#and then they burn out of the hobby within a few weeks. this is NOT sustainable. and extremely wasteful of time and resources

[un-pearable]

why are 99% of crochet animal patterns just vague blobs. cmon. i know we can do better as a community. have you seen the shit the national parks service put out? yeah, the NPS. there are grandmas on the frontlines of the most formally accurate critters this side of a 3D printer. we can do better than orb with two triangles sewn on. we can make a more accurate cat. that is NOT what a turtle looks like. step AWAY from the axolotl

[becausebuckley]

michelle's buddie fic recs: week 4!

oh have i got some good ones for you this week! enjoy <3

this is a mix of fics with all ratings, so some include NSFW content. please take a look at both the ratings and the fic tags before reading!

if you come across something you like in this list, remember to show some love to the author by leaving kudos and a comment!

and i'm not good at winning fights anymore | spaceprincessem/@spaceprincessem | 24k | T

five times Buck needs to feel Eddie's heartbeat and the one time Eddie needs to feel his. this is one of my absolute favourites, it was a reread this week and wow did it hit the spot once more. genuinely a masterpiece, cannot recommend this enough!

baby, say you'll always keep me | hattalove/@hattalove | 8.3k | T

the one in which joking about being married to your best friend is all fun and games, right up until you realize that you're not laughing. soft and sweet and a little silly, the buddie fic trifecta <3 all here in one fic!!

cause i'm tired of sleeping alone | rarakiplin (gmontys)/@hoediaz | 14.5k | T

five (ish) times eddie and buck go on dates with other people, and one time they go on a date with each other. oh this is so FUN i love mutual pining and jealousy and firefam meddling!! so good <3

didn't think you meant it | EtoileGarden | 33.5k | E

“Y’know,” he said. Shrugged again. “That last call? I kind of thought I’d have that by now.” “What,” Eddie raised his eyebrows at him. “A roof collapsing on you?” Buck grunted, elbowed Eddie. Lightly, because he did appreciate the humour in Eddie’s voice. “No,” he said. “Just - married.” i love love love the combination of pining and angst and comedy in this!! it's such a good time all around. another reread, and i'm glad i picked this up again!

i could spend the whole day just gettin' by | rowan_wood/@transboybuckley | 4.5k | GA

“I’m sick,” Buck said, eyes closed, when he could sense Eddie reached the loft. softest loveliest fic <3 i'm such a sucker for these two taking care of each other when they're ill, and this hits the spot so perfectly!

if i get burned, at least we were electrified | kaistinlove/@kaistinlove | 9.9k | E

Out of all the bad decisions Eddie has ever made. This one takes the cake. What did he think would happen when he's watching porn in broad daylight at the kitchen table? listen listen okay. buck's TATTOO. no i won't specify further, just read the fic. the TATTOO. trust me on this one. hot and fun and just so so good!!

if you leave the light on | cloudydaisies | 27.9k | GA

the check engine light comes on in Buck's Jeep, Eddie volunteers to fix it and carpool with him in the meantime, and it all breaks down from there, literally and metaphorically. such a delight of a fic <3 i love how this one nails not only the buddie dynamic, but the firefam as a whole!!

my heart will lead me there soon | ColorfulThoughts/@miscellaneouscolorfulthoughts | 7.4k | GA

Buck is pining for his best friend and copes with a new hobby. Who knew fish would bring them together? mutual pining, they are just too blind to see that is my new favourite tag combination <3 the hurt/comfort hurts and comforts so well!!

never known comfort like laying next to you | thelikesofus/@thelikesofus | 2.6k | GA

A long shift ends with a quiet pizza and movie night within the walls of the Diaz house followed by a quiet confession beneath Eddie’s duvet. this was another reread - quite a few of those this week - and wow does it continue to hit so hard <3 literally all of my favourite tags are right there!! i love soft domestic fluff, and this delivers exactly that!!

the evan buckley matchmaking agency | mmtion/@mmtions | 28.6k | M

Buck tries to set up Eddie. It goes well for absolutely no-one involved. (a 5+1 fic) the best oblivious buck ever!! this fic has such lovely characterisation of all the characters <3

the worm vs the universe | lightyears/@bisexualbellamyblake | 6.9k | T

Adriana moves to LA. It would be great, except that Buck starts dating her. adriana!! i love her so much!! the fact that we know so little about the diaz sisters in canon is wild to me tbh, but until proven wrong, i will just assume that adriana is exactly like this <3

slide it in, right to the top | oklahoma/@chippingmill | 4.3k | E

After Buck shows up at Eddie's door with a six pack, Eddie's mind begins to wonder. A bottle of tequila gives him the courage to ask for something he wasn't aware he's been wanting. this is hot and fun and so good and just so very them <3 i love scenarios like this for buddie, and this one is just perfect!!

vanilla disaster, lemon dream | BlueAzalea/@attack-of-the-blue-penguins | 39.8k | T

Eddie leans on his friends, shaves his mustache, goes to therapy, becomes besties with Maddie, admits he’s in love with his best friend, and learns to ask for what he wants. such a glorious glorious eddiemaddie friendship!! lovely introspective fic, an instant bookmark <3

wake up, boy, you're far from home | Daisies_and_Briars/@cal-daisies-and-briars | 23.8k | E

Eddie is miserable in El Paso, having seemingly made things worse. Buck is miserable in Los Angeles, without him. When Buck agrees to go home to Hershey for the holidays, everything implodes. oh and implode it does... such a fascinating look at the buckley and diaz families (i loved madney here!!) and at buddie themselves, of course. such a brilliant fic!!

when the tequila runs out | Artemis_Unbound/@artemisthehuntress | 5k | T

Drunk Buck is an octopus, Eddie is a pushover, and cuddles are had by all. soft and funny and just the perfect nighttime read <3 this might come last alphabetically, but it was the first fic i read this week, and what a delightful start it was!

[bapeach]

Accidental love

Another long fic and I'm honestly very proud of it! I don't know anything about torn ACL's or anything so if stuff is wrong, just ignore it. I hope you enjoy! Constructive criticism is always welcome :D Find my masterlist here :) Pairing(s): Paige Bueckers x female!reader  Word count: 9.1k+  Warnings: depression, life-changing accident, cursing, happy ending Summary: After a life-changing accident, Y/N finds peace in her new life, but when Paige Bueckers faces her own injury, their worlds collide. ------------

Paige Bueckers

Of course, it was a name you knew. You’re a student at UConn, so if you didn’t know of her, well, you’d be living under a rock. Paige Bueckers is UConn’s star player. The golden student. The future of women’s basketball. A legend in the making… 

You could go on and on about the things you’ve heard about her. She always seemed to be present in your life in one way or another. A mumble in the hallway as you go to class, an edit on your TikTok fyp, a celebration post on UConn’s Instagram page…

You don’t know the girl personally, having only been in the same room as her a few times when you went and watched some of her games. You’ve heard a lot of good things about her. You respected her grind, the way she gave her all to basketball and was a great team leader. You’ve also heard she’s a sweetheart off the court and always tries to make people comfortable. She’s also really pretty, which you’re sure is a contributing factor to why she’s so loved. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course. 

You’d had your own fair share of admirers because of your looks. You’d caught plenty of girls fawning over you as they ogled your muscles, giggling when you sent them a flirty wink. If you were honest, you were quite the player when you first came to university. You’d messed around with a few girls, never really getting into anything too serious. 

You just didn’t have time for relationships. You were too busy studying biomedical engineering while also having a job and hobbies. And boy, did you have hobbies. Ever since you were young, you were a very active kid. Your parents always had to beg you to come inside, only being able to persuade you with promises of weekends at the indoor playground/kid gym.

Growing up, you stayed active. You went for a run every morning and swimming at least once a week. You didn’t join your school’s sports teams because how could you only choose one? You spend every weekend doing a different sport until you run out, only to start over. Basketball, boxing, soccer, baseball, hockey... you did it all. Your all-time favorite, though? Rock climbing.

You think there’s nothing better in this world than rock climbing after a long week. Wind ruffling your hair as the bright sun shines on your back. Climbing as high as you can, your muscles burning as you strain them to their limit, your chest tight as you gasp for breath. But it’s all worth it, because in the end, when you reach the top and have a full view of the horizon? It feels like you’re on top of the world. Like you’re untouchable and all your hopes and dreams are within reach.

The thought of climbing always filled you with warmth and excitement. Even after climbing the same rocks over and over, you still felt in awe every time you made it to the top. Knowing that no matter what, at the end of the day, you could always count on the dusty stones beneath your fingertips always made a smile grow on your face. 

Well. That was before the accident, at least. Now the thought of it makes you feel a dull throb in your chest. 

The last time you went climbing, you’d gone with some fellow enthusiasts. It was a group of strangers you’d met at the indoor climbing hall. Their little club ranged from new climbers to experts, and you’d clicked with them immediately. The guide you went with was a middle-aged man who had over 20 years of experience, so you were excited to maybe learn some new things. He was a really nice guy, happy to see someone your age be so excited about his favorite activity. When you partnered up with him, you didn’t expect anything to go wrong. Daredevils like yourself never really think too much about the consequences of your actions or things that could go wrong, otherwise you’d be too afraid to do half of the things you do. So that day was like no other. At first at least.

When you had reached 3/4ths of the climb, it happened. Even now, 2 years later, you’re not sure what exactly happened. You only know that one moment you were gripping onto the rocky wall and the next you were falling. When you think about it, it all feels like a dream. It didn’t take you long before you hit the ground, but it somehow felt like ages.

You remember how distraught your guide was when you finally woke up in the hospital. You didn’t understand anything he was saying at first. He was crying too hard, stumbling over his words as he kept apologizing. Something about malfunctioning equipment? 

When the doctor walked in, you immediately knew something was very wrong. Your chest filled with an unbearable ache when you saw the sad frown on his face. After that, everything is pretty much a blur. You didn't hear anything after the words “paralyzed” and “never walk again” were spoken. Everything became muffled as your ears started buzzing. You felt your chest tighten, and this time not in a good way. You were drowning on dry land.

The next months were some of the darkest moments of your life. You felt like your world was ending. And it kind of was. Everything you thought you were, gone in a matter of seconds. Bound to a wheelchair for the rest of your life. You shut everyone out at first, but soon realized you couldn’t bear all of this alone. Your family was your greatest support. They were your greatest fans, always celebrating your wins, and now they were here to mourn your greatest losses with you as well. 

You lost quite a lot of friends after the accident. It was hard being friends with your sporty friends when you could only think about how you wished you could join them. Your friendships didn’t all end on a bad note, though. You knew that if anything was wrong, you could still call them, and they’d show up in a heartbeat. 

You also gained a few friendships. Some people you met at therapy, support groups, online forums,... You also found a friend in the guide you were with that day. While you hated him at first, too filled with pain to think clearly, you’d talked to him at a later point. He apologized profusely once more, but you forgave him quickly. It’s not like it was his fault. Besides, it was hard to hate him, the way he looked at you with so much guilt. He had kind but wise eyes, prominent smile lines, and his hair was graying a little, but he was still full of life and filled with passion. You knew this accident would haunt him for the rest of his life, and he didn’t deserve that, so you made sure to stay in touch with him. If only to let him know you were doing well and make sure he was too.

You still often think about the days when you could be wild and free. In the two years since the incident, you’ve changed a lot. You’ve calmed down greatly, becoming a lot more mature and wise. While you used to be the go-to friend for a crazy time, you were now the friend people came to for advice. You missed your younger self, but still felt like she was a part of you. You’d gone through so much, the change was only natural. And honestly? You were proud of the person you’d become. Sure, you weren’t perfect and still had your days when you felt like you couldn’t breathe and like the world was against you. But overall, you were at peace with your life. It’s also not like you’d fully lost your playful self. You still loved teasing your friends, pulling pranks, and causing mischief.

So yeah, while you didn’t know Paige personally, you definitely felt like you knew a lot about her from the media, the people around you, and even some of her friends. You’d met Azzi a year ago when she got injured during a game. She’d been destroyed when she realized she wouldn’t be playing again any time soon. Having to find something new to do, she’d made her way to the library, where she bumped into you. You started talking, and before long you two became pretty good friends. You listened to her situation and told her what you’d been through. 

At first, she’d apologized profusely, feeling bad about how she complained about not being able to play for a few months while you’d never get to do your favorite things ever again. You’d made sure the younger girl knew it was okay, and that you didn’t want her to feel like she couldn’t be upset just because you’d also gone through something. You’d spent hours with the girl talking about the adventures you used to go on and how much your life had changed. You made sure to tell her how happy you were despite everything, letting her know that no matter what, she’d be okay. 

While you don’t talk as much as you used to anymore, now that she’s back on the court, you still text each other every so often, smiling as you pass each other on campus. You didn’t blame her for becoming busy, you were excited to see her play with that bright smile on her face. You made sure to cheer her on and text her congratulations on her wins and “You did well” messages when the team lost. The girl appreciates you more than you know. Without you, she wouldn’t be where she is now. She’d learned so much from you.

Somehow, during your whole friendship, you’d never really met the team. Not that you really felt the need to. She had her friends, and you had yours. There was no need to mix up the groups. That being said, you didn’t really think you’d ever meet Paige or become close with her.

You were curious, though. As you wheel out of the library, you hear Paige’s name all around you. Two girls leaning in close as one gasps her name. A group of guys with their mouths dropped open as a video on their phone says the star athlete’s name. A professor walking past with a frown, mumbling, “... yeah, Paige Bueckers…”. 

When you reach your dorm, you open your laptop and search “Paige Bueckers” on Twitter. You immediately feel a pit in your stomach. The first tweet you see is a video with the caption “I’m gonna cry, I feel so bad for her”. You click the video and see why the basketball player was being talked about everywhere. At first, it looks like a normal clip from their most recent game. You see Nika passing the ball to Aaliyah, who passes it to a sprinting Azzi, who finally passes it off to Paige. You blink, and suddenly the blonde is on the floor, clutching her knee as tears stream down her face. You can see the worry and fear on her teammates’ faces, and the distraught but knowing look on Paige’s. A torn ACL. No doubt about it.

For a moment, your own accident flashes in your mind. The weightlessness as you were falling. Waking up and realizing you can’t move. You shake away the thoughts, blinking the haze from your eyes. You grab your phone to text the girl something, anything to make her feel better, but you pause. Right now, the last thing she’ll care about is a stranger texting her she’ll be okay when they probably don’t have any idea what she’s going through. Your thumb hovers over Azzi’s contact, but you end up closing the app. The brunette is probably too busy to talk, being too worried about her best friend. “I’ll talk to her soon,” you think to yourself before going on about your day.

You were right about talking to her soon. Only a week after the latest UConn tragedy, you see her. You were tucked away in your favorite corner of the library, a worn copy of your favorite book lying in your lap. You were surrounded by colorful pens, post-its, stickers, and tabs as you added new scribbles in the margins of the book (don’t worry, you’d gotten your own copy after the first time you read it).

Finishing a tiny doodle on the inside of the cover, you look up and see the younger girl. Beaming that wide smile of hers that could light up a dark room. The type of smile that makes you return the gesture before you even realize what’s happening. When she reaches your table, she greets you happily before looking back. It’s only then that you realize she’s brought company.

There she is. UConn’s basketball miracle in all her glory. Paige Bueckers. 

You look her up and down. She’s wearing her blue UConn tracksuit, her hair is in a bun, and she’s holding two crutches under her arms. Her usually bright blue eyes have become a darker color as a frown is set on her face. She didn’t want to be there, she wanted to be in her room, wallowing in her bed with a pint of ice cream. She doesn’t understand why Azzi felt the need to drag her out of the comfort of her own dorm to go meet some stranger that would give her the same stupid pitying looks she’d been getting from everyone around her. 

“Hey Ace,” you send her a grin before looking back towards the injured girl. “Hey, I’m Y/N,” you nod at her. She only frowns at you until Azzi turns and sends her a pointed look. “Paige,” the blonde sighs. You hide your amused smile, knowing she’d get even more annoyed if she thought you were making fun of her. 

“I figured it was finally time some of my favorite people met!” the brunette beams. When you catch her eye, you have a silent conversation with her. You knew why she was here with Paige. She was hoping you’d be able to help her best friend the way you’d helped her. You can tell by Azzi’s body language that she’s slightly on edge, not sure how you’d react. You send her a reassuring wink as you start talking, “About time! I’ve heard a lot about you, Paige,” you say gently. The girl only hums in response. 

You see Azzi frown for a second before her signature easy smile makes its way back to her face. “I was thinking we could all go for coffee,” she says, looking at you with hope in her eyes. “Sounds good to me!” you grin as you start packing up your stuff. Once you’re done, you glance over at Paige, who is looking around with a bored expression. You’re not offended at her not wanting to spend time with you. You knew what it was like to feel your world crash, and you’d also tried pushing people away. The blonde maybe didn’t want to be around you right now, but you’d make sure she realized that she’d be okay.

You put your bag on your lap before wheeling your way around the table so you could be right beside the basketball players. You see Paige’s eyes widen as she takes you in, only now having realized you were in a wheelchair. You let her observe you for a moment, seeing her emotions swim in her eyes. You could tell she was shocked and a bit embarrassed, but you also saw her frustrations as she clenched her jaw and started frowning again. “So that’s why Azzi wanted me to meet her. Just so she could tell me that whatever I’m going through is nothing compared to what she has to live with,” Paige thinks as she tries not to roll her eyes. 

You simply send her a smile. You don’t mind the anger that seems to radiate off of the girl. You know she’ll probably say and do stuff she doesn’t mean in rage, and you don’t mind being the person all that fury is aimed at. You know that at the end of the day, she won’t mean any of it, and you’d rather she tries to hurt your feelings than her sunshine best friend.

“Let’s go then, shall we?” you say with a raised brow and a tiny smirk before you start wheeling away. You lead the way through campus to your favorite coffee shop, making small talk with Azzi. You try to include Paige as well, but you don’t talk to her all that much, not wanting to overwhelm her. When you arrive at the shop, the brunette holds the door for you and Paige with a smile, her eyes twinkling. You thank her before following the blonde in. 

“Your usual?” Azzi asks as she walks in behind you. “Yes please, thanks Princess,” you say with a playful wink, a wide grin on your face. The brunette shakes her head in amusement, her eyes crinkling as she smiles. You make your way towards a free table in the back, waving hi to the barista that always calls you his favorite regular. Paige follows not long after, while Azzi waits in line to order the drinks. Once Paige sits down with a huff, slightly out of breath as she rubs the spots where she leaned against the crutches, you don’t say anything at first. The silence isn’t exactly fun, but it’s not a bad silence either.

When your friend makes her way to your table, you smile softly at her as you accept your drink. “Thanks, Ace.” “Of course,” she replies, her voice soft. She looks over at Paige for a moment before clearing her throat. “Listen, P, I know you’re hurting. Not just physically but mentally too. And I know how you feel like it’s the end of the world, but I promise you, it’s not. When I went through my injury and couldn’t play, I spiraled too. But then I met Y/N, and she made me realize that everything would be okay. I know you’re not happy about being here, and I don’t want you to feel like you’re not allowed to be sad, but please just… talk to her. Y/N is an amazing friend to have, not just because she knows what it’s like to lose stuff, but just because she listens. She really listens, and she has a way of making you feel a little lighter on days when things seem impossible.” 

You look at her as she’s speaking, your smile soft as your chest feels warm. It was nice to hear her say such sweet things about you and trust that you’ll be able to help someone else she cares so much about. 

Azzi turns to you before continuing. “And Y/N, please don’t think we’re only here because I want you to help P. I’ve always wanted to introduce you two. I feel like you two could be great friends!” You lean over to grab her hand and give it a little squeeze. Of course, to anyone else it might’ve looked weird, the way you and Azzi hadn’t spoken in a while, and she only seemed to come back to you for help. You knew that wasn’t the case, though. The brunette was the definition of kindness. I mean, she has the nickname “The People’s Princess” for a reason. You didn’t feel offended at all, knowing this only proved how much she trusted you and how much you’d helped her in the past.

Paige’s jaw stays clenched a little longer, her brows furrowed. “I don’t need her help. I don’t need anyone’s help,” she thinks angrily to herself. When she looks up at her best friend, however, she falters. She knows Azzi doesn’t have a bad bone in her body. “I guess… if Azzi speaks this highly of her, then… she can’t be that bad.” You see her soften as she gives the brunette a soft nod. She turns to you, sighing softly before giving you a tentative smile. You grin at her as mischief swirls in your eyes. “Yeah, we’re gonna work out just fine,” you think.

As you drink your coffee, you talk about everything that’s been happening in your life lately, asking Azzi for details on what she’s been up to since you last talked. You make sure to ask Paige questions too, getting to know her more as well. You keep the conversation away from basketball or your own accident. There was a time and place for that conversation, and it wasn’t here and now. 

You stay in the coffee shop for hours, just chatting about everything and nothing. You manage to make both girls laugh a lot, one time even making Paige laugh so hard, her coffee comes out of her nose. She’d looked pretty embarrassed, her face turning a bright red, but she couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face. 

You’re in the middle of telling Paige a story about something you and Azzi had done a few months ago when the brunette’s phone went off. You pause your conversation as you look at her with a raised eyebrow. “Oh shoot! I gotta go, uh, do you guys mind if I head out?” she rambles, already getting up. You look at Paige, who’s already looking at you. You grin at each other before turning to Azzi. “Don’t worry, we’ll play nice,” you smirk. 

Once the brunette leaves, you think for a moment Paige will go back to her quiet self, but you’re wrong. “So? What happened next?” she asks, her eyes wide in a childlike wonder. Warmth blossoms in your chest. The people weren’t wrong when they praised the type of person the star athlete is. She was sweet, paid full attention to what you were saying at all times, and she was funny as hell. 

You continue the story, making the blonde chuckle and shake her head in disbelief. “There’s just no way Azzi did that.” You shrug with a smirk, “It’s all true.” She looks at you a little longer, eyes squinted, as she tries to find out if you're lying. When she realizes you’re not, she chuckles again as she leans back. 

You continue to look at her and notice her demeanor change. Her smile slowly leaves her face as her body becomes tense again. Somehow you’d managed to not make her think about basketball or her injury the whole time you were at the coffee shop, but now it seemed to all come back in one big wave. 

She frowns, leaning forward as she hesitantly meets your eye. “So… Are you finally gonna tell me to just suck it up and stop moping about my knee? Because at least there’s a chance I’ll still be able to play?”

You look at her for a moment. “Nope.” You push away from the table as you start rolling your wheelchair to the door. “W-Wait, what?” You hear Paige stutter, her chair screeching from how hard she scoots it away from the table. You grin, hearing the clattering behind you as the blonde struggles to grab her crutches to follow you. You thank the girl holding the door open for you as you roll into the warm afternoon sun. Paige huffs as she finally reaches you, a frown on her face. You can tell she’s not really upset, though, the way her lips are curling into a small smile.

“Come on, I’ll walk you to your dorm… well… wheel you to your dorm…? Wheel to your dorm as you hobble along…?” Your eyebrows are furrowed as you rub your chin, trying to find the right wording. You hear Paige snort beside you as she starts moving. “Oh my god, bro, just shut up.” 

You stick your tongue out in response before speeding up a bit to match her pace. You two don’t talk for a moment, enjoying the nice breeze as birds whistle around you. “I had fun with you today, Paige,” you smile up at the girl. She smiles back at you. “I had fun with you too… I’m sorry for how I acted earlier, it’s just… it’s been really hard,” the frown from earlier makes its way back onto her face.

“Don’t worry about it, P,” you say with a smile. The girl returns the gesture, hearing you call her her nickname. “So uhh, you don’t want to tell, y'know, all that stuff about how it’ll all be okay?” She asks hesitantly. “Would you believe me if I did?” You ask without any judgment in your voice. “I’m not sure… probably not,” she says as she looks over sheepishly. “Then there wouldn’t be any point to it, would there?” You tease. 

She looks back ahead of her, but you stare a little longer. “I’ll tell you about my accident some day, but not right now. I don’t wanna tell you and have you just end up feeling bad, y’know? We had a good day, let’s not ruin it with my sob story,” you grin as you send her a wink.

Once you reach the blonde’s dorm, she looks at you with reluctant eyes. She doesn’t want to say goodbye just yet. “Give me your number, we’ll text,” you demand, not really giving her a chance to say no, but you both know she wouldn’t. You see her relax a little as she hands you her phone. Once you’ve put your number in and added a cheeky contact name, you give her back her phone. 

“Text me, alright? I know where you live now, so if you don’t, I’ll come find you,” you say with a teasing wink. “Yes, ma’am,” she grins. You two say your goodbyes before you make your way to your own dorm. You haven’t even made it out of the basketball player’s hallway before you hear your phone ding. Your stomach flutters and your chest feels warm. You were excited about your new friendship and were looking forward to getting to know the legendary player on a deeper level. 

Over the following weeks, you two continue to text every day, hanging out in the coffee shop a few more times too. Sometimes Azzi joins you, but more often than not, it’s just the two of you. You learn more about Paige’s family and friends and how life was living in Minnesota while she also gets to know you more. 

You can’t say every day you spend with the blonde is an amazing day. The girl’s injury was still fresh, so she was often grumpy and sad and found it hard to enjoy having to sit still in some coffee shop or library when she’d rather be out there playing ball. You never got upset with her though, you’d been there before, and you knew she just needed some silent support. 

One afternoon, your phone rings, bringing a smile to your face. You know who’s calling before you even look. “Hey, P,” you say, your grin clear in your voice. “Hey Y/N/N, whatcha up to?” she mumbles. “Just hanging out in my dorm, watching a show. What ‘bout you?” you reply, leaning back on your bed as you stare at the ceiling. “M’bored, you should come over… Some of the girls are coming over later… You should meet them,” she says. When you close your eyes, you can see her sitting in her room, one hand holding her phone as the other rubs her neck shyly.

“Sounds nice,” you murmur. You hear a soft sigh of relief on the other end. “Yeah?” Paige’s voice crackles through the phone, her tone hopeful. “Mhm,” you hum, “I’ll be there in like… 20 minutes?” “Ugh, 20 whole minutes?” she whines as you chuckle at how childish she could be. “Oh, I’m sorry? Do you want me to put my wheelchair in turbo mode?” You joke. “Oh my goddd, stoppp,” she groans, muffling her chuckles behind her hand. 

When you first made jokes about your injury and wheelchair, Paige had completely frozen, not knowing how to react. It had taken her a while, but now she was used to your stupid little jokes and knew you made them because you liked making people laugh.

You laugh softly at her reaction before saying goodbye and hanging up the phone. You get out of bed, hopping into your wheelchair with ease, having been through this whole thing what feels like a million times before. You quickly get ready, grabbing a book Azzi had been wanting to borrow for a while and putting it in your bag before heading out. 

You were excited to see Paige and Azzi again and were curious to see what their other friends were like. You were pretty nervous, though. You’d be the odd one out in their usual little bubble. You didn’t let that stop you from going over, though. You’d never really been afraid to take leaps, and weren’t going to start now either.

When you make it to Paige and Azzi’s dorm in record time (the wind must’ve helped you make it there so fast…), you let your presence be known with your signature knock. Paige opens the door almost immediately with her trademark grin. “Hey P,” you smile as you wheel your way inside. “Hey Y/N/N,” she replies. “So, when’re the others gonna be here?” you say as you follow her towards her room. “Don’t know. Half an hour maybe?” she shrugs as she plops down on her bed. You nod your head as you look around. 

You’d been in the blonde’s room a few times already, but you still liked seeing if anything had changed. Her room was filled with the usual clutter, clothes thrown on the chair in the corner, a few water bottles next to her bed,...

She pats the space next to her, inviting you in. You wheel closer before heaving yourself onto the bed. Blue eyes follow your every move, ready to jump into action if you need help. Once you’re comfortable, you lean back and smile at her. “Grey's Anatomy?” you ask, your head tilted in question. Paige’s face immediately lights up as she leans over to grab her laptop. You continue the show where you’d left off last time before you hear commotion in the living room. 

You look over at Paige, who looks back at you with a pout on her face. You chuckle, sitting up a little straighter to hop back into your wheelchair. Once you’re seated, you wait for the blonde to grab her crutches and lead the way. You laugh softly at her huffing and puffing, knowing she’d rather watch her show right now than hang out with her team.

When you make it to the living room, you see KK, Nika, Ice, and Azzi chatting as they shrug off their jackets. When they notice Paige and you, they quiet down. “Y/N! Hey, I didn’t know you were here,” Azzi beams at you. “Guys, this is Y/N, the girl I’ve told you about, the one that helped me during my recovery,” she says cheerfully. KK, Nika, and Ice smile kindly at you before introducing themselves. 

“Hey, it’s nice to meet you, I’ve heard a lot about you guys,” you smile. “Only good things, I hope?” Nika teases. “Meh,” you reply with a smirk. The girls laugh before finding a spot to sit as you guys hang out. They leave 2 spots open on the couch for Paige and you, making you send them a thankful smile. 

You sit down and get to know the girls a little better. You could see why the UConn team was such a close-knit group. The girls were funny, sweet, and protective and treated each other like family. 

After a while, KK and Ice get bored and decide to turn on Paige’s PlayStation to play Fortnite. You continue to talk to everyone, laughing at the funny stories the girls tell you about Paige, trying to embarrass her. The blonde’s face turns a bright red as she complains about them being jerks, but her bright smile doesn’t leave her face. Your heart feels like it’s grown two sizes with how happy you’re feeling.

“Oh wait, Ace, I’ve got that book you asked for,” you say. You look towards your bag, seeing it near KK. “Hey KK, d’you mind grabbing my bag for me?” you ask the gaming girl. “Hm?” she hums distractedly. “Grab it yourself, bro,” she says, completely focused on the game. You see Azzi open her mouth to say something, but you hold up your hand to stop her. You send her an evil grin as mischief swirls around in your eyes. You make your face neutral, maybe even a little pouty, as you let out a sad sigh, “Alright.” 

You grab onto your wheelchair a little louder than necessary as you lean forward to move into it. KK’s head whips around so fast, you think she might’ve given herself whiplash. “WAIT, NO!” she yells, her eyes wide as she scrambles to get up to grab it for you. You don’t think you’ve ever seen anyone move as fast as her at that moment. 

The girls around you slap their hands in front of their mouths to stifle their giggles. The younger girl looks at them with a pouty frown, feeling bad for forgetting you couldn’t easily get up to grab something. “I’m sorry,” she mumbles as she hands you the book. You send her a wink and a grin, letting her know you were just joking. You weren't offended about the fact she seemed to have forgotten. It showed you that the girls didn’t just see you as someone with a disability.

She sits back down next to Ice, sticking her tongue out at the still laughing girl. “s’not funny,” she mutters, staring at the TV as she continues the game. You could get used to hanging out with these girls. You loved the way they constantly teased each other, but never went too far. Many people were too scared to make any type of jokes around you, too focused on your impairment to realize you were also just a person. 

20 minutes go by before a phone rings. You recognize the ringtone as Paige’s and look towards the sound. Her phone is lying on the table near Ice and KK, who both look over for a split second before their attention goes back towards the TV. “KK, gimme my phone,” Paige demands, leaning forward to grab it from her. “Get it yourself,” the younger girl quips back, not even glancing at the blonde. Paige looks over at the other girls for a second, a “Seriously?” clear on her face. 

She grins before copying you. Sigh. “Fine,” she mutters, grabbing onto her crutches, making them bang against each other. KK looks back and deadpans at her. “Go ahead,” she says dryly, turning back to her match. 

“Bruh, what the hell,” Paige huffs as she gets up to grab her phone. You let out a deep belly laugh at the annoyed look on her face. The blonde turns to you with an unamused frown, as you send her an innocent smile and a shrug. 

You guys hang out for a few hours before it’s time to head back to your dorm. Your chest feels light when you say your goodbyes. Each girl gives you a hug with the promise of hanging out again soon. When you make it back to your room, you see you already have 2 texts from Paige. “had fun 2day, thanks for coming over” and “think KK likes you more than me”. 

That night, you go to bed with a wide smile on your face.

Days go by, and you stay in touch with all of the girls, but you mainly hang out with Paige. Today was another one of your planned hangouts, this time at your dorm, but the second the blonde arrived, you knew it wouldn’t be all fun and games. She’d just gone to physical therapy for her knee, and her face looks thunderous. She hadn’t slept well, constantly waking up because of her knee, she’s sick and tired of not being able to play, and physical therapy had gone horribly. 

When she walks in, she wordlessly flops down on your couch as she stares at the ceiling, a frown etched into her face. You go over to your fridge, grabbing a bottle of water for the both of you before returning to her side. You give her the bottle and wait patiently for her to talk. “I fucking hate this,” she fumes. “It’s been weeks since the game, why is everything still so… so… ughhhh,” she groans, unable to find the words. You give her arm a squeeze in support, but she shrugs you off, shooting upright as she continues her heated rant. 

You stay calm as you listen to her, knowing she needs this moment to blow off some steam. When she quiets down, heaving from all the talking, you quietly try to comfort her. “I know it sucks, P, but you need to just keep going, don’t give up. You’ll be on the court again soon enough, and it’ll be like you never left-” you can’t finish your sentence before Paige interrupts. 

“NO, YOU DON’T FUCKING GET IT!” she yells, her frustrations high. You wince slightly at the volume but don’t say anything. You give the blonde a moment to calm down and let everything sink in. You’re not offended, you know people say things they don’t mean in moments like this. 

Once she realizes what she just said to you, the one person who understands more than anything, she looks at you with guilt in her eyes. Her blue eyes having become a shade darker as they look at you sadly. You see tears starting to well up before she leans forward, putting her face in her hands. “I’m sorry,” she whimpers in shame. You lean forward again, softly grabbing her wrist to take her hands away from her face. You hold one hand between yours as you catch her eye. You give her a gentle smile, letting her know you’re not upset.

“I shouldn’t have yelled… I shouldn’t’ve said that,” she mumbles regretfully. “It’s okay, P,” you murmur, giving her hand a squeeze. “You’re not mad?” She looks at you like a kicked puppy. You shake your head with a smile, “I’ve been through worse. I’ll survive a pretty girl raising her voice at me.” She gives you a tiny, sad smile, leaning her forehead against your entwined hands.

You start telling her your story. The story of how you grew up, playing every sport under the sun, up until that one dreadful day. You tell her about the dark, depressive hole you fell into after you woke up paralyzed, the way you pushed everyone away, and how you thought nothing would ever be okay again. The whole time you’re talking, she looks you in the eyes, barely blinking as she listens intently. Her jaw clenches as her eyes become glassy when you talk about your depression. When you finish talking about what it was like the first few months after the accident, you pause for a moment, letting everything sink in.

“How’d you do it…?” She asks, her voice cracking with emotion. “It was hard… really fucking hard,” you start. “I pushed everyone away at first, but my family never gave up on me. They helped me realize that while it really fucking sucked… I was still alive. And I would find new things to care about. And I did!” You smile. “With all my free time, I started looking for new hobbies. I found out pretty quickly that I don’t have the patience for puzzles, and I poked myself one too many times to enjoy cross-stitching,” you say with a playful grin, making the athlete breathe out a little laugh.

“I learned that I have pretty good rhythm, so I was able to pick up playing the guitar and the piano pretty easily. I realized that doodling really helps me unwind after a long day, which is funny because it’s the complete opposite of how I used to relax. I got better and better at drawing and tried out a bunch of different mediums, but my favorite is still pencil drawings. I’d always loved reading but never made enough time for it, but now I try to finish at least one book a week… Uhh, I bought a PlayStation which I play on maybe a little too much, but you know what that’s like, Ms Fortnite addict.” You tease. She rolls her eyes, but you can tell that she’s no longer feeling so bad, a tiny smile decorating her face. 

You let silence fill the room for a moment. “I’m not saying this in a way of being like, ‘Stop complaining and get over it’, but I promise P, things will be okay. You’re the Paige Bueckers… It’s gonna take a lot more than a torn ACL for you to stop being you. Have some faith.” You send her a comforting smile as you squeeze her hand. She nods at you, her muscles relaxed as she finally lets out a relieved sigh. “Thanks… for everything,” she breathes. You shake your head with a smile, thinking it’s silly she’s thanking you for being her friend. “You don’t need to thank me for that… but you’re welcome. And thank you for including me in your group of friends… I don’t remember the last time I’ve had this much fun.”

You two talk for the rest of the afternoon, ordering a pizza when dinner time arrives. After you’re done eating, you migrate to your bedroom, letting a movie play in the background as you keep talking about everything and nothing. You’re sitting on your bed, telling Paige a story, waving your arms animatedly as her blue eyes stare into yours. “... And then she looked at me and I almost passed out from laughing! You should’ve seen the look on Ace’s face!” you say, hiccuping a little from laughing. The blonde laughs along, her chest feeling warm at the sound of your laugh.

“So what’s up with that nickname anyway?” she questions as she leans her head on her hand. “Ace?” You ask. “Well, her name’s Azzi, but people call her Azz, so then I started calling her Ace, as in A C E, like in a deck of cards. The ace cards are the highest cards in the deck, and I think of her quite highly,” you explain.

“Okay, but doesn’t it depend on the game?” she asks, tilting her head like a confused puppy. “Hm?” “Well, isn’t the ace card the lowest in certain games?” she says with a raised eyebrow. You can’t help laughing as she says that. “God, are you always this negative?” You tease, giving her a little push. She rolls her eyes as she scrunches her nose, sticking her tongue out. 

You continue talking until the sky becomes dark. Paige looks out the window, a slight frown growing on her face at the thought of having to leave. “Do you wanna stay the night?” you ask nonchalantly, but you feel your heart beat a little faster. Her bright blue eyes find yours immediately as she looks to see if you’re joking. “Yeah, sure, if that’s cool with you,” she says as she fiddles with her necklace. You smirk at how nervous she seems. “I wouldn’t have offered if it wasn’t, now would I?” She slaps your arm lightly to shut you up. “Go ahead and grab some clothes from my closet,” you tell her, hopping into your wheelchair to go get ready for bed in your bathroom.

When you return, you freeze for a moment, your heart swelling at the blonde dressed in your clothes. When she looks over at you, you start moving again, letting her use the bathroom as well. A few minutes later, she returns, looking around a little sheepishly. You pat the bed next to you, sending her a calming smile. You continue talking a little longer, but slowly feel your eyes grow heavy. You fall asleep to Paige’s tired mumbling. The last thing you remember is a soft hand grabbing yours, entwining your fingers before you doze off.

After that night, your relationship with Paige changes. You feel like you’ve somehow become even closer to her and are happy to call her your best friend. You’re rarely seen without the other, always attached to the hip. You make sure to come with her to physical therapy for silent support, while she often joins you in the library as you finish another book on your list. Your favorite hangout spot is the coffee shop where you two properly talked for the first time. You make sure to go there every week, sometimes even being joined by the girls on the team (who you’d all gotten to know pretty well by now).

When the end of Paige’s recovery nears, you’re a little nervous. While you never blamed Azzi for getting too busy to hang out a lot after she recovered, you would still be upset if the same happened with the blonde. All your worries were for naught, however, when Paige continues to call you every chance she gets, sending you quick texts when she can’t. She often adds silly selfies as well, just to make you laugh.

You’ve known you’ve had a crush on the girl for a while now, but you never said anything. Paige needed to focus on getting better without any distractions. You also didn’t want her to think your whole friendship was based on you having a crush on her, so it was best you just kept quiet.

Paige, in return, was also too scared to tell you about her crush. She loved the friendship you two had and didn’t want to ruin it just because she’d caught feelings. She was afraid that every glance, every touch, and every soft smile was just you being a good friend. She couldn’t bear to lose you after everything you’d done for her, so she kept her mouth shut.

Azzi, being the observant friend she is, immediately knew about both of your feelings when she’d “caught” you two asleep on the couch, holding each other close. She made it her mission to get you two together. She started off by trying to convince Paige to confess, but that didn’t work out well, seeing as the blonde was too scared and always shrugged her off. Her next plan was to try to make you confess, knowing you were the bravest person she knew. That sadly also didn’t work, seeing as you were too considerate of others to think about your own feelings when you knew Paige could end up getting hurt. 

So here she was, back on plan A. “Come onnn, P, she’s head over heels for you, I’m telling you!” The blonde rolls her eyes so hard it gives her a bit of a headache. “Azzi, please, we’ve been over this before, let it goooo,” Paige groans, feeling butterflies flutter in her stomach at the thought of you liking her back. “No! I’m not gonna let this go. You two mean so much to me, I just want you guys to be happy,” she says with a sad pout on her face. Paige lifts her head from where she’s lying on her bed to look at the brunette, and groans again at the kicked puppy look on her face. She could never say no to her when she made that face.

Paige sighs and stares at the ceiling for a moment. “...How sure are you?” She mutters, looking over at Azzi with desperation in her eyes. The brunette gives her a soft but excited smile. “110%, P. You know I wouldn’t say this if there was even a slight chance I was wrong.” The blonde’s cheeks turn a soft pink as a happy yet slightly embarrassed smile shows on her face. “Okay then, how do we do this?”

You’re hanging out with a friend when you hear the familiar ringtone go off. You excuse yourself for a moment, picking up the phone. “What’s up, P?” You grin. “Hey Y/N/N!” You can hear the smile in her voice. “You’re coming to our next game, right?” she asks. “Uhm, hello? It’s your first game back on the court, of course I’m coming,” you tease, sounding slightly offended she felt like she had to ask. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she chuckles, “jus’ wanted to be sure.” “I’ll be your biggest cheerleader, don’t even worry about it,” you promise. “Ight, I’ll hold you to that,” she replies before you two say your goodbyes.

When the day of Paige’s first game back arrives, you know the blonde is bursting with nerves. You meet up with her before the game to wish her good luck and to encourage her. Her leg shakes up and down as she bites her nails. Her eyes flit around the room as she nods along to what you’re saying, but you know she’s not listening. You roll closer to her, grabbing her hand and pulling it away from her mouth. You give it a gentle squeeze as she finally looks at you. “Don’t worry so much, P. You’ve been working your ass off for this moment, and you’re gonna do great, okay?” you say, trying to reassure her as much as you can. Her shoulders loosen as she finally takes in what you’re saying.

“Thanks, Y/N/N,” she mutters with a small smile. You give her a wink before you leave to wish the other girls good luck and to find your spot before the crowd starts filtering in. While Paige is extremely nervous about her first game back, she’s more nervous about what’s going to happen at halftime. She really hopes she won’t embarrass herself. She walks back over to her team, quickly going over everything again to make sure everything would go exactly the way she’d planned. 

The first quarter of the game flies by before she even knows it. She already scored 12 points, giving UConn the advantage. As she sits on the bench, listening to coach Geno, she looks around. Her eyes immediately find yours as you send her two thumbs up. She grins before locking back into the game. 

The second quarter goes by even faster, making Paige’s stomach clench with nerves. They were now 9 points ahead, so it was still anyone’s game. First, however, it was time for halftime. 

The blonde wipes her sweat on a towel, looking over at Azzi. The brunette gives her a reassuring smile before walking over to you. You don’t expect her to walk over but smile at her nonetheless. “Hey Y/N/N, how much do you trust me?” she grins. You raise an eyebrow at her, but the smile on your face doesn’t disappear. “With my life,” you reply. She sends you a beaming smile, giving your shoulder a squeeze as she wheels you onto the court. You chuckle as you ask her what’s going on. She simply says, “You’ll see.” 

Paige walks up to you, fiddling with her hands nervously. She bends down on one knee and starts talking, her voice quivering a little. “Y/N… I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me.” You open your mouth to tell her off, but she holds up her hand before you can say a word. “I know, I know, I don’t need to thank you… but I want to. When you entered my life, I was going through a very difficult time. I felt like I was drowning on dry land… But you? You were like my life buoy, not letting me sink. You’re this amazing, strong person, and you’ve made me want to be like you. To never give up and to look at life in a positive way, even when things go wrong.” She swallows harshly. You grab her hand and give it a squeeze, speechless at the girl's words. Your chest feels warm as your heart feels like it’s about to burst out of its cage.

“The past few months have meant more to me than you could imagine, and… I fell for you harder than I thought I ever could… So… I want to ask you this,” she says, still nervous but a bit more confident as she sees the adoration in your eyes. She stands up and accepts the flowers Nika gives her. She hands them to you as she steps aside. 

Your eyes tear up as you see the scene in front of you. The whole UConn team, as well as the opponent's team, are standing there. All holding various items. A few girls are holding cardboard signs with the words “Will you go out with me?” on them. Your free hand flies to your mouth as you look up at Paige. The blonde is already staring at you lovingly with a soft smile. You chuckle at the amount of love you’re feeling right now as you nod your head at her. You can barely hear the crowd cheer around you as you feel your blood rushing in your ears.

The star player’s smile becomes even wider as her eyes crinkle. She grabs your hand, placing a kiss on it as all players start making their way towards you. You get handed all kinds of gifts from the blonde. Your favorite book annotated by her, a Lego set you two had talked about getting, a new pack of expensive pencils, a guitar pick maker, and a bunch of other things. You feel so incredibly seen by her that you find it hard to keep your tears at bay.

Once you’ve received all the gifts and thanked Paige a bunch, you make your way back to your seat. You hear a few “congrats” aimed your way as fans smile widely at you. When you turn back to the court, you see the blonde already looking at you. She sends you a flirty wink, making you chuckle as you shake your head in amusement. While the circumstances of you two meeting weren’t the best, you thank your lucky stars that the universe guided you to the Paige Bueckers. UConn’s star player. The golden student. The future of women’s basketball. A legend in the making. The girl that stole your heart but gave you hers in return.

[zosin-ya]

Topic 8 - [ꜱᴛᴏʀʏ ɪɴᴅᴇx]

Summary: Surviving on instant noodles, you order takeout in the middle of exam prep—what you didn’t expect was your delivery guy to be a ridiculously hot, tattooed biker. Even more surprising? He’s a fellow med student at your university. As good as it sounded, he had a complicated past with an obsessive Ex who starts to target you.

tags.: One Piece, Law x Reader, SFW & NSFW, slow burn romance, Modern AU, Penguin and Shachi as flatmates, fashion-designer uncle Corazon, Laws parents, Laws crazy Ex, Strawhats as your friends (+ Bonney), protective Law, mentioned of his dead sister, also mentions of Laws trauma

a.n.: I pulled this story out of my ass and it’s rather spontaneous how I write the story. If you have ideas, I’m open to them 🖤

status: [ongoing] last updated Nov 20th 2024

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 1 - ʟᴀᴛᴇ ᴅᴇʟɪᴠᴇʀʏ

An awkward encounter with the handsome delivery guy, who hardly speaks to you, yet somehow makes your heart skip a beat with his pretty face.

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 2 - ɪᴄᴇ ʙʀᴇᴀᴋᴇʀ

Law was at your door once again, this time out of breath and visibly stressed. You offer him something to drink, which sparks a conversation that eventually leads to an exchange of numbers.

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 3 - ꜱᴛᴜᴅʏ ᴅᴀᴛᴇ

At the café, you met up for a study date and saw a more relaxed, yet still exhausted, side of Law. Penguin showed up, clearly curious as to why Law was hanging out with someone from his university—especially since he rarely spent time with those people.

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 4 - ʙᴏʏ ᴛᴀʟᴋ

Penguin couldn't keep his mouth shut about Law meeting you, which led him and Shachi to bombard him with questions. It was just a study date, right? No big deal. His flatmates quickly realized how oblivious he was. Or was he just denying any meaning, trying to protect himself from another crazy relationship.

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 5 - ʟᴀᴛᴇ ɴɪɢʜᴛ ꜰᴜɴ

Law invites you to a party, and after a few drinks, the two of you start to loosen up around each other. So much that the bathroom becomes a short lived make out spot.

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 6 - ʟᴇᴛᴛɪɴɢ ʟᴏᴏꜱᴇ (n.sfw)

After you forgot your keys at home and had no where to stay, Law casually offers his apartment for the night without any second intentions. Though the heat from the make out session still lingering in the air.

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 7 - ᴡᴏʀᴛʜ ɪᴛ (n.sfw)

You meet Laws kind-hearted uncle, Rosinante, and learn more about his complex family history. What was supposed to be a casual, cozy game night with Law quickly takes an unexpected and more intimate turn.

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 8 - ᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴏᴜꜱ ᴇɴᴄᴏᴜɴᴛᴇʀᴍᴇɴᴛ

A girl you've never met before, starts a chit chat with you during an uni event, you being immediately drawn in by her friendly, outgoing nature. Before you knew it, she invited you to a small party where she hinted you could make some valuable connections. Little did you realize, networking with a biker gang wasn’t exactly what you had in mind for boosting your CV.

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 9 - ᴄʜᴀᴏᴛɪᴄ ɢᴀɴɢ

You dearly needed a girl's night with your friends after all what had happened. Law came to pick you up, yet got dragged into the chaos of a spontaneous party with your friends. Someone save this guy.

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 10 - ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴀʀᴇ ᴡᴇ? (n.sfw)

This day should have been special, with you and Law celebrating your academic milestone together with friends and family. Yet, Laws private and closed off personality shots back at him, causing you to break down.

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 11 - ʙᴜʀᴅᴇɴ

It had been weeks since you had talked to Law, feeling drained from the past events. You needed time to figure the relationship out, which caused you to run away from talking completely and be confronted with a storm, none of you were ready to face.

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 12 - ɴᴇᴡ ᴇᴍᴏᴛɪᴏɴꜱ (n.sfw)

Trying to mend the damage he had caused, Law makes an effort to open up to you this time. He shared pieces of his past, including hobbies he’d long buried. He never anticipated that attending Zoro’s Kendo tournament with you would reignite an old spark within him—or that it would stir a newfound desire to impress you.

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 13 - ᴇɴᴇᴍɪᴇꜱ ᴏʀ ᴀʟʟɪᴇꜱ

Two unexpected intruders—familiar faces no less—show up at your door, shocked to find you inside. Hired to break into what turned out to be the wrong apartment, Kid and Killer aren’t prepared for your defiance. Mustering all the courage you have, you scare them off and waste no time alerting Law, who doesn’t take kindly to their mistake and pays them a visit.

[heal-the-ashes]

[ Flora Reinhold (Moodboard) ]

My first Flora Friday!

Making moodboards is a hobby of mine. I've just been afraid to post any of them.

First, here's the sources, and then I'll get into my thoughts and explanations for this one.

[Taiyaki and orange]

[Heart orange slice in tea]

[Vinyl saying "I can't tell you everything"]

[Monarch butterflies]

[Flora Reinhold]

[Heart candles]

[Waffles]

[Deer pattern]

[Apple pie]

Background is (and almost always will be) made by me!

First there's three taiyaki there. I think anything with three represents her, Luke, and Layton, or it can represent her, the Baron, and Lady Violet. But I think this image represents Flora, Luke, and Layton. The orange represents Flora herself.

In the tea, there's only one slice of the heart. This could symbolize how Flora's love is always lonely. Just like how anything in tea seeps and brews in water, both her love and loneliness is concentrated and self-contained. I just thought the cup was pretty too. It looks like something she would own.

The record saying "I can't tell you everything"... It's self explanatory, but the fact that it's on a vinyl is interesting. It's supposed to be played. It's supposed to be heard. But it'll never get the chance to do that, or so Flora probably thinks.

Monarch butterflies. Flora is probably seen as the crown princess of St. Mystere. It's also interesting that they: mostly live alone, and also represent rebirth, transformation, and new beginnings. I find it interesting that they also group together when trying to stay warm or when migrating. (Also that they usually land in the same area or even tree after migrating, or so I heard?)

The candles—There's three, they're heart shaped, and they're lit up. A family relationship that both lights up her life and hurts her in the sense that wax is getting burned and melting. Candles are sometimes used as a metaphor for patience or energy, mostly in negative terms because it's usually slowly dwindling away. However, there's always light involved…

The waffles, um. Gonna be honest and say it just looked good and fit into it. Maybe she made them :0 There's also multiple, so maybe she made them for everyone else?

The deer pattern. Deer represent spiritual authority, regrowth, devotion, care, grace, innocence… Also alertness and wariness. But one thing that I learned while researching is that mother deer leave their baby fawn for a few weeks on purpose to protect them. They wait until the kids are old enough to travel with them. Doesn't that sound like someone we know?

And finally, we have the apple pie. I love this one. There's the bow, there's three hearts in it—But also, a section of the pie is perforated, cut to be taken out. One of the hearts is within that section, but it's also not like other images where the slice is actually separated. It's still there. It has a severed connection, but it's still there.

And taking that as a metaphor is really beautiful to me. All of this is really pretty to me, and all moodboards I make have some sort of symbolism to them. I hope everyone likes this one :) I may post more, because... My layton ones.. I have at least like 10+ of them already, this is the newest one I just made today. Anyway :) Happy Flora Friday 🍎

[ripleylove]

Daring woman.

pairing: Rhea Ripley x fem reader.

genre: angst

summary: Rhea, even after a long period of getting to know each other,still didn't open her heart to you,her old and indifferent behaviour taking the best of her,but you still fought for her.

A/N: based off this song below! Listen to it to get all the feelings 🤭

⋆ ˚｡⋆𔓘⭒๋࣭

You were heavily interested in Rhea,and you could tell she was too.

So why isn't she smiling to you? Why is she cold only to you?

Was it because she was afraid of falling for you,so she closed herself in her own shell?

That was her charm: her cold and closed off demeanour has always been attractive to you,and you weren't afraid to often do the first move or to express your interest in her.

Her indifferent tone and gaze sparked a fire within you,a fire of determination, that motivated you to get to know better,wanting to feel her love and affection.

For example, some weeks ago,you invited her to go out for a walk,and during said walk,her shoulders were almost heavy,as if she couldn't have her feelings bottled up anymore.

When you were walking in front of her,guiding her through all of the busy people on the street,you could feel her gaze burning your head.

Even while your hands were almost touching,she didn't utter a single word,and to break the ice (and mostly to show how much you care about her) you offered her a meal,going to a restaurant she preferred.

But that didn't really break the ice,like,at all.

Why was she behaving like this?

In the past few days,she didn't call you or text you,and you believed that if you didn't text her or call her she wouldn't bother to do it on her own.

You wanted her to tell you how she feels,that she wants you to be her woman,that she waited a long time to have you for any reason and that her heart desired you.

If you would speak first,telling her about your feelings,would you lose?

You knew you were inexperienced in this whole relationship thing,you knew that you were young,but that didn't stop you from longing for her more that anyone.

She didn't,she wouldn't,understand you: always disinterested in any of your hobbies or any of the things you told her,and you were starting to think that the whole pushing-away thing was being done on purpose,just like her blunt way of speaking and her indifference.

You knew she had real feelings for you,like you have for her,and you also knew that she would never come to you and tell you that she wanted you for herself.

You were like a little flower and Rhea was the water: you couldn't stand living without her in any universe or in any life.

You hoped she didn't have already a lover and that she wasn't actually hiding that from you.

At the beginning of this whole thing,you asked her that,and she declined: you were the only one she was talking to,and you believed her.

Sometimes it looked like it's a lie though, it looked like she loved to have many women behind her,courting her.

But you always believed otherwise,because she's actually a woman who doesn't easily give her heart to anyone,keeping it protected until she could.

One day you asked her:"What do you think of me?"

"Nothing."

That was her only answer. Her honey-like deep voice said that hurtful word so gracefully,that you almost didn't notice the way she said that: boringly and thoughtlessly.

This,and many other moments,didn't let you sleep at night,forcing you to toss and turn in your bed,phone in your hand with her whatsapp contact open,writing and deleting many messages you wanted to text her.

You kept fighting for her,you were bold,

you were a daring woman.

taglist: @stellakiddsblog @bibibi-tchx @p-mp @teenagedramaqueenlisa

[cantactdontcare]

Watching Your Favorite Niche Celebrity Become the Most Iconic Superhero Ever is Really Crazy

The first teaser trailer for James Gunn’s new Superman movie dropped last week and has since surpassed “The Batman” and “Deadpool and Wolverine” trailers in views. Public opinion, which is typically very divisive on superhero films, appears to be primarily positive! I don’t know much about Superman other than in name (I mean how could you not know his name) but I know a whole lot about David Corenswet. If you haven’t heard, he’s the new one. Within a week I have witnessed him go from someone famous, but still a bitttttt under the radar, to like, a household name. The moment I saw a gay person quote tweet a picture of him in the Clark Kent outfit with the caption, “Raw, next question” I knew a new era was upon us.

I discovered David Corenswet through his role in Hollywood, a Ryan Murphy show that came out in the spring of 2020. The show was a “what if” piece on the widespread diversification of Hollywood post World War II. It most notably stars Patti LuPone, Jim Parsons, Jeremy Pope, Laura Harrier, Jake Picking, Holland Taylor, Dylan McDermitt, and Darren Chris. David Corenswet plays the role of Jack, a veteran trying to get his start in the business. I was immediately enamored with him and his his raw talent, charm, and classic good looks.

During Covid times my only hobbies were media consumption and brief neighborhood walks, so I had plenty of time to obsess over David Corenswet. Back then his filmography was much shorter than it is today, and I burned through it quickly. His other major roles consisted of River Barkley in The Politician, another Ryan Murphy project, and Michael Lawson in a film called Affairs of State. After finishing those, I watched all of his press interviews, every short he starred in, a YouTube comedy web series he made in college called “Moe and Jerrywether” and an episode of an MTV reality show about the dangers of premarital sex. As you can tell, I LOVED him.

My adoration was shared by my best friend, and the two of us spent about two months gushing over him. Pictured below are some screenshots from my private Instagram.

Just like most of my hyper-fixations, my obsessive interest in David Corenswet eventually subsided. Despite not wanting to watch his work all day every day anymore, I looked back on the phase very fondly. Here was this charming, talented guy just barely discovered and I knew about him! It was nice to have someone to follow and be invested in who felt like just mine.

As years went on I followed his career excitedly. I tuned in for films like Look Both Ways, a Netflix original starring him and Lili Reinhart, and Ti West’s Pearl, the second installment in the horror trilogy starring Mia Goth. I also, of course, watched Twisters, where he plays a (very hot) dickhead.

(I was tweaking about the cut kiss as you can see.)

The Superman casting announcement came out this past February, and I was pleasantly unsurprised to see David snagged the role. He was fancasted as Superman/Clark Kent back in 2020 solely based on his appearance and was the subject of quite a few (cursed) photoshops.

I didn’t see much about the upcoming Superman since the casting announcement and then… bam! The teaser graced my screen and my entire Twitter feed was talking about Superman and David Corenswet. Never in my life have I come across a post about him without searching his name or following a tag. Now he’s got edits up the wazzou. All the hype has reignited my obsession and I spent my Christmas consuming David-related content.

All that being said, I am so happy for David and his huge success and I will be PARKED in that theater in July. I would never ever want to gatekeep him and I will gladly talk about him with anyone one who will listen. For the first time in my life I get to say I WAS HERE FIRST!

[chipped-chimera]

Aquarium update - I have a Betta again! Got kind of burned last time so I travelled wayyyyy north from where I am to get her, along with some cories. It's been about two weeks since, judging my water changes (do about 25% a week, not because the water needs it but more because any longer and my filter gets gummed up) and she's been doing really well. She's changing rapidly, but she was very juvenile when I got her (like literally only a bit bigger than some of my green neons which max out at 3cm) which I expected, since marble gene. The contrast of a few weeks though is kinda nuts.

Not quite named yet, since honestly I was so burned from last time (RIP fish Karlach 😔) that I've been hesitant to name her or even share anything about her online. Also because I literally have no idea how she's gonna look in a few weeks as she matures.

I was thinking maybe Arita or Imari since her patterning reminds me of Asagi Koi and Imari-Arita Ware ceramics? Leaning towards Arita since it sounds a bit 'sassier' I guess (idk, vibes) and she definitely is that. I'll take suggestions though!

Anyway more fish rambling below -

Honestly I was so hesitant to get her, but I was already putting in replacement Cories after a mystery disease decimated my Corydora population, leaving my admittedly kind-of-fat female Three Lined solo. Whatever contagion was in the tank is either gone or dormant (since a lot of fish disease I know is entirely reliant on how stressed a fish is - they can still be a carrier but completely fine) after basically doing every treatment I had at my disposal. I think it was a mix of parasitic and bacterial, maybe fungal? Hard to target given all my tank tests consistently returned a big fat 0ppm for all the bad shit. My tank is about as clean as it gets - I only change about 25% weekly and that's more to clean sludge out of the filter, it never really needs it. Admittedly some of the deaths I contributed to because I wasn't aware how much my tank PH had changed over the months (test your PH regularly guys), apparently the huge chunks of wood have exhausted all their tannins cause I've gone from acidic to more basic. It seems to be holding about 7.8, apparently related to the Seiryu stone in there. Basically water changes caused the PH to flux to much, contributing to stress for the Cories. Yeah I feel bad but I'm also not blaming myself since a. Literally first tank b. I am learning the fish hobby is really annoying for consistent information. Like literally information that doesn't contradict itself half the time. A lot of that is the reason why I've been slowed down in figuring out what is going wrong and that ultimately has resulted in a lot of loss.

Important part though is everyone seems to be doing fine, and I've learned enough now to maybe recognise stuff a lot faster. One of the Pandas, after my first water change developed a big fungal streak down it's body (I'm guessing it scuffed itself in a panic somewhere) but had that treated easily within about 3 days with just Pimafix. No seriously, they're doing well. Well enough they apparently spawned? Saw the betta striking some mystery thing on the glass. I thought it was a freshwater limpet (they've been in there, just haven't seen them in a while) and realised no, actually an egg. Not opposed to this since I'm pretty close to stocking limit (at least in a regular, unplanted tank) so I'm down for the population control.

Betta really is a little predator though. She's honestly weird for a Betta in that she doesn't show interest in food. At all. She might nibble at a fallen bit but couldn't care less about anything I put on the surface or during feeding time. Been monitoring her weight, and she's definitely not underweight. Guess I have enough random critters in my tank (Planaria, about a million scuds since my last-ditch effort treatment to save a Cory decimated my shrimp population. I lost my favourite orange/red shrimp too 😭) to sustain her? Worry is of course I need to re-establish more shrimp. There are some left but nowhere NEAR what I had before. I've seen her chase a few who appear, she definitely has them on alert but they tend to be too big for her anyway. And too fast. Juveniles though ....

I do have a HUGE amount of hiding places for new, young shrimp (just moss. So much moss) but I think I'll maybe raise them in a netted isolation box until they're big enough that she's no longer a threat maybe? Idk. That or I get technically-not-allowed Cherry Shrimp from someone local, since they tend to be adults. Juveniles are kind of my only option at my local store.

Anyway that's the ramble!

[softodettes]

2024 fic writer end of year round up!

i was tagged by @maethologies and @siobhanbooks (thank you besties!!). if i tagged you in this, take that as a sign that i'm tagging you to participate! 💗

1. How many words did you publish on AO3 in 2024?

as of this afternoon: 89,916 words! i wanted to hit 100k published, but the second half of the year really put me through it.

2. How many fics did you complete this year?

10 oneshots!

3. How many in progress or ongoing fics did you start this year?

i posted 3, and i have 3 more that aren't posted that i'm working on with plans to post next year.

4. What was your favourite thing you wrote?

i really love read it and weep. i love playing Wordle so much, so it was fun to combine that with FW for a cute fluff piece.

i also love i wanna touch you but you're too far away. it was probably the first smut fic that i confidently posted, and it's one of the only fics i've posted that i reread because i just think it's really good.

5. What piece was your most experimental or different from your usual style?

they're both very tame, but visions of sugarplums is my most "out-there" and niche AU. it's 3rd person present, which is something i've played around with in shorter one shots, but this is the first time i used it in a longer fic.

vacation (all i ever wanted) was also different! it was my first poly fic, so trying to balance all 3 people and their relationships with each other was definitely new for me!

6. Did any fics surprise you - either while writing or their reception?

after resurrection for sure!

a lot of people in this fandom hate Brennan (which is valid, don't get me wrong!), so i never expected more than a handful of people to read it. so when it hit 100 kudos a few weeks ago, i cried a little because it has grown above and beyond what i ever imagined, and i'm continuously blown away by the positive reception it gets.

7. Do you have a fic you wrote and loved that went under the radar? (This is your sign to reblog/repost it!)

there is pretty much no plot, but i love the imagery i used in and if i could give you the moon, i would give you the moon. and i'm plugging i wanna touch you but you're too far away again because i think it's some of the best smut i've written.

8. Who is an artist that inspired you?

on instagram: _clxarts, 0jem0, rosiethorns88, cuddlydevil1114, and rosedskies

on tumblr: @ann7av, @taumoebaa, @flaviedub, @rosalynnart

9. Who is an author that inspired you?

@taumoebaa, @maethologies, and @widebrimmedhatsblog all inspired me this year (especially during kinktober!)

10. Who is a new author you discovered?

literally everyone in this fandom! i obviously can't tag everyone, but people like @siobhanbooks, @hockeyspiral23, @pretty-pleaseee, @heartfeltletters-written, @shipmistress9, and @dbac2822 and so many others wrote some of my favorite fics!

11. Did you do any collaborations? How did it start?

i did not! maybe 2025 will be the year of that, who knows.

12. What accomplishments are you proudest of?

that i posted 89K and wrote 123k words. before this year, the most i'd ever written was probably around 3k words for papers, and i managed to blow that number out of the water within the first month of writing.

i also managed all of that while in grad school full time, especially this fall when i was taking something crazy like 20+ units, and i'm just really proud of myself for making time for this hobby that i love. (but it's no wonder i burned out for a bit towards the end of this year LOL).

also posting for kinktober! if anyone remembers my mini crash out in september, i was so, so nervous about posting smut. but @maethologies, @widebrimmedhatsblog, and @heartfeltletters-written were so encouraging when we were all preparing for kinktober, and i'm so glad i posted because writing smut is just so fun lol.

13. What did you learn about writing or creating this year?

writing is hard and it sucks and it can dredge up old emotions and open wounds you thought were healed, but it can also be wonderful and fun and make you feel happy and connect with others, which makes the trade-off worth it.

14. Any advice you’d like to share with new or aspiring writers?

that idea that's been hanging out in the back of your mind? i want you to open your notes app and just start typing, because you might just surprise yourself. writing those first words is one of the most terrifying things you'll do. posting those words is also terrifying. but there are plenty of people who will want to read what you have to say... you just have to take that leap.

also, you will be your biggest critic. it's very hard, but please don't get stuck in a cycle of negativity because it can kill your motivation. i promise that whatever the small voice in your head is saying about your writing isn't accurate.

15. What are your creative goals for 2025?

i want to finish AR, start properly working on suburban legends and reverence, and post some of the fics that have just been sitting in document purgatory. i also want to keep fleshing out my writing style and to improve my grammar knowledge (english is my native language but it's still hard!)

i also want to stop comparing myself to others! it's normal to feel envy and jealousy, but comparison really is the thief of joy, and i want to spend more time celebrating my writing accomplishments, rather than focusing on what i wish i had or the crazy things i want to achieve in the future.

and i want to read more!! a lot of my fic reading fell off towards the end of this year, so i want to make an effort to carve out time to read and comment on works and support other authors.

[honey-beann]

I'd Burn Every Soul I Knew (If I Thought the Fire Was Warming You)

rk boys (Nines, Connor, Sixty) x Reader

Chapter "Two" - Base Urges

Word Count: 2,002

Warnings: Smut (so obvious NSFW), extremely small mention of blood at the very end.

Once upon a time, your relationship with the boys had been strictly platonic, hell, in the beginning it had even been professional.

But it was hard to think back to that when Nines was looking down at you with such hungry eyes, his gaze so full of want that you never would have believed he could muster it just a few years prior.

Except he wasn't nearly as robotic now as he was back then, and you could feel the evidence of that fact hard against your inner thigh as you sat on his lap in the dimly lit extra room of your apartment that he had firmly dubbed his office space just weeks after you'd all moved in.

That was a very Nines thing to do, to witness an empty space and within it see an opportunity for production where others might see a place to put a family.

Or, at least, that was how he'd thought upon moving in.

And it wasn't as if a change of the mind would have made any difference.

An android was an android, and the only family he could ever have was you and the fools he called brothers.

Which suited him just fine, because in his mind, you were the only person, thing, idea, that would ever be worth loving.

He had no interest in anything else that might take up space in his cold mechanical heart.

So, here you sat, in an office room that for another family might have housed a child or hobby, looking up at Nines' familiar face as he stared down at you with eyes of molten silver, the air so tense you almost felt it might hurt to breathe.

Maybe that was why you had been holding your breath since you'd taken your seat.

Not that you'd noticed.

The android in question continued to look down at you, expression as emotionless as ever despite his eyes speaking volumes until finally, he placed his hand below your breasts, directly above where lungs rested within, and spoke.

"Breathe."

He ordered you, voice raspy as if his vocal chords were capable of being under utilized despite their inhuman nature.

You shivered at the sound, but did as he said, taking a deep breath in.

He watched in what almost appeared to be wonder as your chest expanded beneath his hand before contracting as you breathed out again, and he remained almost transfixed at the sight until finally, a gentle sigh of his name from your lips had him looking into your eyes once more.

You nearly gasped at the intensity held within his gaze, and his head tilted at the sight of your surprise before he removed his hand from your diaphragm only to bring it upward, using his thumb to pull your bottom lip down as he watched you intently.

"Did you need something, little one?"

He murmured, and you swallowed thickly before shaking your head,

"I just wanted to know what you were doing all alone in here. I miss you."

You whispered, only for him to hum softly before he nodded, pulling his hand away from your face.

"My apologies, I've just been looking into potential leads regarding your brother's case. This is all far too exhausting for you to keep up, and the pace the FBI are taking the investigation isn't nearly fast enough."

You frowned a bit but nodded nonetheless, blushing as you met his gaze again and found that same hunger there as before, still so prevalent despite your casual conversation.

You shifted uncomfortably atop his lap, and heard him groan in response, head falling back slightly against the headrest of his office chair as one of his hands moved to grip your right hip in an effort to still you.

Taking his insistence regarding your stillness as a sign of discomfort on his part, you apologized gently, only to be pinned down by his piercing gaze as he tutted and shook his head at your confusion, the hand that wasn't glued to your hip finding its way up to your face in order to cup your jaw oh so delicately in spite of the domineering way it forced you to continue looking into his eyes as he spoke.

"Oh no sweetling, don't mistake my restraint for pain,"

He began as he ran his thumb across your cheek,

"I'm just doing my very best not to give you a real reason to squirm for me."

He murmured, voice low and eyes almost seeming to glow in the dim light as you let out a helpless whimper, body suddenly far too warm.

"Please."

You begged without thinking, eyes falling shut as you leaned your head backwards ever so slightly,

"I-I want you to touch me."

Nines chuckled, a taunting and almost strained sound that had you shivering upon his strong thighs.

"Oh but little lamb, I am touching you, aren't I?"

He all but whispered, leaning down so his lips grazed the shell of your ear,

"Or did you want more?"

You nodded fervently in response to his question, nearly gasping for air as your hands clenched into fists in the space between the two of you.

"More, please more Nines I- Oh!"

You cried out as his hand slid beneath your panties, finger pressing harshly against your clit in a way that had you instantly bucking up against his hand, already desperate to feel any pleasure he was willing to give you.

Nines had been the first (and so far the only one) of the androids to touch you like this, always knowing what you wanted without you even needing to ask, and always so very eager to give it to you.

In his mind, it was all for you.

Or, at least that was how it had been at first.

In the beginning, your sexual pleasure had been all that he was after, the idea of relieving you of your tension having once made him feel like he was simply fulfilling his job of taking care of you.

But now things were different.

Now his mind raced when you whimpered beneath his touch, and his artificial heart hammered when you squirmed atop his thighs, and the feeling of your slick walls clenching around his fingers never failed to make him wonder what they might feel like around his-

At that thought, he snapped, years of built up want breaking him down in an instant as he continued to rub at your already swollen clit, his lips now pressing firmly against your ear as he spoke.

"It isn't right, you know?"

He all but snarled, bucking his hips upward into nothing as he hissed at the built up tension within him,

"The things I want to do with you, they aren't things I was ever supposed to want, not things I was ever supposed to feel."

He groaned as he bit down on your neck, causing you to cry out as he sucked a mark into the supple skin there, desperate to prove that he did not only belong to you, but that your relationship went both ways.

He was yours, and you...

"Mine"

He growled out as he stood, bringing you with him and turning you around until your torso was suddenly pressed up against his desk, allowing him to rub his still clothed erection against the soaked spot on your panties as you cried out for him relentlessly, mind delirious with the want, with the need to feel him inside of you for the very first time.

He smirked as you begged, using two of his fingers to push your panties to the side before he slowly pushed them inside of you, groaning as your warmth enveloped him.

You whined, high pitched and keening at the feeling, hips rocking backwards as you urged him to give you more.

He groaned, stretching you out around his digits as he continued whispering filthy things against your ear, reminding you in every single way he could that you were his, that you always had been and always would be.

It was then, at those very words interestingly enough, that you came around his fingers, walls clenching around them as you called out his name over and over again, voice laden with desire and choked with pleasure as your legs shook beneath you.

He watched you come apart in awe, barely resisting the urge to palm himself at the sight of your beautiful body falling into uncontrollable bliss all because of him.

He worked you through your orgasm gently, all too aware of how easy it would be to exhaust you far too thoroughly if he did otherwise, until finally he spun you around and sat you atop his desk, admiring the way you looked amongst the files there, chest heaving and pussy dripping as he peeled your panties off and shoved them into his pocket, smirking down at you as you watched him with extremely pink cheeks.

"So beautiful."

He murmured as he reached down to cup your cheek, bringing his lips to your forehead as you shivered once more at the sound of his voice, your eyes staring intensely into his own as you wiggled your hips tantalizingly atop his desk.

"I want you."

You whispered, voice still desperate and body absolutely tingling with need.

He smirked,

"You have me."

He corrected, watching as you pouted in response, whining as you raised your hips off of the sturdy wood and into the air, taunting him with just how close by you really were, and with just how ready your body was for him, how needy it was.

He groaned again, running a hand through his hair and over his face as he tried to retain the last vestiges of his control, his patience hanging on by a thread.

"I want you."

You repeated as you continued looking deep into his eyes, begging him to fall apart just once, to fall into you and let himself do this one thing he was not made for, to let himself commit a cardinal sin of a non-living thing, to claim the soul of another for himself, as if he had one he could ever give in return.

He shook beneath your gaze, struggling to maintain his facade of control as he looked at you through half lidded eyes and heavily mussed up hair.

"You will be the death of me."

He promised before he leaned in to capture your lips with his own, kissing you ever so briefly before he pulled back as if he'd been set ablaze, hands clenched into fists at his sides.

His body felt so unnaturally warm, and his mind felt flooded with burdensome desires he could not help but fear.

Was this what it felt like to be human? To crave someone's body as if it were some long missing part of you?

He far preferred the nothingness he had felt before to this seemingly endless and maddening pain.

He took a staggering step away from you, still staring, unable to come closer even as you reached out, worry etched into every single one of your oh so beautiful features.

He took another step away, and another, before finally he was able to open his mouth and speak the only words he could offer regarding his sudden reaction to your closeness.

"What have you done to me?"

He muttered in shock, looking down at his still clenched fists before he stormed out of the room and eventually the apartment as well, the door slamming behind him as you remained, naked below the waist atop his desk, until Connor came to find you, and you cried into his chest until the sun rose.

The next time you saw Nines, a bullet was ripping straight through his chest, and his blood was beginning to adorn your flesh.

masterlist

AO3

[hearts4renaa]

THE LAST TIME.

summary: the breaking point in your relationship. featuring kaeya.

w/c: 0.5k words

tw: alcoholism

a/n: ik i said i was gonna make the next one happy but i lied. sorry lol. listened to “the last time” by gary lightbody and taylor swift while writing

“Kaeya. Where the hell have you been?” Your voice is accusatory, your anger evident.

Kaeya stumbles into the living room. He reeks of alcohol. “Just…*hic* …out drinking. At Angels Share.” His words are slurred, throat scratchy. You sigh, running a hand through your hair. You were so tired. This is the fifth time within the past two weeks that Kaeya would disappear without a trace, then show up at the door of your shared house. And every time, he had drunk himself to oblivion.

It wasn’t unknown to you that Kaeya enjoyed drinking at a leisurely pace. However, his hobby became a problem soon enough. He missed dinner, dates, outings with friends. The sheer embarrassment of having to explain where Kaeya was when your friends asked was almost intolerable. Every time, you had to make up excuses for him. “He’s busy with work.” “He’s resting today, his training was harder than usual today.” “He was assigned to train new knights, he can’t make it.”

Today wasn’t any different. The two of you made plans with a group of friends to have dinner. Lo and behold, Kaeya went off drinking again. You didn’t even bother to show up yourself. You knew your friends weren’t stupid. Sooner or later, they’d become skeptical of Kaeya’s reasons for his absence. The last thing you needed was people to talk.

“I can’t do this…” You mutter under your breath. “I can’t be with you knowing that I’m not your first priority…” Your eyes begin to burn with tears, frustrated at the situation.

“Can’t do what, sweetheart?” He slurs, drunkenly swinging an arm around your shoulder. You shake him off you roughly, startling him. You take a few steps away from him, creating a rift between the two of you. But honestly, it feels as if the emotional rift was already there.

“Can’t do whatever this is with you, Kaeya.” Your voice is exasperated. “You said you’d do better. You said you’d show up tonight.”

“Huh?” Kaeya tilts his head in drunken confusion. “Show up for what?”

You swear you could feel your anger grow, and a few angry tears slip from your eyes. “By the Seven, Kaeya,” You raise your voice. “For dinner! Kaeya, you said you’d be better! You said you’d stop! I really can’t do this anymore.” You fumed. “I can’t…can’t do us.” You began to stride towards your master bedroom, hauling a backpack out of the closet and messily stuffing clothes inside.

Kaeya’s comprehension was still clouded by alcohol, he followed after you blindly, completely silent. You zipped up the bag and stared at him, acknowledging his silence. Your eyes are downcast as you remove the silver chain necklace he purchased for you. You set it on your once shared bed before leaving the bedroom. Before leaving the house. Before leaving him.

The door slams and suddenly it hits Kaeya all at once. He gently picks up the abandoned necklace, as if it was the most delicate thing in the world. He walks back to the living room, as if he was tracing your steps. He chuckles bitterly at the situation, sitting himself on the couch. “This always happens.” His voice is sad, crestfallen.

He reaches for the bottle.

[wanderingaldecaldo]

2025 Writing Resolutions

I'm not usually one for resolutions but I've been kicking around the idea of having some writing goals after the post I shared last week, and came up with a few that are feasible:

Finish the first draft for one (or both!) of the stories I started last year in new-to-me fandoms

Edit and post the Presidential PWP

Finish the DA:I Blackwall fic that's been 95% complete for years

Daily 15min sprint

Some personal musings about writing (and reading) and WIPs under the cut.

Last fall I lost my Cyberpunk hyperfixation but, after three years of nonstop Val and Mitch (and Rosalind) through VP and modding, it's been a boon to my writing, and once more I'm reminded why I love hate one of my oldest hobbies. I really wish I could reassure my younger self that actually, no, I'll never run out of things to write.

Over my tumblr break, I rewatched the whole Daniel Craig Bond series, all because I really wanted to watch Skyfall, my fave of the entire franchise. Something new happened this time around as I watched the films — Judi Dench and Daniel Craig's chemistry gripped me by the throat and wouldn't let go.

I'm not generally one to visit AO3 (or ff.net back in the day) after consuming a piece of media; I could list out the ones that have on two hands, and still have several fingers left over, even with including the new ones mentioned here.

This time, I was lucky to have found a ship with a backlog of fics to work through. For weeks I read fics, and rewatched their scenes ad nauseam, ever thankful I'd bought the 4-disc set and wasn't reliant having the correct streaming service. Eventually inspiration struck and I started what I thought would be a oneshot. But where there's a WIP there's always more ideas lurking around the corner, and suddenly the oneshot developed into two chapters, with the second spinning quickly into a third.

Over the course of a two-week head cold that knocked out all writing aspirations, I binged all of Ted Lasso and became enamored with the characters and themes, but especially the relationship between Ted and Rebecca. As I watched, I didn't know the status of the show; in fact I had assumed season 4 was in the works. :sad trombone: No slow burn for me. After I finished it, I wanted to rewatch it immediately but decided not to; I wanted to sit with it first, to let it digest. I really didn't think I'd reach the AO3 stage — usually it's like the proverbial bolt of lightning that strikes quickly — but this time, appropriately, it was the friends-to-lovers trope that I adore.

Again, I was lucky to find a veritable treasure trove of fics. I wasn't the only one who wanted more of those two, and again, I found myself inspired with an idea that was two lines of dialog and half a scene held together with spit and twine, and since then it's spaghettied into —yes, you guessed it — three chapters.

Neither of them are anywhere close to being shitty first drafts; they're hand-scratched pages written over consecutive nights where I wrote seven sentences, or maybe seven words or even paragraphs, before nodding off over the notebook. The 00M fic has 2k words transcribed, and that's just the first half of the first chapter, while the rest is mostly vibes and smut, and now there's a fourth chapter, because of course there is. The tedbecca has less than a quarter of that, but it's at least all transcribed now.

Enter Cyberpunk 2.2 and remaking Val and falling in love with this stupid kleptopunk streetrat all over again. Glory shared a "what AO3 tag are you" quiz and I got "only one bed" and said it was ironic since I'd never written one, and she jokingly (???) challenged me to change that. Welp, friends, my brain couldn't stop poking at that and now I have an idea for a new fic featuring fan fave "only one bed" trope, and also a fix-it, another first. Usually I am content to leave canon as is and play within the margins and behind-the-scenes of what we're given, though maybe I will add my own touch to scenes; but I always felt that Driss's death was cheap and easy to avoid. Maybe if we'd been given an actual RPG with real choices, it could have been, but that's a topic for a different rant.

And with the reignited love for Cyberpunk, plus the desire to mark things off my to-do list, I opened the Presidential PWP tonight when I was going through my folders, and my god, it happened — I'd forgotten it! I read a few paragraphs and decided I need to save the reread for another night when I can read it uninterrupted and take fresh notes on it. Probably should recruit a beta, too.

Another very long standing to-do is the Blackwall fic. I started it in maybe 2015, and worked on it off-and-on for a couple of years alongside a ME Shakarian/Shaeed love triangle (don't at me), trading off between them as the hyperfixations switched back and forth. The Blackwall fic is a true oneshot and has been waiting on an ending for for 6+ years now. It's literally 95% done, and I fucking adore it so much, and just need to Write It, and get that draft out the door (and maybe to a beta? idk, we'll see).

So that gets to the last resolution — this is the one that I know I'll fail in that I won't do it daily; I will miss days. But it's an aspirational goal, and I know firsthand how beneficial writing daily is, even if I only get a few words out of it. It still gets the ol' compost bin in my brain going in the background, churning all those ideas and thoughts into more WIPs.

I've also been thinking about the why. Writing is one of my oldest hobbies, following reading and video games. Returning to the Cyberpunk setting runs the risk of me picking up VP and modding again, newer hobbies that offer faster and more immediate feedback from other fans; hobbies that I know will cut into both my desire to write and my free time. By writing out my... writing resolutions, it will be easier to remember my priorities for the year.

Rat asked about our writing accomplishments in 2024. I answered that I wrote four new characters in two new-to-me fandoms, and that I let myself move from projects as did my interest without guilt. Now, it feels freeing to have four fandoms and a dozen stories to choose between when I want to write, but I will say the color-coded notebooks are getting hard to keep track of.

[nothing0fnothing]

My mums favorite hobby when I was very young was to instill an irrational fear inside me for days or weeks before exposing me to whatever she'd taught me to be afraid of all at once, in public, so she could bask in the chaos and play the long suffering, saintly mother.

One time, she did this to me with ice skating.

My mother one day, decided to start telling me "real" stories from her childhood about the dangers of ice skating; broken bones from failed tricks, frozen rug burns from being dragged across the ice, shards of ice stabbing eyes and blinding people, kids falling down and having their fingers sliced off as someone skated over them, people getting tangled up in the ice cleaner. Just some real fantastical Final Destination shit. I was nine and she was my mother so I believed these absolutely insane stories of hers, and had nightmares about horrific ice skating accidents for days. She would tell these stories casually, on the drive to school or while she made dinner, every few days for a few weeks. Always when I was alone. I'd listen intently and go wide eyed and ask questions she would gleefully respond with the most gorry and horrifying answers to. So in few weeks, guess what I was absolutely terrified of.. and guess where she surprised me with a super fun day out of?

She had planned with her friends to get us kids all together and all go ice skating. Obviously to everyone else, this sounded perfect. Kids love ice skating, we were kids, who would have a problem with that?

I begged my mum to please say I didn't have to go on the ice. Couldn't I just stay in the cafe with the grown ups and watch the other kids have fun? "No. We've paid all this money for you to skate so have fun like the normal kids and skate."

"Please" I begged. "I promise I'll be quiet and I won't listen to your conversation and I won't ask for tea or cola. Just don't make me go on the ice"

Sometimes she would have allowed it. She'd have sat across from me and spat the occasional hurtful comment my way to ensure we could both look a sorry sight and she could bask in the image that it was hard to be my mother. Not today though. Today, had more drama potential and my mum was milking it. Responding in cruel, unfeeling short responses to get me as upset as possible so the other grown ups would look over and see the small scene I was creating.

She dragged me to a bench, forced me into some skates a size too small, tight laced them painfully around my feet and practically shoved me into the rink.

I tried for a while. I gripped the side and tried to feel confident. And then I cried and hyperventilated on the ice until one of my mothers friends came and collected me.

He was a sweet man with two daughter's around my age who he adored. He reassuringly held my hand while I gripped the side of the rink with the other and at my pace, guided me off the ice. Once we were on solid ground he gave me a tissue to wipe my tears, gently helped me to take my skates off and sat me down with his wife while he bought me a cup of tea. I put four sugar cubes into it and ate three more. They asked me about my special interests and told me all about their gardening plans. Within minutes I was smiling and chatting happily. It meant a lot to me. I knew grown ups take their kids to these places to have some peace away from the kids, yet they'd gone out of their way to make me feel like they were friends.

My parents had actually told him to leave me on the ice. They told him I was throwing a tantrum because I wanted to go to the cinema instead, and in spite I was trying to ruin everyone elses fun. They said I was difficult and selfish and manipulative, and everything always had to go my way, that I would ruin the whole day for everyone if they indulged me, and to pay attention to me was to give me what I wanted. They painted me out to be some kind of tiny tyrant, effortlessly manipulating grown adults to my childish whims.

Some of the other adults clearly believed it. I could feel it in the nasty glances and sharp tones they took with me. They would ask me why I was crying and roll their eyes when I honestly answered that I was scared. I could see in the way they reacted to me, they were wondering what kind of kid was that scared of ice? Why would her mother lie?

I know why she did it. She liked to see me afraid and distressed yes, but she loved the sympathy even more. How sad for her, trapped in a home with a petulant bitch like me, willing to turn on the waterworks at an ice rink to ruin everyone's good day. How hard must it be for her, to be the mother of a nine year old with the manipulation skills of someone in their thirties. There was no sympathy left for me, she took it all.

Except on that day, when a very kind man decided to not believe her, and instead saw little me crying on the ice for what I was, a sad little girl who deserved a friend.

[yourlocaltreesimp]

vent below the cut

Sorry to drop this kind of suddenly, i’m going to be taking another brake. I’ll still be on the site, but life’s gotten progressively worse and I’m honestly just too tired. I’m too tired to write. I’m too tired to draw. I’m too tired to do anything but exist at the moment. won’t bother with the specifics, but i’ll probably be ok and returned within a week or so? the rest of this is gonna be a word vomit so, yeah. I’ve been having an unhealthy relationship with my writing. To me, if it’s not perfect or not loved by everyone, then it’s not a success. As you can probably imagine, i’ve burned myself out trying to get better and achieve some sense of pride for myself, but i’ve only been digging a grave. I’ve been suffocating myself within my hobbies and now socially too with my personal life. I’ve been cutting people off— some intentionally, most not so. I’m sorry if that’s the case. It’s gotten worse over the span of the past few months and no matter who i talk to is just seems like my problems aren’t serious because of the persona i’ve crafted for myself. I’m supposed to fix problems, not have them. And now that I do, people are cutting me out. I’m not worth it anymore. To them at least. I’m going to take a bit to steady myself, hopefully work through my problems and come back with a better approach.

[spiderpider]

can you hit us w some hcs for what the mercs do in their spare time maybe? :0

YES!!!! I'll put it under the cut because I'm gonna get elaborate

What Mercs do in their spare times!

Scout - Scout is really the only member of the team that isn't satisfied doing the same thing over and over again. He gets antsy fast- he's the first to suggest dumb excursions and the first to accept them. He loves visiting new places to scope out the best bars, and of course to set the world record in getting kicked out for flirting with the bartenders. Batting cages and running tracks are also high on his priority list! When he feels like spending a day at home, he'll pour over comic books, and maybe vandalize the base with scribbles and graffiti.

Soldier - Taking inspiration from his career as a tour guide, I think Soldier really likes visiting museums. Of course, he's an absolute nightmare to bring anywhere. He's enthusiastic, but Jane will explain just about anything, anywhere, ad nauseam. Go to a history museum? Soldier's gonna tell you how the was actually weaponizing raccoons and weapons made out of garbage. When he isn't terrorizing Teufort, he's probably at the base bossing everyone else around.

Pyro - Honestly probably setting forest fires. And stealing shit from campsites right before they set said fires. Teufort officials have yet to explain the rise of arson/robberies in the woodlands, but they're close. The current theory is a picnic-basket loving bear that just happens to have a penchant for arson. When they're not terrorizing campers, Pyro loves sewing! They make their own plushies, and they're getting pretty good at it!

Demoman - Weirdly enough, Demo loves going to the beach / desert to look for treasure. You can usually find him with a dingy old metal detector. It started off as a secret santa gift that blossomed into a genuine hobby! When he's at the base, he loves watching soaps on TV. Doesn't matter if it's the middle of a season, or something he's never seen before. He'll get really invested really quick. He's kind of a hopeless romantic. You'll usually see Demo, Medic and Spy surrounding the TV yelling at it.

Heavy - I think Heavy really does enjoy reading! That PHD in literature isn't just for show, he probably journals his thoughts and essays on the stuff he's read, too. Weather permitting, he'd like to sit outside and maybe even garden? Something calming and most importantly: quiet. His favorite things to garden are definitely hearty leafy-plants, and vegetables. He likes flowers, but they mess with his allergies. There's something extremely relaxing about being able to tend to-and protect- little baby-plants from the elements.

Engineer - Surprisingly enough, he likes fishing! On his days off he'll go down to the nearest lake, plop on the edge of the dock and fish for a few hours. He also loves solving puzzles, he routinely finishes the crossword before anyone even gets a chance to look at the daily paper. He's also the go-to repair man around the base (though he doesn't consider this much of a hobby, he has to admit that nothing feels better than solving problem, even if it is a leaky pipe.) He's dabbled in woodworking, too. Definitely has built a chair just for the heck of it.

Medic - The scientific pursuit of knowledge drives him- but you can't do science 24/7, even Medic would be burned out within a few years! He's definitely a workaholic, but when he's forced to have spare time, he really likes practicing the violin. He's one of those people that can pick up a hobby and won't set it down until he masters it (or, gets frustrated that he can't pick it up immediately and abandons it after about a week of work. There's a ton of half-knitted scarves shoved into drawers.) Taking care of his birds isn't exactly a hobby, but he does give them extra care and love when he has more spare time.

Sniper - Definitely going on hikes, hunting game and going on "vision quests". The dude is weird. He likes solitary activities, and rarely "hangs out" with anyone else. Really, really has a knack for taxidermy. He's one of those guys that doesn't try to go campy or kitschy with it though, thinks the little taxidermy squirrels in top hats are for serial killers and psychos. He sticks to trying to make them as realistic as possible, thinks it's way more respectful that way. He's spent more than a few weekends testing his wilderness survival abilities, too.

Spy - Honestly, it depends on his mood. He's definitely spent sour afternoons just smoking, drinking and reading his Dapper Cadaver magazines for hours on end. When he's not pouting, Spy is traveling. Anything to get out of a town made of 90% gravel. He likes visiting art museums, wine tasting, anything that he can brag about to the other Mercs. Secretly, though, he loves going to see B movies in theaters (obviously disguised). Cheap thrills are a guilty pleasure that he is incredibly embarrassed about.

[jalicefanficblog]

Request are open ~ main Blog ~

Masterlist 1.)

Hi everyone who landed on my Blog and Masterlist 1.)

I write for the following Fandoms: Hazbin Hotel, The Umbrella Academy, Horseland, , The Owl House, Money Heist (La casa de Papel), Jurassic World, Kim Possible, Fate the Winx Saga, Winx Club, Star Trek the next Generation, Star Trek Voyager, Squid Game

As I love to put Characters in the Parenting Role, i am ready to write Child Character Pov, Character x Reader, Fluff, AU, Family.

Also i am getting into writing Romantic Love, Drama, Angst, Comfort, Lost, Enemies to Lovers slowly so if your Request is getting in that Direction be patient with a Newbie ;-)

As Part of the LGBTQ Community i can try Writing Slash/ FemSlash Request Topics within the named Categories.

Currently my Hyperfixation goes at the Moment to Hazbin Hotel and i am getting into Helluva Boss as well - but to add some Sparkles into the Mix I am happy to take on Request in the named Fandoms :-)

Writing is and should stay a Hobby, so i write the Request neither when i have some time and motivation to do so, or if my busy Adult Life allows me a few Moments of connecting with my Laptop (we really could need VoxTex in our lifes ^^) - so to make myself as the Author of the finished work happy and the Person who sent in the Request, please be patient, it could take a few Days or Weeks or Months to get an Answer to your Request <3 :-)

Masterlist 1.

Hazin Hotel

Hush, my brave Excorcist Angel

Partying against any Resistance

Spooky Season for Beginners

Brownies

I'm a self-made runway queen

Hot Choclate 101

Chaggies Wedding Question

Sparkle, Glitter and Sneaking out

It´s always a good Time

Anger Issues

The Umbrella Academy

A Happy Ending

And with that...let´s drink some Shots Sis

Horseland

The Owl House

Jurassic World

The Caretaker

Money Heist/La casa de Papel

Plan: Safe the Choclate

Birds and Coffee con Leche

The little Apartment

Kim Possible

Just like a Circus

Once Upon a Time in a Laundry Salon

(Not) A Hero

What did you say? I don´t understand!

Cowboys & Rodeo Clowns

Caution: Hot and risk of burns

Fate the Winx Saga

The Fire Flower

Winx Club

Star Trek Voyager

Cotton Candy

Cooperation is better than competition

Star Trek: The next Generation

Carmen Sandiego

You just can’t beat the person who never gives up

Squid Game

Thats a damn time out for you!

Hesitant Courage