#and that I’m wrong in saying that I’m not gonna serve anyone

[oksfranta]

.

[rabbits-of-negative-euphoria]

there’s a trend I’ve been seeing in my IG feed that perplexes me, so I want to consult my fellow complementarian Tumblr lads and ladies

Is a man’s family intended to support his calling, or is his calling intended to support his family?

[wwilsonbarness]

i can't do this anymore

pairings: bucky barnes x y/n reader  

summary: You overhear Bucky’s conversation with your friends and assume the worst but you couldn’t have been more wrong. 

warnings: ANGSTTT, fluffy ending, mention of marriage, more angst “I’m sorry i can’t help it), miscommunication. 

word count: 3665

a/n: I’m in serious need of miscommunication fics (I'm a sucker for angst) so I’d be grateful for any recommendations!! Enjoy <3 

Feedback, likes and reblogs are much appreciated :) 

I do not give permission for my work to be copied, reposted or translated on any other platform.

masterlist

“Buck? Can you pass my clothes?” You had just stepped out of the shower and realised you left your clothes in your room, but Bucky didn’t answer. “Buck?” He still didn’t answer so you wrapped your towel around you and headed through to see the room empty. You begin to get dressed before you hear Sam’s voice from the living room, he wasn’t supposed to be here for another half hour. Every week Bucky and Sam took it in turns to host dinner for the three of you and Sam’s girlfriend, Olivia. This week was yours and Bucky’s turn to host and you were super excited to serve your new recipe. Hearing the voices made you even more excited, but stressed as you still had some cooking to do before they were supposed to be here. You finish getting dressed and apply a little bit of makeup as quickly as you can. These dinners weren’t formal so it didn’t take long to get ready, they were mostly just so Sam and Bucky had some comfort after their missions, especially recently with them having to deal with John Walker. You take one last look in the mirror before heading through, until you hear something that stops you in your step.

“I mean I can’t say I’m surprised.. one look at you two and it’s obvious,” Sam tried to whisper but failed. “how are you gonna do it?”  Do what? You were confused what they were talking about, part of was tempted to interrupt but your curiosity took over. 

“I don’t know.. It’s just..” Bucky was stuttering which he only did when he was nervous, this really made you worry about what they were talking about. “It’s just she’s different from other girls, you know? And I know we haven’t been together that long but I can’t do it anymore. Do what anymore? “It’s not like I don’t love what we have but I just feel like I need more” More? You couldn’t help but overthink what you were hearing. They were talking about you, you weren't enough for him. I mean sure you’d thought that about yourself so many times but hearing it from the man you truly thought was the love of your life hurt. 

“I know what it’s like when you find the one, it’s the best feeling in the world.” You couldn’t see this but Sam had kissed Olivia’s head after his words. “This is gonna be good for you man, I’m happy for you.” 

You couldn’t bring yourself to hear anymore, the tears were already fighting their way out. You quietly walk back into your bedroom and try and calm down, you just had to get through tonight, just tonight and then you and Bucky could talk. You were at your happiest with Bucky, you thought Bucky was too but.. you didn’t even want to finish that thought. Bucky’s happiness was the most important thing to you, and if that meant he wasn’t with you anymore you would have to find a way to get through that. No matter how hard it would be for you, you just wanted him to be happy.

You took a few minutes to compose yourself,  your eyes were red and a little puffy but not enough for anyone to notice. You hoped anyway. This time when you left your bedroom you made sure to close the door loud enough so they could hear you coming and hopefully change the subject. 

“Hey guys, you’re early.” you said as you walked in, Sam and Olivia both stood up to give you a hug as you came in. 

“Yeah sorry we were just a couple blocks over and it didn’t make sense going all the way back home just to come out again,” Sam replied with a smile. “Buck said it was okay.” 

“Of course it is, you guys are always welcome, you know that!” You were surprisingly good at keeping how you really felt hidden, but with your words you couldn’t help but think you would lose Sam and Olivia as friends when Bucky ended things between you, they were technically Bucky’s friends first but you’d grown to see them as practically family as your relationship grew. You tried to push that thought away, you just had to get through tonight you kept repeating to yourself in your head. 

“You okay doll?” Bucky asks as he wraps his arms around you. You plaster on a smile hoping he wouldn’t sense anything being wrong. 

“Course! Just need to check on the food.” Normally Bucky’s touch helped you in situations like this but with what you heard his touch was only making you feel worse. You manage to untangle yourself from his arms and head to the kitchen. You notice that the ingredients and glasses were still laying out for the drinks you’d planned to make. “Do you guys want any drinks?” 

“Yes please!” Sam and Bucky replied at the same time. 

“I’ll help you.” you heard Olivia say through the wall. It only takes a couple seconds before she’s standing next to you in the kitchen. You and Olivia were like best friends, and she’s the reason you and Bucky were together. You had worked together for a few years, you drifted a little when she left that job but it only took one reunion dinner to get your friendship back to normal. That was 2 years ago, and from that night on she had insisted on setting up you and Bucky. It took a while for the meeting to actually happen but once it did you knew he was the one for you. Was. Not anymore. 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Olivia asks quietly, she was aware of Bucky’s super soldier hearing and wanted to talk to you alone. 

You nodded and forced another smile. “Just a busy week, my boss is still being a dick.” 

“Ugh, you deserve so much better than having to work for that guy. He’s a creep.” She said at a normal volume now. “You should send Bucky after him, make him know he can’t treat you like that just cause he’s the boss.” She brings her hands up to put air quotes around ‘boss’, as he’s only technically the boss for the month while your real boss was on vacation. 

“I’ll manage.” You tried to play it off, you wouldn’t have Bucky there to help you soon, and you needed to stand up for yourself. 

“You know he would do anything for you.” 

“You think?” 

“Yep. I mean have you seen the way he looks at you?” 

“Hmm.” you mumbled. “Here,” You pass her two glasses with drinks in it. “take these and I’ll bring the other two once i’ve checked the food.” 

“Okay,” She starts to walk about but turns at the last minute, “It smells good by the way, I can’t wait.” 

“Thanks” you laughed as she walked away. She could tell there was something different with you tonight but she couldn’t figure out what was wrong, it felt like it was more than just your boss being a dick. 

You tried to take as long as you could checking the food without it being too long that someone would notice. After just under 10 minutes you walk through. “Dinner should only be a little longer.” You pass a glass to Bucky and keep one for yourself, normally you’d sit close to Bucky but tonight you kept your distance, opting for the armchair in the corner. Bucky thought this was weird but he kept it to himself. 

“So, what did I miss?” You hoped they would somehow be able to explain away what you heard but your hope didn’t last long as they started to talk about Sam’s plans to get a lizard. 

“Sam, we’re not getting a lizard,” Olivia replied, “if you insist on getting a pet why can’t it be a normal one like a cat or a dog.” This only reminded you of the plans you and Bucky made to adopt a cat, this was torture. Everything was reminding you of what you were about to lose. 

“I’ll look after it babe, you won’t even have to touch it.” Sam tried pleading. 

“And when you’re away on missions?” Olivia argued back playfully. 

“Okay, you got me.” You laughed a little at Sam releasing this was one battle he was going to lose. “What about you guys? You still planning on getting a cat?” 

Bucky looked at you as Sam asked the question, how were you supposed to answer this when you didn’t even know the answer anymore, luckily Bucky notices the panic on your face and jumps in to answer.” 

“Yeah man, we just have to find the time to get to the shelter.” 

“See,” He turns his head to his left, staring at his girl, “Y/n let’s Bucky get the pet he wants.” He was only teasing, he knew logically he couldn’t get a lizard but it was fun to pretend. 

“Lizards and cats are not the same thing.” 

“Y/n/n help me out here please” Sam pleads to you. 

“Sorry Sam, I’m on Olivia's side here.” You reply whilst laughing. 

“Traitor” he mumbles under his breath making everyone laugh. Bucky noticed it wasn’t your real laugh but he wasn’t sure why. Normally you loved bantering back and forth with them. 

You kept on chatting for 20 minutes before the oven timer went off, just in time as Bucky was about to tell an embarrassing story about you.

“Ah! Saved by the bell” you joked. 

“Don’t think I won’t forget to tell it after dinner!” Bucky shouts through, and you can’t help but laugh before thinking about it deeper. Was that one of the things he couldn’t do anymore, was he really embarrassed by you? 

You tried so hard to push those thoughts away and focus on getting through the dinner, you started plating up the food you were so excited about only an hour before. But you got lost in your thoughts again and picked up the hot tray with your bare hand, burning yourself in the process. “Shit.” The tray fell to the floor, luckily you had already plated everything and you were just moving it to the sink. Bucky rushes through and sees the tray on the ground and you gripping your hand towards your chest. 

“What happened?” He comes towards you but you walk back away from him. “What’s wrong?” You could see the worry in his eyes but all you could think about was his words earlier. I can't do it anymore. 

“I’m fine, Bucky.” You didn’t mean to but you snapped back at him. 

“You’re not fine.” he moves closer and tries to reach for your hand but you pull it closer to you, he notices and steps back. “Y/n?” You don’t say anything. “Look please just run your hand under some cold water at least, please?” 

“Can you just take the food through, I’ll be there in a minute.” You tried to hide the shakiness in your voice but he could hear it. This brought him back to the start of your relationship, you both struggled to open up to each other but he thought you had both gotten better at it, which is why he was extra worried.

He nodded, you hated yourself for being the reason he was sad, he didn’t deserve that. “I’m sorry.” 

“It’s okay doll, just know I’m here for you okay?” You nodded but kept your gaze to the floor. He first grabs the tray with his left hand and puts it in the sink then picks up the plates and brings them through, having to make two trips. He doesn’t want to leave you but he wants to give you the space you asked for. You run your hand under the cold tap for a couple of minutes before drying it off and making your way to the table. 

“You okay y/n?” Sam asks as you sit down next to Bucky, there were only 4 seats at the table so sitting next to him was your only option. Bucky turns to you, concern filling his eyes, he sends a smile your way and you try to send one back. He went to put his hand on your thigh but you see him stop himself and bring it back to his leg. 

“Yeah, all good, just burnt my finger on a tray. How’s the food?” 

“It’s amazing as always.” Olivia answers.

 “Thanks again for having us over.” Sam adds

“It’s a new recipe, and no need to thank me. You know you are both welcome here anytime.” You reply, happy that they like it. 

“Tastes great Doll.” Bucky’s voice was quiet, almost like he was scared to speak, he had a slight smile growing as you turned to him. 

“Thank you Bucky.” 

The rest of the night went just like that, the four of you spoke about planning a trip to New Orleans, you felt yourself get excited about it but then grounded yourself, reminding yourself that it probably wouldn’t go ahead. Well, it maybe would, you just wouldn’t be there. Sam and Olivia stayed for a couple more hours, they couldn’t stay as late as usual as Olivia had picked up an early shift at work the next day. When they left you saw Sam and Bucky whisper something to each other, but you were too far to hear anything. 

Now you and Bucky were alone, it had just been the two of you for 10 minutes and none of you had broken the silence until now. 

“Y/n?” Bucky asks quietly, testing the atmosphere. You took the shakiness in his voice as a sign he was angry, when it was really because he was worried about you. You don’t say anything but bring your head up so you could see him. “Can we talk?” Oh god. This was it. He was gonna do it right now. You weren’t ready, you never would be but you couldn’t do this right now. 

“Bucky, I’m really tired, could we talk in the morning?” You were desperately hoping he would say yes. 

“Yeah..” He stands up and walks towards the bathroom, stopping slightly at you but speeds up again after a moment. “I’m gonna quickly shower then I’ll come to bed.” 

“Okay.” Almost a whisper but he heard it. 

You go through to your room and get changed, ignoring the mess in the kitchen. That was something you’d worry about tomorrow. You crawled into bed, facing the wall and tried to force the sleep to take over. It doesn’t take long for Bucky to come in next to you, you feel him hesitate but he wraps his arms around you and brings his mouth around to kiss your forehead. “I love you.” 

You hoped he’d think you were sleeping, and not know you were pretending. You tried to find comfort in his touch but it only reminded you that this time tomorrow you probably wouldn’t have him wrapped around you. You could feel your eyes growing wetter as you thought about this but you forced yourself to stop before it turned into a full meltdown. That would for sure wake Bucky up. So you sat there in silence, sometimes you could hear a quiet mechanical murmur from Bucky’s arm, and sometimes the one big deep breath he takes every few minutes. By the time morning comes you only got about an hour of sleep, you were exhausted and anxious for what was going to happen today. 

“Doll?” he pauses for a minute waiting for an answer, “Are you up?” 

“Yeah, I'm up.” You don’t turn around to face him like you normally would, you keep your eyes on the wall. 

“I was thinking we could go to your favourite cafe today? The one with the-” You interrupt him and turn around to face him, sitting cross legged. 

“It’s okay Bucky.” He’s confused about what you mean so he stays quiet hoping you'll continue which you do. “I heard you talking with Sam and Olivia..” Bucky’s eyes nearly pop out of his head. 

“You heard us?” Shit. He wanted it to be a surprise. 

“I did. So can you just do it now? Get it over and done with, so we can both move on.”

“What? You want me to do it right now?” 

“Yes. Please, just do it.” You knew you were coming across harsh but you needed this torture to end. 

“Erm. Okay..”  He stood up out of bed and walked over to his dresser, and started to dig through one of his drawers. “This isn’t really how I pictured doing this and I thought you’d be more excited but..” Excited? Why would you be excited over losing him? Once he finds what he was looking for he walks back over and brings himself down to his knees beside the bed. 

“Bucky what-” 

“My turn to talk doll..” What the hell was happening. “Y/n, you have been the best thing in my life since the very first day I met you. It might sound cliche but you’re the missing piece I always thought I’d never find. I know this might seem fast but..” He pulls a small box from behind his back. Oh my god. He was proposing. What. You wanted to stop him but the words wouldn’t come out, it was like your mouth was glued shut. “.. I don’t think I could ever feel happier than I do right now with you but It would mean the absolute world to me if you-” 

“Wait!! Stop!” Bucky’s smile dropped. He’d been scared to ask you but he didnt think rejection was actually a possibility. 

“What?” You stood up and started pacing back and forth, panic setting in. 

“Oh my god Bucky. Stand up!” He stood up slowly and closed the ring box, the loud click making things even realer. “Bucky, what were you talking about with Sam and Olivia?” 

“I thought you heard me? I was telling them I wanted to propose, I want to spend the rest of my time with you. This definitely isn't how I wanted it to go. I’m sorry if I.. I thought you’d want this too.” 

“Oh my god Bucky. I am so sorry. I’m so sorry, I messed up.” You were beginning to lose control of your breathing and your eyes were starting to burn, you were still pacing back and forth. “I thought you wanted to end things, I thought you were done with us.”

“What?! Why did you think that?” He had never been so confused in his whole life. 

“You told them you wanted more, and.. that I wasn’t like other girls.. and..” The tears had escaped now and it was hard to talk properly. “and you said you couldn’t do this a-anymore.” 

“Oh baby.” Bucky walks over to you and pulls you gently to the bed, he sits next to you but keeps one of his arms wrapped around you. “I did say those things but not in the way you think. Did you listen to the rest of what we said?” You shook your head, which only made your growing headache worse. “When I said I wanted more I was talking about marrying you, in case you haven't figured that out by the -I don’t even know if i can call that a proposal- but doll, I want to marry you, I wanted to show you how much I love you and how serious I was about us.” He tries to turn himself slightly so he can see your face properly. 

“I was right when I said you aren’t like other girls, I don’t want you to be like anyone else. I want you to be you, my girl. The girl I fell in love with the first day I met you. I’ve been planning to propose for a while but I couldn’t keep it in any longer, that’s what I meant when I said I couldn’t do this anymore. I couldn’t wait any longer to ask you. I love you so much, doll.” 

Oh god. You were so embarrassed. You had gotten everything so wrong. “Bucky, I'm so sorry. I didn’t, I don’t want things to end with us. I’m so sorry.” 

“It’s okay baby, really it’s okay. I just wished you’d talked to me about it. You can come to me about anything, you know what right?” 

“I do, I promise. I just panicked. I thought I was going to lose you.” Your breathing had started to slow down and you felt like you had control over it again.

“Nope. You’re never getting rid of me. I love you too much for that,” He brought his face down to yours and brushed your noses together before wrapping his arms tightly around you. “And I missed you way too much to ever let go of you again.” 

“I love you too, Buck, so much.. but you’re squeezing me.” For the first time since you heard their conversation you had a real smile on your face and you laughed at him holding you so tight. You were happy. Bucky was happy. 

“There’s the laugh I missed so much. Oh and,” he pulled away just for a second to look into your eyes, placing each of his hands on your shoulders and with a serious voice spoke again, “don’t for one second think that’s how my real proposal will go, I’m gonna make it special, just like you deserve.” he pulls you into his arms and lays you both down.

“I can’t wait, but before you do that..”

“Mhmm?”

“Can we go to the shelter today? I think it’s about time we got that cat.”

“You have no idea how happy that makes me doll” 

Maybe it wasn’t healthy how much yours and Bucky’s happiness relied on each other but for you two it worked. Things were perfect. 

[munson-blurbs]

Best friend!Eddie x Fem!Reader

Summary: Your best friend gets a lot more than he bargained for when he walks in on you wearing only your Hellfire Club t-shirt.

Warnings: smut (18+ only, minors DNI), dry humping, thigh riding, cumming in pants

WC: 1.2k

A/N: Reader is described as wearing an oversized Hellfire t-shirt. This is her shirt, not Eddie's. There is no indication of her size whatsoever.

--

Once I had a love and it was a gas

Soon turned out had a heart of glass

Your toothbrush is clenched in your hand, but instead of cleaning your teeth, it serves as a microphone while you dance around your bedroom. The stereo is playing loudly; you can’t even hear the creaking staircase floorboards over the music. 

Seemed like the real thing, only to find

Mucho mistrust, love’s gone be—AAAAH!

Your palm flies to your chest when you see Eddie standing in your doorway, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face. 

“And here I thought I was the rockstar in this friendship,” he smirks, arms folded across his chest. 

Your heart rate slowly returns back to a pace that won’t send you to an early grave. “Jesus, Eddie! What are you doing here?”

“Figured I’d stop by,” he replies nonchalantly. “Y’know, you probably shouldn’t leave your front door unlocked while your folks aren’t home. Anyone could walk in off the street.” He flops onto your bed with an exaggerated exhale, looking pointedly in your direction. “Nice pants, by the way.”

Nice pants? You’re ready to sleep; an oversized Hellfire tee serving as your pajamas. You’re not even wearing—oh. 

You tug at the hem, but even after years of wear, it doesn’t stretch below your thighs. Heat blooms in your face. “Yeah, well,” you sputter, “I wasn’t expecting visitors.”

Eddie pouts. “You mean you didn’t wear that ‘specially for little ol’ me?” He ducks as you hurl your toothbrush at his head. He opens his mouth to say something before quickly clamping it shut, but not before you notice. 

“What?”

“N-Nothing.”

You cross your arms, more firm this time. “What?!”

“When you, uh, threw the toothbrush…your shirt…” His face turns bright red as he scrambles to explain. “…it, uh, kinda rode up.” His Adam’s apple bobs nervously. 

“It’s just underwear. You’ve seen me in a swimsuit before.” You try to hide your own embarrassment, playing it off coolly, but all you can think about is the fact that Eddie Munson saw your panties. 

He nods, wiping his palms on his jeans. “Right, yeah. Totally the same thing.” He clears his throat. “Well, I should get going.” He pushes on his knees, starting to stand up, but abruptly stops. “Actually, um, maybe I’ll hang out here for a bit, if you wanna maybe put…put something else on.” Pink embarrassment blooms in his cheeks, spreading down his neck. 

“No, I’m going to bed, and you’re leaving. We can get breakfast tomorrow morning or something.” You sigh when he doesn’t move, making your way to where he’s sitting. “C’mon, time to—”

Eddie attempts to hunch himself over, but there’s no hiding the hardening bulge straining behind his zipper. 

It’s only natural, you tell yourself. He’s a twenty-year-old guy; he’ll get a boner if the wind blows the wrong way. It doesn’t mean he’s into you. 

“Shit, I’m sorry. This is super weird, and I shouldn’t have come in without knocking.” He buries his head in his hands. “Just…give me a sec, okay?”

“Okay.” Now’s your chance. If there’s any time to find out if he’s into you, it’s when he’s sporting a stiffie in your bedroom. “Or…I could help you with it?”

His head whips around so fast that his curls are a blur of brown. “Wh-What? Like, help me…?” He’s desperate for you to finish his sentence, not wanting to say something that makes the situation even more awkward. 

“I can help you get off. If you want. Or you can just use my bathroom and, I dunno, rub one out.” You cringe at the phrasing. “No pressure.”

“Um, yeah. No pressure.” His thumbs circle each other, an anxious habit he’s had for years. “So if you were gonna help me out, what would that look like?”

You shrug, a half-smile gracing your lips. “I guess I’d do this first.” You place one hand on each of his shoulders, straddling his waist with your bare thighs. “And then I’d kiss you?”

“Mhm, please.” Eddie grips your hips as you lean in, mouths finding one another in unhurried splendor. He tastes like stale Camels and spearmint gum, only breaking the connection to trail his lips down your neck. 

It’s your favorite spot to be kissed, and the way his teeth nip at your flesh, tongue gliding over the mark as though sealing it in, has you grinding down on him. 

“Christ, honey,” he breathes, “you look so goddamn perfect like this.” His fingertips dig into your asscheeks possessively before one hand snakes its way up your shirt. You expect him to lift it above your head to expose your breasts, but he doesn’t. 

“Y-You can take it off,” you stammer, feeling silly as you say it aloud. 

Eddie shakes his head in refusal. “Next time.” Next time. It’s a promise you hope he’ll keep. “I just love the way you look in this shirt.” And nothing but this shirt, he thinks to himself. 

The friction of your cotton panties on his denim pants is delectable, providing just enough pressure to your aching clit. You’re greedy in your movements but make sure to give him what he needs, too. Your pussy rubs against his clothed cock; Eddie uses the hand on your ass to help guide your hips. 

“Thassit, oh, fuck,” he grunts, teased with the beginnings of an orgasm. “Right there, baby. Ohmygod, I’m gonna cum in my fuckin’ pants.”

“S’okay,” you murmur into his ear, gently biting the lobe, “‘m close, too. So close, holy shit.”

Sweat beads along his upper lip, his groans more needy and guttural. “‘M coming, ‘m coming, ‘m coming.” He babbles pathetically as sticky, wet warmth floods his boxers. You follow his lead, finishing on his somehow still-hard cock. 

The immediate aftermath is filled with panting breaths and sporadic giggles as the pleasure high fades and reality sets in. 

“Did we just—” Eddie starts, eyes wide in disbelief. 

You laugh, resting your forehead on his shoulder. “Mhm. We sure did.”

He rakes a hand through his curls, frizzy from perspiration and activity. “So, um, what do we do now?” There are many unspoken questions woven into it. What does this mean for our friendship? Do we even have a friendship anymore? Was it as good for you as it was for me?

“Well…” You sit up a bit straighter, toying with the chain of his guitar pick necklace. “We can throw your stuff in the wash, and maybe while we’re waiting, we can get started on that next time you’d mentioned earlier?”

Eddie grins, kissing you with a fervor like you’ve never seen. “What are we waiting for?” He tugs off his pants and boxers, unashamed of the way he’s painted them with cum. When he notices you staring, he winks. “‘S a lot, isn’t it? Imagine how much it’ll be when I’m actually inside you.”

It doesn’t take long for either of you to find out.  

--

[dpimagines]

Blind Date

SYNOPSIS: Wade is set up with a friend of Ellie's and Yukio's. It goes better than anyone expected it to.

Warnings / Notes: Mentions of past bullying, Deadpool being Deadpool (But His Sweet Side, so Mildly OOC) / I'm super open to writing a continuation of this! This is uncharacteristically fluffy of me, so I'm craving the smut or angst we could get out of this. Shoot me a request if you have any ideas!

Yukio squeals. Wade’s used to her giddy noises, squeaks and giggles and the like. Ellie still cringes like it’s the first time she’s ever heard it, but she still looks at Yukio like it’s the first time she’s ever seen someone so beautiful every time she looks at her, so it balances out. 

“What is it?” Ellie asks, stirring vegetables around a sizzling pan. Wade somehow managed to invite himself to their fajita lunch, and smelling the food makes his stomach growl.

“Y/N!” Yukio exclaims.

“Where?” Ellie says, looking around. 

“No, silly, we should set Wade up with Y/N!”

“Why? Are you mad at her?” Ellie remarks. 

“She literally cannot help but romance Hancock on every Fallout 4 playthrough. Seriously.” 

“That’s your basis? A crush on a fictional character?” Ellie asks, and Wade could spot her amused-bordering-on-pissed expression from miles away. You must be special to her in some way. 

“Well, she… Y’know, she’s different.”

“You think she should settle for him just because of her mutation?” 

“No! No, not at all! I meant her personality! She’s so sweet and patient and stuff!” Yukio quickly says. 

“So why would we torture her by sticking her with him?”

“Y’know, you girls haven’t even asked me if I’d be interested. What if I think she’s a total butterface? What if I talk about my ex-fiancée the whole time? What if she’s too pretty for me? What if-?”

“You asking those questions means you’re interested,” Ellie cuts him off dismissively. “Fine, Yukio. You win. Go for it.”

“Texting her now! Yeah, she’s interested. Just let me know what you’re planning and I’ll tell her when and how to dress.”

“Oh, uh… Maybe a movie?”

“That’d be good,” Ellie says quickly. “That’s a really good idea.”

“She’s ugly, isn’t she?”

Ellie glares daggers.

“Never mind, not a movie. Dinner… At De Luca.”

“De Luca?!” Yukio exclaims. 

“Uh, yeah? That’s a place people go for dates around here, isn’t it?”

“It better be your treat, that place is expensive!” Ellie demands.

“Well, duh. You guys seem to forget that unaliving people pays incredibly well. Anyways, what’s wrong with her?”

“Nothing,” Ellie insists.

“If he doesn’t know, he might hurt her feelings,” Yukio insists. 

“He can ask her himself. Let her say it in her own words, share what she wants to share.”

“Oh, yeah. I’m gonna fuck this up,” Wade already knows. “But at least she’ll get a free meal out of it. How about tonight? The anticipation is already killing me.”

Yukio texts, before looking up and nodding. 

“What time?” she asks.

“Can she meet me in the foyer at five?” he suggests. She types some more. 

“It’s a date!” she cheers. 

“And lunch is served,” Ellie declares gloomily. 

“So, what’s the deal with you and her, then?”

“Ellie dealt with some bullying when she first got here,” Yukio explains. “It was mostly light-hearted teasing, but it was just too soon, and with some people, it kinda got out of hand. Y/N was a senior at the time and stood up for her. From then on, she’s admired her and is always looking for opportunities to repay the favor.”

“That is so fucking cute I could die,” Wade coos. “I’ll take good care of her, I promise.”

“Hearing that coming from you, I’m more concerned,” Ellie grumbles, pushing a plate towards him. “Just eat. And be respectful. Now, and then.”

“Aye, aye, captain!” Wade replies before digging in. 

A few hours later, Wade invites Yukio to give him one last once over before he meets you at the door, and her shadow has trailed along diligently. Yukio gives him some helpful pointers while Ellie sulks in silence, still not a huge fan of this idea.

“Lose the mask,” Ellie finally contributes.

“Lose the- No! If I’m paying this much for food, she better be able to eat it!”

“You didn’t seem to mind the price earlier. Besides… She’s not like that. Yukio had a point earlier. Your face works in your favor, this time around. It’s everything else about you that you need to tone down a little,” Ellie argues. 

“Fine. But when she throws up, I’m calling you down there to clean it up,” Wade retorts, taking off the mask. He feels naked without it despite his suit and loafers. This is the nicest he’s dressed since his mother’s funeral.

“There we go,” Yukio says with a beam. “Perfect. Now, go! It’s almost time.”

“Thank you, my fairy godmothers. Wait, it’s not offensive to call you guys fairies, is it? ‘Cause I didn’t-”

“Go,” Ellie insists. He scurries downstairs. You’re not there yet, but there’s a young woman lurking around down there. He hesitantly joins her, and she looks at him with surprise before smiling. Wow, she’s gorgeous, so pretty that he starts to question if she’s a figment of his imagination.

“Wade?” you ask. Your voice sounds like Negasonic’s, so much so that it’s weird, but he brushes it off as best as he can.   

“Y/N?” No way, you’re stunning in a flowy knee-length dress and mary janes, your hair styled in an effortlessly pretty way. You might just be the most gorgeous woman he’s ever seen. 

You nod, offering your hand to him. Your eyes say, “Shall we?” He hesitantly takes your hand. Your smile widens. He leads you outside. You trail alongside him to the car, letting your hands swing together, though not too much.

He lets go of your hand to open the door for you. You get seated, and he closes it, quickly making his way to the driver’s seat. 

“Sorry it’s kind of a beater, I can’t be driving anything too showy for obvious reasons.”

You shrug, but he can tell it doesn’t bother you.

“Not much of a talker, huh? I guess that’s why our friends thought we’d work. I talk, you listen, very cutesy…But I need someone to feed off of to be funny, so you better be up to the challenge.”

You giggle, covering your mouth. 

The drive to the restaurant is in awkward silence. He really doesn’t know what to say. He could ask you about yourself, but that might make you uncomfortable considering how little you’re willing to speak. He could start talking about himself, but that has the potential to put you off for more than one reason – either you’ll be disturbed by his life story, or he’ll come across as self-absorbed. 

The two of you enter and despite a wary look from the hostess, you’re seated relatively quickly. 

You’re brought ice water and bread. 

“Damn, this place is fancy…” Wade remarks as you sip your water. You smile sheepishly. “Hm… You seem normal. I was told there was something different about you. In fact, when Yukio had the idea to set us up, Ellie accused her of thinking you should have to settle for someone like me because of your mutation. I was expecting, I don’t know, snakes for hair, Silly Putty for fingers, something. I’m gonna start guessing if you don’t come out with it.”

Your sweet smile changes into a devilish smirk as you challenge him with your eyes. He realizes it’s more entertaining for the both of you if he does attempt to guess, so he gives it a shot. 

“Acid spit?” he asks. You shake your head. “Hiding a third boob in there?” he wonders, lifting his head and looking down for it despite your somewhat modest neckline. Your face scrunches up with amusement as you shake your head again. “Damn it. Can’t blame a guy for hoping. What about another face on the back of your head, Voldemort-style? That would be kinda cool.”  

You shake your head once more, though you’re clearly amused by his attempts to figure it out. 

“Wait,” he says, lowering his voice to a whisper: “Does your vagina kill people? Like that one girl on American Horror Story?”

“No,” you finally say, laughing. “It’s my voice.” 

“Whoa,” he murmurs. 

“Yeah, I can only speak words I’ve heard before exactly as I heard them last.”

“That’s why you sounded like Ellie earlier, when you said my name. She was the last person you heard say it.”

“Exactly,” you reply. 

“Well, that’s not so bad.”

“Most of the time,” you agree. “But I can’t always control my TONE!”

You slap a hand over your mouth as your fellow guests give you brief glances of concern and confusion. 

“Tone,” he says in a normal volume. 

“Tone,” you echo with a look of astonishment. “They call me Spirit Box.”

“Like the things ghost hunters use, right? That’s so cool. You must be great for espionage. Just bring you along as a secretary or assistant or whatever, then slap some headphones on you and turn up some instrumental music all the way ‘til you can get to a recording device and repeat what you heard.”

“I suppose so, but honestly most of the time I just hang out. I have some martial arts training, but when someone can choose between that and a human bomb, WELL, it’s not really a choice,” you explain. 

“Well,” he says for you. “I think it’s super cool. Normally, I get bored listening to other people talk. I doubt that’ll ever happen with you.”

“I might as well warn you- Damn it,” you swear. It’s in his voice. 

“What is it?”

“If I say this word I’m going to end up yelling it.”

“Uh, wanna type it out on your phone? I can read it.”

You blush, shaking your head. 

“Sounds are the same way. Even when I laugh it’s not MINE.”

“Mine,” he repeats, as you seem to appreciate it. “I don’t understand why I’d need a warning for- Oh. Gotcha.”

“I may be an alright… Talker to you, but I doubt you’d want to hear a man’s voice during sex!” Your eyes water as they avoid his in shame. Someone said that to you, and harshly. 

“I hope you don’t mind if I don’t repeat that,” he murmurs, reaching for your hand. You give it to him, your hands resting together on the table. “Besides, I’m pansexual, so, honestly… It’d be kinda hot. Best of both worlds.”

“No kidding,” you reply. It’s all Ellie. “That’s great!” you chirp in Yukio’s voice. 

“You’re pretty good friends with those two, huh?”

You nod. 

“Keeping a small circle helps with consistency,” you add. “But I’m a TV addict, so…”

“Me, too. That totally makes sense. Oh, we should look at the menus. I’ll order for you, if you want.”

“Please,” you moan, swiftly retracting your hand to cover your mouth once more as your cheeks flush. He laughs.

“I’m not repeating that, either. Hot,” he teases you.

“You’re mean,” you reply with a laugh, his laugh. 

“Please,” he says. “Forgive me.”

You smile in response before looking over the menu. 

“You haven’t said anything about my face,” he realizes.

“Oh, sorry. You’re very handsome.” You don’t even look up, still looking for something appetizing. “No prices. Yikes. What are you getting?”

“Uh… Seriously. You don’t wanna ask?”

“I think you should tell me when you’re ready. I meant it, though. I think you’re very handsome.”

“Thanks,” he mumbles, feeling heat rise in his cheeks. “I think I’m gonna go with the seafood alfredo.”

The rest of the date goes swimmingly, the two of you conversing on various topics: TV shows and music you both like (and exchanging recommendations,) he shares his story (you fawned over him, maybe a little too much,) your careers (you transcribe classes at Xavier’s for students who are Deaf and/or have learning disabilities, he’s a…freelancer. You giggled at that. He doesn’t care whose sweet little giggle that is, it’s yours now,) and more. 

All good things must come to an end, though. Once dinner’s over, the two of you head back to the school. He walks you all the way to your room. 

“This was really nice,” you tell him. “Thank you.”

“It was,” he agrees. “Can I see you again? Maybe you could come up with a list of words for me to say for you, and I can say them for you over lunch.”

“That’s so sweet, Wade. I’d really like that, but I feel bad. Is there anything like that-” you cover your mouth again at the unmistakably pornographic tone, but he removes your hand gently with an amused smile. 

“Keep going,” he encourages you. “Like that.”

“Is there anything like that I could do for you?” 

“Well, you wanted to go on a date with me after seeing my face, so, you kinda already did.”

You open your mouth, but close it quickly. 

“What is it that you’re needing to say?” he asks quietly, like he’s trying not to embarrass you in front of someone else despite the two of you being alone in the quiet hallway, the only sound besides you both being the ticking on an old grandfather clock. You raise your hand, touching his lips. “You want to kiss me?”

“Yes, I want to kiss you.” 

Wade grins before taking your cheeks in his hands and uniting your lips with his for the first time. Neither of you wants to pull away, but air is an unfortunate necessity. 

You take your phone out of your purse, tapping around before presenting it to him on the Add New Contact screen. He eagerly types in his name and contact details, adding in the notes: “Just FYI after the whole Weapon X debacle I am hung like a horse and have an incredible refractory period. I only mention the refractory period because I’m pretty sure I’d explode if you even looked at it. Seriously, you are MAJORLY hot” 

He passes the phone back to you, and you look. You turn red before nodding in understanding. 

“Goodnight, Wade.”

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

[zxmbigirlfriend]

hopes peak academy tumblr dashboard simulator

🍡kusamochis Follow

i hate ultimates fuck off ultimates ultimates dni

🍀nagikomaeda Follow

reserve course lmao

🍡kusamochis Follow

YOU ARE LITERALLY WHO I’M TALKING ABOUT HERE

#except for @gamez4life you are the only exception ily

47 notes

🐉best-sister Follow

@lesbienning what are you gonna do? cancel me for “harassing ultimates”?

📸lesbienning Follow

123.69.420.51

🐉best-sister Follow

WHAT THE FUCK

1,609 notes

🐰gamez4life Following

why can’t reserve course and main course just get along :(

473 notes

🐺fenrir-mercenary Follow

@junko-enoshima-official how do you reblog

5 notes

🔮mageofdespair Follow

haiii!!! :3 our warrior cats animated series featuring our ocs “the rise of despairstar” has its first episode out now :3!!! Drawn primarily by @birdskinhater and voice acted by @totezadorbz, we’d like to say thank you to @junko-enoshima-official for helping give our project more recognyation!! :3333

💋junko-enoshima-official Following

#omgggg this slayed #not to be a warrior cats fan or anything but i TOTALLY LOVE despairstar she serves CUNT you with me she serves CUNT

21,394 notes

🍡kusamochis Follow

Getting brain surgery tmrw hope it goes well

11 notes

🎓hope’s-peak-academy Following

Clarification- our school has NOT taken part in any unsanctioned lobotomies. Such behaviour is abhorrent and we recommend that any reports of it are to be reported immediately.

2,356 notes

🍬candygurl Follow

just got expelled

21 notes

🍀nagikomaeda Follow

Finished my junko enoshima callout doc, you can find it here

#junko enoshima #anti junko enoshima #junko enoshima critical

685 notes

💉kill-your-self Follow

i stand with my cancelled wife

💉kill-your-self Follow

shut the fuck up about your fictional characters this is about my real-life girlfriend

3,687 notes

🎤ilovesayakamaizono Follow

shes so pretty it hurts…

#koma talks #i love her #sayakaposting

7 notes

🎸 bookidooks Following

IS THAT A FUCKING DEAD BODY

#WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCKKKKKK

9 notes

🐱cutesquish Follow

Fun fact: killing people is universally wrong! If you think otherwise you are a horrible person and I hope you fall in a tar pit!

📸lesbienning Follow

Fun fact: you shouldn’t be morally policing other people’s activities! Everyone has their own way of expressing themselves and you shouldn’t be forcing your views onto others! Op is an asshole, don’t listen to them!

🐱cutesquish Follow

what. what the FUCK.

🃏irlvamp Follow

Calm down. It is unnecessary to be throwing a fit after an innocent comment. I believe it is important to see both sides of the debate.

🐱cutesquish Follow

don’t you like run an illegal underground gambling ring

🎸 bookidooks Following

anyone here smoke weed

10,452 notes

🐰gamez4life Following

Playing this cool horror game… there’s “punishment” if you failed a task and there was this one were we had to go through all these traps and eventually got impaled… god it looked painful i would definitely not like to be in that game

#it was so sad too? Like we got a little bit of hope and then it got quenched out :( #i HATE the evil teacher btw how dare she betray us

5 notes

[koqabear]

2KKKKK!!!! Congrats! I have a song equation!

Tinnitus BUT (demo ver) + enemy!Tae + angst + smut + slight fluff well since they do fuck- but they're still enemies on end.

♫: TXT, Tinnitus (Demo Ver.) // join the 2k event and request something!

"You always tried to tell your friends you don’t get along with Kang Taehyun. Did it work? Absolutely not. Now you’re stuck with him again, and there’s no telling what insanity will take over you tonight."

taehyun x fem! reader // wc: 2.6k (everyone cheer i’m getting the hang of it) // enemies to enemies, hinted fwb (the term friends used loosely), smut, MDNI.

warnings: tyun is an asshole sorry guys. slight hard dom!tyun, a bit of switch!mc, semi-public sex(?), unprotected sex, hair pulling, marking, biting, handjob, slight strength kink, hand restraining, degrading, creampie, slight cockwarming

notes: i’m so close to finally following my own rules abt the word count limit…! (i can’t keep getting away with this 😔)

Kang Taehyun was the bane of your existence— that much was obvious to anyone that spent any time around you.

He was arrogant, cocky, and overall an eye-sore; the first time you met, you actually gave him the benefit of the doubt, getting introduced through mutual friends and eventually forming a group that (unfortunately) included him. 

It was bad from the start. He was a complete smart-ass and had a knack for making casual, blunt comments that would immediately put you down; you’re not even sure what the fuck you did to him, but you do know that you never let a single one of those snide remarks slide— jabbing back just as hard, showing that you weren’t all bark and that your bite hurt more than one would expect— it got to the point where your friends knew that they should hold you back on a leash when you were around each other. 

Sometimes, you couldn’t even look at him; which is why you preferred to go to group events if you were explicitly told that Kang Taehyun would not be there, knowing that you would only ruin the night if you tagged along, more likely to start a fight than to try to actually enjoy yourself.

So to say that you were currently angry as you sat at a random table of a club, gritting your teeth and tapping your fingers against the table as you stared out at the dance floor, unable to look straight in fear of catching a glimpse of Kang Taehyun, was a severe understatement— you were fucking fuming. Your jaw aches from how hard you’re gritting your teeth together.

“Are you gonna dance, or are you so up-tight that you can’t even do that?”

“Leave me the fuck alone. I don’t wanna hear it.”

You’ve been dealing with his witty remarks all night. He’s just come back from the dance floor, hot and sweaty as the sight of a random girl getting all up on him practically made you gag; if you hadn’t been chosen as the designated driver tonight, you would’ve left long ago.

What’re friends for… you think bitterly, staring down at the water you only got to keep yourself occupied— you can feel Taehyun’s stare burning into the side of your face, and it only serves to make you more irritated as time goes on, hoping that he’ll stop being such a creep and look away.

“What is your problem?” you hiss, finally having enough after approximately one and a half songs of him doing this. Like expected, your eyes meet his, and a slow smile creeps its way onto his face as he leans his head back, resting against the booth as he looks at you with low-lidded, hazy eyes— he’s having fun getting under your skin, that much you can tell. You resist the urge to reach over and slap the stupid look off his face.

“Am I doing something wrong?” he asks, and you’re forced to lean toward him slightly from how quietly he talks, barely hearing him over the loud music that blasts all around you— you scoff at his words. 

“Don’t act stupid, you’ve been giving me problems all night— even now, don’t think I didn’t feel the way you were looking at me all weird.”

“I feel bad,” he confesses, ignoring the way you give him a scathing look as he continues, head lolling to the side lazily to watch the packed dance floor, “You looked so pathetic over here by yourself— someone would think your friends ditched you.”

“I’m the designated driver,” you point out through gritted teeth.

“Doesn’t mean you can’t have fun.” he glances back at you, and you jolt slightly at the way his gaze rakes over you slowly, “‘Cause this…? It's just sad.”

“And what exactly would fun be to you? Practically fucking some other girl on the dance floor to the rhythm of some shitty pop song?” Fuck, he’s done it again. He’s got you riled up and it’s only making you even angrier that he’s able to get you to this point— it doesn’t help that he’s laughing condescendingly at your sudden outburst, shaking his head and muttering something that you’re unable to hear from the obscene volume of the music. 

“Why are you here then?” he asks, tilting his head slightly and raising that stupid brow of his, a habit you’ve quickly come to hate, “To have intellectual conversations with other patrons?”

You don’t know what takes over you. Maybe you’ve finally been pushed to your limit, pent up and frustrated with the fact that your friends continue to brush off the fact that you and Taehyun simply do not get along— your fingers might just break your glass from how tightly you’re gripping onto it, standing up so suddenly that your chair slides away from you— but you do know that this was long overdue and well-deserved, throwing the rest of your water straight at him; a smile twitches at the corner of your lips as you take in the way his eyes screw shut and his brows knit together, left frozen as you take this moment to walk away, before you decide to say fuck it and really show him your bite. 

You walk mindlessly— the dance floor is too packed, and you feel as though your body is way too lit up and restless to try and join in— so you’re making your way to the bathrooms, the hall lonely and poorly lit as you open the women’s restroom, slipping inside and ready to lock the door so you can finally take a moment to compose yourself—

“Are you fucking insane?” you don’t think you’ve ever seen Taehyun like this, eyes alight and livid as he stops you from closing the door, slipping inside and slamming it behind him, taking in the way you only take a step back and yell at him to get out, “You need to start controlling that little temper of yours, cause you’ve really been getting on my nerves recently.”

“Oh really?” you laugh out, incredulous as you take a step toward him, pushing his chest roughly and forcing him to stumble back against the door, “Because you’ve been a total fucking angel, haven’t you? All pretty and proper, such a good boy, right?”

“Not my fault you’re such a wound-up bitch that doesn’t know how to take a joke and have fun,” he spits out, unfazed by the way you corner him and send him a nasty glare, refusing to back down even though you seem like you’ll get physical any second now.

“Take a joke? Have fun?” you seethe, poking his chest as you speak, “Everything that comes out of your mouth is a pathetic attempt at low blow disguised as a joke. So forgive me if I don’t find you funny.”

For once, Taehyun doesn’t know what to say— all he’s able to think of is the way you’ve practically pressed him against the door with your own body, the way his chest dully aches from the way you’ve been poking at him, and the way your own is heaving slightly from how angry you are, lips parted and eyes blown out with rage as they flicker up to take in his expression. 

A moment passes; then, your lips are on his, and his hands are on your waist, jerking you forward and forcing you to close any space left.

What possessed you to do this? You’d rather not think about it, choosing instead to get lost in the feeling of Taehyun and push past the fact that it’s him, the man who likes to degrade others for fun— actually, you think you will think about it, digging your nails into his shoulders and taking in the way he groans slightly against your mouth— and you quickly take this opportunity to take the kiss further, tongue eager to taste him as his hold on you tightens slightly.

“Fuck,” he mumbles against your lips, feeling the way you refuse to part for longer than a second; he frowns, a hand going up to grab at your hair before he’s tugging at it— using it as leverage to pull you away from him, watching the way your head slowly tilts back before your eyes are fluttering open, looking at him with such anger he can’t hold back his breathy laugh. 

“I can’t believe you, you…” he mutters out, and you can already tell he’s about to say something that will morbidly sober your clouded mind. 

“Shut up and put those lips to use,” you sigh, fingers tangling in the nape of his hair before you’re tugging him back toward you— you’re holding back a smile at the way your hands smooth over his shirt, the material slightly damp under your skin and his hair pushed back from how much he ran his hands through it.

Besides the fact that your hand is currently undoing Taehyun’s zipper and his lips have begun to suck and bite at your neck, nothing has really changed; you can still hear him cursing you under his breath, feeling the way he lets out a shaky sigh the moment your hand wraps around his length— teasingly stroking him, making sure to lead him on but not give him enough.   

It’s all a game of cat and mouse, judging by the way he’s just as eager to try and pull sounds out of you. Though, when he sees his current efforts aren’t working, he decides to take a different approach.

One thing you’ll never be able to deny about Taehyun is that he’s strong; he’s proving himself now, pushing you back and making you sit on the sink counter with ease— his hands are rough as he pulls up your dress, sloppy kisses still being laid out across your neck as he huffs slightly at your wandering hands; pulling away before he’s stepping back, slipping his belt off with ease and restraining your wrists with them— quietly, you muse about him being oddly skilled at it, but you’re quickly quieted by the way he tugs at the belt again, tightening the item around your wrists and listening to the way you whine at the feeling.

“Such a smart mouth,” he mumbles, pulling his cock out as he takes a look at you, eyes drinking in your dazed eyes and fucked out appearance with delight, “Too bad you’re too dumb to know when to shut up.”

He’s grabbing your waist before he’s tugging you forward— you slide slightly across the counter, legs spread open as Taehyun stands in between, feeling the way one of them hooks around his waist before you’re tugging him in closer, eyes challenging as you raise a brow impatiently. 

“Don’t give me that look,” he scoffs, allowing his tip to run teasingly along your slit, feeling the way your walls flutter around him in response, “Or I’ll leave you here and make you wish you begged for me while you had the chance.”

“Oh really?” you tilt your head, tugging him closer and feeling the way his tip breaches your entrance for a moment— your breath hitches, and though Taehyun pretends to remain unaffected, you can feel his cock twitch with anticipation. “I’m sure you’re all talk.”

This, Taehyun decides, is about as far as allow you to continue to provoke him; he’s pushing into you with one swift motion, watching the way your voice breaks and your mouth falls open at the feeling of him inside you, thick and warm and full as you clench around him, your pussy already wet from the way he simply couldn’t take his hands off you earlier; you hope he doesn’t notice it, but the way his lips quirk to form his usual arrogant smile definitely isn’t a good thing. 

Taehyun doesn’t give you a chance to adjust. He doesn’t take it slow, doesn’t ask you what feels good or what you like— he simply gauges your reaction and begins to fuck you, grinning at the way you whimper and whine that it feels good, throwing your head back and giving him access to mark your neck and collarbones, making sure to leave enough that you’ll remember this for a long time— after a moment, you realize what he’s doing, cursing under your breath and pulling at your restraints as he simply responds by sinking his teeth into the delicate flesh.

“Gonna make sure you remember this. Make people ask who you got these from,” he whispers, laughing mockingly at the way you whisper out a fuck you, retaliating by sucking harshly right at your jaw, just under your ear, “Feels good? Like knowing it’s me making you feel like this?”

You can barely process what he’s telling you; not when he’s grinding into you so good, his breaths heavy against your skin as he leans back up to kiss you once more— it’s a mess of tongue and teeth as you both fight to remain on top, the only thing you can still have control over as you sink your teeth into his lip meanly; he only reciprocates by fucking you harder, a hand reaching down to rub at your clit as he smiles against your lips, trying to keep control with the way you clench around him.

You’ve realized reluctantly that Taehyun is not all talk— he’s found the spot that has your body tensing and your sounds becoming louder, undoubtedly beginning to filter out the bathroom as Taehyun slaps a hand over your mouth; sending you a harsh glare, his brows furrowing at the way you tighten around him and your mouth falls slack against his palm.

“Be fucking quiet,” he hisses, letting out a hitched breath at the way you only buck your hips in response, your leg locking around his waist and bringing him impossibly close as you look up at him, your eyes dazed and glossy as you feel the way his cock twitches inside you at the sight— his pace picks up, and Taehyun can feel his high approaching, swollen lip bitten at and stuck between his teeth as he takes in the way you squirm under him, tears swelling at your waterline as you whine and moan against the palm of your hand.

Taehyun is the first to unravel; filling you to the brim, the feeling of his warm cum and thick cock that continues to rut into you enough to have you following soon after, chest arching toward him from the way he leans down in a sudden attempt to muffle his sounds, cruel mouth biting at the junction between your neck and shoulder as you merely curse at him in your mind. 

He doesn’t pull out— if anything, he’s still fucking you slowly long after, a slow pace as he mumbles something about keeping you filled; you don’t even have the energy to roll your eyes, resting your head against his own that is still buried in the crook of your neck, attempting poorly to catch your breath. After a moment, the reality of everything seems to set in, and your wrists ache.

“If you tell anyone about this, you’re dead.”

He huffs in amusement. 

“This is embarrassing for me too, you know,” he mumbles, turning his head so you can feel the way he noses along the column of your neck, sighing slowly before he says, “But I wouldn’t be against it happening again. You know, just to put you in your place.”

The moment Taehyun takes this stupid belt off you, you’ll show him what it means to be put in place. 

But for now, you’ll settle with the feeling of his cock still inside you and his arms wrapped around your waist. (For another thirty seconds, it’s been long enough and you’re sure there are others waiting outside by now.)

[sourcherryandsprinkles]

Can you do weathervane employee!reader when Xavier is there on outreach day?

I’m almost out of Xavier requests!! Keep them coming and fill this form if you want to be on my taglists. Would anyone be interested in Xavier x Reader x Ajax? Should I start writing for Ajax too? Let me know <3

keep sending requests for Xavier

—

Outreach Day was the Jericho citizens' least favorite day. It wasn’t a secret that Nevermore Academy wasn’t very loved by the normies — as the outcasts would call them —, but Nevermore insisted on having their students volunteering in town every year.

You were busy cleaning the coffee beans you had spilled five minutes ago when the café’s bell jingled, announcing a customer. ‘’Welcome to Weathervane. Please hold in your order or else I’m gonna get fired for making another mess.’’

Your back was turned so you didn’t see the Nevermore student, mistaking him for a customer.

‘’Eh, I’m not here for coffee,’’ a boy’s voice said. ‘’I’m here for Outreach Day. I’ve been assigned to volunteer here.’’

Shit. You had completely forgotten about Outreach Day. Your co-worker had grumbled about it while helping you with the closing, but it had slipped out of your mind during the night.

You quickly wiped the rest of the coffee grounds and tossed them in the trash. Where was Tyler? He’s the assistant manager. Shouldn’t he be the one taking care of the Nevermore student?

When you finally turned, you were pleasantly surprised to see a boy with shoulder length hair and the prettiest green eyes.

‘’Hi. Welcome to Weathervane.’’ You flashed him a smile, completely forgetting you had already greeted him with those exact words when he walked in. Why must you do embarrassing things?

‘’Hi,’’ he greeted back, returning your smile. ‘’Do you need help with those spilled coffee grounds?’’

You shook your head. ‘’I’m good. It’s all cleaned up.’’

‘’Then you’ll get to keep your job,’’ he inferred with a small smile on his face. ‘’I’m Xavier, by the way.’’

Your smile twitched at the corner. Not only was he handsome, but also effortlessly charming. How were you going to get through your day?

‘’Y/N,’’ you said in return. ‘’I’m gonna go fetch you a shirt and apron in the backroom and then I’ll teach you the basics of coffee making. I’ll be right back.’’

On your way, you crossed paths with Tyler who was coming out of the backroom with a box of to-go cups and lids to restock behind the counter. His eyes overlooked over your shoulder, recognizing the familiar face in the café and making a displeased face.

‘’Ugh, great. Out of all the Nevermore students, it’s him we’re stuck with.’’

‘’You know him?’’

His reaction gave you the impression that he already had personal issues with the Nevermore student. Perhaps a past fight over a girl. All you knew was that it was more than just school rivalry.

Tyler nodded, but didn’t give out any details. ‘’Make him wear a hairnet, it's unhygienic. We don't want a hair in the coffees we serve.’’

You narrowed your eyes at him. Your hair was longer than Xavier’s and Tyler didn’t have an issue with it. ‘’Your attempt at ridiculing him in your environment is pitiful. Whatever beef there is between you and him, keep it outside of work.’’

‘’There’s nothing between us.’’

You huffed, not believing him. ‘’If you say so.’’

Behind you, the bell jingled again and Tyler used it as an excuse to end your conversation. ‘’There’s customers. I gotta go.’’

‘’You’re just jealous he’s gonna get more tips than you at the end of the day,’’ you said as Tyler walked away.

The brown shirt somehow looked great on Xavier. It matched his hair perfectly. His apron was tied wrong, but it didn’t matter. He’s probably never worn one before.

You both stood at the coffee bar where the espresso machine was. Beside the machine, syrups lined up and white mugs with the café's name on it were lined up, right at hand's reach.

‘’Okay, Xavier. Tell me everything that you know about coffee.’’

As cute as he was, you really hoped Xavier had some kind of knowledge about coffee-making.

Xavier hesitated. He didn’t want to come off as an ignorant idiot, but coffee was not his thing. ‘’People pay a ridiculously high price for something they can make at home?’’

You held in a laugh. He wasn't wrong. Some coffee drinks on the Weathervane menu were over eight dollars. That’s crazy. Who in their sane mind pays that much for coffee?

‘’Can you tell an americano from a macchiato?’’

‘’Do I have to use the espresso machine for those?’’

‘’I'll take that for a no.’’ You grabbed the filter from the machine and the coffee grounds, careful to not spill them this time. ‘’It's not rocket science. Once you know how to make a shot of espresso, you can basically make any drink,’’ you explained. ‘’Take this filter and fill it with grounds. Use the tamper to pack them tight.’’

Xavier took the items from you and did as he was instructed, filling the filter and pressing them down with the tamper. Once it was filled to the brim, he glanced up at you. ‘’What now?’’

‘’You steam the milk.’’

Xavier was a fast learner. Twenty minutes later, he was on his own, making lattes and cappuccinos as if he had been working there for months. His effortless charm worked in his favor with the customers. In two hours, he had made more tips than Tyler usually did in a full day. A girl even gave him her number, but he crumpled the paper and chucked it in the trash. Perhaps he already had a girlfriend?

Soon enough, it was close to 4pm and Outreach Day was almost over. You felt sad to have to say goodbye to Xavier, but his time at Weathervane was only for a day.

‘’My time here is up in ten minutes,’’ he said, bringing the dirty dishes he had collected from the tables after you had just finished with a customer. ‘’Would I be out of line to ask for your number?’’

His question came to you as a surprise.

You never gave your number to customers. You were there to make money and — in a near future — get out of Jericho, not find love. But Xavier was not a customer and he was also not a real employee, which wouldn’t go against company policy.

His green eyes were looking at you, waiting for your answer. You didn’t want today to be the last time you saw him.

You pulled a marker from your apron’s pocket and grabbed Xavier’s arm, scribbling your number on his skin. A piece of paper would have been more favorable, but with your number right on his arm, there’s no way he’ll forget about you.

Xavier looked down at his arm, not expecting you to do this. ‘’Normal people use paper, you know?’’

‘’What’s the fun in that? Besides, you don’t have a way to lose my number…unless you lose your arm.’’

He shook his head and grinned. ‘’I don’t plan on it. It’s my good hand so it would be very unfortunate for me.’’

A loud throat clearing came from the side of the café where Tyler was passing a mop, breaking the moment. ‘’No personal business on working hours.’’

—

Xavier Thorpe taglist: @sofiaadler @partyfly @hoodforcalum @thelilacmourning @ellessecretobsession @su-alteza-emia @achoo---uu @not-leaprvt @xaviersgf @peterparkerdilf @roadworkaheadisurehopeitdoes @dragon-chica @coldtacozinepanda @wrldofsage @eddiemunsonsluvrrr @capriaura @officialsaturn @babyfiva @maevaomizzolo @kelloggs-world @whosljt @ajpanda181 @belovedrey @emerycrt @elizabitchsshit @heaven-hiding @lilithlikestoread @est-liber @moonisu @dessxoxsworld @parker-nite @bellblake121890 @vesperazhier @kaldurahms-lover @beeebo234 @nephilimsss @mayuphoenix @sweetheartlizzie07 @watermelon-18 @snixx2088 @555stargirl555 @robinscardigan @chumchum19 @lilttblog @aphex2winn @heizenka @mystargirl-interlude @hwrtsiren @babygirljay20 @wildflowerlyss @strangersomeone @openfandoms @charlottelaffin @iheartmaddyperez @starless-starkov @ali-r3n​  @poppet05

[xbomboi]

i wonder if people actually realize that darling and dexter being twins was a retcon

if it were up to me, they’d have always been presented as twins from the start, because that’s just way better imo, but i’m not CEO of Mattel so it’s NOT up to me and we have this weird inconsistency.

i mean, first of all, the start of the tv series already includes that weird period of time where darling just straight up Does Not Exist because at the end of the day this is just an extended toy commercial and there wasn’t any toy to advertise yet.

when darling WAS, however, introduced into the show, she strangely interacts with DARING more than she ever does dexter, despite her closeness to the latter that’s established as early on as her doll’s diary. my personal guess as to why that is has to do from the show capitalizing heavily on darling’s princess charming gimmick of being a girl who’s a knight, and as a result, benefited from portraying the fact that she and daring are, in a way, foils to each other.

anyway, when darling’s doll released, her bio listed her birthday as November 16th. dexter’s birthday had already been established as the 11th of February, so at this time, darling was not intended to be his twin.

and we can see this further shown by the word choice in darling’s diary. she refers to daring as her “oldest brother” and then goes on to refer to dexter as her “older brother”. which, sure, a twin can be older than the other, but in her doll diary, she’s gonna call him her twin if they want us to know that they’re twins.

i’m not sure exactly when the earliest instance of any official media referring to darling and dexter as twins was, but if my memory serves me correctly, i believe it was a post from the official Facebook that had stated they were twins. again, don’t quote me on that.

this discrepancy is important to me as someone who has to constantly fact check lore and timeline of events, because it very much so impacted Ever After High media released prior to the twin retcon’s ability to hold up. as far as I can remember, a good amount of the books were written under the initial status of darling’s birthday falling on 11/16 rather than 2/11 with dexter, the Susanne Selfors books coming to mind in particular. but i could be wrong, because i’m not going to reread all of those books just for this post.

the updated birthday for darling ended up being the one they stuck with. a brief scroll on the official Ever After High Instagram page will show as much, with birthday posts for dexter & darling on the same day. there is the tidbit of information that dexter is still older by a few seconds (not sure if this was ever officially stated, i’m only going off of the wiki for this one detail), but i honestly think that’s only included as a way to try and rectify the past instances of darling or possibly anyone else referring to dexter as her older brother.

as of today, it seems like everyone understands darling and dexter to be twins, and if they are familiar with the past retcon, they prefer the twin change and are glad it was made. i’ve never witnessed anyone say anything like “ugh, i really wish they wouldn’t have made darling dexter’s twin and kept her younger!!”.

still, it’s interesting that it happened. i call it what it is: a retcon. and most people hear that term and associate it with negativity. which, to be fair, in terms of writing, it more often than not absolutely is. but in this isolated case, despite it making some of the supplementary pieces of media for the series confusing (though the show and books/diaries take place in a different continuity anyway), i see this as a good thing. right off the bat, it makes less sense to me that the Charmings would intentionally go on to have not just one but two other children individually after daring with him being the successful golden child they wanted. it makes more sense that they decided to have one other child just for the hell of it and happened to end up with two.

also, and i don’t have the source for this so i’m just going based off of memory, apparently the grade-level cut off isn’t in the fall in the Ever After High universe, because daring, dexter, and darling are all intended to be in the same grade according to what i believe was one of the writers or producers or something of the sort for the tv show. and i make that conclusion about the cutoff not being in the fall because daring’s birthday is April 2nd, and since he’s older than dexter & darling, they’d have been born in February of the following year, meaning in order for them to be in the same grade together, the grade level cut off couldn’t fall anywhere within the roughly nine months gap between April to the next February. which, if you’ve done the math, you’ll have realized must mean that either the cut off for the next grade either falls sometime late February anywhere after the 11th, is on the 1st of April, or is any day in the month of March.

darling being in the same grade as daring and not a grade (or two) below also makes daring and rosabella work considering that, being her roommate, rosabella would be in whatever grade darling is in, and were she to be anymore than a grade below daring, there’d be a questionable age gap. not to mention with darling herself and apple. jesus. so it’s definitely a positive that’s not the case. and to anyone who may have been confused before, this is also why dexter can room with a character like hunter, because he too is in the same grade.

or maybe this is a show for babies and nothing matters.

[brokenpieces-72]

Risk

Navigation

Kyle came to pick you up. By now the two of you were buddies, with him treating you like a younger sibling. There are plenty of memes exchanged between the two of you, and you’ve tagged along with him on more than one occasion. He knows a lot about cars, and you’ve helped him work on a couple vehicles. Turns out he works at a small mechanic shop. Never overcharges people, or pulls fake expenses. Has a tendency to undercharge but sometimes gets something of equal value.

You get in the passenger seat and putting your bag in the backseat. You notice a few small things in the back. Kyle starts driving and you stretch in the seat.

“Seat belt.” He says and you put it on.

“Peach wine?” You ask. Kyle gives a half smile keeping his eyes on the road.

“She insisted on giving a whole case.” Kyle says. One of his customers was an older lady who made wine on the side. She couldn’t always cover the costs of her old run down vehicle getting repaired so Kyle settled for a bottle of her wine to cover the rest. “Gonna let Price try some and serve it at the pub.”

“Speaking of drinks, do the guys like ice tea with popping boba?” You ask.

“Don’t think so.”

“Woo!” You cheer. More for you! You sit back in your seat, watching out the window. The drive is a longer one than necessary. After some time, you notice a few landmarks out of place. You suspect someone is following you two, and Kyle is trying to get them to leave you both alone.

“Had a visitor.” You say, wanting to fill the quiet drive. “Milena Romanova.”

“The hell did she want?” Kyle says, checking his mirrors.

“Gave me an invitation to a gathering. Offered to show some of my work at open houses. Graves was there too but he got there before Milena.”

“He broke in?” Kyle asks. Graves sounded like a toxic ex.

“No, he has my spare key. He was there before I got there, I talked to Milena and then found out he was around.” You exclaim. It’s quiet in the car for a bit. The purring engine fills the silence as he mutters something checking behind him.

“I told him about the raid.” You say. If anyone would take it calmly, it was Kyle. The car feels even quieter, though. Telling Graves hadn’t been decided yet. Kyle is fidgeting a little with the wheel, staring forward. “I’m sor-“

“Don’t say sorry to me.” He says, and you can hear more in his voice. You've heard a similar tone when someone brought the wrong tires after they were late for their tire change. There’s a pause as he straightens in the seat and speeds up a little, making it through a yellow light before making a turn and then another. There’s a pause while you check the side mirror to see if anyone is still following. After a few minutes, you don’t recognize any of the vehicles that were behind you before the light.

“Price has issues with the police since Graves and what happened with Makarov. If he can avoid them he does, but right now, we need all the help we can get, and if Graves can give us the legal system we should be taking it.” Kyle says. He has a look of determination in his eyes. One you haven’t seen in him much, except for when you’d seen him go out with Price for “work” or defend someone in a fight. He glances at you while waiting at a red light.

“Graves tell you what to do?” He asks. You nod. Kyle nods as if he already knows the instructions himself. There’s another pause waiting for the light to turn green. He looks at you directly.

“Did you actually record the conversation?” Kyle asks.

“Yep.” You say smiling. “I don’t think she’s seen the work I did of her.”

Kyle is laughing as he steps on the gas, the light green now. “You should go to that gathering just to see the look on her face.”

“She’ll likely simmer down by then. Not sure if I want to go if Makarov is there.”

“He’s supposed to be there?” Kyle asks.

“Probably. I mean Milena came to my apartment and when she saw me, she tried to make the excuse that my unit was up for sale. I assume Makarov gave her my address. She even stood there waiting for me. Could've put it in my mailbox or slid it under the door. Clearly, they want me to know they can find me.”

“You don’t want to see him?” Kyle inquires, though the answer is fairly obvious. He doesn't blame you.

“I... I don't think I'm ready to face him yet. Not alone, with a crowd of people." You answer.

Kyle pulls into a parking spot not far from the safe house apartment. He carries the wine, while you haul your bag. You both walk in and find Laswell chatting with Price. You haven’t seen Laswell since meeting John Price for the first time. After putting your bag in your bedroom you come back out and make some tea. Kyle has the small crate on the kitchen counter and is getting a couple of glasses for Price and Laswell to try. You take your seat at the bar and notice a similar envelope to your own invitation.

“You got invited?” You wonder aloud. Laswell looks at you and then where you’re looking.

“You got one?” She asks. You hold it up and John’s expression changes with the lift of an eyebrow. Laswell’s eyes go to her laptop, where you see some stuff but you’re not sure what exactly it is. You don’t want to inquire either.

Kyle hands both Price and Laswell a glass of the wine. You look at Kyle and then look between the two others while they try the wine. Do you tell them about Graves? Kyle folds his arms, looks at the floor, and then back at you. He gives you a slight shrug as an answer. You can, but that “you can” is gonna be loaded.

“Graves told me to leave an anonymous tip about the raid.” You blurt out. Kyle looks away while Price and Laswell look at you. The two of them are old enough to be your parents but damn do they feel like it this moment. You look between trying to figure out whose face to settle on. You pick Laswell but she just shakes her head and returns to her laptop. Thanks, Laswell, now you’re stuck facing the giant bear that is Price. You look at him and his face says something but you don't know what it is. It’s like reading a book highlighted with a black sharpie.

“I can call him off, tell him not to.” You say, wanting to back out of the whole thing.

“Tell who?” Johnny asks coming out of the hall. When did he get here?

“Tell Graves not to be at the raid.” You blurt out again. Johnny was reaching for the fridge until he stopped and gave you the same expression as John. Seriously how did they do that? That is impressively coordinated. You try looking to Kyle, hoping he'll weigh in. Nope. Kyle is not even making eye contact with you just looking at the ground. There is tension and you hate it.

“I’ll tell him not to.” You say breaking eye contact with them and staring down at the counter top.

“Send the tip.” John says, biting back some annoyance. “At the very least Graves can keep the damage down and focus on Makarov’s men.”

You didn’t realize you were holding breath until Price finished talking. Johnny goes back to the fridge, letting the tension die out.

“This is home made?” Price asks Kyle who finally looks up from the floor as if he were never trying to hide from the conversation.

“Yeah.” Kyle says. You eye Soap while the two continue talking and he’s distracted. You both know the risks that could come, and the differing amount of trust you both have in Graves. Time would tell.

“If you’re going to that gathering, you probably shouldn’t go in ripped jeans and a hoodie.” Laswell comments the next day. She’d come back to the hideout fairly early. Thinking about it, you can’t recall her leaving, since you went to bed early. You woke up, got dressed and came out to find her remaking the pot of coffee.

“Not sure I want to go.” You reply checking to see what in the fridge was still edible. You find some left over chicken, but the stray could have that after feeding her kits. You find a protein bar, and settle, sitting up on the counter.

“Because of Makarov?” She asks. You shrug, but she’s right. You never met the man face to face but if he was enough to make everyone treat him like the plague you were hardly eager to shake his hand.

“Makarov is a smart man, he won’t do anything to you when you’re there.” She says.

“You don’t know that.” You counter, rubbing your arm. Laswell notices you tugging on your sleeve. She lets the coffee brew while standing in front of you. Laswell holds out her hand and you already know what she wants. You offer your wrist and pull the sleeve back showing the fairly nasty bruise. It is healing but hasn’t by much.

Kate looks up at you while you’re focused on the bruise. You’d been in gun fights before. Someone grabbing your wrist and squeezing until you bruised was an experience you had no interest in repeating. At least not like that. Nolan had found you again and grabbed at you. He tried dragging you to a car but your quick thinking to bite his wrist got him off. It left you with the taste of his blood in your mouth and an impression on your skin. You’d kept it to yourself though.

“What happened?” Kate asks. Her voice is calm, likely not the first time this has happened. She isn't demanding an answer. You tell her and she listens. No scolding or shaming you for not saying anything or not doing something more. You almost wish she would because at times you feel like a kid in this group. You expect her to say you did your best and it’s not your fault. Kate doesn’t though. Instead, she tugs the sleeve back down.

“Good work. You may not be able to get him arrested but he won’t forget the bite anytime soon.” She says. You smile, feeling a little proud of yourself.

“If you can do this, then I think you can handle Makarov. Especially since I’ll be there as with officer Alex.” Kate says.

“You think I should go?” You ask.

“You don’t have to, but if you want… it would give you a chance to see some very humorous reactions to your work,” Kate says taking a sip of newly poured coffee.

Taglist: @yourlovely-moon @kaoyamamegami @h0n3y-l3m0n05 @sans-chara @1mommyrose4ever29 @smitten-haematite-quartz @tai-the-gemini @yuki2129 @whitetiger846 @graystorm444 @chibiduck @reaperxxxxzz @danielle143 @sobbingnshtting @cringeycookies @cryingpages @dcnocap207 @reaper-chan666

[sams-darlin]

original post by @puffin-smoke !!

i’m making this its own post instead of reblogging because i’ve been WAITING for someone to make this point.

hush and doc are nowhere near comparable to blake and bestie and here’s why:

hush is a force turned physical. he has no concept of right and wrong, at least not fully. he only knows his purpose and the actions he must take to get to that purpose even if to others they appear wrong, and as we saw in Referred Judgement he killed vega without realizing it was wrong.

he only knows and is aware of the present moment, he has no concept of the future and consequences of his actions, he only knows “this person is doing something to hinder my plans, i must prevent them from doing so”. he only just learned what regret feels like, he’s learning how to exist for the first time, he’s learning how to exist outside of his purpose.

he has no set of morals, no humanity, nothing. he only does what serves his purpose

doc is NOT okay with the things hush does, at least not fully. they were terrified when he killed the demon in their house and have questioned him on why he does the things he’s done. i think the stage doc is in right now is less of a “i’m okay with this” but more of a “this guy is freaky powerful, let’s see if me gaining his trust can help him change his mind and not bring about the end times”.

remember, to doc and lots of other empowered humans the sovereigns are folktales, myths, some scary story told by the fireside, they have no idea the exact amount of danger hush intends to bring upon the world and much less how to handle it and as they’ve seen there’s no stopping him. i mean what would you do in that scenario? what have characters in movies and shows done in that scenario? you’re the one human this creature trusts, are you going to betray that trust and risk your life? are you gonna yell at him? fight him? what good will that do?

no matter what you do that creatures gonna bring upon destruction, all you can do is sit by and wait until powerful enough forces can put a stop to it or it gains enough morality through existing alongside you to understand what it’s attempting to achieve will destroy all of human and demonkind.

BLAKE however. that man is human. he has a set of morals no matter how skewed they may be, he knows right and wrong, he has a life outside of a purpose, he was not created from magic to bring about the apocalypse. he is a grown ass man. he is selfish. he knows what he’s doing is wrong but he does it anyway just to save one person who matters to him.

while hush is completely unaware of cause and effect therefore acts without considering it, blake knows his actions have consequences and seemingly does not care.

i will credit him tho, he actually knows what he’d rather do to get to his goal and has at least some empathy for sunshine and elliott, where hush has little to no empathy for anyone outside of doc and only says things like “i didn’t want to do that” after the fact.

hush only just learned the feelings that are regret and guilt, he felt them for the first time after killing vega, in his head he’s never viewed anything he’s done as bad it’s just the right thing in the moment that helps get his purpose fulfilled as fast as possible. blake knows he’s doing the wrong thing but for the “right” reasons, he knows it’s wrong and immoral but does it anyways.

bestie. has a boyfriend. who joined a cult. kidnapped and tortured two people. and sold his soul and freedom to a sovereign(d’derihdan, mind you, sovereign of sadism guy). for them. and they’re okay with it. THATS THE DIFFERENCE. it’s two different situations.

there is nothing doc can do but help hush gain a sense of humanity and hope it’s enough to stop him, bestie saw their boyfriend commit horrific acts and possibly become a vessel of armageddon just to keep them alive and KISSED HIM AFTER.

bestie and blake are freaks and i forever stand by that. i hope bestie dies in blake’s arms and he destroys himself in efforts to get them back(failing of course).

thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[silverjirachi]

I think you “i’m voting with my conscience” and “I’m not voting because they’re the same” fucks keep forgetting that the US president will be allowed to stack the supreme court. Do you know what happens in the supreme court? They directly determine the interpretation of our constitution. You know. The only thing your rights are actually codified in and determines how our entire country is governed. The Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in this country. The Supreme Court overturned Roe V Wade. The Supreme Court both ratified Prohibition in this country and ended it. The Supreme Court officers serve for life and there are only nine of those fuckers. Nine. Nine people who have been appointed by past presidents are the ones making huge decisions on the direction this country goes in. Remember when Ruth Bader Ginsburg died? You know. One of the only staunchly left justices on the court? Roe v. Wade got overturned because trump was allowed to appoint a new anti abortion justice. That happened in BIDEN’S presidency because TRUMP was allowed to influence it. Biden had absolutely no say into what happened in that decision. Nine. Nine people who are getting increasingly right wing keep getting to determine whether or not our foundational rights that built this country should be followed or not.

You do not want Trump to be allowed to appoint another justice to the supreme court. MORE of your rights will go away, and abortion bans will get harsher. Trump and his goons are rather openly admitting that they want to degrade justice in this country and appoint trump into more of a dictator figure and you know how they’re gonna be able to actually degrade justice? The Supreme Court. And the Senate. That’s why it’s important to vote in every election because even if the Supreme Court goes off the shits, at least we will maybe have the Senate to hold down the fort.

We were all directly impacted by something Trump was allowed to do at the end of his term during Biden’s one. That WILL get worse.

They are not the same. I am not arguing with people about this. Not voting against Trump is the morally wrong thing to do and is a direct threat to you and this country. If you try to argue with me or anyone in the notes about how you should be an exception, you will be blocked, because you are directly threatening my safety and the safety of millions of others both here and abroad. This is not a debate.

[teshadraws]

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Seekers of Soul

[Chapter 53]

<< First | < Previous | Next >

-

After a tense conversation in the cafeteria, Nia and Tobias make plans with Team Evergreen for a team-up mission.

-

Conversation bubbles up naturally between Team Scarlet and Team Shellshock as they head down the Lexym Tree in search of food. Nia is delighted when Tobias even joins the conversation of his own volition, bantering with Xander about nearly taking him down with dragon rage during their joint training session. When the group stops by the nursery to grab Xander’s siblings to join them, the shinx cubs tackle first Xander and then Tobias with shrieks of excitement, rubbing their faces against the two with loud purrs.

On the cafeteria floor, Xander’s team splits off to the far end of the room to join the other food line, calling that they’ll grab a table. Nia and Tobias enter the closer line, picking up trays and stepping into the queue behind a weasel-like Pokemon balancing on two paws. Her long fur is tan with streaks of darker brown, and her blue eyes are sharp. The Pokemon scowls at Nia as she gets into line, muzzle twitching, before looking forward again.

Nia tries not to let the brief look bother her, but lowers her voice as Tobias plots how to beat Kry the next time the two of them spar. As the two of them chat, the line slowly moves, Nia holding out her tray to accept food from the grass type behind the counter. She hasn’t noticed the fiery chicken Pokemon working as a chef since the first time she ate here. Maybe they were just working here temporarily? Tobias is still the only fire type she sees regularly around the Haven.

The humanoid Pokemon behind the counter today has olives in her hair (or maybe they are her hair?), and plops two large spoonfuls of something onto Nia’s tray. Usually, Nia doesn’t even question the guild’s meals anymore since the cooking is always delicious, but the food today throws her. Rice, paired with what looks like veggies or berries in an orange-brown sauce.

“Is this…curry?” Nia whispers, just loud enough for Tobias to hear. She pulls her tray closer to eye it. The rich smell of the sauce makes her mouth water.

Tobias squints at his own serving, then shrugs. “Dunno. Smells good.”

Nia hums, fascinated, and shuffles sideways to keep up with the line. “Any idea what it’s made of? The smell kind of reminds me of—"

She’s so distracted that she bumps into the weasel Pokemon in front of her.

Before she can apologize, the weasel bares her teeth in a snarl. “Watch it!”

Nia jumps back a step, startled by the animosity in the other Pokemon’s voice. “S-Sorry! Sorry. I didn’t mean to bump into you. I wasn’t paying attention—”

“Clearly!”

“Sorry! I was just, um. I’ll be sure to look out better in the future so I don’t bump into anyone. I mean, I wasn’t trying to right now, of course, but—"

“Just watch where you’re walking, human.”

Human. While Nia is long since used to eager Pokemon running up to ask if she really used to be human, this feels…different. This feels like Ghatha. Like Fort Asra. Maybe there’s a reason why this Pokemon seemed to drop into a foul mood as soon as Nia stepped into line.

“Lay off,” Tobias says, tuning into the conversation. “She already apologized.”

“I wasn’t talking to you, wisp!”

There’s a notable drop in volume from the voices around them.

…Wisp?

Tobias’ expression darkens further. “Oh, so it’s gonna be like that. You really want—"

“I-I’ll be more careful!” Nia cuts in, ready for this conversation to be over. “I’m really sorry again.”

“Stop apologizing!” Tobias hisses. “You didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Her being here is wrong,” the weasel snaps. “And if you’re really sorry you’ll go back where you came from and leave us alone.”

Nia takes another panicked step back, nearly toppling both her and Tobias.

“That’s it,” Tobias says, a bit louder. He shoves his tray towards Nia. “Nia, hold my tray.”

“What?! No!”

She doesn’t want this to escalate. Already Nia can hear the quiet murmurs around them growing louder, can feel a tension building in the air as the weasel’s striped fur spikes. So Nia panics and backs out of line, pulling Tobias with her despite his protests. They’re only missing dessert, anyways.

Even if that is her favorite.

The weasel snorts something that sounds suspiciously like coward before continuing forward in line like nothing happened. Nia's eyes stay glued to the weasel’s back as she moves away. Her heart beats loud and nervous in her ears.

She…wasn’t ready for that. Wasn’t ready to for that kind of hostility in the guild. Sure, it was from someone who clearly wanted a fight, but still. The weasel had decided that Nia being human was enough to make her a target. That because she's human, she's allowed to be a target.

Nia thought it was safe here.

They've ran into scared Pokemon taking their fear out on humans a couple of times now, namely in Ghatha and Asra. But not here, where everyone has been neutral towards her humanity at worst. She heard August, she knows the sentiment has been spreading, but…

It isn’t even our fault, Nia thinks, hollowly. Now that she’s talked to Giratina, now that she knows it isn’t anything the humans have done, knows that their displacement is just an unfortunate side-effect of the dimension’s borders breaking down, the accusations hurt even more. They aren’t doing anything wrong. They’re just existing. Trying to fit in and find somewhere to belong until they can go home.

Nia sniffs, blinking back tears. Her throat is tight. She stares down at her tray and the cooling curry. She isn’t so hungry anymore.

Tobias, who had been grumbling insults at the weasel’s back, turns to Nia. “C’mon, you can’t take anything that idiot says to heart. She was a jerk to both of us so she probably walks around everywhere with that terrible attitude.”

That does remind Nia of a beat in the conversation that had confused her more than it had upset her.

She frowns at Tobias. “You mean when she called you…wisp? Is that bad?”

Tobias' expression twists. “Maybe don’t say that too loud. It doesn’t bother me anymore, but it’s, uh…kind of an insult for fire types. Like…saying that we’re so weak our fire got snuffed out.”

Nia’s eyes widen. “That’s horrible! B-But Azami calls you Spitfire. And Andyn calls you flame-brain and stuff—are those..?”

Tobias snorts a laugh and shakes his head. “Nah, those are fine.”

Nia knows she looks as unsure as she feels. Tobias elaborates.

“Seriously, Nia. You’d know if they were actually insulting me. It’s more…playful than that, I guess? They poke at me being a fire type, sure, but they aren’t really implying anything…bad with it.”

“Flame-brain doesn’t sound very nice.”

“Neither does ‘kindling,’ but Arceus themself will not stop me from calling your stupid deerling friend that. It’s not any worse than us just calling each other dummy. Wisp just has…a different tone to it.”

Nia slowly nods, brow knitting. So it’s something about the social context that makes it different. Makes one worse than the others. She supposes human slang is equally confusing, if she really thinks about it.

“C’mon,” Tobias says with a jerk of his head. “We still need to eat.”

Nia takes a breath and nods. Not like they can do much about the weasel right now anyways. They could go tell Maggie or August, she supposes, and August did say long ago to let him know if anyone gave her trouble, but…

“Should we tell August about this?” Nia asks.

Tobias shakes his head immediately. “No. August means well, but all that would do is make that linoone angrier. Much as I’d love to set her stupid pelt on fire, we don’t need to be dealing with a fight on top of everything else.”

“But he could tell her to stop, right?”

“Trust me. When I was younger, telling only made them get better at doing stuff like this quietly.”

And isn’t that a loaded statement. Nia stares at Tobias for a moment, suddenly far more upset about how easily he brushes off any insults thrown his way. It speaks of practice.

She thinks of his aura earlier, of how desperately he wanted to hide it away from her, afraid she would hate him. Does he even realize how much his isolation from the rest of the guild these past eight years has affected how he sees himself?

Tobias raises a brow at her, so Nia gives a weak smile and gestures for him to lead the way. She’d been so excited to come down here to eat with everyone, and now it feels like her heart is hanging heavy in her chest. But they might as well join their friends.

Tobias takes the lead and Nia trails after the charmander to the table, where Xander’s team and the shinx kids are already sitting with their food, talking as they eat. Tobias moves around the table to sit by Laine, giving the cub a noogie as he sits that makes her shriek and duck away.

Nia heads for the empty spot on the closer side, next to Felix. The wartortle is seated oddly on the wooden bench, one short leg thrown over it so he’s perched sideways as if he’d been about to get up. He meets Nia’s gaze as she approaches, his usual jovial expression subdued.

Felix leans closer as she sits, brow furrowed. “You all right?”

Nia blinks, surprised. Is it that obvious that she’s still upset?

“Heard what happened in line,” Felix whispers. His fluffy ears wiggle. “These aren’t just for show. So. You okay?”

The concern make Nia smile a bit more genuinely, some of the tightness wound up in her gut loosening. There may be rude people even here in the guild, but at least there are also sweethearts like Felix.

“I’m all right,” she murmurs. “Thanks for checking in. It just…caught me off-guard, you know? I’m used to the guild being a place I don’t need to worry about that. It’s getting worse, I guess.”

Felix returns her smile, though there’s a crook to his brow that belies his lingering worry. “Well, let us know if anyone starts giving you trouble. Xander and I would be happy to put them in their place—" He winks. “—and I have a feeling we could do it a bit more subtly than your partner.”

Nia laughs and nods. Felix turns back to his food, but Nia sees him send Tobias a covert look, as if to check on the charmander while knowing he wouldn’t want to be fussed over. Nia smiles, warmed by the concern, as she starts picking at her meal—the curry is good, even if it takes her a moment to get used to the soft texture.

Soon enough, both Nia and Tobias are swept into the conversation at the table. Kry is slamming a fist against the wood, the fraxure arguing that yache berries are objectively better than nanab berries, and Avery is fighting an uphill battle against her. The kirlia offers up well-worded reasoning for why nanab berries are superior, but Kry shoots down each argument with counterpoints of, “But they’re pink!” and “They taste like rotten river water!”

Avery stops pointing out that those are subjective opinions after the fourth rebuttal, changing strategies instead to point out the physical benefits of each berry. Xander gives Kry a scolding look (that she promptly ignores) after the third table-rattling slam of her fist, and the shinx cubs laugh and laugh as Felix jumps in to suggest mago berries are actually the best choice, making both Avery and Kry turn to him with offended expressions.

Throughout the lively debate, Nia glances at Tobias to try checking in on him. He seems all right, although Nia can’t help noticing that he isn’t using his flames to cook his berries like he sometimes does. Maybe he just isn’t feeling like cooked berries today, or maybe that Pokemon’s comment got to him more than he wanted to admit.

Eventually, Felix moves the conversation on to regaling both the shinx kids and Nia and Tobias with the daring tale of Team Shellshock’s latest dungeon crawl. Nia has a feeling a few embellishments were made to make their team sound extra cool—Xander rolling his eyes and Kry’s snort all but confirm it—but she enjoys it all the same.

“I wish we could go exploring already,” Laine sighs when the story is done.

“We’ll be a team soon too!” Luca says, little paws on the table so he can stand up in his seat. “Me ‘n you, Lainey!”

“Oh? What about Leor?” Avery asks.

As all eyes turn to the shyest shinx cub, Leor squeaks and huddles down on the bench, wide gold eyes peering over the table.

“He’s gonna be a medic,” Luca says, chin tilted proudly.

“Like Fen!” Laine adds.

Xander looks as surprised about this news as Nia is, leaning down to meet his younger brother's eyes. “This true?”

Leor looks nervous, but glances over at Tobias before giving the barest nod.

Xander grins, one giant paw squeezing the cub closer. “That’s great, Lee! You would be a fantastic medic.”

“Really?” Leor asks, looking unsure.

“Of course! You three can do whatever you set your minds to. And I’m not just saying that because I’m your brother.”

Luca and Laine cheer while Leor leans into Xander’s side. The luxio purrs and nuzzles the top of his little brother’s head.

It’s a sweet moment, but Nia can see the instant Leor’s eyes crack open and he registers most of the table watching the exchange. He squeaks and wriggles free of Xander’s hold. Xander laughs and lets him go, and the cub almost tumbles himself right off the bench.

“Leor’s gonna train under Fen, and Laine and I are gonna make a Seekers team together!” Luca says, little tail lashing. “Team Thunderspark! And we’re gonna be stronger than any other team!”

“Even ours?” Felix goads, grinning.

“Duh!” Laine says. “You’re a water type! You won’t stand a chance!”

Felix laughs, then tilts his head towards Kry. “True, but our team’s also got the meanest ‘mon this side of the continent.”

Kry looks torn between taking that as a compliment and an insult, and eventually just flicks a piece of rice at the wartortle as punishment.

“You’re going to be great Seekers,” Xander agrees, popping a berry into his mouth. “When you’re old enough.”

Laine and Luca whine in unison, the latter plopping his chin down onto his tray.

“Do we have to wait that long? We’re already strong!” Laine protests.

“Yeah! We should be able to make our own decisions by now,” Luca grumbles, batting a berry around his tray.

“Those are the rules,” Xander says, giving them both a stern look. “It’s only a few more years. If you two can stay out of trouble and stop tormenting poor Arlo, that is.”

The kids groan again, and Nia bites back a smile as she chews. Xander is sweet with his siblings. Sometimes he acts more like a father to them than a brother, but Nia supposes that’s to be expected, between how they were brought here and raised in the nursery their whole lives, plus Xander’s protective nature. It reminds her of her own brother, in a bittersweet way.

Nia feels lighter by the time they finish eating and part ways with Xander’s team. Both Avery and Xander give her a hug before leaving, and Felix offers a fist bump and an easy grin. Kry lightly smacks Nia’s legs with her tail as she passes, and outright punches Tobias in the arm. He glares at her back, but Nia thinks the exchange is a friendly one, somehow.

After the stressful morning talking to Maggie and August, aura training with Val, and the moment in the cafeteria—not to mention the exhaustion still present from their journey—Nia is ready for a nap when they finally make it back to their room. Tobias starts unpacking their bag and taking inventory of their items, so Nia forces herself to write back to Hazel before crashing. She thanks the raichu for the offered discount on a human bed, but explains that they’re pretty busy right now and need to save on money. She’ll absolutely be buying one in the future, though! She also mentions meeting up with Beck and asks her to tell the floatzel and his crew hi.

By the time Nia is finished, her letter sealed up and placed back into the mailbox with the flag up, she's practically asleep on her feet. Tobias has moved over to the window, leafy curtain pulled high to let fresh air and sunlight flood the room. He’s propped against the wall and framed by blue sky, guitar in hand as he starts plucking at scales.

Nia yawns. “I’m gonna take a nap.”

Tobias spares her a glance. “I’ll wake you for supper.”

Nia hums her thanks and moves to their nests to flop down, wiggling to get comfortable on the bed of moss and straw. It’s soft enough, not scratchy at all with her fur as a barrier, and her muscles relax.

Quiet falls over the room, save for Tobias’ playing and the whistle of the wind. A gust blows directly through the window and skims over Nia’s side, making her skin prickle with goosebumps. It’s a little chilly, with fall in full swing and winter fast approaching. Over the past few weeks, even sleeping outside hasn’t been a problem, but…well. Usually Tobias is sleeping at her side, and he gives off heat like a little campfire.

Whining, Nia picks up her head and looks at Tobias, squinting against the bright light of the window. Normally she would be more hesitant about being so needy, but she’s tired and she’s cold so she pushes herself to her feet and stumbles over to him, rubbing her arms. It’s even chillier by the window with the wind wrapping around her.

Tobias stops his playing, looking up.

Nia shifts on her feet. Her brain is mushy with fatigue and tantalizing snatches of sleep. All she manages to say is, “Cold.”

Tobias snorts. He glances at the window. “Want me to close the curtain?”

He doesn’t sound upset about the prospect, but Nia can guess that he likes the chill of the breeze combined with the heat of the sun. His orange scales glow in the light, like embers. Even with her fur, Nia just isn’t built to stay warm like a fire type is.

Nia’s mouth presses into a line. “Can I just sleep by you?”

Tobias blinks, and a flush rises to his cheeks. They usually sleep next to each other nowadays, and Nia hasn’t made it a secret that she enjoys the warmth he puts off, but she admittedly doesn’t usually…ask. Out loud. Somehow putting it into words does make it sound more embarrassing.

But she’s tired, dang it!

After a moment, Tobias wordlessly flicks his tail over to make room. Nia doesn’t let herself hesitate before sinking into the empty spot, curling heavily into his side. Immediately, heat seeps into her fur to warm her up.

“Sure, just make yourself comfy,” Tobias grumbles, no bite to his voice even as she accidentally elbows him in the ribs.

Finally, she settles, melted against his side with a happy hum. It’s like falling asleep cuddling a heater. Even lying closer to the window, she’s immediately warmer.

“Why don’t you guys use blankets?” She mumbles. “We had blankets in Asra. I miss blankets.”

Tobias snorts. “We do use blankets. We just keep them in storage until the end of fall when they’re actually needed.”

Nia picks up her head to give Tobias a despairing look. “I could’ve had blankets this whole time?!”

Tobias visibly bites back a smile. Jerk. “We’ll get you a blanket later if you’re that upset about it, you big baby. I didn’t realize it was a problem.”

“Stupid warm fire types,” Nia gripes, flopping back against Tobias. She’s absolutely getting herself a blanket. For now, Tobias’ heat will suffice.

Slowly, sleep washes over her brain like bathwater, soothing and inviting. Before she slips under completely, she hears Tobias start playing his guitar again, shifting his posture just enough to accommodate her. The cords he picks at are slow and gentle.

She’s asleep in seconds.

She feels like she’s only been asleep for seconds when the door to their room slams open with a bang. A harsh note from the guitar follows, as well as a yell of, “Nia!”

Nia bolts up. She blinks away the haze of sleep, cringing at the late-afternoon sunlight painting their room in bright tones and deep shadows. She must’ve been asleep longer than she thought.

“Ever hear of knocking?” Tobias hisses.

Nia rubs at her eyes, following his voice to look at the doorway, where Andyn, Ezra and Jaz are frozen in the middle of what looks like a grand entrance. The sneasel and stufful seem remorseful despite their comically stiff poses. The deerling, on the other hand, seems strangely flustered, gaze flicking from Nia to Tobias.

“Sorry,” Jaz finally says. “Are we, uh…interrupting?”

“Nia was asleep, you idiots,” Tobias says, sitting back and clutching his guitar close.

Nia yawns. “‘S okay. I shouldn’t nap too long or I won’t sleep tonight.”

The trio that makes up team Evergreen still seem oddly hesitant to enter the room. Nia laughs at the shy behavior and waves them in.

Finally, slowly, they do, sitting down in front of the window as well and getting comfortable.

Ezra’s ruby eyes land on Tobias’ guitar and stay there, going wide. “Whoa, you play guitar?!”

“No,” Tobias lies, removing the instrument from his lap and tucking it behind himself.

“Aw, c’mon!”

“I think it’s great to have a hobby outside of Seeker duties,” Jaz says, meeting Tobias’ sour expression with a smile.

Andyn just looks weirded out, although Nia can’t tell if it’s from the idea of Tobias playing an instrument or something to do with how she keeps looking suspiciously between Nia and Tobias.

Tobias crosses his arms. “What do you want?”

Ezra and Jaz turn to Andyn. The deerling jolts. With a stomp of her delicate hoof, she says, “Right! Since someone didn’t even bother to tell us she was back—honestly, Nia, I had to find out from Kry of all ‘mon—we decided we’d come see you instead!”

“We haven’t even been back a day,” Tobias huffs.

Nia shrugs with an apologetic smile. “I figured you'd still be on a mission."

Andyn narrows her eyes, then lifts her nose into the air with a dainty hmph. “Fine. You’re forgiven.”

“Forgiven?” Tobias says, annoyed. “For what? Not checking in? You’re not our mom.”

Andyn gives him an acidic look. “That attitude is why Nia is forgiven and you are not.”

“You have to be trying to pick a fight. Is Kry kicking your tail on the daily not enough for you, you masochistic little—"

Nia claps her hands together with a single sharp sound. “No fighting until I’m awake enough to deal with it!”

Her voice is firm, but she’s more amused than irritated now that she knows Tobias enjoys the bickering on some level. Andyn has to enjoy it too, considering how often she instigates.

“We didn’t come here for Andyn to pick a fight, believe it or not,” Jaz sighs.

“We wanted to see you as soon as you got back!” Ezra adds. “I feel like you two travel a lot more than most low-level Seekers.”

There’s a question in that sentence, subtle enough to decide whether they want to answer it or not. And for a moment, Nia wants to share everything, just like she wanted to with Xander and Avery in the training hall. It would take some weight off her shoulders, to be able to vent about it. To get her friends’ reassurances.

But those same fears hold Nia back. She doesn’t want to be the reason these three lose that playful spark of adventure they bring to every room they enter. She doesn’t want them to feel weighed down as heavily as she does every time she recalls Giratina’s words.

So Nia just smiles and says, “I-I like getting to see more of the Pokemon world, that's all. You know, since I’m not very familiar with it.”

Which isn’t strictly untrue, but the words still leave a bitter taste in her mouth.

“Are you planning on heading out again soon?” Jaz asks, either not catching onto the half-truth or choosing not to call her out.

Andyn sticks her lip out in a pout and drops her ears, giving Nia the most pitiful baby deer expression possible. Oh no. She’s like Bambi but even sadder. How can you be sadder than Bambi?

“We are,” Tobias says, totally unaffected by the face. “We plan to stick around for a few days and do some missions. Then we’re heading back east.”

Andyn’s pout drops for a genuinely worried expression. “Ghatha again?”

Ezra shifts uncomfortably. “Didn’t you two get caught up in that fire last time you were there?”

“Not Ghatha,” Nia says. “We’re going to find Will. The yamask I told you about? We’re hoping he can help us with something. Um. Human stuff.”

Andyn’s gaze slides to Tobias, as if expecting him to protest. He’s too busy glancing over his shoulder to notice, probably debating whether or not to get his guitar back out even with their current company. Nia knows he’s been trying to get comfortable with the basics again and he hates leaving things unfinished.

“Safe travels,” Jaz finally says. “Especially over the sea. The winds have been rough lately.”

“What hasn’t been rough lately?” Andyn groans. “The world’s unhappy and she’s letting us know it.”

Nia swallows against the lump in her throat. “We'll be careful. But enough about us! What’s going on with you three? What have you been up to?”

Ezra sighs. “We've been even busier than usual. Since more and more disasters and dungeons are popping up, it feels like we're constantly on the go.”

Nia gives the sneasel a sympathetic look.

“We’re racking up Seeker points, though,” Ezra adds with a grin. “And cash.”

“We would have more than enough points to reach C-rank if we could just get another team mission finished,” Jaz says, her dark little eyes trained on Andyn.

The deerling looks away, frowning.

“Oh!” Ezra sits up, feathery red ear flicking. “Right! Remember what we talked about last time you were home? While you’re around, you guys should do a team-up mission with us! I know you’re only E-Rank, but you still need both of your team-ups, right?”

“D-Rank, actually,” Tobias corrects, smug.

“What?!” Andyn’s jaw drops, outraged. “You’re already D-rank? How?!”

“Got an upgrade from the second-in-command in Ghatha,” Tobias says, clearly enjoying every second of this exchange. “For helping in the fire.”

Andyn glares at him, looking like she wants to snap something rude. Then her gaze flicks to Nia and she backs down, huffing.

“Well, congratulations then,” Jaz says, giving her teammate an amused glance. “That’s impressive, considering how recently you formed your team.”

“This means you definitely need to do a team-up with us!” Ezra says, leaning forward. “Since we’re the same rank now we don’t need to worry about trying to find a mission ranked somewhere in the middle!”

“We do need to do our team-up missions at some point,” Tobias grumbles, clearly reluctant. “Cordelia wasn’t impressed by our rank and most other ‘mon won’t be either. We need to keep rising so we don’t get turned away from anything important.”

“Awesome!” Ezra says. “We could—"

“I didn’t say we’d do it with you,” Tobias growls.

“Yeah, Ez,” Andyn agrees. “I mean…technically they’re D-rank but they’re still pretty new, so—"

Uh-oh.

Tobias straightens up at Nia’s side. “You think we can’t keep up with you?”

Andyn scoffs. “I didn’t say that, but if you’re thinking it—"

“You didn’t say it but you sure meant it—"

“Stop,” Nia and Jaz say at the same time, exasperated. Tobias and Andyn shut their mouths.

“Are you really worried we won’t be able to carry our weight?” Nia asks, a little hurt. “I know we’re new, but we are still the same rank as you guys.”

Not to mention Nia and Tobias been through a lot more than most other Seekers their rank. At least from what Tobias has said.

Ezra and Jaz look to Andyn, clearly the one taking issue with the idea. The deerling winces, posture uncharacteristically small.

“It’s not…I do want you there, but it’s just…”

Ezra speaks up. “Andyn’s parents are a bit, uh…tough on her. High expectations. If we ever mess up a mission, then…”

All three members of Team Evergreen shudder.

Nia blinks at them, surprised. “Your…parents?” Honestly, Nia had never given them any thought before.

Andyn nods, looking miserable but trying to hide it. “Yeah. They’re great, really! Just, um. They’re really high-rank Seekers so they kind of expect me to uphold their legacy, you know?”

“Who are your parents?” Tobias asks, brow furrowed. “I’ve been here eight years and I don’t think I’ve ever seen them.”

“You have,” Andyn sighs. “Just…not often. And probably not, um. With me. They’re both sawsbuck so they kind of blend in with all the grass types. They’re Team Sequoia.”

The name doesn’t ring any bells for Nia, but Tobias’ brows lift. He almost looks impressed.

“Yeah,” Ezra laughs. “Big prints to fill. They’re pretty strict, too, so we have to make sure we do our missions well or Andyn gets an earful. Sometimes all of us get it.”

Andyn shoots Ezra a look that clearly says to shut up, so he does.

“That…seems like a lot of pressure,” Nia murmurs, doubly glad now that she didn’t tell Andyn anything about Giratina or the dying world. The deerling clearly doesn’t need more things to worry about.

Andyn suddenly seems to register the gloomy atmosphere and Nia’s concerned expression, because she sits up with a strained laugh. “Sure, but it’s really cool, too! Everyone knows my mom and dad since they’re such amazing Seekers.”

Nia frowns.

“But since they’re so great and they expect me to be great too,” Andyn adds. “That means you two have to keep up with us if you’re going to join us on a mission. Got it?”

Nia wants to push, but Andyn is clearly trying to move the conversation along, so eventually she just nods. Tobias rolls his eyes and finally pulls the guitar out to settle in his lap again, but he doesn’t argue. He refuses to look up from his tuning as he asks, “What kind of things do you even do for a team-up mission?”

“Pretty much anything,” Jaz answers. “At least for D to C rank. It can be dungeon work, cleanup, construction, escort missions, foraging, even guild tasks. As long as both teams do the mission together, it counts.”

Tobias gives her a doubtful look. “That seems...”

“Too easy?” Ezra laughs. “That’s what I said. But I guess they save combat missions as a team-up requirement for B to A rank. This is just getting teams used to working with other ‘mon they usually don’t.”

“That makes sense,” Nia says, purposefully not looking at Tobias as he starts plucking at the guitar strings in a scale. Ezra didn’t get the memo and is watching Tobias’ hands like a transfixed cat, his claws twitching like he wants to try it too. “What kind of mission should we do, then?”

“Easier missions would be, well. Easier. But my parents wouldn’t be impressed.”

Something about that sentiment rubs Nia the wrong way, but she doesn’t interrupt as Andyn goes on.

“And a dungeon would look good but that’s a bit of a risk if we aren’t already familiar with each other’s fighting styles. I don’t trust flame-brain here not to char me to a crisp.”

Tobias stops playing long enough to shoot Andyn a glare.

“So something in the middle,” Nia surmises.

“I guess that would work,” Andyn hedges.

“One average mission will be fine, Anne,” Jaz says. “We don’t need to take on the most difficult mission on the board every single day. Even with your parents.”

Andyn visibly stops herself from retorting, probably with something sharp. She sighs. “Fine. Just don’t be late! Meet us at the job boards at dawn, okay?”

Nia snorts. “I wish I could make Tobias sleep in past dawn. He’s a morning person.”

Ezra’s face screws up. “Gross. So is Andyn. Must be a grass and fire-type thing.”

Andyn and Tobias look disgruntled about being on the same side of something for once. Nia laughs.

With their plan in place, Team Evergreen heads out soon after for an early supper. Nia, now wide awake but not yet hungry enough to eat, turns to Tobias with her best puppy dog eyes.

“What?”

“Blankets?” She says, hopeful.

Tobias seems unimpressed by her pleading expression, but after a moment he sighs and puts his guitar aside to get up. “Fine, fine. Come on. We’ll have to go down to storage to pick ‘em up.”

Nia cheers and hurries to follow him out of the room. They're only halfway down the hall when a thought occurs to her, and she steps up to his side to better see his face.

“Hey, storage is on a lower floor, right? Could we stop stop by the archives on the way back? I bet they have some music books you could check out."

Tobias has been figuring out the basics of his guitar-playing pretty quickly, and she can only imagine he'll want to move on to more actual melodies soon. He just looks so content when he plays that she can't help wanting to encourage the renewed hobby, even with the world teetering on the brink of destruction. Maybe especially because of that. She wants to make sure he takes the time to check out some books before they have to leave again.

Tobias looks thoughtful at the suggestion. Hesitant, but definitely interested. "We could.”

Nia beams.

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

That night, Nia wakes to the ground rumbling beneath her.

For a split-second, she thinks she’s back in Asra, the desert town cracking like broken porcelain beneath her and bringing buildings down with it. She scrambles to free herself from the net of her blanket. Out of the corner of her eye she sees Tobias doing the same from the wild movement of his tail flame.

But no—the sliver of moonlight peeking out from the bottom of the curtain isn’t right. The room smells of forest instead of dusty desert. The sound is different, too—a distant rumble, a loud creaking, muted cries of alarm from next door that are higher than Granite and Takeo’s voices.

It takes Nia a few seconds while her brain rattles around inside her skull to realize that they’re at the guild, in the Lexym Tree. It takes a beat longer for her to register that the slowing vibrations are, however, still an earthquake.

Slowly, so slowly it’s hard to tell if it has actually stopped, the earthquake stills. Nia, heart racing, looks wide-eyed at Tobias. The charmander stares back in the dim light of his tail, brow furrowed and expression cautious.

“You okay?” He whispers.

She nods. “You?”

“Yeah.”

Voices start up, quietly, in the hall. Wordlessly, Nia and Tobias stumble to unsteady feet and poke their heads out the door.

Many of the Seekers who live on the floor are standing in the hallway, talking to one another. Some have shaken expressions, while others just look quietly concerned. Nia picks out a few sentences amidst the babble.

“—earthquakes now. I thought the winds were bad enough. How—"

“Do you think there’ll be any aftershocks? What if some ‘mon were down in the tunnels? I don’t—”

“—I’ll be all right. Just scared me, mostly. Terran bumped his head but—"

“What if they get worse? I can’t—"

Nia tunes out the conversations then, everyone else’s nerves and uncertainty only piling onto her own. It looks like in this hall at least there weren’t any serious injuries, but what about everywhere else?

“What should we do?” Nia whispers to Tobias. “Seekers…help, right? Are we supposed to go check on everyone?”

“I don’t know,” Tobias admits. “Nothing like this has happened at the guild before. At least that I can remember.”

The reminder of the increasing number of natural disasters makes Nia’s stomach sink. The linoone’s words from earlier echo in her head. It’s not her fault. It’s not any of the humans’ fault.

(But the other Pokemon don’t know that, do they?)

“Can we go check on Xander and Andyn’s teams?” Nia whispers. “A-And maybe Maggie?”

She won’t be able to sleep if they don’t.

Tobias nods, then leads the way out the door and down the hall. Nia can’t tell if she’s imagining the way some of the other Pokemon send her wary looks as they spot her. She steps closer to Tobias regardless.

Thankfully, everyone seems to be physically fine, save for Felix startling himself right into Team Shellshock's cabinet and knocking off some knick-knacks. The rest of Xander’s team—down one luxio after he ran off to check on his siblings—is unusually quiet and pensive. Andyn, Ezra and Jaz seem equally rattled, trying to cover up their unease with light tones and jokes that fall painfully flat. The tight hug and comforting smile Maggie gives Nia and Tobias helps a little, but not enough.

Eventually, Nia and Tobias try to get a few more hours of sleep before dawn. Their floor of lower-level Seekers was assured by Verene a few minutes prior that the higher ranking ‘mon would take care of checking on the Haven for now. Lower ranks will take the dawn shift.

Nia almost wishes they were asked to head out now. She can’t seem to get her mind to settle despite the exhaustion tugging at her fur and the soft warmth of the blanket around her. From the way Tobias shifts throughout the night at her side, she doesn’t think he gets much rest either.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

They took things to court alright, first the court of public opinion and then the court of law. Depending on the audience people had a propensity to believe them especially in the early days and because they were the only one talking. Before that they always had PR and spilled stories but it was when they were in Tyler Perry’s spare mansion that they launched that court case against the press. They put out so many grievances that the court had to chop things down to what’s really necessary. I remember someone saying that, that’s a method that anyone uses but it was just so perfect for the Harkles. An opportunity for them to keep sharing how others did them wrong. I accidentally ran into a sugar who claimed that aside from Finding Freedom, Spare, the Netflix documentary and the Oprah interviews, the Sussex’s Harkles never speak out that “Toxic Family” and yet they can’t stop talking about the Sussex. The cognitive dissonance stunned me.

Minus the dog biscuit and raspberry jam, what do you predict their next move is? As a couple or just individuals?

*****

Old ask from June 14th

Well, they really only have two options: shit or get off the pot. Or for the polite society, move on or shut up.

“Move on” could be a bunch of different things, and not necessarily just divorce or separation. It could very well be moving back to the UK or moving to Africa. Launching ARO instead of ducking up the paperwork every other week. It’s fully immersing themselves in their philanthropy with Archewell. It’s committing to one specific project or effort instead of trying to be everything and everywhere. It’s launching their kids.

As for shutting up? Well, that’s easy. It’s living their own lives instead of keeping up with the Royals.

That’s what they *should* be doing: shutting or getting off the pot. But we know they’re not gonna do that.

But as for my predictions for what happens next? I think we’ll see some “happy family/loved up couple” PR to go with Harry’s birthday and to compete with the Waleses’ new video.

In October, they’ll go back to their separate narratives; Harry will probably capitalize on his NYC visit with some stuff for veterans or Invictus to support Remembrance Day/Veterans Day and promote Vancouver 2025 and Meghan will go back to her mama bear/best friend-to-ever-friend schtick or she’ll try to do something politics for the election. I suspect Harry will go back to the UK for something to conveniently be available to serve as a Counsellor of State while Charles is away. Maybe there’s a WellChild thing?

Separate narratives will continue into November with Harry probably being MIA because he can’t bear to not wear his uniform and perform his solemn empathy for sacrifice at the Cenotaph. Meghan will most likely be at the Baby2Baby gala red carpet again (it’s November 9th, which is also the Festival of Remembrance for the BRF). They’ll come together mid-month for “happy family/loved up couple” again to get some content to push out for the holidays. I’m not totally sold on them going to Africa for a third fauxyal visit yet, but if they did that, it’d be sometime in November to compete with William’s Earthshot trip.

(I forget when the Tyler Perry gala dinner thing is. Probably November or December? If it’s November, my guess is that’s when they’ll start a new “joyful happy family” PR but if it’s December, I think Meghan will try to re-re-re-relaunch her Hollywood career. I guess it’s nice that Tyler Perry has some standards and hasn’t put her in his movies yet...)

Maybe we’ll finally get some ARO product in October/November so Meghan can exploit Sussex Squad for the holidays and make some money. I can see wine launching or maybe a gift box.

I think we might see them do something with the kids for Christmas since it kinda feels like they’ve been talking a lot more about them than they usually do, especially if they’re going to bring them to Vancouver for IG like they keep promising. I can see them trying to copy the Waleses’ video for a Christmas or Vancouver 2025 thing (in River’s latest video, he has some tea that Harry cried when he saw the video and Meghan started scheming…taken with salt and YMMV).

Of course, that’s if they don’t divorce or separate in October…tarot readers and astrologists have been reporting a big karmic shake-up for the Sussexes in the October/November timeframe. YMMV (again).

[molinaskies]

What do you think about people saying “Sonic is too nice.” While I do like him to be a bit sassy from time to time and can even see his “jerkiness” as one of his flaws, I honestly would like to know your thoughts. I’m personally neutral and can see both sides of the argument.

Hmm… I’m not super inclined to go into too much detail because I think I’ve said a lot of this already, but there are two ways to speak to this.

For one, I think what most people mean when they say Sonic’s too nice is that he’s been too lenient with his enemies, but I kinda don’t agree with that.

In the case of IDW, his leniency is a moderate-to significant talking point in the comic that ultimately serves to make the point of “everyone deserves a chance to change.” There’s a purpose for it. And tbh, I think Sonic’s actions are sufficiently punished in that comic when they ought to be! Remember how many times Sonic’s been proven “wrong”? Remember when Surge legally killed drowned electrocuted hurt him really bad because of a chain of unfortunate decisions? Lol

On the other side of the coin, there are also people who just miss when Sonic was a dude-attuding prick (affectionately). And to be fair, if we’re speaking strictly is terms of personality, when you compare current-era Sonic to, say, Archie, SatAM (the 90s Saturday morning cartoon for tweens), or even AOSTH (the 90s Saturday morning cartoon for kids), it’s a very stark contrast. Sonic may still be sassy and insolent, but he once had the propensity to be a straight up asshole lol. It’s for that reason I don’t think I can say that anyone is wrong for wanting what once was—or something like it. If that’s what you grew up with or what you’re accustomed to, then I get it 🤷‍♀️

As for my brass tacks, though, I don’t think Sonic’s too nice. I don’t think he’s soft. I think he’s realized that he doesn’t need to be an official authority of justice and knows when to pick his battles. Sonic sees bad, says “no stop that,” and does anything from shoot you a dirty look to blow up your space armada—but he’s not gonna call GUN on you.

His attitude and self-confidence are a huge part of his character that I’d never want to see completely go away, but it also leaves a taste in my mouth when he’s just an asshole because I don’t like lanolin assholes lmao. I don’t think this happens too often in older media, but it’s a slippery slope.

I prefer when Sonic is defiant but not full of himself—when he’s more emotionally and morally dynamic—because I think that makes him more complex.

Sonic fights for freedom, not for his version of freedom. And as long as he believes there’s hope for something better, he’s not gonna take that chance away. There’s a reason that eggman, merlina, knuckles blaze, silver, shadow, and surge and kit (of the top of my head) are “redeemable” but the zeti, erazor djinn, mephelis (a technicality, I’m aware), and starline are not. Sonic walks away when he feels it’s deserved and punishes when it’s not. He’s willing to “fight another day” about it because it’s not supposed to be work for him. He’s just vibing!

Overall, his personality comes down to a matter of preference, but I don’t think all that much has changed when it comes to his morals. If anything, I think we’re just beaten over the head about it a touch too much in current media—hence why we’re talking about it.

[racerchix21]

Goodbye Mackey

Summary: Sal has a fuck buddy. Eddie’s fucking him almost every night. His fuck buddy thinks they’re dating. His fuck buddy isn’t Eddie. Eddie thinks that if anyone’s dating it’s him and Sal.

The only person who gets hurt is Sal’s fuck buddy but who the fuck cares he hurt Sal once and now Eddie’s gonna show him who the boss is.

They have a long established routine of sorts that’s served them well. Sal beats on the door hard enough to wake the dead, Eddie answers, they share a couple kisses, drink a beer, fuck, and depending on how Sal feels they might cuddle for a little bit before he does the walk of shame out the front door.

Their late night trysts typically happen between midnight and 2am and any other time Eddie’d be more than willing to let Sal Deluca walk out the door but not tonight.

Not tonight when Sal showed up with a split lip and the start of a pretty impressive shiner. It’d all started when Sal just let himself in with the key Eddie hides under the mushroom statue on the front porch rather than his usual earth shattering knocks. It’d only gotten weirder from there at least by their standards.

“Hold me please,” Sal softly tells more than asks as he throws himself into Eddie’s arms as he tries to sit up in bed.

“Sal,” Eddie asks readjusting them to pull Sal more fully onto the bed and into his arms. “Hey, hey Sal what’s wrong honey?”

“Can’t a guy just need a hug,” Sal snarks trying to push himself back out. He whines more to himself than to the other man or at least he thinks he does when Eddie just retightens his grip and softly laughs.

“Yeah a guy can need a hug but most of the time you hate the idea of being touched any more than necessary. So pardon the fuck out of me for asking.”

“I’m sorry Eds,” he begins before he lets out a soft Fuck. His head is pounding and he’s pretty sure that it’s blood he feels dripping down his chin.

“Whatdoyamean, fuck,” Eddie demands trying to guide Sal’s face up to make eye contact with him. He hates the sight that greets him and if it wasn’t for Sal looking sad at him like a drowned puppy he’d be pulling on clothes and calling their best friends to help him go kill Chase Mackey.

“It’s just this entire day has been a clusterfuck and then Chase was pissed off that I was late.”

“So he hit you? What the fuck Sal? You’re gonna sit right here and look pretty and I’m gonna go grab the first aid kit and we’ll get you cleaned up.”

“Stay please?”

“Baby I’ll be back before you can say Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” Eddie says smirking at Sal. “We get you cleaned up and then I’ll hold you for as long as you need, okay?”

“You know I can’t say that asshole,” Sal answers glaring at Eddie’s back as he heads out the door.

****

He knew the minute that Sal walked into his bedroom that he was gonna be calling their best friends at some point. He just wasn’t expecting for it to be so he could ask a huge favor and make them accessories to murder.

Buck answers on the second ring and Eddie hard launches into what little he knows about Sal’s situation.

“Buck put me on speaker. What I’m about to say is gonna interest Tommy too.”

“Done,” Buck says almost simultaneously with Tommy asking, “what?”

“Mackey hit Sal. He’s got a split lip and a shiner. The fucker hit him so I’m gonna ask for a huge favor.”

“You wanna kill Chase and need a chopper so you can drop his body in the Pacific,” Tommy guesses and Eddie can hear shuffling around like they’re getting dressed.

“Yes and I need your help, Kinard.”

“We’re game. Sal’s family and nobody fucks with our family and gets away with it,” Buck agrees voice steely.

****

Sal’s still sitting there with his arms crossed over this chest glaring when Eddie comes back. Eddie can’t help but laugh at the absolutely adorably disgruntled look on Sal’s face.

“What’s got you so grumpy,” Eddie asks walking across the room to place the tackle box on the dresser to dig through it.

“You making fun of me that’s what,” Sal grumbles glaring at the bottle of antiseptic. “I came here for a hug and an orgasm not you being mean to me.”

“I’m sorry angel,” Eddie apologizes as he perches on the edge of the bed, reaching up to grab Sal’s chin turning his face towards him. “This is gonna sting for just a second. I’ll try and get everything done as quick as I can then I’ll give you all the cuddles.”

“Whatever just get it over with,” Sal growls before flinching when Eddie runs his fingers and the little cotton ball over the cut on his lip.

He wants to say more.

Wants to tease Eddie about the soft look he’s giving him. The way his tongue is peeking out as he works gently but efficiently to make sure that Sal’s as taken care of as possible.

Also wants to pull the other man into a kiss maybe force Eddie to do something more than look at him.

Somebody beating on the door stops him before he can. Whoever it is had better have an emergency, Sal thinks as he follows Eddie out into the hallway.

“OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR! I KNOW YOU’RE IN THERE SALVATORE,” someone’s shouting and the closer to the door they get the more easier they both recognize it.

He doesn’t mean to whimper at the sound of his full name leaving someone’s mouth in anger. The last time someone had said his name like that was his father before he’d beaten him and fled before the cops could get there.

“Angel, go back to the bedroom and call Buck and Tommy,” Eddie urges as he spins to face him. He presses a quick kiss to Sal’s forehead before pushing him back down the hallway. “I’m gonna go deal with the mook.”

“Hey, Eds?”

“Yeah babe?”

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“Of course. Call Buck and Tommy then stay put in the bedroom until they get here.”

As soon as he’s sure that Sal’s gonna listen to him he’s heads back towards the door and the asshole on the other side.

***

Sal shuts the bedroom door before making his way to his side of the bed to grab his phone. As he hits Tommy’s name he can hear things breaking as Chase’s screaming intensifies. He can vaguely hear Eddie talking and he can tell that he’s barely holding his temper.

“Tommy,” Sal whimpers down the phone as soon as his best friend answers the phone.

“Sal where are you? Is Mackey there,” Tommy asks softly.

“He beat on the door until Eddie answered it. Eds told me to go back to the bedroom and call you and Buck,” Sal says with a little bit more confidence. “He’s screaming and breaking stuff.

What if he hurts Eddie, Tommy? I can’t handle the idea of Eddie getting because of me.”

“Sal we’re less than 5 minutes away from Eddie’s and we’ll make sure that Chase doesn’t hurt him,” Buck butts in on the conversation. “Stay where you are.”

“Okay, stay on the phone until then? I don’t wanna have to hear him screaming,” Sal asks before he hears what sounds like the thump of someone hitting a wall and he freaks out again.

“Of course Sal,” Tommy agrees before demanding “dammit the fuck out of the way.”

“Somebody just hit the wall,” Sal begins giving a play by play of what he can hear out in the living room.

“We’re here,” Buck calls before slamming car doors ring out.

****

He’s got Mackey pinned to the hallway wall not even 10 feet from where he knows Sal is. He prays that his boy listened and called their best friends. That Buck and Tommy are here soon because it’s taking everything in him not to wring this bastards neck for even daring touch Sal.

“Eddie,” he hears Buck call his name and he breathes a sigh. With them here he’s willing to loosen his grip on Mackey’s shirt just enough to let him gain his footing for a second before he’s sent to flying towards Tommy, who catches him without little fanfare.

He’s got his arms pinned before Eddie can even say anything. He’s never been more grateful to see someone before. As he follows behind he catches sight of Buck grabbing his chin and forcibly turning his head to make eye contact.

“So what’s this I hear about you touching Sal,” Buck growls out letting go of his face.

“The little bitch thought he could lie to me and then be late getting home. When I said something about it he got sas-,” whatever Chase’s saying is cut off by the back of Eddie’s hand violently coming across his face.

“What the fuck did you just say about him,” Eddie demands grabbing his chin much like Buck had.

“He’s a little bitch. Wait you’re fucking his slutty ass aren’t you,” Chase sneers. “Of course you are.”

Eddie’s digging his nail into his tongue before he’s even finished speaking. “You ever and I mean ever contact him again I’ll make sure they never find your body,” Eddie snarls getting in his face for a second digging his nail in even harder. “Tommy get him the fuck out of my house NOW.”

“With pleasure,” Tommy hums as he and Buck drag Mackey out the front door and then stand guard waiting for him to get in his car and leave.

“Angel, it’s safe to come out here now,” Eddie calls through the bedroom door which immediately swings open like Sal had been waiting for it. He finds himself with an armful of his boy and he can’t help but kiss him.

“He’s really gone,” Sal asks breathlessly as he pulls away enough to make eye contact gaze searching Eddie’s trying to detect if he’s being lied to.

“Yeah honey. He’s gone forever now let’s go thank Tommy and Buck for coming over. Then we’ll find something for you to munch on before we go back to bed.”

@rdng1230 @half-oz-eddie @fairytalegonewronga03 @paigewinchester67 @ducklingsraincoat @bidisasterevankinard