#but also i'm chewing on her like a piece of gum

[cassafrasscr]

Not only is Lilliana full of shit... I think (at least subconsciously) she knows she's full of shit.

Here's thing #1. She claimed in the most recent episode (C3 E92) that she didn't become aware of the heinous crimes committed by the Ruby Vanguard until recently.

If she only just learned that Ludinus' plans involve doing some seriously evil shit... then why would she insist that she's the only one capable of curbing his worst impulses?

Really, Lilliana? If you know Ludinus is doing bad things, and he would do worse things if you weren't around to reign him in, you can't claim ignorance as an excuse for your involvement in his plans.

#2. If you don’t think Predathos is dangerous to mortals, why would you have spent the last 10 years in Imogen's dreams telling her to run away? Why would you be so afraid for Imogen the first time you noticed her attempting to commune with Predathos directly?

I guess it could be argued that communing with Predathos could draw Imogen further into what Ludinus is doing. But even then... if Predathos is really the one in charge, and is just manipulating Ludinus, why not just ask Predathos directly not to involve Imogen in its plans? Does Predathos not care about harming its Ruidusborn children? Do you think Predathos would lie to you, even though you claim to know exactly what it does and doesn't want?

Lilliana KNOWS that the Ruby Vanguard are committing enormous harm to normal people. She KNOWS that Predathos is dangerous to mortals.

As Lilliana herself has said... she's in too deep to back out now. Or at least, that's what she believes. She's spent AT LEAST 10 years (probably longer) following Ludinus and fighting for his cause. She gave up her life with her husband and daughter to pursue this. If she leaves now, all that time and work and pain will have been wasted.

Not only that, but the idea that this mission she's given up her whole life to pursue might be a lie? Lilliana has made this cause her entire life and identity. Imogen and her friends aren't just challenging the plan. They're challenging everything that makes Lilliana who she is as a person. If her cause is a lie, Lilliana herself is a lie.

Plus, the thought that the plan she's been fighting for has already done immense, irreparable harm to thousands of people across Exandria AND Ruidus... and threatens to do even more damage still? It's unbearable. She thought the cause she's devoted her life to and sacrificed so much for was just and beneficial. Now that she's being challenged by someone she loves (her daughter) with undeniable evidence to disprove that idea, she's trying to double down. She can't process the thought that not only is she the villain in someone else's story... they would actually be right to think of her that way.

All this is to say: I think a big part of why Lilliana is such a frustrating, infuriating character... is that she's actually a pretty realistic depiction of a member of an extremist cult. The problem is that deprogramming from those patterns of thought and behavior takes a long, long time. Time that Bell’s Hells may not be able to give her.

(All the negative feelings about Lilliana are, of course, valid. She also makes me Big Mad, lol, especially after the latest episode. That said, she's also a very interesting and compelling character... based on all the meta I've seen written about her since last night, anyway. Good job, Matt Mercer! 😂)

[lucidfairies]

science class [e.w]

pairing: loser!ellie x cheerleader!reader

summary: when a new cheerleader arrives at ellie's college, face all dolled up and skirt-clad hips swaying, she all but wants to die.

warnings: smut, 18+ mdni, poc friendly, smoking, bottom!ellie, dom!fem!reader, tribbing, cunnilingus, nipple play, sorta thigh riding, overstim ‼️, ellie comes like five times

wc: 3.6k

top notes: I like accidentally made ellie sort of autistic but it's not my fault okay. also when I was writing this I was thinking abt how if this was a novel the reader would be black but I'm white so idk if I can like write that without like getting something wrong but sorry anyway

sometimes ellie wished she was blind. she wished that she couldn't see pretty girls, because maybe then she wouldn't fall in love with everybody. especially you.

she was two weeks into her sophomore year of college when you showed up. immediately blinded by your beauty, she almost tripped down the hallway as you walked past, in a short little skirt, and a white shirt. your ponytail flicked as you walked by, meeting up with someone you knew already.

she knew she was fucked.

when she arrived at her class, she was astounded to see that you were sitting in the seat next to hers, chewing gum and typing on your computer with cute blue light glasses on. like it was nothing. like her world wasn't crashing down in front of her.

standing in the corner of the lecture room, she debated moving seats. there were plenty of open ones, but you chose the one next to her? how was she supposed to survive this class with a pretty girl next to her, observing everything she does?

the answer is, she wasn't going to.

she was simply going to perish from the sight of you, from being in your presence, because she certainly didn't deserve to be and-

"ellie, would you please sit down? you're creeping me out." her teacher said, and she shifted nervously, then sped to her seat with her gaze trained at the floor. "okay, let's dive in, shall we?"

and the lecture continued. like you weren't right there. she couldn't understand why everyone in the world wasn't looking at you right now, absolutely entrancing, the way you took cute aesthetic notes and reapplied your shiny clear lip gloss.

"ellie?" you said, hoping she truly answered to that. she turned, meeting your eyes with a nervous smile and rosey red cheeks. "hi. I'm y/n. I just wanted to tell you that I like your sweatshirt."

it was a ratty old thing that joel had given her years ago, with a faded queens logo and a hole in the armpit that she had to sew back together every time she washed the poor hoodie.

"it's nice to meet you," she said quietly, tucking back a piece of hair that had fallen into her face. she realized how strange she must've looked and stopped quickly, "my dad gave it to me when I was like 11. I've had it forever."

you giggled. you just fucking.. giggled. "you aren't one of those people who just wears it because it's cool though, right?" ellie shook her head violently.

"no, I love their music. I wish I was born in the eightees so I could've listened to them live and.. yeah. I really like them." she turned away from you ever so slightly, nervously over talking and terrified that she was embarrassing herself.

"hey, you're good. I wish I was too. my favorite song is probably back chat, but keep yourself alive is a close second. how about you?" and you let this loser girl next to you talk. and talk. and talk.

ellie didn't know that you were intrigued by her demeanor in every way. from the stickers on her lap top to the patches on her backpack, every detail about her you noticed. you observed the way she warmed up to people and let you strike up a conversation with her about anything once you knew her. and it was... cute. really fucking adorable.

ellie's life only got a million times harder after that. to add to her series of neverending death sentences, she now had to see you in your perfect makeup and effortless outfits everyday. instead of just showing up to class, you insisted on talking to ellie. about everything. cheer, your friends, some dude that was hitting on you.

and on top of that? she saw you in the hallways, or on campus and you smiled. waved, even. some days you even talked to her. in public. you weren't afraid to be friends with her. and though she had jesse and dina, she still had very little social experience, and you were like a breath of fresh air.

on a chilly wednesday afternoon, ellie was walking to the building that your class had been in, and caught a glance of some other lesbian couple on campus. that settled it. she was going to ask for your number today, it wasn't like she was proposing marriage. just something simple. easy.

"can I have your number?" she interrupted you mid-sentence. and you smiled. of course you fucking smiled. she prepared herself for the notorious rejection, after hearing rumors of you rejecting everyone that came up to you and asked for your socials we. she wasn't just anyone, though.

"duh, you only took forever to ask." ellie was frozen in place. had you wanted her to ask? couldn't you have asked for hers? but before she could overthink too much, you were shoving your phone in her face and ellie was putting her number in. "anyway, as I was saying.."

ellie tuned out what you were saying, purely by accident. there were too many big events going on in her life for her poor brain to handle. the love of her life just agreed to give her their number, and she was plotting her route to dina's dorm as quickly as possible to tell her everything.

"holy shit dina," she huffed, running her hands through her hair. "I asked for her number so she gave it to me, and we talked! dina, we talked. about things. I already have our life planned out. we're gonna have two kids and a dog, she'll be a stay at home mom, because I'll do everything for her. I would kill for this girl, dina." dina was unimpressed.

"you are such a loser, els. has anyone told you that before?" she wasn't a loser, she was just incredibly and obsessively in love with you. ellie rolled her eyes. "I say make a move. you never know what could come of it."

"I can't," she sighed, trying to find words. "I can't just make a move, what if she doesn't like me? what if she thinks I'm weird?" she frowned.

"you are weird. if she doesn't like you like that, then fuck her. maybe start with being friends?" ellie nodded. she thought you guys were already friends, but technically you never hung out outside of class, and you hadn't really texted that much (she got your number today, but that hardly mattered).

"should I invite her to jesse's on friday?" dina rubbed the back of her neck. jesse was in a frat, one of the largest on campus that had absolutely wild parties on the weekends, which weren't exactly the best place for first dates. but to ellie... smoking and drinking around hot people in a random basement? amazing.

"if you think she's into that, I'm not gonna stop you." ellie was up and out of dina's apartment quickly, biking back to the dorms and planning out everything that was going to happen on friday.

- - -

in ellie's defense, she overslept. she wasn't thinking much about grabbing a jacket when she was already going to be ten minutes late, so when she stopped outside and the cool air hit her like a brick, she was less than prepared. but it hardly mattered. today was the day she was going to invite you to jesse's party, so her stupid jacket was like a blip on her radar.

"ellie, you're turning blue." you said, once ellie stumbled into her seat next to you. she was in nothing but a loose fitting tee-shirt and jeans, nothing to protect her petite figure. you hadn't noticed before how toned her arms were, but you certainly did now.

"I'm fine, it-it-it's not that cold." her teeth chattered as she stealthy tried to rub her hands over her arms to create friction.

"ellie, baby, I have an extra sweatshirt," you giggled when her eyes widened, grabbing the sweatshirt and handing it to her. "wash it and return it to me whenever." it was a bland black sweatshirt, but it matched your outfit, and you were more than happy to give it to ellie.

ellie who was most definitely going to pass out. she was probably just cold. it wasn't because she could smell your perfume on your hoodie that you just handed her. like it was nothing. she was going to fall out of her chair, onto the floor, and die.

"thanks," she pulled it over her head and sunk into it. "I'll give it back next class- what are you doing on friday?" she tried to get her thoughts straight while you looked at her with an adorable smile.

"I'm actually packing up and leaving, I dropped out," ellie's face fell, "oh ellie you're face," you laughed hard, and her expression softened. "but I'm not doing anything. why? wanna ask me out?" ellie was definitely blushing hard.

"my friend jesse is having a party at his frat on friday, do you.. do you maybe wanna go?" you tilted your head and looked away, as if you actually needed to think about it.

"hm, I guess I can fit that into my schedule." ellie released the breath she was holding and looked down at her hands for a moment before meeting your eyes again.

"uh that's great. it's kappa alpha, at nine. I would pick you up but I don't have a car,"

"how about I pick you up? what's your dorm number?" ellie texted you all the details, and it was settled. you were going on a date. together. in two days, and you were driving. ellie was on cloud nine- not even, cloud fucking ten.

- - -

"hey els," you giggled as she opened her dorm door. "oh, you look so cute! I'm definitely stealing this from you." you pushed a piece of hair behind her ear and messed with the corner of her collar, attached to a red flannel.

"oh thanks... it's yours if you want it." you knew if you asked she wouldn't ever have you give it back, maybe even give it to you right now. she stepped out of her room and shut the door, then followed you down the hallway.

"so who's this jesse kid? I hear a lot about him." you asked, turning on the engine and pulling out of the parking lot. the frat was on the other side of campus and ellie planned on walking? laughable.

"I really don't know him that well, he's dating my friend dina. he's a big stoner, but he's not super into the party scene. just goes 'cause the frat does." her eyes were trained out the window, not because she didn't want to listen to you, but because she was insatiably nervous.

"nice, nice." you paused for a moment. "are we gonna dance together or what? gonna save me a slow dance?" the tips of ellie's ears turned red.

"because I have such a roster." she joked, rolling her eyes. she would save every dance for you.

"perfect. is jesse's weed good?" she shrugged.

"it's okay. not as good as mine, and his plug is kinda shitty. whatever, it works. we're here." you pulled the car to a stop against the curb, in awe at how many people were coming in and out of the house.

ellie desperately needed to get high. maybe then she could talk to you like a normal person, not like she was trying to brush you off. when she found jesse, he was talking to dina and brushed her off. with a groan, she turned to find some other seller.

you were talking to someone, pretending not to pay attention to ellie skittering around the house talking to people she knew. maybe she wasn't as much of a loser as you thought, or maybe she was just a stoner. one of them. either way, she kept disappearing, but when you finally found her again, she was sitting on a couch, joint hanging from her lips as she talked with some friends.

"els," you fell next to her, taking the joint out of her mouth and taking a hit. "we should play beer pong." you suggested, smiling at her the way she liked.

"we were just talking about that," dina cut in, "me and jesse will play with you guys, won't we jes?" he turned back towards the three of you, dazed and a little confused. "that's a yes." ellie was burning lasers into dina, who was standing.

one of the tables was empty, and the group immediately moved to occupy it. you took your place next to ellie, teaming up with dina who was smirking at the end of the table. "you go first," you handed ellie the small white ball.

ellie was skilled, that's for sure. she made almost every single point, which had jesse drinking until he couldn't see straight. she was trying so hard not to focus on the way your bicep brushed against hers, and the way you giggled whenever you made a point. it just wasn't fair. none of this was fair.

"I definitely won." ellie said, as you made your way back inside. "you had, like, two drinks, max. I had jesse drinking for miles." you could tell she was on something now, the way she grinned and made eye contact and jokes were far from her usual character.

"don't you owe me a dance?" your hand locked with hers as you gently pulled her in the direction of where most people were dancing. you lifted her arm and spun her, pulling her back against your front by her hips.

ellie surely wasn't breathing. she was sure that she had died from alcohol consumption, or maybe someone stabbed her, and she was dead, in heaven. or a fever dream in a coma. there was no way in hell -in hell- that you were swaying your hips against her ass, cunt so fucking close to where she desperately needed you.

"this is fun, don'tcha think, ellie?" you whispered, voice low as you guided her hips with yours. her head fell back against your shoulder, alcohol wearing off as you ground her hips against your front. "I asked you a question, darlin."

"so fun," she muttered, eyes closed as she let you bring her hips back and forth with yours to the beat of the music. "wanna go upstairs?"

"ellie williams inviting me upstairs on the first date? dirty." you giggled, pulling away from her body. she was flushed, her boxers were already wet, and she had no clue what going upstairs entailed. but she needed you regardless. "lead the way, confident." she ran her sweaty hands down the front of her jeans and led you upstairs, to an empty bedroom. it was jesse's, and he wouldn't ever know.. right?

you were pulling her face against yours before she even got a chance to tell you that she didn't know what to do. you were definitely taking the lead on this one - not that ellie objected in any sense.

you nicked her bottom lip, eliciting blood at how chapped they were. you pushed your tongue into her mouth, smiling when she moaned and pulled you in by your waist. your hands traveled, brushing against her tits from beneath her tee shirt. obviously she didn't wear a bra, she was too cool and masc for that.

"you're desperate els," you sneered when you pulled away, pulling your crop top up and over your head. "take off your shirt and pants and lay down." ellie had no thoughts in her head; just you. you telling her to strip. this definitely wasn't a fever dream.

she quickly lost her shirt and pants, leaving lanky limbs and embarrassing boxers. her nipples were perked up, waiting to be sucked and slapped, and her face was red with a never ending blush.

when she laid down, you got on top of her, pushing her legs up around your waist as you sucked hickey after hickey into her neck. she was writhing and whining, begging for you to touch her further than just your hands still placed on her thighs. just from making out and hickies she was pushing her hips into you, clit hitting the fabric of your skirt as you moved to push your thigh between her legs.

"need you so bad," she whimpered when you finally diverted your attention from her neck down her chest. you left soft kisses between her tits and around them, before taking her nipple in your mouth and harshly sucking. like a false sense of security.

her hips were coming down hard and fast against your knee as you continued to mess with her tits, pulling her nipples between your fingers and grazing them with your teeth. she was just so fucking sensitive, and she barely even smoked anything.

knowing she was getting close, you moved your knee and kissed down her sternum, leaving a trail of shiny gloss as you got to the waistband of her boxers. "oh, poor baby, you've been waiting for this, haven't you?" you ran your thumb over the wet patch of her underwear.

"nghh- for so long," she moaned as her hips rutted into your palm. "I think about y- fuck- think about you when I..when I come," her eyes squeezed shut in embarrassment, knowing she was sharing far more than she needed to.

"do you now?" you teased, pulling her boxers down her pale legs. you added them to the pile of clothes and admired how absolutely drenched she was, practically leaking onto the sheets. "what do you think about, princess?" you were bringing her legs over your shoulders, looking at her expectantly.

"think about you- mh- about this," she was immediately distracted by the way you kissed her clit. "about c-cuming on your- shit shit fuck," you pressed your tongue against her clit and licked, before sucking it into your mouth and painting patterns with your tongue.

after keeping your attention directly on her clit for a few minutes, you circled her entrance with your middle finger, lubing it up before pushing it in to the first knuckle and fuck, she was tight, holding onto your finger to the point you could hardly thrust.

"ellie, you gotta relax. we can stop if you want to." she shook her head violently, unclenching her eyes and trying to breathe. her body released its tension, which made everything less tense, allowing you to push your finger the rest of the way in.

and... she came. just like that, barely a finger deep her cunt, barely doing anything.

"jesus ellie," you laughed to yourself. you didn't wait for her to finish before you started fucking your finger into her. she whined and thrashed to get away from your hand, but you added another finger and pressed down on her hip to steady her. you curled your fingers up just enough to hit that sweet spot inside of her and she almost black out.

"fuck- s'too much.. s'too much," she slurred, drunk on your fingers. the bed shook lightly against the wall at the harshness of your thrusts.

"is it really, baby?" you grinned, before taking her clit in your mouth again. her moans were practically louder than the music downstairs, and her back was arching. she attempted to get away from you, pulling her hips away, but it was no use.

tears welled in her eyes as her stomach tightened. her pussy clenched around your fingers, sucking them in deep. you pressed against her spot as she came, making her let out a broken shriek.

ellie was definitely crying now. especially when you didn't stop... again. you just kept pounding your fingers into her, adding a third. just thinking about how hard she would cum on a strap instead of your fingers had you dizzy.

her second orgasm morphed into her third before you pulled your fingers out. they were drenched in cum, which was dripping down your arm and the sheets. ellie's cheeks were puffy from crying, hips twitching as she tried to breath.

"oh sweet girl, we're not done yet." you wiped your hand on the bed and climbed off of her, stripping yourself of your remaining clothes and coming back over her, kneeling between her legs.

you pushed her leg up, straddling her for a moment. her lips were parted, breathing heavily as she waited for you to drop against her. your lips quirked up into a smirk as you pressed your cunt against hers, head falling back as your clits met.

ellie's pussy was wet, covered in cum, ready to be fucked until she couldn't say any name but yours. you thrust your hips against hers, and she was crying again, pulling and flicking her own nipples as she listened to you moan and reveled at how phenomenal your pussy felt.

she pushed her hips into yours, so you held them down, forcing her to take whatever you gave her. you came down against her pelvis hard, almost to the point where it hurt, but ellie was living for it, sobbing out your name like it was God's.

"can't come again- I can't- fuck, nnghh," you forced two fingers into ellie's mouth and she shut up, sucking them like a slut.

"yes you can." your voice changed, something deeper and more dominant ripped out of you as you got close to your orgasm. a rock in your stomach dropped, and you could feel ellie getting close as you picked up the pace, moaning at how her cunt felt.

you came at the same time, cum mixing and smearing all over both of you. ellie was still crying, back arched as she moaned over and over. you kissed her ankle softly as you came down for your high, climbing off of her after a moment and laying next to her.

"I want you to be my girlfriend," ellie croaked, voice still hoarse for all the crying. you giggled, looking over at her with a grin.

"I think I can do that."

bottom notes: this is the longest fic I've written and I actually thought I wouldn't be able to get more than 2k words.. anyway sorry about the abrupt ending I kinda wanted to be done

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

This is an admittedly random ask, but since you've been getting asks about Camilla, I'm jumping in with: what do you think about Carole, and the unflattering way the media portrays her?

Also, I have this completely speculative theory that, had Catherine not married William, she would have turned her focus and her considerable talents for branding and visual communication on Party Pieces at some point, and the company would still be active and successful today. That brings me to the second random question, do you think the Middletons are better off as the PoW's in-laws or rather have they paid a heavy price for supporting W&K?

I like Carole. She's just a mum who worked hard and gave her kids great lives. She's like the Reba theme song: a mom who works too hard, loves her kids and never stops, with gentle hands and the heart of a fighter. Only her ex didn't leave her for his ditzy blonde dental hygeniest, she wasn't single, her eldest daughter wasn't a teenage mother.

The press needed a villain in William and Kate's relationship to sensationalize their stories for profit. They couldn't cast Camilla in the role because William and Kate didn't really associate with her. But they did hang out often with the Middletons, so Carole it was, and the press used her as their foil to an otherwise innocent, normal, and boring love story. Minus the whole "future king of England" bit.

I agree that Kate would've worked at Party Pieces in marketing or advertising if William wasn't in the picture I don't think it would've been her full-time job. I think it would've been more of a part-time hobby, while her actual job would've been something more creative - maybe something in museums or in fashion (like a British Jenna Lyons-type) since that seemed to be her trajectory before things got serious with William.

I don't think Party Pieces would've remained successful today if Kate was involved. The company was starting to struggle before the pandemic and the pandemic just really accelerated things. And to be completely honest, I think Party Pieces had been struggling for a good long while in the late '00s and the '10s as more competitors flooded the marketplace and the internet amde international commerce easier. I feel that Kate's relationship with William definitely injected some much-needed support and attention into Party Pieces (who wouldn't want to buy party supplies from the future king's future mother-in-law?) and if Kate wasn't with William, Carole and Mike probably would've sold Party Pieces much earlier.

And yes, the Middletons have paid a price for Kate's relationship with William but frankly, I don't think they care. Mike and Carole love their kids and would do anything for them so supporting Kate, and supporting William, wasn't a difficult choice if/when they saw how much she loved him. If Mike and Carole had to do it all over again, they would probably make the same choices. (Most of them - maybe Carole wouldn't chew gum at William's Sandhurst passing out ceremony because the press really villanized her for that.)

For Mike and Carole, the good in supporting their daughter's relationship (her happiness, an adoring son-in-law, beautiful grandchildren, the privileges of being adjacent to the BRF, etc.) far outweighs the bad (press fodder and privacy invasion). A lot of parents would make the same sacrifices for their children in the exact same half-a-heartbeat that the Middletons did.

For me, the Middletons navigated being royal in-laws superbly, creating a brand new role in the BRF, and one that seems here to stay. No complaints here.

[itwasrealtome]

BEST BELOVED

CHAPTER FOUR — DAMN RIGHT, I’VE GOT THE BLUES

⚠️ DO NOT READ IF THIS MIGHT TRIGGER YOU

Scarlett Johansson x fem!OC fic | Masterlist

Summary :

Content Warning : Elle listening to some Buddy Guy | New School | Discovering a new place and new people | Carter hates LA and misses Portland

Navigation :

Chapter Three

Chapter Five

Don’t miss any more chapters or info by being tagged

TikTok

•••

LOS ANGELES — CALIFORNIA

DECEMBER 06, 2016

Carter hated Los Angeles. 

From its sweltering heat to its crowded streets and inhabitants. He'd only been there two short weeks and was already missing Portland. Not what he would have liked to call home, or the people who were supposed to be his family, but the city itself. The alleys of Japanese maples, the café where he played his first guitar notes in public and, above all, the weather in favor of a snowy Christmas.

Here, the air was stifling and the sun never seemed to take a break. Even sprawled out in his new bed, the atmosphere seemed to descend on him, crushing his chest. Repainting the walls and assembling the furniture had been an ordeal for him. Unlike his sister, who seemed accustomed to the Californian air, Carter was still wiping the corner of his eyebrow and inhaling every second. 

In the car, the ordeal was the same. But at least he could enjoy the occasional light breeze. He leaned back, his cap hitting the headrest of the seat, his long legs stretched out to the glove compartment. For someone who has money, he thought, it's definitely no luxury.

— Don said it’s a very good school, reminds Elle, taking her eyes off the road for a second. They have excellent results and programs. 

— Yeah, whatever… 

Chewing gum wrapped around his tongue, Carter blew until the bubble burst in his face. Elle flinched at the sound though she tried to hide it. She nudged her brother's shoulder, a heavy sigh covering Buddy Guy's voice.

— I'm doing this for you. 

It was as if the words were floating around in the vehicle without ever reaching their intended target. The dark-haired teenager's face was now glued to the glass, his eyes glued to the immense building looming overhead. It was by no means the same kind of school as the one Aunt Nancy had placed him in. 

The facade alone was impressively large. From their parking place, he could see teachers dressed in a clean and serious manner, but also students who did not seem at all to be petty criminals. Yeah, it was definitely a big change.

— I know it's nothing like the shithole we grew up in, but I think you're going to love it here.

Carter simply shrugged, following the actress blindly, hands clutching his backpack. He relied heavily on his feet to lead him to the right place. The sight of the path through the trees didn't interest him. He wanted to see the branches move with the light breeze and the white chalk of the walls lighten with the sun. If he had to face this view for the rest of the year, then it was nothing like the hell he'd imagined.

— Ah. Ms. Wiley, it's a great honor to have you here in our school. The school principal spent some extra time buttering Elle up, before realizing Carter’s presence. And you, young man, must be Carter.

Carter shook her hand and gave a brief, shy smile. He suddenly felt his cheeks heating up, just as they did when attention was focused on him. Only this time, Elle was right by his side.

— I hear you have an excellent program for athletes. I'm quite interested, can you tell me more about it?

The woman went into her lengthy explanations and began guiding her guests around the establishment. Elle didn't care much for the school's sports program, but she knew Carter did. He trailed behind the two women, his gaze darting all over the place, swallowing each piece of information he was given.

His sister was right. This building was nothing like the one they'd known. The corridors were huge, well-lit and furnished with rows of lockers that still looked new, or at least functional. He was surprised to find that the refectory was clean and free of tags on walls and tables, something to which he'd become accustomed in his old school. Only a few kilometers stood between him and the place he had once known, yet he had the distinct impression of being in another world. 

When both women halted, Carter missed his cue and lightly jostled his sister. He murmured a simple apology, tightening the grip on his backpack straps. Elle quietly patted his shoulder and prompted him to focus on the space in front of them, where one of the school’s gymnasiums stood out. Her knowing smile betrayed her familiarity with her brother's interests. There were only two places to find Carter: the music classroom and the gymnasium, ball in hand.

— Coach Cruz has already studied your profile, Carter. Let me tell you, if you keep up the good work, you'll soon be the team's new star.

The brunet only nodded, too absorbed by the sound of soles on the wooden floor, the whistles and the power of the strikes to find words. Los Angeles may not have been home, but this place could be. 

He could already see himself practicing for hours on end, improving his sets and shots, making this room his reference point. The equipment didn't look as bad as he'd imagined. 

Here, at least, they had equipment.

— I have a couple of matters to settle with Mrs. Hale. stated Elle, her hand massaging the nape of her brother's neck. Why don't you introduce yourself and take a walk? I won't be long.

Before he could react, Principal Hale had already called the coach over to them. Cruz was a man in his fifties, with an athletic bearing and a posture that showed immense respect. His handshake was strong and seemed genuine. And for the first time since he'd been in his sister's company, Carter saw a man more preoccupied with his sport than with the actress' beautiful face.

— Hey son, welcome to the team. Cruz guided him with a hand on his shoulder, his fatherly posture almost reassuring for a young boy like Carter. You're gonna love it here!

•••

Taglist : @micaluvssoccer @rain-mikaelson @red1culous @taylucky13 @womenlovingwomen-imagines @aqiia24 @youdontknowwhotfiamm @mmmmokdok @unexpected-character @iheartmilfies @natalia-quinzel @electricboost @angeliqueh5331 @emskisworld @sami1642 @waltermis @imjai02 @enjoytheentireworld @jatrovyknedl @madamevirgo @lyak12 @anku1901 @ssaaggwwaa @marvelandotheruniversesloveradhd @canvasscoloredin @butwhynothavesomwmore @hi-1-1-blog @g1u2y @fanfiction-24824 @greyslover3004

[btr-rewatch]

Big Time Rush Season 1, Episode 18: “Big Time Concert” (Part 3)

Highlights: 3/4 of Big Time Rush move on with their lives.

In my previous post, we'd just left off at the scene where Hawk and his assistant have made the decision to target James in their big "take down Rocque Records once and for all" plan.

Over at Rocque Records, Kelly informs Gustavo that since Griffin spent $2 million on the band, it'll take that same amount to get them back.

This scene brings back such memories of a younger me being so intrigued by Kelly's necklace because it looks like big pieces of Orbit chewing gum.

I just. I want to chew on that necklace, ok?

Kelly thinks she's figured out a way they can get that kind of money, and Gustavo is thrilled...until Kelly tells him he's got to sell his mansion.

Meanwhile, everyone is settling back in at the Knight house (minus James, who's out riding his tiny bike around and brooding). I like the touch of having the wall of family pictures that contain actual photos of the actors—I spot a handful of Kendall's headshots that I recognize. I especially like that there's the same photo twice.

Rather than seeing it as a funny mistake on the part of the set designer, I choose to believe either

Mama Knight likes that picture so much that she had to include it in two different frames

Or, alternatively, someone (maybe Katie or Carlos) decided at some point to pull a prank where they slowly start replacing every photo on the wall with that one single picture and see how long it takes before anyone notices.

Kendall asks Logan to go over where they are currently in their "Rebuild our Minnesota dreams schedule," and can I just say that the guys (minus James) have slipped back into their lives as nobodies in Minnesota seamlessly? Like, I know it was James's dream, and the whole reason they went was because Kendall's offer made it so James could have that shot at stardom, and Kendall never really wanted to be in a boyband, but still. They had so many opportunities in that short time, experienced so much, made friends, established romantic relationships, and saw how amazing that life can be. You'd think they'd all be mourning at least a little. Unless they're just in a different type of denial than James was.

Although, I suppose their response can make sense when you look at their individual personalities. Logan's pragmatic, so I'm sure it could have been easy for him to brush off their brief taste of stardom with self-assurances that it wasn't a sturdy, logical career to pursue anyway, and failure was much more likely than success in the long run.

Carlos is such a carefree, go-with-the-flow, high-on-life guy that he can find happiness anywhere. He rolls with the punches and just looks to the next exciting thing (ie. becoming a radioactive superhero. Love that for you, Los)

Kendall is a little trickier because he does kind of have an obsessive personality, and he's just as determined about things as James. I'm almost surprised he doesn't take the end of the band, his chance with Jo, and so on harder. But then there's the part of me that says there are other things at play that overpower whatever sadness Kendall might have, such as him seeing it as a chance to finally relax for a bit. He'd been working so hard to hold everything together in L.A., churning out pep talks and dealing with Gustavo and constant shenanigans. He can take a breath now. Also! While I don't think Kendall has necessarily had a difficult life overall (it's clear he's had a good, loving upbringing, has a nice house, etc) I don't think his life has been easy. He watched his parent's marriage fall apart when he was super young; his dad walked out, his mom has had to work her butt off to support him and Katie, and Kendall also has a job (I think the only one of the boys who does) to help bring in extra money. That kid knows that sometimes life throws you a curveball, and you've got to hold your head up and just keep going. No time for a pity party or wallowing in "what ifs."

So yeah, anyway...tangent over. My favorite part of this little scene is the look Kendall gives to Logan after he reads the first item off their list.

Look at him. There's so much love in that look. He's so proud of Logan going after his dreams. I love Kendall, and I love their friendship, and I love this stupid show.

And I need to briefly get off topic here solely to mention how much I've always liked Logan's accent. Love the way he says words. He turns the short "e" sound into short "i" in so many things. "Ten" becomes "tin," and "Kendall" becomes "Kindall." I also have a distinct memory of one episode where he manages to turn the two-syllable word "ruin" into the single-syllable word "roon." Always got a kick out of that.

With all this sidetracking, it is going to take me FOREVER to get through this episode. I am barely twenty minutes in.

After Super Carlos bursts into the room and announces they're going to start righting the wrongs they left behind when they moved to L.A., the guys go to apologize to Mrs. Magicowski. They promised to shovel her walkway if she let them use her car to get to the audition, then they ditched her and went to be a band, lol. I love Mrs. Magicowski; she's such a sweet old woman. I want to know more about the relationship the boys have with her. I imagine they took good care of her prior to leaving—checking in on her, shoveling, raking leaves, bringing her meals—and in return, she was like a grandma to all of them.

They look ridiculous, btw.

I mean, Kendall I can excuse, but Logan and Carlos look like they've just rung a doorbell and are waiting for candy on Halloween. Bunch of weirdos.

No, wait, you know what? This is exactly how they looked on Halloween night as kids, I guarantee it. Carlos as a superhero, Logan as a doctor, Kendall as a hockey player, and James like a rockstar. Speaking of James, what's he up to?

Oh.

Shake it off, Jamesy.

Also, the tiny bike still is very funny, but @day-dreams22, I'm pretty sure you're right that it's a BMX bike. After he gets hit, there's a shot where you can see the words "goose" on the bike, which means it's likely a Mongoose-brand BMX trick/stunt bike. And look at that hop off the curb. James Diamond, secret BMX stunt rider CONFIRMED.

Ok, you know what? I was aiming for 4 posts total for this episode, but it looks like it'll end up being 5 because I'm rambling so much during these. Hope no one minds having to split it into so many parts, but I worry if they're too long, they'll be difficult to read and get through. Anyway, I'm having a lot of fun being able to just go on about whatever, haha.

And James getting hit by a car seems like a fitting place to leave this episode. Hope he survives <3

[cringelordofchaos]

top 3 of your biggest kins and why!!

Yayayay someone sent me an ask !!!

Sorry for my lack of response! Will get to it now!

Also I assume you mean fictionkin - sorry if you didn't!

Luz Noceda

Dvdhnfjdjd WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN? I've been so fucking obsessed w her and could relate to her WAYY too much since I started watching. Just... Ugh. So much of it. Being "the weird kid", inconsistent and lackluster grades / performance, being overly obsessed with a specific franchise (though mine come and go and return every few weeks lol), having a mom who really cares about you and wants the best for you and has had similar experiences growing up and being isolated or cast out but accidentally made you feel like you had to conform because that's what she kinda had to do??? idk but still encourages her child's true self and feels super guilty Abt it all yada yada. having little to no friends (I have one! (Speaking of offline) before visiting the demon realm. Fanfic writer (I never have the patience or motivation to finish anything I start though), being impulsive, not knowing whay you wanna be, being into witchcraft, feeling like you're somewhere where you don't belong (the human realm) and would gladly escape into a whole different realm, Bisexual (I'm questioning this though), gender nonconforming, being told that you just have to "apply yourself", insecure, similar clothing style, considers herself a "dummy", poor attention span for things she's uninterested, indecisive, etc etc, THIS SCENE THIS SCENE THIS SCENE

(ps the way camilla hovered her hand above the screen / luz when she saw how sad she was 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺)

It's just. Everything.. I remember the first time I watched it I was like "Luz is so me in almost every single way. Except she makes a ton of eye contact, I don't rly do that" lmao... I would rewatch s1 and S2 on loop every day for the whole summer, I am NOT exaggerating. I rly love TOH I'm so.glad I got the opportunity to watch it and it means sm to me and I keep rewatching the scene from thanks to them and auhggjt.

"all I ever wanted... Was to be understood!" HEJDJFJDIDJRUJDJEKF DJJFFJNFB FIKF

AARON MITCHELL

oh my GOD when I saw this movie for a few days I'd cry sm just bc of how much I related.to him. He chews his shirt. I used to do the same when I was twelve and a bunch of my shirts had holes and still have holes but I stopped and now I just grid my teeth instead lmfao and they hurt ouch. a piece of gum is a lifesaver for.me. He's OBSESSED with dinosaurs - for me it's not dinosaurs specifically but like I've said earlier I tend to get OBSESSED with things way too much to the point everyone knows me for that thing. He's implied to have ZERO FRIENDS before meeting Abby who shares his obsession w dinosaurs (just like me and my one n only friend fr) (why do I keep getting attached to characters who previously had zero friends wtf.) LOVES to talk Abt his interest. Obsessive. Shy. Awful social skills. Takes things too literally sometimes. Calls his dad father sometimes cuz why not ("Thank you, father." after he gave him his phone back "just as promised" (except he broke it in pieces but he.kept his promise so aaron doesn't care lmao.) carries a notebook and pencil w him randomly?. his older sibling and parent argue abt the siblings college choices and you're just forced to watch and the tension is rising and you're feeling anxious and Uhm yeah. SOMETIMES KINDA ROBOTIC IN HIS SPEECH? I've noticed? Blunt. Has a TON of things related to his obsession. (For me I have primarily a tonshit of sonic themed things.) dislikes being alone. Dislikes admitting his feelings. Nerd. Uses obsession as a way to understand, contextualize and communicate with the world and his surroundings. Also chews his fingers. Always wearing sweatpants. Fidgety. Ect etc. Just lile arhghfhfng. HIM.

Things I don't relate to - wearing shoes in bed. What the actual fuck Aaron. Also he wears socks. I don't do that unless I'm nailed down to the floor until I succumb to their nonsensical rules. Ok they KINDA make sense but I don't like them. I don't care that my shoes or feet will smell afterwards get those fucking socks away from me.

. anyway sorry. There's probably more but yeah I forgot. I actually got the urge to cry when just thinking about him a couple of times. Like wowza dawg he's just like me fr and I mean it. I can really really relate to him and I act a lot like him and I acted even more like him when I was about his age and was obsessed with exclusively sonic for like a year straight. lol

Enderman

Ok this one's a short one but yeah I can relate to them. They're just minding their own business, in their own piece, picking random things off the ground (or ground itself..), DESPISE eye contact and will get really violent if you make eye contact with them (I am not exaggerating I actually get really angry and uncomfortable with uninitiated eye contact from ppl I'm not comfy with like don't look at me stop looking at me stop looking at me.) makes random sounds sometimes, such as screeches and hisses. Unlike them I DO like water and I LOVE rain HOWEVER I DO NOT LIKE touching smaller amounts of water on surfaces where I don't expect water to be and get really grossed out and uncomfortable from it. Unless they're with their own kin they're just kinda going around, alone, minding their peace unless provoked. Like most mobs - both hostile and peaceful - acknowledge your existence, hostile ones attack you, peaceful ones like horses and sheep and pigs and wolves and cats and whatnot may look at you if you look at it and pay attention to you and some can be befriended, enderman is neither like them, they're minding their own business, they don't initiate contact like, ever, and only engage w the player when having to defend themselves... when feeling threatened EVEN if the player didn't mean to scare them, like idk I'm.noy.really used to strangers having good intentions with me so I get defensive easily .... that is irl, on the internet I definitely don't get ever scared from social interactions ahaha 😎 yeah.

So yeah the only thing I KINDA can't relate to is not liking water - I only dislike water in a very specific context so yeah. And I do make eye contact w family members usually like I've mentioned earlier - I don't know, do endermen make eye contact with each other? I'm not sure, I don't remember. There might be more to them that I relate to but I can't recall anything at the moment

Everything I've mentioned about these characters in This post - I can relate to. These are just my feelings put imperfectly into words.... but I feel a lot about them and have felt a lot about them for quite some time.

Ducbfjrj there's also a list of characters I relate to (link in intro post) but these were the ones I related to the most

[viburnt]

hello! I have a request for aizawa! With prompts “Fuck,I wish I never met you!” and “Let me fix your hair”? You could can chose one but if ur doing both can u do a hate relationship against the reader and aizawa but forced to work/teach the reader? Or yo to you! I would love to see what u come up with since I love ur blog sm! Thank you 💗💗

Hoping you like it, Anon! I feel like Aizawa would treat younger colleagues like kids haha. Also, drink water and eat well, Anon; thanks for requesting!

—Viburnt

𝐀𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐰𝐚 𝐒𝐡𝐨̄𝐭𝐚 || 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐬

The uncomfortable cold shoulder you were giving Aizawa was getting him on his nerves, his tired eyes burning into your back as you refused to even look at him. It was not his fault the two of you were paired up for a night-watch patrol. "Could at least try to cooperate," he thought as you looked at your phone instead of listening to him.

Exasperated, he snatched your mobile from your hands and threw into the backseat of the car.

—Hey, what the fuck? That's expensive, you prick! — You yelled, fuming with anger. The man squeezed your face with his hand to make you look at him.

—Look, you can be a brat all you want, kid. Be my fucking guest, but this mission is important and I'm not letting some wannabe big shot ruin it, got it?— He said seriously. The tone of his voice was low and husky, sending shivers down your spine; you hated how he didn't have to yell at you to show how angry he was.

As a matter of fact, you despised his guts.

The way he looked at you, how he always called you kid like you weren't an expert on your field, how his words always made you feel incompetent. You prayed to God to be given a chance to prove him wrong- or at least an opportunity to kick him in the balls.

—Do that again and you'll lose a damn finger.— You snarked, slapping his hand away. "All bark and no bite," Aizawa thought, rolling his eyes.

—Whatever you say.— He added.

"Why is he always like this?" You wondered as you reached for the radio to play some music.

After some hours waiting, your stomach grumbled, begging for something to eat.

—Was that you?— Aizawa amusedly asked, picking up the way your body called for food. — Did you not eat beforehand?

—I did, ok? I just ate lightly.— You lied, not wanting him to know you'd in fact forgotten about having a meal before patrol.

Wanting to distract yourself from Shōta's comment (and from the emptiness in your guts), you rummaged through your pocket to grab a small box of bubble gum you'd bought in advance, picking one of the long fruity pieces of candy to unwrap it.

—Don't eat in the car.— Aizawa uttered as he adjusted his seat. It was going to be a long night waiting for the targeted suspect to appear, so he wanted to be (at least) comfortable.

—Don't eat in the car.— He heard you mock in a high-pitched sardonic tone, his eyes watching as you chewed on the gum. —It's candy; you chew it, not eat it.

—It's gonna leave my seats sticky, and I'm not cleaning some girl's mess.

—Can you stop policing everything I do? Jesus Christ, I'm not a toddler.

You formed a big bubble with your treat, boasting about it in front of him. A malicious idea crossed Aizawa's mind...

*pop*

—Ugh, Aizawa what the fuck? You got it in my hair!— You complained as the man chuckled, proud of his little prank. "Why does this idiot always have to mess with me?", you wondered as you tried to get rid of the sticky rests of candy from your hair.

"Should teach her to listen," he thought to himself, watching you anxiously try to fix the mess he'd made.

—Relax, kid. I warned you, didn't I?— He said with abandon as a sly smile appeared on his lips. —Maybe learn to follow instructions.

—Fuck, I wish I'd never met you! You are the worst.— He heard you yell, you'd gotten more upset than he had planned you to react. Getting off the car, you slammed the door to let off some steam, cursing.

It reminded him of the very first time he had worked with you. You were much more joyful and eager to cooperate, but as the mission progressed, the goofy smile you had became a frown. After that, Aizawa simply understood it as if "You couldn't take orders from him".

He remained silent for a second, whatsoever, feeling a little bit of guilt. You were just hungry, he could've let that one slide, he guessed. Deciding it was better to apologize before the already bumpy relationship he had with you got worse, he joined you outside for a moment.

—What do you want?!— You screamed, not wanting to see him.

—Don't be so dramatic, it's just gum. I have so wet towels on the glove compartment.

— "I have wet towels. Oh, look at me, I'm Eraserhead, I tell people what to do"— You snapped, not being patient with his antics. — Maybe don't be such a giant imbecile for once? Would it kill to have some respect for me?

—I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd get so-

—That's the thing, you never think! I'm not your student for you to act so superior all the time.— You lashed, letting your thoughts out. —I'm not a kid, Aizawa, I may be a little younger but still.

Shōta looked at you briefly, stunned by your rant. His behavior was uncalled for, he had to admit. For a long while, he just guessed you were a inexperienced brat because you'd decided to be a more commercial hero instead of keeping an underground profile like he did.

But thinking about it, most of his colleagues were like that, even Mic. He had been unfair to you.

—I worked hard for this position, you know? I busted my ass for hours, day after day to be recognized as hero out there. Why can't you fucking see that?

Your words sinked into your colleague's mind, making him feel remorseful. His eyes softened as his gaze found yours, feeling like a dog with his tail between his legs.

— I know how to get the gum out of your hair...— Aizawa mumbled. It caught you off guard but it was his way of saying "OK, I fucked up and I'm sorry. Let me try to fix it."

—What? — You asked, dumbfounded. The anger in your face faltered for a second, confused by his sudden change of attitude.

—Look, I'm sorry for treating you like a kid, I really acted like an asshole.— You heard him explain. — But let me try again, ok? We'll probably be working together a lot more in the future so let's try not to kill each other for a second.

You sighed, still annoyed, but decided to allow his approach.

— Go on.

—Eri sometimes gets stuff on her hair, it's not very hard to do.— He assured, motioning you to step closer to inspect the aftermath of his actions. Looking at you, you weren't a bad hero, much less a bad person.

Sensing honesty in his words, you decided to forgive him.

—I'm sorry for what I said earlier, I was just-

—Don't sweat it, I deserved it.— He assured, opening the door of the car again for you. —Let me fix your hair.

—... Who's Eri?

—You'll meet her some time...kid.

— Eraser-

—Sorry.

[miyaagis]

I stumbled across your cheater kuroo fic and I do have to say -that thing stings where it hurts and I am frustrated with yn, especially because I see my sister in her, because what hell do you mean she knows and she's not going to do anything, plus she's going to let him see his side dish. I really don't understand why anyone would have such low self respect and dignity, staying in relationships/ marriages where they're being disrespected and cheated on when leaving is an option😭. This one was a bit personal because my sister was the exact same way, sometimes going as far as to invest herself in a multiple month long situationship that's not going anywhere. Women should just learn to prioritise themselves and it's what my sister did. She stopped putting up with her boyfriends bullshit and became the best version of herself when she started emotionally detaching herself from toxic relationships and putting herself first. Now she's always investing in herself and her needs and she's the happiest she's been in a while -and honestly I wish the same for yn. I want to see her grow as a person and detach herself from kuroo and put herself first. I'd also like to get to know yn more as a character, like what's she's like, why does she let kuroo do as he please, doesn't she have standers?, is she generally used to being disrespected by her partners?. Or is she the shell of the woman she once was after marrying kuroo and putting him first?. In terms of revenge, I don't really know if cheating back would be the best course because if she's cheating because he's cheating it would make her relasionship with the other man centered around him, around getting back at him and that's the worst thing. You just need to focus on yourself, everything you do, do it for you not because of the person who hurt you. Detach, move on, be your own bitch. That's literally the best revenge. If there is another man it would maybe be better if they got together because of mutual love and shared fondness. Or if she will fix things with Kuroo he has to be worthy of the new her, not a weak cheating bastard that strays from his marriage and disrespects his wife. If a woman who truly values herself gets with a man he needs to be worthy of, he needs to meet the standards, I think that's why I'm always happy in my relationships. I set the standards if he can't meet them I let him know he shouldn't bother wasting my time

Also I've noticed that his relationship with Yuko is mostly centered around lust and excitement but it was so hilarious when he boxed her once his wife arrived at the office, he just pushed her aside like an old piece of chewing gum (and she still let's him come back when he's horny😭)his when his wife was present and I almost felt sorry for her until I remembered she doesn't really have the integrity and mortality to resist spreading her legs for a married man -who's just as guilty and shitty as her. But I like how realistic you made it cause most of the time men olny use the side chick for a good time, hiding them in public and not really having any sort of meaningful connections with them except for a good fuck.

But I really like your writing and your story ❤️, I'd just like to know more about yn as a character. She seems sweet and seems to carry a homely, light feminine charm to her.

omg nonnie, first of all, I'm so sorry ur sister had to go through that. but I'm glad she's doing so much better now ♡

as for y/n, i wanted to approach kuroo's infidelity in an unconventional way. the logical thing to do is confront him about it, leave, divorce him, etc. but the 'problem' here is that she finds it oddly arousing. so we're seeing it from a perspective of being a voyeur rather than cheated on. of course she's not happy about it, there's a lot of conflict and turmoil in her mind because she should not feel turned on at the thought of his husband having an affair.

there's still so much plot in the works. we still haven't seen how yuko and kuroo came to this arrangement, or what happens now that y/n knows...

[hereforreadandwrite]

Chapter Four

Masterlist

The Invention Room was a really strange room, filled with futuristic objects and scientific things. The darkness of the room brought out the fluorescent products and the strange glasses of the Oompa Loopam. You were taken out of your contemplation because of Willy. You hadn't noticed that the chocolatier was still holding your hand. His grip was firm, the leather of his glove felt so warm and soft. The chocolatier dragged you to a kind of swimming pool to face his guests.

"Now this is the most important room in the entire factory. Now everyone enjoy yourselves, but just don't touch anything, okay? Come one. Scoot! Scoot!"

The children rushed to the strange pool where an Oompa Loompa was swimming. He seemed to be collecting candies. You let go of Willy's hand to move closer to the strange pool when a hand landed on your shoulder. You were obliged to turn to none other than Madame Beauregarde. Violet's mother glared at you as she moved closer to you, invading your personal space. Mrs. Beauregarde looked you up and down before giggling.

"You have no interest. Given the age of your son, you must be adept at this sort of thing to achieve your ends."

"I beg your pardon?"

"And you're completely stupid too. Mr Wonka must have figured that out," mrs Beauregarde sneered before bringing his face closer to yours. "Listen to me, whore. I'm also ready to do anything for my Violet to win this prize. She's never lost a single competition. And it's not a minx like you who's going to ruin everything!"

You felt a lump forming in your throat. Seeing your tearful look, Madame Beauregarde smiled before turning her back on you to join her dear daughter. You were going to ruin everything? Again? You ruined everything by saying you were the one who found the golden ticket. You ruined everything by preventing Grandpa Joe from coming back to that chocolate factory. You ruined everything by refusing to offer Charlie and Grandpa Joe the golden ticket. It's true, you always messed up. Your gaze rested on your dear cousin. Charlie was so happy to be here. Were you going to ruin everything unintentionally?

"Hey! Mr. Wonka! What is that?" Violet asked in her shrill voice.

"Oh! Let me show you!"

Willy moved closer to the strange pool. The Oompa Loompa emerged, handing one of the candies to its boss. He thanked him before walking away, staring at his new treat.

"These are everlasting gum stuffers," he said, facing the group. "They're for children who are giving very little allowance. You can suck on it all year and it'll never get any smaller. Isn't that neat."

"It's like gum," Violet replied nonchalantly.

"No. Gum is for chewing. And if you tried chewing one of these gobstoppers, you'd break all your little teeth off," Willy explained with a twitching smile before looking at the gobstopper. "They sure do taste terrific. Here. Enjoy."

Willy put the godstopper in your hand before walking away to approach another table. Your gaze met Charlie's, who shrugged before following the rest of the group. You ran your tongue over the gobstopper. Strawberry flavor. Delicious. You approached the group to see an Oompa Loompa covered in hair from head to toe. What had happened to him?

"How are you today?" he asked the Oompa Loompa who showed two thumbs up. "You look great!"

The Oompa Loompa lowered his arms bowing slightly before leaving. Willy motioned for the group to follow him to some strange controllers. The chocolatier lowered a lever, activating a strange machine. The machine lowered, unfolding several parts before revealing a small dispenser that dispensed a piece of chewing gum. Violet was quick to take the piece of gum.

"You mean that's it?" Mike mumbled unimpressed.

"Do you even know what it is?" Willy asked, glaring at the mumbler.

"It's gum," Violet replied, continuing to chew her piece of gum loudly.

"Yeah. It's a stick of the most amazing and sensational gum in the whole universe," Willy explained with a huge ecstatic smile. "Know why? Know why?! Because this gum is a full three-course-dinner all by itself."

"Really? Three meals in such a small thing?" you asked looking at the piece of gum.

"Of course! Amazing no?!"

"Why would anyone want that?" asked Mr. Salt puzzled.

Willy lost his smile before reaching into his jacket, pulling out his little cards. He searched his cards before finding the one he was looking for.

"It will be the end of all kitchens and all cooking. Just a little strip off Wonka's magic chewing gum and that is all you will ever need at breakfast, lunch and dinner. This piece of gum happens to be tomato soup, roast beef and blueberry pie."

"It sounds great!" you say impressed.

"It sounds weird," Veruca replied unimpressed.

"It sounds like my kinda gum," Violet replied in turn.

Madame's little double removed the piece of gum, which she had been chewing for 3 months, to stick it behind her ear.

"Gross," you thought as you put your hands on Charlie's shoulders.

"I'd rather you didn't, there's still one or two things that are a little-" Willy began before being cut off by Violet.

"I'm the wolrd record holder in chewing gum. I'm not afraid of anything."

As everyone watched, Violet put the piece of gum in her mouth. Loudly chewing gum three meals. You looked at Willy out of the corner of your eye. His expression had broken down when he saw the little girl chewing, loudly, the piece of gum.

"How is it, honey?" asked Mrs Beauregarde with a proud smile.

"It's amazing!" Violet exclaimed looking at her mother. "Tomato soup! I can fell it running down my throat!"

"Yeah. Spit it out!" Willy ordered with a tight smile.

"Violet, I think you'd better-"

You couldn't finish your sentence when Mrs Beauregarde violently crushed your foot with her heel. You bit your lip, biting back a curse. You glared at the irresponsible mother who was doing the same.

"It's changing! Roast beef with baked potatoes. Crispy skin and butter," Violet quoted, chewing faster.

"Keep chewing, kiddo," Mrs Beauregarde encouraged. "My little girl is gonna be the first person in the world to have a chewing gum meal."

"First and only," you muttered, taking Charlie's hand in yours.

You were moving away from mother and daughter Beauregarde, taking your cousin with you, to get closer to Willy. The chocolate maker tapped his cane nervously on the ground when he saw that this damn kid refused to spit out this piece of gum.

"Yeah. I'm just a little concerned about the-" Willy said before being cut off again.

"Blueberry pie and ice cream!"

"That part."

"What's happening to her nose?" asked Veruca surprised.

The group's attention focused on Violet's nose which, to their surprise, was turning blue. Willy wasted no time, grabbing your arm to get behind the machine with Charlie.

"It's turning blue," replied Mr. Salt.

"Your whole nose has gone purple," Mrs Beauregarde said in surprise.

"What do you mean?" Violet asked, running her fingers over her nose.

"Purple, you're turning purple!" exclaimed Mrs Beauregarde before turning to Willy, half hiding behind the machine. "What's happening?"

"Well, I told you I hadn't quite got it right. Because it goes a little funny when it gets to the desert," he said, looking at poor Violet's face which was turning bluer and bluer. "It's the blueberry that does it. I'm terribly sorry!"

Willy was hurrying to hide behind the gum dispenser, joining you and Charlie. The others recoiled as they saw Violet's skin turn entirely blue, as well as her hair and jogging. The little girl turned to her mother, asking her what was going on. The poor child's body began to deform. Her body swelled more and more.

"She's swelling up!" you say, hugging Charlie to you.

"Like a blueberry," the boy said as he clung to your arms.

Willy winced as he saw Violet turn into a huge blueberry. You saw the chocolatier slipping, without a sound, behind mrs Beauregard who could only helplessly watch the transformation of her darling daughter.

"I've tried it on like twenty Oompa Lompas and each one ended up as a blueberry. It's just weird," Willy chuckled.

"But I can't have a blueberry as a daughter! How is she supposed to compete?!"

"You could put her in a county fair," Veruca replied.

Willy was laughing at Veruca's comment, but he quickly stopped laughing when he saw Mrs. Beauregard's fierce gaze. You and Charlier came out of your hiding place and music started playing. Loompa Oompas arrived to start singing about Violet and the fact that she chewed all the time. This song was not to Mother Beauregarde's taste. She watched the Oompa Loompa with hatred as the little men rolled the screaming Violet. At the end of the song, the Oompa Loompas jumped to the ground, pushing Violet to the door. Willy continued to dance to the pop music until Mrs. Beauregarde came dangerously close to him, giving him a look full of hate. Willy stopped dancing to face the Oompa Loompa waiting for his orders.

"I want you to roll Miss Beauregarde into the boat and take her along to the Juicing Room at once. Okay?"

The Oompa Loompa crossed his arms against his chest before heading towards Violet, stuck in the doorway.

"The Juicing room? What are they going to do to her there?" asked mrs Beauregarde horrified.

"They're gonne squeeze her. Like a lilte pimple!" he said, eyeing Mrs. Beauregarde, who was turning as pale as a ghost. "We've got to squeeze all that juice out of her immediately."

Mrs Beauregarde rushed to her poor daughter who was asking for help. The former sportswoman helped the Oompa Loompa to free Violet and push her to the boat. Willy watched the scene, his Cheshire smile on his lips.

"Come on! Let's boogie!"

Willy was heading for a second door, exiting down a long hallway. The chocolatier walked briskly, forcing his guests to do the same. You squeezed Charlie's hand in yours, looking at Willy puzzled. Was he going to go after Charlie too? Not impossible. Charlie was the nicest boy on earth.

"Without the boat, we'll have to move double time! There's still far much more to see!"

"Mr Wonka?" Charlie called, catching the chocolatier's attention.

"Yeah?"

"Why did you decide to let people in?"

"Why? To let people see the factory, of course!"

"But why now? And why only 5?"

"What's the special prize and who gets it?" Mike asked pushing Charlie out of the way.

"The best kind of prize is a surprise! Hahahaha!"

"Will Violet always be a blueberry?" Veruca asked pushing Mike out of the way.

"No. Maybe. I don't know. But that's what you get for chewing gum all day, it's just disgusting!" Willy commented with disgust.

"If you hate gum so much, why do you make it?" Mike muttered.

"Once again, you really shouldn't mumble 'cause it's kinda starting to bum me out!" growled Willy with a fake jovial air.

"Do you remember the first piece of candy you ever ate?" you asked, eyeing the chocolatier.

Willy stopped short when he heard your question. A "no" escaped his lips before he became eerily quiet. His gaze was lost in the void, his smile was fading. He was still deep in thought. You put your hand on Willy's arm, tightening your grip slightly. This gesture brought the chocolatier out of his thoughts. His purple eyes met yours.

"I'm sorry I was having a flashback…," Willy apologized without breaking eye contact.

"I see...," Mr. Salt replied, pulling his daughter closer to him, away from Willy Wonka.

"These flashbacks happen often?" Mr Teavee asked puzzled.

"Increasingly today," the chocolatier answered vaguely before chuckling.

Willy broke eye contact with you to continue on his way. You nervously scratched your arm quickly following the rest of the group to a new door: Nut sorting room.

"Ah! This is a room I know all about! For you see, Mr Wonka, I myself am in the nut sorting business," Mr Salt explained, taking a business card from his jacket and handing it to the chocolatier.

Willy picked up the card and quickly tossed it over his shoulder, not giving it a look.

"Are you using the Hammermax 4000 to do your sorting?"

"No," Willy replied chuckling. "You're really weird."

Mr. Salt looked at Willy surprised by his answer. The chocolatier passed him, opening the huge door, letting his guests enter. Veruca rushed to the fence to see about thirty squirrels shelling nuts.

"Squirrels!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah. Squirrels," Willy replied as he moved closer to the barrier. "These squirrels are specially trained to get the nuts out of their shells."

"How were they trained to shell nuts?" you asked, watching the squirrels throw nuts into the huge hole in the middle of the room.

"It was... complicated."

"Why use squirrels? Why not use Oompa Loompas?" asked Mr. Salt.

"Because only squirrels can get the whole walnut out almost every time. You see how they tap each nut with their little knuckles to make sure it's not bad?" Willy explained, watching one of his squirrels knock a nut on a ledge before bringing it to his ear. "Oh! Look, look! I think that one's got a bad nut."

The squirrel threw the nut across the room, knocking it into the huge hole. Veruca wasted no time. The girl turned to her father.

"Daddy, I want a squirrel! Get me one of those squirrels! I want one!" she ordered, glaring severely at her father.

"Veruca, dear, you have many marvelous pets…," Mr. Salt began before being cut off by his daughter.

"All I've got at home is one pony and two dogs and four cats and six bunny rabbits and two parakeets and two canaries, and a green parrot and a turtle and a silly old hamster! I want a squirrel!"

This girl was so spoiled. Your aunt and uncle were struggling to make ends meet, even on your salary, and that kid was complaining about a simple squirrel. The worst part was seeing Mr. Salt capitulate to his darling daughter's request, telling her that he would buy her a squirrel as soon as possible. To which Veruca replied that she didn't want just any squirrel, but a trained squirrel. She wanted one of the squirrels from the chocolate factory?

"Very well. Mr Wonka? How much do you want for one of these squirrels? Name your price."

Veruca turned to Willy, smiling at him with all her teeth and batting her eyelashes.

"Oh, they're not for sale," Willy replied, causing Veruca to lose her smile. "She can't have one."

Veruca's smile faded as she heard the chocolatier's response. His parents had never dared to say no to him. Distressing.

"Daddy!" she exclaimed, glaring severely at her father.

"I'm sorry, darling! Mr Wonka's being unreasonable," Wonka scoffed, raising his nose with a fake haughty look.

You and Charlie couldn't suppress a chuckle at Willy's joke. The chocolatier looked at the two cousins, his Cheshire smile returning to his lips. Everyone's attention returned to Veruca.

"If you would get me a squirrel, I'll get one myself."

Under the eyes of all, Veruca passed between the bars of the small portal, descending the narrow steps. Mr. Salt called his daughter, but she turned a deaf ear. She wanted a squirrel and she was going to have one. You shook slightly, resting your hands on Charlie's shoulders. It was all going to end badly, like Augustus and Violet. Willy also called Veruca, without result. The squirrels stopped working, turning to the girl who was studying them. Your gaze rested on the huge hole. A vague idea, of what was going to happen to the little plague, germinated in your mind.

"Little girl? Don't touch that squirrel's nuts! It'll make him crazy!" warned Willy.

Veruca ignored the chocolatier's warning. She moved further and further away from the stairs. The squirrels had become eerily quiet, watching Veruca intently. The bourgeois girl stopped in front of the squirrel who was eyeing her. The animal sniffed the air.

"I'll have you." Veruca reached out for the squirrel, moving closer and closer to the rodent.

"Squik!"

To everyone's surprise, the squirrels leapt from their seats, charging towards Veruca. The bourgeois girl backed away, trying to reach the stairs. In panic, Mr. Salt tried to open the gate, but it was locked. His gaze rested on Willy who took out his huge bunch of keys. Your eyes widened when you saw that there were a hundred keys. The squirrels jumped on Veruca. The poor girl started screaming and trying to get the rodents out. But there were too many of them. The rodents managed to knock Veruca to the ground. Despite the urgency of the situation, Willy calmly looked for the key.

"Key...key...," he mumbled as he picked up a key, trying to insert it into the lock. "Not that one..."

"And this one?" you asked showing a key.

"Maybe," Willy answered, trying the key you designated. "Maybe not."

"Daddy! I want them to stop!" Veruca cried, being held down by the squirrels.

Willy pulled out a third key, unfortunately it still wasn't the right key.

"Hehe! It's not that one." Willy quickly stopped laughing when he saw the glare Mr. Salt was giving him.

Veruca continued to struggle when the squirrels managed to pin and pin her limbs to the ground, preventing her from moving. The squirrel, which Veruca wanted to steal, climbed onto her stomach before moving closer to her face, sniffling a bit before hitting her forehead and resting her ear there.

"What are they doing?" Charlie asked without taking his eyes off the scene.

"They're testing to see if she's a bad nut," Willy explained, ceasing to search for the portal key to see what would happen next.

"Squik!"

"Oh my goodness. She is a bad nut after all," Willy commented unsurprised.

The squirrels let go of Veruca's limbs, slipping under her to carry her to the huge hole. You tighten your grip on Charlie, hugging the young boy to you.

"Where are they taking her?" asked Mr. Salt panicked.

"Where all the other bad nuts go: to the garbage chute," Willy explained, oblivious to Veruca's fate.

"Where does the fall go?"

"To the incinerator," Willy continued. "But don't worry, we only light it on tuesdays!"

"Today is Tuesday," Mike replied.

"There's always the chance they decided not to light it today," Willy replied with a tight smile.

Veruca was trying to dig her fingernails into the floor, the noise was unpleasant. The squirrels swerved off the edge of the precipice, sending the girl spoiling down the chute. His cry echoed in the room before silence took over again. The squirrels returned to their workstations, starting to check the nuts again, throwing the bad ones down the chute.

"Now, she may be stuck in the chute near the top. If that's the case, then all you need to do is reach in and pull her out," Willy said, catching Father Salt's attention.

Willy unlocked the gate, allowing Mr. Salt to descend the ladder. The Oompa Loompa entered the room, starting to sing a song about Veruca and her selfishness, also accusing her parents of spoiling her too much. Mr. Salt passed in front of the Oompa Loompa, approaching more and more the fall. Leaning over the hole, looking for her dearest daughter. A squirrel jumped from its running seat towards Mr. Salt. The rodent jumped on Mr. Salt's buttocks. Startled, the man lost his balance and fell down the chute. Willy couldn't help but chuckle. An Oompa Loompa quickly arrived, tugging his boss's pants a little. The chocolatier knelt down, straining his ears towards his employee.

"Really? Oh! Good!" Willy exclaimed, straightening up. "I've just been informed that the incinerator is broken and there should be about 3 weeks of rotten garbage to break their fall!"

"Well... that's good news," said Mr. Teavee warily.

"Yeah! Well, let's keep on truckin'!"

[yourlocalbigtittyedbitch]

Hi can you write abt zdog x female reader where they are in the talking stage and recently made out but zdog slept with one of the other recoms and reader saw them and ran to her room crying till she fell asleep and after that she started ignoring zdog and zdog is confused abt why reader is ignoring her and asks her but ends up in an argument and they stop talking for a while but zdog surprises her with cute flowers from the forest and they go on a date and they confess their love for eachother and zdog is crying hard while apologizing and they end up dating and just all over eachother and the other recoms start to get annoyed cause you can’t say anything bad about one of them without the other saying something back. Please take your time with this and it’s ok if you don’t want to write it

                           𝑭𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒔

       A Z-Dog x Human!Female reader!!

Warning's: angst, reader crying her poor lil' eyes out, some arguing, Z teasing you and giving you cute lil' nicknames! Lyle getting his ass beaten.. (again,) and a vary happy in fluffy end,

synopsis: you had recently made out with Zdinarsk. But someone comes up to her, sporting her hickeys and bite marks. (Reader also has a avatar body.)

Note: this was fun to write! And I'm sorry if it may sound bad. I don't think I can do anything atm for a while, since I don't feel my best lol! Also I hope you have a great week love!!

Remembering what had happened earlier made your body tingle with excitement, remembering what her lips felt like against yours, or how she nipped and kissed at the nape of your neck. While having you bent over a desk, oh how you wish she didn't stop, or how you wished she did more than just that little make out session. Snapping out of your deep thoughts as you continued your conversation with her

"Ah, I'm sorry that your guy's mission failed." You adjusted your hoodie. You had gotten as a gift from Z-Dog since it was always cold in the building. It was also your favorite color "eh, shit happens princess." Princess was one of the meny nicknames she called you. Since she usually spoils you with something, but the nickname couldn't help but make you blush and look away, hearing someone walking closer too the both of you, it was Prager. "Hay Z." He spoke. She nodded her head at him, acknowledging his presence she looked back down at you, while you noticed the hickeys on his neck "ohh.. I see someone's been busy" you giggled softly. Prager smirked and earned a chuckle from him, "yeahh.. Z-Dog really did leave a few marks on me," wait.. what did he just say? It felt like your heart fell out of place, and shattered into a thousand pieces. "Heh, yeahh. That really was a fun night." She chuckled as she casually chewed on the gum in her mouth. "I..  I'm sorry. I have to go." You said softly, as the stinging pain of tears pricked at your eyes as you turned around and began to quickly walk away. Trying your hardest not to cry, as the sound of your shoes hitting the floor echoed."whats with her?" Prager asked, Z-Dog just srugged as she blu a bubble with her bubblegum.

          ...

                 ..

      With a loud slam! You had closed and locked your door. Before backing away and walking over to your bed.. as those hot tears poured from your innocent eyes. "I'm so stupid.." you muttered "I-I.. I shouldn't have.. you collapsed onto your bed, not even taking off your shoes, as you hugged a pillow tightly, hiding your face in it. As you sobbed your poor heart out. Outside your room. Only a quiet muffle of sobs could be heard..

     You had fallen asleep from crying so harshly, you didn't know how late it was untill someone knocked on your door. Waking you from your slumber, rubbing a eye with one of your hands, "mmh.. what time is it?" You muttered to yourself before sitting up and getting off the bed, you walked over to the door. Reaching out for the door knob, you unlocked it. And twisted the knob, opening it. It was Mansk "holy shit. You okay?" He asked as he saw you. Your hair was disheveled as your eyes where red and puffy, with your eyelashes sticking together. "Just peachy. What do you want Mansk?" You asked, your voice didn't seem to be as happy or excited anymore. And your eyes, they looked so sad, as your lips where pulled into a soft frown. "Oh, well- its time for dinner. And I didn't see you with Z-Dog, so I assumed you where in your room again." You only hummed in response before looking down "I.. I'm not hungry, so don't worry about me." You spoke, but before you gave him the chance to speak. You closed the door, and locked it again.

      ....

                ....

                         ...

     Its been two weeks now, since you've been avoiding her every time she'd try to confront you, you slipped away. Even had Mansk let you know when she was around or nearby. But this time? Yeah no he wasn't there. ...great. and so you hid away in your office, filling some paper work with your head down. Absorbing yourself in work to the point you didn't notice the knock at the door. She cleared her throat, which made you stop. Leaning back in your chair, you hoped to god it wasn't her.. anyone but her. "Kitty? Why have you been avoiding me?" Your heart dropped, it was her. Fuck, fuck fuckfuckfuck... you're screwed, so. Fucking. Screwed. "..." you turned your head away from her, not wanting to look at her face. "Please leave.." your voice was shaking, as tears started to prick your eyes. She ducked under and into the doorway as she walked into your office. She walked behind you and placed her hands on either side of your desk. Caging you between the desk and her "tell me.. why have you been avoiding me doll?" She spoke right in your ear as she inched closer, her tail brushing up against your leg "I.. why.." she tilted her head in confusion "why what?" You sniffled softly "if you like him.. why do you spoil me? And flirt with me?" You muttered "baby.. its nothing like that." She spoke, those nicknames.. the same ones you'd always get so flustered over, glancing over at her big arms.. fuck, why was she so hot? Seeong her muscles flex as she edjusted her position, "then why did you kiss me? Did that not mean anything?.. d-did it not mean anything?" She pulled away "no, it did. Why are you bringing this up?-" "Because you fucked him!! That's why. Thats why I'm fucking, bringing it up!" You snapped. Slamming the flats of your palms against the wood in anger, before pulling away. Hot tears ran down your cheeks "oh kitty.." she murmured, "don't 'oh kitty' me. Just fucking leave." She didn't buge "LEAVE DAMNIT!!" you screamed at her, huffing quietly as she pulled away and walked away from your office ducking under the doorway before leaving. Once you where alone. More tears ran down your face before falling off your face

And that was a week ago.. you where in your avatar body, elbows deep in a truck. Oil and sweat covered your arms "fuckin' hell.. if this doesn't work. I'm gonna brake something." You uttered, you had been working on this damn vehicle for hours. Pulling your arms back. You grabbed a rag and wiped off at leat most of the oil on your arms. "Can't wait to take a cold shower. Fuck its hot" you heard chuckling behind you "yeah but. You look hot when you get a bit dirty." A familiar voice spoke, turning your head. You saw her, you then looked away and tried to act busy "oh. H-Hay, did you need anything?" You spoke as you pulled the hood of the car down. It making a click as it locked into place "kinda busy right now. S-So make it quick" you tried to sound calm. But you where far from it, you had to admit it. You really did miss her presence, "I actually have something for you. To apologize," you turned to face her, seeing her holding something behind her back. It crinkled like plastic. But you thought it was something squishy wrapped in plastic, she then revealed a large bouquet of flowers. Most of them where close or where the color of your favorite color. Damnit she really knew you "and your giving this to me. While I'm all dirtied up?" You scoffed jokingly. Z-Dog chuckled nervously "I also wanna make it up to you, I wanna take you on a date. 8:30 sound good to you?" You sighed softly. Reaching over to take the flowers from her. You had to be honest, they where really.. really pretty, a small smile grazed your lips, "I'll think about it. Meantime you should go, before I change my mind." She seemed a bit nervous but nodded "right! I'll see you at the bridge later." Before walking away,

     You had no idea why you where doing this, as you slipped on that pretty little dress she adored seeing you in.

           What if she was lying? As you styled your hair,

         Moving the lipstick across your lips, and put some mascara on those eyelashes of yours, that always made your eyes look so gentle in soft, and maybe adding a soft blush to your cheeks. As you stared at yourself in the mirror, turning around and leaving the bathroom, and your room. Locking the door, your heels clicked against the cold flooring as you made your way to the area you two would meet. It was 8:32 when you arrived. Just two minutes late, as you saw her tall form linger around the area. Her ears had perked as she turned her head to face you. Her tail suddenly started to twitch and swish from side to side. As ypu approached her. You noticed the blush dusting her cheeks, she leaned down, moving a strand of hair behind your ear. Her touch.. you forgot how it sent a pleasurable shock down your spine, "looking so pretty for me? You shouldn't have." She spoke softly as a smirk crossed her lips. You giggled softly, "so, where to?" She grabbed your hand and gently tugged you with her "thats a surprise. Just follow me." She spoke. You sighed as you playfully rolled your eyes. Following this 9ft tall woman. One that you had fallen oh so hard for..

                   ..you two had approached this room, but Zdinarsk turned to you "close your eyes. Do not peak, or you'll ruin the surprise." With compliance you closed your eyes "and whats so special about this room?" Hearing a door open as you were guided into the room, hearing the door close behind you "you're just gonna have to find out, Princeses" she teased as she gently tugged your arm in a direction as you followed her, feeling her hands on your shoulders gently push down. "Sit." And so you sat down. "Okay, you can open your eyes." You opened them, there where fairy lights hanging around the ceilings, and hung on some of the walls. You where sitting on a blanket, it was a deep crimson color. It was a makeshift picnic, there even was a basket and a bottle of wine in it, you couldn't tell what kind it was. But it was a shade of purple, your lips curved upwards as you noticed other small details. "Did- did you make this?" She chuckled at your response "yeahh.. but I had some help," she turned and walked away to pick up a speaker. Before walking back and sitting down, she then pressed a few buttons on it as romantic music started to play. Moving it near her. She looked back at you.. "do.. you like it?" You giggled softly "of course I do you dork!" Your giggles and laughter always made her heart melt. Especially that smile of yours, it did so meny things to her..

     ..minutes turned to hours as ypu two had drank the whole bottle of wine, you where beyond wasted, while she was just sober. "Hay.. can I say something?"

     "Well, I wanted to ask you somethin' as well cutie, but go ahead. " She teased,

Her head was on your lap, a hand gently rubbing at the skin on her face.. a deep blush had creeper up to your face and ears. Looking away, "actually.. no- I.. I changed my mind." Pulling your hand away as you moved your hands behind you, keeping you up as you looked up at the ceiling, she sat up. Hearing cloth rub against each other other than the faint music in the background was the only noice other than you two talking. She leaned close to you, staring you down with those predatory eyes of hers. "Try me." You scoffed as you looked up at her, her mask hug loosely around her neck. Lifting a hand up, you grabbed it. Raising it up to her mouth, making her take a breath. She then moved one of her hands over yours "no way. You'll.. make fun of me," grabbing your hand, she pulled it away, the mask falling back down. "No I won't. Promise" she moved closer, her eyes drifting down to your lips before looking back up at you.

"I.." you swallowed..

          "I uhm.." the words where hard to find.

            "I'M INLOVE WITH YOU!"

you yelled out as you closed your eyes tightly, you where afraid that she wouldn't except your confession.. that she'd be grossed out, or laugh at you.. tears pricking your eyes as she didn't respond. Untill.. you feel two of her fingers hook under your chin and pull you into a soft kiss. Her other hand snaking around your waist before pulling you onto her lap. Once she pulled away, you opened your eyes to look up at her. "I like you too.. my little princess" she teases as she leand down to press a kiss at your exposed neck. Hands roaming your sides, unexpectedly.. tears ran down your face, she pulled away as she heard you sniffling, tensing up as a worried expression covered her face, "whats wrong? Did I say something wrong?" You shook your head before leaping up and latching your arms around her neck "h-happy tears" was all you said before a chuckle came from her. Her chest rumbled against yours, "your so cute.." she whispered in your ear, as you felt her hands grab at your ass

..As the next day rolled around, nearly all of the recoms knew you and Z-Dog where a thing, and usually you wouldn't say anything to them if they just stared. But.. Lyle had to cat call you. JUST HAD TO. After calling him a perverted asshole. And a ugly ass 40 year old, you went to your girlfriend and told her what he did.. and let's say Lyle had more than just a black eye that day..

[tonys-fav-bitch]

Plot Twist || Reader x Moonboys

Moon Knight AU

Part 3

Word Count: 1.3k

Summary: in which your boss sends you to keep an eye on a possible avengers recruit. You’re tasked with following him, figuring out who he is, and if he’s good enough for the team. That’s it. But it’s never that simple

Warnings: none

YOU WERE STILL laying in bed, listening to your phone alarm play over and over again. It was way too early for you to be up and functioning. Staring at the clock that read '6:15am' you started wondering how badly Fury wanted this guy recruited. Was he worth your lack of precious sleep?

You didn't think so.

You slowly swung your legs off the bed, letting them drape along the side as you looked around the dark room. A small sigh escaped your lips before you got to your feet and shuffled your way into the bathroom.

You flicked the light on and looked at your wild hair and sleepy eyes in the mirror. You ran your hands over your face a few times, trying to pep yourself up.

"Let's go. You got shit to do." You huffed to yourself.

You quickly hopped in the shower before starting on your makeup. You then stood in front of your closet that was already filled with clothes, debating on what to wear. You yearned to keep your shorts and big t shirt on but that wouldn't do for your new big girl job.

You grabbed a pair of dress pants and a nice blouse, quickly putting them on. You ran your fingers through your hair before grabbing the file on Marc Spector.

You set the papers out on the kitchen counter and scanned over the information again as you quickly gathered your belongings and snatched a quick breakfast.

"Okay Marc Spector. . It's time for us to meet." You grinned before walking out of your apartment.

☽ ♞ ☾

You stood outside of the large museum, posters of Egyptian deities littered the outside. You looked around for a moment before walking through the doors, surveying your surroundings.

As you turned to look for the main office, your body collided with another, catching you completely off guard. You let out a small yelp of surprise and instinctively reached out to grab the person you ran into. Said person did the same, strong hands wrapping around your arms.

You looked up and your eyes met a set of familiar chocolate pools. Stood before you was Marc, a worried look plastered on his face. His hair was disheveled and he had a bag laid across his chest.

"O- oh god. I am so sorry!" He had a strong accent that you immediately liked the sound of.

"No it's okay! Im sorry. I wasn't watching where I was turning." You assured him kindly, both of you still holding onto one another.

You two realized they were still firmly grasping one another and hesitantly let go. He ran his hands through his wild hair and gave you a cheeky smile.

"It's my fault. I'm late for my shift and - and I just wasn't paying attention." He assured you, wrapping his hand around his bag strap.

"It's okay . .?" You trailed off, waiting for him to confirm his name.

"Steven. I'm Steven Grant." He told you.

You covered the look of surprise on your face as you heard him use one the other name. You bit at your lip before replying.

"Well Steven, its nice to meet you, even in these circumstances." You told him sweetly, quickly adding in your name.

"It's lovely to meet you. Are you visiting the museum?" He asked you, his head tilted slightly.

A small curl of his hair fell onto his forehead and you wanted nothing more than to gently tuck it back. You shook your head of the intrusive thought before replying.

"I'm actually starting a job here -" you were cut off by a shrill voice behind you.

"Stevie. You're late. Again." You spun around to face a tall blonde who was smacking her lips as she chewed a piece of gum.

"Ah, Donna I'm sorry. I just lost track of time this -" Steven was also cut off by her.

"I don't want to hear it, Stevie. Get to inventory, now." She huffed at the handsome man.

"Yes, I will. Um - Nice to meet you. I'll see you around, yea?" He began to scurry away as he talked, shooting you a soft smile.

"Hopefully you will!" You teased, causing him to blush more.

He turned away completely and hurried out of the main room, disappearing from view. You turned back to the woman stood before you.

"You're the trainee?" She asked.

"That's me. It's my first day -"

"Yea I know, follow me." The woman took off, heading towards a hallway.

You quickly followed after the woman, looking around the large museum as you passed by different exhibits. Your eyes wandered around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Steven again - but the man was nowhere in sight.

Donna pulled you into a large office before taking a seat behind her desk. You looked around awkwardly before taking a seat on the other side.

"So, here's your packets. Follow what they say and I'll see you on the other side." Donna stated bluntly before handing you a thick binder of papers.

You gave her a confused look as you touched the binder that read 'assistant manager' on it. Donna brought her computer to life and began typing away, ignoring you - who was still waiting for any further direction.

"You can go now." The blonde muttered, not taking her eyes off of the screen.

You gave a scowl before you got to your feet and exited the office, staring at the large binder. You sighed as you flipped it open and began skimming over its contents.

As you made your way down the confusing hallways you heard a familiar voice up ahead. You peaked around the corner and saw Steven animatedly talking to someone who was stood in front of one of the many exhibits. The person looked a bit bored but Steven looked as excited as he could be.

"Uh, Steven?" You pulled the man out of his rant.

He turned to face the person calling him, his cheeks immediately flushing at the sight of you. He nodded his head at the person before hurrying over to you, a goofy smile on his lips.

You couldn't help but grin back. His smile was contagious and you felt happier in the man's presence - which was crazy since you didn't even know the guy.

"Hey. What are you up to?" He asked you, rubbing his hands together nervously.

"Honestly? Im not sure. Donna handed me this thing and kicked me out of her office." You chuckled softly as you showed him the files.

"Yea. . She's not the most reliable person." He mumbled as he scanned over the information.

"She seems like a peach." You replied sarcastically.

"I - uh. . I can help you orient around here." He offered, gently placing the binder back into your hands.

"Really? You don't mind?" You asked, tilting your head slightly in curiosity.

You needed to do anything and everything to get familiar with Steven. You needed to know who he was.

"No, of course not! I know this bloody place like the back of my hand." He assured you.

"Well I can't ask you to do it now while you have a job to do. . Why don't you help me and we can grab a bite to eat this evening?" You bit at the inside of your cheek, waiting to hear his response.

The man's eyes widened at your offer before a grin adorned his face. He nodded his head and started to speak, only to be stopped by Donna's loud voice.

"Stevie! Back to work, now!"

"Uh. . Sorry Donna!" He waved over at her in apology before turning back to you.

"I would love that. . Meet me at the front after closing." He said softly before scurrying off back to work.

You laughed at his childlike mannerisms. You couldn't help but notice how absolutely adorable he was.

☽ ♞ ☾

[agirlwithbigdreamsforher]

Hi there, how are you?

I had a request for the nanny series!

Only if your comfortable with writing something like this or if not please feel free to ignore me :)

It was an idea where just after Annie and Andy are married. Annie has to get her wisdom teeth removed! And Annie is not a fan of the dentist or needles (getting the IV) and is scared for the recovery. But Andy is there for her every step of the way! From getting the call of the appointment. To comforting her at the office and afterwards the car ride home. Annie being in a goofy mood as Andy helps her to the bedroom maybe helping her change into comfy clothes and Andy helps/comforts her to sleep… And at home helping her recover when her mouth is sore and teeth hurts 🥺🥺 and Jacob is also super cute and worried! Just something comforting and fluffy 🥺

I’m getting mine out and I’m nervous, and Andy is a comfort and I love this story! Just a thought I’m having as I can’t sleep from the pain in my gums 😭

Hi! I'm so sorry you are in pain! I hope what I wrote will make you feel better. Send you lots of hugs!

THE NANNY: ONE SHOT

WISDOMLESS

Pairing: Andy Barber x Annie Johnson (OFC)

Summary: This is set way before Annie got pregnant. Lily doesn’t not exist here yet. This is based in the request above. Hope you feel better!

Warnings: mentions of blood, pain, tears, Andy being a loving caring husband.

A/N: English is not my first language, any mistakes are my own. Enjoy!

Word count: 1899

Disclaimer: I do not give permission for any of my works to be copied, used, translated nor reposted anywhere else but here on this blog. Do not steal what you didn’t work for. Minors and ageless blank blogs don’t interact with me or my works. Reblogs and likes are always welcome. Thank you for reading this work of fiction.

GIF not mine. You can find the credits under it :)  

                                     ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Another day at the Barber’s household. It was a Saturday morning, the house was quiet except for the sound of the cutlery against the plates. Annie was eating extra careful today, she took some scrambled eggs with her fork and made sure she chew only on her left side.

“What’s the matter?” Andy asked and sipped his coffee.

“Hmmm?”

“Why are you eating like this?”

“I’m eating normal.” But right at that moment she bit a piece of toast that went straight to the back of her mouth on the right side and she flinched.

“There! Does your tooth hurt?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Maybe you should go to the dentist, see what’s wrong.”

“No, no. I’m good! I’ll take a pill, I’m sure it’s nothing!” she nervously laughed.

Annie did take the pill, however the pain didn’t go away. In fact it was worse than before, and now she could see her face was a bit swollen.

“Alright!” Andy walked into the bathroom, “Get dress, you’re going to the dentist.”

“WHAT?”

“You need to go! Look at your cheek!”

“Andy I’m fine! It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

“Really?” His hand reach her face and his fingers barely grace her cheek.

“OW! Stop that!”

“We are going now, I don’t care if you are scare of the dentist.”

“I’m not scare of the dentist.” Andy lifted his brow and tilted his head, “Alright! I am scare of the dentist! I wore braces and they were awful! And I hate the noise the machine does when they’re cleaning your teeth!”

“Honey, they need to check your tooth, your face is swollen, it’s not normal and it’s not nothing.”

“Argh! Fine! But if it hurts while they’re checking I’m gonna kick you.”

“Deal! You have 10 minutes.”

----------(     )----------

“Ok,” The dentist walked into the office, “We have to remove both your wisdom teeth from the bottom.”

“hehehehehe no, no, no, no.”

“You have an abscess on the right side, which is why your face is a bit swollen. So I will work on the abscess today, give you some pain medication and I will remove your teeth next Friday, that way you will rest during the following weekend.”

 “What? Why?”

“Well,” The doctor took out an x-ray, “You have impacted teeth, in your case you teeth grew out in an angular form,” he pointed the x-ray show how her teeth was leaned towards the other. “And with time this will cause you problems in the rest of your teeth.”

“What kind for problem?”

“They can move the rest of your teeth and you will have to use braces.”

“Not again!” The doctor giggled once she looked the face of Annie.

“I had my wisdom teeth removed while I was studying. It’s not a big deal.” Andy said.

“Shut up! What do you know?”

“Don’t worry, it’s a standard procedure, I promise you will be fine and we will take care of you.” The dentist smiled fondly to her, “Ready for that abscess?”

“No.” she sighed.

“People always say that.”

30 minutes later, Annie walked out of the office to the reception are where Andy was waiting for her. Her face was red as tears were streaming down her cheeks.

“Oh my poor baby.” Andy tried to reach for her hand but Annie slapped him.

“I hate you!” Andy just giggled.

“See you next Friday, Annie.” The doctor said and Annie just whimpered against Andy’s arm.

----------(     )----------

Friday came faster than Annie would’ve liked. She woke up early and put the comfiest sweatpants and hoodie she own. Both she and Andy asked for permission in their respective jobs, and when it was 9:30 Andy drove them to the dentist office.

“I will be here when you’re done.”

“Can you like go in with me?”

“He can’t ma’am.” A young girl at the front desk said, “I’m sorry.”

“You’ll be fine.” Andy gave her a kiss on the lips, “I’ll sit there.” Annie nodded and she walked towards the door the girl previously indicated.

“I was actually thinking you were not going to show up.” The doctor said once Annie was already in the chair.

“Andy make me.”

“He is a smart man.” The doctor grabbed a weird looking mask, “Ready for the good stuff?” He wiggled his brows. Annie just nodded. “Ok.” He put the mask on her nose, “You are going to breathe, you will start to feel sleepy, and when you wake up your teeth will be gone.” It wasn’t long after that last sentences when her eyes closed.

“Hey.” It was a soft deep voice, “There you are.” Annie blinked a couple of times trying to focus on the voice. The man smiling to her was so handsome.

“Cute.” She mumbled.

“She will be off for a couple of hours. Between the anesthesia and the pain meds.” Another man spoke. “Just wait 10 more minutes and you can take her home.”

“Thank you, doctor.” Andy turned to look at her wife who was looking at her fingers as she moved them, “how you doing, honey?”

“You’re so handsome.” She slurred.

“No, you are, gorgeous. And you were so brave” He kissed her forehead, “Ready to go home?” Annie nodded sleepily.

A couple of girls helped Andy to wheel Annie to their car.

“Alright, baby. Slow and steady.”

“Andy?”

“Yes, baby?”

“You are so cute.” She said the best she could with her still numbed mouth.

“Thank you, we will be home soon and then you can rest.”

Andy helped her climb on the car, closed the passenger door, and ran to the driver’s side. But when he climbed in, he found her already sniffling.

“What’s wrong?”

“You don’t think I’m cute.”

“Of course I think you are cute!”

“You didn’t say it back! You don’t love me?”

“Of course I love you. With all my heart, honey, I swear.” Big fat tears fell down her eyes, “Don’t cry, baby.” He took her hand and kiss it, “Let’s get you home.”

15 minutes later, they were walking in the house. Andy’s hand was placed on small of her back.

“Wanna be on the couch or the bed?”

But she didn’t answer and walked straight to the living room. Annie sat on the couch and look around.

“What are you looking for?

“Phone.”

“Oh,” Andy reached for her phone in the pocket of his pants, “Here. Why don’t you lay down; while I’ll get you a glass of water.”

Andy wasn’t in the kitchen yet when he heard her scream, so he came back running.

“What?”

“There’s blood in my mouth.” She tried to take out the cotton and gauze, but Andy stopped her.

“No, you have to leave them on.”

“There’s blood.”

“Of course, they took out your wisdom teeth.”

“What? Where are they?”

“Ammm I assumed in the doctor’s office.”

“But they’re mine!” Andy was trying hard not to laugh, but she looked so adorably confused right now.

“I’ll call them and ask them to send the teeth over.”

“Yes, cuz I don’t want witchcraft with my teeth.”

“Witchcraft?” Andy said with humor.

“The doc said he was from Salem. They have witches.”

“I’m pretty sure the doctor is not a witch.”

“How you know?”

“Well, there was no Hogwarts diploma anywhere.” Annie looked surprised and nodded, “On the meantime, how about if you rest? Let me get your pillow.”

“I want my shorts, I don’t like the pants.” She began kicking her legs.

“Alright, be right back.”

When Andy came back she was still right where he left her.

“Ok, honey.” He put his hands on her waist to help her laid down.

“Don’t touch me.”

“Ok, I’m sorry.”

“You’re mad at me.”

“I’m not mad, baby. It’s ok, you are just on some medicine right now.”

Annie laid down and Andy helped her arrange her pillow and cushions behind her back for her to be comfortable.

“Please don’t be upset with me.” She was starting to get emotional again.

“I’m not upset.”

“I’m not being so nice, huh?” she said sobbing a little. “I don’t’ wanna be this way. I wanna be nice! Cuz I’m a nice person.”

“I know, babygirl.”

“But you hate me right now.”

“I don’t hate you.”

“I look like a chipmunk.” Andy laughed this time. “Don’t laugh.”

“You are the cutest chipmunk.” He kissed her cheek carefully, “Let’s get you out of these pants, lift your hips.” She did as she was told and Andy was met by Annie’s bare pussy. “Honey, where’s your underwear?” Annie looked down and make a small shriek which make Andy laughed, “you naughty girl,” he slid her legs in the shorts, “hips up again.” The elastic hit the skin on her hips, “There, better?” she nodded sleepily. “I’ll go get your water. Wanna watch TV?”

“Yes, please.”

“What you wanna watch?”

“Aladdin.”

Half an hour later, the doorbell rang. Sophie was at the front door holding Jake’s hand when Andy opened the door.

“Hi! Thank you so much for bringing him.”

“It’s ok, how is Annie?”

“Still off. She just told me what she would ask if she had a genie to grant her 3 wishes. I didn’t expect for her to say she wanted to be a pony.” Sophie laughed.

“If you guys need anything, don’t hesitate to call.” Andy smile to her, “Bye, Jake.”

Andy closed the door and found Jake sitting on the floor, reaching for something inside his backpack.

“Is mommy ok?”

“Yes, she is a bit tired and sleepy. And she sound funny when she talks, but she is fine.”

“I make these for her.” Jake showed Andy a card and a flower made of paper, “My teacher help with the flower.”

“I’m sure she’s gonna love them. Go with her, she is on the couch.

Jake ran the short distance to the living room and found Annie drifting off.

“Mommy?”

“Huh?” Annie opened her eyes and looked at Jake. “Baby!” she said overly excited.

“Hi, mommy.” He jumped on the couch and kissed her, “I make you these.” He passed the flower and the card to her. Annie opened the card and read: “To the best mommy in the world. Get well soon. Love you, Jake.” Under these lines there was a drawing of the three holding hands.

“Aw! Oh, god!” her eyes began to water. “Am I the best mom?” Jake nodded with a big smile on his face. When Andy walked in, Annie was crying again.

“Buddy, what did you say to her?”

“I’m the best mom!” She said through sobs.

“I like your chubby cheeks.” Jake said giggling and climbed on top of her to hug her, “I love you, mommy.” As Jake hugged her she began to relax again and soon after she fell asleep.

“You’re so good with her Jake.” Andy said waiting for the boy to move away from her, but to his surprise, Jake was also sleeping.

Andy just shook his head, took the throw blanket from the back of the couch and cover them both with it.

“You’re such a momma’s boy.” Andy said softly and smiled. Walking out of the living room he was determine to surprise them with lunch when they woke up. “Who am I kidding, I’ll just door dash.” He said to himself as he took the phone and headed to the kitchen to let them rest.

[dirtbra1n]

Seigi Sunday the third—sunday in our Hearts ❤️

read the first and second here and here!

(one day late is nothing to me by now and time is what you make it. let’s all pretend together Take my hand,)

hi! merry christmas! decided on a whim I’d speedrun this one and by god am I going to try really really hard. (I fell asleep.) just how these things go. (noooo kidding) having read over the first two again I’m making the executive decision this holiday to use the more legible black-on-white reading mode. if it wasn’t apparent by my punctuality or lack thereof These are shaped in full by whim. and whimsy!

speaking of whimsy, how is seigi doing this lovely christmas evening and also perfectly average saturday morning :) ?

he’s doing just OK! 👍

more seigi under the cut

"Good morning. Is something the matter? You don't look well." "I went out drinking with my exam prep class yesterday..." "Did you shower when you got back?" "…I just fell asleep immediately." "I see." Richard stood up, took his wallet from his pocket, and handed me a 1,000 yen note. "There's a public shower, laundromat, and convenience store in front of Shimbashi Station. You have fifty minutes to take a shower, launder your clothing, and chew some mint gum."

It gave rank a whole new meaning. I mingled with the businessmen and homeless people as I shoved my head under the shower. I pulled my clothes out of the dryer and pulled them on, bought some gum at the convenience store, chewed it and spit it out into some paper before returning to the shop where I was surprised to find a customer.

seigi…… I . kinda can’t look at you right now CHANGE CLOTHES AT LEAST!!!!!!! AT LEAST CHANGE YOUR CLOTHES!!!!! YOU MIGHT AS WELL HAVE GOTTEN RUN OVER BY A CAR!!!!!!!!! SMELLY!!!!!!!!!

It was a man. "Wow, late to work, are we? If this were my store, you'd be chewed out." I threw a "hey" at the man who snarkily greeted me. He was wearing a wrinkled black suit with a wine-red collared shirt underneath. Richard, who was sitting across from him, checked his watch. It'd only been 48 minutes. I was safe, right? I was still safe, I made the baseball hand signal at him, and Richard asked me to make some tea. His tone sounded civil. I guess that meant I did make it. "Wow, no response? Where's the 'with pleasure!'?" "I know I've mentioned this before, but this is a jewelry shop." "Sorry, old habits." Speak of the devil. A real host actually had showed up at the shop. I brought out some royal milk tea with extra ice, and the customer said "thanks" with a wink. His hair faded from blond to brown, his lightly tanned skin looked a bit neglected, and he had a loud voice. He was probably in his late twenties. He introduced himself as Satoshi Takatsuki. It seemed a little plain for a working name, so maybe it was his real one. "So, I'm lookin' for a stone that'll make for a nice conversation piece with my clients. Girls love pretty things, right? Ideally something convenient to carry around. You know, I heard about this shop. You're pretty cheap, right?" "I have done favors for various customers of mine, yes." "Man, you sure talk like a real Japanese dude! Does one of your parents have some Japanese blood in 'em?" "Neither does, actually." "I bet you've got a hundred percent success rate with the ladies, don'tcha? Are you sure you're not in the wrong line of work?" "Sir, what would you like with your tea? We have both sweet and salty options." "I've got a sweet tooth. You charge extra for this?" "No, is basic hospitality..." "That's Ginza for ya! No one's gonna nickel-and-dime you here."

Wait. Then when was I going to tell her that I wanted to go out with her? I would chat with Tanimoto over text from time to time. Mostly about rocks. Well, pretty much only about rocks. She'd send me photos of specimens she was fond of or particularly unusual rock formations. Like the cliffs in Inubousaki with big round holes carved into them or large grey rocks lined up on the shore of Ireland. I'd never know about all these places all over the world if I hadn't met her.

you can put this in the comparison column for later. you’ll see

When Tanimoto got completely absorbed in the world of stones, she was less cute and more... passionate and dashing. And always replied to me really fast. But I would feel a little depressed when our conversations ended. At the end of our longer exchanges, she'd always add, "Let me see your sports car sometime." It was gradually turning into her regular sign-off. Even if it was just a mistake, the enthusiasm on display in my "got it!" made it difficult to correct, and I would always respond "eventually" like an idiot.

dingus.

I was profoundly jealous of our current customer, who wasn't at the mercy of love but could enjoy romance as a commercial endeavor. Mr. Takatsuki smiled at me. "What's wrong, kid? Love troubles?" "Wha—are you psychic or something?" "Men only look at hosts with one of two things in their eyes: disgust or jealousy. And men who are in love tend to fall into the latter camp. It only makes sense." "Well, this is embarrassing. You hosts really are incredible." "That kind of honesty is a talent, too. I think you'd make an excellent host."

INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS THING TO ENCOURAGE HIM ON. really really right though. super endearing quality of his. my stupid best friend in the entire world seigi who is so so honest. and stupid

"Apologies for the wait." Richard set a black velvet box on the table. It was about the size of a large chocolate box, and I'd taken to calling it the box of wonders. It was just like a regular jewelry box, with the top connected to the base by a hinge. It looked kind of like an alligator when the lid was open. Mr. Takatsuki's eyes went wide when the lid slowly opened. Pretty much everyone who came into the shop had the same reaction. Gems were laid out in four rows on black cushions. They weren't part of any jewelry—just plain stones. Red, green, purple, pink, every color you could imagine. These multicolored gems were like a preemptive strike. Mr. Takatsuki smiled for a moment before letting out a deep sigh. "I'm kinda speechless! There must be a ton of people who'd kill for an opportunity to see stones like this just once in their lives. I'm absolutely tellin' my guys about this." "That would be most appreciated."

"You really have a head for business," Mr. Takatsuki said with a smile, leaning over the box. "Every gem conceals a rich story of its own, so regardless of which you choose, you won't find yourself wanting for conversation." "A rich story, huh? Honestly, to me they're all just red stones, yellow stones, or purple stones. "My customers who find all their options equally attractive tend to have a rather broad and clear aesthetic sense. Please, try picking them up and taking a closer look." “...I really think you're in the wrong line of work." Richard's cool and collected expression didn't falter at all. Which just made me get annoyed on his behalf. Where did this guy get off, coming into someone's place of business and telling them "you're in the wrong line of work"? Mr. Takatsuki shrugged and reached for a random stone, like the option had just occurred to him. "What's this red one? It's not a ruby, is it?" "That would be a garnet. You have excellent taste, Mr. Takatsuki." "Nah, I just saw rubies at another shop. Ruby red is a lot brighter. What's this green one?" "This may come as a surprise, but that is also garnet." "They're the same thing?" Mr. Takatsuki asked, pointing at the two stones. Richard nodded. "Red garnets were extremely popular in 19th century Europe, which is why their Japanese name, zakuroishi or pomegranate stone, references the color red. However, garnets are not exclusively red in color. This green stone, demantoid garnet, is from Russia. The blue garnet you may be familiar with from a story featuring a certain famous detective, however, is pure fiction. Garnets come in nearly every color with the exception of blue." “...Um, I didn't catch the name." "Of the green stone? Demantoid garnet." "No, yours, Mr. Shopkeep." There was a brief pause, but Richard's courteous smile remained untarnished. "My apologies. My name is Richard Ranasinghe de Vulpian. Garnet happens to be the birthstone for January—do you have any interest in garnet, Mr. Takatsuki?" "Let me be real with you, Richard. Have you ever considered a change of career?" "Excuse me, sir, would you care for a dessert? We have soft adzuki jelly if you're interested." "Oh, come on kid, read the room. I'm trying to scout your boss here." And that's why I'm trying to help him out, I frowned very pointedly so only Richard would see. My boss, whose calm smile never faltered, closed his eyes and bowed. "Mr. Takatsuki, you have your calling just as I have mine." "The night life is so brilliant though. If you like gemstones, I'm sure you'll take a shine to it. Roppongi's rough these days. All an average-looking foreign host has to do is speak a little Japanese, and he's raking in millions a night." "The brilliance of a human life lasts but a hundred years, but this garnet right here was born from the Earth a hundred million years ago. Gems have long lifetimes, yet they generously accompany us for the duration of ours." "Now that's what I'm talking about! That's the kind of host I want in my establishment!" Mr. Takatsuki looked at me again. I knew what he was trying to say, but at the rate things were going, all of Richard's efforts to make a sale were going to be in vain. I flashed him a slightly displeased face, and Mr. Takatsuki smiled a glorious smile at Richard. It made him look young, but this was his manager side, not his host side, I supposed.

okay. Yeah sure. alright. you’re a sick sick man. but Whateve No actually Can we talk about this

“...That would be an amethyst. Crystalline quartz." "Amethyst! Even I know what that one is! It sure is pretty." "Please feel free to pick it up and take a closer look." Mr. Takatsuki said, "Don't mind if I do," and picked up the amethyst with his fingertips. It was about as big as my pinky nail—probably double the size of my pink sapphire. Richard mentioned that you could view the stone from more angles if you set it between two fingers on top of your hand. He demonstrated, setting the stone in between his pointer and middle fingers before placing it on Mr. Takatsuki's hand in the same fashion. Mr. Takatsuki finally smiled. "You sure have beautiful fingers. Is there some kind of story behind amethysts?" "Excellent question. Humans' relationship with amethysts goes back a very long time. If we reach back beyond the realm of written history, we find amethysts in grave goods at prehistoric sites, and we have records of the nobility in ancient Egypt using them as stamps on documents. It's not nearly as hard a stone as diamond, ruby, or sapphire, so they found more uses in day-to-day life. It's the birthstone for February and is said to help cultivate an open heart, love, and intuition." "Where do you learn all that stuff? Is there a school or something?" "I learn every day. In the course of my work, I have many opportunities to acquire new information, and I count among my customers some specialists who are far more knowledgeable than I." "Your world sure is fascinating. Just makes me want to hire you as a host even more. So, is it expensive?" The moment Richard said the price was 5,000 yen, both Mr. Takatsuki and I made a weird face. "Huh? Are you sure that's not off by a zero?" "The price is neither 500 yen, nor 50,000 yen. The prices of all goods and services, not limited to gemstones, are determined by the balance of supply and demand. And as the supply of amethysts is most steady and abundant, it is possible to acquire rather high-quality stones for a relatively low price. This particular stone came from Brazil, the world's foremost producer of amethyst, though they were commonly produced in Japan just a few decades ago—stones from Yamanashi are quite famous." Mr. Takatsuki looked vaguely frustrated, saying that prefecture is known for its grapes. Richard smiled. "Is it not a remarkable twist of fate that beautiful gem-like fruits are grown on the same land beautiful gemstones were mined from?" "Don't you play favorites! Yamanashi's not the only place that makes good grapes. I mean, they're good, but... this is getting off topic. Please tell me more about the stone." Richard bowed and began speaking eloquently again, almost like a talking doll. The scientific name for the stone was quartz. I supposed it was kind of like how ruby and sapphire are both corundum. There were all sorts of varieties of the mineral—citrine, smoky quartz, rose quartz, and so on—but they were all chemically almost identical and were all about the same hardness. A lot of mineral enthusiasts collected it. Excessive exposure to sunlight could cause the color to fade, so care had to be taken when storing them. In Europe in the Middle Ages, amethysts were prized by high-ranking members of the Christian clergy and treasured as spiritual artifacts. In the realm of fortune-telling, they were used as pendulums for dousing. And so on and so forth. Richard talked about stones seemingly forever. If you told him to talk, he could probably go on for an entire day. If you closed your eyes and listened, you'd never know it wasn't a Japanese person talking. His voice was neither too high, nor too low, and it had a mysterious warmth to it—like someone holding you tight. If I were Mr. Takatsuki, I'd ask him to stop, or apologize and leave. Me though, I could never do it. It'd be like being in the same cage as a ferocious beast and trying to force it to do tricks. Terrifying.

you’re sick. You are so sick

While I was refreshing their tea, I stole a glance at Mr. Takatsuki's expression, thinking it was getting about time for him to get going. But he was utterly bewitched by Richard—he wouldn't even look at me. His enthusiasm was tremendous. "Your tank empty yet? Or can you keep going?" "Hm, Mr. Takatsuki, you wouldn't happen to know the origin of the name 'amethyst,' would you?" "I wish I could respond to that with an, ‘of course I do,’ but I'm not so lucky this time. What language is it? English?" "Greek, actually. 'Amethystos,' meaning 'to not become intoxicated by alcohol.'" It felt like the atmosphere in the shop suddenly changed in that instant. Mr. Takatsuki's expression grew a bit more serious. Richard seemed to notice. "Oh, so it's a gemstone that prevents drunkenness? Like a healing crystal?" "It's an old legend. This stone has a beautiful purple color, so perhaps that's why it became associated with wine. It is said that Bacchus, the god of wine, offers his divine protection to owners of this stone." "'To not become intoxicated,' 'to not become intoxicated,’ huh? ...Yeah, I like it." He sounded unnatural and listless as he added excuse upon excuse. I was sure he was going to buy it. He went down the line, looking at the other stones, but ultimately settled on the amethyst, just like I expected. "Do you just sell it like that? Or can I have it set?" "You mean this amethyst? I can have it set in a piece of your choosing—a ring, a tiepin, bracelet, or whatever else you might like. Of course, the cost and timeframe will vary, depending on exactly what you choose. I can have a designer sketch something up for you as well." "Yeah, I don't need anything that fancy. You've gotta have like a catalog I can pick from or something. That's good enough for me. Probably shouldn't go for a tiepin, it'd be hard to tell if I dropped it or something. What would be fastest? A necklace would be fine, too." "If you aren't set on this particular stone, I do have finished amethyst accessories in stock." "I like your gumption. Lemme see what you've got then." It was only another fifteen minutes after Richard went into the back room to replace the contents of the box of wonders that Mr. Takatsuki left the shop. Richard had three amethyst pendants to choose from, and Mr. Takatsuki selected the largest one. The stone was at least the size of my thumbnail and cut into a square with rounded corners. Its edges were wrapped in gold. It was a pure purple, like a morning glory, and the back was rounded off so as to not scratch the wearer's skin when worn. The chain was the same gold as the wrapping around the stone. It was rather delicate, as it had been designed as a piece for a woman, but when Mr. Takatsuki put it on, you could just about smell the aroma of nightlife wafting off it. The price: 15,000 yen. "It's almost like a toy," Mr. Takatsuki said with a smile. He left the shop in high spirits, oblong jewelry box with amethyst pendant inside in hand. He couldn't resist asking Richard to think his offer over before he left though. "...Think he was drunk?" "I'm quite sure he was sober. That was all an act." "Do you think he'll return it later?" "He won't. He appeared to be satisfied with his purchase."

I knew about the camera at the entrance, but I guessed there were cameras in the shop proper, too. But there were only valuables in the store when Richard was here, so the real concern was less burglars and more customers with ill intent.

I've always had exceedingly average looks, so I've never felt especially flattered by compliments on my appearance or particularly upset by insults to it, either. That said, I didn't think there were all that many men who were routinely scrutinized for their appearance, unless they're on Richard's level. The place my mother worked at before her current job at the hospital had a serious sexual harassment problem, and she'd often complain over a beer that she wasn't dressing herself for their sake. Richard had the same feeling about him now. Beauty wasn't something people engaged with to please strangers. People were welcome to appreciate what they would, but they should know it didn't give them the right to treat people however they wanted. "Um, so… I swear I don't mean anything weird by this, like, seriously, I don't mean it like you might think, but—" "Don't you think that excessively long and circuitous preambles are rather rude, too?" "I just wondered if you feel like people telling you you're handsome and beautiful is kinda... insulting. Sorry," I added, and Richard made a strange face. After a moment, he smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. There was something eerily childlike about his expression. "Do you think telling someone with blond hair that they have blond hair is some kind of insult?"

let’s circle back to the narcissism thing from last chapter actually

"You know, I really don't love it when you act so full of yourself! Agh, I put my foot in my mouth said ‘love’ again!" "Just stop talking for a moment. I know what you meant. Do not worry about it," Richard repeated emphatically. He returned the products to the safe and took a sip of the fresh milk tea I'd made when he came back. I never thought of myself as someone who would perpetrate sexual harassment, but I might've been a lot more insensitive than I realized. At this rate, I just knew I'm going to say something stupid to Tanimoto and ruin everything. I've gotta be better. Richard sat alone in the lounge, eating the leftover adzuki jelly. It tasted just like red bean paste, but it was clear and there were goldfish—both common and fancy ones—swimming in the sweet, delicate substance. A little while ago, I asked him if he thought Japanese confections paired well with milk tea, and he glared at me, saying I was belittling royal milk tea. It was starting to seem more like a religious belief than mere opinion. Richard called my name, as though he noticed I'd been staring at him. He was still looking at the dessert as he spoke. "What? If you tell me not to look at you, I won't."

"The only relationship between you and I is that of employer and employee. Praising my appearance won't make me any more inclined to raise your wages, and I'm sure you're aware of that. Praise with ulterior motives is just sycophantic bootlicking. That said, earnest, spontaneous words of praise are an exclamation of sorts, nothing more and nothing less. The natural beauty of gemstones—even of those with little financial value—can soothe the hearts of people and grant them strength to keep going. I believe that is the true value of beauty." "I think I get what you're saying. That's kind of how I feel whenever I look at you." "Then perhaps it would be fair to say that your ‘you're beautiful’ comments are essentially the equivalent of ‘I'm in a good mood because the weather is so lovely today.’ They do not bother me." "Thank you. Well, if I do say something like that again by accident, I would really appreciate it if you just brushed it off." I forced a smile, and Richard frowned. What did I do this time? "...While it may not bother me, surely you have invited your fair share of unfortunate misunderstandings by making rash comments without much thought?"

maybe I shouldn’t have said that ALL-TIMER

I began wiping down the table, and Richard returned with a sullen look on his face. He looked a little red, even.

me when I lie This is my favorite bit ever by the way. richard you are so so so sick. and you brought this on yourself :)

Refusing to look me in the eye, my boss sat back down in one of the lounge chairs by the window and clasped his hands. He looked like something was bothering him, and it didn't seem like a sudden stomachache. The whole thing was very unusual. Richard silently stared out the window for a bit before abruptly mumbling, “...I wonder if he really deserved to own that amethyst." "What?" What was he going on about? Didn't he land the sale he was working on that whole time? Richard hung his head, burying it in his clasped hands. "I believe that every stone deserves to end up in the hands of someone who understands its true beauty and will treasure it—such would be a happy ending for both parties. But it makes me wonder... How should I put this... Yes, perhaps I, too, have acted rashly." "You mean you wish you hadn't sold it to him?" "Rather that I wonder if selling it to him was the right decision." There's a difference? Richard was being weird. I'd never seen him question a sale like that before. I know he said he was used to it, but after the way that customer treated him, maybe it put him in a bad mood. No, he didn't really seem irritated. The beautiful jewelry store owner had a weary expression on his face, like he was worried it might rain tomorrow. "Well, he bought it because he wanted it. Gemstones are products, after all. And if he paid the price you set, he must have felt that amethyst was worth at least that much. I don't see the issue." "I don't think that's the whole story. I think the thing he was most taken with wasn't the stone at all." "...But you?" My boss scowled at me, silently ordering me to be quiet. If I was wrong, I wondered what he was getting at? His seemingly endless well of sales talk? Or the relaxing atmosphere of the shop itself? Richard seemed deeply distressed by the whole thing, but nothing was making sense to me. Mr. Takatsuki didn't seem like the kind of person who particularly needed our concern. He liked his job, and sure, he was a little overbearing at times, but he seemed like a fun guy. He definitely came off as a bit impulsive, but there were tons of guys like that at my school, who ran on nothing but vibes and passion.

go figure that seigi’s already coming around on him. the world's sweetest person competition hates to see him coming

"I don't really think you have anything to worry about, but... I think every person who buys gems has their own reasons for doing it and their own reasons for liking them. It probably just put him in a good mood when he put that beautiful stone on, and he'll get over not being able to hire you." "There's only so much a good mood can do. Working in that sort of industry is rough, no matter what country you're in. I don't believe he really meant what he said. The disparity between his words and his actions suggests some kind of cognitive dissonance." "You're reading too much into it. I don't think he was thinking that deeply about anything he said. I thought you said you were used to people making passes at you? Don't worry about it so much." "That's not what I mean. Those who grow intoxicated with beauty far beyond their means are destined to fall to ruin." "Intoxicated with beauty" and "destined to fall to ruin" would probably rank pretty high up there if there were a "phrases I'd love to say some day" ranking. What is he even talking about?

SEIGI YOU ARE SOOOO LAME……. why does this exchange read so shakespearean to me also

I looked at Richard bashfully and explained that I had a crush on this girl and she was my friend at school who loved rocks and was super cute. I explained that, long story short, someone told her that they'd seen me in the Jaguar. The porcelain-faced beauty stared at me as he jabbed his fork into the remaining goldfish jelly, slicing the decorative fish clear in half. Please, I'm begging you, just get it over with. "So, uh, I was wondering... I have my driver's license. I drive my mom's car all the time, and I've never been in an accident or pulled over." "That's an impressive record for someone who seems like he'd be constantly distracted behind the wheel. Fascinating story."

SOOOOO ANNOYING!!!!!!!!!!

"Don't assume the worst about me! I believe in safety first. I'm especially careful to check for children or elderly pedestrians, I yield to vehicles behind me, and I'll even drive below the speed limit just in case something happens. I don't get mad or panic if I hear someone honk at me from behind, either." I'd be in trouble if someone asked me to floor it, but I was confident in my safe driving skills. I was such a safe driver that when I drove my mom to work when she had a cold, she praised me saying, "I think you drove almost too safe." For some reason, she didn't let me drive very much after that, though. Richard smiled sweetly. He was like a jewel sitting in direct sunlight. I got my hopes up for a positive response. "They're about five million used, from what I understand." "What?" "Jaguars. I hope the drive is worth it." Um, that's not what I meant. I was hoping you'd understand that I was asking to borrow yours—is what I nearly said before I gave up. Richard skewered both pieces of the jelly with his fork and ate them in one bite. How brutal. This was bad. He had a terrifying aura about him. He had this look in his eyes like if I opened my mouth now, he'd say he'd kill me. Richard probably hated talking about personal stuff during work. I guess I should have known after how he reacted to me showing up hungover. "My mind is exhausted from speaking so much of my non-native language. Tea." "Yessir, I'll be right back." "But first, where's my change?" "...It was only 40 yen." "Change."

wrote here ENFADOSO!!!!! you are an ANNOYING MAN!!!!!!!! and it's . sooo fucking funny. bitch4bitch I can't take you two ANYWHERE

I guess no matter how casual the workplace, bosses are still bosses and employees are still employees. I mean, this wasn't a host club, and I'd never been chewed out by my boss, but I supposed expecting him to be so lenient that I could get away with not following instructions was out of the question. I had to get my act together.

- things to say when you will not be getting your act together

The following Friday, I was dragged along to go drinking with some college friends. We ended up in the same bar in Roppongi as last week. One of the older guys in my prep class was very eager to invite me. I thought the professor would be coming, but that wasn't the case at all—even the guy who invited me ended up not being able to make it. It ended up being a peculiar party made up of just six second year students. There were no girls in the class to begin with, so there wasn't even that to look forward to. It was a trendy bar, but not the kind of place a bunch of single guys could really relax. The interior design was so overdone, all form over function. The prices were middling, and there wasn't much in the way of food. After two hours of partying, things were starting to drag. "That reminds me, Seigi, you quit your weekend shifts. I hardly see you at all these days, man." "Yeah, I started another part-time job." "What kind of job?" I knew if I answered honestly, saying I worked at a jewelry store mostly serving tea, it would turn into a Q&A session since everyone was bored and didn't have anything else to talk about. What should I say instead, though? That I was handing out flyers? No, that wouldn't be believable. I'd be getting paid more working the night shift than that. "Uh, um… I'm in the hospitality industry."

nice answer that doesn’t invite questions, dummy

"Oh, are we doing twenty questions? Are you a host?" "Seriously?! How much does it pay? What's the place like?" "No hostesses there? Are there any hotties? Like among your customers?" "You're gonna destroy your liver working a job like that. That shit is seriously rough." I guess the Q&A session was unavoidable after all. I was an idiot for trying to lie about it. Convincing them they were wrong was going to be a pain. I visualized the fictitious club. The owner was a foreigner, and I served drinks. We got a lot of customers from overseas and the prices were reasonable. Honestly, it wasn't that far off the mark. I mostly told them the truth—other than the fact that it was a jewelry shop—and my drunk classmates listened intently. I got a little carried away and started speaking triumphantly about how attractive my boss was—the blond-haired blue-eyed polyglot who was possessed of such overwhelming beauty that it was hard to believe that such a living creature even existed. The atmosphere changed when I got to that topic. They were all staring at me for some reason. "...So you're, like, alone with this boss of yours in the shop?" "Whoa, that's sick. What do you two get up to when there are no customers around?" "What do you mean, what do we get up to? I make drinks, clean, and run errands. Stuff like that." When they asked me how I'd gotten the job, I told them that I'd saved my now boss from some drunks on the street one night. The moment I mentioned that, the dull atmosphere did a total 180. My drunk classmates openly scowled at me and started hurling insults my way. "Dang, dude, you really... Nah, no way." "What? I don't understand." “It’s like she got handed to you on a silver platter. Let me switch places with you!” "Just hurry up and get dumped and have your dreams crushed so you can go cry alone in your room." "Wait, wait, wait, wait!" For some reason they didn't believe me when I clarified that my boss was a man. It was so unfair. I wasn't lying. They kept insisting that because I said he was attractive, I must have feelings for him. It made no sense. Why did I have to be in love with someone just because I thought they're beautiful?

seigi you are truly one of a kind. god bless. also I’m sure a number of you out there can make something of this if you put your mind to it

"I mean it's not like there's just one type of beauty! It's like Mt. Fuji on New Year's Day, or the sun setting over the horizon, that kind of beauty! It's like one of those things accidentally took human form by some twist of fate. Dating isn't even a question for the kind of thing I'm talking about." "What the hell is a hottie like Mt. Fuji? You're not making any sense." "What, is your boss some kind of literal angel?" "Yeah right."

closest they got and they call it off. you guys are hopeless By the way women aren’t objects guys. not cool.

The whole thing was torture, but I guessed I got what I deserved for making up an elaborate story when I wasn't a good liar to begin with. I just stopped caring, cut out early, and went home. My friend, Shimomura, said he'd walk me to the station. I tried to lose him when we left the club, but he stopped me with an "um, so..." and an awkward look on his face. "I know you probably don't know this, but the guy from our cram class who invited us here owns this club." "What?" "He wanted to be his own boss, so he got into the food services industry, but it's still not turning a profit. Seems like he's friends with the third years, so he's been using us as fodder." Now it all made sense. That was why he specifically took us to Roppongi, of all places. There was supposedly a pretty strong business focus in that prep class, so it made sense that the older students might be starting up on their own. He must've been losing money. I told him I didn't know and thanked him, and Shimomura gave a strained smile. "You know, I think I kinda get what you were talking about earlier. I know it's dumb, but I love getting to see Tokyo Tower out the window of the Yamanote Line so much I could just die. The view from around Hamamatsucho Station is the best—it's that angle right across from the JOQR building. You only get to see it for the second because the train's moving, but it's incredible around sunset. Just a taste of that view recharges my batteries even when I'm exhausted. I think that's the kind of beauty you were talking about, right?"

SHIMOMURA ❤️ OUR FRIEND SHIMOMURA ❤️

"Yes. Yes, that's what I was talking about. That's exactly what I was talking about." I felt like my head might come off from nodding so much. Shimomura's face crumpled into a smile that seemed like a 50/50 mixture of happiness and discomfort. "That sorta thing is so hard to talk about." "…I wish you could've said that back at the club. Also, there's nothing dumb about it." "You think so? I took a girl on the train at my favorite time during a first date and told her to look when we got to the spot, but it just confused her. Just a 'Huh? What?' and that was it. I guess not everyone has the same idea of what's beautiful." "Well, I'm one hundred percent positive you'd be bowled over if you met my boss. I guarantee it." "I'm just glad you're happy."

"Not going home yet?" "I'll hang out until the last train. I don't have any reason to go home really. See ya." The night had ended without me clearing up much of anything with the guys, but I thought I got through to Shimomura and that was good enough for me. I knew exactly what he meant when he said that not everyone had the same idea of what was beautiful. There were as many models of beauty as there were people in the world. There was nothing you could be entirely certain that every single person would find "beautiful." At least, that made sense to me. Though I wasn't sure I'd make the leap from that to the idea that you think something's beautiful just because of love. I didn't think love and beauty were the same at all. Sure, there could be things you loved because they're beautiful and things you thought were beautiful because you loved them, but I didn't think they were the same. [...]

this is a gun I'm realizing. I'll just take the bullet wound for now so we can keep it moving

[...] If I was going to take a stance on anything from now on, it's that. My feelings for Tanimoto were wholly unique. I couldn't compare them to my feelings for anyone or anything else. I wondered when I'd be able to muster the courage to tell her I was in love with her and wanted to go out with her? Maybe she'd tell me she loved me, too, with that adorable smile on her face. Well, I shouldn't get ahead of myself. I had to deal with the sports car thing first. What was I supposed to do? I wished I could find a clever way to tell her I didn't actually own the car without disappointing her. I wanted to find a way to make a grand comeback and turn my mistake into an opportunity. The voice in the back of my mind betrayed me though, vividly reminding me that it wouldn't work and that I should just give up already. I guessed people kind of got drunk on love and flip-flopped between visions of heaven and hell. My thoughts kept racing to either extreme. What if it made her hate me and she wouldn’t text me anymore, let alone talk to me? No, I just needed a good opportunity to take her on a rock-themed date or something. But what kind of date would that even be? Going out somewhere with hammers to mine rocks?

My more immediate concern was that I still couldn't move my leg, buried in trash bags. They seemed suspiciously heavy. I strained my eyes in the dark to see what it was. In the pile of trash beneath my feet, atop the transparent bags of trash, was... ...a person. "Wah!" They'd fallen over, splayed out flat on their face. And they weren't moving. Surely, they were just asleep, right? Just in case, I timidly touched the person's throat with my hand and felt a pulse. But they were very warm. "Are you okay? I can call an ambulance," I said loudly, but their response was slow. The person just groaned. They were wearing a grey button-down shirt and a vest made of a shiny black material. And they stank of booze. "Do you remember your name? How old are you?" “...Satoshiii Takatsuki. I'm twenty-seveeeen." Satoshi Takatsuki? Wait. That Satoshi Takatsuki? His body slid off the pile of trash bags and did a half tumble on his way down, landing on his butt as he hit the ground. He was positioned like an awkwardly sat up teddy bear, his face was red, and he was barely conscious. I lifted up his chin a bit to get a better look at his face. He was burning up. It was dark, so I could barely make out his features, but I knew this wasn't good. I used the telephone pole to confirm the street we were on, called an ambulance, and ran to the red-light district. I feel like this has been a recurring theme in my life lately. I asked the women for help with someone who'd passed out. They reacted quickly, like this was a common occurrence for them. Three people from separate shops came to help, but none of them knew who he was or where he worked. I told them his name was Takatsuki, but it didn't help. Before long, one of them headed back to their shop and returned with a pitcher full of water. Sirens and flashing lights approached while he was still vaguely conscious. Mr. Takatsuki groaned, and his head flopped over. I noticed something glittering around his neck. It was a gemstone. It was an amethyst pendant set in gold and dangling off a delicate golden chain. Two helmet-wearing EMTs came out of the ambulance, asking if anyone knew the man. It was becoming a bit of a scene, and people in suits and dresses started emerging from the other shops. I timidly responded. "…His name is Satoshi Takatsuki, and he says he's 27 years old." One of the EMTs kept calling his name. I looked around, but no one else responded. Even when another call went out for anyone that might know him, people just exchanged confused glances amongst themselves. I had an awful feeling about letting them take him off to the hospital alone. "I'll go with you." "What's your relation to the man?" “...He's one of our clients." "Are you sure you want to do this?" I nodded. I wasn't lying, either. I'd gotten a good look at his face when they laid him out on the stretcher. It really was him. His arms and legs flapped about, and he began shouting the name "Nozomi" over and over. I sent off a text just before I got into the ambulance. It was nearly midnight, but I figured he'd still be up. My boss, that was.

seeeeiiiiiigiiiiiiiiiiii…………….. you're too good....... and awfully confident about richard here. What would you do if he actually kept regular hours

The sliding door opened up, revealing a four-bed room. The morning light was blinding as it poured in through the windows. White frame beds sat atop the featureless cream floor. Only one of the four beds was occupied, by a tan man in hospital pajamas. "Hey." I gave a cheerful greeting, and Satoshi opened his eyes before crumpling back into bed, bitter expression on his face. "Oh, it's you... Um, what was your name again?" "Seigi Nakata. You really gave me a scare last night. Are you okay now?" "Well, as you can see, I'm not dead. When I woke up, they told me a young man who described me as a 'customer' came with me and waited until I was out of the woods. I couldn't figure out what shop it coulda been for the life of me... Um... What the hell were you doin' out there anyway? Also, it's Saturday, isn't it? Shouldn't you be working in Ginza right now?" "My boss let me come in late today. Trust me, I'm more shocked about that than anyone." "...You know, I never wanted to be the kind of old man who makes kids take care of him."

WHO SAID YOU’RE OLD!!!!!!!! sweet thing to say though, Averagely Aged Man

I sat down next to his bed, and Satoshi gave a defeated shrug. "You probably figured it out already, but I'm not actually a host." Satoshi began to tell his story in bits and pieces. His amethyst pendant was strewn on the table next to a cup of water. It looked much duller than it had when it was back at the shop. But maybe it was just the hospital's fluorescent lighting not doing it any favors. Satoshi explained that he was a bartender at a club in Roppongi. It was primarily a hostess club, not a host club. He said he didn't have a particularly high tolerance for alcohol, "just an average one." Two glasses of wine would have him dizzy and forgetting things, almost like he'd been drugged. […]

categorically Not an average tolerance for alcohol but sure

[…] But despite that, it was a point of pride for him that he had a very thorough understanding of the flavor of each alcohol. His family ran a vineyard in the mountains of Nagano. He described it as "painfully out in the boonies," in a hushed, embarrassed voice.

Nozomi was more of the bubbly, cutesy type of hostess. She overflowed with powerful customer service energy. She was the type of person who couldn't say "no" when everyone was having fun. She could never bring herself to pressure clients into drinking themselves into oblivion, so she'd offer to drink for them. As a result, despite being two years younger than Satoshi, her gamma-glutamyl transferase levels were already in dangerous territory. "Gamma… what?" "Glutamyl transferase." "I'm surprised you can remember that." "Of course I can, it's about Nozomi," Satoshi said like it was a given. It sounded as though she was like family to him already. "It's not like you can't make money if you don't drink like that, but she likes having fun with her customers, and she can't say no to their suggestions. I did tell her to just stop drinking, for the record." "Guess that didn't really work though, huh?" "You can't survive in the business if you don't drink at all. Honestly, if I really wanted to stop her, I'd have to get her to quit her job. But we're barely scraping by with both our earnings right now. I know tons of kids your age who want to work part-time in the biz, but it's really not a great line of work. Your liver can't hold out forever." "But when you came to our shop, you were putting on this whole influential host act." “……” He groaned and put his head in his hands. "Are you okay?" “…Nozomi's gotten obsessed with a host lately. That's where all her money's going—to supporting him." I let out a little "huh?" and Satoshi gave me a dubious look. The tone of his grumbling made it sound like it was nothing out of the ordinary, but the subject matter didn't seem to mesh with that. His girlfriend was seeing a host? "But you're still together...?" "Yeah... I'd be mad if she was dating another man, but hosts are kinda like idols. When they're on the clock, they might technically be men, but they're not 'real,' in a way. I dunno if that makes any sense to you, though. It's just like how someone being a hostess's number one client doesn't mean they're dating her." That was true, I supposed, but was he really satisfied with that arrangement? I looked at him trying to find an answer in his face, and he just laughed with a ragged expression. I guess not. "Nozomi lives for the night life. I know that. And I know that's why she spends money on that guy. She says that it's fun for her to see him having fun at the club with her money, that it makes her feel accomplished. It just sounds so depressing... but it's depressing for me, too. I mean, who is this host guy anyway? Don't you already have a bartender for a boyfriend? At most, we're talking the difference between a common goldfish and a fancy breed—they're still both goldfish." "I guess that sounds kinda like the difference between Richard and me."

classic comparison to make, thank you seigi. I can always count on you.

"It's torture." Apparently Nozomi had told him that hosts were just "dazzling." This was the guy who told me that regular men only look at hosts with one of two things in their eyes: disgust or jealousy. And that it tended to be jealousy for men who were in love. When his girlfriend essentially told him that he wasn't "dazzling," he made a decision. He would make a change. He would work to become the owner of a host club rather than a lowly bartender. "So you decided to... Wait, are you being serious? That's so reckless." "That's easy for you to say when you have no idea how much a popular host can make in a night. It's absurd. A club or two can get by on one popular guy. That's how this world works. I'm not kidding when I say attractive men can keep the world turning." “…Still, I think it's a pretty crazy idea." He looked a little embarrassed. Of course, I didn't know anything about the industry, but I was a little dubious that success could come so easily. I feel like host clubs would be all over the place if it really was that simple. The most laid-back person in my prep class has to be either me or Shimomura, and I just knew even he'd be a little suspicious if I asked his opinion on this. If a good man was enough to bring customers in, you'd first need to find that man—which was why Satoshi had been walking around Tokyo looking for "dazzling" men. He started pretending to be a host because it was hard to imagine getting a favorable response from people with, "Hi, I'm a bartender, would you like to become a host?" "But I couldn't find the right guy. The young ones would always get nervous at the mere mention of the industry, and when I got a bite, they'd immediately start asking me to lend them money." "Well... I guess that's to be expected..." He had zeroed in on the area around jewelry shops to hunt for host candidates. I think his theory that men going to buy jewelry either were hosts or would be interested in becoming one was pretty off the mark, but regardless, his dedication to getting something done when he put his mind to it was impressive. At any rate, he would loiter near jewelry shops and approach men going into or coming out of them. Whenever the employees chased him off, he'd move to another store. Just listening to the story was starting to get painful. After failing more times than he could count, Satoshi found himself meandering around the shops on the outskirts of Ginza. That was when he saw something that hit him like a bolt of lightning. Richard. "I was so shocked. A man who looked like he'd stepped right out of a classic Hollywood film was standing there, talking to a shop owner in fluent Japanese. I heard them chatting about how the sponge cake at that cafe over there was delicious and how he wishes the public bath nearby offered laundry services, too, and so on. […]

typical richard points of discussion. typical thing for him to do.

[…] After he left, I asked the shop owner about him and was told he owned a new jewelry shop in the area. I thought it must be fate. I mean, seriously, if anyone's born to be a host, it's him. Honestly, why is he in the jewelry business? He could make a living off that face alone." "I'm not sure he'd appreciate it if you told him that." "I'm being serious though." Put it the wrong way, and "you have a nice face" can sound like it comes with an implicit, "and it's the only aspect of you that has any value." Of course, Richard's looks were definitely extraordinary, and I didn't doubt he'd have at least the same power to attract guests that the pandas at Ueno Zoo[—”]

SEIGI.

[“—]did. But it wasn't like he just stumbled into being an Englishman with perfect Japanese running jewelry shop by no effort of his own. "...I mean, he came all the way from Europe to Japan to open a jewelry shop. I think he has a pretty good reason to be doing that." "Like what?" "I don't know, but maybe he just loves what he does?" He went silent. I wondered why. He had a weird expression, like he'd seen the straight ball I threw him coming but still took it to the face, and hard. I casually made the comment that if Richard wanted an easy life, he could probably go anywhere and have an affair with a member of some royal family, and Satoshi flashed a big, toothy host smile. It reminded me a bit of Shimomura's smile when he saw me off from the bar the other day—thirty percent happiness, seventy percent bitterness, and full of resignation. "What I wanna say is, he could just work for me, then." "All right, let's say you did get him on board. What was your plan after that?" "I decided I'd just go with the flow and figure it out from there. As far as the money goes, I could just get a loan. I think even if I confessed that I was really just a bartender, as long as I got a location rented, I could make it work somehow." "That's a pretty sorry excuse for a plan. You should probably be glad it failed."

SEIGI.

"You're probably right." This time the smile was closer to eighty percent bitterness. It hardly qualified as a smile anymore. Mr. Takatsuki wiped the sweat from his brow and his moist eyes with his pajama sleeve. "The thing is, I really hate the person I am right now. I love Nozomi, but I can't keep her safe and happy, and I'll never outshine a host. I can't even increase our income. I don't have anything. I've been scraping by, trying not to think about it for so long, but I don't think my body can take any more of this lifestyle. I feel burnt out, like the walls are closing in on me. That's when I found your jewelry shop. I kept thinking to myself, what the hell are you doing, man? Are you just gonna be a good-for-nothing drunk for the rest of your life?" “...So that's what the amethyst was about." "I went in planning to buy something, not really caring what it was. It was a lot less expensive than I thought." Almost exactly a week after he visited Richard's shop, he put on that amethyst pendant and went out. Nozomi had a client that made her drink a ton again that day, and she went into her usual routine. Normally, Satoshi would just watch from his place behind the counter, but for some reason, he just couldn't bear it that night. He put himself in the ring this time, downing all of Nozomi's drinks for her, making merry and drinking even more. The customer clapped for joy at seeing the bartender who usually rarely drank at all cutting loose, and Satoshi just kept drinking and drinking and drinking as long as the customer insisted. When he was starting to have a hard time standing, he slipped out the back of the club. Satoshi forced an awkward smile. Apparently, I had a pretty horrified look on my face. "Don't look at me like that. I didn't actually think legend about the amethyst preventing drunkenness was real. It was completely my fault. You and your boss had nothing to do with it." "That's not why I'm concerned. Do you know how many people die every year of acute alcohol poisoning? It's really not funny. And why did you leave the club like that? That was so dangerous." "I mean, I was drunk. Plus, I didn't want Nozomi to see me make a fool of myself." "You passed out in a pile of garbage."

SEIGI!!!!!!

“...I do remember making it two blocks down the street." He muttered to himself that he was surprised he was still alive and put his hands in mine. "Your name was... Seigi, right? I remember the EMTs saying your name. Thank you. You saved my life. And I'm so sorry for causing you so much trouble." "You really don't need to apologize to me. What are you planning to do now?" "I called the club earlier. I got chewed out and fired. Dating the hostesses is against the rules, so Nozomi might be in trouble, too. I'm worried. It doesn't take much to make her cry. She's always bawling at every little thing." "Did you call Nozomi?" "I texted her that I was in the hospital this morning. I figured she'd still be asleep." He smiled without reservation. He smiled again when I gave him a concerned look. It was a defiant smile. The defeat that had colored all his expressions thus far had vanished. "It's so weird. I've done something so stupid, but for some reason I don't regret any of it." I gave him an indignant look, and he put his hands together and apologized profusely. "What am I gonna do now... You know, I think I might try going back to the country. My parents have a vineyard, see. I'm the oldest son, but I kinda shirked my duties. If I help out, surely they'll let even their good-for-nothing son sleep under their roof. Plus, the grapes my old man produces sparkle like gems. They're delicious, to boot." "What about Nozomi?" "You really know how to hit a guy when he's down. I'm a farmer at heart. I'm a totally different breed from a hostess, and our incompatibility couldn't be more obvious now. I'm not good enough for her. And I'm not old fashioned enough to ask her to come with me." "Does that mean you're breaking up with her?" He went quiet and thought for a moment before silently shaking his head. "I can't give up on her. I want her to wait for me. I'm gonna tell her I'll come back to Tokyo someday, so if she can bear it—" "Sounds like you're expecting a lot of patience. How do you know you won't meet someone else while you're in Nagano? Are you sure you don't actually want her to come with you?" "Of course I do! I love her! But it's not that simple." He sounded genuinely mad. I was still a little worried but figured I'd said enough. "Did you hear that? That's how he feels!" I said, half shouting. The door to the room opened without a sound, and a bubbly, cutesy woman tottered in. Her brown hair was a mess, and she had a seasonally inappropriate coat on over her dress. She clutched a pink towel, and her whole face was red from crying. Satoshi shouted, "Nozomi!" "How dumb can you be?! Why are you so stupid?! You can't still be drunk! You big, stupid, useless idiot!" "What are you doing here?" "Oh, shut up, dummy! Obviously, I'm here because I was worried about you!" I left Satoshi in his panic and got up from my seat. Nozomi sat down in my place, wiping her face with the towel while giving Satoshi a couple of gentle smacks across the face. "You almost died! How can you act like barely anything happened... Don't text me when it's something that important, you oaf! Call me! You big, stupid dummy... Maybe you should just go die for real!" "I'm sorry, Nozomi. I'm so sorry." "I can never leave you alone. I guess I have no choice but to go with you," Nozomi said, clutching Satoshi's hands and falling onto the bed in tears. I left the room with a big grin on my face and walked down the hall. I bowed to one of the nurses near the elevator, and she responded in kind.

I know the answer. I know. but Could you two be normal people for a change

Richard checked his watch. It was 10:30 a.m. If we took the Jaguar, we could get back to the store by 11:00 easily. "You could have gone back without me." "And without access to a car, you would be late to work."

no they can’t . what a shock

I'd contacted Richard while I was stuck waiting at the hospital. He was initially in a very bad mood because he'd already gone to bed, but when I explained the situation, he let out a sigh and asked me when visiting hours started. We'd had basically the same idea: I'd go home, get some rest, then meet up in Ginza and take Richard's green Jaguar to the hospital. As we were coming up into the hospital from the underground parking, we ran into a woman who'd arrived by taxi. Her eyes were red, and she had an ostentatious hairstyle that didn't really match her hastily cobbled-together wardrobe. We ended up in the same elevator, got off on the same floor, and were headed in the same direction. When I saw her write the name "Nozomi Kanzaki" in big bubble letters on the guest form, I remembered what Satoshi had been shouting the previous night: Nozomi. I took her aside and asked her if she wouldn't happen to know a Satoshi Takatsuki, and I was right. What little composure she had left dissolved. She broke down crying and told us all the dirty details of Satoshi's rampage the previous night. He barged in on a party, got drunk, and disappeared before anyone realized. He didn't come back by closing time. The owner was furious and fired him on the spot. Nozomi was worried about him, so she went looking for him after closing time, only to find an ambulance had taken a bartender away and was told what hospital they'd taken him to. She cried as she disparaged him. She had no idea why he'd done it. She broke down sobbing, saying that if he was unhappy with something, he should have just talked to her about it, and that she didn't know what to do anymore. And the person who got down on his knees to catch her was none other than my boss. When she saw Richard's face, Nozomi blushed with embarrassment, asking what club he was from again. We had a little meeting on the bench in front of the nurses' station. A sort of strategy meeting. Richard was the ideas man. Nozomi gave the go-ahead, and I was the one assigned to execute it. The plan was simple, really, I'd use my position as the person who saved his life to get him to talk honestly about what was going on. Honestly, I wasn't crazy about the idea in the beginning. I mean, there could be some circumstances behind the whole situation that might be better left unsaid, and Nozomi might get hurt. But Richard looked at me with calm eyes the whole time. We might not have known each other all that long, but—and I know this sounds crazy—I didn't want to do anything that could bring him unhappiness. I almost felt like I couldn't do that to him. I had the feeling that Richard had already gotten a pretty solid read on the situation before he even proposed the plan.

I know this sounds crazy, he says. seigi Did you know? You just said one of the most obvious things in the world to us just now

Nozomi encouraged me, telling me to "give 'im hell!", and I braced myself for what I was about to do. In the end, it wasn't as bad as I'd feared. While we were in the elevator, which was big enough to fit a hospital bed, I asked Richard a question. "What exactly was bothering you so much when Mr. Takatsuki left the shop? Don't tell me you knew this would happen."

"You could tell he wasn't really a host though, right?" "Someone who is confident in their profession doesn't go out of their way to boast about it indiscriminately. He had the feeling of a buzzing mosquito, following you everywhere, yet easily charmed by the flame of a candle." "So that's what was going through your head while you were talking about gemstones. Scary..." "Excuse you." Richard pondered it on his own for a bit after that, saying he had the sense that what Satoshi had been after wasn't actually a gemstone. "So what was he after in the end? Maybe it really was a host." "I don't think that's the case. The thing he wanted from the very bottom of his heart wasn't a piece of jewelry but something that would make him feel like it gave him a power-up." "A power-up? Like a magic accessory in a video game?" "It's not magic, but you often hear stories about people who don't normally wear jewelry acting differently when they do. Wearing jewelry makes them more acutely aware of themselves and how others look at them, and they act accordingly. Beautiful gemstones have a unique power to their beauty." "So they can kinda influence people's behavior. Like a fancy stone might make a woman feel compelled to act more elegantly?" "Or it might make her more arrogant or less cautious about spending money." "These all sound like bad things." "Of course, gemstones can have a positive influence on behavior as well. Like an athlete's good luck charm or, on the more extreme end, the way the crown jewels are said to bestow wisdom on their wearer. At any rate, humans are creatures that grow in order to accomplish their own desires. A gemstone might act as a catalyst for action, but they are not the engine—only the heart can provide the fuel for that." “...That sounds kind of scary." "You're absolutely hopeless." Satoshi had had a carefree smile on his face, but if anything had gone differently, he could have died. As the thought of how close to the brink he'd come last night sent a chill down my spine, Richard continued talking. "While I don't dispute that it's up to the individual to determine what they do and where, as a simple lover of gemstones, I would like to do what I can to prevent situations where beautiful stones bring unhappiness to others. Let us be thankful for your extraordinary luck." My shoulders drooped. There couldn't be many part-time jobs that came with so many extra obligations.

okay seigi you need to listen to me closely: there aren't that many extra obligations. you just take them on yourself. you are doing this to yourself. I love you very much also

When the elevator arrived at the first floor, a pajama-clad elderly person and an accompanying younger person were waiting in front of the door. The way Richard startled the moment the door opened was kind of funny. We left the hospital from there. I wondered if Nozomi had stopped crying yet. "You know, I was wondering. I noticed when you explained what the word amethyst comes from meant you said that it meant 'to not become intoxicated by alcohol' and not for 'alcohol not to intoxicate you.' I don't entirely understand what the difference in nuance is, but you seemed very particular about your choice of words there." "Oh, you have an interest in Greek grammar? It's a difference in voice: active vs. passive. And the Greek word happens to be in the passive voice." "Nope, I don't. And even if I were, I'm definitely not that interested!" As we headed toward the door to the underground parking lot, the jeweler gave me a fast-paced lecture. He explained that back in the era when most people believed that gemstones possessed magical powers, people used to believe that amethysts would ward off intoxication, and thus their owners would, "not become intoxicated by alcohol." For however many thousands of years alcohol has existed, people have probably always overindulged and suffered for it. Even if you took Satoshi's story, for example, he acted recklessly because he wanted to protect Nozomi and didn't want her to get drunk. The way they got there was pretty awful, but I guess in the end, everything turned out all right. "Who was that god of wine again? Bacchus? Sounds like a pretty lazy guardian deity to me." "In various tales, Bacchus, also known as Dionysus, is a passionate god who is no stranger to drunkenly barging in on parties. Perhaps, in a sense, you could say he did bless our wayward client." "You should definitely not mention that to him." Richard gave me a look, like he was surprised I was telling him something so obvious. He pushed the button on his key fob when we got to the parking lot. The car made a couple of beeps as it awoke. I decided this might be my best shot. "Ahh, today's been such a lovely day, huh? We saw a love story end well—doesn't it just make you feel good about the world? I gotta hand it to you, your cupid strategy was a total success. I wonder what those two are gonna do next." "You know, I've been thinking this since I was waiting outside the room earlier, but you really are an atrocious actor." "I'm sure that if Tanimoto and I had someone in our corner who was so smart and honorable, then—" "There are those who say that love is a disease of the heart. Let us pray upon the power of the stone that prevents one from becoming intoxicated to swiftly quell your fever. Well, I guess people only tend to think something counts once what's behind the curtain is revealed. I think the moment satiating your vanity becomes your foremost priority, your budding romance has much more significant problems to worry about."

I was pretty sure that even if I passed the civil service exam in one try, I'd never be able to afford a Jaguar. But I wanted to be able to experience this indescribable slow-speed rollercoaster ride with her someday, even just once. I wanted to savor the feeling of our familiar world becoming an unfamiliar space with her. Though maybe she would just go, "Huh? What?" But maybe she would smile at me softly.

We'd stopped next to a hotel with a concert hall attached. I guessed it was a pretty fancy area. I'd never stayed at the hotel or even gone inside, so you might be wondering how I knew about it. Well, it all went back to a rather painful and pathetic moment last Christmas, when I was diligently doing research just in case I ever got a girlfriend.

seigi......... why's THIS the part that makes the chapter topical. you're so LAME!!!!! and SWEET ALSO SOMEHOW. let me throw rocks at you

Thank you. Thank you, past me. If I could go back in time and let you know that your lonely, girlfriendless internet browsing would pay off, I would. I feel like that could have kept you from suffering in vain. The customer that day was a man from the Maldives. He had a cheerful chat with Richard in a language I couldn't even recognize as they ate the tropical mousse I'd bought.

and that concludes this edition of Seigi Sunday on "The Amethyst of Protection". on this Still christmas.* Merry Christmas! and happy holidays!!! That ones not out of date :)

[adriswrld]

Randy Orton's sister x Alexa Bliss / Charlotte Flair x Reader

request/trope: enemies (on screen)/ friends to lovers (irl) trope with Alexa Bliss

a.n: so this request was messaged to me and they gave a lot of what they wanted for the plot so I will be going off of their request the best I can! Will probably change some stuff so it fits the plot better but that's it!

this came from my wattpad first btw! my wattpad is -adriswrld :)

Y/N hopped off her motorcycle that she just parked next to her brother's car also known as Randy Orton's car. "You know you really need to start using your car. I warned you about how dangerous those things are," Randy scolded, grabbing his suitcase and hers out of the car. She usually couldn't fit her second suitcase on her bike so she had Randy hold onto it. "I heard you the first million times Randal, stop nagging on me," Y/N said in an annoyed tone. Randy rolled his eyes at her using his full name. "I'm just worried about you Y/N. I'm allowed to be after that incident," Randy said and Y/N clenched her jaw hoping he would stop bringing that up to make her feel guilty.

"Yes Randy I got tired, made a mistake hurt someone in the ring but it had nothing to do with a motorcycle or my break up with Ashley. So back off please." Randy sighed and nodded, choosing to let it go for now but it didn't stop his concern for her well being. Now that Ashley would be on the same brand as her then he knew it would be even harder on her. Y/N walked in the building with her suitcases and headed to the locker room. They must've been meeting some of the new girls because tonight was the night of the SmackDown draft. Y/N really hated the drafts because there was an extra amount of people than a normal amount of people for a Smackdown episode.

Y/N chewed on her gum as she entered the locker room, heading straight to her locker and ignoring everyone but they were used to it. "Y/N! Come here I wanna introduce you to someone!" Trinity called over and Y/N let out a sigh before getting up from the bench. "Lexi this is Y/N Orton. Y/N this is Lexi Kaufman aka Alexa Bliss." Trinity introduced. Y/N just a gave an uninterested nod, not bothering to shake Alexa's hand or make any kind of contact. "Hi...yeah I gotta go now," Y/N mumbled before walking out of the locker room without another word. "Oh...uh okay," Alexa mumbled awkwardly. She was aware Y/N wasn't exactly the most social person but she didn't really expect that. Especially since her own crush just treated her like a high school jock would.

"Don't take it personal. She's always like that." Nikki Bella said, patting Alexa's shoulder with a warm smile. "Yeah I didn't, just caught me off guard."

»»────── 𓆩♡𓆪 ──────««

Y/N groaned getting a message to head to Hunter's office. As Hunter was apart of creative he had an idea for Y/N's new storyline as she was finished with her last one. Y/N lost her fued to Becky Lynch for the SmackDown Women's Championship, helping put over the orange haired woman in the process.

Y/N didn't mind helping put over the newer women she just hoped they would put her in a storyline with her brother sooner or later. The least they could do is let her win matches. She was literally an Orton, she shouldn't have to look weak. All they did was show Randy giving her advice in backstage segments or promos.

Y/N walked into the office and sat down on the chair, not even acknowledging Alexa Bliss sitting there as well. "You called me?" Y/N raised a brow, chewing on her new piece of gum. Alexa didn't have to question why Y/N had such a sharp jawline now. "Yes I have a new storyline for you that I think you'll like a lot," Triple H said. Y/N perked up hoping they'd finally pair her with her older brother. "You're gonna finally let me wrestle with my brother?" Y/N asked hopefully and Triple H pursed his lips. "Yes and No," he said, making Y/N slightly frown. "We decided to team you and your brother for the mixed match challenge but that's not gonna be apart of your storyline," Triple H said.

That's when Y/N finally realized Alexa was sitting next to her. "No way. You're gonna team me up with new girl?!" Y/N exclaimed, hating the idea of being in a tag team with anyone. Her brother was the only exception. "Ouch. I'm right here!" Alexa said, offended but still insanely attracted to Y/N when she was mad. "No Y/N we're not teaming you two up. You're actually gonna be fueding. It sets up Alexa's fued with Becky Lynch in the future," Triple H said. Alexa was super excited because she might possibly win her first championship in WWE after this first warm up fued. "Wait, so I'm gonna lose again?" Y/N asked incredulously.

"Yes and No. Neither of you will lose this fued as Alexa will move onto her fued with Becky Lynch for the SmackDown Women's Championship and you will move onto your next fued with Charlotte Flair for the Raw Women's Championship. Alexa will be a heel and you will turn babyface so you both will be on different brands soon. This is just a warm up fued. You get two months to make this fued big or its gonna cost your title shots in the future." Y/N nodded, excited to turn babyface as she had never been one before. She's always played a heel. Alexa was used to the heel role as she played one before in NXT.

Y/N obviously wasn't excited about a fued with her ex girlfriend Charlotte but if it gave her a title then she'd make the most of it. "Also, we're gonna slowly ease you into a tag team but you're still gonna hate each other, you just get along sometimes. It's like a opposite personalities kinda thing," Triple H added. "If it gets me a title shot then I can work with a tag team for now," Y/N said. "Is that all?" Hunter nodded and Y/N walked out without another word. Alexa sighed and she and Triple H began discussing more about her fued and character.

»»────── 𓆩♡𓆪 ──────««

It was the next week and Alexa was in the ring cutting a promo about how excited she was to be apart of the SmackDown brand. That was until she was cut off by Y/N's music and the crowd booed her in which she just ignored them. She wore a white crop top with some jeans and some sneakers, something really basic as she wasn't one for flashy clothing. Plus her character was more of a idgaf kinda character. "Well well well, if it isn't the cheerleader from NXT! Where's your little buddies? They didn't get drafted up with you? Aww," Y/N fake pouted, walking down the ramp.

"What do you want?" Alexa asked, a little taken back by the comments of Y/N. "Oh me? Yeah no I don't really want anything. I'm just here to be here. And sweetheart I've been here wayyy longer than you so I pretty much do whatever I want." Y/N stepped onto the ring apron and stepped into the ring making Alexa back up slightly. "You know for someone who's been here longer you haven't really accomplished much have you?" Alexa asked with a sweet smile. The crowd laughed at her comeback on Y/N who was visibly pissed at her audacity. "I'm a four time Women's Champion. That's more than you've done in your entire career so I'd watch your pretty mouth next time. If you want to be here in my ring and address this crowd then you have to earn it," Y/N stated.

"Okay. Then I'll earn it. Me and you right here, right now!" Alexa challenged. Y/N licked her lips and laughed, stepping back and sliding out of the ring. "Nah," Y/N shrugged, walking back up the ramp without another word. That was only the beginning of what was to come.

»»────── 𓆩♡𓆪 ──────««

(a month later)

Every week Y/N would always throw an insult or push around Alexa and the crowd loved every second of it. They even had a match last week and Y/N came out with the win but Alexa stuck her out of to her out of respect in which Y/N just walked pass her with zero emotion. But today, oh today was a different day. Last week Charlotte Flair had called out Y/N on Monday Night Raw. And obviously Y/N was not gonna let that slide. So she was out there to address the crowd tonight and call out Charlotte Flair who was in the building tonight. Y/N's music hit and she walked out, mic in a hand, glasses over her eyes and a steel chair in hand. Y/N stepped in the ring and set the chair up before taking a seat on it and leaning back.

Alexa watched backstage with a hitched breath, seeing Y/N in the leaned back position but images in her head that she felt she shouldn't even be imagining. It was obvious Y/N was still getting over her breakup with Ashley. And it's not like Y/N even acknowledged Alexa half the time. They'd cross paths and Y/N wouldn't even look at her, she'd just nod and walk past her. She was starting to wonder if Y/N hated her. "So you're all probably wondering what I'm out here for. Yeah last week I took a nasty bump so you probably think I'm injured but I'm perfectly fine. No no no, I'm out here to address the elephant in the room. Charlotte Flair." Y/N spoke, pulling off her glasses and clipping them on her tank top.

"See Charlotte Flair had no right calling me out on Raw as if I didn't whoop her ass countless times. She really had a lot to say about me. And I really don't know what I did so bad for her to call me some useless bully with no talent. Am I really a bully? I don't think I am. I prefer the term, snake. And I'll admit, I am a snake. I've turned my back on Charlotte several times. It's not my fault she managed to make everything about her. I don't blame Bayley and Sasha for turning on her. They just did what Becky Lynch is scared to do. Charlotte is scared of being alone. You wanna know how I know that?"

"Well I'll tell you anyways. See Charlotte's always been the chosen one. In middle school, in high school, in NXT. Meanwhile women like Bayley, Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Naomi, Tamina, Natalya, Emma, Alicia Fox, and many more couldn't even earn an opportunity to shine because Vincent Kennedy McMahon likes the young pretty blondes on his TV. Charlotte hasn't earned half the things she's been given. Because all the women I just listed, they've beaten her and where is their Championship? Where is my championship?! Charlotte Flair is always gonna be alone because if shes not in the spotlight then nobody can be and shes scared of that. So I'll tell you where my championship is. It's shoved so far up Charlotte's a-" Y/N was cut off by Charlotte's music.

Y/N clenched her jaw and bit her lip in anger. Everyone knew Y/N hated to be cut off. Charlotte walked out, Dana Brooke by her side like always. "Y/N, Y/N, Y/N....why are you so obsessed with me?" Y/N scoffed, watching as Charlotte walked down the ramp, her title around her waist. "I mean it's bad enough you're obsessed with poor little Alexa Bliss. But now you're moving onto me? Is it because i dumped you?" Charlotte laughed. Y/N looked down, still clenching her jaw and she could snap at any moment. "Oh right, I forgot you're still not over that," Charlotte frowned fakly and stepping in the ring.

Y/N still didn't move from her spot on her chair and continued to chew her gum with an annoyed face. "You done?" Y/N asked, raising an annoyed brow. "Hmmmm not really but it's embarrassing to see you not speak so I'll pause just for you," Charlotte hummed. Y/N stood up and kicked the chair the side, "I think you're forgetting that you called me out, you brought my name into your mouth and you showed up on my brand. So I suggest you rethink your decision before I rearrange your face so you won't be Championship material in anyone's eyes," Y/N spat out at Charlotte.

"Oh so you're saying that you're Championship material? You?" Charlotte deadpanned and Y/N nodded with a shrug. "Yeah but I'm not gonna be a cocky bitch like you and remind everyone each week," Y/N said. The crowd laughed and Charlotte clenched her jaw, clearly embarrassed. "I'm done here. I don't have to listen to this," Charlotte said, turning to walk away but Y/N grabbed her wrist. "Yeah well I'm not." Charlotte scoffed and sent a cheap shot to Y/N's face, laying her out so Dana kicked and attacked her.

Charlotte grabbed the chair and went to hit Y/N in the back until, the crowd suddenly burst into loud cheers when the music of Alexa Bliss hit and she ran out to Y/N's defense. Charlotte and Dana slid out immediately noticing Alexa holding a kendo stick in hand. Alexa slid in and shouted some threats at the two before walking over to Y/N who sat in the corner of the ring with a look of surprise. Alexa stuck her hand out to Y/N who looked around at the crowd that began the Daniel Bryan 'YES!" chants. Charlotte and Dana shouted 'no' as they knew if Alexa and Y/N teamed up then it would be the end for them.

Y/N let out a breath and took Alexa's hand, letting Alexa help pull her up and the crowd went nuts for it. Y/N and Alexa walked to the ropes shouting threats back and forth with Dana and Charlotte. Y/N picked up the mic and leaned forward on the ropes, "You and your little protégé versus me and The Goddess on Raw! I'll see you there because the minute I see you next week it's going down!" Y/N threw the mic and her music played all as the crowd cheered and Charlotte and Dana were having a meltdown.

Alexa grinned and hugged Y/N stiffened up out of surprise, that obviously not being scripted so she had no idea how to react. But the crowd was going nuts for it and the reactions were gold. Y/N still with a confused look, put an arm around Alexa's shoulder and it was basically Y/N showing some kind of affection so the crowd loved it. This team was over as hell and Vince McMahon was eating it up.

»»────── 𓆩♡𓆪 ──────««

That's how Y/N and Alexa were told they would now be a tag team until it was time for their title fueds. Basically this storyline got extended way longer than it should've been. Y/N didn't mind because it meant she was getting TV time and a big check. The only downside was that she had to now train with Alexa so they could rehearse their matches together, create a tag team finisher, a gimmick for their selves, and anything that could help with their chemistry. Alexa obviously wasn't complaining about spending time with her. That was until Y/N brought along Randy so now it definitely felt like Alexa was just third wheeling their sister and brother relationship.

Y/N pulled her gym bag on her shoulder and walked into the PC but this time Randy wasn't with her which caught Alexa off guard. "No Randy today?" Alexa asked. She and Y/N still had yet to actually speak a full sentence to each other since Randy basically spoke for Y/N knowing she had no interest in conversation with people she wasn't super familiar with. "Nah he's spending time with the wifey so it's just me. I did actually call a friend to come with but they bailed last minute." Y/N shrugged. Alexa nodded, pretending to be upset about that but she Sasha thrilled to actually sit down and talk with Y/N.

"So I was thinking maybe we can start coming up with our finisher because we have our match in a few days on Raw," Alexa said. Y/N just nodded and slid in the ring to stretch, Alexa following her. "Yeah I was talking to my friend about that and she suggested that maybe we just mix our finisher together instead of creating a whole new one," Y/N mumbled. "That's a great idea. What friend came up with that?" Alexa asked, slighty trying to figure out if it was Charlotte's idea. "My friend Kim, she's in ICW. Don't worry she's married to a man." Alexa's eyes widened, hoping Y/N wasn't onto her.

"What do you mean by that?" Alexa asked, trying to play dumb. "You're obviously wondering if Charlotte was that friend, which she was not. We haven't spoken to each other outside of work in weeks. We don't even speak in general unless we're doing a promo together," Y/N stated. "Oh well I was just curious," Alexa mumbled. "Mhm, sure," Y/N shrugged, not thinking too much of it because she didn't really care. "So I was thinking like maybe I do an RKO, then when they're on the floor you basically do the Twisted Bliss finisher," Y/N explained, standing up and popping her neck.

"Oh yeah I love that idea. Wait you know my finisher name?" Alexa asked. "I watched a few of your matches in NXT so I kinda picked up on your moveset," Y/N shrugged, not seeing it as a big deal but a lot of people would considering she almost never felt the need to watch other people's old matches to study moveset. "Oh okay, thanks," Alexa said, smiling to herself.

»»────── 𓆩♡𓆪 ──────««

Y/N slid in the ring and performed an RKO on Dana Brooke, laying her out so Alexa could perform Twisted Bliss. Alexa performed the finisher and pinned Dana to the three count, making the crowd get on their feet and cheer. Alexa immediately ran and hugged Y/N who once again awkwardly patted Alexa's back. The referee lifted their arms, signifying their win before letting them back down. When they got backstage they were congratulated on their performance and Y/N immediately left to catering where Bayley was holding her phone for her. "Thanks," Y/N said, taking her phone and going to sit on a random stage box.

As she sat down she was approached by Charlotte who sat down next to her. "What do you want Ashley? You dumped me, you left me, you ruined it. I don't need any explanation from you and I sure as hell don't wanna be friends." Before Charlotte could even get a word out, Y/N walked off without even hearing what Charlotte had to say. Charlotte let out a sigh and Alexa walked over to her, "I'm kinda biased because she's my tag partner but I think you should just let her be. She's made it clear she doesn't wanna be friends or get together," Alexa stated, patting Charlotte's shoulder and walking over to Bayley and Sasha.

»»────── 𓆩♡𓆪 ──────««

Three weeks later it was Smackdown and Y/N had a match tonight against Carmella, from what was scheduled but she was cutting a promo in the ring first. "Now three weeks ago myself and my tag partner Alexa Bliss beat Charlotte Flair and Dana Brooke. And for some reason, I thought it was gonna end there. Ya know? But Charlotte just can't accept defeat. Which is why last week she tried to get me alone and twist her way into my mind to turn me against my partner Alexa Bliss. And I don't take kindly to people trying to manipulate me." Y/N said, sitting criss cross in the middle on the ring.

"And so I was wondering how did Charlotte manage to get me alone? If Alexa is with me at all times? And so I asked Alexa where she was and she told me that Carmella and her little friends, locked Alexa in the locker room. And I think we all know by now is that I really don't like when someone messes with the people I care about. So, I challenged Carmella to a match earlier today and I have yet to get my answer so Carmella, if you could come on out here that would be greatly appreciated. And once I'm done with you, I'll put my focus back on Charlotte Flair."

Y/N stood up and looked to the jumbotron with the audience and that's when they suddenly showed Carmella walking into Y/N and Alexa's shared locker room. Alexa immediately looked away from the television and glared at Carmella, "What are you doing in our room?" Carmella chuckled and crossed her arms over her chest, "Relax, I just wanna talk to you. It's about Y/N." Alexa furrowed her brows and crossed her arms, squinting at Carmella in suspicion. "What about her?"

"I really hate to be the bearer of bad news but I think she's thinking about leaving you for Charlotte. I saw them talking last week and they looked really close. I also noticed how Y/N didn't ask you to come out with her, maybe she just doesn't need you anymore so she's to let you down easy," Carmella said with a fake frown. Alexa looked down, not wanting to believe what Carmella was saying but it was hard not to when Y/N was being more distant. "Why should I believe you when you and your little friends locked me in the locker room?" Alexa glared at her, not even caring what Carmella had to say anymore.

"You know what? I don't care. Get out!" Alexa snapped. Carmella clenched her jaw, "Fine, fine you win," She went to turn around, only to sucker punch Alexa in the face. Y/N seen this and immediately went to run out of the ring until Natalya, Lana and Tamina, three of Carmella's lackies, attacked her from behind. As Alexa finally shoved Carmella into the wall, she turned to look at the TV that showed Y/N being attacked. "She's always there for you. Will you be there for her?" Carmella chuckled, getting up and tackling Alexa, both of them going at it until security had to pull them apart.

Y/N tried her best to fight back but only got kicked down each time. That's when the crowd went absolutely insane hearing Charlotte Flairs music. Charlotte ran down the ramp literally in heels and hit Lana with a big boot on the outside. Charlotte slid in the ring but Tamina and Natalya slid out before she could attack. Y/N leaned onto her left shoulder, holding her midsection in pain, thinking Charlotte would now attack her. But instead Charlotte leaned down and comforted her whilst glaring at Lana, Tamina, and Natalya.

Alexa finally managed to pull from the security and run down to the gorilla but when she finally got the stage, nobody was in the ring anymore. The crowd chanted 'CHARLOTTE SAVED HER!' and Alexa's face showed a clear sign of sadness but also a look of jealousy and anger.

Backstage when the segment was finished Alexa found Y/N actually having a conversation with Charlotte. She furrowed her brows in confusion when she noticed Y/N had actually smiled at Charlotte. Y/N never smiled. Alexa sighed and sat down on the stage box, close enough to where she could eavesdrop. "So, do you maybe wanna grab some coffee later? I know a good place nearby," Charlotte said. Y/N hummed in thought, she had planned to do some late night training with Alexa but maybe she could cancel. Alexa wouldn't be that mad would she?

"Uh yeah sure, I gotta cancel training but yeah, I'm down," Y/N said. Alexa gaped in offense and jealousy which she would never admit to.

»»────── 𓆩♡𓆪 ──────««

A few weeks more went on and Y/N and Alexa were one of the most talked about tag teams ever. Y/N and Alexa would be scheduled on both brands, fueding with Charlotte and Dana. When Charlotte had saved Y/N when Alexa wasn't there, that did cause a lot of miscommunication and problems between the two. Charlotte was manipulating Y/N all over again and Alexa was sick of it so last week she challenged Charlotte to a match on Smackdown. Off screen, Y/N had been spending a ton of time with Ashley. Even more than she did with Alexa. But the more Y/N distanced from Alexa, the more she realized how she really felt for her tag partner.

She loved her. And not the best friend type of love...

Y/N was sitting down in her shared locker room with Alexa, eating a piece of pizza when Alexa walked in. "Hey, can we talk?" Alexa asked. Y/N gave her a thumbs up and turned off the television before turning to look at Alexa who had just sat down next to her on the couch. "What's up?" Y/N asked, tossing the pizza on her plate and giving Alexa her full attention. "I was gonna ask why you've been so distant lately? You're always canceling our meet ups and most of the time I find out on Twitter that you basically ditched me for Charlotte," Alexa asked, slighty looking away as she didn't want to fully look at Y/N, scared of her reaction.

"Are you implying something? You do realize I'm not obligated to give you my attention every second, right?" Y/N raised a brow, immediately growing an attitude, but that was all to hide what she really wanted to say. Alexa frowned and squinted her eyes at Y/N, "I didn't say that. I'm just kinda bothered that you're not putting in as much work because you're too busy spending time with Charlotte."

Y/N scoffed and stood up, "No no no, I have been putting in my blood sweat and tears to make this team work. Just because I want to hang out with a friend doesn't mean I don't care about this team! I do care, and I show that every week when I walk down that ramp." Now Alexa had scoffed, "Oh yeah? Are you really that sure you're friends? It seems like way more than that to me." Y/N's eyes widened slightly at the accusation and she rolled her eyes, grabbing her bag and getting ready to leave. She wasn't scheduled for a match, she just had to cut a promo backstage for Alexa's match.

"Uh huh, leave. It's what you seem to do best! I mean you sure had no problem bailing on all our plans for Charlotte. Maybe you should go cry to her," Alexa said, causing Y/N to pause in her steps and shut the door. "You literally have no fucking idea what you're talking about! You wanna know why I pushed you away?! Because, I realized how much I actually like spending time with you. And I realized that I fell in love with you when I promised I wouldn't fall in love ever again. And maybe, just maybe, that scared the shit out of me, so I pushed you away, because I haven't felt this way about anyone since Ashley. So I'm sorry." Y/N stormed out before Alexa could even get a word out.

»»────── 𓆩♡𓆪 ──────««

Y/N walked down the halls, holding her duffle bag on her shoulder and heading down to the parking lot to leave. The show was finished, Alexa won her match but could barely focus on celebrating it because Y/N wasn't by her side. Y/N had powered her phone off as well so she ignored every single call and text she got from Lexi. Y/N cursed under her breath seeing Lexi standing beside her car which was parked right next to Y/N's motorcycle. Y/N immediately tossed her duffle bag on the back, not even sparing Lexi a glance which made her frown. As Y/N goes to hop on her bike, Lexi grabs her arm, stopping her.

"Can we talk in the car?" Lexi asked. Y/N licked her lips and reluctantly agreed after a few seconds of silence. Lexi walked around to the driver's side and Y/N hopped in the passenger seat. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Y/N finally decided to break it. "I meant it, ya know? Every word," she mumbled. Lexi suddenly grabbed Y/N by her jacket and pulled their lips together. It didn't take Y/N long to kiss back with more passion. Lexi pulled away first for breath and leaned her forehead against Y/N's, "I love you too." She mumbled. A smile grew on Y/N's face and she kissed Lexi again, and they pulled away after a few seconds to breath.

"I literally had the biggest crush on you for years, like way before I even met you," Lexi admitted. Y/N chuckled and leaned back in the seat. "If I met you sooner, I can guarantee that I would most definitely had liked you back."

Two days later, Y/N and Lexi both cuddled on Lexi's sofa, binge watching Disney movies.

[honeyedmiller]

Bubblegum Princess // Pedro Pascal

warnings: none really except fluff

word count: 1.2k

-

synopsis: It's 1984 and Pedro falls smitten with a certain someone who has a knack for popping bubblegum.

[a/n: I KNOW that Pedrito was born in '75 so the timeline doesn't correlate literally at all but just go with it u feel me... also he's a teenage skater boy in this LMAO :))) ]

This was written in third person too okay hope u enjoyyyyy<3

It was a hot summer day in 1984, and y/n couldn't have been more thankful for the central air system at her job. It was nice and cold in the town's small CD and video store. Although she was content with the cool air blowing all around her, she longed to be outside where everyone else was. 

Everyone was at the town's public pool, getting ice cream at the shop down the street, or hanging out at the skate park that was recently built. Her shift luckily ended in an hour, and she was hoping she'd be able to soak up some sun by the pool before the day's end.

She chewed on her pink bubblegum in boredom, knowing that no one was really going to walk into the shop anytime soon. Her thoughts were proven wrong when she heard the shop's bell jingle, indicating someone had walked in. 

She looked up from behind the counter, noticing a tall, rather handsome boy. He had kind dark brown eyes, brown fluffy hair and tan skin. He carried his skateboard in with him, a few scrapes on his elbows from falling a few times. She'd recognized him — they went to school together, and were in the same grade. They'd never talked before, though, simply because they weren't in the same type of friend group.

He finally made eye contact with y/n, and a pink tinge came upon her cheeks as he smiled at her. Even his smile was beautiful. 

"Is there something I can help you with? Anything in particular you're looking for?" The shy girl asks, mustering up as much confidence as she could. 

"Just browsing." The boy simply answered, going through a collection of the newest stocked CD's. Y/n took notice that he gravitated toward Prince's new Purple Rain album.

"'S a good album right there. Let me know if you need help." Y/n sighed softly, sitting back on the stool that was provided for her behind the counter. She flipped through a magazine and chewed her gum once more, blowing bubbles this time. 

A few minutes later, the boy walked up to the counter with a couple of CD's, including Purple Rain. Y/n put down the magazine, ready to ring up his items. She noticed the album choice, a ghost of a smile crossing her lips. Subconsciously, y/n blew another bubble, which fascinated the boy. 

"Nice bubble." He said, laughing. The bubble popped just in time, and y/n laughed in embarrassment. 

"Sorry, it's a habit," She says. "Your total is $7.32." She looks at the boy as he dug in his pocket for a $10 bill. 

"What's your name? I feel like I've seen you somewhere before." The boy asks, looking at her intently. 

"You have. We go to school together," She simply states, stunning him. She gave him his change back and bagged up his purchase. "The name's y/n, by the way." She answered with a little more confidence, and the boy immediately noticed. 

"I'm Pedro," He smiles and extends his hand, and y/n gladly shakes it. "Do you have a piece of paper, or a post-it at that?" Pedro asks, raising an eyebrow at y/n. She nods, slightly confused as to why he'd ask. She handed him the square, yellow notepad as he wrote something down. He handed the paper back to her, and her eyes immediately grazed over it. It was his name and house number. 

"Call me sometime, I'd love to take you out for an ice cream or something." He smiles at her one last time before exiting the shop, skating away. 

–

Throughout the whole summer, y/n and Pedro were inseparable. He'd visit her at the shop quite often, just to say hi or plan something for the two of them the same evening. She'd also spend hours watching him at the skate park, Pedro trying to master a new trick every couple of weeks.

He took her to the town's new roller skating rink and taught her how to keep balance, and to the arcade where he mercilessly beat her at Pac-Man. He even took her to his secret thinking spot, which happened to be a high hilltop that overlooked the town and all its dazzling lights at night.

They even went to the county fair together where he was too good at the games, winning her three stuffed plushies. They shared food that shouldn't be fried but was, took lots of photos on y/n's disposable Kodak camera, and rode as many rides as they could stomach.

Y/n had quickly fell for Pedro, but she was too afraid to tell him. She didn't want an amazing friendship to end so quickly if she'd confessed to him how she really felt. 

It went on like that for a year. It was now the summer of 1985, and y/n and Pedro were closer than ever. Everyone at school knew they were inseparable best friends, which confused quite a few people at first seeing they were polar opposites — physically, anyhow. Little did everyone know, they had so much more in common with each other. 

They were going to be college freshman in the fall, and it'd turned out by coincidence that the two best friends would be attending the same college after graduating. 

Pedro had taken y/n to their secret hilltop hideout, and they'd planned a nice picnic for the two of them. Y/n wore a pretty, yellow sundress that Pedro could never forget. Little did y/n know, over the past year, the boy, too, had fallen for her and had become completely infatuated. 

Y/n finished setting down the blanket and began taking out the food they'd packed in the small basket. She notoriously popped her bubblegum that she still absentmindedly loved to chew. She blew one big bubble, and Pedro ended up popping it with his finger. 

"Hey!" y/n pouted, looking at the handsome boy. He laughed in amusement, sitting down next to the beautiful girl. 

"Time's up, bubblegum princess. You have to eat real food now." The boy teased, making y/n laugh. Oh, how he loved that sound. 

They dug into the meal they packed, talking as time went by. The sun was soon setting, creating that perfect golden hour. Y/n looked at Pedro as he talked, popping another piece of gum into her mouth. She stared at the boy in amusement, and he noticed a couple of minutes after. He looked at her, matching her intensity. 

His lips parted slightly, thinking this might be the perfect chance to do what he's wanted to do for the past year. 

Screw it, he thought, as one of his arms slowly reach for her face. His hand rested gently on her cheek, and he noticed that y/n started to blush. He took the opportunity to close the space between them, and finally kiss the girl. 

It was just as they both imagined it — soft, careful and perfect. It was silent all around then except for the sound of their lips smacking. Eventually, they pulled away with big smiles playing on both of their lips. He rested his forehead against hers, both of them trying to even out their breathing again. After a short pause, Pedro spoke.

"Tastes like bubblegum." He looked at the girl as she began to laugh, and he found himself falling in love with her even more than he already had.

[icestar-74]

Shizaya Week 2023

Day 8 Free Day Part 8/8

Home Sweet Home

So I did it. I'm at the end! For this last one I just wanted to show the house in full and show some other things with it. A peek behind this shabby curtain if you will.

I never really show the front of the house. It sits on a dresser in my spare room. It's a PAIN to try and rotate but I managed. When my husband and I moved into our first home THIS home was the hardest thing to move. Oh and don't get me started on the these shingles. EACH AND EVERY ONE were hand stained by soaking in dye and then attached one by one with glue. That was a stressful time. Can you spot my three friends in the windows?

So the side of the house opens for easy access. I didn't wallpaper the inside here due to pure laziness. I hand sanded AND painted the entire house. Building a doll house is a lot of work and took about three months I think. Totally worth it if I could give these boys a bigger home. Anyone that follows me MIGHT remember what their house used to be. It was SO SMALL!

The railings, oh lawd these railings. Each. Single. Little. Piece. Was hand sanded and painted. I don't recall showing the building progress but if anyone is ever interested I have all the photos. Everything from start to finish. It took a week to just do these I swear. They have broken off a few times and I think are currently on with sticky tac, or mounting putty.

Here is our front door. Someday I want to do lighting but that's really pricey so.... not today. The front door opens and closes so that's pretty neat. Don't mind them missing hands. I just take a hand off for the pocket pics.

Speaking of hands. This is how I keep them separate. Pieces have gone missing of course. Izaya's phone and knife are gone so he uses Shizuo's phone. Shizuo only has one cigarette left (THOSE ARE SO TINY). I'm pretty sure I have mixed up their hands at some point but hey, I'm doing my best.

I use sticky tac a lot. Here it is on Shizuo's butt so Izaya's hand can stick and hold him up. I use it to help them hold things in general if their hands don't work. It's also used to keep furniture in place or things on the walls. It looks like a wad of chewed gum. So if you ever see it in the background where I missed it, I swear it's not gum!

This. This masterful pile of nonsense is all the supplies I use. I have tried to organize it but that's not easy. I have containers of food, props, seasonal decor, outdoor stuff and just some random crap I've bought. Don't ask about the grapes...

Here I would like to express my grievances. Shizuo is almost always in his shades because the hair piece WITHOUT them falls off constantly. Sometimes I concentrate so hard it startles me. IZAYA doesn't like to stand and falls over a lot, startling me as well. I jump very easily and when I'm in the zone, loud noises get me. Once I was stacking lil cans and my husband poked his head in to ask me something. Tiny cans scattered, violent words were said and that photo was delayed.

Finally here is the full space. I'm a 32 year old adult that loves her stuffies, anime boys and crafting. I have many hobbies but my Shizaya house is something special. It's something I worked hard to build and something that continues to give me joy. I really hope that I can continue to use it to spread joy to others as well.

I think I said it in the first post but if anyone ever has questions or needs help with a similar hobby I'm always here! Support your hobbies and just have fun with them. Happy Shizaya Week 2023 everyone ;*