#but instead would be like ‘alright there’s a) a lot of weird stuff going on and b) I’m the adult here so let’s tread carefully’

[greyedian]

MAN I'm seriously so sad about season 2. Bc I wish act 2 had the same emotional impact on me as it appears to have on so many others. But rn I'm just somewhere between unable to care and actively annoyed by some of those writing decisions. Seriously the more I think about it the less I like it.

[nerdy-stilinski]

The fact that the sheriff seriously considers that Stiles is out killing people shows how broken their relationship is. He knows Stiles is hiding stuff, knows that Stiles is loitering around crime scenes. Does he take Stiles to therapy?? Or talk to him about what is going on? NO. He is like "my son is a serial killer."

Like, come on!! He barely knows Stiles at that point.

Exactly!!! So much of the parents’ involvement, with the sheriff being the most obvious example, feels like blatantly ignoring the 37 other factors of the situation and how they might be impacting their kids’ behavior, and instead jump straight to INSANE conclusions. At no point is anyone talking about how they’re worried about their kids, or what else might be going on, they just assume they’re little high school criminals???? be so fr

[sunseed-fandump]

Jailhouse Rock

The kids make a new (and very questionable) friend.

AU: Bad Batch Word Count: 3,281

Well, it was official, this was the most awkward moment of Gingerbrave’s life.

The jail cell was a cramped little thing, definitely not something built with the idea of containing more than one prisoner, just like the jailhouse itself didn’t seem to be built with that many criminals in mind, as there was only one cell. He supposed it made sense that a small town in the middle of the desert wouldn’t expect too many criminals stopping by, let alone having the misfortune of all of them being caught at the same time. Yet here they were.

It wasn’t like they had wanted to get caught. This was actually one of the few times they had bothered to keep a low profile. They had stopped into town for supplies on their trip down the Pilgrim’s Path, and figured it would be best for their long journey to conserve their energy. Just get in, grab the stuff, toss the money on the counter, get out. Simple.

Then things got decidedly less simple when a couple of bounty hunters recognized the kids from their wanted posters. (When did those get printed? They looked so cool! Gingerbrave hoped he got to take one home to put up on his bedroom wall.) The scuffle resulted in a lot of property damage, Wizard getting a minor concussion, and all three kids getting hit with tranquilizer darts. Who the hell carries those around? Well, those guys, apparently.

An hour later found the trio waking up disoriented, disarmed, and awaiting transfer to the nearest Kingdom for processing. Oh, and they had a cellmate. A cellmate who seemingly hated their guts if the way she scowled at them from the other side of the tiny cell was any indication.

Resulting in the awkward stare-down that was currently happening. On his right, Wild Strawberry seemingly lost interest and started fidgeting with the drawstrings on her hood. Meanwhile to his left, Wizard had begun muttering something to himself. (A quick glance to the clock on the wall beyond the bars told Gingerbrave they probably had about an hour or two before Wizard started going off the deep-end due to withdrawal from his stupid staff. Gingerbrave couldn’t stand that parasite…)

Luckily, since he was undead, Gingerbrave didn’t have to blink, which meant he could literally stare at this weird angry lady all day if he wanted. He didn’t want to, though, so instead he tried to strike up a conversation.

“So, uh…” He scratched at the stitches on his neck. “What are you in for?”

The cookie’s scowl deepened. She was a spicy cookie if the red hair and strong scent was any indication. Her hair was done up in a ponytail and she had a scar on her forehead. She was dressed in the traditional black-and-white striped outfit one typically associated with criminals. Gingerbrave wondered, when the sheriff came back, if they would be expected to get changed into something similar.

At the cookie’s lack of a response and neither of his friends lending him a hand, Gingerbrave decided to keep talking.

“Right. Anyway, I’m Gingerbrave, and these are my friends Wizard and Wild Strawberry—“ He was cut off by the other cookie’s very clipped response.

“I know who you are.” She crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall. It seemed that was all she felt like saying though as any attempt to talk to her earned the boy the cold shoulder.

Gingerbrave eventually figured she was a lost cause, and judging by Wizard starting to rock back and forth from where he was seated, he was beginning to head into the first stages. So it was time to get going.

“Alright, we’re gonna leave now.” Gingerbrave said with a shrug before getting up from his seat and heading over to the front of the cell. He pressed his face up against the bars to get a better view of the hallway. He could just barely make out the sheriff’s office at the end of the hall. No doubt, that’s probably where their stuff was. Judging by how quiet it was, the sheriff was still out doing whatever it was that sheriffs did, which meant Gingerbrave had to be quick.

The boy tested the bars. Solid as a rock and he had neglected to bring any of his stronger arms with him. Unfortunate, but he’d have to work with it.

“Hey, Wizard,” Gingerbrave looked over to the shorter boy, who seemed to briefly snap out of whatever daze he had slipped into. “If I can get you your staff, could you get us out of here?”

“Yes!” He replied way too quickly, before shaking his head and rubbing at his temples. The migraine must have been setting in. “Yes, get me my staff and I can teleport us.”

“Sounds like a plan!” And without any hesitation Gingerbrave grabbed at his forearm just under the stitches on his left elbow, and snapped it off.

“WHAT THE HELL?!” The spicy cookie jumped back, clearly startled; all the color had drained from her face in an instant. All the kids laughed a little at her expense. (Even Strawberry, with a barely restrained ‘pfft!’)

“It’s fine! See?” The severed hand waved at her like nothing was wrong. “Watch this!” He gently set it down to the floor where, with a bit of awkward finagling he got it balanced on its fingers like a spider. He walked his hand out of the cell, slipping it between the bars, and all the cookies watched as it scuttled down the hall towards the office. Gingerbrave scrunched up his face in concentration, leaning the stub of his left arm out of the cell as far as it could go to help keep his hand within range. His spirit could stretch pretty far, but not forever, and he wanted to make sure he had full reign of the office.

Okay, that felt like the office chair. There’s the desk. He poked around a little to the right and hit a wall so maybe if he…

“Does that hurt…?” The spicy cookie’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts briefly and the boy looked over his shoulder at her. Huh, that usually wasn’t the first reaction he got when severing his parts in front of new cookies. Usually it was fear, panic, and accusations of being a dough-eating monster, but this cookie’s initial surprise had melted into an emotion Gingerbrave wasn’t quite familiar with.

“Nah, they were made to come off.” Gingerbrave said with a shrug before turning his attention back to feeling around the distant room. What was that? A bookshelf? Maybe he should try a few paces to the left.

The spicy cookie gave him an assessing look before turning her attention to the other two, specifically Wizard who was looking a little more harrowed than usual. “Yo, shortstack, you good?”

Gingerbrave snorted at the nickname. Oh! That felt like a chest! Maybe their stuff was in there but… it was locked. Rats. Then again, maybe the staff couldn’t fit? Probably best to be thorough.

“I’ll be fine once Gingerbrave gets my staff back.” Wizard said with a harrumph and a mutter of “I’m not short…”

“What’s the hold up? Any longer and Wizard is gonna start getting all freaky.” Strawberry asked, to which Gingerbrave huffed.

“I’m trying!! This would’ve been a lot easier if I was awake when we were brought in. Wizard, tell your stupid staff to be less stupid—!”

‘BANG!’

A screech ripped itself out of Gingerbrave when pain shot through his hand. He flung himself back from the bars, hitting the opposite wall and clutching at his stubby arm as if it would stop the pain. He heard a few exclamations of surprise from the cookies around him along with a horrified scream from down the hall followed by two more gunshots that (thankfully) missed their mark.

The sheriff was back and he just shot Gingerbrave in the hand.

His hand scuttled wildly around the office, blindly bumping into everything in an attempt to get to some kind of cover. Wild Strawberry had gotten up and put a hand on his shoulder to steady him.

“He shot me…!” Gingerbrave bit out between clenched teeth just as a few more shots rang out, one of them glancing the boy’s dough.

“Screw this.” The spicy cookie flung herself at the cell door and after a few moments it popped open…

Wait, what?

“You could’ve done that this whole time?!” Strawberry voiced what Gingerbrave was in too much pain to say.

“Shut up and move!” Replied the other cookie who sprung out of the cell and down the hall. Wizard was right on her heels, no doubt seeing the opportunity to get his staff and not at all caring about the actively shooting lawman. Wild Strawberry called out to him, cursed under her breath when she was ignored, then grabbed Gingerbrave and hauled him out of the cell to give chase.

They arrived just in time to watch the spicy cookie deliver a round-house kick to the sheriff’s face, sending him flying back and hitting his head on the corner of the bookshelf, knocking him out cold.

“How could a cookie that moves so slow become sheriff? Can’t believe I let myself get caught by this moron…” she tsked and checked his pockets.

“There you are!” Wizard exclaimed happily before flinging himself at his staff that was propped up in an umbrella stand for some weird reason. He scooped it up into his hands, the tension practically melted from his body as he felt the staff’s familiar magic settle once more within his dough. “That fool didn’t shoot you, did he…? No?” He sighed in relief.

Gingerbrave looked at the scene with a small frown, but held his tongue. Instead he focused on trying to find his hand. He experimentally tapped his fingers against the nearest hard surface and cringed at the pain blossoming from his fresh wounds.

Wild Strawberry Cookie got down on her knees and checked under the desk when she heard tapping, sure enough, there was Gingerbrave’s hand with a bullet wound in it. “Got it.” She pulled it out and held it up for her friend to take, who cradled it close to his chest. “I’ll get the extra icing stitches from my backpack and we can stitch everything up.”

“No time.” Wild Strawberry jumped when her backpack and lollipop were shoved into her arms by the spicy cookie. She had picked the sheriff’s pockets clean, gotten the keys to the chest in the corner, and cleaned that out too. She strapped a belt around her waste and clipped two daggers to her side. “All that ruckus is gonna have the whole town coming down on top of us. Pointy hat, if you got magic I suggest you start using it!”

“My name is Wizard–!” The small boy’s correction was cut off by the glass of the window shattering in front of him.

“GET DOWN!” She grabbed Gingerbrave and Strawberry and pulled them behind the desk. Wizard, who had been a bit further away, joined them shortly after just as a hail of bullets poured in through both windows and the open front door. “Unless you wanna have more holes than swiss cheese then I suggest you get us out of here!!”

Wizard growled, but instead of snapping at her, he focused on the vocal components of a well-practiced spell. A magic circle appeared beneath the group of cookies and in a flash they were gone. One moment they were hiding under a desk, the next they were on top of a bluff overlooking the town. The gunshots, once deafening, were nothing but an echo on the rocks at this distance.

The spicy cookie stumbled, not used to the sensation of being teleported around, caught herself, and then let out a huge ‘WOO!’

“Wow! What a day!” She exclaimed with a sigh of relief.

“Tell me about it…” Wild Strawberry muttered as she dug into her backpack and pulled out the icing stitches. “Yo, Gingerbrave, let’s get your arm back on.”

“Y-Yeah…” The other boy hissed, allowing himself to be guided over to a rock and took a seat.

“That was some nice quick-casting there, pointy hat!” The spicy cookie went to pat Wizard on the back, but paused. “Oh, right, I’m supposed to be mad at you guys…” She pondered this for a moment before shaking her head with a laugh and then patting him anyway. “Ah, but it’s hard to stay mad after such a fun jailbreak! Definitely one of my favorite ones yet!”

“Who even are you?” Wizard Cookie turned on her, giving her an absolutely baffled look as he adjusted his hat.

“And, uh, why are you mad at us?” Gingerbrave called over, trying to remain as still as possible while Strawberry worked. It wasn’t like they weren’t used to being scorned by most, if not all, of Crispia, but this strange cookie’s anger seemed rather out of left field. The spicy cookie reared back, as if offended by this line of questioning.

“You mean you guys don’t recognize me?! Seriously? And here I thought you were supposed to be big shots…” She reached into her pocket and produced a rolled up piece of paper which was quickly revealed to be a wanted poster that she unraveled with a proud flourish. “The name’s Chili Pepper Cookie and I’m the best thief in the world! There’s nothing on Earthbread I can’t steal.”

“Whoa! Look at that bounty!” Gingerbrave gasped at the sight of all the zeroes. “But… Uh… What does that have to do with being mad at us?”

“Because!” She rolled the paper back up and jabbed a finger at the trio. “Your collective bounties are higher than MINE! How am I supposed to go down in history if I’m being outclassed by a bunch of twerps?!”

Wizard Cookie sputtered indignantly at this revelation. Wild Strawberry stared at her, thoroughly unimpressed. Gingerbrave, however, burst into laughter.

“That’s what all of this was about!?” He cackled a few moments, clutching his aching gut, before settling down and saying breathily, “You’re a weird cookie. I like you!”

“If you want our bounties, you can have them! They’re what got us into trouble in the first place!” Wizard huffed.

Chili Pepper tilted her head, fixing them with a weird look. “Wait, you mean to tell me you aren’t in this for the infamy? Guess that’s why I haven’t seen you around the usual haunts rubbing your status in everyone's faces. You’re totally out of the loop!” She brightened, as if this revelation was both a massive relief and a big joke at the same time.

“Yeah we’re… not really interested in whatever weird crime competition this is.” Wild Strawberry Cookie shook her head as she finished up Gingerbrave’s stitches and stashed the spool into her bag. “If anything those bounties make reaching our goal harder…”

Chili Pepper Cookie looked at her as if she had grown a second head. “What could a group of kids like you want so badly you land bounties that put you in the criminal elite?”

“We’re going to steal the Soul Jam to free the world!” Gingerbrave proudly announced, jumping to his feet, he was already feeling a lot better now that his wounds were stitched up.

“A world without judgement!” Wizard added with a nod.

“And lawlessness…” Wild Strawberry muttered.

Chili Pepper Cookie gave the three children a thoughtful expression, putting a hand to her chin with a little ‘huh…’ before shooting a wide grin at the kids. “Well, I’m not sure about half of that, but I can definitely get behind the stealing and lawlessness parts! Are those Soul Jam things shiny?”

“They are incredibly powerful magical artifacts that have the capability of changing the world as we know it!” Wizard rattled off. When Chili Pepper gave him a blank look, he sighed and said, “And they’re shiny, yes.”

“Hey, I have an idea,” Gingerbrave cut in with a wide smile. “Chili Pepper Cookie, why don’t you come with us?” He got a mixed reaction of surprise and confusion from the cookies around him. Wizard Cookie and Wild Strawberry Cookie knew that Gingerbrave didn’t just extend offers like this to just anyone. He might have been the more chipper and outgoing of their group, but he didn’t trust others so easily. He must have really liked something Chili Pepper did or said to even think about such a proposal.

“You want me to come with you? Why?” Chili Pepper was just as confused as Gingerbrave’s friends. She couldn’t imagine them wanting her around after she gave them the silent treatment back in the jail cell.

“You seem fun.” Was Gingerbrave’s simple reply. “You helped us get out of that jail cell when you really didn’t have to. Plus, if you travel with us, I’m sure your bounty will sky rocket! And we could use the world’s greatest thief on our team!”

Chili Pepper Cookie seriously considered his proposal for a minute. When she had first heard about them and their rapid climbing of the leaderboard, she had thought they were nothing but a bunch of punk kids who wanted to be rowdy and cause trouble. Now she could see though, they had bigger plans than just topping the charts of the Underworld. She could appreciate such a large ambition.

Besides they didn’t seem to be jamthirsty monsters like all the rumors said they were. They were just… weird. The criminal underworld had plenty of downright monstrous folks who Chili Pepper tried not to associate with, but she could tell, these kids didn’t seem heartless. Mischievous, yes. Troubled? Absolutely. But not heartless.

“You know what?” Chili Pepper grinned. “I’ll think about it. But for right now, I got a job I need to finish.”

“A job?” Wild Strawberry asked just as Chili Pepper turned to walk towards the cliff that overlooked the town.

“Yeah? Do you think the greatest thief in the world would screw up and get arrested in a nothing town like this?” She gestured to the settlement below. “I let myself get caught! The train they were gonna put us on has a massive safe full of gems. I was gonna bust out of my cuffs mid-transfer and clean it out! But now I guess I gotta do it the good old fashioned way…”

Gingerbrave once again laughed, giving Chili Pepper a sharp grin. “Well, if you decide you wanna join up, head to the Bear Jelly Village in the Land of Little Big Dreams! There’s a cookie there who’ll point you in the right direction.” With that he raised a hand in farewell. “Good luck, Chili Pepper Cookie!”

Chili Pepper gave the kids a mock salute. “See you around, stitches! Make sure you stay out of any more jail cells, punks!” With that she jumped over the side as nimble as an acrobat, and out of sight.

“Well, that was certainly… interesting.” Wizard sighed, before clutching his stomach. “But we failed to get any supplies, and teleporting us this far has made me famished…”

“Right… I forgot about that…” Gingerbrave’s brow furrowed. Should they try heading back into town and risking getting arrested again? Did they push forward and hoped they reach the next town before they starved? He didn’t really know much about hunting or foraging, but he doubted they’d be able to sustain themselves with much in this sugar-free wasteland.

“Hey, look!” Wild Strawberry pointed further up the main road where the kids could see a huge cloud of dust being kicked up. “I think that’s a caravan.”

All three kids stared at it for a long moment.

“Welp!” Gingerbrave clapped his hands together. “Fellas, it’s time to commit robbery!”

“YEAH!!” Strawberry and Wizard raised their respective weapons into the air, excited at the prospect of getting some food in their stomachs. With that, the trio ran off to intercept those travelers.

From the bottom of the cliff, Chili Pepper watched the kids disappear. She lingered for a moment, deep in thought…

‘CHOO CHOOOOOOO!’

The thief turned on her heel and raced towards the tracks. Their paths would cross again someday, but for now, she has a train to catch.

[voitier]

Blame Morpheus for your sins - 04

𝒾𝓃 𝓌𝒽𝒾𝒸𝒽... you and jungkook had been attached by the hip since you were little toddlers learning how to live in your own bodies, which led you two to spend most (if not all) of your life together. one weird dream makes your whole view about your best friend change. how will you live with that?

𝒸𝑜𝓃𝓉𝒶𝒾𝓃𝓈... [mini-series!] friends to lovers, college au, jungkook is whipped for reader but she's oblivious to it all, descriptions of wet dreams, second-hand embarrassment, learning how to deal with new found feelings, sex and all the good stuff, HEA.

𝓌𝒶𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔... angst, mentions of sex, mentions of cheating, a whole lot of crying, JK and reader will definitely piss you off (they're both dense), Jimin is moments away to a mid-life crisis

▸ 𝓔𝓷𝓰𝓵𝓲𝓼𝓱 𝓲𝓼 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓶𝔂 𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓼𝓽 𝓵𝓪𝓷𝓰𝓾𝓪𝓰𝓮

▸ 𝔀.𝓬. : 2.9𝓴

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Some time ago your bad habit of doomscrolling through your social media brought to your attention a post. It was a citation of who knows who, and it stated that life is like a roller coaster: once you reach the peak you’re doomed to fall back down at full speed, but no matter what, the train will always bring you back on top, and then the cycle would repeat until the ride stops completely. 

You didn’t think much of it at that time, agreeing that the author was right yet without really stopping to feel, to understand what message they were trying to convey.

But now? Oh, now life pushed you inside the train with no warnings at all, no sweet talk, no coaxing. Just deemed correct that you tasted the taste of failure. Of disappointment. Of empty nights and empty days, of a closed stomach and constricted throat. Of days slipping from your fingers with no intent of being meaningful, or sticking by your side. Each hour, minute, each second dripping like the clocks from Dalí’s Persistence of Memory and pooling at your feet, mocking you for wasting them, for letting them dissolve into thin air instead of doing something. 

Doing anything, really.

But the more you tried to act, the more life pushed you down. Eventually, even getting up from your bed became an exhausting chore. If you managed to do it most morning, it’s only thanks to Jimin. The poor boy took it upon himself to throw you off your bed each morning, push you in the shower, throw you an apple then drag you to class every single time. More than a friend, he was a saviour for both your mental health and your grades.

One week.

That’s when you last spoke to Jungkook before he had hung up. One whole week ago.

And oh, it was eating you from the inside, clawing at your stomach, your throat, bruising and burning until you were left sobbing. No breakup you had gone through prior had hurt as much as Jungkook’s radio silence was hurting you now. 

“I don’t get why he has gone fucking MIA. And I asked some of my friends that go to class with him, Taehyung and Yoongi. Do you remember them? Anyway, apparently he hasn’t been showing up to class either.” 

You sniffed lightly, wiping the tears streaking your cheeks with your sleeve. Jimin sighed, sitting down in front of you. With gentle hands he cupped your jaw, bringing your eyes high. “Hey,” he whispered softly, carefully fixing stray wet hairs that stuck to your face. “It’s alright. Things will be fixed soon, I’m sure of it. Just hold tight a little longer, okay? You can do it, I know you do.”

A choked sob escaped your lips, a new fit of tears coming up and out of you. Jimin’s hand traveled to the back of your head, guiding you to his shoulder, holding you lovingly. You clung to his shirt, desperate to anchor yourself to something before you spiraled into complete madness, drowning in destructive thoughts that had a name and surname: Jeon Jungkook.

ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁

Jimin was right when he said that Jungkook had gone MIA.

No amount of calls, texts, emails or missed classes could bring him outside of his dorm. Heck, his neighbors weren’t even sure anymore if he was still there.

Except, he was still inside. 

He stood in front of his desk, watching his phone ringing nonstop from your desperate calls, each one being sent to voicemail.

“Kook–” a broken sob echoed in the small dorm room, and the boy sat back down on his bed as the rest of the registered voicemail played. “Please pick up, I’m so– I’m sorry, please.”

His heart tugged a little in his chest at your voice break at the end of the note, yet he couldn’t bring himself to do what you were asking - no, pleading - him to do. Not because he wanted to torture you, or because he was angry. Actually, scratch that, he was still angry at you, but that wasn’t the real and complete reason for his absence.

The reason for his disappearance was a soft, elegant and reserved girl with a big love and understanding for classics and a crazy amount of hatred for the contemporaries, the type of girl that looks like she could break under the weight of life, from his Contemporary Literature class. He had noticed her the first day of class as she hurriedly ran past a group of students hogging the door, sitting down at the back with all her things. Head always low, as he would then learn that she only raised it when something really sparked her attention. 

Later on, Taehyung had found out that she was half French and half Korean, born and raised in South Korea until the age of ten, then moved to France until her early adulthood. She had won a scholarship thanks to her high GPA, and that’s how she found herself at their college. Her name was Nari, but a lot of her friends, mostly international students, also called her by her French name, Amélie. 

Anyways, it was soon clear that the girl had developed a certain liking towards Jungkook, never making it too obvious, yet evident enough to grasp on it quickly if you were observant. And Jungkook’s eye was built to catch every single detail, whether it was something physical or a change in demeanor. 

The poor girl had no idea, obviously, she thought that no one had ever noticed her cheeks flushing pink whenever the man talked in class, or when they would accidentally make eye contact. She was quick to divert her gaze each time, almost too quickly to pass just as embarrassment. 

She was so pure, so naive. 

So infatuated with a man who was destined to be someone else’s entirely.

She didn’t know that, though.

So she decided to shoot her shot, after being thoroughly coaxed by her friends to act before it was too late. 

The plan was simple, really. Nothing extraordinary, no face to face confrontation needed, not too intricate like kids do. She had written down on a piece of paper her number, signed with her initials, hoping that Jungkook would immediately guess who it was (he did), then slipped it inside his book when everyone left to go grab a snack before the second half of class started. When he returned he didn’t suspect a thing, and the day proceeded as usual.

This was approximately two weeks and a half ago. She hadn’t heard from him though, and even in class he didn’t act differently. She was almost on the verge of giving up truthfully. 

But then, a week ago things changed.

The rain pattered heavily on the city, big drops of water splashing on the ground and wetting the hem of Amélie’s jeans. She tried to squeeze under the roof of the overpacked bus stop, brimming with college students like her trying to get home without too much damage. Rain kept falling on them, and a few drops ran down her cheek and arm as she wasn’t completely protected. She huffed annoyed, wiping away the single rain drop from her face, silently praying that the bus would arrive soon. 

Somewhere, a group of students sighed in relief at the sight of a blue and white bus coming from the end of the street. And she almost joined them, if it wasn’t for her phone suddenly ringing with a new notification.

[Unknown number] (2 new messages)

⤷ hey, is this nari? from contemporary lit. class?

⤷ it’s jungkook

She gasped at the messages, clutching the phone in her hands as she read the words over and over again. She rubbed her eyes, making sure that they were not deceiving her. J-U-N-G-K-O-O-K. Yeah, no, they were definitely not deceiving her. So not only he had found the note, but he also guessed whose number it was. 

Shit. 

She didn’t think she would have made it until this point.

Now what?

Anyway, in the midst of her internal turmoil she hadn’t noticed that the bus stop had emptied drastically, and now the vehicle was driving away, without her.

All because of Jeon fucking Jungkook.

Great.

ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁

Generally speaking, Amélie would not describe herself as someone who takes part of hookup culture. Growing up around friends who did, she saw the aftermath: countless calls lasting hours and hours on end, friends sobbing in her shoulder cause they realised that not even sex would bring them their desired person, a dark cloud walking around with them until somehow, someway, they pulled themselves out of this depressive state.

It seemed miserable, to be honest, definitely not worth for a fuck every once in a while. That’s why she had decided to wait until she got a boyfriend, which would not save her from a heartbreak but at least it would spare her from crying about a relationship that was built on nonexistent foundations to begin with.

Which is exactly why she had no idea how she ended up in Jungkook’s bed, her naked body lying spent on top of the bedsheets, chest heaving as she recovered. Jungkook rolled off her with a groan, muttering something as he got up to throw away the used condom, then sitting back down on the bed with a huff.

This wasn’t the first time it had happened, but for some reason, something felt off this time around. She could sense that there was something up in Jungkook’s mind, yet she knew better than to force him to talk.

In a way, without knowing, she was preserving her sanity. Sometimes, being clueless is the best cure to an illness you do not know to have.

She turned to lay on her side, watching quietly as Jungkook slipped inside a clean pair of sweatpants, running his hand through his hair to revive them. His shoulders were tense, and there was an eerie silence inside the room. Amélie’s brows furrowed, a little voice at the back of her head nagging about a bad vibe it had caught on. 

She let her eyes travel from the boy sat at the edge of the bed to the door, a glimpse of something pink catching her attention. Sitting by the door was a sort of open closet, with all sorts of jackets and shirts hanging on their hangers. Under them, there was a long drawer filled with god knows what, but the pink glimpse she had caught on was stored inside a basket on top of said drawer. She squinted her eyes, trying to focus on the object she was looking at.

She gasped, quick, soft, reflexes fast enough to silence herself before he noticed. Her heart jumped up in her throat, and her skin broke in goosebumps all over.

A pink hair straightener. Inside Jungkook’s basket. A quick glance at the mass of hair that was now bent forward – focused on his phone – gave her the confirmation of something she already knew: those weren’t hair that are straightened. Heck, he probably didn’t even brush them.

She swallowed hard, mouth going dry as her eyes scanned the room for more.

Why didn’t she think of it before?

Her breath picked up as more and more signs of a woman being present in Jungkook’s life were presented to her unbelieving eyes: a hair tie hanging from one of his pens, another charger discarded on the kitchen table, a black mascara and a lipgloss sitting side by side on his desk, right by the keyboard.

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck, fuck!

She got up abruptly as panic started to settle in, grabbing her underwear and shirt before running for the bathroom, not even acknowledging Jungkook’s confused “what’s going on?”

She let her body collapse against the door, clutching her clothes to her chest desperately like it would change anything, letting the cold feeling of both the door and the fabric cool her burning skin and bring her back to the moment. Slowly, the realization began to settle heavy on her stomach.

Was she… the other woman? 

Her eyes ran frantically all over the place, noticing only now things she hadn’t paid attention to before: two toothbrushes, two different brands of toothpaste and a hairbrush that looked like a woman’s one, all close together by the sink. Bottles of perfume that read “eau de parfum – for her” at the front. Tears pricked at her eyes, her throat burning with the need to scream and cry all her frustrations, all her anger and disappointment. They weren’t together and he had made it clear from the beginning, but using her to cheat on another woman? How vile can a man be to act this way?

Quickly she slipped her clothes on, twisting the bathroom door knob open, ready to scream at the man sitting on the bed how disgusting he was, how angry she was at him, when suddenly the door to the dorm room bursted open.

ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁

Life’s a bitch and you knew it. Your parents never forgot to remind you that, and you never did. Or at least, so you thought, cause while standing frozen at Jungkook’s doorway with him in only his sweatpants and a girl dressed in a shirt and panties, one thought crossed your mind: you didn’t forget, but you took it for granted.

And now it’s time that you remember that you revise your parents’ lessons, since you clearly need them.

The human body has a weird way to react to unexpected situations: time seems to stop and dilate even though you know that it's only a weird illusion, your body freezes, standing there stone-cold, your heart rate suddenly spikes.

What you weren't ready to feel, though, was the sudden pang of... what was it? Uneasiness? Hurt? Either way, whatever it was was twisting your heart in its grasp, squeezing and pulling until you felt like it was moments away from jumping out of your ribcage.

Your eyes jumped from side to side of the room, taking in the absurdity of the scene: from Jungkook, rising from the bed still half naked, to the girl you did not know, trying her best to cover her bottom half with the hem of her shirt. You couldn't help but notice the tears streaking down her cheeks, and the way she looked at you suggested that she knew something you did not know of. Whatever it was it didn't matter, cause without speaking a word you turned on your heels and headed back outside, ignoring Jungkook's urgent tone as he called you back in.

"Wait! Y/N! It's not what it looks like!" he yelled from his doorway, cursing under his breath as he saw you get far away from him. He snatched his shirt from the ground, putting it on hurriedly before bolting out of the door.

A soft voice from inside stopped him in his tracks. "What is it, then?"

Jungkook turned around, watching with a stoic face as Amélie's eyes drowned in tears.

"I didn't know you had a girlfriend," she whispered, trying her best to appear as put together as possible.

Jungkook sighed, shaking his head side to side. He leaned against the doorframe, running a hand through his hair before admitting in an almost tired voice. "She's not my girlfriend. It's... more complicated than this."

He paused. He looked at her, and he saw that there was no trace anymore of the naive, innocent girl he had met the first day. In a way, his touch had corrupted her, stained her with a sin that she did not deserve.

"You should leave," he concluded, turning around and closing the door behind him, letting silence take over the room.

ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁

You should have listened to Jimin. You really, really should have.

He told you it wouldn't be a good idea, told you it would probably end up in chaos right now.

He didn't tell you that there was the chance that your bestfriend had disappeared cause he was busy getting his dick wet, ignoring you for a week straight for some other girl you had never met before.

Truthfully, Jungkook having sex wasn't exactly the reason for his absence none of you expected. Mostly because... it didn't make any sense.

Who the fuck disappears cause they've got a girlfriend?

Jeon Jungkook, apparently.

You huffed, running a hand over your chest. Jeez, why did it feel like you've been stabbed over and over again?

"Y/N!" you turned around, looking around the dorm lobby until you found Jimin waving at you from the other side. Close to him were Taehyung and Yoongi, the three of them having just entered the building.

"How... oh no."

"Oh no what?"

"You look like shit."

"Thanks, Jimin."

"Hey, not my fault! I suppose you two had a fight?"

"Oh," you chuckled nervously, going around in circles like an encased tiger. "We didn't even make it to that point. Mr. no-where-to-be-found was busy getting laid. Can you believe that? I cried for days on end because he wouldn't reply and he was just... having fun. Crazy, right?"

"Y/N–"

"I'm the stupid one, though. I could have done the same, instead of bothering you and feeling like shit all this time. I could have said, oh that's how life is, and moved on. But no, I had to cry myself to sleep every night first, then fucking explode and burst his door open just to find him with someone else."

"Y/N, shut–"

"And you know what's worse? That I feel like shit, too! It's like someone's fucking squeezing my heart and torturing me to see–"

"Petal."

© voitier 2025

a.n: it's finally here! I'm sorry I have edged you all for so long, truly had a rough time lately. I've read all the messages under the last post where I've explained what's going on and I appreciate each one of them! truly cannot thank you all enough🤍

I hope this chapter was worth the wait, let me know what you think of it! love you all so so much <3

taglist: @mia7732 @tastykookoonut @koooobi @hoseokteardrop @bhonbhon @rpwprpwprpwprw @jeeykey @junecat18 @annyeongbitch7 @lilacstellar @stutixmaru @blueberriesm @134340-kr @schniti-is-in-the-house @diamondjeon

[anystalker707]

so this is love

Pairing: Trafalgar Law x [gender-neutral] Reader Synopsis: You're overwhelmed, and your awkward boyfriend wants to help Tags: Law is learning how to take care of his partner / comfort / soft

Requested by anon ["Helloooo!! Hope you’re well 🫶 if you’re open for requests, would it be alright to ask of a comfort scinario with law and an overwhelmed reader? They don’t know what to do so they try to work it off or shut it off somehow, but Law notices and has other ways to help? You can take it any direction !! (You can also skip if it’s weird aaa just needing some law comfort lately :< also love your Sanji comfort keep it up !!) Take care of yourself, you’re an amazing writer! Have a good one <3"]

MASTER LIST

Law was good at studying people’s behavior. It was tactical. It helped a lot in making plans and alliances, not to mention how it helped improve the crew’s bond. Now, though, it was helping his relationship.

The distance you imposed over everything and everyone else had been there for a while, but it only ticked Law when your absence was noticeable to him. He closed his hand around nothing, feeling his cold fingertips press against his own palm instead of your warm hand, and the banter between the other pirates quickly became a useless distraction in the back of his mind. He would catch up with Kid and Luffy later—and given their unpredictability, it would be the same as if he never left—, and being away from that intense bickering would give his nerves a nice break.

Law’s eyes roamed around the place for a moment. You weren’t with Chopper, Bepo, or Killer, or sitting somewhere quieter with a newspaper or a random thing in hand, so he had to think a little more about it. He took a deep breath, drumming his fingers over his sword. There weren’t a lot of places to be there on that coast of the island, especially when you didn’t want to be seen by anyone else, including locals.

“Seen (y/n)?” Law muttered to Chopper, who seemed to think for a moment.

“They said they were thirsty,” Chopper said, looking around, and he didn’t have the opportunity to say anything else before Law left.

The sound of the others’ bickering was muffled by the waves crashing against the shore the further away Law walked, trying to find you. The chances of you being caught by the marine or anyone else that mattered was sparse, but still… Law bit the inner side of his cheek, his eyebrows furrowing a little as he walked a little faster, and a heavy breath escaped his lips once he saw you sitting back against a tree, tapping a foot repeatedly against the ground while muttering something under your breath.

Relief mixed with a new kind of concern inside Law’s chest as he stepped closer. What should he do, honestly? He had never been close like that to someone else, and he didn’t want to ruin what he already had with you. Law looked down at you with. Your lack of reaction to his approach made his heart tighten, so he just stood there, eventually nudging your foot with his own.

“Love,” Law said, finally, but he couldn’t do much more than a whisper. “Love,” he insisted, and his worry faded away when you looked up, glaring at him with a playful air on your face, making him exhale with a small smile. “I was looking for you,” he said as he sat down beside you slowly, sighing as he leaned back against the tree as well.

“Looking for me,” you muttered, and he nodded.

“Of course,” Law added, raising an eyebrow. Why wouldn’t he be looking for you in a situation like that? Either way, knowing what was going on was more important, and he had to approach it somehow. The more he thought, the harder it got, and he couldn’t find the words to touch the subject smoothly. “Are you alright?” He followed your gaze to the sea, not wanting to put any pressure on you, possibly.

Only the sound of the waves filled in for the following minutes, eventually followed by your sigh. “I… I don’t know. It’s kinda annoying. There’s so much stuff going on. Like, we have a plan, we have to make sure the plan is done, so we also have to be careful and know how to deal with the other crews, but we also have to hide from the marine, mind ourselves… It’s annoying and boring, at the same time. I wish I could run away from that for a while, and find something more useful and nicer to do, but there’s always something to worry about. We haven’t been able to relax or anything for weeks.”

Law’s eyebrows rose lightly as he slowly nodded. He knew the feeling, but it had been a long time since he’d learned to ignore it, so he took a while to answer. He had no lover or comfort person back then, but if he did, he surely would’ve wanted them to be around and help him. Learning boundaries was still a work in progress, but he knew he could do this. Or, at least, he hoped.

“It’s fine, many things are happening all at once. New things,” Law mumbled as he wrapped an arm around you slowly. He made sure to take his time to make every move, always giving you time to pull away in case you wanted to. Maybe you wanted to be alone, though. “Do you—”

“Thanks for being here,” you muttered, resting your head against his shoulder. “I wish I could turn my brain off for a moment. Can you just ‘shambles’ it away for a while?” You joked, and he couldn’t help but scoff, eyes widening lightly.

“I wish I could ‘shambles’ us away from this mess, actually,” Law muttered as he grew more confident and wrapped both his arms around you, pressing a few soft kisses to your cheek. The sight of your smile made Law’s heart flutter, and his shoulders dropped with the tension wearing off. “But I can be here for you. Does this count?”

You nodded slowly, a small smile on your lips, contrasting with the tired haze in your eyes. “It’s more than enough, actually,” you sighed, leaning more into Law, and he finally felt like he was doing something right. The warmth that spread in his chest made him feel all giddy and comforted, wanting to hold you even closer.

“Come here,” Law muttered, adjusting his position, and eventually, you were sitting down between his legs, with your back against his chest, slumping a little. It wasn’t ideal, but it felt like heaven right now, compared to everything else, even more so with Law’s comforting touches, fingertips pressing gently against your scalp as he massaged it, aside from the soft kisses he occasionally pressed to your shoulder. All in the right measure. “Is this too much?”

“No, it’s just enough,” you whispered. Your eyes closed, and Law took a few seconds to admire the sight lovingly.

“We don’t need to go back so soon. Let’s just be here. Just us,” Law whispered as he settled his arms around you, holding you close. There were pauses between his words, seconds he took to think and rethink his words, trying his best to ignore the awkwardness. After all, you loved him just the way he was, right? Awkward or not. Just like he loved you back. Overwhelmed or not, and he wanted to take care of you.

Law ran his fingers through your hair, pulling your head back against his shoulder, and he was pleased when he felt you relax against him, your eyes closing. A few words were stuck in Law’s throat, never stringing together enough to be worth saying, so he opted to remain silent for the time being, holding you against him. He could do so many things and beat so many people up, but he still couldn’t prevent you from becoming overwhelmed like that.

“You’re comfortable,” you whispered, unintentionally fishing Law away from the bad thoughts and erasing that annoying feeling away from his chest, instead focusing on the way you pressed closer. “Can we stay here for a while? Can I take a nap here?”

For a moment, every word seemed to disappear from his mind, but Law finally exhaled, nodding. “Yes, of course, love.”

.𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟.

[hiwelcometothemonstersancturary]

What is the first Christmas outside of the factory like for the toys? Do they celebrate it?

Normalcy and other weird things you never heard about

Hiiii! Decided to write something short for this one. I'll be working on all the other Christmas stuff possibly tomorrow! Thanks for the ask, Anon!

As always: 2nd person POV because Angel refers to themself as "you" instead of "me". Also not as always, but this isn't proofread!

"This is weird".

Bunzo holds the comically large Santa Claus hat, wriggling it around. You carefully grab a few extra chocolate boxes to put on your already full cart. "Why?", you ask the bunny as he almost hits his head against another person's legs. "Eyes on front, not the floor!"

"Why would anyone believe a single guy can give presents to all the kids in the world?"

"Parents tell their kids that so they can have more fun during Christmas time", you respond, stopping the cart to now realize you forgot the milk. Again. "To have some magic, I guess".

"Kids are dumb", Bunzo then tries the hat on, ignoring the price tag clashing against his head.

"You are a kid".

You chuckle at his indignant expression before being surprised by a pair of comically long yellow arms. Ollie emerges from the other corridor, milk on hand and a tired expression on his face. "You forgot that again".

"Thanks, Owl".

The long legs then stares at Bunzo and rolls his eyes. "You look like a dumb kid".

"Hey!"

"Please don't fight at the grocery store again", you sigh. "Where's Dogday?"

"Here!"

The pup appears, wheelchair adorned with Christmas decoration and a red scarf wrapped around his neck. He's holding a few items on his lap, while Delight walks next to him with a very proud expression on her face and a cart full of things. "We completed our list!", she announces. "Did you finish yours, Angel?"

"Ollie just grabbed our last items".

Bunzo climbs your back. You dont even react. "But I helped!"

"Heck yeah, you did", a well-deserved head scratch for him. Bunzo stims in satisfaction, much to Ollie's disdain. "Alright, kiddos, guess this is everything on our part. Any news on Marie's group?"

"Last time I saw her, she and Poppy were debating on which pears were looking the best...", Dogday's voice tone is enough to tell you everything you needed to know: The perfectionists are doing their thing. "... They all looked the same to me..."

Still, you chuckle a bit. "Looks like they want everything to go well for our first Christmas together, eh?"

And indeed, they were.

-

Grabbing the girls away from their perfection crisis was sure a moment, but in the end, you are all able to leave the grocery store after challenging the final boss (read: The waiting line). The van becomes full of bags, and for a moment you're a bit scared y'all wouldn't fit, but years of playing Tetris have sure done a good job to you.

Together with the kids, you head back home. Miguel and Amy, wonderful babysitters as ever, are out in the backyard with the mini toys as Catnap looks over them. Your brother smiles when he sees you, and you feel very, very happy that he and Amy didn't have to deal with the kids trying to burn the house down again.

Bobby watches from her chair as you, Marie, Delight and Kissy put the groceries away. "Is that... All for Christmas?", she asks, confused.

"Heck yeah", you nod. "Christmas is for eating a ton of stuff, Bobs. Gotta go all out now that we have 87 of you!"

"But...", she bites her bead necklace. "... All of that for one day?"

"To be fair, we normally can't eat it all in one day. We cook a ton and it can last for a few days! And then after that, it's New Year's eve, and off we go to eat a ton of stuff again".

"Woah...", her eyes are shining. "A-and the cookies?"

"You're going to be the one helping me bake them".

"Yaay!"

-

You stare at the pile of gifts you got the kids. It's... A lot, and you're not even counting the stuff people donated to them. You're lucky Miguel and your parents accepted giving up their garages to fit it all in. A surprise is still a surprise, even if the kids don't believe in Santa.

Your mom is excitedly chatting with Dogday, teaching him how to crochet a scarf. Crafty listens closely, excited. When the three of you eventually have to leave that house, the kids completely oblivious to the gift plan. "Y... Y-your mom is really nice, Angel", the unicorn mutters, staring at the ground. "Really nice..."

"Don't be weirded out, Crafty. She loves all of you, like a grandma would".

"But she's not our grandma..."

"Well, f'course not, she's my mom and YOUR grandma".

"That's not what I meant...", but she's smiling, so the joke worked. "Uh...?"

"Excuse me!"

The three of you stop when a man pops up. He's probably in his mid 30s, if not maybe late 30s. You cross your arms, noticing a notebook he's carrying around. "Yes?"

"Are you the Angel from the PlayCo. Case?"

You eye the kids, annoyed, and they eye you back, also annoyed. "Yes".

"Oh, that's wonderful to hear! You see, I'm a-"

"Reporter?"

"Oh?", he seems surprised. "Yes, yes! I have been meaning to talk to you, miss, about what you plan to do with them for this holiday season. You see..."

"Nah", you walk past him. "Not interested in exposing them more during their first normal Christmas of their lives. Goodbye".

-

Christmas eve is chaotic.

Huggy wakes you up at 5 in the morning, too agitated to go back to bed. You end up being used as a plushie by him as the others sleep, the house being too crammed with living toys for you to have the luxury of proceeding with your day. When most of them awaken, you tell them about the plan.

You have to use the van a few times, but by the end of things, you're able to bring all the kids to your parents' house. After some time, they all organize in small teams in order to "help" with the very important jobs they were given. Huggy, Kissy, PJ, Boxy and Bunzo, being the youngest of them, are tasked with taking care of the snow (read: playing outside), while most of the minis don't need to be coerced into having fun.

Poppy and you get stuck in the kitchen. Your father is helping Marie with making some of the many dishes, and Bobby, Crafty and many minis are having the time of their lives with baking cookies. Catnap sits outside, "guarding" you all. Dogday goes to check on him from time to time as he tries helping you with making some good Christmas soup.

Piggy ends up helping Marie the moment she comes back from sulking outside. She's shy, but Marie's grumpiness with only having one harm is enough for her to try to help. Not that she can do much without her hands, but Delight makes a "hook" with some textiles laying around so Piggy can at least hold a spoon by herself. The three girls and your dad talk nonstop, and you and Poppy try your best to not laugh at them.

Bubba seems grumpy for not being able to do much. Despite how well the toys heal from their wounds, Bubba is a special case. A very special one. So he watches, and ask questions, while Dogday runs from place to place trying to organize the house and the extra decorations the kids insisted on buying.

Hoppy and Kickin are having their third argument of the day as they try to make pastéis. Never have you ever ate a pastel for Christmas, but the kids loved them and you didn't want to force them to follow any traditions. Ollie is merely going from place to place, helping everyone a little bit and pretending he isn't excited about it all. Eventually, your aunts and uncles pop up, and the chaos bubble pops.

They overflow you with questions, of course, but they also dote on the kids a lot, so you accept answering some things. Nando pops up right behind you, and you jump before rolling your eyes. "Fuck off, you idiot, I'm cooking", you growl.

"Parent of 87 kids and still using the same foul language", your cousin rolls his eyes at you. "Nice to see you too, dipshit".

Poppy, who's busy cutting things for you, seems curious. "Hello, sir!", she nods at him. "I'm Poppy. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Thought you were bigger", he jokes, and you hit him with your elbow. "Hi, Poppy. Name's Nando. I'm your dad's cousin, nice to meet you. Good to know at least someone has manners..."

"Cut it off, Nando", Miguel FINALLY pops up, snow on his hair. "Leave them alone".

"Them who?"

"My kids", you reply, smiling. "You're bothering them".

"I'm not doing anything to them!"

Another elbow hit. Poppy chuckles, understanding the situation.

-

More and more questions arise for the kids. You avoid some, the kids avoid others, and some of them have answers. The 87 toys become the theme for the Christmas eve, and when night arrives, you help everyone dress up for the occasion, sweaters and silly hats for all of them, no exceptions.

Miguel's oldest kid helps you so, so much through all of this. She's pampering her new friends, of course, while her baby sister is catching everyone's attention, including Catnap, who cannot stop staring at her. She tries grabbing his ears, and, strangely, he allows it.

Your mom takes pictures of everyone. Literally everyone, no exceptions, including one of the whole family, which had to be taken outside. When you all finally sit down to eat, many of the toys try to show off how they can finally sort of use forks and knives now. Kickin and Hoppy annoy each other to the point you have to tell them to cut it off, and Amy giggles, saying they remind her of Miguel and you.

"Really?", Kickin asks, smiling. "Didn't know that guy over there was like that".

"I'm not", you reply.

"You are", your parents, Miguel AND Amy cut you off. You shake your head. Humiliated by your own family, it seems.

Gift giving is equally chaotic. First, the human part of the fam opens their gifts. Then you open the garage's doors, and the kids all seem so, so surprised. It's... Cute, almost, to see the way they all react, and how much they help each other grab and open their gift wrappings. Dogday, especially.

Of course, not all the presents are opened here. Instead, during the following day, you put everything back at your own house before going back to your parents' to grab the kiddos.

They're happy. Surprised, yes, but extremely happy, and this is what matters most to you.

... Despite all the plushies they obtained, however, they still insist on using you as one when they have to go to sleep again.

[aakeysmash]

Roommate or boss?

Pairing: f!reader x Katsuki Bakugou.

Warnings: cursing, cutesy stuff.

Word count: 3.6k.

Previous part: part 5

And what's your definition of love?

You can't seem to stop thinking about the way Katsuki looked at you with somewhat of a soft gaze, body relaxed and on your shared couch. You noticed he tends to be tense a lot, like something is always bothering him, and it's rare to see him for what he hides to be. He acts like being soft is a weakness, almost as if being vulnerable in the past has caused him a scar that is not fully healed yet.

Also, if he asked me that without even blinking, he must have hella bitches, you think. What kind of guy talks so freely about love with a girl?

"What should I do Saturday? What's something you like to do, Y/N? Thinkkk" you whine to yourself. Blaming your own brain for lack of ideas is very therapeutic.

For you, love is easier with words. You could probably write a book about love if you really wanted to, but you don’t think you’re that good with actions. It’s not like you don’t try, it’s more like a lack of experience: you’re not used to thinking about expressing love, you just do it depending on who you’re facing. You are a pretty habitual person, so you might be shy when you first meet someone, but when you start knowing them you never fail to show what you truly are. You’ve never liked to hide your personality to make friends: it’s better to have a couple of real friends instead of a multitude of fake ones. You like expressing how much you care about someone with words, but you and this someone have to be close. You love loving, and you probably would be nowhere without it, but showing your rude and cold roommate something so important to you is difficult, maybe because if you don’t make a good impression you’re going to cry. Joking!

Unbeknownst to you, Katsuki is freaking out. He regretted asking you that stupid ass question the second he went to bed that day, and he regretted making that stupid ass deal with you even more. It's not because he doesn't want to know the answer, he's really damn curious about what you think, but he doesn't know how to answer it. He doesn’t know how to act in friendships, let alone in loving relationships. You just looked so soft, so cute, so trustable in that moment, that his brain shortcircuited and became smooth. "I'm a fucking idiot", he grunts while putting his pillow on his face.

He knows what love means to him. Love is the way his mother still calls him to check on how he's doing even if he doesn't put enough effort into keeping the relationship strong; it's the way his father smiles at their antics when they get together for the holidays even if he hates how loud they can get; it's the way Kirishima gets him hot chocolate every hard day at work without Katsuki asking; it's the way you care about Ochaco enough to call her even when you're exhausted from your own day at work, bags under your eyes and hand soothing your back that hurts from how much you've been at your desk studying. It's in the way the people around him want to see him happy, and in the way his heart beats a little more affectionately when he sees how naturally they seem to do things for his own happiness.

He sees love reflected in the actions of those who are close to him, but expressing it himself? He doesn't even know how the few people around him can tolerate him.

He decides to call Kirishima and ask him about frienships. Out of his male friends he’s probably the only one who can answer properly, and there’s no way he’s talking about it with the girls.

"Oi."

"Hey, Bakubro, everything alright?" his right hand answers.

"Listen, we're friends, right?" Katsuki bursts out.

"Uhm, yes, of course. Why are you asking me this? It's weird coming from you" the redhead suspiciously tells him.

The blonde ignores the comment and continues with his questions. "Why?"

"What do you mean why?" Kirishima says, more confused than before. Katsuki sighs, because he knows his friend will have to know all the details about it or he won't shut up about it, ever.

"Made a deal with my roommate, I have to show her what love means to me" he explains.

"That sounds pretty intimate, to be honest. You barely talk about her and suddenly you talk about love with her? Is there something more between you two? And what does that have to do with me anyway?" he rambles on.

"Shitty hair, stop asking questions, fuck. We were talking about friendships after she made me watch a dumb ass film and now I don't fucking know how to tell her what I think about love. She said to think about love inside of friendships. You're supposed to tell me why you're my friend. Also, we're not fucking intimate or some bullshit. As I said, we made a deal" he replies, annoyed. 

"Sure, every roommate makes a deal about love nowadays" Kirishima mumbles.

"SO?" Katsuki is starting to get pissed. "Just answer the damn question."

His friend sighs, before starting to answer. "You're not good at telling people how you feel about them, but you know how to make them feel safe. And I'm not talking about physical safety, even if I bet if I asked Mina she would say you scare the creepy guys away, I'm talking about safe friendship. It's nice to know you're always there if I need you, you know? You help me without being asked to most of the time, and you don't even realise it. Remember that time half of the class fell sick and you spent a day going to the store to take medicines for every specific illness we had? Or remember when me and Mina almost broke up because of that stupid broken plate and you talked me out of it saying something like "If you really want to break up with her go on, but I'm breaking your nose because this is a really stupid fucking reason to break up with the girl of your dreams"? That's stuff that touches people. Yeah, your love can't be defined as kind, but it's real. Everyone needs to have a friend that will straight up tell them when they're wrong and that doesn't sugarcoat things. You're that guy, man. I’m glad I have you as a friend."

Katsuki is stunned into silence. He didn’t think Kirishima would be this specific.

“Hello? Are you still there?” His friend asks, thinking the line has fallen. Katsuki clears his throat before answering “Yeah. I didn’t expect all of this. Thanks, Eijirou, I appreciate it.”

His friend chuckles. “No worries, bro. Also, what’s going on with this roommate of yours? And don’t tell me that it’s just a deal, we both know it’s a lie. What type of person is she?”

Katsuki groans. He is currently in his feelings though, so he shares a bit of what’s on his mind lately.

“She’s cool, I guess. She knows how to deal with my mood swings in a way that… you-know-who didn’t do. She’s funny when she wants to be and she stands her ground with me, but she’s also pretty kind from what I’ve seen. Sometimes too much. It annoys me,” he says almost whispering. He feels like if he raises his voice even a little bit then he won’t be able to not think about you for the rest of the day. Almost as if the raw things he’s feeling right now will come back to haunt him.

Kirishima hums. He knows he won’t get more than his friend already said. It’s a miracle he even talked about something so personal.

“I’m glad you found a good roommate, man. You know how they say, calm at home equals calm at work” he says.

“And who says that?” responds Katsuki, raising both his voice and one eyebrow.

“Me” Kirishima proudly says.

“This was some of the corniest shit you ever said, Kiri. And I saw you propose to Mina” Katsuki barks.

His friend bursts out laughing. “Yeah, and you’re still my best man at the wedding.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever. I’m gonna work out now, see you at work” he says rolling his eyes.

“Sure, man. See ya,” and he hangs up.

Katsuki gets up from his bed and goes straight toward your bedroom door. He makes sure to knock before opening it, then crosses his arms and leans on the side of it. You look up at him from your desk and stretch. You’ve been writing for hours.

“How’s your vitamin D intake?” he asks you. You look confused. Is this a dirty joke?

“Why?”

“Because. Answer the question,” he says.

“Are you talking about dick or the literal sun?” You respond.

“Both. I do think you need to get laid. It could make you less insufferable” he answers, smirking.

“Fuck off, Katsuki” you roll your eyes. “By the way, I could use a walk if you want to go out. Do we need groceries or something?” You stand up, going next to him. Up close your height difference is even more noticeable.

“Nah. I was thinking about Saturday” he says looking down at you. Damn. If she comes a little closer I could strangle her without exerting too much effort. I’d just have to straighten my arms and get her neck and-

“Why are you looking at me like that? You’re freaking me out. Please cover your eyes and get out of my way, I need to pee” you tell him scowling, bumping his shoulder and getting out of your room. “Also, I did say that you can choose to go out, so if you show love by taking someone to the Bahamas, I have nothing to object to.”

You hear him humming before entering the bathroom door.

“I can’t take you to the Bahamas, ‘cause if I see that ass in a bikini, you’re getting both of your vitamins D” he mumbles, just having finished staring at your backside and knowing you can’t hear him. He shakes his head to make the voices disappear, then prepares himself to work out. A run will do.

It’s finally Saturday. For this deal both you and Katsuki took the day off at work, so it’s basically a small vacation. You wake up at 9 am, which isn’t even that bad, but when you get out of your room with sleep still on your features you see your roommate super busy in the kitchen. He’s so focused that you think he hasn’t noticed you, so you stare at him for a bit. He’s such a housewife. Let me take a picture, you think.

When he hears the click of your phone’s camera he snaps his head towards you. “Delete that shit,” he says with a deep voice.

“On my dead body, Mr. Bakugou,” you reply.

He growls, then throws you a mean look. “I’m poisoning your food, brat.”

“Oh! You’re cooking for me? How nice of you” you say genuinely, getting closer to him and observing what he’s doing.

“Don’t look. It’s for later. We’re having a picnic” he roughly responds.

“Is this what you planned on doing for today?” You ask, smiling up at him.

“Yeah” he says hesitantly. He didn’t think you’d be excited, and seeing you smile for something so little makes him pause. He composes himself, remaining neutral. “I'ma need your help though, we’re baking cookies. Is that easy enough for you, dumbass?” He continues, smirking.

“Hey!” You pout, throwing a punch at his arm. He chuckles. You’re surprised, because you’re not used to hearing his laugh, but you go with the flow and laugh with him. His laugh is a bit rough, just like him: you like it though, because it shows a little of that particular side he doesn’t show often. You’re a sucker for it, your need to always know every detail being quelled a little and making you feel light. Being in Katsuki’s presence is like being exposed to the bright and hot July sun for a whole day and finally finding a bottle of fresh water. You still don’t know if he’s the sun or the water, you just know that it makes you happy.

You start mixing the ingredients according to the recipe he reads you and he occasionally screams that you’re not doing it the right way, taking over. After a while he frustrates you so much that you take a bit of flour, put it on your hand and then slap it on his chest. He’s flabbergasted, your white handprint on his black tee super visible. He doesn’t say anything for 5 minutes, just staring at you and at his shirt, while you’re on the floor crying from how much you’re laughing from his expression.

“You bitch” he seethes, scowling. “If you want me to show you how I hate people, you’re on the right fucking path”. Then he takes some cookie batter and smears it on your forehead. You try fighting him but he gets both of your wrists in one of his hands in a matter of seconds, and you can’t escape.

He gets on your eye level and with mirth in his eyes tells you “Y’can’t win at this. Keep on cooking or you’re not gonna taste what I prepared for you”. You poke out your tongue with laughter still in your irises. He rolls his eyes, trying to appear mad. At that moment, you realise that- He’s having fun. He's happy.

"If you're going to boss me around I'm at least going to have the music privilege," you tell him, wriggling out of his grasp. He whines, saying how your music always gives him a headache, but he's lying. You caught him singing along more than he would want to know.

You keep on cooking and singing all morning. You laugh, you scream while running around your living room making fun of each other (well, you laugh, he scowls), you truly enjoy your free time for the first time in what feels like ages. Katsuki doesn't try to hide that he's enjoying himself and how he gets annoyed when you're not on tune, and you beam at the fact he feels comfortable enough to show you some of his true colors. Your chocolate chip cookies turn out to be pretty amazing, and Katsuki says that it's only because he made the recipe himself.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself, Y/N" he smirks, looking at you breaking one cookie in half. You're both sitting down, having just finished taking them out of the oven.

"You know, you never call me by my name. Is that because you're rude or do you have problems with showing affection? How's your relationship with your mother?" you mock him while munching.

He flicks your forehead and blows on your face, making you scowl. He smells like the cookie he just finished eating plus a little bit of the coffee you made for the both of you. You offer him the bigger half of the cookie you broke in two, and he stares at you for a bit before taking it.

"You could've given me the smaller part. It's not like we don't have enough of them" he mumbles. You just shrug.

"Just take it. It came as a natural gesture, don't worry, it's not like I like you enough as a person to plan something like that" you reply, flipping him off while standing up and dusting yourself.

"Go prepare yourself. We're going out in 30 minutes," he tells you ignoring your middle finger right in his face and looking at his watch. If you didn't think about it it's even worse, dumbass , he thinks.

"30 minutes?! But I want to be cute! Ugh! You could've told me sooner!" you scream while running toward your door, and you hear him scoffing. You turn around and look at him, still basking in the sun that comes from the window in front of the kitchen counter. He seems more peaceful than he's ever looked, with flour on his clothes and his hair ruffled up from how much his hands were in it when you were doing something wrong baking.

"Kats?"

"Yeah, Y/N?"

"This was cute. We should do this again sometimes. You're a great cook" you say, giving him one of your most genuine smiles. He nods, then tells you to hurry up. When he's alone in the kitchen he brings one of his hands on his chest and hears how fast his heart is beating. He groans. You're going to give him a heart disease. Was this day a good idea?

You get out of the house and he has to force himself to not look at your legs. You wore one of those flowy summer dresses that compliments your skin so well he feels like he'll have a nosebleed at the end of the day. Fuck Katsuki, get a hold of yourself. You sound like a horny teenager, he scolds himself.

You lay your blanket on the green grass of one of the parks near your apartment, and he gets out different tupperwears with different things in them. He even gets out two bentos filled to the brim with food. You're shocked.

"Just how early did you get up to do all of this?! There's so much food!" you excitedly say, looking at the pearly whites of his teeth when he flashes you a shy smile for a fraction of a second, before returning to his usual impassible face.

"Early enough to see you still sleeping like the lazy ass you are. Don't flatter me too much, dumbass: dig in, you're gonna taste the best fucking food you'll ever eat. I'm never doing all of this again, but I'm gonna win this fucking deal no matter what" he says.

"You mean I just had to make a bet with you to make you a decent human being for a day? I'm writing it down" you joke. He rolls his eyes, scowl ever present on his features.

"Oh! By the way, I thought about doing something too. We're going to play a bunch of different games and whoever wins the majority of them is going to clean the house alone for two weeks. Are you in? Or are you scared to lose?" you ask him, pointing your fork at him and looking mischievous.

"You're talking to a master here. You're gonna be so sorry for yourself at the end of the day" he responds, looking ready to annihilate you.

You spend the rest of the afternoon eating and playing with each other. You're both really competitive, so most games finish as ties, but you have fun. When the sun starts setting, you get your things and start going toward your apartment.

"By the way, I won the flag quiz. That's so much better than winning fucking monopoly" he says frowning.

"Yeah yeah, whatever you say, loser," you tell him.

"We're gonna have a rematch. I'm gonna get your ass so bad you'll cry" he barks, glaring at your laughing form.

You open your door and mimick a parrot with your hand, like you're saying he's all talk and no smoke. He slaps the back of your head receiving an ouch from you, then puts the containers he used to prepare lunch in the sink. You sit on the kitchen counter while he's washing them.

"So, you're big on acts of service? That's how you show love, right?" you ask him, swinging your legs and looking at his back.

"Yeah, basically. I like it when people enjoy the things I do for them, I guess" he answers, not turning his face toward you. "Instead, your love language is quality time, right?" he continues.

You hum. "I like physical contact too, but it depends on the person I'm receiving it from, you know? It makes me super uncomfortable if someone forces it on me" you explain, shrugging. He nods, drying his hands and turning around.

"I noticed," he says.

"How?"

"I'm good at details. That's why I'm good at everything I do," he responds, seriously.

"Woah, your ego just blinded me," you tell him, a bit disgusted.

"Whatever. Hot choco then we order out?" he offers.

"Yeah, I'm pretty tired. What about you make it?" you whine, and he scoffs.

"You ain't no princess, get your ass up," he says, putting one of his hands on your thigh and shaking it. He's positioned in a way where he maintains some distance, but if he were to take two steps he'd be between your legs. She's not uncomfortable now, he thinks. You huff, then hop off the kitchen counter.

"You should call me princess, since you look like the assassin the rival king hired to kill me" you mumble, getting a pan out.

"Oh, I'd kill you just right, princess" he whispers in your ear, making you shiver. He sounded kind of serious, too.

You push him away, calling him an idiot, and he chuckles before ordering pizza for the both of you.

Well, today was nice, you tell yourself, a little smile on your lips. I'd even like his pomeranian-looking ass if he wasn't so rude, you remark.

Meanwhile, as he's looking at you singing to yourself, he thinks that if he doesn't distance himself a bit from your big eyes and pretty smile, your story will be an "enemies to lovers" instead of a runaway princess and her assassin.

Tag list:

@perfectsukii @sleepykittycx @what-the-jams @bakunianadecorazon @vensunzy @eyesforbkg @bffrrufr @imas1mpp @cold-deep-water @peonies-and-teacakes @berryvioo @opticesmeray @one-piece-frvr7 @youngststark @kahelis

[verstappentime]

here’s some sunday unfinished fic for y’all. max retired after his head injury at silverstone was a lot worse than irl. daniel’s his ex. charles calls when max has a migraine while they’re hanging out and he doesn’t know what to do, dan comes to the rescue. <3

Max looks up at him, exhausted, eyes glassy. There are tear tracks on his cheeks. Jesus fuck. “Hey, Maxy,” Daniel says, crouching down beside the couch. Charles hangs back, crossing his arms, looking at him disdainfully. Daniel can feel it even when he can’t see it.

“Daniel,” is all Max says, voice cracking around his name.

“Got your medicine, okay? It’s going to help.” Daniel can’t help brushing his fingers through the sweaty hair sticking to Max’s forehead. Maybe Max doesn’t want that. Maybe Max wants him to fuck off. He doesn’t pause to find out. “Sit up a bit more for me? Do you have something to drink?”

“On the table,” Charles says. Daniel squints, finding the glass in the dark. It smells like some sort of juice, maybe orange. Good, Charles listened about the sugar.

Max pushes himself up a little bit, enough that Daniel doesn’t think he’ll choke. It seems like even that’s painful, the way he pushes the heel of his palm against his eye. Max’s doctor always said it would be hard for anyone to understand how much this hurts him.

“Charles, can you get me an ice pack or something like that?” Daniel doesn’t bother turning to look at him. “Baby,” he says, softer, to Max, “Can you give me your hand?”

Max holds out his palm. It’s unsettling how little noise he’s making.

Daniel unscrews the top of one of the bottles and presses two pills into his hand. Max reaches for the glass, but when Daniel hands it over, he’s shaking and almost spills the whole thing. “Okay, nope, let’s have me do that,” he says, carefully prying it back.

“I can—”

“No you can’t,” Daniel says, because he’s not interested in Max’s pride. “Come on, I won’t drown you.”

It makes Daniel’s chest feel gooey and weird, cupping the back of Max’s head and helping him take a sip at a time. Max’s hand-eye coordination was awful in the first few days after his injury. They’ve been here before. Everything is just— different now.

He tries to keep talking, distracting Max from how intimate this is. “I got the beta blockers, the nausea stuff, painkillers, all that. Gang’s all here.” He hands another pill over. “I think these are the ones that taste bad, so take it slow.”

Max takes that one; Daniel tries to be careful with the juice. He gags, and Daniel can’t help steadying him by the shoulder.

“Swallow, you’re alright,” he murmurs, rubbing his thumb in little circles. Max manages to take a deep breath and keep it down. Daniel’s proud of him. He loves him. Max isn’t shoving him off. The next pill he gives Max is the last one. “There you are, that’s all, yeah? It should help soon.”

He smooths his thumb over Max’s brow. He swears he can feel the tension there release a little. Max is still letting him touch.

“Thank you,” Max says, so quiet Charles might not even hear it.

I’d do anything for you, Daniel wants to say. Even if I fall in love again, I’d still do anything for you. He keeps that thought to himself. “Can I stay?” he asks instead. “Just till you’re a little better.”

“This is my apartment, you know,” Charles pipes up.

“Stay,” Max says, rushed, before Charles can get anything else out.

[alexanderwales]

Someone linked me to SafeHandHub.com, which ...

Alright, so in The Stormlight Archives a woman is supposed to cover her left hand at all times, and not doing so is considered obscene. The website is a shitpost, basically.

My problem with it is that while it has actual photos of the hands of actual left hands of women, the photos themselves are not really in on the joke.

The joke, or maybe "joke", is that anything taboo and forbidden becomes alluring in its own way, and there's some minor textual evidence that this actually is the case in the books (and it's certainly the vibe). If men aren't allowed to see the safehand, then a woman showing the safehand is an act of intimacy, trust, and acceptance, or if not that, then an implication-laden transgression.

And there are, in my opinion, certain ways that you would shoot a photo if this were the cultural meaning.

Here's one of the things that I think you'd do: in many cases you would not actually show the safehand. You would instead show a woman whose safehand is obviously uncovered, but with the safehand obscured from view. This would be "tasteful" safehand pornography. You would see things like the uncovered safehand underwater, refraction and ripples obscuring it. You'd see the safehand through gauzy fabric that hides nothing. You'd see whatever their version of latex is, temporarily vacuum sealing the safehand so you can see the curve of every knuckle. You'd see coverings in the act of being removed, but before actual removal has happened. The glove is sliding off, showing a little bit of wrist. Or maybe a woman is looking at you, teeth closed around the leather of the glove as she's pulling her hand from it. This is hinting at and flirting with taboo, not actually being so crass as to show it.

And if you are showing it, you don't just show it. In this world, the bare safehand is not a neutral fact! There are certainly all kinds of poses to show it off, to present it, and when I say poses I mean both how the woman is standing, what she's doing, and what position the hand is in. My sense is that dynamism would be more popular, given that the safehand is (at least for the upper class) not supposed to be used for much, so the more taboo-breaking thing would be to see it being used a lot. But the default reason that the safehand taboo is alluring is intimacy, so it depends on the visual language of intimacy. So maybe a candid photo of a relaxed hand with the backdrop of the side of her hip. Fingers running through hair, maybe. And obviously double-dipping in eroticism with the fingers of a safehand being run along lips or whatever.

For the sake of this post, I am avoiding the more explicitly sexual stuff, but I assume that would all be there too. That's technically breaking two taboos at once, and I think "there would be handjobs" is just less silly/funny to me. And I assume there are people out there in the real world with a hand fetish, and that they already have their own sites with their own tropes and norms. Hands don't do it for me, I'm normal about hands.

I guess I just think that if we're going to take the weird and interesting bits of worldbuilding to their obvious conclusion, then we should go all the way, and there's a language to taboo-breaking, to making a photo inviting and alluring, to communicating desire through framing and suggestion. You can't just take a photo from our cultural context, you have to take a photo as though it was from a different cultural context.

[five-rivers]

Dreams of Time 2

[Written with prompts from @ventisettestars and @bubblegumbeech!]

Danny might have been reckless, but he wasn’t actively suicidal.  Or passively suicidal.  Or suicidal at all, actually.  He liked being alive.  Just as a general thing.  Not that he hated being dead.  A ghost.  He meant he didn’t hate being a ghost.  Which… was a type of being dead.  

Existing.  He didn’t hate existing.  He liked existing.  

Yeah.

He might be dumb, too.  

The point was, he knew Nocturn could overpower him.  Especially now that he’d overpowered him once, and stuck that thing in his throat.  Luckily, he was used to playing along when in a room with an enemy and someone clueless.  Vlad was good for that, at least.  He rubbed his neck and grimaced at the stickiness under his fingers.  

“Are you feeling alright, Daniel?” asked Clockwork, turning from his work.  While he wasn’t looking, the spring in his tweezers turned into a miniature cherry branch with blooming flowers.  Danny’s attention was pulled away when Clockwork touched his forehead.  “Hmm.”

Danny would have liked to tell Clockwork exactly what was bothering him, but heavy midnight black ooze drooled from between his lips instead.  Clockwork didn’t seem to notice.  

“Would you like to lie down?” asked Clockwork.  “If you are feeling unwell, you can always rest in your room.”

Danny shook his head and eyed Nocturn apprehensively.  “No, I’m fine.”

“Truly, there is no point in lying,” said Nocturn.

“Now, now,” said Clockwork, twisting to pat Nocturn on the arm.  “There is no need to make accusations.  You may always change your mind, Daniel.”

Clockwork picked the tweezers back up.  “Ah, this happens sometimes,” he said, indicating the cherry branch.  Then, he went back to describing the mechanisms of the clock he was assembling.  None of them made sense, but Danny wasn’t sure if that was because they were inherently nonsensical, due to being in a dream, or because Danny wasn’t paying close enough attention, due to Nocturn looming over them.  

Okay.  So.  Shocking Clockwork.  With Nocturne there.  Okay.  Danny could do this.  

What would be shocking?

For him, the first time he’d encountered Nocturn, it was Sam kissing him (which shouldn’t have been that shocking, they’d done a lot of fake-out make-outs), for Sam, it was ‘Dash Phantom,’ for Tucker, it was just…  Danny showing up… Which was kind of mean…  And, for Jazz, it was being married to Dash.  

Lots of relationship drama type stuff.  Not that four people was a big enough sample size to be statistically relevant.  

(Hey, Danny paid attention in science!  That’s where he learned about space!)

So, Danny should probably try to generate some relationship drama.  His eyes slid over to Nocturn.  Nocturn gave him a thin, dangerous, smile.  

Danny pulled his lips back in a sort of instinctive half-snarl.  More goo leaked out past his teeth.  

Maybe– Maybe Danny should kiss them.  That would startle Clockwork, right?  And show Nocturn exactly how gross their weird dream goo was.  

And then Nocturn would kill him.  

(Plus, Nocturn was, like, a million years old.  Kissing him, even for shock value was just–  Yeah.)

Danny looked away.  Clockwork absently patted his knee, and he nearly jumped out of his skin.  That was going to be hard to get used to.  

So, relationship drama between Clockwork and Nocturn was…  Not out, exactly, but shelved for the moment.  Until he failed to come up with a better idea.  

What else?  Well, if Clockwork thought Danny was his kid in this dream, maybe he could run away from home?  Except Nocturn was very capable of dragging him back, or making a fake dream-Danny.  Well, it’d be safer to try.  He’d put that on his list.  

Faking a seizure or something?  Clockwork would be able to see through that, though, wouldn’t he?  Maybe if Danny added in some judicious use of powers, like duplication–

Duplication.  Would the thing in his throat duplicate?  It wasn’t part of him, but then, neither were his clothes– Or were they?  His suit warped with him, healed, dissolved if it was separated from him for too long…

“Daniel?”  Clockwork was checking his temperature again, and this was absolutely not the right time to have an existential crisis.  On any subject.  

He bit his lower lip, and then wrenched at his core to duplicate.  

Duplication was a difficult power even in ideal circumstances.  Danny’s present circumstances were far from ideal.  He was dream-hopping, and there was a foreign ghostly presence (however weak) lodged in his throat.  

He encountered the problems caused by the compressed sleepwalker first.  While he was separating, peeling apart from himself, it wasn’t, and when he started to slide away from himself, particle moving from particle, it caught.  The effect was like his throat being grabbed, twice over, but he had experience with that, so he pulled. 

Which is when he encountered the next problem.  

In the real world, the waking world, duplication was somewhere between mitosis and intangibly splitting himself.  Which wasn’t an explanation that satisfied Sam, Jazz, or even Tucker, but Danny didn’t have a better one.  Especially since he was probably doing it wrong in the first place.  

But this wasn’t the real world.  This was inside Clockwork's dream, inside his mind, inside his body.  So instead of stepping away from each other and into clear air, the duplicates stepped back into the net-maze of Clockwork's will.  

Danny was slammed back into his body, his throat aching as if he'd been screaming for hours.  His fingers felt numb.  He had also fallen off the stool. 

Huh.  He didn't have to fake a seizure after all.  He could just have one.  

A blurry mass of purple and blue entered his vision.  “You are back with us,” said Clockwork.  “How do you feel?”

“Bad,” said Danny.

“Do you know who you are?”

“Danny.”  

“Do you know where you are?”

Briefly, Danny hoped that the reason he was on the floor was that he'd managed to wake Clockwork up, but, no, there was Nocturn.  Smug bastard.  

“Workshop,” said Danny, when it became clear he wouldn't be able to say anything at all unless he lied.  He tried to sit up, not wanting to lay in the puddle of goo he had produced. 

Clockwork pushed him back down.  “Wait.  Are you injured?”

“I– No.” 

“Are you certain?”

“Yeah,” said Danny.  “I’m fine.  Really.”

Clockwork frowned.  “Nocturne, love, will you watch him for a moment?  I will fetch his medicine.”

Nocturn hummed.  “Of course,” they said.  

“Thank you,” said Clockwork.  He leaned close to Danny again and pressed another kiss to his forehead.  “I know this is difficult, but it will be alright.”

Danny didn’t want to be left alone with Nocturn, but he wasn’t able to say that, because Nocturn was a jerk.  

“That was quite a performance,” said Nocturn.  “Very dramatic.”

Danny scowled and rolled over to push himself to his knees.  “It wasn’t a performance.”

“Everything is a performance.  Just because it is genuine doesn’t make it less so.”

“Whatever,” said Danny.  He looked around the workshop and all its detail… Although some of those details were warping in Clockwork’s absence.  If it was like this in a dream, how much did it matter to him?

The seed of an idea took root.  It wasn’t an idea he liked.  It also wasn’t something he wanted to try with Nocturn right there.

“Oh, dear me.  It seems you have managed to have a thought,” said Nocturn.  A lounge chair materialized for them to sit in.  “Please, don’t let me stop you.”

“Like you could,” said Danny, before he could think better of it.  

“You are in a dream I control.  Of course I could.  I already did.  But I’m curious.  And I would very much like to disillusion Clockwork as to your… virtue.”

Danny scowled, but shut his mouth before he could say anything else.  “You really aren’t going to stop me?”

Nocturn smiled. Black liquid came up out of Danny’s throat with enough force that it started to pour out of his nose.  Danny’s hands flew to his face in an instinctive attempt to clear his airway.  

“Remember.  I could if I wanted to.  Easily.”

Danny gagged again, then sucked in a wet-sounding breath.  

“You’re already beaten,” said Nocturn.  “The only reason I haven’t squashed you is because that would upset Clockwork.  As soon as he no longer cares.”  Nocturn mimed squishing a bug.  

Danny reached out and grasped the edge of a workbench, pulling himself up.  He made eye contact with Nocturn.  Then, he grabbed the clock Clockwork had been working on and smashed it to the floor.  

Nocturn looked bored.  

Danny put his other hand on the edge of the workbench and heaved it upward, overturning it.  He looked back at Nocturn, who looked even more bored.  

So, they really weren’t going to do anything.  

Fine.  Great.  That probably meant that this wouldn’t work, if Nocturn was so unconcerned, but now that he'd started, he couldn't stop. 

He overturned all of the tables and swept his hands over the shelves on the walls, knocking everything off, then hit the shelves themselves with a few ectoblasts for good measure.  When that didn't destroy the more robust mechanisms, he  manifested an ectoplasmic construct in the rough shape of a hammer and started hitting things.  

“Daniel?”

Clockwork’s tone was so confused that Danny felt his heart plummet even though that was exactly the reaction he’d been hoping for.  He wanted Clockwork to be shocked.  That way, he’d wake up.  And rescue Danny from Nocturn.  Hopefully.  

(Danny really didn’t like how Nocturn had gotten the best of Clockwork, to put him to sleep, but he hoped that Nocturn had just taken Clockwork by surprise.  Despite Clockwork being able to see the future.)

“Why would you do this?” asked Clockwork.  He was standing in the doorway, holding a small, antique medicine bottle and a silver spoon.  

“Because–” Danny couldn’t just say ‘you’re in a dream and you need to wake up,’ so… “I hate you and you aren’t my real dad!”

Clockwork’s face cleared instantly.  “I see!” he said.  “You are testing my limits to see how I treat you when I am angry with you.  Rest assured, that I have no intention of harming you, kicking you out, or restricting your food access, as others have.”  He paused, thoughtful.  “Go to your room.  After you take your medicine, that is.”

“Medicine?” asked Danny, eying the bottle.  Knowing Nocturn - and dreams in general - whatever was in there would do something unpleasant to him.  

Clockwork flew up to him.  “For your illness,” he said.  “To help with the seizures, memory loss, and… other symptoms.”  He looked around the destroyed room.  “Of which this may be part.  No matter.”  He made a sweeping gesture and with a wave of blue sparkles the workshop jumped back to the way it was before Danny decided to wreck it.  

Right.  Master of Time.  Master of Time in a dream, even.

While Danny stared at the room, Clockwork had opened the medicine bottle and carefully poured something milky into the spoon.  “There,” he said, when the spoon was full to its brim.  “Take this, please.”

“Um,” said Danny, leaning away.  He took a step backward.  Clockwork took a step forward, raising the spoon to the level of Danny’s lips.  “No, I think I’m fine.”  

The milky substance smelled sweet and floral.  Not like medicine at all.  

“Daniel,” said Clockwork.  “You have had this before.  It is unpleasant, but it isn’t poisonous.  I must insist that you take it.  When you don’t, you have more seizures.”

Danny shot a look at Nocturn.  “It’s true,” said Nocturn, with mock concern.  “You will have more seizures if you don’t take that.”

That was a threat.  Judging by his expression, Clockwork hadn’t noticed.  

So… the choice was to have Nocturn giving him ‘seizures,’ or drink the mystery liquid.  Which was… Well, Nocturn could probably make him drink it, if he wanted to.  He was forcing him, basically, just with the force of Clockwork’s concern and various threats.  

It was effective.  Danny would say that.  

Very reluctantly, he opened his mouth.  The ‘medicine’ tasted like grass.  

“There we are,” said Clockwork.  “Now, I will walk you to your room.”

“You don’t have to do that,” said Danny, because he’d been hoping to escape into the depths of Long Now to plan his next attempts to escape.  From the dream, that is, not from Long Now.  Or dream Long Now.  

“Daniel, you just had a seizure.  I don’t want you to have another one while you’re walking down the hall.”  He paused.  “I could carry you.”

“No,” said Danny, quickly.  “That’s weird.”

“Then we’ll go together.”  Clockwork put his hand on the small of Danny’s back and steered him out of the workshop.  

For a second, Danny thought that Nocturn might stay behind.  He was disappointed.  

The hallway wasn’t as clearly and sharply defined as the workshop was.  It was almost generic, an average of all the hallways in the lair.  Walking down it took both longer and shorter than it should have, the walls, floor, and ceiling sliding by at different rates.  It was both ruler straight and twisty enough that he couldn't see more than a meter ahead. 

By the time they appeared in front of the door (or the door appeared in front of them), Danny was thoroughly dizzy and leaning on Clockwork for support. 

“There we are,” said Clockwork, opening the door and leading Danny in.  He patted Danny's back.  “Clean yourself up and take a rest.  I will come get you when it is time to eat.  Unless you would prefer me to stay?”

Danny glanced at Nocturne, then shook his head. 

“Would you like Nocturn to stay?  Pajamas he can put you to sleep–”

Danny shook his head harder. 

“Very well,” said Clockwork.  He flew back out into the hallway.  “Call us if you need us, please.”  He shut the door, the latch making a faint clicking noise as it fell into place.  

Danny was alone.  In a dream that wasn't his.  Briefly, he wondered if the room he was in was going to fall apart or dissolve. 

When that didn't happen, Danny looked around the room.  It was kind of amazing, actually.  Just… not in the way that Danny usually expected from Long Now and Clockwork.  

It was detailed, just like the workshop, although the edges were soft, comfortable, rather than sharp.  The bed was covered in a blue quilt with pale gold stitching.  It hadn’t been made quite right - actually, it looked a lot like how he made his bed when he was in a hurry - and the sheets underneath were peeking out.  The pillows were slightly askew, but they looked soft and fluffy.  The rugs on the floor continued that theme.  There were shelves along the walls that contained books, model rockets, and other knick-knacks.  The walls had posters for bands and space shuttles.  A desk in the corner had both drawing tools and a sleek computer on it.  A window looked out on what appeared to be outer space itself.

In short, it was the kind of room Danny would design for himself, if he didn’t have a budget, complete with the contents of the bedside table.  Actually, some of the things in the room - posters, models, and books - were stuff Danny had in his room.  His real room.  

He didn’t know whether to be creeped out or touched.  

Danny wanted to look at those books.  He wanted to turn on the computer, and flip through the sketchbook.  He wanted to know what Clockwork thought he would like, what he thought he’d draw, or play.  

The palms of his hands itched and he licked his lips.  

He shook his head and looked away. 

Just in time for Nocturn to appear.

“Did you truly expect to surprise or shock someone who can see the future?” they asked, mockingly.  

Danny was pretty sure that he had surprised Clockwork.  It just hadn’t been enough.  He had other questions. 

“Shouldn’t he be able to tell what’s happening now if he can still see the future and the past and everything?”

Nocturn waved a lazy hand.  “Clockwork is Master of Time, I am Master of Dreams.  He does not read minds.  I can.  Everything that is happening is happening inside his head.”

“But then I should be able to surprise him,” said Danny, holding on to his point.  “Since he can’t see what I’m going to do.”

Nocturn’s eyes were solid red, but Danny knew the body language that went into an eyeroll.  “He may not be able to see what you are going to do now.  But he has seen every possible action you could take, over and over, in his waking life.  What he has not seen, he has imagined.  There is nothing you could do to surprise him.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do,” said Nocturn.  “Just as I know that you would be doomed to fail even if you could surprise Clockwork.  You picked a fight with me in a dream.”

Danny felt himself flush.  “Well, I wasn’t going to let you do whatever you wanted to Clockwork!  And I’m still not!  I’m not giving up just because you’re stronger than I am.”  He hadn’t done that with Dash, and he wasn’t going to now.  

For some reason, this made Nocturn pause.  They swept their gaze over Danny, from his head to his toes.  It made his body feel tingly, and he crossed his arms.  

“I see,” said Nocturn, tone significantly more subdued than before.  It didn’t make Danny feel better.  “But your plan, if it can even be called that, failed.”

“My next one won’t.”

[kiyo-cant-write]

req: Jade with a yandere reader. He’s fully aware they’re spiraling and growing obsessed but he’s just feeding into it for fun (turning a blind eye, leaving things out for them to take, giving them attention, etc). He thinks it’s harmless since they’re “weak” and lowers his guard because of it (probably a bad idea). You can decide if he actually likes them back or if he just sees it as a game, I just think yandere reader stuff is fun :)

jade w/ yandere!reader ✧･ﾟ

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Thank you for requesting. I used to be active in the Diabolik Lovers fandom so I think I know how to write yandere even though it's not something I do/did often. I hope I did your concept justice.

Readers, please note that viewer discretion is advised for this piece. Check the trigger warnings!

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Summary: Jade Leech has gotten himself into quite the situation with his "lover" of sorts. It started as a game, but is it a game anymore? They say they love him, that they want him to be theirs. Is he? Jade isn't sure what the answer to that question is anymore.

TW/CW: obsessive behavior, toxicity, yandere

Notes: established relationship, the reader is human, they/them pronouns used for the reader, the reader is described as smaller than the tweels, the reader is not explicitly Ramshackle Prefect.

Guest Stars: Azul Ashengrotto (mentioned), Floyd Leech

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✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:

Jade Leech

Jade didn't intend for this to happen. It was an accident.

At first, he was simply curious what [Name] would do.

How far would they go? How interesting~

He was tempted, he knew that. So did Floyd and Azul.

But, as time went on, he began to feel things were different.

[Name] was intense, and controlling at times, but they weren't someone so strong that he worried about it. They were weak.

What harm would it do playing along?

A certain degree of damage it would seem.

Now Azul is upset and Floyd is even a bit worried.

But how does Jade feel?

He smiles and seems fine with it all.

Why is he okay with all this?

Jade has only ever tolerated Floyd's whims before.

What kind of spell does this human have him under?

As far as merfolk were concerned, they were supposed to lure humans into their traps... not the other way around.

But Jade made a mistake, Jade assumed their strength.

Jade Leech was wrong.

"Name-san asked me to bring them something. That said, I will need to use my 15-minute break to do so," Jade told his brother in his typical voice, a slight smile playing on his lips, "You don't mind, do you?"

Floyd sighed. It was always like this. Jade would disappear to spend time with that weird human from another dorm. At first, Floyd didn't care who Jade wanted to play with, but it had been months by now. Wasn't it boring yet? Or was this human really so interesting?

Jade had told him they were together, but what did that mean?

Floyd doubted their parents would allow marriage at this age with so much... work to do for the family business. And the more Floyd looked at it, the more Jade seemed like some kind of butler for the human, even more so than Jade's little tasks for Azul!

It was getting weird! Really weird!

Azul was annoyed too, Floyd knew that. He would always say "get Jade back here" and "where is Jade?" and "Floyd! Tell Jade to come back from his date this instant!" It was such a pain...

"Are you sure you're okay, Jade?" Floyd asked instead of answering his brother's statement, "You're with that person a lot."

Jade cocked his head to the side. What did Floyd mean?

"I'm fine, Floyd. You need not worry," he assured Floyd with a smile that would convince most, but not his brother, "Let Azul know I will be back soon, alright?"

Floyd sighed in defeat, he was doing that a lot lately.

"Alright. Don't be late, I don't wanna solo this shift."

"I will do my best, hehe," Jade offered though the following chuckle was not promising, "I'll be going then."

Jade turned and walked out of the lounge, headed toward the meeting spot that he and [Name] shared. It was, Jade thought, rather impressive that his "love" of sorts let him continue to work. As Jade had noticed, they seemed particularly upset that he must leave their side for "another" even if it was his job, his brother, and that very stingy octopus they worked for.

As their form came into view, he greeted them.

"[Name]-san."

"Jade~!" they said, smiling as they came up to him and enveloped him in a hug, not seeming to care that Jade had to adjust himself to not drop their order, "I missed you! ...Where were you?"

Their tone darkened as they asked the question.

"Preparing your food," he answered with the practiced precision he used to serve Azul (and one time, Pomefiore's housewarden).

Jade offered a smile and [Name]'s mood brightened.

"You're such a good boy, Jade. Thank you!" they said, taking the food from him when he offered it, "What would I do without you?"

"I am not sure," came the response from Jade.

"You wouldn't leave me for your silly job, would you?" [Name] cooed at him, that strange side of them coming out to play.

He shook his head, deciding that playing along even now was still a fun pastime for him (despite what Floyd might say about it being too weird and sketchy for even them to do).

"Of course not," he told them, "I am yours."

"You are mine," they confirmed, "My little Jade."

It was a funny line given Jade's height in comparison to theirs.

They stepped closer to Jade and took his hand in theirs, pulling him closer to them. [Name] had set their food aside, finding Jade much more interesting than the meal he had brought them for lunch.

"Jade, you're never going to leave, right?"

Jade paused for a millisecond, weighing the options quickly. He could say he was theirs forever and keep up this charade or he could give himself an out. What to do, what to do...

Their grip tightened slightly as they sensed hesitation.

"Jade."

"I won't leave your side."

"Good," they said with a sweet smile, their typical persona returning, "Then I won't have to do anything just yet."

"Oya?"

"Silly fishie, if you left me for that lounge I'd have to take more drastic measures than just this," they explained, still not letting go of Jade's hand, "I can't have my future husband abandoning me."

Jade noted what they were saying. Perhaps he had miscalculated their will to keep him in their clutches. Would they make an enemy out of Azul and Floyd? The lounge wasn't a good space to wage war.

"I see. I will be sure not to put anything above you," he told them.

Jade tried to ignore the feeling that something was wrong. How could he have lost the game to such a small human? This human lacked the strength that he or Floyd possessed. From his research, their UM was not as potent as Azul's or the other housewardens'...

What was he missing? What had he forgotten?

"You'll stay with me forever, Jade~" they told him.

He sighed and nodded, resting his gloved hand over theirs.

As terrifying as it was to have lost such a game... perhaps it was the thrill he yearned for. What was that saying? The spice of life?

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Imagine the rest yourself~

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✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ: ✧･ﾟ:

Thank you for reading! Likes and reblogs are appreciated! Do NOT repost my writing/headcanons as your own >:c Check the top of my blog for the inbox status and read the rules before requesting. This is not a twst-only blog! ^^

[hummingbird24220]

Love at First Punch - Various!One-Piece x Reader - Chapter One - Introductions

Hello! This is one of my (many) One Piece drabble kind of fics ive had in the ol noggin for a while. Not really any plot, more of a constant theme - Fluff and fun type stuff. Innuendos and flirting. Going to try and update every Monday, Wednesday and Friday :3

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The battlefield was chaos. A typical town-busting bar brawl turned full-blown street fight. It started with a spilled drink, a few insults, and a poorly timed grope that earned some sleazebag a broken nose. But now? Now fists were flying, chairs were breaking, and in the midst of it all—laughing, dodging, and deliberately taking hits—was you.

A particularly large brute swung his meaty fist at you. You could have dodged it easily, but where was the fun in that? You braced, let the impact land square on your cheek, and staggered back with a sharp inhale.

"Oof—" You bit your lip. "That one had some weight to it. Nice."

The man paled. Most people would be on the ground crying, but you? You were smiling. Your eyes were gleaming, breath a little hitched from the pure thrill of it.

"W-what the hell?" he muttered, stepping back as if you were the one to be afraid of.

"Oh, don't stop now," you teased, rolling your shoulders. "You've got a good arm. Ever consider putting that to better use?"

His face twisted in confusion before a chair came flying from the side, narrowly missing you. Someone else in the fight hadn't even been aiming, but that didn't matter. You caught the wooden leg midair and snapped it over your knee, laughing.

That's when you noticed them.

The Straw Hats.

They were at a table on the far side of the tavern, watching the brawl with a mix of amusement and disbelief. The swordsman—Roronoa Zoro—had his arms crossed, looking vaguely entertained but unimpressed. Nami was already rubbing her temples like she wanted no part of this, while Usopp was practically hiding behind Sanji. The cook, meanwhile, had his cigarette hanging from his lips, brows raised in what might have been intrigue.

And then there was Luffy.

His wide, excited grin matched yours. He was enjoying the show.

You winked at him before dodging another sloppy punch and slamming your fist into someone's gut. They folded like a sack of potatoes.

Luffy's grin widened.

"Oi, this one's kinda funny," he said, leaning toward Zoro. "She's just letting them hit her!"

Zoro snorted. "Yeah, and enjoying it way too much."

"Maybe she's just got a lot of endurance," Sanji mused, taking a drag from his cigarette.

"Oh, I've got endurance alright," you purred, catching another punch with your palm. "You wanna test it out?"

Sanji choked. Usopp wheezed. Even Zoro's eyebrow twitched.

Before Sanji could splutter a response, the last guy standing swung a metal pipe at your side. You could have dodged—should have dodged—but instead, you turned into it, letting the impact land with a satisfying thud. You let out a happy laugh.

The room went silent.

Nami dropped her face into her hands. "Oh my god."

Usopp looked traumatized. "Did she just—"

Sanji had gone completely red, somewhere between scandalized and fascinated.

Even Zoro looked like he wasn't sure whether to laugh or leave.

Luffy, though?

He cackled.

"HA! You're weird—I like you!" he said, pointing at you.

You grinned, shaking off the hit like it was nothing. "Oh? Does that mean you'll be buying me dinner first?"

Luffy tilted his head. "Huh?"

Sanji smacked a hand over his eyes. "Please. For the love of all that is holy. Stop talking."

But you only laughed, stretching your arms over your head, feeling the ache settle in. Damn, that had been fun. The last poor guy standing was out cold, and the brawl had fizzled out, people too distracted by your antics to keep throwing punches.

You turned back to the Straw Hats, planting your hands on your hips. "So, what's a crew like yours doing in a place like this?"

Luffy tilted his head, still grinning. "Looking for strong people to join our crew."

"Oh?" Your eyes gleamed. "That so? What's the pay like?"

Luffy blinked. "Uh... food?"

You hummed, pretending to think it over. A pirate crew, a fight-happy captain, and a ship full of interesting people? Oh, this had potential.

"Well," you purred, "if you're willing to give me some test runs first, I might consider it."

Usopp dropped his drink.

Sanji looked ready to either die or propose.

Zoro just sighed. "We're gonna regret this."

Luffy, however, just grinned.

You had a feeling this was the beginning of something very fun.

[opheliachoii]

ᜊ 𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑆ℎ𝑒 𝐶𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 ᜊ

FEATURING : Itoshi Sae, Michael Kaiser, Oliver Aiku, and Itoshi Rin

ABOUT : Them as your long distance fiancé, which will unexpectedly becomes your husband in near time. In which you kept your pain, because you couldn't have the right time to tell them about you and your baby.

Note : These are short scenarios for each characters, I was inspired by the song "When She Cries" by Restless Heart. Enjoy reading!

=͟͟͞͞➳❥ Itoshi Sae

— You breathed heavily, as you felt nauseous all of a sudden. Timing, your fiancé Sae called. "Hello? Honey! How are you? Currently in Barcelona Airport, I was gonna surprise you that I was coming home, but I couldn't seem to decide what to bring, so gotta tell you instead! How's our new house in London—? H-hello? Baby? Are you there?" You couldn't respond as you were already in the bathroom puking on the toilet.

"Honey! Hello? Are you okay? Hello?" He kept bugging but you were already in the urge to grab a pregnancy test and took it quickly "Honey, this isn't funny. I hear some rattling in the background, what are you doing?"

You gasped as you saw the results. "Positive." You sternly spoke "Positive? What do you mean pos— oh. Oh. My. Gosh. BABY! PLEASE REST! I'LL BE HOME 6 HOURS IN TIME, PLEASE BARE WITH ME!" You suddenly cried because you couldn't bare the pain you're feeling right now.

Shit. Don't tell me she's..

— Timeskip —

Sae came home just in time, he was carrying a lot of stuff, but he dropped everything except a bottle of water and some pills.

"BABY I'M HERE! I KNEW I HAD TO TRAVEL BACK TO YOU FOR A CERTAIN REASON! I just had a feeling.." There you laid on the corner of the bed, still feeling nauseous.

"Sae, b-baby, I'm.." You stuttered. "Shh.. I know, I'm here. I got water, and some pills to reduce the nausea you're feeling."

He knelt down towards your belly level "So you're coming soon huh? Better take care of your mom here, she's getting dizzy and sick, I don't want that you know" You slightly chuckle "Love, you're so weird." You stated.

"Oh, if I'm weird, I wonder how the little one will be- I'll be teaching this little buddy how to play soccer the moment they come out- but- what if it's a girl— EVEN BETTER!" He ran around the room like a kid full of excitement, this wasn't his typical way of acting, but he was way too excited to be a father. You suddenly cried, "Baby, hey, why are you crying? I'm here now!" He gently sat next you "I-" You sniffled "I thought I was going to suffer alone.. I thought you wouldn't come back.. I thought I would end up being a single moth—"

"Shh" Sae placed his index finger on your lips, signaling you to no longer continue "Honey, I'm here. You're not suffering alone, You won't be taking care of this baby alone. I've been out of the country because of my career, but now, I can set aside my soccer career. Taking care of you and the baby is much more important, don't worry. I've cancelled all my schedules, I'm free the whole year. If I needed to go back to Spain, I'll make sure you'll come along this time. At least I can keep an eye on you" He pecked your forehead as reassurance.

"I will never leave you, so don't cry, it hurts seeing you cry and suffering with pregnancy. I love you okay?" He kissed you once again and you nodded as you felt reassured everything was alright.

=͟͟͞͞➳❥ Michael Kaiser

— You and Kaiser were happily talking with each other through the phone, as you were sipping tea in your balcony floor, admiring the view from there as you talked with the love of your life.

"Once our final game is done meine liebe, I'll come home straight to you and we'll binge watch your favourite series the whole night, how does that sound? Hmm?" His voice muttered from the other end of the phone "I'd love that schatz, I'll be wait—" "Baby? Liebe? Hello? You were saying?" Kaiser's eyes widen as he heard vomit noises from the end of your line "Baby? Are you okay? Hello?" Your voice echoed the bathroom as you cried, you hated the feeling when you puke, it was the worst "Liebe? Are you vomiting?" Kaiser was already too worried "Baby I think I'm—" You continuously vomited. "Ahh!! Where's the pregnancy test?" You yelled.

"Preg— PREGNANCY TEST?!?! SCHATZ DON'T TELL ME.. Fuck." He ended the call immediately.

You didn't noticed he ended the call because you were too stunned from what you saw right in front of you.

"P-positive? No way.. It can't be.. He's still away for three months.." You felt nauseous once again and went back to the toilet seat to puke.

— Timeskip —

"Shit, shit, shit" Kaiser cussed as he was packing stuff in his luggage. "Michael? Where are you off to?" Ness barged in without notice "I'm going back to Germany." Kaiser coldly spoke "Huh? But our training has not completed yet- besides, what's the rush? You told your fiancé that you'll be back after three months."

"Correction, my wife. And she needs me, soccer can wait. Tell Ego, I'm heading out, I'll make it all up, but cannot promise as well. For now, my liebe needs me." Kaiser seriously stated as he finishes packing.

"I'll be going now, tell Yoichi he's in charge now, ciao!"

"I- but-" Kaiser didn't let Ness finish and he slams the door from behind. Ness sighed "It's like he's having a baby or something-" He just shrugged and went off to tell everyone what happened.

— Timeskip —

Kaiser arrived just in time. He unloaded his luggages and extra stuff from the back of his car "Gosh, I hope these stuff will help her.."

He arrived towards your room, he sees you resting peacefully in bed. He caressed your cheeks and kissed your forehead "I'm home meine liebe." He scanned around the room, and saw your leftover tea outside the balcony, and he took it and closed the unclosed sliding door from the balcony.

He surveilled the bathroom as he saw what a mess it was, and he saw a pregnancy test lying on the bathroom counter "Fuck, it's positive?! YAHOO!!" His loud voice woke you up.

"Micha?" You swore you heard a familiar voice. "Liebe!" Your ears rang as you heard it clearly.

You jumped from startledness as Kaiser came out the bathroom with the pregnancy test in his hand. "SCHATZ?!? WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!!?" He jumped for joy as he immediately pounced himself in bed with you kissing you non-stop.

You suddenly cried. "Liebe, why are you crying? I'm here!"

You suddenly laughed "Micha.. It's just that, I thought you would come back much more later.. I did not expect you to come home so early.. I'm overwhelmed.." You spoke lightly.

"Oh my süßer Schatz, I can already sense, wait no, I felt you were in need, especially you're carrying our mini us. It's unacceptable if you're suffering alone" His words made your tears fall "Aww Micha.."

"Now now, you want ice cream? As soon as I landed, that was the first thing I bought for you" He proudly said, which made you laugh "That's the pretty smile I wanted to see, now I'll go get it okay? I'm sure little one wants one too hmm?" He spoke to your belly. He kissed your tummy and your lips "Ich liebe dich, schatz. Remember that. I'll go grab the ice cream and extra snacks and we'll watch the series? Like I promised" He winked at you as he left the room to grab the food he mentioned.

You simply laughed, too lucky to have loving fiancé, or should I say, husband, and a father of your future child.

=͟͟͞͞➳❥ Oliver Aiku

— You were cooking ramen for your dinner, as a way to stop your stress over your fiancé Oliver Aiku. He was quite a pain in the ass, but, despite your fiery anger towards him, deep inside you were wishing he would show actions as a proper fiancé.

As you were cooking, tears started to flow. Mood swings suddenly hit you out of the blue. You wiped your tears, turned off the stove and went to the dining room to eat. You were thinking your menstruation was coming up, so you didn't bother to worry.

You were alone, as usual. Aiku has been very busy with his soccer career, and he's always either with Shidou or Sendou. You didn't mind because both were also your friends and constantly updates you wherever they are when Aiku couldn't.

Sendou sent a voice message using Aiku's number saying; "Hey Mrs. Aiku~ your fiancé is at it again, so many people interviewing your bae, what a busy man he is, don't worry, his fangirls won't be able to approach him because I lead them to me and Shidou instead! And damn they're hot!"

You simply let out a small chuckle as you were listening to their update, but at the same time you sighed, wishing Aiku himself would update you instead.

You left your phone open as you went to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

— Timeskip —

You came out the bathroom looking fresh as you just came out from showering. You were about to grab your novel to read when your phone rang, it was Aiku's number, you prayed it was Aiku who was calling this time, but sighed as you saw Shidou instead. "What now?" You let out a tone of annoyance "Hey bae! Just wanted to call on behalf of your hubby, he asked how were you?" Shidou spoke.

"Eh? He could've just told me directly- is he really that bus—" You paused for a bit, as you swore you felt a painful twist in your stomach "Really that what?" Shidou asked "I said is he really that busy to the point he couldn't ask me direct—" You paused again.

"Bae, if you keep on pausing on a wrong timing for fun- stop it, it's not funny" He sassily rolled his eyes "Wait- I need to go to the bathroom real quick.." You went to the bathroom and leaned your phone near the mirror, still on video call with Shidou.

"Uhm- bae? You good— oh my goodness-" You vomited and cried "I'm not feeling well Ryu.. I don't feel good.." You vomited once again "Oh shit- SENDOU!! CALL AIKU IMMEDIATELY! HIS WIFEY IS PUKING RAINBOWS AND SHIT-" Shidou panicked.

You cared less on what's happening on call, you couldn't think straight because your stomach really hurt and the nauseous feeling is taking over, you suddenly cried because of the pain your feeling right now "Shit, must've been the ramen that I ate.." You gaslighted yourself "Bae! When was the last time you had your period?"

You paused for a moment..

"NO! IT CAN'T BE!" You yelled as it echoed around the bathroom as you intensely find a pregnant test somewhere in the room.

"Bingo! Shit, this can't be." You groaned as you took the test.

Silence took over the atmosphere "Uh- Bae? Hello? Sendou! She's quiet!" Shidou panicked again. "Huh? Hello? Our beloved Mrs. Aiku! You good there?" Sendou asked from the end of the line.

You suddenly let out a sharp scream "DAMN WOMAN- CALM DOWN!" Shidou yelled back.

"I'M FUCKING PREGNANT.. IT'S POSITIVE!" You cried "Well shit, I'm telling Aiku, if he ain't listening I'm going to smack the shit out of 'em" Sendou spoke as Shidou ended the call.

You sat there in the bathroom floor spacing out, you soon started crying, knowing that Oliver wouldn't be able to be by your side during your pregnancy days. You sighed and suddenly felt nauseous once again and felt to urge to vomit once more.

— Timeskip —

The front door has been slammed open, with running feet speeding up the stairs.

"My beloved!" Aiku barged in the room, looking for an nauseous fiancé. He checked the bathroom and saw how messy it was, and the smell of vomit was still a bit humid.

"Shit. Where is she?" He scanned every corner of the room until he spotted you spacing out on the couch of the balcony, your eyes being lifeless looking. He soon felt guilt all over him.

He slowly opened the sliding door leading outside the balcony "Baby? I-I'm sorry... I'm here now.." Silence. Silence was the only reply he got from you. "Is it true? It's positive? I-I'm going to be a father?" Still silence.

He sadly sighed and knelt down to see your eyes "My love? Please, talk to me.."

Your eyes soon teared up "You're the one to talk." You replied coldly. "Baby, I'm at fault here I know, I just wanted to clarify if I'm gonna be a fath—"

"WHO SAID YOUR GOING TO BE A FATHER? AFTER HOW YOU TREATED ME?" Aiku went silent. "You asked me to marry you and I said yes, and this is the treatment that I received?!! I feel the mockery Oliver.." You cried.

Oliver gulped "I'm sorry okay? I've been so busy, relying that I finally got a soon-to-be wife, but I forgot to give time.." Your tears continuously flowing.

"Hey baby, don't cry, it's not healthy for the baby.. I don't want to harm you and our child.. You want me here? I'll do it. I'll sacrifice my soccer career. I'll be a proper husband and a father." He stated.

"All you do is talk. Not a single action shown." You replied with a weak tone, tears still flowing.

A few seconds you felt surprised because Aiku is now carrying you in bridal style "Hey! Put me down!" You demanded "You said wanted some action, I'll show you what I just said, I mean it. Again, I'm sorry my baby, can you forgive me?" He asked in a pleading tone.

"Make me." He suddenly kissed you, a soft and warm kiss, which melted your heart. He pecked your cheeks, nose, and forehead after "Now can you forgive me?" You chuckled. "Fine, but I'm still mad at you. I only ate ramen for dinner just so you know." Aiku's eyes widened.

"Am I hearing it right? Ramen?! I don't think so, that's not healthy for the baby. I'll make you soup, it's much more healthier" He demanded "Pfft- since when can you cook?" "Pardon me? I can cook, I just couldn't show you because I was too busy, now I'm here, you'll know" He winked.

You couldn't help but to giggle over his cheesy expression.

A few minutes passed he came with the soup as promised "Here my love, served warm and tasty~" He said as he sat next to you on the bed. He soon fed you spoonful of the soup "Mmm! Tasty indeed! Wow honey, you do cook! Cook for me some time please!" You praised "From now on I'll cook for you everyday!" "Promise?"

"Promise."

— Timeskip —

Shidou and Sendou arrived with extra foods and drinks, "You almost lost the keys- we could've been locked outside-" Sendou said "Eh- they're here anyway, they can open up for us" Shidou replied.

"What if they're asleep-" Sendou added as he placed the paper bags filled with foods and drinks. "Nah they're still up, LOVEBIRDS WE'RE HERE!" Shidou yelled.

"Oh for crying out loud Shidou keep it down!" Sendou spoke sternly as they went up the stairs.

"I told you they're still— awake.." Shidou lowered his voice as he approached your room "See what I mean-" Sendou stated.

You and Aiku were comfortably sleeping in bed cuddling and Aiku continuously caressing your hair. Aiku slowly opened his eyes and spotted his friends and did the "shh" expression, as a sign to keep it down.

Both gave him a thumbs up and Shidou quickly took a pic of you two peacefully resting and swiftly went back downstairs.

Aiku had enough of his friends mischief, he checked up on you and saw you calmly resting, a smile plastered on his face.

"I'm never hurting your precious soul again.." He whispered and gently gave you a peck on the forehead, and he gently went back to sleep.

=͟͟͞͞➳❥ Itoshi Rin

— You finally rested as you've just finished your spring cleaning. You let out a sigh, opening your phone with no notifications from him.

"As usual, no update from him.." You closed your phone and decided to read a novel to pass the time.

The novel you read made your tears drop as you relate to the main character of the story, having a cold and airy fiancé is quite hard.

You closed the novel and stared at the ceiling blankly. You thought of something on how to get Rin's attention. But you suddenly remembered, he still has that caring and loving side. Suddenly your phone popped up an notification, it said;

Rin : [ Hello love, I'll be coming home later in the evening, what do you want for a souvenir? ]

You let out a small chuckle, you seemed so contented and happy from a single notification from him.

Your brows suddenly furrowed, as you felt nauseous and weird, you tried to brush it off with a smile. But as you were replying, that uneasy feeling came back again.

You felt the urge to vomit so you quickly went to the bathroom and threw your phone to the bed, but as you threw your phone out of impatience, you accidentally pressed the call button.

But, Rin immediately answered it. Which was a miracle, but he wasn't the type to really ignore you, he proposed to you for a reason, he loves you.

"Hello? Darling? Uhm- your camera seems to be facing the ceiling-" Rin felt confused "So- uhm- about my question- you kept typing, I expected a long message but—" He paused as he heard a vomit from the end of your line "Honey?!" His tone suddenly changed "Hello?!?" He kept calling your name but no response, instead he keeps hearing you vomit from a distance.

"Shit, never knew this time would be coming.." He said as he ended the call.

On the other hand, you tried to gasp for air. You couldn't help but sob "What is going on with me?!" You cried.

You spaced out for a bit and vomited again.

You went back to bed to see your phone laying on the spot, you noticed some notifications, so you continued messaging Rin without knowing what happened before.

You : [ Anything Rin! I'll accept anything! Thank you for asking! Your presence is what I need the most tho :( ]

After messaging Rin, you decided to take a nap.

— Timeskip —

Rin finally arrived, barging in as if someone was chasing him. "Darling?!! I'm home!" He yelled as he placed all his stuff down and running up the stairs panting.

"HONEY!"

"AHH-" You gasped as you immediately sat up from your slumber "Rin?! What happened?!" You worriedly asked.

Rin ran towards you with a worried face "Are you okay? I brought everything you need" You suddenly felt overwhelmed as his actions were different so suddenly. "H-huh? Rin? Is everything okay?" You seemed confused.

"Oh my gosh" He grabbed a pregnancy test from his pocket "Here take this." He said as he assisted you all the way to the bathroom "What is this? H-hey!" He shuts the door for you.

A few minutes passed as he was walking back and forth from the bedroom, waiting for you to come out, when you did, he immediately checked up on you "So?"

You gulped "I-I'm.." You cried "Shh.. Hey.. Tell me" He sweeps a stray tuft of hair off your face so he could see you clearly. "I'm pregnant.." He went silent for a moment and gave you some space.

You were scared, so you silently cried.

"WOOHOO!! I'M FINALLY GOING TO BE A FATHER! I'M TELLING NII-CHAN!!" He happily yelled as he hugged you tightly.

"Why are you crying? Hey, I'm happy.. Finally.. I'm sorry if I couldn't be here in time.." He kissed your cheek.

You cried even more now, your a crying mess "I just wanted you here!! I'm so lonely in this huge mansion.." He suddenly chuckled "I'm sorry, you know there's a reason why I'm always away right?" You nodded. "I missed you a lot too, I'm just- not good at expressing on what I feel. I'm sorry.."

You went silent for a moment. "I'm sorry for not knowing that.. Why don't let's help each other hmm?" You suggested.

"That's a good suggestion darling, great timing. I won't be away for awhile, so I'll be here doing husband and father duties." He coldly stated, but you felt the care in his tone at the same time.

"I love that!"

"I love you." He said as he cupped your cheeks to kiss you warmly.

[queen-of-the-avengers]

Sparks Fly

Pairing: Eventual Bartender!Bucky Barnes x Female!Reader, Tony Stark x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~3.3k

Warnings: breakup angst, high tension

Summary: You and Tony reach an impasse in your relationship when you go looking for that passion that might be hidden deep down. His relationship makes you see that what you’re missing might not be with Tony but a certain someone else instead.

One in a Million Series

Square Filled: fighting together (2024) for @buckybarnesbingo

Author’s Note: any and all comments are greatly appreciated <3

x

Confusion follows you as you walk into your apartment, confusion hangs over you as you wash off the gym stink, and confusion pats your back when you get dressed. Things with Tony haven’t been as passionate as you’d like, so there is a lot of tension building between you two. You don’t think he notices it, and if he does, he makes no move to talk about it. It’s been a good few months with Tony, but you don’t see it going anywhere.

Tony is supposed to help you get over Bucky, and you’re failing at everything. It’s like no matter what you do, you can’t seem to get him to be more interested in you. There’s no passion and you really wish there was more of it. Sure, Tony makes you feel good, but you want sparks to fly.

The boys and Natasha are in the kitchen when you finally walk in, and Bucky immediately notices the confusion etched onto your features. Knowing you’re with Tony has given him a lot to think about. Stuff about where he sees himself a year down the line or even five. He keeps picturing you by his side despite knowing you’re taken.

He really needs to get over this silly crush he has before he gets heartbroken. What if Tony is your one? What if you see being with him for the rest of your life? Bucky doesn’t know if he can spend the rest of his wishing he had made a move.

“You alright?” Bucky asks.

“Yeah, something weird happened to me while I was at the gym earlier.”

“Why don’t we order take out and watch a movie in my apartment. It’s much better than going out,” Natasha says to Steve before turning to you. “What happened?”

“I saw Pepper there. After walking about five miles, I walked into the sauna where she was. They have a section if people want to get naked, and she was in there.”

“Were you naked?” Sam asks.

Bucky smacks him on the side of the head for asking, and Sam laughs in amusement. Bucky doesn’t need to picture you naked in a sauna with other women. He doesn’t need to picture you naked, period. It’ll make getting over you harder.

“No. I couldn’t help but see how good she looked. I mean why would Tony give her up? She’s gorgeous.” Bucky opens his mouth to respond but decides against it. Again, he can’t get involved like that. Sam sees the torture on his face and smirks. “It got me thinking about them and how good they must have been, I must have panicked because I invited her to dinner with me and Tony tonight.”

“You did what?” Natasha asks.

“I know, I know,” you groan. “I just feel like she’s always there behind me. I was over at Tony’s house the other day, and we were… making out a bit. I saw a picture of Pepper on his bookshelf behind him and thought, she is always going to be right there no matter what.”

Bucky closes his eyes and grips his coffee mug tighter. Sam nudges Steve and barely gestures to Bucky so he doesn’t alert you that they’re having this silent conversation. Steve sees the pain expression and smirks, finally getting on the same page as Sam.

“So, you were making out, huh? Is he a good kisser?”

Bucky growls lowly knowing what his friends are doing.

“Did he use a lot of tongue?” Sam chuckles.

“I’m gonna kill you,” Bucky mutters while taking a sip of coffee.

“I’m not gonna answer that,” you chuckle nervously. “The point is, she’s this overwhelming presence. I feel like we can work through it if we sat down and had a conversation about it.”

“I think that’s a great idea,” Natasha says. “If you like Tony that much, then you need to make it clear to Pepper that you’re not going anywhere and she needs to back off.” She pauses. “You do like him, right?”

You barely look at Bucky who refuses to look at you. He can’t even look at you. Natasha is usually right about these things, but she’s not right about this. Bucky doesn’t like you.

“Yeah, of course, I do. It’s gonna be fine. I’m gonna go get ready.”

The date isn’t for another five hours, but you figure you can stall time by doing your makeup and hair carefully. Tony picked you up thirty minutes early so Pepper isn’t there when you get there. He wasn’t too thrilled to know his ex-wife was going to be joining you two, but this has to happen if you want to move on.

“I appreciate what you’re doing for me here,” you say

“Hey, it’s no problem as long as they keep the alcohol coming.”

“Come on, is Pepper really that bad?”

“There’s a reason why she’s my ex-wife.”

He says that in a way that makes you not want to ask questions. This is why you need this dinner to happen. They need to work out some unresolved issues so that you and Tony can move on together.

“Hey, sorry I’m late!” Pepper walks to the table looking gorgeous as ever. Her blonde hair is pulled back into a sleek ponytail, and she’s wearing a beautiful white dress that stops at her knees. She looks so elegant. “Traffic was a bitch.”

“Oh, it’s no problem. We were early,” you chuckle.

Pepper and Tony make eye contact and it’s like the tension rises a good few inches.

“Hello.”

“Hi,” she says curtly. She grabs a menu and looks over the appetizers at this authentic Mexican restaurant. “Oh, how are the quesadillas?” She says the word ‘quesadillas’ with a lisp so that every ‘s’ is pronounced as ‘th’. Tony immediately rolls his eyes, which she notices. “There goes the eye roll.”

“I didn’t actually roll my eyes.”

“I don’t miss that.”

“No, I actually needed to quickly look at the ceiling.”

You’re scared if you don’t say something now, then they’ll start chewing each other’s heads off.

“Pepper?” She tears her glare from Tony to look at you, and her eyes soften. “I love that dress. It looks good on you.”

“Thank you,” she smiles. “Or should I say, gracias.”

Again, she pronounces the ‘s’ as a ‘th’.

“That’s an interesting way to pronounce that word.”

“Wait till you hear why she does,” Tony mutters.

“I spent a month in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico with the locals. They taught me authentic Spanish.”

“Oh, okay. That’s cool,” you nod, a bit uneasy. You grab some of the tortilla chips they set out and munch on one. “Man, these are delicious.”

The waitress comes over and takes your orders before walking off with the menus. The song ‘Cielito Lindo’ starts playing over the speakers softly, and Pepper has a much different reaction than Tony.

“I love this song,” she grins.

“I hate this song,” Tony grumbles. You and Tony look at each other, and he sighs knowing he’ll have to explain why he hates it. “We were on vacation in Mexico on this eight-hour road trip. Pepper wouldn’t stop humming this goddamn song the entire time.”

“Well, it wouldn’t have been eight hours if someone hadn’t gotten lost. At some point, we were following donkeys.”

The waitress comes back with the food, and you try to be excited about it in hopes it’ll stop this conversation.

“Look, food! I love food!”

“They were not donkeys!” Tony raises his voice slightly.

Pepper starts cutting into her food. “It wasn’t a road.”

That riles Tony up in a way you hadn’t seen before. He stands and leans over the table to assert his dominance over Pepper.

“For the millionth time, just because a map doesn’t show it’s a road, doesn’t mean it’s not a road!”

“Inside voices, please,” you say, but they ignore you.

“You know what’s not a road?” She stands and gets in his face. “When there are guys in tanks telling you to turn around!”

“Oh, come on!” Tony raises his voice some more. There are people looking, and you shrink in your seat in embarrassment. “Those were two kids in a jeep!”

“Our car gets stuck in the mud, but you can’t move it because God forbid, you break a nail.”

“Here we go,” Tony mutters. “I got one manicure! One time! I’m not doing this with you!”

“I’m not doing this with you!” she yells back. At this point, they’re screaming at each other. “I don’t have to take this. I’m leaving.”

“Oh, don’t you want to wait for your quesadilla?”

Tony mocks the way she says it, and she growls in anger. They both stare at each other while you’re watching with wide eyes. You can cut the sexual tension with a knife. Suddenly, you don’t want to be here. Pepper leaves with the excuse that Morgan needs her, but the date is ruined for you and Tony. He tries to fix it with small talk but the heat is still in the air.

Natasha and Steve came to a compromise and got takeout at your apartment. She slept over, which is a good thing because you really need your best friend right now.

“You should have been there, Nat. There was serious heat between them. It was so awkward for me. After she left, it was like Tony and I couldn’t look at each other. They had… have passion. I want that with someone, and I don’t think that it’s with him. I guess I got kind of jealous. He doesn’t… God, I shouldn’t be telling you this, but he doesn’t kiss me often. It’s like he wants a relationship without being physical.”

“Have you had sex with him?”

“Yeah. Only two or three times.”

“You’ve been dating him for over four months.” You shrug. “Girl, you need to get out of that relationship.”

“I can’t.” You drop your voice to a whisper. “I have to make it work for him. You don’t understand. Maybe I should take a page out of Pepper’s book. Maybe then he’ll have some of that passion with me.”

“Does she still have feelings for him?”

“Maybe. I have to talk to her to find out.”

“No, that’s a bad idea. Just give it some time and let it mull over.”

“If she does and I do nothing about it, all I’m doing is setting myself up for heartbreak. I gotta go.”

“Call me if you need me. I’ll kick her ass if I need to.”

You laugh. “I know. I’ll call you later.” You walk to the door and look at her with a smirk. “Oh, and tell Steve to go easy on your neck. It looks like he was chomping on you.”

“Shit. Steve! I told you not to leave any marks,” she yells and goes after him.

You don’t know much about Pepper but you do know the gym she works out at. You go there in hopes you might find her lingering. After last night, she might be here working out the tension. Luck is on your side because you find her using one of the weight machines that you pull down.

“Hey, fancy meeting you here,” you chuckle. She smiles when she sees you and gestures for you to sit at the machine next to hers. There’s no easy way to say this so you’re just going to come out and say it. “So, you and Tony, huh?”

“I’m sorry, Y/N,” she sighs and continues to pump her arms, “if we made you feel uncomfortable. It’s just that we can’t be in the same room as each other without ripping each other’s faces off.”

“For sure,” you nod slowly. “As long as it’s only faces and not like… clothes.”

Pepper gasps and looks at you, pausing her workout. “You don’t think…”

“No, no,” you say quickly.

“Good because there is no chance in hell. He is all yours.” You’re about to get up when she continues talking. “I mean, you know what it’s like with Tony, right?”

You pause, uncertain how to answer that. Yes, you’ve had sex with him, but what if your experience with him is different than hers? What if it was raw and passionate with her but tame and mild with you?

“It’s like a rollercoaster,” she continues. “It’s like standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean during a storm, and the spray of water hits your face like a mist.” She sighs passionately. “You’re naked and you’re on fire. You know?”

Okay, that’s not how it’s like at all. Still, you’re not going to tell her that. “Yeah. I do. I’m like, ‘Tony, put away the passion.’”

“Exactly,” she grunts as she starts her workout again.

Yeah, you really need to get out of this relationship. Maybe if you can get Tony to be more passionate, you might have a reason to stay. Tony is doing some work but he doesn’t turn you away when you show up to his house uninvited. You want to talk to him, you want to bring this up, but you’re not sure how to. He flips through papers while you’re staring at his side profile.

“Hey, Tony?” you ask before you can talk yourself out of it. He hums in acknowledgment. “Do I ever drive you crazy?”

“No, of course not.”

“Come on, there must be something that I do that gets under your skin.”

Tony lowers his papers and looks at you. “No, I can’t think of anything.” You sigh and look away from him in annoyance. Mostly at yourself for not giving into the passion he must have locked inside of him. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything is fine. I just want that… that fire.” You sit up and quickly kiss him. “Just… you know what I’m talking about.”

This time, your kiss catches him off guard and he rears back like he’s in pain.

“Ow, I think you bit my lip. What are you doing?”

“Come on, Tony, don’t you want to tap into that raw, sexual passion I know you have?”

You push at him until he is forced to lean back, and you straddle his waist. The papers on his lap flutter to the floor, and he looks upset that all the papers are now out of order.

“I don’t have--”

“Yes, you do. I’ve seen it. Come on, Tony. Just give in.” You sound like a fucking predator, but what else are you going to do? How else will you get what you want? You bunch the front of his shirt in your fists and kiss him again, but he doesn’t kiss you back. “Stop, what are you doing?”

“Tony…”

“No, stop.” He pushes you away and looks at you like you have three heads. “What are you doing?”

This is pointless. He’s not going to give you what you want. Before you make an even bigger fool of yourself, you slide off his lap with a sigh.

“I’m sorry, it’s just… something is missing. I didn’t know something was missing until I saw you and Pepper at dinner last night. You two wanted to strangle each other, and I want that! I want what you and Pepper have.”

“You want me to treat you like I treat my ex-wife?” He pauses. “Who I hate?”

“No,” you sigh and stand up. This isn’t coming out like you’d hope it would. “You two have this spark, this passion. I want that. You can’t deny that you have it. I saw it last night.”

“Passion is overrated, Y/N.”

This relationship has reached its end. You’re not going to get what you want with him.

“I want to go home. I walked here, so can you take me home, please?”

“Y/N…”

“Please?”

Tony sighs but nods. The car ride is silent because you have nothing left to say. You’re going to leave this car knowing you and Tony are over. He pulls up to your building but neither of you get out.

“I really like you, Y/N, and I like what we have. I thought you did, too.”

“I do. I did. I just…”

“Look, I’ve already done the crazy, explosive passion thing with Pepper. It was like constantly living on the edge of the cliff. I’m not looking for that anymore.”

You nod and pick at a piece of lint on your dress. “I understand, but I am. I want that passion even if it’s harder and hurts more.”

“So, this is it, huh?”

“Yeah. Goodbye, Tony.”

He leans in and kisses your cheek, and you leave before he can see you crying. You take your time going back to the apartment, just drained from the day’s events. You open the front door and almost trip on Bucky’s motorcycle helmet.

“Goddamn it, Bucky,” you growl and kick it off to the side. His bedroom door opens and you turn to give him a piece of your mind when you freeze. Sharon walks out of his room wearing nothing but one of Bucky’s shirts. “Sharon…”

“Do I know you?”

“No. Sorry. I’m Y/N, Bucky’s roommate. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Oh, Y/N. I have heard about you. He talks about you a lot. Excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom.”

She leaves just as Bucky walks out of his room. Out of all the ways he pictured this happening, he never thought he’d see you so heartbroken. It makes him feel like an asshole considering he didn’t do anything wrong. He needed to get over you because you’re with Tony, so he called the one person that might have said yes to coming over.

“I didn’t know you’d be back tonight.”

“Sharon?” you ask. “Did I hear the stories right? She broke your heart, Bucky. You had a terrible relationship!”

Bucky is about to answer when Sharon comes back.

“Excuse me, Sharon, I’m just going to talk to Y/N for a second. I’ll only be a minute.” She nods and waves to you as he closes the bedroom door. “What the fuck is your problem?”

“My problem? You’re making terrible life choices, Bucky!”

You walk away from him, but he follows you because he is not done with this conversation.

“Oh, you think you know everything, don’t you? I’m actually so sick of you,” he growls.

“I don’t know everything. I’m just disappointed in you!”

“Maybe I should be more like you, Y/N, and run into the kitchen and make pastries with sprinkles on them.”

“I don’t always do that,” you glare.

“Then maybe I’ll put on a dumb pajama outfit and tell others how to live their life!”

“It’s not a pajamas outfit!” you yell. “It’s just called pajamas!”

“That’s what I said!” he yells back.

Anger bubbles under your skin as tension grows thick between you. “Why don’t you go back inside your room and put on that dumb Henley and keep not living up to your potential!”

Bucky steps closer to you. “You’re a crazy person, Y/N!”

“No, I’m just saying things you don’t want to hear!”

“You know what I’d like to hear from you?”

“What?” you shout.

“Silence!” he yells.

“I’m not gonna be silent!” you scream at him. “I’m trying to help you, Bucky!”

Bucky grabs your shoulders. “For once in your life, just shut the fuck up! Please! I don’t want your help!”

His cheeks are pink from anger but his eyes are full of fire. The blue in his eyes is swirling with anger.

“Stop making that face. I hate your face,” you growl, briefly glancing down at his lips.

“What are you talking about? I only have one face! If you don’t like looking at my face, Y/N, then look at my ass because I’m done with this conversation. Goodnight!”

Bucky turns and walks away from you.

“Don’t walk away from me!”

“If you don’t shut up, I’m gonna kill you,” he growls.

He slams the door when he enters his room, and you storm over to your room. The last thing he hears is your door slamming, and he sighs knowing he might have fucked up his relationship with you.

x

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[lionar0und]

Dada! - Leona fic

Leona has some conflicted feelings about his baby This is mostly my late night rambling

Warnings - Fem reader Kinda, mostly leona and cub centered, Small doses of traumatized Leona

Special thanks to @queen-shiba for all her help. Thanks Bestie!

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

Leona loves his sleep. It's a known fact that he almost loves sleep more than he loves his wife.

Almost. He certainly loves her enough for-

"Dada!"

There she is. Leona has...conflicted feelings about being a father. His wife wanted a cub, so they had a cub. He wanted to continue his legacy anyway...but Seven, he's struggling.

It was fine at first - mildly unnerving, but fine. You were struggling, and he hated it. But you wanted Melody so badly. He can't ignore the adrenaline rush he felt when he first felt his cub kicking; or the jolts of joy whenever he held you, arms around you and holding your belly.

But now that she's here?

She's beautiful. She's everything he never thought he could love that he would live for. He'd die for her to but dying is just sleep to him...and sleep is easy. It's numb and comfortable. But living? Waking from bliss to feed his tiny mewling cub as she wails, face red and tiny fists shaking is hard. Giving up some of his late nights out, facing the embarrassment of her sobbing at royal functions; all those judging eyes watching?

Yeah. That's rough.

Really rough.

Today's rough too - He only just got back from another Spelldrive practice, and now that hes a pro, his energy has to be up to play!

But duty calls.

"DADA!"

"Oi, don't shout at baba," He grumbles weakly, "It's late, nugget."

"I want hair." She huffs. For a second his heart stirs. She has your eyes.

"You have hair. See? It's right here." He tapped her head...and it started again. The instant panic because what if his nails are too sharp? What if he hurt her?

He represses the urge to throw up when remembering the feeling of his own parent's claws raking over his eye.

"No dada. Your hair. Pretty!"

"My hair? Baby, what-" He is cut off by a sharp tug on his hair.

Oh.

"You want locs?" It's more of a surprised gruff squeak than anything else. "You want your hair to look like mine?"

"Yes!" She squeals excitedly, hopping on the bed with him. "Hair like yours!"

Shit. Shit, he doesn't do his own hair! He's a prince, he has a stylist-

"Dada?"

Damn it...look at that sweet face. Funny, he didn't realize Melody had his grumpy face.

"Alright, come here grumpy cat." He quickly grabbed his phone. "Kifaji? Yeah...bring me all that hair stuff my stylist uses and my tablet stand."

===========================================

As Leona works diligently, he silently notes to raise his stylists salary.

Melody is squirmy after a while...but luckily his baby girl is just as nerdy as him. Nothing a chess tournament on TV can't fix. Besides, hes a good multitasker! He watches the how-to video on his Ipad while carefully doing his precious cub's hair and violently judging the shitty chess plays.

How many more clips does he need? This kid has a lot more hair than he thought...

"Almost done?"

"Almost baby." He grumbles, trying to pick up the clip he dropped.

Sevens, his hands are sore! Twisting Melody's hair lovingly yet firmly, he feels that familiar bubble of annoyance. Why can't the royal stylist just do this instead?

Stop it, Leona. He thinks bitterly. Be the dad you wanted. Suck up being tired! You overblotted and still played spelldrive after! This is for your cub!

But it's been over an hour. And he is so, so tired. And he has practice tomorrow.

And his baby girl wants to be just like him.

He tries to ignore the weird feeling in his throat he gets when those doubts creep in again.

Come on man. Just a bit longer.

====================================

Almost two hours later, he's done. He's oddly proud of himself. And his reward?

He gets to go deaf!

Melody is squealing in glee now, running around with her tiny mirror.

"I look just like dada!" The tired dad hears her screaming down the hall. It's making him feel oddly smug, too. He actually did it.

Finally, he can reap his rewards. Snuggled tightly into his bed and using your maternity pillow he stole , he can finally sleep.

"DADA I WANNA PLAY DOLLS!"

...but for his baby girl, maybe sleep can wait until tomorrow.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

I've been reading your posts for awhile now and I genuinely enjoy reading your takes especially with Harry's characterization. so I've been wondering what are your thoughts on the lupin family? especially with teddy? although I still kinda dislike his parents' relationship i still think he's an interesting character and i wished people talked about him more outside of shipping. What would his relationship with harry be growing up? Also Lyall's death was never really confirmed, only hope's was so do you think he and Andromeda raised teddy instead of harry? It still feels odd that remus chose a 17 year old to be his son's godfather surely there were other suitable candidates than a literal teenager.

Thank you so much 💕

So, this is like entirely in my headcanon space since I did not watch/read Cursed Child and I'm not planning to. I don't consider any of the post-book material canon at all except the Quidditch World Cup in 2014, which I accept since it's fun and doesn't go out of its way to ruin established characters. I enjoyed reading it more than the epilogue, so that's something.

That being said, I often prefer to ignore many aspects of the epilogue and the World Cup article when headcanoning post-books events. I also don't engage much with next-gen stuff since I'm more interested in Harry's generation, but I do have some thoughts about Teddy.

With all this out of the way, let's talk about the Lupins.

So, I like Remadora, I think they're alright for the little we see of them. Tonks just deserves so much better than Lupin in my mind. I mean, he wanted to leave her, after he got her pregnant, for his own sense of inadequacy, guilt, and allergy to taking responsibility. Harry was so justified in ripping Remus a new one.

Now, I mentioned here, how I think Remus didn't make Harry Teddy's godfather because he thought Harry was ready (though Harry is more mature and responsible at 17 than Remus is at 37, so...), but as a way to promise Harry that he isn't going to push him, or Tonks, or anyone who loves him away anymore. It was Remus trying to apologize in a weird way that didn't really land. Especially since he goes and dies right after. (can you tell Remus is my least favorite marauder?)

Now, I find it really hard to imagine Remus as a father for Teddy had he lived. Like, I can see Tonks being a cool mom and her and Teddy matching hair colors when walking together and messing with people (and I think she could become more responsible had she lived longer). Remus is a harder one for me to envision as a parent. I mean, I think he'd be relieved that Teddy wasn't born a werewolf, but whenever he'd look at Teddy and Nymphadora, I think Remus couldn't help but feel sorry for himself and like he doesn't deserve them. While making Harry Teddy's godfather was meant to be a sort of promise, I can't see Remus fixing his habits so quickly. I mean, he'd try. But I can also see him, trying to up and leave a few times only to be talked out of it by various characters.

I think his behavior is going to put a lot of stress on Tonks too. Like, While I think they do love each other, I don't know how well their relationship would work in the long run if Remus doesn't bother to work on himself and get his fucking act together.

But in the books they both died, so Teddy is spared the mess his parents' relationship likely would've been and is instead stuck with a different mess of being an orphan with a 17-year-old caretaker. (This kid cannot win. Maybe because both his parents were kinda irresponsible and didn't quite get a grasp on adulthood when he was born)

So, post-DH, Remus and Tonks are dead, Ted Tonks is dead and we are left with a grieving Andromeda who lost all her family (again), a grieving Harry who just keeps losing people, and a newly orphaned barely a-year-old Teddy Lupin.

I think Teddy is an interesting mirror to baby Harry and Neville in a way. His parents died/couldn't take care of him because of Voldemort/his followers and he was left with only a godfather/grandmother. Teddy got both and his godfather isn't in Azkaban, so he has it a little better.

I like to imagine Harry makes sure to be super involved with Teddy's childhood, but I can't imagine a 17-year-old (almost 18) Harry post-war and maybe going back to Hogwarts for 8th year (depends on headcanon) being in a state to take care of a baby full time. I like to think Andy helps out in that first year a lot. I think Andy needs someone, some family to get her through loss. And I think Harry could enjoy Andy's company too. I'm sure she has plenty of stories about a young Sirius, and maybe even a young James, and in my headcanon, Andy somewhat adopts Harry as an extra son too.

Which means she ends up seeing way more Weasleys than she ever expected to. I think the Weasleys, who just lost Fred would understand a lot. I mean, both Andy and Molly lost a child and other family. I want Andromeda be more involved with all of them post-canon. That's my wish.

So Harry is Teddy's official guardian, but he spends loads of time with his grandma and the Weasleys growing up probably. Like, I don't mind him and Victoire being together, though I wouldn't necessarily have been my preferred choice, but I don't really care. They're probably childhood besties because they grew up together.

As for Teddy's relationship with Harry, I think Harry would end up treating him more like a much younger brother than a son. I mean, when Teddy would be 10, Harry would just be 27. Don't get me wrong, Harry could, technically, be his dad, but I think their dynamic is going to be different than that of Harry with his own children. Just because of how young and traumatized Harry is when he gets Teddy.

So, I think their relationship would have its tense points, but they'd also love each other. Like, you know Harry would do his best. He'd be super protective over Teddy, Andy would be, too. Like, no one messes with this kid.

But I also kinda want Teddy making a: "you're not my dad" joke/comment when Harry tries to send him to his room or something and Harry doesn't know if he wants to laugh or cry the first time it happens. But I think it would become a recurring joke Harry laughs from.

I think the first years would be the roughest. Everyone's grieving and trying to settle back into a semblance of normal life. Harry never really had a "normal life" he's gonna have no idea what to do with himself and I think Teddy could be a purpose he dedicates himself to. I think these two and Andy could all help each other figure their lives out. But as Teddy grows older and things settle down, it becomes easier.

While I think Harry and Teddy would end up really close, it's not going to be exactly the same relationship Harry and Sirius had. Teddy is going to have a happy childhood, Harry and Andy wouldn't let it be any other way, so he won't have the same grief and trauma Harry did as a child. Like, their dynamic would be less desperate, I think. Like, Harry wouldn't need to stay in a cave and eat rats for Teddy, their situation would be way chiller. Like, I think Harry would be constantly confused about how Teddy ended up being such a cool kid/teen because he doesn't think he could've raised him like that and he would joke about it with Teddy who'd be all sarcastic like: "Obviously, I raised myself here,"

Like, I imagine Teddy with his mother's punk fashion sense and goofiness (the goofiness I believe was 100% shared by Ted Tonks), Remus' voice and constant self-doubt, Andromeda's posture (he sits with his back perfectly straight, okay, Andy didn't let him slouch by the table), and Harry's sarcasm. He's like this mix of them and still his own person.

I think Teddy is likely to go through quite a lot of personal phases to try and figure out his own identity and how he portrays himself. Becouse everyone treats him as the godson of the famed boy who lived, but his dead parents were the last Metamorphmagus and a Werewolf. And he is very close to his grandma, who is a disowned daughter of House Black. Like, this is a kid rip for angst about who he is and who people see him as and him being a Metamorphmagus really leans into it.

Like, a young Teddy making sure to look like Harry in public because he's proud of the connection. Or Teddy mimicking Remus or Tonks' appearance from photos when he thinks about them and misses them or wants to remind strangers who his parents actually are becouse they seem to forget. Like, that could be super fun.

I think Harry's kids would really like Teddy. He's like a cool older cousin/brother who lives with them. Like, I can see them really looking up to him and Teddy would complain to Harry about being followed around by a 3-year-old that won't leave him alone and Harry would just find the whole thing amusing.

(I can also see a post-war Andromeda getting back in touch with Narcissa, so you could involve the Malfoys too if you felt like it. Though I feel like Teddy would just, not like Lucius much)

(Also also, I think Lyall is dead. I feel like if he was alive we would know, yk?)