a hurried and loud knock on the door, and you both jolted in surprise.

"Occupied!" Eric barked, hands stilling over the place where your strapless bra had been two seconds ago.

"Eric? It's Kevin! It's an emergency." Someone's voice—Kevin's—echoed through the locked door. He didn't even bother to jiggle the handle.

You saw a muscle feather in his jaw, and he carded a hand through his damp, dark hair. Conflict flickered in his eyes, from you, to the door. "One minute, hyung."

You heard footsteps retreat from outside.

Eric leaned down and scooped up your bra and his shirt from the floor, handing you your garment with a sigh. "Sorry for cutting this short," he murmured, cupping the back of your head affectionately.

Your smile was easy, and you swiftly reset your clothes and hair. "Don't worry about it. It sounds important."

"If it's Kevin, then it probably is," he agreed. He'd finished buttoning up his shirt halfway.

When you reached for the doorknob, Eric spun you back around towards him and swooped in for a kiss that made your head spin around. His tongue swiped over your bottom lip, a last taste for now. "I'm not done with you yet, though, Yn."

You bit back your grin. "I was betting on that, Sohn."

read the sequel here!

tbz m.list

[factual-fantasy]

25 asks again :0000 🎄🎄🎄

Never??? What part of my content ever suggested that I would ever draw anything like that??

The snowy forests they tend to camp in are actually the forests attached to Snowdin :0 They tend to end up there a lot <XD No ones found them out there before so they've deemed Snowdin forests a safe camping spot..

I'm not sure what you mean by a cliffhanger. My Octonauts stuff wasn't following a timeline or anything. I was just goofing around and drawing what ever I felt like.

If you're talking about the crab comic? I abandoned that comic on a cliff hanger because I didn't like how I wrote the comic and I didn't feel like re-writing it. :/ The Captain ends up totally fine in the end so its ok-

(Also thank you! :} )

Thank you! Merry Christmas to you too!! :DDDD 💖🎄💖

It kind'a depends.. what really exhausts him is making multiple mirrors back to back that all lead to different places. And how long he holds them open is also a factor..

Maybe a good guestimate is.. about 5? Maybe if he makes 5 mirrors in less than 3 days that would be enough to completely wipe him out. Maybe even knock him unconscious..

But its okay, the group usually is good at avoiding that scenario. Usually they jump into an AU and stay there for a few days before jumping into a new one. That way Jevil has time to rest and recover.

@couchwow

:DD Thank you! We wish the same to you as well! :}} 🎄💖🔥

Oh yeah, very protective I imagine XD He wouldn't put him down or let him out of his sight for even a second.

@ocinstituterep

I'd like to think he kept it and hung it on his bedroom wall yeah. But Knowing Peso and how much of a sweetheart he is.. I can totally see him giving it to Pinto for a keepsake/to show it off to his friends :}

Only when they're using their magic in someway yeah. :0 The more magic they're using/the more they're straining, the more visible their pupil becomes.

And it can extend to their emotions. The more mentally unstable/emotional/afraid the cat is.. the more cracked and deformed their pupil can become..

@bunny-coffee

Shellington got some angry cousins frfr XDDD

(Post in question)

Ehh.. not exactly.. that situation with that Papyrus ended up getting really dangerous, and really scary, really fast.. They end up fleeing that AU and leave that Papyrus behind.. :(

@fallingbones (post in question)

WWAAAHHAGDG THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! THAT MEANS A LOT TO MEEEEE!!😭😭💖💖💖😭

That's because I was gonna draw a comic revealing her new name but I never got around to it.. 💔

(Still keeping it a secret in case I change my mind lol-)

ACTUALLY! I had an idea that if Jevil rushes a mirror, he just has less control over it and will have no idea where the mirror will end up. And one time Jevil hastily made a mirror and when they jumped though.. they all got dumped into a river 😬 which is very bad for nearly everyone involved-

Seam's chains got caught on a branch and he got stuck while everyone else got swept down stream. He was able to just barely get his chains free and drag himself onto land.

Grillby doesn't die or anything, but boy is it incredibly painful. Thankfully he's able to scramble out of the water rather quickly and collapse on land..

Spamton has a phobia of water so by the time him and Jevil are able to get out he's breaking down from a panic attack :'(

Goner kid cant really swim but she was very lucky and was able to grab onto some branches and scramble out of the water.

Asgore wasn't really in any danger but he did struggle to get out of the water. He was eventually able to latch onto a branch as well and pull himself out.

The group recollected and probably camped out in the nearby forest for a few days to mentally and physically recover from that ordeal-

Upon Googling it, it appears to be a fangame about the yellow soul..? I also saw "Undertale yellow controversy" uh oh- I'm not sure what I think about it <XD

Although I've never played/seen a playthrough of Resident Evil.. this sounds right up my ally! XD

Also thank you! Merry Christmas and a happy new year to you as well! :DD 🎄🎉

XD Yes! I also have these two but they're not as cool/polished/original to me as the other 7 are-

@octonauts16

Ultimately my thoughts are, "It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be/could have been. 6 outa 10, would watch again and recommend to my friends 🎤🐻👍"

And as for a sequel? I'm not sure if they'll make one.. if they do, I kind'a hope it'll be about the second game and they'll up the horror a bit more this time 👀

@cupofmaplesyrup

waaa thank you!! :DD

I'm not sure.. I imagined Bibi likes the stuff I make, simply because I made it. I'm not sure what the rest of them would think.. :0

Although the 20k comic was a biggie. They all thought that project was cool XD

@beryl-shade

I did! It seemed fitting for him. Also it helps visually distinguish him from Glamrock Freddy :00

XD She has that effect on people

When the when When?

@love-is-the-multiverse

That's just how I draw skeletons that don't look really creepy :( 💔

[tsukkisdinocollection]

Hi Hiraya!! (I made sure to read your carrd btw :3)

for my request, I was wondering if you could write for Sugawara! But this time, in a highschool setting where reader is a Philippine exchange student! (cuz I'm Filipino too :DD)

Suga and reader meets and he's showing her (or them) around campus and it's just super nice and fluffy and reader is just "DANG HE'S HANDSOME"

I'll be waiting for the request! ^w^

Pasilyo

⭑ Pairing : Koshi Sugawara x Reader (Romantic)

⭑ Content Warning(s) : Reader is gender-neutral (gender is never specified) and uses she/her pronouns (it's mentioned once), reader is Filipino, Koshi is implied to like you too

⭑ Word Count : 0.9k+

⭑ Synopsis : During your first day at Karasuno High, you bump into your tour guide, and you just so happen to fall in love with him as he guides you around the school.

It was soon going to be your last year in high school, and what more to make it memorable than to apply to a foreign exchange student program? After doing thorough research, you decided to apply for the foreign exchange student program in Japan, and fortunately, you were accepted. Adjusting to living with a new family in another country was rough, but the late night video calls with your family back in the Philippines made things a bit easier.

As you walked through the gates of Karasuno High, you felt a bit uneasy. You weren’t sure why. Was it the food you ate this morning? Or was it just the underlying feeling of anxiousness? You shook your head, dismissing the negative feelings in your mind as you continued walking. You remembered the vice principal of Karasuno saying that you would be toured by one of your new classmates, but you didn’t know who they were just yet.

You felt more at ease when you finally stepped into the main building, looking for your locker to change your shoes. You sighed softly, slipping your feet into the uwabaki. They were quite comfortable. You adjusted your book bag strap, making sure it doesn’t slip off your shoulder as you looked for your class. You were told it was…Class 4.

While walking through the corridors, you didn’t seem to pay attention to where you were going as you accidentally bumped into another student. Your paper schedule slipped from your hands, nearly falling out of one of the open windows before the student who you had bumped into caught it. He gave you the paper, a small smile on his face.

“Oh, thank you,” you bowed your head down slightly as you took the paper from his hands. He only nodded.

“No problem,” the boy said, before tilting his head. “You don’t look familiar. Are you new here?”

“Yeah,” you replied. You then introduced yourself to the boy, and his eyes suddenly sparkled. At least, you think they did. It was a little challenging to tell from the sun’s blazing light reflecting on his face.

“Ah, you’re her!” he exclaimed, letting out a hearty chuckle. “I’m Koshi Sugawara. I was assigned to be your tour guide. I don’t know if our vice principal told you who I was, though.”

Your lips formed into the shape of an “o” as you nodded. “I was informed that I would be having a tour guide, but I didn’t really know who.”

Koshi giggled. “It’s fine. Want us to start now?”

You nodded once more as he raised his hand for you to shake.

The tour was going fine so far. At least, you think it was. You couldn’t really tell, to be honest, because his words seemed to go one ear out the other. Why?

He’s too handsome, that’s why.

The sun’s light didn’t seem to help with keeping you focused, too, as the light bounced off his face and made him look like a radiating angel. His hair bounced softly when he walked, and his eyes seemed to light up as he spoke about the gym and how he played in the boys’ volleyball team. You caught a couple details he said, like his friends, some of his interests…but really, everything else is a blur.

You felt like you were following him like a lost puppy, admiring him from a short distance. You stammered when you spoke, hands reaching to fidget with your fingers. It was his fault for looking so cute!

“I would’ve attended practice today but I got to use the excuse of guiding you to get out of it,” he explained as he took you to the gymnasium with a smug smirk on his face. You could hear muffled yelling from the building, as well as squeaking. As the yelling only increased in volume, Koshi quickly ushered you away and to another area on campus.

“I think this is the final place…the track field. Nothing really special with it, unless you’re interested in running,” he said, a grin on his face as he winked. You felt a sudden rush of warmth reach your cheeks as you chuckled.

“Thank you, again, Sugawara,” you smiled at him, and he smiled back.

“Of course! If you ever need help, just tell me,” he responded. Gosh, he was nice and handsome. The type of guy you’d bring home to your parents, you thought to yourself.

“We should get to class,” he suggested. “Don’t wanna be late on your first day.”

You only nodded, walking by his side back to the main building and heading to your class. You noticed that the only seat empty was next to him.

You sat by his side, and he looked at you while smirking. You pursed your lips tightly together, looking away as a quiet giggle escaped his soft lips.

“Guess we’ll be seatmates,” he whispered to you.

“Mhm,” you whispered back.

“By the way…this is kind of sudden, but do you mind giving me your number? In case you need help with anything, of course. I’m always happy to help.” A hue of red spread across his cheeks, barely noticeable.

You thought for a few moments before nodding, and he gave you his phone. You quickly typed your number in, right before class started. When class officially began, he gave you a wink before looking towards the teacher, leaving you flustered.

Right. It was definitely his fault he was so cute.

[tuteldatutel]

Eugene HCs (in a relationship with y/n!!)

(my first time writing this sorry just wanted to try. Also this is not proofread, sorry >x<)

((am I delusional for making this? Maybe, but who cares :DD also I wrote this from the top of my head idk what got into me hehe))

SFW

He's gentle and caring

Teases sometimes

Flirts with poetry, short verses written on a sticky note for you to find on your locker or notebook

Loves to hold your hand, even caressing yours with his thumb

Feels safe and comfortable in your presence

Light kisses on your hands and forehead

Hugs you from behind, nuzzling his head into the crook of your neck

Makes sure you don't get caught in his problems, especially with the workers and Charles Choi :x

Helps you with homework, etc.

Somehow, you wanted to try baking. He's right there reading the cookbook and figuring out the instructions with you all the while creating a cute mess with spilt flour and chocolate syrup

He loves how easygoing you are with Yuseong and Mandeok and it makes him melt

Buys you stuff, duhhh (it's mostly plushies and snacks because why not)

Prideful but has a soft spot for you (sometimes, depends on the situation :33)

Shows up to your recitals, and brings snacks and water to your practices

Supportive with all your activities and hobbies

NSFW!!

punishment with rejected orgasm because he saw you talking to a guy (random guy was asking for directions and you were just being polite)

Dom daddy behind closed doors

Will probably tie you up to the bed frame and tell you to keep your legs spread open for him

TOYS!! probably just a vibrator that you own

Loves to watch you squirm around, desperate for friction

"You're so pretty when you're crying like that, begging me to let you cum~"

Teases your cunt until you're drenched in tears and babbling

"Should've been more careful with the men you talk to, love~. You know how I hate seeing you with other guys."

Kisses and lovebites

Finger-fucks you until you nearly black out from the stimulation

Loves it when he makes you whimper and moan, grinning like a maniac when you do so

"Oh how I love to hear you sing like that, my love~"

Groans when he slides it in

Gets rough but still careful enough, making sure that you're not hurt afterwards

Cums inside, painting your walls with his hot cream

Slowly pulls out with a soft moan, looks at your used hole and smirks when he sees his cum dripping out. Shoves it back in with his thumb and hums a bit "try to keep in for me, my love. It would be a waste if you let it leak out."

AFTERCARE

Kisses your tear-stained cheeks and gently caresses your skin (doesn't forget to untie you from the bedframe)

Asks how you're feeling while he holds you in his arms

"I'll get the bath ready for you." He whispers, kissing your forehead before getting up and covering your body with a blanket, then proceeds to the bathroom to get a warm shower started

Comes back in a robe with a softer demeanor

Carries you to the bathroom bridal-style and places you in the tub carefuly

Plays your favorite song on his phone

Peppers your face with kisses

"I love you~" he says as he sat himself beside the bathtub, looking longingly into your eyes

[soulful-rodent]

Imagine, if you will. An overweight and anxiety ridden Italian chef able to run at Mach 3 and break through metal, named Peppino Spaghetti, as well as his short, gnomish friend, Gustavo, and their pet rat, Brick come across Playtime Inc instead of the Player.

The first thing they come across is the Grabpack, which is given to Gus. The rest of chapter 1 happens. Brick finds all the tapes and watches them.

When they get to the end, after the vents. Huggy Wuggy is chasing them, Peppino is screaming but Gus has the bright idea to give Huggy a slice of pizza. ...and it works.

Gus:**patting Peppino's back** "Ey, don't worry Pep! The poor guy was just hungry, that's all!"

Brick then relays the messages of the tapes via squeaks to Gustavo.

*some time later*

They come across Poppy, open the case and she is instantly baffled by the rat, gnome, a traumatized Peppino, and Huggy Wuggy. But they carry on…

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

They carry on and Poppy gets kidnapped.

They slide down to rescue Poppy, and Mommy was only accounting for one guy, not the quartet.

MLL:"Emm...Poppy says she'll give you the train code when the games are complete, isn't that right P-"

Peppino: "Ohh Santa Maria, Lady! Just get on with it! "

Gus: "No need to be rude Peppe! This could be fun!" Peppino:"*sighing* Oki doki. We'll play your games, Missy! "

MLL:"Oh how wonderful! I'll see you to the Game Station then!"

And when it comes time, Gus and Peppino respectively gives PJ and the Wuggies hot and delicious pizza from the hammer space and a good bopping, though Peppino does rescue the Mini Wuggies. Then comes Bunzo, who is more of the same. Mommy however, is furious about this, almost demanding they play her way.

And soon, the chase happens, Peppino is carrying the little ones in his arms with Huggy following him, Gus is rolling on Brick, and Legs gets caught in the grinder.

She understandably screams, but Brick comes to the rescue by unplugging the thing.

MLL:Y-You saved me? Why? After everything I done!

P:Let's just say I have experience in this rescuing thing.

This of course, being a reference to both the Toppins, and the characters he rescues in the crumbling tower.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------After the train crash, everyone was seperated. They got back together, don't worry.

Gus and Brick with the littler ones, and Peppino with Huggy and Mommy.

They do manage to meet back up though at Playcare. Gus and company found a secret, employees only Cable car, Peppino and the BBI duo in his car. (as for the gas masks, I let the toys wait outside with Brick, who squeaks stories of the Tower. Gus and Peppino both find a mask though, dw.)

After all the cord connections, Peppino barrels through the School, promising Delight that him and his work partner have food and others waiting for them, so she comes with.

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

When Gus and Peppino find the critters, they quickly take them back to PlayCare, where MLL and Brick is keeping watch over everyone.

The Critters are alive and well, having been found by the duo, because I said so.

But when Gus and Peppino find DogDay, they're horrified. Peppino may have seen a lot of bad things, but this… The mini critters start to crawl to DogDay

DD: OH NO! ANGELS! RUUNN!

Peppino yowls, does his thing and builds up a combo on the minis, growing increasingly angry at the Prototype. Gus and Brick, however are helping Dogday to the others.

Gus:"Don't worry, you big puppy. I know a gal who's an expert in sewing! She'll fix you right up"

DogDay:"T-Thank you angels. You don't know how much this means to me!" and he's tearing up, the sweet boy

When Peppino and Gus find Catnap, Peppino is MAD. He runs down Catnap and nearly kills him from speed alone, but Gustavo talks down Pep from killing him. Gustavo knows, he just knows, that there is some good in Catnap. The Prototype descends from the ceiling, Gus petting a shivering Catnap who reaches to it. But Peppino yowls and pulls down the Prototype, a mishmash of toys, bones, flesh, and metal and begins mauling it.

And with one final punch, it's finished. The past can't be changed, but there can be a future with the victims of Playtime Inc. get to go free, and this, my friends, is one of them that my AuDHD mind conjured up

[ind1c0lite]

Assorted headcanons about Phoenix and the seven year gap because it lives rent free in my head and I must yell

-I made another post about it but Edgeworth was the first to hear about State v Enigmar and Maya was the first to see Phoenix in person after he's disbarred (and the first to meet Trucy)

-Originally Phoenix and Trucys situation was just him fostering her at first, not an immediate adoption of her, largely cause Phoenix was hoping for her sake that Zak would eventually come back to AT LEAST see her, but after like- year 2 of Zak being gone, it turned into an actual adoption of her and she legally became Trucy Wright (although she had started going by that name a few months beforehand)

-The first year for Phoenix was- Well Rough To Say The Least, he ended up getting into a l o t of fights with both Maya and Edgeworth and started really pushing them away (never in front of Trucy but she could tell something was going on) largely cause in his mindset at the time he didn't really think they understood what was going on (which he very much realized was VERY stupid considering who he was talking to) and eventually it ended in both Maya and Edgeworth staging something of an intervention and being like "hey man your being a huge dick to both of us we're trying to help you through this but also whats going on in that head", they ended up finally actually Talking and settled things for once, things got better after that! slowly yet surely

-After the bar association trial, Phoenix was the first to approach Kristoph for believing him, and that where their friendship started (Kristoph was going to just do regular ol stalking instead but decided that being "friends" with him would probably be easier here so he went with it)

- personally my least favourite interpretation of the 7yg is where Phoenix knows that kristoph was the one who framed him all along, like idk it's just not very interesting to me, it's kinda boring ghjkhlj I absolutely where people are coming from with it though but idk hgjkhl it's lame to me

- Even though Phoenix was no clue whether or not he's going to become a lawyer again and pretty much had adapted to his new life, he always has that little thought in his mind that if he becomes one again, everything in his life will get better instantly, he'll be useful again (spoiler alert, it doesn't immediately fix his life! he has Depression)

-Around year 2 was when Edgeworth started bringing over Phoenix and Trucy to Europe (in my mind he spends about half the year in Europe and Half in America), while he DID give the reason that he needed Phoenixs help with a case or two (and that wasn't an outright lie) largely he just wanted to spend time with the two of them and didn't know how else to express it, by year 5 Phoenix caught on to what he was doing and found it VERY funny, after that their trips were much less law focused

-Phoenix met Athena in Europe in Year 3 and kept in contact with her until she arrived in America, and oh BOY can she tell he is very upset

-Eventually he does go to therapy like- after DD, at the insistence of Athena and Trucy (it takes him a bit cause he's one stubborn man but he gets there eventually!)

-He started growing out his hair and realized that he did actually like this hair longer so he kept it!

-While he does not regret making Apollo use the forged ace in court, he does hope that one day they'll be able to mend things since he knows it hurt Apollo a lot, he cares about Apollo but is giving Apollo the space he needs to make that choice on his own, he's very proud of both him and Athena

-Trucy gave him her second earring so they could match! He nearly sobbed when she did that hgjkhl He did have to get his ears pierced to wear it but dw he was very brave about it

ok thats all I can remember rn enjoy HJGKH

[yanteetle]

(This is my first time sharing any writing prompt ever with someone outside my family! Just thought i’d give it a try)

Based on this post here: https://at.tumblr.com/yanteetle/if-you-are-doing-requests-what-about-donnie-and/qlxee0ww8jrx

You didn’t mean to hear their conversation, but that doesn’t make this situation any better.

You had a good day, you were even invited to go to a friends’ place for dinner. However, you’ve left something in Donnie’s lab from your last visit, and you needed to get it back. It would be a quick in-and-out, no need to let everyone there know of your presence.

You didn’t mean to eavesdrop on the conversation happening inside the lab, you didn’t even realize anyone was in there (well, you suspected Donnie would be). You just happened upon two of your best friends talking. Now, however, you are unsure whether you can even call these guys ‘friends’ anymore…

“Hurry up, Donnie! We don’t have that much time left! They are going to notice something wrong, and we will lose our chance!”

“Leo, calm down, I’ve already taken care of everything.”

“You’ve taken care of their ‘friend’ already? That was fast!”

“The benefits of being a genius, dear brother… and also having a dozen or so of electronics to do things for you.”

“Ok, just make sure it doesn’t look too suspicious this time. Last time you nearly got us caught, so make it look more like an accident this time, ‘Kay?”

“Sigh. I know, ‘Nardo. I’ve already updated the program to-”

You stopped listening in on their conversation. You felt sick. You could feel your body shaking as you held your hand to your mouth. Your other friends have been disappearing lately. Cutting ties, moving to a new state, ghosting you, all of that stuff. You knew something was up from the beginning, but you never thought they were responsible for it. As if this situation couldn’t get any worse, your phone suddenly went off.

Their eyes snapped instantly towards you, making direct eye contact. You could see several flashes of emotion on their faces, but you didn’t bother to try and make them all out.

You turned heels and ran.

You could feel your heart pounding as you bolted to the entrance of the lair. One of them was catching up to you, the footsteps just barely audible over your own. You could see the entrance come into view and you were almost there-

Then a sharp object pierced your neck, causing a sudden pain that made you yelp. Suddenly you found yourself sprawled out along the floor. You tried to get up, but every part of your body felt a lot heavier than before.

You could hear footsteps closing in on your form, before stopping right next to you. Something was pulled out of your neck, but you didn’t even have the energy to cry out in pain. You felt so tired.

Hands scooped you up into a bridal carry, allowing you to see which twin was chasing you.

Leo met your eyes, a grin plastered on his face as he carried you back towards the lab.

You could hear more footsteps, and noticed Donnie walking towards you. He had a similar cocky expression, and he appeared to be holding some kind of gun. You could barely bring yourself to focus on that. in fact, you could barely focus on anything. You felt so, so tired…

“Oh, my dear (Y/N)…”

“You weren’t supposed to hear that.”

You could feel your eyelids give out as you fell into a deep slumber. You should’ve just gone to eat at your friends’ place.

I can't believe you've been keeping this absolute MASTERPIECE from the public?? This is so good I love it!! For a short drabble/writing prompt you've managed to take my breath away!! It was a pleasure to be able to read this :"DD

[randomfoggytiger]

React: "Return to Me" (from the POV of Someone Averse to RomComs, Part III): Wherein I Rename Bob the Builder

Bob has arrived at O'Reilly's (even Riley would have been a better name than Bob. I'm sorry-- I vowed to let the Bob name thing rest. I'm sorry, carry on Bob.)

He likes the restaurant, it seems, though he has to gird up his loins (metaphorically) before exiting the car. (Excellent choice on DD's part to make Bob muted and mumbling after the death of his wife-- unless ranting at a boardroom, of course.)

I see Bob passes waitress lady and Minnie Driver, nice nice.

Charlie's happy to set up his friend.

Bob decides he isn't happy to be set up, after all.

Gold.

"Matchy matchy, green squared." Cue "Aha ahahhaah ahoy ahee ahoo" noises from everyone but Bob.

Yeah, this isn't going to work out.

If you can't tell from Bob's polite smile, he's dying inside.

Let me better illustrate:

And a great touch (or should I say, purposed non-touch): Bob reaches for the jacket foisted upon him blindly, not wanting to engage... eye contact.

Charlie just said...

No, I have to restart that:

Charlie just said.

BOB'S A BUILDER.

REALLY.

YOU NAMED HIM BOB BECAUSE HE WAS A BUILDER--

Y'know.

I had patience with your name, Bob. I did. I was a generous soul. No more. Your name's Ben now. Live with it-- unlike Elizabeth (buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurn.) I'm not sorry, Ben, I'm just petty now. I made a deal with you and this happens. You should be ashamed Ben Bob. Bob Ben. ...Bobbin'? Bobben? ...Nah, I'll stick with Ben, easier that way.

Not Bob's date being unimpressed that he designed a building instead of owning it was classic.

Take that sick burn, Ben Bob.

Meet Cute After Date Is Moot.

Some of Bob-Ben's animation returns as he tries to place Minnie Driver.

"Do we know each other?"

"Uh..." she looks engaged for the first time, too. "I think so."

Benners makes jokes about an Irish Italian restaurant before date woman jumps in with "blah blah blah" hands at Minnie-- which Ben doesn't appreciate. And, obviously, neither does Grace/Minnie.

These names are getting to be a lot but I don't care.

Bob grabs Grace's arm before she leaves, asking for a cup of coffee to smooth things over but mainly to add an "I'm sorry" before it.

I'm likin' this bittersweet Minnie Driver, I'm likin' it a lot.

"No straw," he winks.

Minnie's likin' that a lot, too.

Bob's so caught up in his head that he doesn't even notice his phone ringing. A good portent for his future.

When he realizes he has a way to escape, Ben Bob bobs out of that booth so fast you'd wouldn't have known he'd been there. (>:DD)

He then walks half-way across the restaurant to oh-so-casually wait behind Grace the waitress... and catches her doing the ol' be-nice-to-your-waitstaff parlor trick: swap the waters and the Karen won't know.

Bob is delighted; Minnie, caught, glides away; and I'm having a grand old time.

Benjo Bobberino sets up his escape plan with Big Mike (again, those Arcadia bells are ringing. Yes, I know it's a common American thing to put Big with Mike, but still.)

"Oh, I bet that's refreshing." Bobcalifragilisticexpialadocious deadpans, staring at the bottled tap water and sharing a private joke with Minnie.

Ben nearly murders a hag when she continues her badgering (if his strained intake of breath is anything to go by); and covers for his friend's stupid jokes, smoothing it over with a handwave.

Charlie, my man, Benanas is doing you a favor here. Don't embarrass yourself too badly.

I see you, Bob Ben (returning to the classics) wanting to try Grace's favorite dish and getting fed up when date has the gall to call it fattening and ask if anything's not covered in oil.

"No-- some we boil in Swiss water."

Meet Cute got a hearty laugh out of Mr. Morose, who doesn't care if the table is confused and not chuckling along.

Karen literally pulled the manager card. Her name's forever stamped as Karen to me, bravissima madame.

Ben faking his way through the phone convo is *chef's kisses.*

Charlie knows. "Byyyyyyyye."

Grace runs over, trying to make sure she hasn't offended her patron; and Ben is way too eager to assure her that the Karen woman isn't his girlfriend or even a friend.

Mr. Alive and Bantery, thou hast sort of returned.

Grace hands him takeout-- "Mr... Atsuki"-- and I don't know if I've seen anything greater in 24 hours.

...Oh wait, I haven't seen anything else in 24 hours.

Someone else is touched, too.

You see, my mutuals, this here is second marriage material: not as breakable as the first lovely, lost wife-- she has a little spit under her tongue.

My man Robert Benjamin has a lot to think over.

Gotta end it there for now~

Enjoy!

[verecunda]

🗣️Talk about your favourite WIP, 💗Is there a scene you can’t wait to write for a WIP?, 📝Share a snippet of an unposted WIP, with or without context.

(No pressure of course, only if you want to🤍)

Oooh, thank you!! :DD

🗣️Talk about your favourite WIP

A tie between my Celebrimbor/Finrod getting-together fic and the follow-up to my Angbang fic Beguiled by One. One is the fun of getting into a new rarepair (terra incognita!) and the second is something I've wanted to write since I posted that fic. :D

💗 Is there a scene you can’t wait to write for a WIP?

Hee!, well, gonna be honest, the sexy bits in the Angbang fic. Can you believe I've been into this pairing for nearly two years and I haven't written any smut for them yet?! I know!! Anyway, I'm looking forward to it - a bit nervous because I want to do it justice, you know? But also I think it's a bit different to most other "seduction of Mairon" fics I've read.

📝Share a snippet of an unposted WIP, with or without context.

Angbang's still stuck on scene-setting, so here's something from the C/F fic. In which nerding over Dwarven craftsmanship has some interesting undercurrents... ;)

Finrod's eyes met his in the glass, and Celebrimbor sent him a swift smile. Now he was better able to prepare himself for the feeling as Finrod gathered his hair back from his face and over one shoulder. Then came the soft chime of gems moving together, and Finrod's hands were passing the links of the Nauglamír over his head. His fingers brushed against the nape of Celebrimbor's neck as he fastened the clasp at the back - the very briefest of touches, yet it sent a warm start right through him. Then he let go, leaving the necklace free to settle about Celebrimbor's throat and across his breast. And for a moment, looking at it in the glass, he forgot to breathe. The light caught its white jewels, drawing from them a clear, milky radiance of their own, and danced along the gold filigree upon which they clustered. "Oh!" was all he could say. He was well used to the beauty of the Nauglamír, having seen Finrod wear it so often, but nothing could have prepared himself for how lightly it sat, as if he wore a collar of gossamer. Behind him in the glass, Finrod laughed. "I know! Is it not the most wonderful thing?" "Yes - yes, it is!" Gently, he raised his hands and, watching each movement reflected back in the mirror, he ran his fingers over the jewels and the whorls in between, full of delighted admiration. "I had heard, of course, but I had never imagined — what skill! What a truly magnificent thing." "Yes, indeed," said Finrod. "It becomes you very well."

Hm. What will happen next?? XD Thank you so much for the ask - I hope there's something there to catch your interest. <3

[noodlyappendages03]

My anxious attachment is rearing its ugly head. Dude texts me throughout the week only to leave me hanging. So I got up and asked him about the weekend. Now he's going tubing with a group of friends and will be back that evening. But he was looking at me and grinning from ear to ear. I think the man is shy around me. Explains a lot. Will I wait by the phone? No. I won't sit around and wait on a man because I have my own life. If I'm around, I'll pop by.

ETA: Oh, it's on. ☺️ 🔥 Called me his girl again. ❤️ Screw my inner frenemy! Saturday he's with his little girl. She's his main lady. Sunday? Turns out it's a group of 30 people and it's a club, and they're all going tubing. It's a way for him to experience Texas and make new friends. Love that for him. Out of nowhere, I get a text that asks me to wear a short skirt and sexy thong that day. Naughty schoolgirl? I say. Fuck yes, he says. Then he texts me very dirty sentiments. I cooked up a sexy outfit and some edibles. It's going to be a night that'll blow his mind...among other things.

My trust issues are a hurdle, but he's so patient with me. DD has a very sweet nature. I'm so used to toxic masculinity and abuse that I've never experienced someone with sweet, you'd say "golden retriever" energy. He had his walls up too, and kinda came across as an asshole at first. But all that has changed. Deep down, he's a romantic, but also playful. I love the playful side of him. He said he never wanted to get married again at first when it was new and we were both guarded, and now he says he doesn't want to get married for a long time. I was like, honey...slow your roll! I just want to be with you. We don't have to get married anytime soon! He was visibly relieved. But the conversation made me realize where his head is at. By the way...I also heard him tell my meddling coworker (after she caught him in a lie that he didn't call the girl she was trying to set him up with) that he has a girlfriend! 😱 (Soft launched at the office. Holy shit!) He's falling in love and he's so scared after his first marriage ended. So am I. I won't pressure him into anything, which I know is his fear from past experience. I'm open to whatever happens next. Having agendas and pushing toward commitment when not ready or because you're "supposed" to ruins relationships, IMO. Keep it organic.

He's open to new experiences like I am, and we have so much fun together. I've never had a boyfriend with that playful side (but I've always wanted one 😉). I love his snaggletooth smile and his dimples. I love his shiny, smooth bald head and the tiny patches of white hair in his goatee. I love his pouty, kissable lips. I love the way he whispers my name and touches me. Our song? Benson Boone's "Beautiful Things" (with "Slow It Down" a close second). It played on the speaker during our very first date. The time apart only made us miss each other more. ❤️❤️ I still replay our first kiss in my head, nearly 5 months later. He caught me by surprise...and it surprised him too when I gave in to my feelings. I think I'm falling in love with him, inner frenemy be damned.

[rainbowsky]

Hello! This is kinda a “panic” ask as you would put it, but I just wanted to ask. I know about the whole scandal lately and I recently talked to my mom (who knows more about Chinese culture and media than I do since I grew up in the US and she grew up in China). She told me that gg has been accused of a lot recently and because he hasn’t been appearing in many shows/performances lately, people are suspecting him even more (while dd’s projects are going great and he’s appearing a lot in public). I thought dd was the one who was going thru a bigger scandal, but it seems gg is experiencing a lot too. Obviously, I trust both of them utterly but I’m really concerned about gg especially because it seems that less people are believing him and I’m scared the scandal might get out of hand. I really don’t want something like 227 to happen again. I was wondering what you know about this situation and your thoughts? So sorry about this long ask.

Hi Anon!

Why did you have to bring your mother into this? I don't want to have to rip into someone's mother! Sometimes my job can be so hard... 😅

Fake, fan fiction, CPN.

I think it's important to remember that our impressions about things can be radically altered based on the company we keep, the news programs we watch and the online circles we run in. Someone who watches BBC News and reads the New York Times is going to have an entirely different perspective on what's happening than someone who listens to Joe Rogan and watches Fox News.

If your mother is spending a lot of time on YouTube gossip channels or rubbing elbows with anti circles or hanging out in certain Facebook groups, she's going to get a very distorted idea about what's happening with GG.

Yes, it's true that there are some people out there who genuninely believe some of the rumors about GG (and about DD), but that just goes with the territory. When you have antis out there trying to infect people with bad ideas, sometimes they'll get a hit. This is a huge part of why I'm always telling people to stay away from anti rumors.

These 'doubts and suspicions' aren't as widespread as your message makes it sound. GG and DD always have antis, and they will always be out there trying to smear them both. It's just part of being a star at their level. It's true that the latest attacks seem to have been pushed harder than we're used to seeing, but they aren't getting so much traction that fans need to start panicking.

There will always be credulous people who believe crazy things, but as I said recently, I think the fan wars and their resulting backlash are a far bigger threat than these anti messages are.

I know you said that you believe in GG and DD and I don't doubt it, Anon, but I still feel the need to point out the obvious: The idea that GG has a sugar daddy is completely ridiculous to anyone who gives the issue a moment's coherent thought.

'Sugar daddies' in the industry are big money backers with a lot of political and financial influence who can buy opportunities and bend rules to ensure that someone becomes a success. They can open doors for a wannabe star and put them places where they have no business being based on their level of ability and degree of popularity. They pave the way for someone's success.

Which begs the question, if GG had a sugar daddy looking out for his career, why has his career path been so damn rocky and so much of an ongoing struggle?

GG has had constant setbacks and barriers, and has caught no real breaks. The biggest break he had was CQL, which no one thought was going to be a huge project. It was the quality of the storytelling and the strength of GG and DD's chemistry that made that project a success. And shortly afterward he fell into a scandal that nearly destroyed his career - one that still haunts him to this day.

If anything, it's his lack of solid backing in his earlier career that led to a lot of struggle and probably still makes it harder for him to get his foot in the door at times. He's had to prove himself far beyond what a lot of other actors - even traffic stars - have had to. He wasn't some well-connected baby face fresh out of acting school. He was an inexperienced, untrained outsider coming into it as a second career, later in life than most.

Coming from where he came from, he's done really well for himself. But he had to work hard to get where he is. And he's had to endure a hell of a lot of BS.

And GG is massively, massively popular. He doesn't need to buy his way into anything. He has a lot of dedicated, active fans. He doesn't need someone to wrangle him endorsements or roles. The roles will come to him because people like to make money. The endorsements will come to him because any product he endorses sells out within seconds. He has a massive influence on brand sales. Other artists can't even come close.

Endorsements (above) Brand star with goods ranking (below)

GG is in many ways a victim of his own popularity. His fans are constantly causing problems for him and drawing attention to him at times when he least needs to be in the public eye. In fact, THAT is why I suspect GG has been laying low lately. Not because he's 'cowering amidst some sort of scandal', but rather because now is not a time to be taking up a lot of oxygen in Chinese media.

The National Congress is just a month away, and it's a time when certain officials want to be #1 in the hearts and minds of the citizens, and to look good in front of peers. It's not a good time to be stealing the spotlight or reminding people that you are widely viewed as the biggest traffic star with notoriously disruptive fans - something that the government has heavily targeted in recent policy as they try to rein in fan behavior and fan culture.

GG is a smart man. He's not going to do anything to put his career in jeopardy. Laying low is his best move right now.

And GG went through 2/27, surely the most 'cleansing' experience any star could go through. Let me tell you - if there was any dirt on GG, it would have come out then, when everyone was out to get him and he was on the brink of being cancelled. If there was any dirt on him, he would not have been able to recover from the scandal the way he has. Slowly, painfully.

And if he had big backing there's no way he would have been dragged in the media and online as hard as he was, or for as long as he was, during that scandal. He wouldn't have been made a scapegoat quite the way he was during that scandal.

Anyone who genuinely believes those hateful anti rumors needs an urgent brain transplant (no disrespect to your mother).

Everyone needs to take their own path as a fan. Everyone needs to decide for themselves what they believe, what they want and need from fandom, etc. etc. I can't do those things for other people. I wouldn't even want to try.

When we become fans we make our own choices about where we stand with our idols. We either believe in them, or we don't.

Doubt is understandable, wariness is understandable. It doesn't take a lot of years or life experience to have found oneself the fan of someone whose worthiness turned out to be questionable. I think we all need to realize that there is a lot more to our idols than we will ever be aware of (than we ever should be aware of).

But anti messages... they're just bullshit. Most of it transparently so. Like I said in my recent post about this topic, the same so-called 'evidence' is being photoshopped to implicate GG, to implicate DD, to implicate other stars as well. It's all blatantly fake.

Some antis have been spreading around pictures of GG with an older man who is pampering and preening GG, claiming it's 'the official who was his sugar daddy' when in reality the man in the photos is the makeup artist GG has been working with for years.

They don't even try to make the 'evidence' realistic, because they don't need to. They know that a lot of people will eat idiotic claims up without doing even the barest minimum of analysis. And turtles are the credulous victims of this kind of thing all the time.

People need to cultivate some critical thinking skills and develop intellectual self-defense. There is 'having healthy skepticism about artists and being realistic about fandom', and then there is 'being incredibly gullible and susceptible to anti messaging'. Too many people flatter themselves that they're doing the former when they're actually doing the latter.

As for GG and his well-being, Anon, GG is tough as nails. He's been through a lot, he's learned a lot, and he is surrounded by people who are highly qualified to give him expert advice.

I trust him to know what is best for his career. I trust him to take care of himself and do what is best for him. He has a highly capable team working for his best interests, and friends and loved ones who support him. I leave it all in their capable hands.

The best that any of us can do is just trust him to handle his shit. If he hasn't already proved his ability to do so, then no one can!

[petertingle-yipyip]

MAD AT GOD - MATT MURDOCK

three - traitor

tags: @linkpk88 // masterlist // two // four

Pairing: None officially (Featured M. Murdock/DD x Vigilante!Reader)

Word Count: 8, 183

Summary: Fisk’s games nearly drive the Devil and Exodus apart. Do they really trust each other or will they turn on each other?

You had just landed on the ground from your building’s fire escape when you were slammed into the wall. You were grabbed by your suit front and slammed once again, your spine colliding before your head bounced. When your eyes finally focused, you saw the Devil with his hands gripping your suit.

“You lied to me!” He shouted.

“No, I didn’t.” You defended quickly while you pulled on his wrists in a weak attempt to get him off you. You weren’t necessarily easy to scare anymore, but something about the intent of his actions sent soft fear through your bones.

“You told me it wasn’t you!” He continued.

“I-“ You tried before being slammed again. You coughed violently as the air was knocked from your lungs. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

You felt the pure anger stemming off him, fiery and growing hotter with every word that fell from him. You tried to settle him, allowing yourself to absorb his anger and seemingly burn yourself in the process but it didn’t seem to make a difference. So you pushed out calm, you pushed out your own fear so he could see what he was doing to you.

But at the same time, you were trying to figure things out. You could only guess what he was mad about. You tried to replay the conversation but nothing made sense. You talked about Anatoly, told him you left the Russian alive. You talked about the fact that the girl who the Devil saved was Y/N…. Y/N.

He put together that you were Y/N…

Now, you were truly scared.

On the other side, Matt paused, listening to her heartbeat. He could hear her breathing was a bit shallow and fast. There was a scraping sound in her chest, like the sound of two stones rubbing together. Her heart was almost as steady as ever, running fast for having just stepped out. But her fear was what he noticed the most…

Exodus was afraid of him right then.

He stepped away slowly, hands shaking as he balled them into fists at his side. He heard her sigh in relief and the sound of her suit against the wall as she slid to sit on the ground with a small thud. 

“What the hell is your problem?” You asked when you had regained your composure.

“Last time I saw you.” He knelt in front of you, causing you to pull your knees to your chest and put as much distance between you two as possible. “You said that it wasn’t you. You lied to me… And I couldn’t tell.”

You scoffed. “So are you mad at me or mad at yourself that your little trick doesn’t work on me?”

“No, I’m-“ He stopped and took a deep breath. “I’m mad that you lied to me.”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you!” You sighed and kicked at his shoulder so he fell away from you. “I didn’t lie to you.”

“Then why did-“

“What difference does it make?” You cried out suddenly. “What does it fucking matter?”

“Because now I’m caught up in your mess!”

You paused to think, wondering what mess you were in that would drag in the Devil. There was the mess with the Russians, but that was Exodus’ mess.

“I don’t think we’re yelling about the same thing.” You realized with a relieved laugh.  “What mess?”

“You killed Anatoly. Delivered his headless body to his brother.” He explained, jumping to his feet. You stood as well, though the sick feeling in your stomach was almost enough to bring you to your knees. “And they’re saying we did it.”

“I didn’t.” You said quietly, shaking your head. “I- Devil Boy, you’ve gotta believe me…”

“How can I trust you?” He asked sadly with a shrug. He was truly disappointed that he couldn’t fully trust you to keep your word.

“You wanna know why your little heart trick doesn’t work on me?” You offered. “I said that I could feel other people’s emotions, right? But I can also make people feel mine and I can make myself feel a specific emotion at the drop of a hat too… I don’t have a tell because I turn off every emotion when I need to lie.”

“You think I’m gonna believe that?”

You groaned and held your hand out for his. Hesitantly, he took his glove off and gave his hand to you. You pressed his hand against your chest and sighed inwardly, allowing yourself to feel whatever emotions may come. You shut off your carefully constructed defenses - guards you had up for years - and felt very vulnerable. These were defenses that you didn’t even let down around Matt and Foggy, but you didn’t want the Devil not to trust you if you two were really going to work together.

“I’m not from Hell’s Kitchen. I grew up in San Francisco and my dad is Tony Stark.” You lied and his mouth lifted into a small smile. “Was that true?”

“No.” He said softly. “None of it was.”

“When I left Anatoly, he was alive. Decapitating someone isn’t my style. It’s too gruesome, even for me. He just wants to play us against each other since I turned him down.”

“Who does?” He stepped back, allowing his hand to fall away and you replaced your emotional guards.

“My guess? Fisk.” You leaned against the wall behind you and crossed your arms behind your back. “I know that the man who tried to hire me works for Fisk so I’m guessing that’s who else was there.”

“Wait. You saw Wilson Fisk?”

“I assumed it was him. Bigger guy, bald head, kinda raspy voice and dramatic speech pattern. If you ask me, since he knows I turned down the contract as a way to repay my debt to you, he wants us to turn against each other… And it nearly worked.”

“It didn’t…”

“I felt your rage… It worked for a second.” You answered softly.

“Exodus, I.. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” You nodded. “I wouldn’t trust me either.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. Exodus!” He tried calling after you as you were walking away.

“Don’t worry. I’m not gonna kill anyone…”

The next day at the office, you were still pissed. You knew it was radiating off you and you knew it was obvious but you didn’t care to control it. You kept your eyes down on your notebook, writing down the various thoughts Matt threw out for whatever he was working on. But if someone were to ask you what the details were, you wouldn’t have been able to answer.

“Y/N?” He said suddenly.

“No, yeah.” You nodded. “I got it. Anything else?”

“Something’s wrong.”

“I’m fine.” You shook your head, though you knew he couldn’t see it. “Did you want anything else written out? I’ll type it up and then come by tomorrow to-”

“Y/N.” He sighed, coming over to stand in front of you. He knelt down and gently took your notebook from your hand. You sighed inwardly and looked up, leaning back in your chair with a small huff. “Tell me what’s up.”

“It’s nothing.” You tried again as you reached for your notebook, but he moved it further from your reach. “I just- I’m fighting with a friend and he… He’s mad at me for something I didn’t do.”

“A friend?” He raised his brows. “Or a boyfriend?”

“Definitely not a boyfriend.” You smiled, despite your sour mood. There was a hint of relief from Matt. “No, I don’t think he really likes me all that much. Not anymore at least… And now, I wouldn’t even really say we’re friends.”

You were hurt but also highly offended that it only took one rumor to turn the Devil against you. Maybe he wasn’t really your partner after all.

Maybe you should’ve taken the contract when Wesley first offered it.

What you knew for sure was that you should’ve killed Anatoly, for how firm his accusations were. 

“Excuse.” An older lady said from the main room. You stood and let Matt take your arm as you left, though you knew he didn’t need it. He could navigate the office as easily as he navigated his apartment. It eased a bit of your tension but not enough to truly settle your mind.

“…Señor Foggy Law?” She asked nervously. 

“Bess Mahoney?” Foggy asked. “Brett’s mom?”

“Sí, she refer me.” She nodded enthusiastically.

You smiled softly as she told her story in Spanish. Foggy looked between you and Matt and you opened your mouth to translate, but Karen cut in.

“Something about cigars?” She said uncertainly.

“You know Spanish?” You asked.

“Just what I remember from high school.” She waved her hand.

“Ms. Cardenas.” Foggy said. “Tell us what happened.”

“Mi casa es rent-control. But Señor Tully…”

“Armand Tully?” You asked and she nodded. “Doesn’t that sleazebag own buildings all over town?”

“Sí, and Señor Tully…” She shook her head and sighed. The story continued between Ms. Cardenas speaking Spanish and Karen translating.

“I don’t know that last word.” Karen turned to you.

“Sledgehammers.” You and Matt said at the same time.

“College.” Matt nodded.

“I just speak a lot of languages in general.” You shrugged. 

“Did one of you want to?” She gestured to you and Ms. Cardenas. 

“No, no.” Matt shook his head. “I like listening to your voice.”

You looked at Matt with sad eyes before dropping your gaze to the floor. You knew Matt to be flirty, but you could tell it was something a little more. There was something between him and Karen. And it only reminded you that you had missed your chance with Matt.

First due to Elektra, now Karen.

Talk about shitty timing.

You swallowed the upset feeling and smothered it so no one else would catch it while you listened to the rest of Ms. Cardenas’ story. But your control was too late. Foggy tapped your hand and when you looked he mouthed a question to you.

“You okay?” He asked silently.

“No.” You mouthed while you shook your head. “But it doesn’t matter.”

He sighed and tilted his head, frowning at you. You shrugged and waved him off. He turned back to Ms. Cardenas hesitantly but you could tell he wasn’t happy with your response.

“Maybe we can pressure Tully into giving a bigger payout?”

“We do not want money.” She shook her head. You could feel her sadness, her pain in losing her home. But you also felt her determination to fight back. “We want to stay in our homes.”

Women like Ms. Cardenas gave you hope, gave you a reason to fight.

“Señora Cárdenas, puedo enviar a mi compañero a hablar con los abogados del Señor Tully. Haremos todo lo posible para mantenerte a ti y a tus vecinos en tu casa. Por supuesto, si quieres que lo hagamos.” You offered. “Foggy le encantaría hacer eso por ti.” (Ms. Cardenas, I can send my partner to go talk to Mr. Tully’s lawyers. We’ll do everything we can to keep you and your neighbors in your home. Of course, if you want us to. Foggy would love to do it for you.)

“Claro que si.” She nodded happily. “¡Por supuesto! Gracias, señorita…” (Of course, yes! Of course. Thank you, Ms…)

“Y/L/N.”

“Beautiful.” She nodded with a kind smile. “Y cariño, el amor no siempre es fácil, pero no te rindas con él.” She said softly, placing a gentle hand on your shoulder. (And honey, love is not always easy, but do not give up on him.)

“Lo tendré en cuenta.” You nodded. (I will keep that in mind.)

“I see how you look at him.” She leaned in and whispered. “Don’t let him go without a fight.”

You leaned back and laughed, nodding slightly. “I will try.. We’ll call you when we have something.”

“Why did you say my name?” Foggy asked once Ms. Cardenas had left the room. Matt chuckled and you simply grinned. “I heard my name.”

“I told her you would love to talk to Tully’s lawyers.” You said simply. “No big deal.”

“No big deal?” He urged. “You know who represents Tully? Landman and Zack!”

“You’ll be fine!” You insisted. “I have to type up some notes for him so I can’t help you.”

“I’m gonna head to the precinct and find any complaints against Tully.” Matt added. “You wanna come with me first, Y/N?”

You were quiet for a moment. If you said no, it’d be clear that something was off and it’d only lead to persistent questions. None you wanted to answer. If you said yes, you’d have to pretend like everything was okay. One answer was definitely easier than the other.

“Yeah, I can make it work.” You nodded.

“I’m not going to L and Z alone. They’ll shark attack me! Look at me. I’m delicious.” Foggy reasoned, gesturing to himself.

“Take Karen.” You gestured to the blonde. You turned to her, who was staring at you with moderately wide eyes.

“It could be fun?” You tried with a shrug.

“Well, I’ve never seen sharks feed up close.” She teased.

“Try not to splash too much.” Matt joked on his way out after he took your hand.

“It’ll only attract them.” You added with a giggle. “Good luck, Fogster. I believe in you!”

“You’re all hilarious.” He complained.

You and Matt walked to the precinct in relative silence, other than your quick cues and warnings while you guided him. Neither of you really had much to say. You were preoccupied with how you were going to win the Devil back to your side. Knowing he didn’t fully trust you meant he never really did, and that hurt worse than any sort of pain you had before.

Matt was thinking about everything. How was he gonna find Wilson Fisk? Who even was Wilson Fisk? Who was this guy that Y/N was fighting with? Why was Y/N so quiet? What was he going to say the next time he saw Exodus?

You let Matt talk to Mahoney while your eyes wandered around. You felt other people’s emotions while you waited for Matt’s friend to go pull the complaints. You felt a lot of annoyance, a bit of anxiety here and there. Pretty much what you expected from a police station.

“Hey.” He tapped your hand.

“Yeah?” You offered.

“What else is going on?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you…” He began, thinking about the right way to phrase it. He always double checked his words around you. Not because you wouldn’t understand what he meant, but more because he wanted to know he said the right thing. “Your whole demeanor shifted when Ms. Cardenas left. Did it have to do with her little comment about love?”

“You heard that.” You chuckled. “It’s not… Not anything really worth talking about.”

“You know you can talk to me, right?” He took your hand in his, running his thumb gently over your knuckles. You saw his brows furrowed when he felt the rough texture from breaking open. “What ha-“

“Thank you, Matt.” You cut in and squeezed his hand. “There’s just some things that I can’t talk about… To anyone. Not yet at least. But trust me when I say that you are probably the one person that I want to tell.”

He sighed slightly but nodded. As much as he wanted to pry, he knew he shouldn’t. He kept secrets of his own, so pressing until you gave up yours wasn’t fair.

The next thing you knew, gunshots rang out. You and Matt disregarded your request for the complaints and left, hurried out by officers who were trying to clear the precinct. You didn’t even have time to find the emotional spike that would’ve accompanied the shooting.

That night, you stayed in. You had work to do, an apartment to clean, and injuries to tend to. 

After you busted your stitches beating Anatoly, you never replaced them. You left the wound open but covered so it would stick to or bleed through your clothes at work. Your knuckles were busted again and your chest still rubbed together occasionally. The back of your head were the only stitches that remained, though they were growing itchier every day as they healed.

You were doing dishes when you heard the shift on your fire escape. Your mind ran through possibilities quickly. It couldn’t have been Foggy because he said your fire escape was a death trap. It couldn’t have been Karen because she didn’t know where you lived. It couldn’t have been Matt because he was blind. Which only left the Russians, someone Fisk hired, or the Devil. Given the odds were leaning towards someone who was going to try and kill you, you gripped one of the steak knives tightly and waited for the sound of your window opening.

You spun quickly and flung the knife, only to see the Devil dodge it so it landed in your windowsill with a deep thud. You winced as you felt your shoulder wounds pulling open.

“That landed in my wall, didn’t it?” You groaned as you dried your hands.

“Gotta work on your aim.” He chuckled as he pulled it from the wall.

“Aim isn’t the problem.” You muttered and rolled up your sleeve. 

“You opened your cuts.” He hurried across the room, tossed the knife in your sink,  and grabbed some of the napkins from your countertop.

“Ah.” You groaned as he pressed on the injury. “How’d you know?”

“I could taste the copper in the air.”

“Tasted the copper.” You chuckled. “Well that makes sense. Blood kinda smells like pennies.”

“Where’d the stitches go?” He asked as he felt the slice through the thin paper product.

“Uh… I popped them the other day and just haven’t been able to find your friend at Metro General.”

“You need to close these up.”

“I’ll be fine.” You shook your head. “I work at a law office so it’s not like I’m overusing my arm.”

“Can I clean it up and cover it for you at least?”

“I-“ You sighed. “Fine. I’ll get my kit.”

You replaced his hand with your own before you went to the bathroom for your first aid kit. When you came back, he was washing his hands in your kitchen sink.

“So uh.” You tossed the kit on the table and sat down. “Your friend Exodus came to see me.”

“She’s not my friend.” He said simply as he peeled the blood soaked napkins off your shoulder.

“No? Well, she really respects you.” You answered. “You gotta be something to her because she apologized for me getting caught up in her thing with the Russians… She said you wanted her to.”

“You didn’t deserve that.”

“And no one in this town deserves saving, yet here you are.”

“You don’t believe that.”

“Fine… Two people really deserve saving, and a third one maybe. Foggy Nelson and Matt Murdock for sure. Karen Page is getting there.”

The Devil paused his movements, thinking about what you said. He realized you didn’t say yourself.

“What about you?” He asked as he kept going.

“No… I’ve done things that I can’t forgive myself for, things I shouldn’t be forgiven for. But one of my best friends, this die hard Catholic boy, he’d insist that I can be forgiven and I want to believe that I just… don’t.”

“I’m sure you’re not as bad as you think.”

“Says the masked hero who saves everyone who needs it.” You tilted your head to mock him. “The point is that you should take it easy on her. She told me that you freaked out on her for something she didn’t do and it scared her...”

He didn’t say anything as he taped the gauze in place.

“Obviously, I don’t know everything about your guys’ relationship. I don’t even know who you guys are but I can tell she’s trying.”

“Yeah, I’ll…” He nodded with a small smile. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“And thanks, for this.” You gestured to the gauze he just finished. “Keeping it under wraps from my partners has been difficult but…”

“You didn’t tell anyone?” His head tilted and you assumed his brows furrowed.

“What was I supposed to tell them?” You shrugged. “Okay, I kinda told one of my friends, but that’s just cause…”

You made a vague gesture, as if it should be clear as to why you would tell Matt. Though the Devil knew nothing about you, so why would he know?

“You ever been in love?” You asked suddenly.

“What?”

“You’ve gotta have someone you care about enough to put your life at risk every night, or someone who cares about you enough to try and keep them safe... So I’ll ask again. Have you ever been in love?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “Couple times.”

“It end up workin’ out for you?”

“No.” He chuckled. “No, not really.”

“Well, that makes me feel a little better. Even the best of us mess it up, huh?”

“Did you ever tell whoever you were in love with that you were in love?”

“No.” You sighed sadly. “Every time I thought I would, he was in love with someone else…. Right person but always the wrong time. First time he actually had a girlfriend but this time… He’s got feelings for another girl.”

“You should say something.” He offered and patted your arm. “I’m sure you can get anyone you want.”

“Yeah, you’d think so.” You chuckled. “Should I expect you to come by often?”

“Till I know you’re safe, I’ll be around.”

“You really think they’re gonna come after me again?” You nearly scoffed. “One of those guys hit the guillotine so I would argue they have something more important to deal with.”

“I just wanna be sure.” He reached over and took your hand, giving a gentle squeeze.

You glanced down and furrowed your brows. That was a bit of an odd gesture, considering you didn’t really know him. You let it slide and chalked it up to him trying to be comforting and gentle, but it still struck you a bit odd.

“Thanks.” You nodded. “You need something to drink? Water maybe. Or tequila.”

He chuckled. “No, I should get going.” He stood and slowly let his hand slip from yours.

Another odd gesture.

“Bad guys to beat up?” You teased.

“And a morally gray girl to apologize to.” He shrugged before disappearing down your fire escape.

A few days later, you had a plan. It was reckless. It was loud, a statement. But it had to be done. You were shutting down the Russians, once and for all.

Rumors had been circulating that the Devil worked with Exodus to kill Anatoly, that his mask was found in the black SUV where Anatoly’s brains were splattered across. Your knife puncture was in the rear passenger door. You two were pinned at the scene, only neither of you had the brute force to take a head off with a car door.

If Fisk wanted to start a war between you and the Devil and the Russians, he got exactly what he wanted. He started the war and you were going to end it.

You had rigged bombs throughout a building you knew the Russian’s controlled. It was a storage place for the product they were moving for Gao, an older lady that was a drug lord. She would be your next issue soon enough. You were a couple rooftops over with the trigger, waiting for what you saw as the best time to detonate.

“Exodus.” The Devil said from behind you, making you turn quickly. “Long time no see.”

“You shouldn’t be here.” You shook your head and turned away from him.

“I’ve been looking for you.”

“And I’ve been busy.”

“I just want to apolog-”

“Will you shut up?” You hissed as you knelt down and watched the building. “I need to see when Vladimir enters that building.”

“What are you planning?” He knelt beside you.

“Ending a war.” You said simply, flipping the cover for the button with your thumb. “And they won’t think you were involved if you get out of here.”

He reached over and found your hand, feeling the detonator in your palm. You pulled your hand away quickly and groaned, pushing your other hand against his chest to keep him back.

“Don’t say anything.” You warned.

“You’re gonna blow up the building?” He asked quietly.

“Yes, now back off.”

“Exodus!”

“I don’t care!” You shouted and pressed the button. The building in front of you blew, soon followed by the next. “That building is controlled by the Russians. I want them gone and this is how I’m going to do it.”

“This is what you want people to see you as?” He challenged.

“I don’t care how people see me.” You shrugged, dropping the detonator and smashing it under your heel. “What do you see me as?”

“I don’t know anymore.” He said sadly. His disappointment crept towards you but you ignored it, letting it bounce off and not affect you. “Y/N told me that you-”

“Let her go!” You groaned and threw your hands forward. “She’s alive. You were her hero. This keeps her safe too!”

Before he could say another word, you caught a glimpse of Vladimir ducking down the alley and anything the Devil said went in one ear and out the other. You scoffed and shook your head. All those bombs and you still missed your big target. You three your hook into the ground and jumped off the roof, scaling down until your feet hit the asphalt. You ditched the wire and ran after Vladimir.

You caught him in the next alleyway and threw your charged disc at his back. It hit the center of his spine and brought him to the floor. You hurried over and flipped him to his back, gripping his shirtfront to avoid him squirming away. With your other hand, you threw punches at his face.

Every punch you landed threw his head back to bounce off the concrete, right back into your heavy hits. He pulled on your wrist, trying to get free of your hold but you refused to let go. Instead, you fired a quick shot from that wrist’s Widow’s Bite and smiled wickedly as he screamed from the shock. The blood from his mouth splattered across the asphalt, your own knuckles growing redder and bloodier with every hit. 

There was something wickedly satisfying with the picture his blood splatters created.

“Your brother couldn’t escape me and neither can you.” You said devilishly as you charged your Bite, allowing the red glow to illuminate your features. “I didn’t kill him. Neither did the Devil. But now I wish that I did.”

“Exodus!” The Devil yelled from behind you.

“Leave me alone!” You yelled back.

“Don’t do it.” He panted. “It’s not worth it.”

“I don’t give a shit.”

“Hands up!” You heard another voice yell. Glancing over your shoulder, you saw two cops coming with their guns raised. “Interlock your hands behind your head and get on your knees!”

“God dammit.” You groaned, slamming Vladimir to the ground and moving.

You fell to your knees and locked your fingers together behind your head. You were cuffed and hauled to your feet, roughly shoved against the cop car. Moments after, the Devil was slammed beside you.

“Happy now?” You mocked. “You fucked us both over.”

“What about him?” Turning your head, you saw one of the officers gestured to Vladimir.

“Take care of him. No witnesses, remember?” The other officer shrugged.

You quickly elbowed the officer behind you in the jaw. You grabbed his belt, fingers hooking around the key ring at the same time, and dropped to a knee, throwing your shoulder forward. The officer fell over your shoulder, head hitting the fender of his car hard enough to fall unconscious and leave a dinner plate sized dent. You rolled over your back to avoid the gunshots from his partner. You stopped at his feet and spun your legs to knock him to his back. You dropped your heel against his forehead and he fell unconscious as well.

You laid flat on your back and took a deep breath, giving yourself a small break. Once you were ready, you sat up and wiggled the key into place and opened your cuffs.

“I should leave your ass here.” You mumbled as you unlocked the Devil’s cuffs.

“More officers will be here any second.” He explained.

“Grab him and let’s go.” You sighed and led the Devil down alleys to an older, long abandoned warehouse.

“This is bullshit.” You complained as you paced the empty room. “If you hadn’t gotten involved-”

“You would’ve killed him.” The Devil cut in, standing in front of you to stop your pacing. “Yeah. I know.”

“We wouldn’t be holed up in this place with the cops looking for us!” You urged. “We would be long gone by now!”

“You just blew three buildings! Of course the cops are gonna look for you!”

“I only blew one.” You scoffed. “I hadn’t gotten to the other two yet. I didn’t wanna take down all three cause it’d take out half the city at the same time.”

Vladimir mumbled in Russian from the ground before the Devil could get a word in. You sighed and walked away, sitting on the ground beside Vladimir. You leaned over him to see the gunshot wound at his side and you smiled slightly, knowing he deserved it.

“That sounds pretty bad, but I don’t speak asshole.” The Devil taunted as he came around the other side.

“I do.” You cut in. “But English would be easier. I didn’t come here to be an interpreter.”

“I’m gonna kill you for taking my brother’s head.” Vladimir threatened from the floor.

“Я уже говорил тебе, что мы этого не делали.” You groaned. (I already told you we didn’t do that.)

“That wasn’t us.” The Devil confirmed. “I don’t kill people and neither does she… Not anymore.”

“She wanted to kill me.” Vladimir spat.

“Yet you’re still alive.” You announced in annoyance.

“You drop Semyon off a roof and I find your mask with what was left of my brother, but you expect me to believe you?”

“Fisk is playing you.” You said plainly. “He tried to turn him and I-” You gestured between you and the Devil. “-against each other and start a war. I was starting to blow your operation to shit because your men came after me, but Fisk finished it off. He probably owns half the damn police force too. All of this is part of Fisk’s game, and we’re all playing. Whether we want to or not.”

“What do you want?” Vladimir asked weakly.

“You in the ground.” You shrugged as the Devil answered with “Fisk on trial.”

“You’re a fool.”

“And you’re bleeding out.” The Devil commented. You leaned over again and pressed on the area around the wound, pressing more blood out and causing Vladimir to cry out in pain.

“What do I get out of this?”

“Payback.” You glanced up and saw his eyes shut. “Well that’s not good.”

He ignored you and pulled out a burner, dialing what you assumed was the only number saved. You tuned out of the conversation while he talked to his nurse friend, Claire. You watched as he followed her instructions, a sadistic spark lighting in your chest when he lit the flare. You crawled over to be beside Vladimir’s head and covered his mouth with your hand to muffle his screams as the Devil cauterized his wound.

“Someone’s coming.” The Devil said suddenly.

“Probably a cop.”

“Try not to kill them.”

“Bite me.” You rolled your eyes and got to your feet.

You separated from the Devil and crept around to get behind the officer. When your shot was clear, you ran at him and drove your knee into his back between his shoulder blades. He tumbled forward and landed at the Devil’s feet.

“That was easy enough.” You shrugged.

“Who do you work for?” The Devil asked as he pulled the office to his feet.

“NYPD.” He answered in a panic.

“Devil.” You tried. “He’s freaking out. If he was with Fisk, I’d be getting anger… All I’m getting is fear and panic.”

There was talk over the radio and the officer screamed that you two were in the building with an injured civilian. You shot a smaller shock from your Bite and watched as he fell unconscious in the Devil’s grip. The Devil scowled at you and you simply flipped him off while you grabbed the old roll of duct tape. You two taped the officer to a post and his mouth shut before returning to Vladimir.

“The building’s surrounded.” You announced, tapping your glasses to see through the building. “I’m getting a lot of nervousness, but some excitement… They’re ready to kill me and you, Devil.”

“Ten officers… Four dogs.” The Devil specified.

“You know this how?” Vladimir scoffed.

“He’s a human radar and I’m an empath. Does it really matter?” You shrugged. “By the way, he cauterized the wound while you were down. Don’t move around a lot.”

“You let him burn me?”

“I wanted to do worse so you should thank-“ You began closing in on Vladimir when the Devil sidestepped to block your path.

“Knock it off.” He scolded.

“Don’t talk to me like a child!” You hissed.

“Then stop acting like one.”

“So you just stand there and let me die, hmm?” Vladimir taunted. You saw the Devil’s jaw clench and felt a rising anger from him.

“Don’t let him get to you.” You offered, pinching the bridge of your nose with a sigh. “He’s just trying to piss you off.”

“But you won’t kill me yourself.” He chuckled. “Is that where you draw the line?”

“Shut up.” You groaned.

“You think you’re different?” He continued to taunt the Devil. “Different from me? From him? … From her?” He gestured to you. “You’ll get there… Men like us always do.”

“Alright, I’ve had enough.” You announced and moved towards Vladimir, your hand in a tight fist.

The Devil’s arm came around your waist and he carried you away while Vladimir chuckled.

“Touch me like that again and I break your arm.” You threatened.

“We need him alive to get to Fisk.” The Devil said simply, hand still on your waist.

“Fisk isn’t gonna let us get anywhere near him.” You scoffed and pushed his hand away.

“Ex.” He grabbed your arm.

“You did not just try to give me a nickname.”

You couldn’t help but smile. He chuckled and pulled you closer to speak quietly in your ear. His hand stayed on your arm with a gentle squeeze, as if to ensure you wouldn’t go anywhere.

“We need him, just for now.” He tried. “Trust me… Please.”

“You didn’t trust me.” You replied in the same hushed tone. “Why should I?”

“I was wrong… I’m sorry.”

You couldn’t help but wonder what convinced him but you knew better than to ask.

“I’m not gonna just forgive you but… I’ll follow your lead.” You nodded, pulled a small case from your belt. You opened it and offered it to him. “Take this.”

“What is it?”

“Comms piece.”

“No.” He shook his head. “I need to hear everything.”

You groaned and put the case away. Instead, you slid the microphone piece from under your Bite and moved to attach it to his shirt. He backed off slightly but you grabbed his shirt.

“Relax. It’s just the mic.” You rolled your eyes as you clipped it to his collar. “Now I can hear you too.”

“You have an earpiece?” He asked, touching the mic.

“Sort of.” You ran your fingers over the scar under your hair and heard the faint beep. “It’s an implant, kinda like a cochlear. Once it’s on, it’s like a universal bluetooth, but it’s also a long story and I don’t want to get into it.”

“Huh.” He nodded.

“Listen up, Vladdy.” You announced to break up the silence that had fallen between you and the Devil. You crossed the room and knelt in front of him. “Fisk owns enough of the cops and enough dirt on you to put you in a jail cell for a long time, assuming he doesn’t just kill you first. We’re your best chance of getting out of here alive. So either work with us or we leave you for dead.” You flicked his fresh scar, causing him to hiss. “Your choice.”

“His lapdog came to us first.” He said tightly.

“James Wesley?”

“Mmm.” He nodded. “He complimented our business and offered us a part in something bigger if we entered an agreement.”

“What did Fisk offer?” The Devil asked, coming to kneel by your side.

“Police looking the other way, aid from politicians, and access to the Chinese and their heroin.”

“He’s working with the Chinese?”

“You don’t know anything, do you?” Vladimir mocked.

“Cut the shit.” You dug a knuckle into the tender scar, causing Vladimir to groan and grab at your wrist. “Give us names.”

“There’s only one that matters!” He said desperately, hoping you would ease off. “He ties it all together… Ever hear of Leslie Shumway?”

“Al Capone’s accountant.” You nodded and folded both arms over your upraised knee. “So who’s Fisk’s money man?”

“He handled it for all of us.”

“Great. Who is he?”

Vladimir mumbled something quietly and you watched as his eyes fluttered shut. Tapping the side of your glasses, you saw no readable heart rate. “Oops, he’s dead. We can go.”

“No, no, no.” The Devil muttered as he climbed over his lap and began chest compressions.

“Of course.” You grumbled.

“What?” Vladimir coughed when he finally came to.

“You died. I brought you back.”

“So you can’t even let me die, hmm?”

“Not until you give me what I want.”

“Once you’re done with his questions, I’ll kill you myself if you’re that desperate to die.” You offered.

“Exodus.” The Devil scolded. “Give it a rest.”

“I don’t think this partnership is gonna last much longer if you keep acting like you’re better than me.” You scoffed.

“I’d like to speak to the Man in the Mask, please.” You heard Fisk’s voice from your earpiece.

“Devil?” You turned to him.

“Yeah, I got it.” He nodded and picked up the radio from the officer you two had encountered earlier. “Don’t say anything yet, okay?”

You simply nodded and took a few steps away.

“Hello.” Your partner said. “Who is this?”

“I think you know… You’ve been asking about me so I thought it was time we spoke. Tell me, is my friend Exodus there with you?”

“She’s not your friend.” He defended you. “If she was, I’d be dead.”

“She extended you a professional courtesy out of respect. I wouldn’t consider that as any sort of loyalty to you. I’d expect her to turn on you, sooner or later. Considering how easy it was for her to turn against Dreykov and the other Black Widow assassins.”

Your blood began to boil, the anger you’d been absorbing all week was burning through to your skin. Your hands shook. You closed your eyes tightly and shook your head, trying to clear his words and the anger. But they latched on, digging sharp hooks into your brain and refusing to let go.

“She has no loyalty. She turned against the people she grew up with, against the man who raised her. Saved her when she was abandoned in the streets!”

“That’s not true.” You said quietly.  “Dreykov didn’t save me from anything.”

“It’s alright.” The Devil told you. “I know he’s wrong..”

“You and I have a lot in common.” Fisk continued.

“We're nothing alike.”

“That's what you'll tell yourself to comfort yourself when you begin to question what you’re doing.”

“You're feeding off this city... Taking from innocent people who don’t know any better.”

“I want to save this city, like you… Only I operate on a scale that matters.”

“Now tell that to the people you've hurt.”

“Life is not a fairy tale. Not everyone deserves... a happy ending. Exodus understands that.”

“He says my name one more time and I’m gonna put a bullet in him myself.” You mumbled. The Devil came over and patted your arm, offering you some form of comfort. You tapped the emblem of your suit and triggered your secondary microphone that was on the same frequency as your earpiece, meaning you could cut in on Fisk’s conversation with the Devil.

“I'm gonna find you… and I'm gonna make you pay for what you've done.”

“No, you are not. Her, maybe, but not you.”

“Stop talking about me like you know me.” You said sharply. “Or I will quite literally make you eat your words.”

“There you are…” He chuckled. “Now I admire what you're trying to do… Change the world with nothing but desire and your own two hands, secure in the knowledge that you're doing the right thing, the only thing. That's something that I understand, believe me. But we can't all have what we want. So your part in this drama, by necessity, comes to an end.”

“It's gonna take a lot more than a voice on a radio to stop us.”

“It's not me you need to worry about. It's the city you two just blew the hell out of.”

“You think anyone's gonna believe that he had anything to do with it? I didn’t even know the Russians had three buildings.” You mocked.

“You two run around in masks, are holed up with a known felon in the wake of a series of bombings. Then there’s that police officer you're holding hostage, so… yes. Actually, I do. But it doesn't have to be this way. The Russian… is he alive?”

“I'm still here, you fat shit!” Vladimir screamed.

“Does that answer your question?” The Devil said simply.

“It's a one-time offer, Exodus.” Your ears perked up. “You kill the Russian, and we'll call the night a push. You know what he's done… To women…  To children...Those are the people of this city that you protect the most, yes? Do you know how much he enjoyed it?”

“I’ve been trying to kill him all night.” You rolled your eyes. You turned and stared pointedly at the Devil. “He’s not making it out of this building.”

“It must worry you what he might tell me.”

“Which means he hasn't told you anything yet.”

“He’s told us more than you think.” You lied.

“You're children playing the hero.” Fisk tried to mock you two.

“No, I'm not trying to be a hero.”

“And I know I’m not. We just got fed up with men like you and decided to do something about it.”

“That's what makes you two dangerous. Not the masks or the skills. But your ideologies, albeit you two hold separate ones. Lone soldiers who think they can make a difference.”

“Tell that to the Russians I put in the ground.” You taunted. “I’ve toppled regimes bigger and scarier than this. What do you think makes you special, Wilson?”

“I respect your conviction.” He answered carefully. “Though it runs counter to my own.”

“I don’t need or want your respect.” You spat.

“I am glad we could talk, the three of us.”

“Keep telling yourself you've won. It'll make what we’re gonna do to you so much more satisfying.” The Devil responded.

“Your part ends tonight.”

“If that's true, others will take my place. They'll see what I was trying to do and they'll make sure…”

“No, they won't. The city will burn you in effigy. Your names, your very existences… will be met with abhorrence and disgust.”

“You underestimate us.” You said simply. “We’ll have you on your knees. All in due time.”

The next thing you heard was a gunshot. You hurried to one of the windows and peeked out to see a cop falling to the ground. You backed away quickly and leaned against the wall, sliding down to sit on the floor. You knew how it looked. You knew they would assume you or the Devil shot that cop, but you didn’t care for the cops outside the building. Plus, you only carried your pistol. But no one else would see it that way.

“What did you do?” The Devil asked.

“What you forced me to. My offer stands, Exodus. But it will not last all night.”

You slammed your fist against the ground.

“And to the man in the mask… I’m afraid we will not speak again.”

You heard static over your implant, telling you the line was dead. You dropped your head back against the wall while you thought your options through.

You and the Devil could run, abandon Vladimir to his own fate - likely death. You two could stay and try to fight off the cops, only cementing the idea that you two were the enemy. Or you could split up. You take the fall for the bombs and the cop kidnapping - probably the cop shooting as well - while the Devil gets away and probably takes Vladimir with him.

Your implant was picking up on a faint TV audio. You focused on it and the audio got louder, enough for you to hear that the TV was blaming you and the Devil for the bombings already.

You had to act quick.

“Okay.” You pushed yourself up and turned your microphone off. The Devil turned to you once his phone call with Claire ended. “I got an idea but I don’t think you’ll like it.”

“When you start it like that, it makes me not want to hear it.” He said pointedly.

“Fisk already has a TV story running that says we did this.” You explained. “Someone has to do damage control and my reputation can take the hit.”

“No. No, I’m not-“

“Don’t make this harder than it needs to be. Please.” You sighed.

“I’m not leaving you behind.”

“I’m not giving you a choice… Like he said, I have no loyalty.”

You heard the officers announcing that the cop you had earlier was dead. You heard the faintest sound of a muffled scream.

“Exodus.” He reached for your arm. “You’re playing right into his hand.”

“Don’t hold this against me, please…”

You grabbed him by his wrist and twisted outwards. You flipped over his arm and slammed a leg against his chest to knock him to his back. You tumbled through it and grabbed the gun you had taken from the cop. You pushed it into Vladimir’s chest while flicking a small shock disc at the Devil, who was beginning to get to his feet.

“I thought I wouldn’t make it out of this building alive.” He mocked you.

“Keep talking and you won’t, not that the bullet in your side is doing you any favors.” You rolled your eyes. “Дай ему имя, которое он хочет, или я приду за твоей головой. Понимаешь?” (Give him the name he wants or I come for your head. Understand?)

He nodded and moved to the Devil’s side. You took a deep breath, shut off your implant despite the Devil’s protests, and walked out with your hands above your head in surrender.

“Don’t shoot.” You called, though the red sights found their home at your chest. “Just… Let’s talk about this, yeah?”

“Where’s the Russian? And the Mask?” One of the officers yelled.

“Let’s be honest here… We’re all working to clear out the Russians, right?” You tried.

“Where are they!?”

“Alright!” You yelled back and lowered your arms. “You guys wanna turn this into a fight? Good luck catching me.”

“Exodus.” One officer said, a bit calmer than the first. “He wants you alive, but he’s willing to let you die if necessary.”

“I should be so lucky.” You rolled your eyes. “And here I thought Fisk actually liked me.”

“Where’s the man in the-“

“Let it go.” You cut in. “I don’t know. I cut my losses and bailed on him.”

“You expect us to believe that?”

“No.” You shrugged. “And I don’t really need you to either.”

“What?”

“I just needed to distract you long enough to do this.”

You reached into your belt quickly and threw three smoke pellets at the ground. The room exploded into a cloud of gray dust and smoke, the red beams shining menacingly through the dense fog. You ducked the lights and waving barrels to knock them to their back, delivering final blows to render them unconscious. A couple slipped past you and followed the Devil’s trail.

“I hope you can hear me.” You said through heavy breaths once you were the only one standing, waving your hand to clear the smoke as you headed out. “I’ll see you soon, Devil Boy.”

[imaginativeamateur]

Table five for shoyu ramen with chashu and kamaboko and a salad

Please and thank you

[Shikamaru Nara X Reader] My Lucky Charm

|500 Followers Event|

Order: Table 5: Shoyu Ramen with Chashu and Kamaboko, Salad

Pairing: Shikamaru Nara x fem!Reader

Note: It's been a long time since I have written something for Shikamaru, thanks for the request! Just a note for readers not so familiar with chess-related terms: for Shogi (and most of other kinds of chess games), being in check is like nearly losing the King, which translates to losing the whole game (sometimes they can still wiggle out though, it's called check; sometimes, it's a dead-end, called checkmate). Have fun reading! I feel like I'm getting cornier every post :DD

“What now?”

“It’s your turn.” Shikamaru yawned for the umpteenth time for the third Shogi match with you this afternoon. And like usual, you never had a chance against him.

“I know,” you argued, “but you blocked all the possible ways. What am I supposed to do now?”

“Look to your right,” he nodded his head at your right corner of the board.

“There’s nothing,” you mumbled, biting your bottom lip as you tugged on your hair desperately. “Oh, wait, I see it now!”

“Yeah, now hurry up.”

“I wonder why I didn’t see it earlier.” You moved the piece and grinned at him.

“Sometimes, the most obvious things are left unnoticed.” The Nara commented lightly, but his voice was heavy with dread, successfully drawing your attention towards him.

“What do you mean?”

He just shrugged indifferently and made a move, totally avoiding your gaze. “Your turn.”

“You have to answer my question first.” You demanded, crossing your arms and pursing your lips unyieldingly.

Shikamaru caught himself staring at your lips and diverted his gaze within a few seconds, clearing his throat, “Do you want me to stop playing Shogi with you?”

“No-no, wait! You promised to train me for the contest!”

“I did, for two and a half weeks already. And we played two matches today already.”

“But today is the last day before the contest, and I never won a match against you—”

“Fine, this will be the last match before the real thing tomorrow, then. You only need to win me right?”

“But don’t go easy on me! I want us to fight like real men.” You snorted and straightened your back, determined to take him down with all you might.

With resolution, you moved a pawn forward and observed his reaction. Shikamaru did not take long to lift his hand and slid his piece across the board, not forgetting to make a comment. “You’re playing offense now, huh?”

You impatiently tapped your fingers on the board, eyeing all the pieces left in play. He currently had you at a disadvantage, but you refused to show your uncertainty, maintaining a straight face. Recalling what he taught you in your previous sessions, you furrowed your brows and boldly moved another piece, hoping that he would fall into your trap this time.

“Since you wanted to fight me like real man,” he chuckled, “I’ll return the favor. But don’t be all whiny when you lose.”

“I’m not whiny.” You rolled your eyes and focused back on analyzing the situation. He did fall into your trap. That fact alone had you blinking your eyes several times to confirm that it was real. You gulped, daintily moving your piece to capture his, smiling ear to ear in victory. “Never thought this was possible—”

“Too soon to be contented,” he quickly spoiled your short-lived joyous moment with a flat remark. The Nara leaned back as he looked you in the eyes, “How do you want me to devour you?”

“What exactly do you mean?” You were honestly confused—you should be the one to say that.

“Do you want me to check you or let you go for now?”

You immediately looked down at the board, and after a moment of calculating the moves inside your head, you gasped and waved your hands in disapproval. “Wait, it was a miscalculation. I take it back! Let me replay!”

“There’s no replay in Shogi. That’s a basic rule, Y/N.”

“Please? One time?”

“Stop looking at me like that.” Shikamaru scrunched his nose, and you instantly knew your puppy eyes were being exploited just the way you wanted.

“So… replay?” You raised your voice and slowly roamed your hand to the piece that he just captured from your side to put it back onto its original location on the board when he decided to sigh in resignation.

The match went on for another ten minutes, and he, once again, checkmated you. Figured that there was no way you could wiggle out of the chokehold he had you in for the Shogi match, you voluntarily surrendered, earning a peal of gleeful laughter from him.

While you leaned forward to gather the pieces on his side, your mind was elsewhere, reflecting on your performance, totally distracted that you did not even notice how close your face was to his. But Shikamaru was completely aware of your scent suddenly invading his buds, not to mention your forehead positioning just right underneath his chin as he lazily propped his head up on one hand, elbow on the table—if you were to lift your face just a little bit, you would be in a position that was too kissable.

He swallowed thickly and pushed you away, snapping you out of your thoughts, and you glanced up at him questioningly. “What is it?”

The Nara swore it took every single cell in his body to stop him from claiming your lips. His eyes darted between your widened ones and your lips, unconsciously gulping once more. “Do you know that you’ve just put yourself in check?”

“Yeah, that was a dumb move, wasn’t it?” You groaned, “I should have used the other piece—”

“I’m not talking about our Shogi match.”

“No?” You raised a brow, “Then what are you trying to say?”

“Do you think you’ll win tomorrow?”

You did not know the reason behind his abrupt change in the topic but answered nonetheless, “I’m not sure. As you can see, I’ve never won a match against you.”

“Luckily for you, I’m not a candidate,” he snorted.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know,” he assured, “so…do you want me to give you a lucky charm?”

“You have one?” Your eyes lit up in surprise. Shikamaru was not someone you expected to carry a lucky charm around with him—the man relied on his intelligence. “Can I see it?”

“I do have one with me right now,” he smiled secretively. “Now, close your eyes.”

Despite how weird you found the situation was, you shut your eyes, excitedly waiting for the revelation. Instead of him telling you to open your eyes, you felt something soft and wet on your lips, and air fanning your face. That was when you realized he was kissing you—Shikamaru was kissing you. Startled, you tried to jerk away from him, but the Nara quickly wrapped both arms around you, pulling you deeper into the sweet mess. You eventually caved in, letting his lips melt against yours as you closed your eyes and enjoyed the strange feelings in the pit of your stomach.

When he pulled away, you gasped between breaths. “What was that?”

“A lucky charm,” he looked away to hide the evident blush on his face, “but you’re the only one I’m giving it to.”

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

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