#but I’m getting and hopefully have gotten better and I’m learning more and more about yall and myself everyday

[animationismycomfort]

when your still striving to unlearn all your unintentional homophobia/transphobia

for yourself and others

[unoislazy]

Hello ! Sorry for my bad English, it's not my first language I do my best

First of all, I love how you write <3

Second, my request would be Hiccup getting jealous and confessing to fem!reader by accident

That's all !

Thanks for writing so well, I send you a little kiss

Hello!

Congrats you’re my first request!

I hope I could do your request justice, enjoy

Just Talk To Me!

Hiccup x Reader

Word Count: 2.8k words

Summary: You and Eret have gotten pretty close due to your constant fighting practice. Of course, a certain chief isn’t too happy about it but he has a bit of trouble trying to tell you why.

————————————————————

“You’re getting better at this!” Eret praised, ducking under your fist as you swung at him. He continued to dodge your strikes as you smiled.

You both had begun sparring together a few months ago, after the whole Dragon War fiasco. You realized that without your dragon, you weren’t as strong or as agile as the other Vikings, so you asked Eret to help you train.

You swept your foot under him, finally taking him down and putting your foot on his chest, signifying that you had one the fight.

“Have I gotten better, or have you just gotten worse?” You asked teasingly, taking your foot off of him as he smiled up at you.

You held out your hand to help him up. He obliged, taking it as he stood up once again, wiping off his clothes from that dust that truly didn’t even seem to be there.

“You’ve certainly made improvements since day one. I can tell you that.” He said, stretching a bit. “You could definitely do well even without your dragon, if you’d ever need to.” He continued, looking back at both of your dragons who were simply chilling off to the side, as they often did when you two fought.

“Hopefully there never comes a time.” You said in a lighthearted tone, but you truly hoped there would never be a time where you’d have to fair without your dragon.

“I second that. It’s funny, I never thought I’d ever change my ways when it came to dragons. Yet here I am, looking after this beast.” Eret joked, patting Skull Crushers head lightly causing the dragon to groan and slightly shake its head in response.

“Well I’m glad you had it in you to change, who knows maybe I would’ve taken you down myself.” You gloated sarcastically, walking towards the pair as Eret smiled back at you, acknowledging your joke.

“Yeah you wouldn’t have made it even close.” He let out a chuckle as he watched your teasing smirk turn to a pout. You knew his teasing was all in good fun but realistically if it had come to it you would’ve taken him out if you needed to.

“Just cause I’ve gotten better doesn’t mean I wasn’t skilled to begin with.” You reminded.

“Fair. Now how about best two out of three?” Eret asked, getting into a fighting stance which you very quickly mimicked. Just as you both were about to start fighting you had heard a very familiar growl come from above. Your head shot up towards the noise and you spotted none other than Hiccup Haddock, the chief of Berk, flying above you.

“Guess not.” You joked, no longer standing in a ready position as you turned to face the aforementioned chief who had landed not too far away from the both of you. Hiccup hopped off of Toothless with ease, slipping his helmet off in the process, and walked over to the two of you with Toothless close behind.

“Morning you two.” Hiccup greated, earning a nod of acknowledgement from the both of you. “What are you guys doing all the way out here?” He asked but you noticed it wasn’t in the sense of his usual curiosity. There was an underlying tone that you could quite put your finger on so you figured you were just simply thinking too much into it.

You hadn’t really thought about it but you suppose you and Eret were more or less in the middle of nowhere in the woods. It was the most quiet place the two of you could find to practice in peace without going to the Arena.

“Eret and I have been sparring, I figured I should eventually learn how, considering most of my strength comes from them.” You said, gesturing to your dragon who was sleeping peacefully only to be startled awake by Toothless patting them on the head. You couldn’t help but laugh a bit, Toothless always reminded you of a cat in a way, you found it adorable.

“Alone?” Hiccup asked, which honestly surprised the both of you. You looked towards hiccup in confusion only to see the shock he had on his own face. Clearly he didn’t mean to let it slip out but it was too late to take it back now.

“Well no… our dragons are here with us?” You stated but you were so confused about the reasoning behind Hiccups question that you couldn’t seem to phrase it as anything other than a question. You all fell silent as Hiccup swayed his arms in an awkward fashion, something he only does when he’s trying to avoid talking about something.

Eret looked between the two of you, realizing he had no part in the conversation he simply cleared his throat.

“I’ll just leave you two be, I have some… things to take care of..” He excused himself, quickly hopping onto Skullcrusher and exiting the awkward situation as quickly as possible. Once Eret had flown away you quickly turned back to Hiccup who was clearly avoiding even looking in your general direction.

“Spill it.” You said bluntly causing Hiccup to finally make eye contact with you. His face held a confused look but you both knew what you were talking about.

“I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.” Hiccup said, again clearly avoiding the topic as he walked over to Toothless. “Have you seen the new addition I added to Toothless’s tail?” It was clear he was trying to think of anything to change the subject because obviously there was nothing different about Toothless’s tail and you both knew that.

You crossed your arms as you stared at the brunette before you, your face holding an expression that clearly said ‘seriously?’. He dropped Toothless’s tail with a sigh before getting up and walking towards you. Silence quickly swept over the two of you as you continued to wait for Hiccup to say something. You raised an eyebrow at him before he blurted out,

“Have you seen the new scale armor?”, giving one more quick shot to derail the conversation.

“Hiccup.” You said quite sternly. “Spill it.” You repeated, your arms still crossed over your chest as you watched the man nervously fidget. He may be the chief but he still held some of his nervous quirks. Sure he had the ability to look powerful and calm when his people needed their chief, but when he wasn’t the ‘Chief of Berk’ he was just Hiccup.

Just Hiccup.

And you’d be damned if you said you didn’t love him. Ever since you met hiccup you knew he always tried to meet everyone’s expectations only to have a long history of falling short. Hiccup as he was was always overlooked, everyone looked to him to be ‘the Chiefs son’ the ‘next chief of Berk’ and the one he really struggled with, was ‘Stoick’s son’. No one ever truly looked at him as just Hiccup.

Well everyone except you.

You liked him from the very beginning when he was just a scrawny boy obsessed with earning his fathers approval. Did you have the courage to say anything about the way you felt? No of course not, why would you? As much as you loved to see him as ‘Just Hiccup’ you couldn’t deny the fact that he was still pretty far out of your league, especially given his title of ‘The Dragon Master’. What title did you have? Nothing.

Well you had the title of being one of his closest friends so you stuck with that as being enough for you.

“I just don’t think you and Eret should be so far away while training.” He finally spoke up. It was clear he was still keeping something from you but at least he gave you something to work with.

“Why?” You asked, trying to nudge more out of him. He put his hands on his hips. As he began to pace slowly in a circle.

“I don’t know, I just think it would be safer if you-“ Hiccup began only for you to cut him off.

“Hiccup we have two dragons here, one of them being Skull Crusher. I’d say it’s pretty safe to say nothings going to attack us out here.” You argued, now mimicking his pose with your hands on your hips.

“Well still I just don’t like the idea of you guys being alone.” He said, looking up at you. You rolled your eyes in response,

“Hiccup I already said, we’re here with the dragons. We’re not alone.” You stated as if it wasn’t getting through his head. It hadn’t even occurred to you that he was trying to hint at a different concern and you were missing the point entirely.

Your response only caused Hiccup to groan as his hand shot up to his face. He dragged his hands down his face as he turned around, now facing Toothless who simply looked at his friend in utter confusion. The dragon looked from you, then to Hiccup, then back to you. You simply shook your head with a shrug of your shoulders before Toothless walked away, deeming him your problem.

“Hiccup I don't understand why this is such a big issue to you, we used to be in the woods alone all the time together. You didn’t seem to have a problem with it then.” You stated quite bluntly.

“That was different!” He shouted. His face had ever so slightly turned the faintest hint of red, but it was still enough for you to notice. He seemed almost exasperated as you continued to swim around the very vague point that he was failing to get at.

“How was it any different than what me and Eret are doing? If anything it’s safer now because we’re both adults. Granted we did have a Night Fury with us back then…” You began to mumble to yourself, accidentally going off topic. Hiccup sighed, walking up to you and grabbing you by your shoulders. He was stern but still managed to be gentle as he forced you to look at him.

“I can’t control what you do or who you spend your time with, but I just don’t like that you and Eret spend so much time together, so far outside of the village, alone…” Hiccup said, practically laying it all out for you.

“Hiccup?”

“Yeah?”

“We’re not alone.”

Hiccup merely stared at you, eyes wide in shock as he tried to calculate your intelligence in that split second. He practically spelled it out for you and you still weren’t getting it.

What hadn’t occurred to him however, was that you had already caught on, you were just trying to get him to admit it himself. Granted, you had just caught on maybe seconds before, but you still thought it might be fun to mess with him a little. Besides, who were you to make the assumption that the Chief of Berk himself was jealous that you were spending time with another man. It could be considered a reach… Unless he just said it himself.

“Why don’t you want me to be alone with him so badly?” You asked, figuring you should try and at least break the loop that you two seemed to be stuck in.

“Because…” Hiccup began, trying to think of a way to phrase what he wanted to say. You waited patiently, just looking at him and occasionally switching your gaze over to the dragons who were chasing each other around.

“Because?” You repeated, waiting for his response. His green eyes staring back into yours. They looked almost as if they were trembling as they bounced between the features on your face.

“Why is it so hard to talk to you?” He shouted abruptly, quickly letting go of your shoulders and flung his arms into the air with an exasperated groan.

“If it was easier for you to tell me about the dragon you were keeping hidden from a village filled with bloodthirsty, war hungry Vikings, I’ m almost afraid of whatever this could possibly be.” You joked, trying to lighten his mood.

“It’s not the same thing.” He muttered in response as you laughed.

“How could anything you have to tell me be worse than that?” Hiccup sighed in response as he went back to pacing. Clearly it was his way of thinking about what to do next. It wasn’t a trait he often exhibited but you knew once he started pacing, whatever he was thinking about was pretty serious.

“It’s not about what I have to tell you, it’s about your response.” He finally said, you rolled your eyes lightheartedly. You’ve known this man for years, and in those years you’ve learned countless embarrassing facts about him that he had less of a problem about you knowing than ‘whatever he had to tell you’.

“What does my response have to do with anything? Hiccup, anything you have to tell me won't change anything.” You stated with a laugh as you tried to comfort him. You almost started to second guess what you thought he was going to tell you. If he was truly this worried about what he was going to say maybe it was actually a very serious matter?

“Ha, yeah you say that now.” He laughed sarcastically, quickly looking up at you before returning to his pacing.

“Hiccup, I'm serious.”

“So am I.”

If there’s one thing about Hiccup it was his stubbornness. Anyone would just shrug that off as a Viking thing but you knew if anything, it came from his father. As much as Hiccup would deny being able to compare to his father, he shared many similar traits with him. You knew it, his mother knew it, even Gobber knew it, but he frequently denied it.

Stubborn.

“Why are you so concerned about me and Eret in the first place?” You decided to bring up the last topic, because if he wasn’t going to get to the point, you were.

“Because…” He muttered quietly in response as if he was holding something back.

“Because what hiccup? Seriously, I know you have an issue with communication sometimes but you can't just keep dancing around the issue here-“ You rambled a bit but before you could continue, Hiccup interrupted you.

“Because I have feelings for you!” He blurted out suddenly.

You both froze. He turned away from you as you simply stared at him. He finally said it, he actually really said it.

“Hiccup…” You muttered quietly.

He didn’t move. He didn’t want to move. The last thing he wanted right now was to turn around and have to face the potential of rejection.

“Hiccup.” You called out again, walking towards him and lightly placing your hand on his shoulder. He finally turned towards you slightly, but he still refused to face you all the way. “You’re serious?” You asked, to which he simply looked at you with confusion.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“At least one of us finally admitted to it.” You joked. For some reason Hiccup had registered that you were making a joke, but not necessarily what you were joking about.

“Yeah okay, go on, laugh it out- wait.” Hiccup quickly turned back to you. You nodded with a smile, confirming his suspicion as he clearly thought he had misheard you.

“Wait but- for how long?” He asked excitedly, almost as if he didn’t believe you. “Oh this is great! I thought you were going to hate me for even saying anything about it, but you’re not! You feel the same-“ He cheered, slightly beginning to ramble as all of his previous anxiety seemed to just melt away.

You smiled as you watched him celebrate before quickly planting a quick kiss on his cheek.

The man froze before you, clearly not expecting even such a small act of affection. You never knew him to be entirely bold, you always saw him as a very awkward man, but you watched as the awkwardness practically jumped out a window for a split second or so as Hiccup grabbed you by the waist and pulled you closer to him.

He was the last person you’d expect such a smooth act to come from, and honestly you didn’t mind it. His eyes drifted from yours to your lips in a matter of seconds as if he was silently asking for your approval, to which you nodded.

Before you knew it you were kissing the literal man of your dreams.

It was wonderful.

It was a very soft kiss, the perfect kind to be shared for the first time.

Once you pulled away you looked to hiccup before dramatically gasping.

“What? What is it?” Hiccup asked, panicking that he had done something wrong.

“Does that mean… you were jealous of Eret?” You asked with a joking smile.

“Oh come on- really?” Hiccup said, jokingly pushing you away with a laugh.

Safe to say you never let him live this moment down, and much to his dismay you had excitedly told your friends about it not too long after.

[ennabear]

vampire!ellie

synopsis: you met ellie in your university’s ancient library, you were just trying to study and ellie couldn’t help but talk to you. it drove her crazy, the scent of your blood. usually, she didn’t even notice the scent on others. she was so used to it that it didn’t bother her anymore. but you were different, sweeter.

cw: kinda like a mix between tlou and twilight, mentions of witchcraft and hanging, vampire!abby being a ladykiller literally, papa vampire!joel, mama vampire!tess, newlyweds vampire!jesse and dina, dina’s transformation, lotsssss of backstory like i seriously couldn’t stop myself from yapping. not proofread sorry :((((((

a/n: i’m definitely gonna make a series out of this. sorry if this is wayyy too long but i have a special place in my heart for vamp!ellie and her sweet vampire family. ok that’s all ily thanks for reading.

wc: 2.2k

you shouldn’t be walking alone at night, really. campus was a sketchy place. a plethora of bad things could happen. you could get kidnapped, jumped, pickpocketed, or, hell, even bitten by a vampire.

the library had the same scent it always did. it smelled like dust and paper. in all honesty, you didn’t prefer it here. although it was beautiful, tall windows lined with stained glass, large bookshelves with every book you’d ever want, every word you could imagine and more, it was just so eerie. something bad was bound to happen here.

anyways, you settled down at the table in the corner. the one farthest away from anyone else. you’d rather be at home right now, studying in bed. it’s only because your roommate invited her stupid boyfriend over that you ended up here. it’s for the better anyway, though, because in bed you wouldn’t get anything done. you’d be too distracted.

you had your priorities written on your palm, the pen now smudged, making it barely readable. writing on your palm was easier, more convenient than a post-it note. but you wrote it down on paper anyways, incase you sweated more of it off before you finished. it wasn’t likely you would, though. the library was freezing, especially in the winter.

the clack of your fingers typing in your laptop password was the only thing to be heard. everyone else was dead silent. this was probably the only thing you liked about the library, everybody agreed on an unspoken rule, make the least amount of noise possible. you got started with completing your essay after shuffling your playlist, determined to finish by the end of the night.

that’s when she saw you.

or, smelled you? your scent was so strong, it hit ellie hard. her vision went dark and splotchy, and she had to grip onto the table for support. her pearly white hands making a dent in the table with how hard she was holding.

you had to be her next meal. she had to find some way to get you alone and suck your veins dry. it scared her, the thoughts she was having. her intentions weren’t to murder you, but she was starving now. you had unknowingly gotten her high on your scent.

she didn’t even know where you were. were you outside? down the hall? in the library? fuck, right next to her? her head was hurting now, really, really badly. but she needed you even worse.

picking up a random book, she used the most brainpower she could to sniff you out. then, she really saw you. headphones in your ears, your hands typing away at something that won’t even matter soon. soon, she’ll have your body in her arms, hopefully in the comfort of her own home. your neck dripping a puddle on the floor as she relentlessly drank from you, your skin growing cold and your lips turning purple.

her docs made silent footsteps across the floor as she walked toward you. this was something ellie learned to master, silence. especially when she went into hunting mode. nobody looked at her as she expertly dodged the creaks in the old wooden floor. nobody saw her coming. especially you. you never saw ellie williams coming.

“hey, is it okay if i sit here?”

“….sorry, what was that?” you scrambled to pause your music.

“can i sit here?”

“oh. yeah, sure. go ahead.”

you went back to typing, not continuing your music incase she wanted to talk. you really hoped she didn’t. you needed to finish your essay. and you weren’t much of a people person either.

“what are you writing?” she asked.

“just an essay, nothing interesting.”

“oh, cool.”

she started reading the book she picked up before sniffing you out. she didn’t bother to look at the title. or read any of the words either. really, she was just staring at it, her mind racing. she needed to come up with something interesting, something to make you like her.

while she stared at the words, you couldn’t help but stare at her. your fingers came to a complete stop as you admired this stranger across from you. she didn’t even introduce herself, how strange. her hair was a dark brown, her eyes black. her face was incredibly smooth. skin paler than ever, she looked as if she was a marble statue, like she belonged in a museum.

and she was reading twilight, of all books. although, you liked the book, it seemed ironic for her, like she was too mature for it. this beautiful stranger was sitting across from you, her eyebrows pulled together in frustration while she chewed on the inside of her cheek. she seemed furious at something, but at the same time, hard to read.

you were almost scared of her, but intrigued above all else.

“do you like that book?” you asked.

“twilight? yeah. it’s okay. i’ve read it a few times.”

“hmm. it’s a classic.”

“it’s not bad. but i’ve read a lot of books. this one doesn’t come close to the others.”

“so you read a lot? how come i’ve never seen you before?”

“i’m usually hiding. i don’t prefer to engage with others if i can help it.”

“yeah, that explains it.”

she got lucky. thank god, if there even is one, that she grabbed a book you knew about. that you started a conversation with her. she thought it was the most stupid book on earth. it was filth, pure mormon fanfiction. and it was completely wrong.

“why are you here so late? it’s almost midnight.” you asked.

“i could ask you the same question.” she responded.

“i have a lot of work i’ve been procrastinating on. if i could choose, i’d be at home. but my roommate’s boyfriend is there and i can’t stand being in the same building as them.”

“i don’t really know why i’m here. i just like to meet new people i guess.”

“i thought you didn’t like talking to people.”

“that’s different. you’re different.”

“how so? you don’t know who i am, and i don’t even know your name.”

she stared at you blankly. you had her trapped. she suddenly realized that maybe you were harder to get than she expected. maybe you wanted to play this game.

“i’m ellie. it’s short for elizabeth but i hate that name. it’s too common, i’m sick of hearing it.”

“elizabeth is beautiful.”

“thanks. you sound like my parents.”

lie. she didn’t know her parents anymore. they had abandoned her hundreds of years ago after suspecting she was a witch because she refused to get married to a man at only seventeen. after a few years, she was hung.

it wasn’t until her new father, joel, took up an investigation of what happened to poor elizabeth. he ended up traveling to their old village and finding her grave after tracing her obituary back to a newspaper published in 1579.

shed been dead for years. joel was the one who brought her back to life. he injected his venom into her long rotten arms and took her in for the seven years it took for her to come back fully. he saved her. he taught her how to walk, how to speak, how to hunt. joel miller was her new father.

joel used to be a police officer. in 1712, he ran into a poor woman, bleeding and begging for his help. claiming that her husband had turned to satan and was now possessed. the woman had been bitten, she eventually would turn into ellie’s mother, tess. joel got bitten too. all three of them spent the next years as newborns in that small cabin, feasting on whoever was unfortunate enough to wander by.

the woman’s husband didn’t survive. he was caught by a clan of christians and burned alive, leaving just joel and tess, who couldn’t help but fall in love. they adopted more kids before and after ellie too.

abigail was the first. she was living alone in the appalachian mountains, feasting on whoever wandered after sundown. leading poor girls, desperate for a good time, into her bed and then eating them whole. abigail often hung out at lesbian bars. the girls who went home with her never came back. a bartender joked with her about this once, the bartender didn’t come back, either.

joel heard about abigail through the only other coven that lived in washington. they said she was a monster, a relentless murderer trapped in a goddesses body. that she could hold the whole world on her shoulders but couldn’t refrain from eating innocent girls who were cheating on their husbands.

abby and ellie were never really good friends, but they tried. abby preferred to keep to herself. usually either reading or climbing a mountain with her bare hands. and she refused to find a long-term lover. ellie was almost the opposite. she preferred more modern things, like making music and fast cars. and she loved to flirt with girls.

jesse came after ellie. he was born more recently, in 1878. he was dying of a disease nobody knew about. they didn’t have the right knowledge or technology to save him, so they quarantined him in a hospital room until he died. he didn’t, though. joel saved his life. the hospital staff were horrified after seeing the blood stained floor, the splatters over the walls, and more importantly, the fact that jesse’s body was nowhere to be found.

jesse had a wife now, named dina. she met him in 1983 at a prestigious fashion school. jesse had already been to tons of colleges. neither of them aged. they never changed. they were all trapped. after studying medicine, law, physics, engineering, and marketing, he wanted a change.

that’s when he met dina. she was a beautiful woman, deep tan skin, dark eyes, long black hair and eyelashes. and she had such a knack for fashion. jesse was in love, it took him a long while before he came clean to dina about who he was. she was so in love with him too, she didn’t mind it, and she certainly wasn’t scared. dina was never scared of anything.

so they got married. and the night after their wedding, they flew to a private island joel owned for their “honeymoon”. aka, dina’s transformation. they were gone for almost three years. jesse kept a journal of everything that happened to her.

july 12, 1989. i did it. i held her so gently in my arms and sank my teeth into her neck. she was screaming, i know she was in pain, but she’ll never admit it. before she fell asleep, i drank a few of her tears and then closed her eyes. she’ll be twenty six for the rest of her life, until the earth stops spinning. i hope she can forgive me.

december 31, 1989. joel, i got your letter. she’s been doing okay. i can’t stop looking at her, her perfect curves and her deep brown hair. i think it was for the better that i took her dress off before we started, she designed it, it was so beautiful. i know she’d get upset about the red staining the expensive white satin. it’s still here, waiting for her. the year is about to end, we still have quite a few months until she awakes. i’m scared. not of her, of myself. am i a murderer? did i, a cold-blooded demon, destroy a perfect, innocent life? will she remember me?

august 27, 1990. it’s been over a year. nothing, but i know it’s coming. i’ve been holding her head on my lap, stroking her hair. i haven’t moved from this position in three months. she is so beautiful. i redressed her in the outfit she designed for this occasion, it suits her well. a part of me regrets this decision. i wish i could grow old with her, maybe have kids someday. sit on the porch while or grandchildren play in the yard. her eyes wrinkling with the smile she always flashes me. this will never happen. it’s just a dream.

november 16, 1990. she is awake. so much screaming. she’s in pain. won’t even look at me. she is thirsty. will bring her some bird blood to quench her thirst.

november 21, 1990. she only sits and stares at a wall, rocking back and forth. her eyes are white now. don’t know if she is okay. or if she will survive. her throat burns. if she goes, i go.

february, 1991. don’t know what day it is, she has calmed down. she didn’t remember anything at first. not me, not her name, nothing. she remembers now, though. hopefully we can come home this year. i still don’t know if i trust her enough around people. if she is caught, she’ll be burned. if she goes, i go.

may 18, 1991. traveled to a near by island. i taught her how to swim, she loves it. she’s so surprised that she can hold her breath infinitely. she is so beautiful, it’s like falling in love with her all over again. there were people at the island, it was a small village. they were kind, but we had to leave early. i don’t want to push her limits, but she did exceptionally well.

october 4, 1991. on our way home. starting this life forever with her. i hope she can forgive me.

[foreverisntenough]

i would love a cute blurb about teddy’s first day at nursery school 🥹🥹🤍🤍

Hi <3 I know you asked this ages ago but I was on holiday and then took a minute to write but Ta Da! for youuuu! I loved this idea so tysm for messaging. I hope you like it!

--------- My tiny one shot below for you 🤍

'Brave for Dada' - 1.5k words |

↳ It was an emotional first day of nursery school for Trent and your daughter, Teddy.

Other ForeverIsntEnough One Shots

---------

“Mama no.” Teddy sobbed as you got her dressed for her first day of nursery school. To say that she was not excited would be an understatement. “Don’t wanna go any more, tay? No tanks, mama. Wanna be with you.” She hiccuped while you slicked her hair back with a bristle brush tight into a low bun. Despite her pleas, you got her in some white Dior trousers, a navy Dior cable knit jumper, white and navy Golden Goose velcro trainers, a Stoney Clover backpack, one of many you had but this color matched her look for the day with her ‘TAA’ initials on it. As a special little surprise you had gotten her royal blue Burberry keychain that was bear wrapped in a blanket. She, as expected, thought it was adorable. It made her smile momentarily through her tears as you helped her clip it on the bag. 

“Daddy, want to come see our little Teddy bear all ready for school?” You cooed for Trent who was currently in your room to come to hers to see her all dressed ready to go. Tears still rolling. She stood there sniffling but she looked adorable. 

“Look at my gorgeous big girl! You look so beautiful, baby. I love your outfit! Did you help mummy pick it out?” He asked her. Teddy nodded. She was being particularly quiet today given her nerves.

“Are you going to be a big girl and go to school, baby bear?” Trent cooed once you got her downstairs. Teddy clung to him in the foyer at your front door. “You’re my brave girl, yeah? I know you’ll have the most fun and you have to promise the second I come home from training you have to tell me all the fun things you did, okays?” He squatted down to her level. Her hands wrapped around his neck as his big hand rubbed up and down her back consoling her.

“Tay, dada. Can you come with mes?” She sniffled through her words. The tears that had been falling all morning continued. He wiped a few escapees off her cheeks and kissed her frowny pout. 

“Oh baby, I wish I could. Daddy’s got training. It's just like school but for footie. Did you know that?” He asked her and she shook her head no. “Yeah, Ted. I get nervous sometimes too but I go and I get to meet new friends and learn all sorts of new things, I get snacks, and the best part is that when I’m done having fun there I get to come be with you and mummy right after! But you know why your school is even better?” Teddy gave him a still hesitant shake of the head ‘no’ but this time not as stern, she wasn’t completely rejecting his persuasion. “I don’t get to look as pretty as my baby bear does. You look like the most beautiful girl in the whole world. Prettiest girl in the whole school and the bravest too. So promise me you’ll at least try and be brave for dada, okay?." Teddy's bottom lip quivered. "If you get nervous that's okay too, sweetheart but know daddy does sometimes too. You can do it. Mummy and I believe in you so much and you should too. Pinky promise you’ll try?” He sympathetically smiled at her sticking his much larger hand out. She sheepishly raised her hand and interlocked her tiny pinky around his promising. He kissed her little pout. “I almost forget, Ted!” Trent yelped. He hadn't; he just wanted one last thing to hopefully make her smile before he had to get out the door. “I know you’re a tiny nervous, baby and you know how you’re our little bear right? Well, daddy got you a little something so in case you start to miss mummy and daddy when you’re at school to make you smile. Can I put it on you?” He gently spoke to her. You sat yourself on the hardwood floor next to them. She nodded through tears. He clasped a small gold charm bracelet with three enamel teddy bears on it around her tiny wrist. “How many bears are there? Can you count?” Trent smiled. 

“One, twos, and erm, three, dada.” She smiled identically mirroring his. It was stupidly ornate to send a child with jewelry of that caliber to school but that was Trent’s way.

 “Good girl! So it’s just like us three, okay? You will have mummy and I with you the whole time. I’m so proud of you. I love you, baby.” He kissed her forehead and stood up. 

“Mama look! Bringing dada and mama bears to school with mes!” Teddy excitedly told you, shoving her bracelet clad wrist in your face. Naively unaware she was sporting a comfortable three thousand pound piece of jewelry to nursery school.

“Wow, that’s so special! Daddy must love you a whole lot.” You smiled as you kissed over the bracelet three times. “And mummy does too.” You kissed her nose pulling her down into a hug. 

“Mama!” Teddy sobbed, breaking free from the school teacher who was holding her hand on the pavement. She sprinted to you. You crouched down and wrapped her in the tightest embrace feeling like you wanted to cry just like she was. 

“Hi my big girl! I missed you so much.” You cooed, kissing her hair as she clung to you crying more. You stood up keeping Teddy in your arms. You smiled at the teacher who handed her little backpack over to you.

“She’s tired but we had a good day. Lots to show your mummy, huh?” The kind woman gently asked Teddy, rubbing her arm tenderly. She had packed away plenty of drawing’s and little things Teddy had done during the day into her bag for you.

“Want mama.” Teddy continued to wail. It was breaking your heart to see her so upset but you kind of anticipated this. It wasn't exactly a secret that she was fairly attached to you. 

“I’m right here. Mummy’s got you. I think you're just tired, huh? Almost time for our nap, yeah?” You cooed attempting to soothe her but very aware that it was about 15 minutes till when she typically went down for a nap which was likely fueling this emotional reunion. “I bet you had so much fun though so you have to tell me all about it on the way home.”  You kissed her forehead. 

“Nooo mummy.” She sniffled, wrapping her arms even tighter around your neck.  

“Okay, okay. How about we call daddy in the car. Will you tell him?” You asked her and she hiccuped in a breath almost forgetting what she was sad about by the idea of getting to talk to Trent. You mouthed a ‘thank you’ to the teacher who nodded unphased by probably the umpteenth toddler she had handed over crying this afternoon after the first day of nursery school came to a close. Teddy began to calm a little bit. “Yeah? I know he can’t wait to hear about your first day. Daddy and I are so proud of you. Let's go, my Teddy girl.” You bounced her on your hip walking back to your car, kissing her temple. To your dismay when you called Trent, he didn’t answer. You roughly knew his schedule so you decided that even though the sniffly little girl in your backseat whose eyes were fighting to stay open you’d take a different route home. “Come on.” You grunted picking a sleepy Teddy up out of her carseat. “Do you see where we are?” You smiled putting Teddy down onto the ground before you  extended your hand for her to hold as she inspected her surroundings. You watched her get more and more excited as you walked through the car park and in through the big doors, down the corridor and back outside into the bright sun on the other side of the building. 

“My dada!” Teddy squealed, pointing her arm through the fence out to the pitch at AXA where Trent had already spotted her and had begun to run over to you. 

“Is that my brave baby bear?” Trent cooed, immediately scooping Teddy up and lifting her up over the fence. She started to cry clinging to him like she did to you before. “Didn’t know that my beautiful girls were coming here.” Trent smiled, kissing Teddy’s forehead, running his hand over her hair before he leaned over the fence to kiss you. 

“We needed to see daddy right after school, huh? Just couldn’t wait.”  You laughed a little seeing Teddy smush herself against him. You cupped Trent’s slightly sweaty cheek stoking your thumb over his glowing skin. 

“I couldn’t wait to see my baby bear either. Want to come play some some footie with me?” Trent kissed the inside of your wrist as he asked Teddy. His training was done. It was a rehabilitation day for him anyway but instead of calling it he’d spend the next hour chasing after Teddy as you sat on the side of the pitch. You were relieved to see Teddy giggling away again as opposed to crying but you sighed remembering you had to do it all again tomorrow. 

⇨ Read other ForeverIsntEnough work here!

[sirenesolace]

★Solar Return Chart Prediction★

☆★ !! — — — — — — — ੭ 🐚

☆★ !! — — — — — — — ੭ 🌊

Prediction 1: I’m getting a job🥳 maybe even a modeling job!

Sun + Jupiter in the 8th, Pluto in the 2nd PLUS at a 2°. Modeling is a gamble but I’m going to assume it’s a modeling job because of Mars in the 10th (house of career), and Venus conjunct fama😭 I definitely will have a job that highlights my personality though

Prediction 2: I’m traveling or learning a new language!!

I said travel because I’m currently manifesting going to somewhere in Europe or even Brazil next year🤭 and because Sagittarius is my ascendant, I KNOW it will happen. Learning a new language because Mercury is in my 9th house and because of my Sagittarius ascendant! I’ve been telling myself to go back to learning Spanish and I’m currently learning Italian so that prediction is actually not too far off.

Prediction 3: Being more active on social media and getting A LOT more social media engagement+followers; Also being more popular

11th house ruler (Venus) conjunct Fama and Uranus (3rd house ruler)😮‍💨 I just moved to a new city and I’ve been getting so much positive attention drawn to me :D!! People (no matter the age) literally walk up to me and compliment me 🥹💕 Also glow up?? Ascendant ruler (Jupiter) trine Bella at 0°

Prediction 4: Being more spiritually inclined

My ascendant sign (Scorpio rising) is in the 12th house and my sun is in the 8th. This year I was so into manifestation, and law of assumption. I’ve gotten crazy good at it, and I think this year I’m getting even better at it. Unstoppable even.

︶︶꒷︶꒷꒦︶︶꒷꒦. 🌸

Alright, that’s all folks!! If you guys have any predictions for me, I’d love to hear it in the comments!! Hopefully we get to see more posts like this because it really helps to learn more about solar return charts ☺️💕

Should I post my 2023 solar return chart and see how many predictions I got right?? 2024 solar return chart isn’t over until June 2025 for me; but so far a lot of my predictions have come true.

[vesseloflukola]

Hello fellow Lukola shippers! I am here to tell you how I arrived on this ship, and offer you my, hopefully calm thoughts on how I continue to stay on this ship, continually unbothered.

I have loved Bridgerton from the first time I watched it back in 2020. I loved Colin, and especially Pen, from the very beginning. I read all of the books after watching that season and particularly fell in love with 2 of the books. I don’t have the energy at this time to talk about the second book I loved, so let’s concentrate on the first one, shall we? It was Colin and Pen’s story, of course. So, of course, I was delighted when I found out that their season would be moved up to season 3.

Now, I admit, as much as I loved the characters, and thought the actors were well cast, I was not truly excited until right before season 3 was released. Nicola and Luke’s names did not regularly roll off of my tongue as they do now. However, I was excited for the release of the first half of season 3 and started seeing TikTok video’s of them.

What was this? A world tour? With amazing interviews? How on earth did I not know that they had to REPRESS their chemistry!?! What? Wait! These two amazing people who can’t keep their hands to themselves and can’t keep their eyes from wandering are not somehow having a torrid love affair?

Well, I was a goner from that point on. My days were no longer my own. I absolutely HAD to find and watch every single video I had missed from every stop on the world tour so far. I had to know their back story. I had to find every picture I could. You would have thought it was my job to know everything I could about them. I learned a lot. Then I had to wait with everybody else for new interviews and new pictures to come out. It was hard being caught up, but then I could find out what the fans were talking about.

I truly believe that Nic and Luke love each other. They showed that love on the WT. They were both completely unhinged at times, and I loved every second of it. I also believe (based on his detailed memory from their first meeting) that Luke was drawn to Nic from the moment they first met and I think her feelings for him grew over time as they got to know each other better.

I know Luke had something with Antonia. I have personally been calling it a situationship. Obviously I don’t know any of these individuals, but from what we have been shown (by Luke in this case), it was completely casual. We have seen how he has been with past girlfriends and we have seen how he has been with Nic. In all cases he has been protective, warm, and happy around them. I have not seen a single picture (or video)of he and Antonia where he is any of those things. In fact, the few glimpses we have gotten of them together (especially the pap walk), he looked pretty miserable, or in some cases ambivalent at best. I am pretty positive he has not seen her since the Italy trip for his friend Rory’s birthday. I also think she is a true pest who wants everyone to believe what she had with Luke was a lot more than what it was and that it is still magically going on.

I think Jake is a good friend of Nics who accidentally got papped with Nic while Nic was being her regular friendly self. I think he is exactly who he (and his other friends) tried to portray himself to be before the Jakola’s tried to convince us otherwise. I think he is a good friend to Nic and in trying to protect her (from a certain DM) he ended up giving them exactly what they wanted to try to “prove” a relationship launch. I think he might have at some point tried to use that false narrative to try to get some notice, but I think it might have backfired and maybe (hopefully) he learned his lesson and is back in Nic’s good graces (which he appears to be after the friendly dinner pics we got recently). I’m just saying I don’t think Jake is a bad guy. I just don’t think he is dating Nic.

When all is said and done, I think Nic and Luke have been together since Chaos week in August. I think they are happy. I would love an announcement at some point, but I honestly don’t see us getting one any time soon. I will settle for the crumbs they are so lovingly willing to share. For now, I am only listening to what they have to tell us and not the noise of what anyone else chooses to release to try to disturb the fandom.

Sitting in my permanent seat on the ship.

[bigtreefest]

Chapter 2: Cooks in the Kitchen

From: The Rainmaker Series

Pairing: Mob! Steve x Forensic Scientist! Reader

Summary: Everyone hates a backseat driver. And a surprise guest when you’re not at your best.

Word count: 3,234

Content/warnings: TW: dead body and all you would expect in forensic science, I tried to make this not graphic, mentions of bruising, mentions of torture and abuse, sassy and borderline mean reader, awkward Steve who overthinks, reluctant? flirting, allusions to and mentions of murder

Author’s Note: For my dearly beloved @krirebr please know that you’re loved and appreciated by us all. I hope this helps, just a little bit. (Extra angsty, hopefully to your tastes)😘

What I’m gonna say is Decks seems very on edge compared to how she was before. Her guard came up out of ‘nowhere?’ Hm, that’s weird… or is it?

Anyway, these are Loupe glasses, if you’re wondering. They let you see tiny things up close and at a better angle.

Comments, reblogs, asks, and any feedback is so welcome and appreciated. Thank you for reading!

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

< Prev | Series Masterlist | Next >

After your weekend at the farm, Steve drove you home to return to your normal life. As much as you loved being out in the country, city life was definitely more your speed. You immediately went back to work and were happy to keep your busy routine going. Sure, a weekend away from screens and solvents was a breath of fresh air, but this was where you thrived.

Despite the way there were new, more outlandish cases to deal with, the days were surprisingly routine. Come in, visit a crime scene, run some tests, go home, do it again. You lived for that sort of zen. The detachment of simply putting your head down and getting to work was what you were used to, and then once you were home, it was like a sanctuary. You could lounge, pick up another hobby out of the thousand you’d already started, and crawl into your fresh sheets.

It’s not like you were entirely a hermit, though. You got along with your coworkers and would commonly joke around with them, but first and foremost, you were a proper worker, doing your job. When something really needed done, you’d lock down in the lab, music blasting, and crank out results.

Steve was the same way. He tried to keep his days as routine as possible, despite the way work brought something new everyday. Rival gangs needed monitored and law people needed bribed. Shipments and production needed to be kept on a tight schedule and up to pace with increasing demand.

There wasn’t much time for it, but he’d found certain images and memories start to take hold in his mind. They were different from the grade school ones of Bucky, or his times learning the ropes of his trade, or the first suit he’d ever worn. They were new, they were…warm? Lacked that same rigidity? They were of you. Driving his car effortlessly, petting a baby goat as it bleated happily, teaching him to dance…small, little moments that he couldn’t let go of, but he didn’t have time to replay enough.

He did his best to stay proper in his business dealings. Steve was known for his gentlemanly demeanor, truly a golden boy of the underground, or…at least as much of one as an individual could be given the legality loopholes he was constantly trying to jump through.

On the outside, he was smooth as a beach. Fluid with the crashes of waves this industry threw at him. He’d gotten good at rolling with the punches without a single blond hair out of place. But inside? It was a hurricane. The wind raged and echoed in his ears, putting him on edge. It was sensory overload.

Everyday, he found his attention wanting to wander more and more to that simpler time, not romanticizing it for the lack of pressing responsibility, but for the fact he spent genuine moments with someone who was unlike those in his world. Unlike the men so obsessed with maintaining their place on top or squashing others to get there. They were all about the money, but you were working for the people, and for the betterment of the city. To solve cases and give peace to families. And Steve knew he was all too often on the other side of that, even if he prided himself on only taking out the worst of the worst. The ones who deserved it. They were the ones endangering women and children, who to him, were the distastefully vulnerable and undeserving of wrath, despite the fates they were met with from the awful men Steve rid the world of. He wasn’t breaking his set of morals and rules, he was just breaking the law sometimes. Steve was a good man, he just happened to make his living doing bad things.

He didn’t have time to reflect on that right now, though. Things had seriously picked up in recent weeks. Bucky was soon to return, but it didn’t help that Steve felt like Lloyd was unrelentingly on their asses. Leading the organization when it came to the normal stuff was fine, but the extra protections Bucky was making him run, along with the extensive research and monitoring was already taking its toll. Steve was used to a lack of sleep, he basically lived on adrenaline and black coffee, but another night where he was fielding calls and sending out directives without a wink was causing his emotional guard to fall.

It was early morning as Steve sat at his desk. He’d ordered Sam to head out hours ago, but as the sun was cresting over the horizon, not even that searing glow could keep Steve’s tired mind at bay. The levees against the flood were weakened beyond belief. The hurricane was about to make landfall.

Just then, the phone rang. It was one of his contacts down at the police station. That wasn’t new, but the specific news was and Steve wanted to be there in person to get every bit of information he could... and perhaps catch a glimpse at the one person who could scratch that new itch in his brain. Maybe, finally, at least he could catch a nap in the car, as Steve called Gio to drive him over.

Over the couple weeks you’ve been back, you couldn’t help the way your mind wandered constantly, either. Even your favorite playlist couldn’t keep you on track, so you opted for silence, the scenes replaying of your time on the farm doing plenty to help you block out your surroundings.

You were working on a particularly difficult case currently. There was no time for distractions. The overcast sky just added to the ambiance of the feeling that something unusual was looming over you. You pulled yourself out of your thoughts, along with the keys from the ignition, and took a deep breath, letting it out sharply to get yourself ready. When you’d gotten out of the SUV and to the crime scene, Detective Lang greeted you.

“So I’ve got good news and bad news. Which do you want first?”

He guided you along the River walk and down the rocky shore where a victim laid, waves still lapping over her feet as photographers and cops gathered around the scene, surveying it for evidence. A small crowd had gathered along the pathway, held back by barricades and uniformed officers. At least you were here before the news crews.

“Bad news first, always. You know that.” You spoke with a purpose, slipping on your gloves after pushing up the sleeves of your department-issued windbreaker and cuffing your pants so they wouldn’t get wet.

“So far, looks like it was blunt force trauma with a side of torture. Very little evidence to go off of, especially considering there are no open wounds and the tools used for this kinda thing could be in any household.”

You crouched down by the body and immediately took note of the bruising. You hummed in acknowledgement and looked back up at the detective, his head framed by the cloudy, gray sky, the rising sun now hidden. Fitting for a tragedy like this. A woman your age subjected to that sort of an ending…

“And the good news?”

He sighed, looking up at the sky, hands on his hips, before he dropped his head back down towards you.

He winced. “Body’s fresh? Disposal doesn’t appear very well thought-out.”

You nodded and looked around for any piece of evidence that hadn’t washed away. He was right, it was gonna be difficult to pull many testable elements.

“Well, I’ll do the usual work-up, then, and let you know when you’re good to get everything over to the medical examiner.”

He curtly nodded and turned on his heel to speak with the witnesses before you began to pull out your kit, swabbing for anything of note.

After you finished collecting everything you could, you carefully slipped back through the background and away from the slew of reporters now blanketing the scene. Ugh, you hated those block heads. Especially Lucas Bell, the weird little ray of sunshine you went to school with growing up. For some reason, he thought the two of you were actually friends, despite never having even given him the signal you appreciated his presence. The worst part: you could tell he wasn’t hitting on you. He would genuinely seek you out at crime scenes, that gross happy smile on his face, calling you by the birth name almost no one used anymore in favor of your college nickname. Every time, it was, “hey, remember me, old pal? Great to see you! Any information you’re willing to share?” Who the hell was so chipper when their job was literally to report tragedies?

You bobbled your head as you mocked him to yourself and got back into your work SUV. Ugh, you hated that guy. And all the other reporters. You didn’t wanna be on camera. What if you wanted to work for the FBI one day? Huh? What then? Can’t have your face out there all willy nilly and then expect to be doing covert ops. Nope. You prepared to race back to the precinct, ready to drown yourself in an afternoon of attempting to suck evidence out of a cotton swab caked in river grime and essentially, air, if you could count that as evidence.

You drove back through the pouring rain. Another thing to be annoyed by. First, the longing for your simple weekend once again, then the intrusive thoughts about annoying little reporters, and now, the near-flooding on the roads. You could hear her in your head now, Bee saying “rain makes corn. It’s a good thing.” You rolled your eyes, to be honest, you liked the rainy atmosphere, but you know what rain also makes? Bad drivers. At this point, it was just best to get back to the lab, buckle down, and stay there, where no one could possibly bother you.

You were hours in to your intensive testing. Your spectrometry readings gave the smallest peaks, hard to say if the readings actually were something or just background noise. You were happy to put in the time, but something just felt…off. It was infuriating and not helping your mood, but you tried your best to keep it separated from work. It wasn’t perfect, but it was your best. Another small thing going wrong could push you over the edge, though.

You opted to just look at a small fabric sample, deciphering if there truly was some thread of note caught in the weave. You just needed to concentrate and you knew you could find something. You were purely focused and zoomed in, using your Loupe glasses, paired with several lamps overhead, with the highest hopes of even a shred of confirma-

“Decks? More like Specks.”

The sudden voice that echoed through the lab startled you, causing your head to shoot up and bump against one of the metal lamps.

“Ow!” At that same time, the forceps and piece of fabric flew out of your hands and onto the floor. It didn’t help that you knocked into your instrument tray on the way, sending all those onto the floor, as well.

Great, now you had to go to the stock room to find a new package of sterile ones. This was the last set left in the lab. You looked up from where you watched the evidence fall, rubbing your forehead with the back of your gloved hand, eyes narrow at the business man in a suit who was previously leaned against your doorway, now tentatively walking towards you to crouch on the ground.

“Steve, what the hell?” You trailed off for a second. “You and Bee really do have the same sense of humor. I thought she just told me that as a selling point.” It came out as an irritated growl. You rolled your eyes as you squatted down to start cleaning your mess.

Steve laughed. Selling point? Bee talked to you about him? And tried to make him appealing? He wasn’t sure why, but he felt a certain warmth in his stomach at that. He pushed it down as much as he could. Either way, he truly did get along well with her.

“Well you know what they say, birds of a feather and all.” He joined you near the floor after having grabbed a glove, picking up some stray instruments and placing them back in the metal holding tray.

You muttered lowly as you finally stood up and turned away from him, after grabbing the fabric off the floor gingerly and placing it in a plastic protective case. “More like wasps of a stinger.”

Steve disposed of his gloves and looked over the results on your computer. You quickly hit the keys to lock the screen, sure to cast him a nasty glare. The last thing you needed was to get accused of leaking evidence.

What was he doing here, anyway? With those broad shoulders and that skinny waist. What did he even need shoulders that big for? How did he even shop for clothes? You swear his waist was literally the same circumference as your thigh. They don’t carry stuff like that in department stores.

Steve looked at you with a confused glance as you removed your gloves and washed your hands. There was a hint of humor in his voice, but it was mostly filled with caution at your attitude.

“Um, I don’t really shop for clothes? I’ve got a tailor. He’s pretty good.”

After your hands were dry, you facepalmed harder than ever before. You couldn’t believe you said that out loud. Maybe you did need to interact with more people outside of work. You were too comfortable talking to yourself. You took a deep breath before turning around and looking at Steve again. His face now mostly held tentative kindness, and that was a nice change to the anger that was sitting in your belly all day today. You still couldn’t help what you spat back, though.

“You have a tailor? In this economy? Of course you do…rich prick.” The last part was grumbled under your breath, but Steve still caught it. Where was this hostility coming from? He thought the two of you had gotten along great before. What changed?

Steve’s hurt caused him to fire back, albeit much nicer than you had. “You’re calling me rich? Decks, I’ve seen your apartment, it’s nice. Especially for this city. Way nicer than my first place.”

First off, what was that supposed to mean? You were still suspicious about exactly what Steve and Bucky did for a living. You knew they made a lot of money. Steve wore designer suits, if he could help it, and you assumed Bucky did, as well, but what business did they have being this built?

You let go of that, though, wanting to just get back to work after the disturbance, but why had you been disturbed in the first place?

“Steven, what are you doing in my lab?”

He was taken aback. Woah, full names. He knew your full name, but didn’t dare to find out what would become of him if he used it. It didn’t seem like many did. He wanted to go about this the right way. He didn’t want abuse his delicate position as a friend of a friend when you were so close to the law…yet.

He stood upright and pressed his shoulders back. Right, he was here on business. He had to remember that. It wasn’t a personal call and he had to stay professional.

“I was actually meeting with Scott, er, Detective Lang. He called me about the new case that came in this morning.”

You nodded slowly. “You knew her?”

Why did that make you nervous? Of course Steve knew women, like, duh, but something burning rose in your chest in anticipation of his response. Why did you care? You didn’t even want him here. Right?

He shook his head lightly. “No…well, sort of? She was an employee of one of my businesses. A salon.”

One of his businesses, of course. A salon was…interesting… but you guessed not out of the question with how perfect his stupid perfect hair always was. Whatever, just because he was here for some questioning, doesn’t mean he had to pay you a visit.

“Okay…so why did you come in here?”

You looked up at him from the odds and ends you were shuffling around your work bench out of nervousness.

“I actually wanted to see you, maybe help out a little?”

You eyed him skeptically, ignoring the way your chest sent a tingle down towards your fingertips. “You know when someone offers to keep close to a case like that, it usually means they had something to do with it, right?”

Steve put his hands up in surrender. “I swear this wasn’t me. I just genuinely care for my employees. Did you check under the fingernails? Maybe there was some DNA there or something?”

Your gaze became even more burning towards him. “Yes, Steven. I checked under the nails. That’s like, the first thing you do in cases like this. But why would you know that, anyway? And how can you say you care so much about your employees if you didn’t even know the girl?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. He was usually much smoother than this. How did you intimidate him so much so suddenly. Oh no…Is that where the name ‘Decks’ came from? Were you gonna hit him? Deck him? Did you have a pension for beating guys up? If he made a wrong move, would you literally punch him? Give him a black eye? Sure, much worse had happened to him before, but he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to emotionally recover if the damage came from you.

Either way, Steve didn’t want to find out, so he continued quite cautiously and uncomfortable within your domain, lacking the confidence that came so easily to him in all his usual business dealings and the quasi-leadership role he found himself in.

“I um…I watch a lot of CSI shows?” He hoped that was believable, but he knew it came out like a squeak, almost. He may as well be a little kid losing fights in a back alley again. He cleared his throat in an attempt to get his voice back to normal. “I do care for my employees, though. And my reputation, and the ability to make sure nothing like this happens again to anyone involved with me.”

You sighed at that. You can understand the want to prevent future disasters, especially when it came to someone working so low at the bottom of the food chain for such a major company. As you slipped your Loupe glasses back on and readjusted your lamps, you gestured for Steve to take a seat in your computer chair while you moved to a stool by the lab bench.

“Okay, fine. I’ll let you hang around, but don’t tell me how to do my job.”

You couldn’t help the way the corner of your lip turned up, just out of Steve’s sight, as he strutted over and plopped down into the rolly chair, watching you with a smile and his fingers laced behind his head.

Next >

Bonus A/N: I’m very excited for what’s going to grow between Steve and Decks. She’s a lil independent thing and he’s just so “idk what to do bc I’m supposed to be in control but I’m doing everything on her terms” and I love it. Lmk what you think!!!

Series Taglist:

@evie-119

[itsabouttimex2]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAA I LOVE YOUR AU!!!!! IT'S SO GOOD!!! op, your ideas are fantastic, you're really creative and an awesome writer!! 💫🌟

The monkiefam dynamic is so fun to read about — and pretty sad in MK's case, the poor guy.

Hopefully it's not too dark of a question, but how brutal does MK get during the primal moon? If he gets too violent with reader, does Wukong or Mac try stopping him or would they just let the natural pecking order happen?

I feel so bad for him, he's is gonna have a hell of a time acknowleding all the stuff he did during the primal moon week :/

Thank you so much, that means a lot to me! I’m glad people like my silly little things! (UPDATED to add a few extra characters!)

Thankfully for Y/N, MK isn’t too brutal- I don’t think they’ll come out with anything worse than a sprained wrist or ankle. The trauma will persist far beyond their injuries, however. When the last green moon of the week fades, he’s positively distraught.

Lining his hand curiously up to a slap mark on Y/N’s cheek to check it, tears brimming in his eyes when it lines up too perfectly to be a coincidence.

I don’t know whether he heartbrokenly distances himself or tries to make up for it with extreme smothering. The poor kid just wanted to spend what was supposed to “just another green moon” with one of his best friends.

And as for Macaque, though he’d really like to help Y/N… he just doesn’t have the ranking. MK is above him in the hierarchy, so he genuinely can’t do anything to upset or piss him off. This only that accomplishes is him getting smacked around right beside Y/N. All he can really do for them is apply herbal balm and bandages after the fact. If he hasn’t had a seal applied to his powers yet, Macaque might think about trying his shadow portals, but… it’s probably better not to risk having two angry monkeys on his tail, demanding to know where he’s hidden their beloved cub/rookie.

Sun Wukong is crazy delusional under the moon’s influence- to him, Y/N getting thrown and tosses all around is just “playfighting”, so he won’t interfere until after things get genuinely harmful. The moment he hears his little “cub” scream and start to cry, Old Sun is there in a second, bringing them into his arms and cooing softly. If they come to him begging for protection and use a “Bàba” to sweeten the deal, they’ll have his shelter for a number of hours, so it’s not impossible to get away from MK… just very hard.

And even after learning that something as severe as a broken wrist has occurred, Wukong coddles MK and forgives him on your behalf, writing the whole thing off as an accident. Not that you get any less smothering then him- you’re now stuck in bed with stiff bandages and surrounded by young mountain monkeys and sweet fruit. In a way, it saves you from any further rough play.

All three of them are dangerous in their own ways, of course. None are outright above “disciplining” you, with slaps or bites or shoves. There’s no (intentional) bone-shattering or flesh-tearing, but they make you afraid that there will be.

———————————————————————

After the Primal Moon ends, there’s a lot of patching-up to do afterwards. For example…

Pigsy has to come down from the constant self-drugging, taking more than a few hours to compose himself and make the rounds with his friends, calling them all up in short order. Once he’s gotten through everyone- Tang, Sandy, Mei, even her parents… then he spends a few minutes making sure he hasn’t gored any holes into his restaurant. Unlocks the windows and doors, but doesn’t flip the open sign.

He’s not up to deal with customers right now. All he wants is to check on his kids.

He’ll take MK and you out to eat today, he thinks. You’ve both earned it, after a week of isolation up in your shared room, under strict instructions to stay inside and come down for no one and nothing.

Red Son is always horribly humiliated when everything is said and done, a groaning and red-faced mess of shame. Another week of essentially devolving into a child, desperate for love and attention. Another, slow, grudging week of constant begging for skinship and words of praise. Needless to say, he’s pissed off and looking for an outlet, and beating on the numerous Bull Clones just doesn’t seem all too enticing… when he’s got a much squishier target who’ll actually squirm and yelp?

Sure, he’s not going to outright mangle you. No permanent burns. No shattered spine. And he’ll take pity on you eventually and stop with the torment. After a few months, he might even start to like you.

Let’s hope you get there mostly unscathed.

[yawntutsyip]

Warnings: none

AN: I felt bad that I deleted this story 😭, I lost all motivation for writing it and I didn’t realize that people actually liked it 🙏😔 forgive me. I’ve been trying to figure out what I’m gonna do for the plot so I think I came up with something I like so hopefully it will go good. I also fixed some grammar mistakes and spelling errors so hopefully it’s all good now mb if there still some

Context: Your father had fallen sick causing you and your mother, along with your father, to move villages. Needing help from the Tsahìk. Ronal discovers that you were interested in learning about herbs and healing she began to take you under he wing teaching you everything she knew as if you were the Tsahìk in training. After she and Tonowari learns that you haven't been able to make friends thought the years you've been in the village she (forces) suggest that you hang out with Ao'nung and his friends hopping that will help.

Ngaytxoa: Sorry , Apologies

Nari si skxawng: watch out moron

Za'u : come here

Kaltxi sa'nu, sempul : Hello mother, father

'itetsyìp : a name for daughter

Mawey: calm down

Irayo: thank you, thanks

Fnu: be quiet

I see you | Chapter One

As (Y/N) grew up she could tell something was wrong with her father, Every week it seemed that he had gotten weaker and weaker.

It had gotten so bad he eventually was on permanent bed rest having to be cared for by her mother at all times.

Having such a close bond with her parents she never left their side unless she had to run an errand for her mother.

Through the years of being by her mother's side and the frequent healers that could come and help, she began to study and learn from them

Taking mental notes and practicing in her own time she learned what things mixed with what, and what you should and shouldn’t use.

It was the only thing that kept the little girl's mind off of the terrible situation.

As time continued to pass, on (Y/N)’s 12th birthday just when it had seemed like everything was getting better and her father had seemed like he was healing just fine

It seemed to immediately shoot back down and he had fallen ill once again now even worse.

His body turned immune to the medicine that he was given.

The girl's mother was deeply frustrated and in pain from seeing her mate in this state.

Her mother began to shut down, hardly talking to anyone and never leaving her mate's side. Focused on one thing which was taking care of her mate, making sure he was getting the help he needed.

When (Y/N) tried talking with her mother she would only reply in short responses. It hurt the poor girl, she now finds herself wishing she had a mother again.

Soon enough the healers decide to talk your mom into traveling to the nearby village where they had more healers and the Tsahik that was able to see what was exactly going on.

It did not take long for your mother to decide on an answer and immediately began packing up bags. (Y/N) could not complain and only helped her mom pack.

Traveling to the village took about a day and by the time the family arrived in Awa’atlu, it was night.

The only light sources were the torches that were scattered around the Marui huts, the bioluminescent plants in the water, and the bright stars that were shining above.

(Y/N) was swimming on an ilu next to her mother who was on her skimwing with your father laid in front of her.

When they had come into the village's view, a loud horn reached their ears announcing their arrival as they continued to move closer.

Finally, they reached the land and immediately her father was carried away by some men, which (Y/N) would assume they were taking him to the healing hut. Her mother quickly followed shortly leaving (Y/N) all by herself.

The little girl stood there unsure of what to do, her mother and father were out of view so there was no way she would be able to find them without getting lost, this village was much bigger than her previous one.

Tears begin to cloud over her eyes piling up, threatening to spill down her aqua cheeks.

This whole journey she tried to put a strong face for her mother and father, she knew they were already dealing with a lot and didn’t want to worry them.

But once her parents were out of sight, that wall that she so bravely built up slowly began to break down.

Tears were now sliding down her face as they dropped into the sand below.

A gentle hand was laid on her shoulder. (Y/N) looked up and with her blurry view she could make out a woman in front of her slowly crouching down.

The woman’s hands move from the girl's shoulder to caressing her cheeks, using her thumbs to wipe the tears that slipped out.

“Hello my child, please do not be sad. Your father is in good care now.” The woman’s words reassured (Y/N). “I am the Tsahik, may I know your name sweetheart?” Ronal asked the small child in a soft voice, afraid of startling her.

“(Y/N)... (Y/N) te Ftxey Aman’ite, Tsahik” She replies shyly with quiet sniffles, using the back of her hand to wipe the tears away from her eyes.

“(Y/N), You have a beautiful name..Let's grab your bags and I will walk you to new Marui. It’ll be close to the healing hut so you can see your parents then.

Ronal smiled and stood up grabbing the bags that were sitting in the sand. Ronal swung some of the bags over her shoulder and then looked back at (Y/N) who was doing the same actions.

Ronal reaches her hand out to the little girl, (Y/N) hesitated at first, I mean after all this was a stranger, but then grabbed the Tsahik’s hand, and they began to walk further from the water and into the village.

“You will like it here, I promise”

"Ngaytxoa Tsahìk!" You said to the older woman once you had arrived in the healing pod where there stayed your father along with some other injured and sick members that the healers were helping with.

On the way to the pod one of the aunties had asked you for help with carrying a basket of dried kelp for weaving and it took a little longer than you thought.

"It's alright (Y/N), as long as you're here now. I have a list of herbs I need you to collect for me really quick and then we began the lessons" Ronal said as she was finishing wrapping a younger boys arm then proceeds to grab a list off the table handing it out to you.

"Of course, I will be back shortly!" You say smiling, grabbing the list before leaving the pod.

You began to walk down the paths to collect herbs from where ever they stay. Some were different fruit and roots where you had to scavenge for and others were stuff you could get from different farmers around the island.

Once you finished you waved bye to the farmers with your filled basket you had been carrying, having all the herbs from Ronal's list in it, making your way back to the Tsahìk.

On your way back you stop for a second as you watched some of the Metkayina girls the same age hanging out together, some were braiding each others hair while others were talking probably gossiping about the newest drama that had rumored around the village.

You let out a sigh with a small frown.

You wanted to make friends but it was as if they avoided you like you were the plague.

You hung out with Tsireya a couple times but her other friends always pulled her away from you or Tsireya was busy taking her own lessons from her mother so you guys never had an actual hang out without someone coming to interrupt.

Shrugging off the sad feeling that began to rise, you begin to continue your way back.

As you were about to walk in the pod you accidentally runs into someone almost falling back at the impact.

Catching yourself, you stands straight and looks at the person you ran into about to apologize before your eyes widen as you realizes who it was.

It was one of the girls who Tsireya was always hanging out with.

"Ngaytxoa.. I didn't see you there." You say say embarrassed and looks down as if the ground was the most fascinating thing.

The girl could only scoff in annoyance and roll her eyes not bothering to pay attention to you before walking off muttering some words that you just barley heard purposely hitting your shoulder with hers.

"nari si skxawng"

You could only brush it off and continue to walk inside.

"Tsahìk I'm back! I have all the stuff you asked for." You announced as you pushes past the door to the table about to set down the basket.

"za'u (Y/N), with the basket" Ronal motioned as she was sat down on a mat with Mortar and pestle in front of her along with some water.

Turning back around you follow the orders and sets the basket down by the Tsahìk before sitting in front of her.

"Let's get to work shall we?" You could only nod her head and with that Ronal began to teach you.

"Alright, thats enough for today. Did you understand everything?" The older woman asked while standing up with the new paste you both had just made in a bowl

"Yes, thank you for teaching me" you say responding before helping Ronal clean up.

"Do you want me to walk with you back to your Marui?"

"No, I'm gonna stay here for a little bit. Thank you." And with that Ronal nodded as her eyes softened with her smile faltering before leaving the healing pod back her to own Marui.

You let out a weary sigh before walking to the back of the pod to a more secluded area where he father stayed.

"Kaltxi sa'nu, sempul" You greet your parents knowing you wouldn't get a response back, only a small nod of acknowledgment from your mother who had her back towards you while laying a new cloth on your fathers forehead.

"how is he doing?" You crouch down next to your mother sitting on your knees as you observe.

After a long pause of quietness, your mother finally spoke up looking at her daughter.

"he's getting better now, thanks to you and the Tsahìks help" Aman (her mothers name) spoke to her daughter as she reaches forward and brushes a stray hair behind your ear before caressing your cheek.

You could only lean into your mothers touch.

Aman had gotten better at talking to her daughter again after the Tsahìk had scolded her for not paying attention, neglecting, her own child. She needs a reality check.

"It's getting late, you should head back to our Marui" Aman spoke to you bringing back her hand before checking on her mate once again.

"Will you be coming back with me this time? You asked with hope in your eyes that her mother would finally come home for once but once yoy looked at your mothers face with a sadden expression, you knew it wasn't going to happen.

"I'm sorry 'itetsyìp. Not tonight.."

You say nothing and nod. You got up and gave your parents both a quick peck on the cheek before leaving making your way back to your family's Marui.

You could feel tears fill your eyes but you refused to let them fall wiping them with the back of your hand letting out a shaky sigh.

Before you reached the Marui a hand landed on your shoulder startling you causing you to jump letting out a quiet yet loud shriek.

"Woah, mawey (Y/N)!" A familiar female voice said as you turned around to see Tsireya.

"Sorry for startling you, my mother asked me to grab you to have dinner with us! My father and Ao'nung had caught some extra fish and we can't eat it all~ come on" Tsireya said while grabbing your arm locking it with hers not waiting for an answer before pulling you in the direction of their Marui pod.

The two girls reach the pod and Tsireya walks in holding the door open for (Y/N) to walk in.

You mutters a quiet thank you giving the girl a smile before greeting everyone that was now sitting down getting ready to eat.

"Irayo Tsahìk, Olo'eyktan for having me over."

"No worries (Y/N) come in sit down next to Ao'nung" Ronal says smiling before telling Ao'nung to scoot over to make more room to which he only rolled his eyes before moving.

You sit down and everyone began to eat while the family made small talk with eachother while you just stayed quiet listening, only talking if they asked for an opinion or a question.

While eating you swear you could feel a burning gaze watching you, when you lifted your head and turn you meet Ao'nung's eyes staying back into yours.

Waiting for his eyes to pull away he never did and continued to stare, with what look in his eye? You couldn't exactly tell but you swore there was an extra sparkle.

Finally getting the hint he wasn't going to back down you quickly look away with blush creeping on your cheeks and continue to eat.

"(Y/N) have you been making any friends, you know the girls that Tsireya hangs out with?" Ronal asks looking at her causing all of them to go quiet and listen.

"Uh...well..not exactly...I guess they are always busy when I try and hang out with them.." you says now playing with your food in awkwardness.

"What? Tsireya I thought I told you to take in (Y/N) and make sure she was not being left out" Ronal questions her daughter in disappointment.

"Well...Ngaytxoa sa'nu...I thought they were hanging out with (Y/N). Ngaytxoa (Y/N)" Tsireya frowns upset that her friends weren't being nice to you.

"It's alright, I don't really need to hang out with them anyways I'm good with just hanging around with you Tsahìk" you could only smile reassuring the family theses no need to worry.

"Nonsense! (Y/N) you are still a kid. As much as I like having your company You need to go hang out with people your own age sometimes." Ronal replies to you.

"Why don't you hang out with Ao'nung and Rotxo! Rotxo is a good boy. Very respectful and I'm sure Ao'nung would be happy to have you hang out with him, right Ao'nung?!" Tonowari speaks up looking at Ao'nung.

Ao'nung's mouth is open astonished that his father even suggested that. "What? Why does she have to-"

Before he could finish his sentence his mother interrupts him with a harsh glare making him immediately shut up.

"Right Ao'nung?" Ronal says smiling yet still glaring at the poor boy who could only nervously avoid his mothers fiery gaze.

"Yes. She can hang out with us tomorrow..." he grumbles out shoving the last bit of food in his mouth no longer paying attention to the conversation that was going on.

"See (Y/N) there you go, You have some people to hang out with." You could only smile with a nod before going back to eating.

A little bit later everyone was finally done eating you began to help Tsireya clean up the plates.

"(Y/N) you don't have to help Tsireya. Ao'nung will walk you to your Marui" Tonowari told you with a hand on your shoulder grabbing the dishes that were in her hands.

"Oh no it's alright-" (Y/N) began to speak but was cut off with Ronal shaking her head telling you no before pushing you toward the door where Ao'nung stood muttering words under his breath that you couldn't make out.

"Okay then...goodnight, thank you for having me over for dinner" You smiled waving bye to them as you exits the Marui with Ao'nung following behind.

You and Ao'nung walk to your Marui in silence.

While you were in your own world thinking to yourself , you didn't notice a certain boys eyes on you.

Ao'nung couldn't help it, He found the Metkayina girl beautiful. But the boys ego was too high for him to talk to you and confess his attraction.

He could only play it off with being annoyed. I mean it sorta annoyed him. He never had a full conversation or even looked at you straight in the eyes..So why was he attracted to you so much. It made him frustrated.

He remembered the first time seeing you was when he got in an argument with another Metkayina boy that resulted in flying fist and so there he sat with a bloody lip and a cut on his cheek.

And out of all the healers he gotten (Y/N) to patch him up. The whole time she was making the paste she never said a word and he was thankful because the last thing he needed was another person asking what happened.

When it came to the girl applying the paste all he could think about was how her soft hands gently applied it to his cheek muttering apologies as he hissed from the sting.

But if he was being honest the butterflies in his stomach distracted him more.

He didn't realize until she was done that he had been admiring her face. Staring mostly at her darker aqua marking that were scattered framing your face, and the bioluminescent freckles sprinkled all over. How her hair was done in traditional Metkayina style (picture whatever you like) and it complemented her well.

Ao'nung snaps out of his thoughts and comes to a halt as you both stand in front of your empty Marui.

"Thank you, I'm sorry for causing you trouble.. I can just say that I'm busy tomorrow so I don't have to hang out with you" You say thanking him as you shyly stare at the ground.

While Ao'nung wanted to tell you 'no don't be! I actually want to hang out with you and get to know you' before he could think, all that came out was a

"Fnu" Ao'nung shouted and it came out a lot harsher than he meant. His eyes slightly widen with his ears lowering in embarrassment.

It made you jump a little taken back from how harsh his words came at you.

"Ngaytxoa. I'll see you tomorrow." Ao'nung said, this time in a softer voice. And with that he quickly walked away back to his Marui pod and you enter yours.

Yet another sigh of disappointment left your lips as you rub your face in frustration.

'Alone once again..'

[cuddlepilefics]

I don’t mean to get emotional

Fandom: Stray Kids

Sickie: Chan

Caregivers: Stray Kids

Prompts: Fear / Breaking point / “I can’t stop crying, I’m sorry—”

@whumperless-whump-event

No one’s POV.:

“Hyung, are you sure, you don’t wanna lay down? Just a quick power-nap or something”, Changbin asked softly, resting his hand between Chan’s shoulder blades. The Aussie had been nursing a headache for over a week now and was getting increasingly rundown, yet that didn’t stop him from spending the night at the studio. 3racha had been at it for hours and Chan’s eyes already watered from the bright screen, so his dongsaengs did their best to convince him to take a break. Resting his chin on his hand, Chan hummed: “Not gonna sleep.” – “We know, hyung”, Jisung sighed, “Your eyes look really irritated though, so why don’t you let us take over?” – “Yeah, hyung. You can still add your ideas from the couch with your eyes closed. We’ll note them down. Come on”, Changbin encouraged, helping the older up. Chan didn’t put up much of a fight when he was manhandled onto the small couch at the back of the studio but while Jisung already moved in front of the laptop, Changbin couldn’t help but notice how warm their leader felt.

A relieved sigh left Chan’s lips as he relaxed into the cushions. He hadn’t realized just how tense he had been until he was able to lay down. That didn’t mean that just because he was horizontal now, he’d stop working. Oh no, most definitely not. Chan still had a lot to add to their tracks but eventually allowed his eyes to close, when Jisung played the changes he proposed over the speakers to try them out. After a while, Changbin noted that Chan had been quiet for a bit and asked softly: “I think if we change the last syllable, it’ll rhyme better. What do you think, Chan-hyung?” Both, him and Jisung looked at the eldest intently, but he didn’t even stir. “Finally asleep?”, Jisung breathed hopefully and watched how Changbin scooted closer to their leader. Lightly brushing the back of his hand against Chan’s forehead, Changbin frowned and moved it to the other’s cheek before humming: “Hyung has a fever. No wonder he’s been so rundown. With how long he’s had a headache, I wouldn’t be surprised if he already had that temperature a few days ago.”

Wanting Chan to get as much sleep as possible, Changbin carefully tugged the Aussie’s beanie down over his eyes, so the light wouldn’t bother him. Jisung had already put on headphones by the time Changbin rejoined him at the desk and the two continued working in silence, trying their best to not wake their hyung. With their headphones on, they didn’t hear the soft groans coming from Chan as he slept but even if they had, they probably wouldn’t have thought much of it. The older often sounded distressed in his sleep when apparently everything was fine, so they had learned not to wake him. Only when Jisung caught a movement from the corner of his eye, did he turn around to study the other. Realizing that Chan was shivering, the younger adjusted the air-conditioning and dug a thin blanket out from one of the bottom drawers. That was the benefit of having their own studio and having spent many nights there. They were well equipped and Jisung had an easier time focusing after making sure his hyung was tucked in warmly.

~

They had been working in this track for ages and felt like it finally was their time to present it. JYP had them come in for their evaluations, which happened more frequently now that they had entered the survival show. Chan didn’t hate the evaluations like one might think. After so many years, he had finally gotten the chance to pick members for the show and to lead them through it. Though he worried about the results of their evaluations every time, he saw them as a chance to prove himself. Today, 3racha would be evaluated as a sub-unit of Stray Kids and Chan really felt like they were in their element. This was his group, they were performing his song.

JYP remaining stoic throughout their performance was no surprise. He usually did that for suspense and maybe also to see if they’d waver or remain confident. What was not all that usual was JYP asking them to go a second time. “Try it again without Chan?” The Aussie felt his heart sink and he could barely breathe when Changbin and Jisung performed the track a second time, though this time as a duo. This couldn’t be true. Not again. He could not be removed from another group he had been training with. The group he himself had assembled. JYP really thought Chan’s song sounded better without him in it?! That thought made the Aussie feel sick to his stomach and it was like someone had pulled the rug from under his feet. He felt himself falling…

~

“Hyung?”, Changbin asked for a second time after Chan had shot upright. With a trembling hand, the older pushed his beanie back up and was finally able to see again although his heart still raced. Spinning his chair around, Jisung too pulled off his headphones and watched in stunned silence as the Aussie burst into tears. Changbin hesitantly got up and took a seat on the couch next to Chan, opening his arms to silently offer a hug without forcing himself on the older. When Chan slowly leant against him, Changbin whispered: “Did you have a nightmare?” Still trying to get his bearings and assure himself of where he was, it took a moment for Chan to nod. Jisung picked up the Aussie’s water bottle and offered him a drink.

“Do you wanna talk about it?”, Changbin hummed, handing Chan a tissue. For some reason, the older has a hard time calming down, despite realizing that it had only been a dream. Drawing a shaky breath, the Aussie tried to pull himself together but failed when his chest immediately hitched again. “I can’t stop crying, I’m sorry-”, Chan choked out, rubbing at his eyes. Tracing his back, Changbin promised: “It’s okay to get emotional from time to time. Especially with the fever you’re sporting.” – “Fever?”, the leader sniffled pathetically. Changbin and Jisung looked at him in disbelief, Jisung muttering: “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice.” – “Uhm”, the Aussie mumbled, running one hand under his nose, “I- I actually didn’t? Makes sense in hindsight though.” – “Mhm, it surely does”, Changbin sighed, motioning for Jisung to save their work and pack up, “Let’s get you home, yeah?”

When they got back to their dorm, they expected Hyunjin to have gone to bed already but him and Felix were still watching dramas in the living room. “You’re home!”, Hyunjin exclaimed, Felix’ face lighting up instantly when he spotted his hyungs. The dancer’s smile quickly faltered though when he caught a glance at Chan’s face. The leader’s eyes were still a little puffy from crying and held a sickly gloss, which combined with the flush on his cheeks easily gave away his fever. Getting up from the couch, Felix frowned: “You don’t look so good, Chan-hyung.” The eldest hummed in confirmation and rested his head on Felix’ shoulder when the younger pulled him into a hug. “And you’re overly warm”, the dancer added, reaching up to cup Chan’s cheek.

Changbin already set about warming up a late dinner for Chan, so they could fetch him some painkillers for his headache, while Jisung explained: “Someone needs to learn how to read his body’s signals, right, hyung?” Chan grumbled something, which came out muffled by Felix’ shoulder but when the younger pulled away, he saw the unshed tears in the leader’s eyes. “What’s wrong?”, Felix whispered but Chan only shook his head, breathing: “I don’t mean to get emotional.” – “It’s okay. Nothing to be ashamed of”, the younger assured, tightening his hug. He glanced towards the kitchen to figure out what Changbin was doing, when the rapper already returned, humming: “You should have a bite, hyung. I’ll go and fetch you some medicine.” – “Thanks, Bin. Not really hungry but I’m tired of this headache”, Chan whispered to keep his voice from cracking.

Chan plopped down on the couch and drew his legs closer to try and ease the chills as he hesitantly lifted a bite to his lips. Hyunjin and Felix sat down in either side of him and kept him company, smiling a little when Changbin placed two pills and a glass of water on the coffee table. Hyunjin traced Chan’s back while he ate and the leader barely knew how to handle the affection. He felt flustered, especially with the amount of eyes on him, but he was to tired to do anything about it. Secretly, he hoped Felix would stay for a sleepover and cuddles, though he knew it would be unwise to risk the dancer getting sick too.

With the encouragement of his friends, Chan found the energy to take a shower before bed and was glad he had. The warm water soothed the deep ache in his muscles and seemed to release some pent up emotions, the leader hadn’t even been aware of. At least, he would have to feel the tears on his face with the water running over his skin, washing them away immediately. Nobody would see him overwhelmed by his emotions now, which Chan couldn’t be more glad about but that didn’t mean that his nose didn’t get incredibly stuffed up from all the crying. To his relief, nobody pointed it out and perhaps, his dongsaengs just assumed it to be one more sign of his illness. At least, the Aussie hoped so.

“Hey, are you feeling up for cuddles or would you like some space?”, Felix hummed when Chan sleepily shuffled out of the bathroom. He knew his hyung tended to get vivid nightmares whenever he ran a temperature and Changbin and Jisung had confirmed that once again while the leader was in the shower, so Felix couldn’t bear the thought of his Aussie brother experiencing the fear all by himself.Though he felt a little guilty about it, Chan mumbled hesitantly: “I think, I’d really like cuddles, actually.” – “How about you get ready for bed and I’ll be there in a minute”, Felix smiled kindly, squeezing Chan’s shoulder before walking off, “You guys don’t mind me borrowing some sleep clothes, right?” – “Have we ever?”, came Changbin’ and Jisung’s muffled reply and the younger giggled at their sync.

Laying on his back, staring up at the ceiling, Chan contemplated going back on his request. He really didn’t want Felix to feel this wrecked but before he could dwell on it more, he felt the bed dip next to him and only a moment later, his favorite koala was pressed against his side. The dancer had noticed how irritated and puffy Chan’s eyes looked and had fetched a cold washcloth. “Close your eyes, hyung”, Felix whispered, gently draping the cloth over his hyung’s eyes. He smiled when the tension on the lower half of the leader’s face melted away, his jaw no longer clenched. When Felix ran his fingers through Chan’s damp curls, the older was already asleep.

[colonelpancakes]

Watching The Dragon Prince Season Six Part Seven: The Red Wedding. The title of this episode makes me so nervous nothing bad better happen to Amaya and Janai at their wedding.

Okay, first of all, that is NOT Rayla narrating I don’t know what the subtitles are on about, I’m 99.9% sure that’s Ezran.

Skjfklsa I love Rayla, she has absolutely no intentions of getting up, she is way too comfy.

Aww Sneezles.

Also “There’ll be more kisses later” I love how the second they officially get together, Callum and Rayla resume their status as world’s sappiest, most clingy couple.

UHHH. Wait a second. Is Kosmo just. not telling them about the Pearl before they leave?

...That seems like a really bad idea. They’re going to find out eventually and it's a huge potential risk to, you know, have Aaravos’s magic prison in the castle basement and not know it?? Kosmo, telling Callum before the star-truth ritual was a bad idea but you gotta tell him EVENTUALLY. KOSMO!!

I love themmmm 🥹.

Also, yeah, Kosmo just did not tell them. Um. That may become a bit of a problem later.

Hello bitch. Nice to see you again.

Do some of them not know the plan? They seem very surprised to see Sol Regem. Did no one tell them??

Wait, shit, who the fuck is Pharos? I do not remember, I really should have rewatched season five before starting season six. Oh well, hopefully I’ll figure it out...?

Karim, man, that seems like the type of thing you should NOT be staring directly into. That cannot be good for your eyes.

Oh Dang. That was way more powerful than I thought it was going to be

ON HER WEDDING DAY???? YOU HAVE TO DO THIS ON YOUR SISTER’S WEDDING DAY? You cant have a single modicum of politeness and at the bare minimum choose a day that your sister’s NOT getting married on? KARIM.

I also love the continuity of Corvus playing the cello from Breathtaking

Aanya!! I’ve missed her!!

God, I wanna try Sunfire wedding cake too. I want to know what fire tastes like. Also, I think Aanya’s voice has gotten deeper since her last appearance and I really love it. It’s just really melodic and nice to listen too.

Amaya!!! Janai!! They look so good!!

Sjalskfjl I love them.

“Two very special people helped us bridge our differences and understand one another before we learned to do it on our own.” I love them giving Gren and Kazi parts in the wedding so much and how they’re doing both a traditional human wedding ceremony and a traditional Sunfire wedding ceremony.

Also, I know Kazi was confirmed to be nonbinary by the creators but I think this is the first time their pronouns are actually used in the show! Yay!

BAIT! NOOOOO! The wedding food!! I really hope that didn’t include the Sunfire wedding cake

“So, how are affairs in Katolis?” “Oh. Affairs are well, fair.”

This is the royalty equivalent of when someone asks you how it’s going and your life is on fire but you can’t say that so you just reply with “it’s going.” This is an SOS call, someone get Ezran a hug and like. Some cold apple juice. And maybe a therapist. Definitely a therapist.

Aww, Aanya and Ezran’s friendship is so precious. I’m glad that they each have someone who understands what it’s like being a child ruler. They’re so cute.

I love seeing the Sunfire wedding custom and I love Kazi so much.

Zym stomping his little feet so that he can clap!!!

Aww Grennnn. He’s so sweet I love him.

COME ON! Really Karim?? In the middle of their WEDDING?? Let my girls have a nice wedding ceremony! Let them get married and not have to worry about the safety of their nation! Please!

Poor Janai and Amaya but especially poor Janai. Imagine finally deciding to get married after putting off scheduling your wedding because Something is always happening in your kingdom, only to have your fuckass brother decide to take a sixth of your army and invade your fucking kingdom ON YOUR WEDDING DAY right as you’re about to start the vows. I deeply admire the composure of these women, I would have lit something on fire by now.

Karim, shut the fuck up. You are one of the least righteous people out there. You have done nothing but be wrong for this entire arc.

Okay, so I guess that guy is Pharos. I remember absolutely nothing about him I forgot he was a recurring character until right now skjfalskj

OH WAIT, FUCK, What happened there???? I cannot remember for the life of me who this guy is gosh dangit. Curse my stupid gosh dang memory

(It should be noted that, although I haven’t mentioned it thus far, I am watching this season with my family. My brother says that he thinks maybe the guy got bitten by the dark-magic zombies at the great bookery in season five? That sounds like it could be right so I’m gonna go with that for now. I’ll check when I’m done with the episode.)

Ough… My heart. I love the character growth Amaya has gone through so much.

Okay, go, but maybe take Aanya and Zym with you. Just for safety. Also, nooo, this means Ezran doesn’t get to see his aunt get married. Give my boy a break! Please, just let him have a good time where nothing goes horribly wrong 😭

Oh, Corvus and Aanya works too! I love Ezran so much. He’s hopeful and kindhearted but he’s not naive. He goes to negotiate with Karim using words rather than violence, but he takes Corvus and Aanya for backup in case things escalate.

Continued in reblogs!

[d3sertdream3r]

I've been loving trop this season!! I am wondering how the whole SauronxGaladriel thing is going to play out though I'm nervous it won't be very satisfying with everything they've built up and all the marketing hype it's gotten. I'm worried they're baiting shippers to get more people to watch. Thoughts?

Oh boy, I have MANY thoughts!

I am absolutely DEVOURING this season, anon! The first episode in particular really blew me away. As a Saurondriel/Haladriel shipper, I thought all the direct parallels shown in Sauron and Galadriel’s journeys were PERFECT! 

I was worried they were going to retcon Sauron’s genuine feelings of despair and questioning if he should “repent” or not due to the amount of hate and toxicity from the usual suspects on the internet. Instead they really leaned into it, and I loved seeing The Dark Lord having nightmares. It’s a side of him we’ve never seen explored before! And that Annatar reveal… holy moly! Celebrimbor and I were both like: 

Galadriel has been breaking my heart in each episode. Elrond and Gil-Galad need to give my girl a break! Morfydd Clark’s acting is stellar. She is so heartbroken over not recognizing Sauron for who he truly was and even worse… catching feelings for him! She’s really going through it and it hurts, but it’s also brilliant on the writers’ part. 

Everyone else’s acting and stories are great too. Arondir was a favorite of mine last season and continues to be this season. Disa is FANTASTIC and I love her and Durin so much there aren’t any words to describe it. Isildur and Estrid are cute and I’m interested to see how their story plays out. I hardcore ship Elendil and Miriel, and his daughter needs to take a seat before she helps Pharazon destroy their home! I know the story, but MAN was it killing me to see how Eärien is contributing to its downfall in this show (in a good way… I think having her be involved with the opposite side of her father makes for great drama). 

As to the second part of your ask… I have been involved in many online fandoms for about 13 years now, and I gotta say that 98% of the time fans come up with way more interesting storylines than the creators of any show. A lot of the time they just don't deliver. I’ve been burned over and over again, so my bar is pretty low at this point. 

They’ve done a fabulous job with the Saurondriel dynamic so far, and I’ve seen some really interesting fan theories about Galadriel briefly joining Sauron or being taken prisoner by him. As truly fascinating as that would be, I’m not holding my breath. I think it’ll be a rehash of season one’s ending with more violence since they have swords this time around. After that, I’m guessing they’ll focus on Sauron gaslighting, gatekeeping, and girlbossing his way to the throne of hell while Galadriel and company work together to stop him. They’ve hinted at Celeborn a bit, I’m sure we’ll see them reunited at some point. 

I’m sorry if this isn’t very reassuring! I wish I could be more optimistic about Saurondriel in season 3, but I honestly don’t think Tolkien’s estate would go for Galadriel falling to the dark side in any capacity. Sauron taking her prisoner could happen, but I highly doubt it simply because as I said before, fans tend to have better ideas than a lot of creators in my opinion.

I could be completely wrong! I have just learned not to trust creators to handle things the BEST way, but that doesn't mean it won't be handled in a GOOD way. Hopefully that makes sense, lol. I think some people will be satisfied and some people won't, just like every other story. The shippy photoshoots and marketing have been delightful! I can't tell if they're baiting until I see the last episode. I think they were just having fun, but some comments from cast and creators would definitely seem a bit baity if the payoff is underwhelming. We'll see!

I really hope the season goes out with a bang and we all have something to love about it; especially Saurondriel shippers!

[demaparbat-hp]

hi dema! i’m learning how to do digital art, would you mind sharing your coloring process? coloring (and lineart) is the hardest thing for me to do T_T… what brushes do you use for coloring and how do you not make it look muddy? i’ve been trying to follow tutorials from different artists on youtube but i find my work to look so muddy… thank u in advance >__<

Hi, and thank you for thinking about me for advice! I'm honoured to share a bit of my process, nerve-wracking as that is for my shy self, and hopefully help you out as much as I can. Forgive me if I don't express myself very clearly—I have a bit of a hard time explaining these things. Now, let's get started, shall we?

I'll be using the first panel of this artwork as an example.

My process is pretty straight-forward for most artworks. Make a sketch, draw the lineart, and follow a self-made guideline for coloring and rendering.

Sometimes I'll throw the guideline to the trash bin and start experimenting with brushes and chiaroscuro and color palettes, but that doesn't happen most of the time and, when it does, it's more a challenge than anything else, and not really what I think you're looking for.

I'll include my usual steps here, however, and like I said earlier, these steps are more like what you'd call guidelines than actual rules.

(I just realized I didn't save the sketch for this artwork. Oops)

This is the lineart!

I tend to think that details bore me and are actually pretty exhausting to do, but then I go and make things as clear and detailed as I can. Because I'm a hypocrite like that.

I did try to keep things simple here, though, mostly because I had to go through three other panels and didn't want to burn out my fuel mid-process.

Base colors! The blush (and Zuko's scar!) I draw in a different layer in case I need adjusting the brightness or saturation later.

It's time for shadows!

Pick a color depending on the atmosphere you want the artwork to have. Is it a cozy, warm scene in a honey-tinted room, or is it a moment shared under the moonlight? The color choice should come as an answer to those questions—deep red for the first one and dark blue for the second.

Choose a color and make it dark and saturated. Then, play with the layer opacity! A darker shadow means harsher light, while less opacity works best for a softer look. See the difference? It's subtle, but it's there.

Of course, this is my personal choice. The way shadows are drawn and color is chosen depends on the artist and the artwork. I choose to play with a more simple coloring style, keeping shadows from blending into each other, but you may like a more realistic approach to shadows and colors.

My best advice? Try doing it every way you can, but in the end choose what works best for you. Whatever feels more comfortable, whatever you enjoy drawing the most. And then work to improve it. Love the little proof that you've gotten better, even if it's subtle.

And talking about subtlety...

I love to play with gradients. I use them mostly to give the artwork some form of atmosphere, and make it look cohesive and whole. A light gradient in the color and direction of the shadows will help the characters blend with the background, as will another gradient in lighter colors for the light.

Get creative with gradients! Use them so the lights feel brighter and the shadows darker.

Now it's time to work with the lineart again.

The pure black lineart makes the artwork look harsher, sharper, so I tend to give it some color to soften its edges and compliment the rest of the drawing. In darker shades as the rest of the colors, growing more saturated as the light comes closer.

I love to make the characters' eyes pop and glow! It's really fun what you can do by just messing a bit with the tones of the lineart.

Finally, I play with the level correction. A high contrast will help your artwork stand out and look brighter. See the difference?

And it's done!

Sometimes I like to add other effects or details, but this is the very, very rough shape of my usual process, and thus what I thought you'd like to see.

Once again, I'd like to point out that this is what works for me, and a large part of improving as an artist is just fooling around and messing up until you find the tools and tricks you're most comfortable with.

So keep drawing those muddy shadows and colors! They're only a step of the process.

[confessionsofkotlc]

To the person who asked why Keefe is complex, I thought I’d try to give my two cents on the matter.

Also it’s totally fine if you dislike Keefe! He’s just complex, is all. You can dislike him anyway, this is soley about why I think he is a complex character. Not an attempt to sway you to like him or anything!

He’s introduced pretty early as though he’s going to be a silly, funny, flirty side character, and a lot of that falls away as the series goes on. He’s always had avoidant defense mechanisms, which used to look like deflecting with humor and as his trauma worsens turns into a lot of literal running away. We learn in book one that he has really bad parents and it’s like oh, okay, so he has a hard childhood and covers for it with humor. Pretty classic way to round a character out, but it works. Sure. But he wasn’t too complex THEN.

I think the way finding out his mother was with the neverseen impacted him was far worse than the fandom gives it credit for. It was a huge turning point in his life. He breaks down more. He can’t keep up his defenses as much.

Did you hear that? He can’t keep up his defenses as much. Deflecting isn’t working.

And then, at the end of Neverseen, he literally runs away.

Direct correlation.

He goes to be a “double agent” and hopefully be able to help his friends from the inside. But really… he wants to do something useful without having to face his friends. He’s avoiding. He’s running.

The reveal of his mother being with the neverseen was also more than figuring out his parent was a villain, which is bad enough. He also learned that the parent who had always been slightly better, slightly kinder, slightly more caring was actually the evil one. It isn’t talked about nearly enough the amount of trust issues he must have gotten from that. It also adds an extra layer to every time he’s betrayed a friend’s trust or told a lie. He doesn’t think it’s right, but a part of him is still processing what happened with his mother.

He searches through his memories like crazy. He wondered how he, an empath, managed to miss that his mother was evil. He questions everything the knows. How does he know if someone is lying? He doesn’t. He doesn’t know if someone is lying. He lies. He lies and lies and lies.

He holds on to every scrap of paper with every detail he’s ever remembered about his childhood and his mother and questions everything. This is actually a huge part of what makes his character complex, since that’s the question—the way he clings to every. Single. Detail. Because he’s NOT just avoidant, he’s also unable to let go, and somehow he is absolutely both at the same time.

Constantly running from the painful things he clutches close to his chest.

That sentence alone might actually explain what makes him complex, but I’m going to go further.

I think his execution of research and ideas and reckless plans without telling his friends, betraying them and lying to them, is both a product of the fact that he’s never considered himself someone who gets listened to seriously and the fact that he’s still processing his mother’s betrayal. (Let’s not gloss over that. He’s still grieving from that.)

“Are you afraid of me, Foster?” It isn’t a question. It’s a realization. In this moment he realizes what he’s really done. He has flashbacks to the mountain, to finding out about his mother, and he wonders if too much of her is in his blood. Of course he rushes to explain his double agent scheme, but he’s in pretty deep and this isn’t going to be his last betrayal. The scene where he steals the alluveterre crystal and Alvar might be his worst betrayal. But there’s so much behind it.

So many complexities.

So many underlying thoughts, some of which I don’t think he’s even aware of.

He’s trying and he knows he’s wrong but he does it anyway and focuses on everything right about the wrong.

Being literally, physically changed by his mother so that he has new abilities that could actually hurt people is another huge turning point. Now it isn’t, “are you afraid of me, Foster?” It’s “you should be afraid of me, Foster.” All pretense of laughter and humor and jokes is gone. The Leo Valdez side has evaporated.

If he was worried that too much of his mother was in his blood before, well, he’s definitely worried about it now. Because she changed him and he hates it and he’s afraid of himself.

He’s afraid of himself and he’s afraid for his friends (because even amongst all of this he cares, he loves his friends and he specifically loves Sophie) and his deflection is once again entirely gone and he does the thing we should have all seen coming.

He runs away.

But I think unraveled will show us that once again, even in running away, he can’t let go of the things he wants to leave behind. They stick to him and he takes them everywhere he goes.

In unlocked he writes in his journal that Sophie deserves someone like Fitz. He hates himself for having betrayed her and having made her lose faith in the good of the world. He loves her enough that even when he wants her to be with him, when he believes she’ll be happier with his friend, he wants that for her.

(He can hardly believe it when Sophie chooses him. “I don’t want to mess this up,” he says. “Please don’t let me mess this up.” He knows he’s a mess. He’s worried he’s too much of a mess to preserve the one thing he’s always wanted.)

And even in the end of Stellarlune, he takes the knife from Sophie to attack his mother, without telling her. In that moment I wonder if he was even thinking about his own stupid bad patterns, or if he was so determined to end things with his mother that he didn’t even consider that in some small way, he was sort of doing just the sort of thing he swore to himself he’d stop doing.

So what makes Keefe a complex character?

The way he cares so impossibly deeply for his friends while also doing things he knows will hurt them and feeling in his mind like maybe he can’t even stop it, maybe he’s just a mess that can’t be fixed and the best thing he can do for his friends is never see them again—

The way he runs, avoids, escapes, NEVER confronts his issues, but also is never able to leave them behind, dragging them with him wherever he runs, every single detail running through his head—

The way he’ll never say it out loud, but some part of him is worried he’s too much like his mother, wishing she’d get her hands off his life and stop changing him before he can’t deny it anymore—

The way his bad habits mirror each other even as he changes and develops as a character—

It’s not just his trauma and his coping mechanisms, or his feelings for Sophie and his friends. It’s the layers upon layers in his character, thick as shadowflux and so buried that even Keefe doesn’t know about some of them. (Even I can’t articulate them all. I’m able to really get into a state of feeling his character but these are the only things I’m able to get into words.)

This is about as much of his complexities as I can explain using actual words in the English language and not just transferring emotions. To the anon who was wondering how he’s complex, I hope this helps!

[reigningqueenofwords]

Playing With Tony

Pairing: Clint x Reader Word count: 2,877

Read on AO3

You blew a raspberry at your boyfriend as he told you he was off to a mission. You’d gotten hurt on the last one… to the point that Bruce doubted he’d be comfortable with you going in any again. You were pretty upset and even more so now as you realized you wouldn’t get that extra time with your boyfriend. There was no telling if a mission would be days… or weeks at times. 

“I’ll text as often as I can.” He promised. “And I hope I’ll be home soon.” 

“Yeah.” You pouted, arms crossed. “Come home in one piece.” You said softly. The last thing you wanted was to lose him. 

He leaned down as you were on the couch and kissed your forehead. “Can I get a kiss for the road?” He asked sweetly. “Pleaseeeee.”

You looked at him and nodded. “Of course.” You reached up to dip his face and kissed him gently. “I’ll miss you.” You cupped his cheek. 

“I’ll miss you, more.” He grinned. “Don’t get too comfortable without me okay? I know you’ll enjoy not picking up my clothes and my towels but remember you love me.” He said playfully. “And how fun I am.” 

You rolled your eyes. “I’m already cherishing the quiet.” You teased. “Now go before Thor comes and carries you out.” You chuckled at the thought. “I love you.” 

“Love you!” He beamed and rushed out, duffle on his back. Sooner he left, the sooner he got back. 

Letting out a deep breath, you started scrolling your Instagram. You didn’t have a routine, as you weren’t used to being left without Clint. Maybe you could binge watch shows - but practically everything you watched with him and you knew he’d be offended. Your friend reposted something about gaming that caught your attention. 

You eyed it, humming as you read through the post. “I like legos.” You told yourself. Leaving Instagram, you went straight to Amazon. Why leave when you didn’t have to? You typed in what you wanted, happy you lived in the big city so it would be delivered that afternoon. You’d ordered an Xbox One X and 4 games. 

You stuck your tongue out as you connected the Xbox to the tv, buzzing with excitement. Hopefully this was not only something you could do while they were gone, but something Clint would enjoy, as well. You hoped for game date nights. The thought made you excited. As it loaded, you took a selfie for him and sent it. I have a surprise for when you come home, Hawkman 😉💕 

You went to sit down with the controller as you watched the screen. It had updates, which was understandable.  You were excited when the games title page came on, choosing between characters slowly as you learned. Gaming wasn’t ever really something you’d been into. 

You admitted to yourself that it was a learning curve as you played. “Mother f—“ you muttered as you died. Again. “Again!” You told yourself. “I got this.”  

You focused on the screen and pushing buttons once again. Hearing your phone ding, you told yourself they could wait for a minute. You were so close on this level. You had been stuck on it for nearly an hour at this point. When you lost, you sighed heavily, angrily unlocking your phone. You smiled softly when you saw it was Clint. Ohhhh sexy surprise? 

Since you find everything sexy, possibly ;) you teased. 

Then please give me a hint? You could picture him batting his eyelashes. Pretty please? 

You eyed the controller, wondering how you could give him a hint. Biting your lip, you replied. I use my hands and it makes me swear 😜

He took a minute. Well damn, honey! You grinned at that, chuckling. Way to make a man’s mind wander. He added. So mean lol

At least you knew he was in a good mood at the moment. I can’t wait to show you!! You really couldn’t. Now you just wanted to get better. Either way you were having a blast. Even if your boyfriend was calling you mean. I need to go practice… I’ll text you later! 🥰

Clint groaned at your reply, letting your head fall back. . You were a tease and a flirt, and he loved that but he couldn’t do anything about it miles and miles away. It would be a very long mission, hopefully with a very warm welcome home. He hated that you weren’t there by his side, but he knew he hated seeing you hurt, more. This way you were safe. 

“Missing your better half?” Nat nudged her best friend. “You’re all but pouting.” 

“I am. But I know it’s better.” He sighed. “At least she’s safe.” He said, reminding himself. 

She nodded. “Time away is nice, too.” She gave him a small smile. “Don’t they say it makes the heart grow fonder?” 

“I guess. But you work beside your other half.” He pouted. 

“She don’t give me nothing on missions, man.” Sam said across from them. “Except maybe orders.” He chuckled, teasing Nat. 

“At least.” Clint huffed. 

By that night, you felt you had a pretty good grasp at the game, and felt proud of yourself.  It had become a great pastime already. You could understand why people got so into it. 

You finally fell asleep late that night, already looking forward to playing tomorrow. You’d tried out your first game- Mortal Combat XL, and planned to try another. It was exciting to have a new hobby. 

The next morning, you quickly showered and ate before texting Clint that you loved him.  You then set up your new game, grinning as you felt this one you’d really enjoy. You’d put in the comfiest pair of his sweat pants and a baggy shirt to relax in all day. 

Clint texted around noon, just a kissy emoji, which meant he was busy or sent it before crashing for the night wherever he was. You sent one right back, knowing that he was okay at that moment. It helped your nerves a tad.

Right after he got your kissy emoji, he was out. Face down on some cot, arm hanging off the side. Sure, they had places to charge their phones in the place they were staying, but an actual bed would have been pushing it. He yearned for a hot shower as well. With you, preferably. 

When he woke again, he wiped his face of the drool and sighed as his muscles hurt. Groaning, he sat up and rolled his shoulders.  He reached around for his phone and sighed in relief when he saw he heard from you. It helped make this suck just a tad less. It was a selfie of you making a face at him. He loved you so much and was grateful for you, but now he needed a cold shower. Which was all that he would be getting. 

You giggled at Clint’s reply later that day to your selfie.  He no doubt was struggling, and you knew you’d give him a great welcome home. You planned to make him a nice dinner, too.  

Once you replied, wishing him the best, you clicked play on your game. Hopefully this would make time fly by, and he’d be home in the blink of an eye. 

As the days went by, you quickly found yourself mastering some of the games. Which led you to buying some others that caught your eye...and then a game caught your eye that was PS4 only. “Rude.” You frowned and sighed, then shook your head. “Screw it.” You muttered. You had the money, and missions were a no go for you. Why not indulge in your new hobby. 

Not long after you ordered the system, a couple games, the VR set, and the PlayStation move. You couldn’t wait to try everything out. It would be there first thing the next morning.  For the meantime, you reorganized the entertainment cent to accommodate for the new things. Which led you to reorganizing the room you shared with Clint completely.  It was a lot of work, but would look way better. “Do I want to get new sheets for when he comes home?” You asked yourself. You nodded after a moment, feeling that would be nice. He would like that, too. 

You wanted things to be perfect since this seemed to be a long mission. You couldn’t help on the mission, so you’d help after. The rest of the team also knew they were welcomed if they needed patching up or company. Nat was one of your best friends, too. Maybe you’d have a gathering the week after they were back. Then steal her, Pepper (who was likely catching up on work with Tony gone), and Wanda for a girl’s day. 

You’d get more controllers too for those games that could play more. You were very excited. 

You were focused on your new PS4 game when Clint managed to call. Pausing it, you answered as fast as you could. It had already been a week of him gone. “I miss you!” You told him. 

“I know.” He chuckled tiredly. “I miss you, too. I was able to get a secure connection real quick.” He explained. “I’m cool and I love you.” You could just picture the look on his face. 

You smiled. “Thank you for calling. I love you!” You put the controller down and got up. While you chatted with him, you’d get yourself something to drink. “Any guesses how much longer?” 

“No idea.” He sighed. “Can only hope it’s soon. My back hurts!” He nearly whined. “And you’re not here. Which is bittersweet.”

“I know. But I’ll give you the best welcome back ever!” You promised. “I have started planning!” 

“As long as it involves snacks and you, sounds great.” He chuckled. “Mostly you.”

You giggled. “It will.” You assured. “No injuries?” You’d always worry about your team. 

“Nothing major.” He said softly. “Nothing broken, no major wounds.”

“Good to hear.” You sighed in relief. “Keep it that way, mister.” You said playfully. “I need my archer in one piece.” 

“Yes, ma’am.” You could picture him saluting. “Talk to you soon, babe.” He knew his connection wouldn’t last long. 

“Bye, stay safe.” You said softly, sad to be saying bye. Hopefully he’d be home soon. Sighing, you grabbed one of your reusable water bottles from the fridge.  You leaned against the counter, wondering what the team was doing. Taking a sip of your water, your mind wandered. You quickly went back to your game when your mind wandered too far. You didn’t need to make yourself picture losing one of them. 

You set up your new gaming chair a week later, having bought it along with a computer system. And a really nice desk.  It had been nice to splurge.  You’d also got a couple gifts for Clint at the same time, and planned to hide them in his nightstand. Your entire place looked different now, but you hoped he liked it. He had texted you a few times over the past week, but all it did was make you want your boyfriend home. Now. His last text said they would be home no sooner than the following week. 

You sat on the chair, smiling at how comfortable it was. It had taken you three hours of reading reviews to finally choose one, and that had not been time wasted.  You clicked on your computer just as it finished its updates. Now to install what you wanted. 

It took majority of the day, but you remained excited as you had over these few weeks with all these new games to try. You’d used the downtime to do some workouts, not wanting to get out of shape. It had been a nice balance. The games helped you mentally not feel as bad about not being there to help the people you cared about. 

You slipped on your headset and got immersed in the newest game. Anything to avoid thinking of the worst case scenario. 

You were making dinner, hoping Clint text you soon as you hadn’t heard from him in a couple days. Which, of course, worried you. You were constantly checking your phone.  You were afraid you’d miss it. And then you’d both be upset. 

When your phone rang, you squeaked and answered it quickly. “Babe!” Your face lit up. 

“Hey.” He chuckled, sounding exhausted. “Missed your voice. What day is it?” He asked. “Because I honestly don’t know.” 

“Thursday.” You said softly. “Long few days?” It had to have been for him to not know what day it was. 

“Yeah.” He said simply. “But good news is I’ll be home soon.” Even with how tired he sounded, you could hear the happiness in his voice. “Probably day after tomorrow.” He chuckled as you squealed. “Pretty much my reaction.” 

“I’ll make sure you have something to eat when you get home and I’ll run you the hottest shower!” You promised. “And make sure we have that lotion you like so I can give you a massage!”

“As long as you’re there, I’m game for anything.” He chuckled. “I may crash as soon as I’m home, though.”

“That’s okay. I’ll crash with you.” You smiled. “I want all the cuddles!” You leaned against the counter. “Any dinner requests?” 

“Anything. I had one of those reserve packs and it tasted like cardboard. And I would know.” He sighed. “You could make me a peanut butter and jelly and I’d be happy.” 

“Well I’ll make sure it’s better than that.” You giggled. “You deserve it!” 

“And lots of kisses?” He asked, hopeful. 

“It’s been a month!” 

“All the kisses you want.” You said easily. “It has been too long.” You easily agreed as the timer for your food went off. “Maybe next weekend we can go on a date?” 

“Yes, ma’am!” He said as excitedly as he could. “That would be nice.” 

“Then we’ll plan for that.” You assured. You were looking forward to that. Moving to the stove, you shut off the timer and the burner. 

“Great.” He yawned. “Well I’ll see you and your cute butt soon. Love you.” He felt a bit better now. “Send me a picture?” 

“Okay.” You said with a grin. “Love you. I’ll be here when you come home.” You promised before the two of you hung up. A moment later, you took a selfie for him and sent it. You were excited to see him. Once you sent I’d, you played your food to eat.  

You set clean clothes out for Clint as he was due at anytime now. You had showered that morning and did your hair and makeup. Getting a text he was running a bit late, you sighed. “Fiiiiiine.” You went and got on your Xbox one and loaded up your LEGO superhero game that featured your teammates. It amused you to no end. Especially since your favorite character to play was a surprise. 

Getting comfortable in your gaming chair (the kind that didn’t have legs and could rock), you got sucked into your game. 

Clint sighed as he walked through the door, ready for a hot shower and a long ass nap with you. He gave the others a half wave, yawning. He’d see them again at some point when everyone was rested. It would probably be a day or two. 

He let his duffles drop before hearing the sounds coming from the TV. He arched a brow and went to the main room. He made his way over, his eyes going from you, to the tv. “You’d rather play with Iron Man than me?!” He gasped, making you jump and let out a small scream. 

Once you took a deep breath, you smiled and went to hug him. “Clint!” 

He just stayed staring at the TV. “This is so wrong.” He pouted. “I feel betrayed!” He said dramatically. “You’re playing with Tony !” 

“Technically, Iron Man.” You smiled at how cute he was when he pouted. You kissed his chin. 

He whined. “Was I not good?” He asked, looking at you. “Was I... boring?!” 

You giggled. “Want to try it? It’s two player. And I got you your own controller!” You said excitedly. 

He licked his lips, looking around to finally see all the gaming equipment. “Jesus, babe!” He chuckled. “Did you buy out a store?” He teased. 

“Probably over time.” You nodded. “I wanted a hobby!” You shrugged. “And I needed something to keep my mind off worrying.”

nd you chose gaming? Cool.” He nodded. “Not a bad one to choose. Why don’t you show me everything?” He held you close. 

You nodded, super excited as you went through all your buys in order. He watched you with a loving look on his face as you told him about each game. 

He suddenly kissed your cheek and smiled at you. “Love you. Continue on.” He motioned. It was clear that you found something you really enjoyed. 

You giggled shyly but continued. “I can’t wait to play all these with you!” You hoped it was something else the two of you could bond over. 

“Same.” He hugged your waist. “Only if you don’t play as Tony though.” He teased. 

“Deal.” You grinned. 

[crowsandturtlesandbatsohmy]

ALRIGHTY HAIKYU RAMBLE TIME (you asked me about my favorite character but you have opened a large can of worms) (as I’m gonna talk about the show and my fav characters so this may get long)

I literally hate playing volleyball so much. When my sibling sat me down and forced me to watch this rando me anime about volleyball I was grumbling and complaining so much bro. I thought I would HATE it.

How was I so wrong????

this show has no right to be as AMAZING, WONDERFUL, BRILLIANT, CAPTIVATING, FANTASTIC, as it is!?!?!!!!

I was HOOKED after just a few episodes.

And fun lil fact this is the only show that has made me nearly cry! I had tears on the edges of my eyes!!!! I never cry during movies or shows! WHY DID A VOLLEYBALL ANIME NEARLY MAKE ME CRY!?!?!? (I’m not complaining I love it so much)

A volleyball anime with four seasons? That’s gotta get repetitive right? WRONG. I do not know how on earth they do this but. every. Episode. Is so thrilling. EVERY ONE OF THEM. IT NEVER STOPS!!!

And to answer your question about my favorite character and why:

I love all the characters SO MUCH like I have a good couple of really good favorites. But I’d say (and to avoid spoilers for later seasons) Tanaka takes the cake.

HE IS SO GOOFY AND INSANE I LOVE HIM SO MUCHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! AND YES YES YES BIG BRO VIBES!!!! (I have so many specific scenes I wanna scream abt but I don’t think they take place in season 1 so no spoilers for youuuuuuuuuu!) but asuhdgadgiauscbiwudcbiwcydbiwydcbwuicbwuicbiuwd Tanaka is literally amazing. And he only gets better. All of the characters get so. Much. BETTER.

And me saying I love Tanaka this much does NOT mean I don’t love all the other characters almost the same. THEY ARE ALL SO AMAZING HELP

All of the third years are so kind but also so hilarious and older brothers to the whole group!! Hinata is the goofiest lil guy and I LOVE watching him in the backgrounds! He’s always jumping around and doing goofy stuff!! Hinata is definitely up there with my favs (as I write this so many scenes are coming to mind) and Nishanoya has so many wonderful moments with Asahi and Tanaka it’s WONDERFUL!!

Also have you seen the tall blond guy with glasses yet and his friend? I love them very much, especially in later seasons!!

Also after you watch the season one finale, I’d love to hear your thoughts because that is one doozy of an episode. (It’s my fav episode I think)

I love how you’re only on season one and love it it so much (from what I can tell)! Every season just gets better and BETTER and more intense!!!!

Welp thank you for reading my rambles! I hope you have a wonderful day/night!

(Hehe my feeling that this was gonna get long was correct! Hopefully this made some sense if any XD)

Putting my response under the cut for the moots who will see this on their dash and don’t particularly want to read a super long post about Haikyuu XD

YES EXACTLY!!! I’ve never played volleyball (I’ve wanted to learn for a while though and this has gotten me excited about that again XD) BUT I GET SO EXCITED AND I LOVE THE SHOW MORE WITH EACH EPISODE!!!

OH!!! That’s interesting! And also as someone who gets way too attached to characters for my own good and cries way too easily over shows, I appreciate the heads up XD

GOOD TO KNOW!!! Right now I’m so pumped for every single match (they’re doing the tournament right now? I think?) and I’m getting energized just by watching them all be so hyped! So I’m so glad that continues and it doesn’t get boring!!! :D

YESS TANAKA IS GREAT!!!! I’m SO GLAD he proved me wrong!! Like my initial reaction was just “oh. Look. It’s the angry one. You’re gonna be a loud and irritating jerk, aren’t you?” THIS JUST CLICKED IN MY HEAD and I don’t know if you’ll get the reference or not, but he reminded me of Pin from Kimi Ni Todoke! That’s where that instinctive “I don’t like you” came from! But yeah, I WAS SO WRONG AND I’M SO GLAD!! YES HE’S SUCH A GOOF!!! He’s just so endearing and HE GETS BETTER????? HOW? IS THAT?? POSSIBLE????

YES YOU GET IT!!!! Like, Hinata and Nishinoya are tied for being my favroite but only by like a sliver of an inch!!! The others are all SO GOOD!!!

YES!! I didn’t talk about Daichi and Asahi in my post but I love them so much too!!! Daichi is so reliable and level-headed and I LOVE that he’s just an older brother to the whole entire group!! And Asahi is such a subversion of expectations!! I love that he’s one of (if not) the least inclined to pick fights and start yelling at people despite being the most physically intimidating!

AGGHH I LOVE HINATA SO MUCH!!! His energy and excitement are contagious!! Same with Nishinoya! (He just has the added bonus of being the shortest member of the team AND big brother vibes [I’m a sucker for sibling duos who aren’t actually siblings XD])

Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, right? Yes!! Right now Tsukishima gets on my nerves, but I like Yamaguchi a lot!! I feel kinda bad for him honestly? Like the vibe I’m getting from them as a duo is that Tsukishima is Yamaguchi’s comfortable person and Yamaguchi follows him around like a duckling as a result. But then Tsukishima kinda just ignores him?? Idk I could totally be misreading this. REGARDLESS, I can’t wait to see Yamaguchi’s serve in action! I haven’t seen anything about it since he asked to be taught, so as much as I love the others I’m kinda hoping something happens so he gets some game time here soon? And I’m sure Tsukishima will either get better or more tolerable over time! Right now I just don’t like him because he’s being mean to the sunshine XD

ABSOLUTELY!! I’ll probably need to get it out of my system anyway, so that works out well!! :D

Yes! I get invested in shows for the characters, so for me watching Haikyuu is just

THEY’RE ALL SO GOOD!!!! WHY DID I NOT WATCH THIS SOONER!? I get what you’re saying but like that’s so hard to imagine because it’s SO GOOD right now!!! XD

Thank you for rambling!!! I don’t have anybody to talk to about Haikyuu irl so getting to be excited about it with you was SUPER FUN!!

(Also explanation: You mentioned in the tags that your ears were ringing, so that’s what I was asking about. I probably should’ve clarified that XD)