#except I know when they’re going to kiss next which does help a little ;)

[lemonsrosesandlavender]

You’re especially evil for that last Planar Tears chapter you wicked thing!! 👿😂

aahahahhaha

ahhahahahahahahahha

😈

Look all I’m saying is: just wait for the next one ;)

[the-barricade]

in a world of boys, he’s a gentleman

pomefiore + riddle & trey x reader

aka the little things they do to make you feel special

—————————————

vil schoenheit

if you’re dating vil, you already know that the way he cares for people is by making sure they’re at their best, even if that means critiquing them - you’re no exception. However, he does his best to make your life easier, especially in that regard. You’re going to a fancy, formal event, without any fragrance? Well, Vil already predicted this might happen, and picked out the perfect one for you in advance to give to you when he pointed it out. Your eyeliner’s smudged? Suppose he’ll just have to do it for you, and he might even give you a kiss to make you feel better after. If you’re ever ill or feeling low, he’ll also be the one making sure you get better as soon as possible. Even if you have just the slightest fever, he’s telling you to rest to recover quicker, and getting a wet towel for your head. If he’s able (and he will try his very best to be) he’ll spend the whole day by your side, it’s almost shocking how caring one person can be.

rook hunt

he remembers the little things. Has a mental list of all your favourites, some that you probably don’t know for yourself. Your favourite colour? Easy. Favourite food or number? No problem. He’d even observe which temperatures you’re most happy and productive in. He wants you to know he pays attention to these things too - and that he cares about them. Anytime you mention a piece of media you like, even if it’s some super obscure thing he’s never heard of, by the next day he’s already an expert and asking you all the questions he can think of to indulge your little heart.

epel felmier

He’s very much an acts of service/gift giving guy. Although he may not have been comfortable doing this before, fearing it was too “feminine” he feels comfortable enough around you to gift you handmade little items. (He would also totally help you fix/sew up any wear and tear in your clothes, I feel as though he’d actually be very good at sewing and the like) However, one thing he’d never been to shy to do was show you off - epel would make sure the whole school knows your dating, and can be a tad bit defensive and jealous if he finds anyone else hitting on you.

—————————————

riddle rosehearts

he’s a classic gentleman, does everything you’d expect from a love interest in a movie and more. He is literally that video analysing the special medieval knightly way that Travis Kelce held the car door open for and walked next to TS. (this one goes for silver and sebek too obvi) (is that too niche?…) Anyways, he uses his organisation skills to his advantage. Valentine’s Day, your birthday, any special days the two of you find important together are all tediously planned to every little detail. Heck, he’d be making sure the red of the roses he got you were the right hex code. Which is where his experience arranging events like unbirthday parties come in handy.

trey clover

Like rook, he’s very observant. He gives you the most targeted compliments, because he wants you to feel confident, especially around him. Aside from being observant, he’s also your rock in this world. If you have any kind of trouble, you can go to him - wether you just need to vent or you need advice (he’s very good at telling when you need what). And when you do get advice from him, you know you can trust it because he (secretly) listens to you like the gospel and makes you feel heard.

+ he would totally bake for and specialise recipes for you :)

[theladyragnell]

Exchanging gifts for the first time: E/R

(This one Fought Me for no reason I can discern, but hopefully it does the trick!)

It’s taken them several years to invent what Joly dramatically calls The Birthday Party, with the capital letters every time even though he’s a slow texter anyway. Five of them have birthdays in the baking-hot months of June and July, and there was a year or two full of bar crawls and restaurant meals and rooftop parties where they all reached August exhausted and a little sick of each other’s company, so when Jehan, whose birthday is last in the sequence, suggested they just have a joint party in July, everyone was relieved to agree.

And then everybody wanted to give gifts and it felt weird for half of them to be opening gifts and the other half not, and then they all looked at each other at their half-hearted Christmas gathering, a holiday none of them feels quite easy celebrating, and then The Birthday Party became what it is, a chance for everyone to pass things around. Nobody gets special gifts for everyone, with that many to buy, but they pass around fancy chocolate bars and bottles of craft cider and handmade cards and it’s good. It’s better than awkward parties focused around one person.

Grantaire loves The Birthday Party. It’s one of his favorite nights of the year, and he spends the weeks before it closeted in his apartment, soberer and happier than he usually is, making matched sets of little paintings of the Musain or caricatures of everyone or handcarved soap dishes.

It’s just that this year, he and Enjolras are dating.

He’s very happy about that, to be clear, happy enough that he feels a little drugged most days, happy enough to embarrass himself if he examines it too closely, but it means he doesn’t have to restrain his foolish desires to give Enjolras lavish personal gifts anymore, and the consequence of that is that he no longer has any ideas for lavish personal gifts.

And Enjolras won’t care about that, obviously he won’t. Enjolras’s gift to The Birthday Party every year is a pot of something delicious to eat and a handwritten card each about how much he loves them, something Grantaire was unable to deal with when the notes for him were grudging and doesn’t know how he’s going to deal with now that they’re sincere. Enjolras doesn’t care about gifts and lives in a tragically spartan apartment largely because he’s too lazy to hang anything, and Grantaire isn’t expecting anything out of the ordinary at The Birthday Party except maybe a kiss.

But he still wants to, and his friends are not helpful when he tries to subtly ask them what to do, so he finally caves in, makes a terrible choice, and asks Enjolras.

“I could tell you what I’m giving you,” Enjolras suggests in a meditative tone, propping his chin up on his hands where he’s laying on his stomach in Grantaire’s bed. Grantaire gets the urge to paint him in lush oils, but he gets that urge at least once a day, so it’s pretty easy to ignore. “If that would be easier.”

Grantaire doesn’t particularly care about surprises, but he has his pride. “Don’t do that, that’s one of those things that nobody says is bad luck but which really ought to be bad luck. Shaking one’s presents, of course, is a time-honored tradition, but hearing what they are from the giver? Unthinkable.”

“I’ll like anything,” says Enjolras. “It doesn’t matter to me what you give me, or if you give me anything at all. I’ll still be here.” And then, after some silence and one of his penetrating stares, “I made yours.”

“Noted, I’ll leave the diamonds at home and will only do a string of pearls if I dive for them myself.”

Enjolras rolls his eyes and encourages Grantaire to go to sleep, but it does, much as Grantaire hates to admit it, help.

He doesn’t wake the next morning overcome with inspiration, but he finds his way to it, taking time away from his gifts for everyone else to work on Enjolras’s.

The Birthday Party is as rowdy as ever, when it comes. Grantaire’s block prints impress everyone, and Enjolras’s curry is, as ever, delicious. As the night starts breaking apart, people admitting they have to go home, the more personal gifts come out, the ones they all put off so nobody feels left out or pressured. Grantaire, who finds sharing his feelings with Enjolras more embarrassing now that they’re reciprocated than he did before, waits until Enjolras is finished with Combeferre and Courfeyrac, until Joly has draped a new scarf far too hot for the season around Grantaire’s shoulders, to take Enjolras aside.

“You settled on something,” Enjolras says, and smiles.

Grantaire, flustered more than he cares to admit that he is by the smile and the situation and his stupid idea, produces the envelope that’s been weighting down his pocket all day, four pages densely written in his horrible handwriting that alternates between crabbed and flourishing, his own version of Enjolras’s yearly letters, only he’s never said in one paragraph what he could say in twenty. “I’ll do better next year, when I’m less nervous, but I thought—people give gifts they’d appreciate themselves, right? So this is me trying that out.”

Enjolras takes the envelope and opens it, breaking the wax seal Grantaire put on because he does have some standards, and only makes it a sentence or two again before he stops, which is good, because Grantaire might combust if he’s forced to watch Enjolras read that letter. “I do appreciate it, and I’ll read it when I won’t embarrass both of us,” he says, and produces a small package. “And we had the same thought, I think.”

Inside the package, of course, is a small canvas, maybe ten centimeters on a side if Grantaire were to care to measure it, with a very careful painting of Grantaire’s couch painted on it, every bit as earnest and every bit as unskilled as Grantaire’s letter. “Definitely the same thought,” says Grantaire, and has to swallow several times before he can say anything else. Even then, he has to seize on poor Feuilly as he walks by, knowing Enjolras will have something for him to give them both a break.

They both go back to Grantaire’s apartment when The Birthday Party is over and Grantaire puts his new canvas in pride of place next to his bed while Enjolras is brushing his teeth and then falls asleep before Enjolras ever makes it to bed.

When he wakes up in the morning, Enjolras is still in bed, a rare late morning, with all the pages of Grantaire’s letter arrayed on his lap and his stupidly beautiful nose a little red with leftover tears. “I love you too,” he says when he sees Grantaire is awake.

Grantaire didn’t write the words in the letter, they felt too soon, but of course Enjolras knew what he meant. He’s made a study of getting to the heart of Grantaire’s torrents of words. “I love you,” he says, belated but no less true, and lets Enjolras carefully fold the pages of the letter up and put them to the side before he presses him back into the pillows.

[wordsinhaled]

i started writing this post ages ago and it’s been languishing in my drafts, sorry @teejaystumbles ! i mentioned bard!hob like EONS ago so i’m throwing this post out in the wild finally

what about, like... (no, i promise this isn't a witcher au) bard!hob canon divergent dreamling??? like. everything is the same except when dream and death enter the white horse in 1389 hob is performing a song about evading death, for a small crowd. dream is intrigued not because hob is particularly good but because as we all know, dream's a sucker for art and music. he buys hob a drink after his performance and invites him to sit together and by the end of their conversation, he's betting with his sister that hob will run out of things to sing about in 100 years

dream isn’t hob’s inspiration in the same way that he inspires shaxberd. hob isn’t a great talent vocally or musically. but there’s a light and warmth in his eyes and a deftness to his fingers on lutestrings, an earnest relatability in his tone, and a contagious enthusiasm when he talks to dream about his hopes, his dreams. and dream is intrigued

thinking about how their centennial meetings would be almost the same, but slightly different. hob reserves rooms for them when dream comes to the white horse so he can perform for dream privately. he still thinks dream is a lord, and deserving of special attention (and even if he weren’t a lord, he’s ethereal and gorgeous and the subject of more than a few of hob’s bawdier verses, which hob writes only for himself)

and the Tension??? the tension would be unreal???

thinking about 1689 hob, bedraggled and penniless, and maybe dream finding him busking on the street outside the white horse for coin, because the inns won’t let him in. he brings hob inside with him where it’s warm and dry and buys him a meal, and hob lays his instrument on the table between them and says, “it’s all i have left. i’m sorry, old stranger, i’ve no rooms for us this evening—” dream gets their room, and for the first time he says when they’re upstairs, “there is no need to sing for me tonight, hob gadling,” and he helps hob bathe and makes sure he is dressed in fine clothes again. hob looks lost and grateful and not a little in love and maybe he tries to kiss dream - after all he’s been pining for 300 years. but dream lays a hand on his cheek and says, “if you still feel the same in one hundred years, let us revisit this, hm?”

so of course 1789 is… 1789. the tension is there a thousandfold. by this time hob’s writing poetry and plays and he’s part owner of a bookshop. he’s been writing letters to dream as well. he hands them to dream, tied up in a red ribbon. “i still feel the same,” he says. “do you?” dream thinks he does. but then for the first time they have a conversation, outside of a performance; a real conversation. when it comes out what hob’s been doing, the kind of material hob’s bookshop sells and where he invests his money, dream turns on his heel and leaves

thinking about 1889, hob earnest and rueful, wondering if dream will attend their meeting this year. he’s taken a chance and hasn’t written anything. he wants to talk, to fix things. “old stranger,” he says when they’re seated by the fire in the rooms hob has rented for them. “i have changed. i hope that as you learn more of what i have done this past century i might raise myself in your estimation. but my feelings for you have only grown.” and maybe this is the year of their first real kiss, the year they go to bed together, and hob wakes up the next morning alone, fine sand under his fingernails and the taste of dream still on his tongue

and perhaps soon after dream goes missing hob hears whispers of it from some of the more eccentric patrons of his bookshop, and he goes and rescues dream. he dusts off his musicianship and gets himself in as an entertainer at one of burgess’ lavish parties as a cover

and then dream is free and they live happily ever after, the end, right?

cue modern day hob, teaching a course on the history of story and ballad, looking at old lyrics from the 15th century, asking dream, “remember when i sang this for you? god, i was bloody awful, don’t know what you saw in me…”

[bangtansmauyeondan]

White Dress or Whatever (Midnight’s Minuet Drabble 2)

This is the second drabble off of the Midnight’s Minuet series, but can be read alone. However, I highly suggest you read the whole series and the first drabble to have a better understanding on how two people who hated each other ended up here!

Inspired by this song:

•••

Pairing: Yoongi x Fem Reader

Genre: established relationship, fluff

WC: 2400

Summary: Settling in at his penthouse hasn’t been easy, Yoongi thinks it’s too spacious for him alone. He’s been dropping hints here and there that he wants you to move in with him once your lease at the apartment is up, but it’s always gone over your head. This time, however, he’ll make sure to coax out an answer out of you.

SERIES TAGLIST: @sugakookies0613 @pinkseokchim @belladaises @potatoandfries @cherrybubblesandvodka @sope-and-shine @juju-227592

PERMANENT TAGLIST: @jinsquishes @persphonesorchid @thatbangtanjagiya @taestefully-in-luv @pamzn @wrmnssoul @ygbubs @halesandy @jayhope88 @bnagtanx1306 @busanbby-jjk @babycandy111

•••

Yoongi woke up from his slumber and squinted at the digital clock on his nightstand. 3:28 AM?  He craned his neck as far as he could to see it clearly since physically turning would mean possibly interrupting your sleep. With over a year of being together, your relationship has grown more stable and comfortable. He really couldn’t recall the time when you argued, except that one time you accused him of not listening to you when in fact, he was. He was just bad at making eye contact. The image of your surprised expression when he repeated everything you had said back to you is one he would never forget. Apart from opening himself to you, and allowing you to get to know him better, he also discovered a lot of things about you. He now knows of the fact that you like your space, and you’re not a big fan of physical contact, which means you’re not much of a hugger either. Sure you enjoy cuddles as much as the next person does, but you’re never the first one to initiate the sweet gesture. But strangely enough, and the thing which he is grateful for, you always seem to crave his touch.  

Despite wiggling out of his arms whenever he would spoon you in bed a little too long for your liking, you would always move closer just when sleep was about ready to win you over, linking one arm with his before reaching for his hand and putting your other hand on his forearm. Then, after leaning your head against his shoulder, you would let out a contented sigh before dozing off. He turned his head to look at you in the same manner, a slight smile on his lips. He couldn't help but chuckle as he heard the quiet snore leaving your lips and observed them forming a half-pout as your cheek squished against his shoulder. “You must have been so tired…” he whispered before planting a kiss on your forehead. 

It has already been a couple of days since he got back from his two-week business trip to Spain, but his body clock has not adjusted properly yet, tricking him that it’s still around seven o’clock in the evening. That’s the time he usually spent walking around the hotel, checking in with the guards, checking in with the concierge, checking in with the kitchen staff - just a final once over on everything before he calls it a night. It’s tiring, it’s energy-draining having to check every single floor and engage in small talk with the employees. He doesn’t know how Seokjin does it, considering they’re both introverts, but his older brother seems to have more innate social skills than he does. Every night, all he wanted to do was to call you just to simply hear your voice, but he couldn’t because of the time difference. It’s the longest that you’ve been away from each other since you started your relationship, and missing you almost made him go crazy. 

Yoongi gently lifted your head and settled you down on your pillow, removing the loose strand of hair that made its way to your face. You sleepily groaned in response before tugging on the duvet over your shoulder and turning your back on him. The distance you created was mere inches, yet a pang of longing struck his chest. Before he knew it, he’s already wrapping his arms around you and burying his face on the crook of your neck, closing his eyes before giving into sleep again. 

•••

Three months ago…

“Why are you here? Who’s looking after the hotel?” Seokjin asked as he opened the door to his younger brother. 

“That’s a nice way to welcome your brother, hyung. Also, the 2000 employees,” Yoongi replied dryly. “I wanna see my baby niece and I dropped YN off at home along the way.” Yoongi walked past Seokjin to enter further into the house. 

“Your baby niece is still in her mother’s tummy and won’t be out in this world until May.” 

“I’m talking about Jihyo, hyung…” 

As if on cue, the padding of Seokjin’s three-year-old daughter’s little feet echoed around the high-ceiling living room, “Uncle Yoonie is here?” The little girl poked her head out between the mezzanine railings, pigtails coming into view first, before squealing in delight at the sight of her favorite uncle. 

“Come down here, Jihyo…” Yoongi opened up his arms to his niece, calling her over.

“She won’t come to you, she’s busy playing,” Seokjin piped up.

“I can’t! I’m– I’m playing with my Polly Pocket…” Jihyo lifted her hand showing off something so small, Yoongi couldn’t even make out what it was despite squinting. “They’re Mommy’s old toys! Mommy said they’re vin-sej!” 

“Okay! Have fun playing then… Don’t put them in your mouth,” Yoongi turned to Seokjin, “They’re what?” 

“Vintage. She said they’re vintage.” 

Yoongi rolled his eyes. “Do they still make those toys these days?” Yoongi asked, genuinely confused.

“They make the bigger version now. Nara’s toys were the original compact miniatures, that’s why she’s been going around teaching Jihyo the word ‘vintage,” Seokjin scoffed. “Yah… did you just say you dropped Yn off?” 

“Yeah, she has a wedding to cater to tomorrow and–”

“Seriously, when are you gonna ask her to move in with you? Didn’t you say the lease on her apartment is almost up?” Seokjin cut him off as he made his way to the freezer, retrieving a pint of dark chocolate ice cream and two spoons before motioning for Yoongi to come sit with him at the kitchen island. 

“I’ve been trying to–” 

“Have you, really? Or you’re just throwing empty hints to the wind and then hope for the best?” 

“I mean–”

“I knew it,” Seokjin glared at his brother. “Your time’s running out, dude. I thought Mom has already given you the w–” 

“AYY AYYY HYUNG, I got it! I got it! Yeah, I have them.” Yoongi rubbed his face annoyingly before gesturing to shush his older brother off. 

“Okay okay, sorry!” 

“I’ll ask her to move in with me real soon. She’s been staying over most of the time already though, it’s almost like we’re living together already.” 

“Okaaay,” Seokjin teased. “Just make sure you hid those–”

“YAH HYUNG!” 

Seokjin burst into his squeaky windshield wiper-sounding laugh, satisfied with how easily he could still tease his younger brother.

•••

You woke up to the incessant buzzing of your phone on the nightstand. You set a 6 AM alarm because you were planning on going for a quick run this morning before jumping on a meeting with Taehyung and the rest of your staff for your new business venture— opening the first Sweet Knight branch outside of the hotel. You sleepily reached out to turn it off, and judging by the way that Yoongi was almost swaddling you in his arms, you didn’t think the morning run was still possible.

“You up?” Yoongi’s raspy voice softly rang in your ear, his warm breath hitting the nape of your neck at the same time. 

“Hmm…” You turned around to face him, his hand automatically running down your side and stopping at the small of your back, as your palm rested on his chest. “How long have you been up?”

“Fifteen-twenty minutes, I think.” Your eyes automatically closed when he planted a peck on your forehead. 

“… and you just watched me sleep for fifteen-twenty minutes?” 

“I watched you sleep, I listened to you snore, I— very gently— wiped your drool off, I removed your crusty— OW!” Yoongi flinched at the pain after you smacked him on his arm. 

“Serves you right!” 

Yoongi chuckled before pulling you tighter and nuzzling your hair. 

He’s never been like this to other people. The thing about Yoongi is that he doesn’t speak much in general, but his actions are loud enough to drown out any form of speech. What he lacks in communicating, he makes up for in acts of service and physical touch. In the beginning, you didn’t think your relationship would last. Over one year isn’t considered as long either, but taking into account how you two started out just wanting to tear each other’s throats off, every quarter is a milestone. But it wasn’t long until you realized that you two are a lot more similar and compatible in a lot of ways. You both recharge by enjoying your alone time. You talk, he listens. You’re emotional, he’s rational. You balance each other out so well that you understand each other without even saying anything, and people who don’t know much would think you’ve been together for years. 

“Do you have plans today?” 

“I was planning to go for a run, but I like staying in bed with you.” Early morning pillow talk has also become a thing between you. You don’t live together, and everytime you stay over at the penthouse is either because you’re too tired to go home after work or because it’s a given after an intimate night.

“Yeah?” Yoongi chuckled. “Best decision.” 

“Then Taehyung and I will call for a staff meeting about the new bakery… maybe check the inventory too.” You continued, picking on a loose thread you spotted on his shirt. “I think Taehyung ordered some supplies yesterday and they’re being delivered today.”

“Hmm…”

“Will probably do some tidying up at the apartment today too, Jimin might stay over this weekend.” Your brother has been staying over at the apartment on the weekends claiming he’s bored. 

“Ask him to move into the apartment. It’s only a few minutes away from his workplace by train.” Yoongi dropped another hint of wanting you to move out. 

“…and live with me? We will drive each other nuts after a few days.” You smiled fondly at the thought of your younger brother. “Besides, I think he and Marikit are planning to move in together.” 

“Ohh… he didn’t tell us.” 

“Of course, he wouldn’t tell you. Namjoon has recently broken up with Jelena.” 

“Hmmm… right…” 

Yoongi went silent again and you had to peek through your lashes to check if he fell back to sleep. He didn’t. He gave you a small smile when your eyes met for the first time that morning, and you couldn’t help but run your fingers through his now-slightly-longer hair. “What about you, babe? Do you have plans today?”

“I’m planning to ruin all your plans for today,” he replied smugly, breaking out into his signature gummy smile. 

You were taken aback by the unexpected answer. “What? Okay, why would you–” you yelped as Yoongi rolled over you to climb out of bed, and with one sweep motion, scooped you up in his arms bridal-style. “What are you doing?!”

Yoongi carried you to the ensuite bathroom and sat you down on the granite bathroom sink, “Stay right here,” he caught your face between his hands and kissed you on the lips before going over to the drawers. You watched him retrieve a round-shaped box with a mother-of-pearl lid that shimmer iridescently against the warm lights. He looked at you fondly with a small smile before slotting himself between your legs, handing you the box, and opening up the lid. “My mother gave these to me…” 

Your eyes almost bulged out of their sockets when they landed on two gold bands sitting side by side, one is plain, the other is lined with little diamonds along the side of its entire circumference. “I… wh…” you stammered, a million different emotions rushing through and making your heart go haywire. 

“These are my parents’ wedding rings,” Yoongi chuckled. “She gave Jin hyung her engagement ring, the one on Nara’s finger…” he continued, as if telling you the most normal thing in the world, without knowing its possible effect on you. How could he stay calm like this? 

“These… these are beautiful, babe,” your hands started to get all clammy, you wish you could just wipe them off your pajamas, but that means possibly dropping the rings. Yoongi must have sensed your anxiety because he quickly covered your hands with his, supporting the box. 

“Marry me, Yn…” his tone is almost a whisper, eyes seeking yours at the same time. The sincerity of his words gleamed in his eyes and you were so overwhelmed with emotions that yours started welling up. Yoongi let out a light chuckle before reaching out to wipe the tears that started streaming down your face. “I love you, you know that right?” 

You nodded, still couldn’t believe that you’re being proposed to, sitting on a bathroom sink, in your most unflattering pajamas, yoongi’s old oversized shirt, and a bedhead. 

“Marry me, Yn…” Yoongi repeated. “Today. Let’s get married today. Forget all your plans and let’s get married today.” 

“Babe?” You couldn’t help but let out a laugh through your tears. “Are you serious? We’re not prepared, I need a dress, I–” 

“I have a white suit. Do you have a white dress?” 

“I do, yes, but I–” 

“Any white dress, or whatever, wear whatever you want. It’s not important,” Yoongi nuzzled his nose against yours. “Just marry me today, hmn?” Yoongi wiped the last of your tears off your cheeks. “I love you so much, I couldn’t imagine myself living through another day without having you close to me.” Yoongi cleared his throat. “I prepared a whole fucking speech for this, something along the lines of you bringing color into my life in the form of those little sticky notes we used to stick to each other’s doors, but it isn’t me.” His shoulders shook as he silently laughed, “You’d probably end up not taking me seriously if I said all that, too… but that’s the thing I love most about you, Yn. You just… get me.” 

You smiled up at him fully understanding what he meant, because you felt the same way about him too. He just gets you… and you could no longer imagine your life without him by your side. You rested your forehead against his, your hands still wrapped around the delicate box, “Is this why you said you’re planning to ruin all my plans today?” 

“Is that a ‘Yes, I will marry you today?’”

You giggled at your boyfriend’s persistence before planting a soft peck on his cheek. “Yes, Min Yoongi. Yes, I will marry you today.” 

•••

Can we stay like this forever?

White dress or whatever.

I keep dreamin' there's a somewhere

Where we grow old together.

In a van or in a mansion,

Raining but we're dancing.

There's a billion people out there,

I can't believe the chances.

(It's You, MAX ft. keshi)

•••

A/N: Happy Birthday, Yoongi! ♥ Everyone, I hope you enjoy this little drabble. Were you all expecting the ending? ☺ ALSO... let me know if you wanna see more from this couple. They definitely hold a special place in my heart.

[blouisparadise]

Today we’re excited to share the fourth part to our college/university rec list! If you missed them, you can find part one here, part two here, and part three here. If you enjoy these fics, please be sure to like and reblog the post to help spread the word. Happy reading!

1) Outline Of My Sins | Explicit | 6551 words

Prompt 453: AU where alpha Harry is an art student who is taking a figure drawing class and omega Louis is the nude model. In the many years that Harry has taken art classes, he has never been more hot and bothered than now, having to stare at a beautiful nude omega model for hours.

2) Is Ur Muffin Buttered? | Explicit | 7053 words

He knew what he was getting into when he began to hook up with Harry Styles. How could he not? Everyone on campus knew about him, the type of player he was, ready to break hearts and beds and all that. But it wasn’t as if he had planned the mess he was getting into it, at least not in the beginning.

3) Peaches | Explicit | 7669 words

Once behind Harry, he bends over and places his hands on Harry’s thighs, slowly rubbing while bringing them up to Harry’s chest. Noticing the more prominent bulge in the alpha’s pants, the omega starts to whisper the lyrics in Harry’s ear.

4) Kiss It Better | Mature | 8080 words

Harry shakes his head with a light laugh and leans down to kiss him again which Louis happily accepts even if he is a little confused by the reaction. "Baby, not a night has gone by that I haven't thought about you in my bed, naked, and begging for my cock."

Blinking up at him with wide eyes, Louis opens his mouth to say something but nothing comes out. While they did flirt a lot over the last few weeks, Harry had never said anything like that. It shocks him as much as it turns him on.

"News to me."

"I won't lie and say I like random hookups or casual sex, but to me this isn't what that is."

Louis swallows thickly, unsure of what to say to that but once again Harry gives him an out.

"So, If you want we can stay up here and I can show you all the things I've thought about doing to you." Another kiss, quick and sweet. "Or, we can go back downstairs and we'll dance all night."

5) Be The Artist To My Muse | Explicit | 9665 words

“I think I’m in love,” Harry says, flopping back to lay on the bench again.

Nick sighs and pats Harry on the head.

“There, there. You’ll forget him in a day or so.”

6) The One Who Stays And The One Leaving You  | Mature | 10315 words

Fuck.

He had just slept with none other than Harry Styles.

7) Like A Hurt, Lost, And Blinded Fool | Not Rated | 13919 words

ABO college AU where alpha Harry is a frat boy and he asks omega Louis out multiple times but he rejects him every time because Louis doesn’t like how frat boys act towards omegas. One night at a Halloween party, Harry dresses up as a stormtrooper and keeps his mask on all the time and flirts with Louis and Louis flirts back without knowing that’s Harry under the costume.

8) No Lemon Drops No Bubblegum | Explicit | 14979 words

They never interacted in that one semester, in that one class, and never were put in the same group, never sat close to each other. Then again, it’s not like Louis was hoping it’ll turn to something more. Just a fleeting crush, that he’ll get over once he stops seeing him every week.

Except he hasn’t stopped, he’s still thinking about it once in a while. What’s Harry Styles doing today? Has he cut his hair? Does he still eat scones for breakfast every Wednesday? He got his answers now, at least about the state of his hair. Harry’s hair is a lot shorter than the last he remembers, it curls around his ear, framing his square jaw nicely. He’d have to ask about the scone next time. If there’s ever a next time.

University AU. In which Louis is most definitely not pining.

9) Nothing’s Scarier Than Losing You | Explicit | 15466 words

When Louis and Harry run into each other at a Halloween party two months after their breakup, they’re reminded of how rude, infuriating, and utterly perfect for each other they are.

10) Treading Through Flowerbeds | Explicit | 20384 words

“So are you coming to class or are you gonna take the day off to shop online for your vibrator?” Zayn props his shoulder against the doorframe and watches Louis scurry around their room in amusement.

“I wouldn’t have lost the bet if—” Harry and his massive dick didn’t exist, “—you didn’t make us go to that frat party.”

“You’re the one who said you could flirt your way out of a speeding ticket with that old, bald policeman,” Zayn replies. “You know, you should be glad we went with the vibrator up your arse instead of taking Viagra before class.”

11) Baby, Loving You’s The Real Thing | Explicit | 21011 words

Harry never thought he’d be taking care of a child at the age of twenty-one—well, trying to anyway.

12) Cut The Sides, Don’t Touch The Back | Explicit | 21596 words

Prompt 87: Harry’s been talking about getting a mullet for so long and Louis hates how good he pulls it off.

13) It’s Not A Walk In The Park To Love Each Other | Explicit | 24461 words

The one where Harry and Louis are roommates forced to quarantine together, but they hate each other very much a lot.

14) If It Wasn't For The Nights | Explicit | 28499 words

“Okay, so. You didn’t fuck. But you’re gonna go hiking with Harry?” Zayn raises an eyebrow. “You don’t even go outside.”

Louis groans, crossing his arms on the table and hiding his face in them. “I know.”

15) Dont Know Its Lost Til You Find It | Explicit | 30614 words

Maybe it’ll be better this way. Maybe Louis just needs to distance himself, get over his crush so Harry doesn’t have to worry about his obsessive friend who feels too much and says too little.

He wonders what this girl is like. What she looks like, what conversations they had to make Harry fall for her in three days. If maybe she’s just stellar in bed. If she smells like heaven or if it’s just the fact she’s a girl.

He wonders and wonders, resists the temptation to stare at the alpha, and gets exactly no work done.

16) You're An Alpha, Harry! | Explicit | 32900 words

Right before Harry goes to university, he presents as an alpha. Struggling with his newfound identity in a completely different environment, he seeks advice from the notorious Louis Tomlinson, an omega whose claim to fame is being the local campus sex expert. Sex Education AU.

17) If The Sun Don’t Shine | Explicit | 36335 words

In a world where you meet your soulmates in dreams, Louis has spent the last three years going to bed hoping to finally meet his, only to end up disappointed time and time again. It all changes with a violin.

18) Voicemail Sings A Wreck | Explicit | 37016 words

Louis is the president of the biggest omega sorority on campus, Harry is the president of the biggest alpha fraternity on campus, and they do not get along.

19) Catch Me If I Fall | Explicit | 47099 words

Lovers when on the stage but bitter rivals as soon as they step off, Harry and Louis have butted heads from the moment they first met. Locked in a stalemate that they hope to ride out until graduation, things take a turn when Harry learns that Louis is hiding a secret.

20) I Can’t Help It (If You Look Like An Angel) | Explicit | 52277 words

Louis remembered how just moments before he had been grateful at the pieces in display being anonymous for everyone that wanted to see them, a thin veil that protected the artists established firmly in place despite the disappointed faces from the gallery visitors when they realised they couldn't track what their eyes saw back to anyone, and they couldn’t demand any kind of explanations from them regarding what they felt.

That relief got lost in the back of his mind when his eyes caught onto the painting, the obvious attentiveness and care poured in the canvas making his chest hurt.

What do you find to be the most beautiful thing in the world?

Apparently, for someone, it was him.

21) Lost In The Sirens | Explicit | 53729 words

ABO fic where alphas and omegas can’t cohabitate as friends and Harry ‘supposed-to-be-a-beta’ Styles presents a few weeks before he and Louis ‘hot/spicy-omega-bestie’ Tomlinson are set to move into their new uni flat.

22) Gallery Of Us | Explicit | 55778 words

Harry knew what he was doing in life, everything laid out in black-and-white, each day pleasantly predictable. Cue lively art student, Louis, trying to find his place. An almost insufferably happy person who sometimes forgets to hide the way they feel meets the person who is diligent enough to notice and determined to make a difference.    

23) It’s Golden, Like Daylight | Explicit | 61496 words

A college/ABO/fake relationship AU where longtime friends, Harry and Louis, come up with the perfect plan to fake date, which, of course, ends up being a complete disaster.

24) Lost & Found In Oblivion | Explicit | 74799 words

Omega Louis decided to hire an alpha for his heat to ease his touch deprivation, but little did he know everything would grow into so much more.

25) You’ve Got A Higher Power, You’re Once In Any Lifetime | Explicit | 113444 words

In a society full of prejudices, finding a family and being accepted, also seemed like an unrealistic utopia.

Check out our other fic rec lists by category here and by title here.

[stardustedsins]

Kiss prompt #34: a kiss to pretend

Kira Yoshikage/reader (gender neutral reader)

You’ve been assigned an important project at work recently, and while it’s challenging, you’ve found that you’re really enjoying working with Mr. Kira. You hadn’t interacted much before being placed on a team together, but he’s competent with work and acts like a gentleman with you. You haven’t told anyone, because you don’t want it to end up as office gossip, but you’ve developed a little crush.

And really, what’s the harm in acting on it? You’re pretty sure Kira is interested in you. He’s always noticing when you change your nail polish, or buy a new ring. Surely he wouldn’t pay attention to such little things if he didn’t like you. The thought gives you the confidence you need to ask him to get lunch with you on your break from work.

(Yoshikage is very careful to blend in at work, but he can’t help but notice your hands. They’re lovely, you obviously take good care of them, and he wants a closer look. When you ask him to lunch, he’s happy to accept.)

You sit across from each other at a little cafe table, looking at the menu. You’d chosen to bring Kira to one of your favorite places for lunch, so you already know what you want to eat.

“What are you thinking of ordering?” You ask him, leaning over the table a little to try and be flirty. 

“What would you recommend?” He asks, and you point out a few things you like from the menu. Kira studies each one very seriously, it’s kind of endearing.

(Yoshikage admires the shape of your fingers as you tap his menu here and there to show him your favorite foods, the shine of your nails in the cafe’s natural light.)

He takes one of your recommendations, and you get to know each other a little better over your food. Kira asks if you’re seeing anyone, which means he’s definitely interested in you! You hadn’t explicitly made this a date, but you definitely will next time. 

(Yoshikage doesn’t usually go for coworkers, but he’s considering making an exception. You’re single, which he can’t deny he’s pleased to hear. He does get jealous, after all.)

The end of your break comes far too soon for your taste. The two of you walk back to your office building together, chatting on the way. It’s a nice day out, and you’re having a good time. It’s a shame you have to go back to work. 

“I guess we’ll get started on the expense reports, then.” You say with a sigh as the office comes into view. 

“But before that…” Kira steps off of the sidewalk and beckons for you to join him. You step into the cover of the well-trimmed bushes, and he takes your hand. Your heart skips a beat as he raises it to his lips and places a kiss on your knuckles. 

(It’s bold to do this so close to the office, but you’re just barely out of sight behind the bushes, and Yoshikage couldn’t help himself. A normal, chaste kiss is the least of what he wants to do to you.)

“Thank you for lunch.” Kira says with a gentle smile. “I look forward to next time.” 

(Next time, he’d like to have those pretty fingers in his mouth.)

[floripire]

PRE CANON THROUGH THE EYES OF FLORIBETH DALISAY, PART 1: HUMAN LIFE, HACKING SHADY ORGANIZATIONS & TURNING INTO A VAMPIRE

floribeth grows up in maple hills, south carolina as the only daughter of raul dalisay (human) and serena harman-dalisay (lost witch).

she's loved by her parents, certainly, but even so, floribeth grows up lonely. it's not a surprise that she turns to computers, then. they've always been better than people. driven by insatiable curiosity, floribeth hacks into the servers of triad industries once she's certain that they're not who they claim to be. there has to be more than them than mere pest control.

after she trawls through their servers, looking for any and all information to expose them, floribeth erases her tracks. in her hubris, she thinks she erases her tracks well enough. unfortunately, this is not the case: veronica greasley finds out and tasks burr and his team with the clean-up.

a teacher's pet and straight a student, she's quiet and invisible, unless someone needs help with their homework. then they suddenly do know where to find her.

so she's quite surprised when doug carson starts talking to her. even more so when he keeps talking to her and when he asks her out, it almost floors her. floribeth says yes. they get together. he's her first kiss, her first time, her first everything.

shortly afterwards, they broke up. doug wanted something 'real', he said, and let her know that it was nothing but a bet. they fall out of touch, doug drifting towards the popular group, consisting of joe flowers and tami bryce, among others and spearheaded by local party animals and twins misao and shinichi.

(no one knows, though, that said twins are actually kitsune hiding in plain sight.)

doug's younger sister susan - or sue, as she's commonly known - heals some of that hurt and floribeth develops a crush on her which is mutual but floribeth doesn't allow herself to go there again. regardless, she does say yes when sue asks her to come to her birthday party.

her parents seem more excited about the invite than floribeth herself. even so, she puts on some make-up and the nicest clothes she owns. but floribeth wouldn't be floribeth if she didn't try to get some time in on baldur's gate three before she goes. this, of course, causes her to leave home later than she should.

enroute to the carson home, floribeth decides to cut through the cemetery. it's a well-known short cut. everyone takes it.

halfway through the cemetery, she sees a man standing over one of the graves, shoulders hunched. when she squints, she can make out the name paige billingsley. and maybe she should have pretended she hadn’t seen him. maybe she should have kept walking.

but she didn’t. couldn’t. wouldn’t.

not when he shivered as if his bones were dipped in frost. as if he had buried his sun and would never be warm again. not when he shuddered, sobs bouncing off of the many graves. It actually sounded like the sound came from all around her. like she was wearing surround sound headphones.

her dad always said that she should always attempt to soothe someone if the situation called for it, that she should ease the pain and alleviate someone’s burden, if she could. she didn’t have to make a big thing out of it, he said, it could be something small too.

so she offered her heartfelt and sincere condolences: "my comfort for your loss, sir, i can't imagine---"

the man turns around faster than floribeth can blink and between one heartbeat and the next, he’s raving and ranting: "---no, you can’t, no one can until they’ve been at the receiving end of his so-called mercy, except what he did wasn’t merciful, it was ruthless! he slaughtered them, all of them, even my beautiful paige and condemned me to an eternity of loneliness!"

he towers over her and he doesn’t stop talking. in fact, he’s talking faster and faster, as if he’s got a lot on his mind and precious little time to spit it out. as if they’re in a church and he’s in the confessional booth. and maybe floribeth should’ve taken the long way around because when she tries to disengage, when she tries to step back, push comes to shove.

he moves fast. much faster than a regular person should have been able to.

"but it doesn't have to be this way. i never wanted to be this monster, this thing of the night that i am. i never wanted to live without my paige. now that i have been forced to live without her, i must find a way to stop the pain."

when she doesn't react, he raises his voice: "i said i must find a way to stop the pain!" she flinches visibly. he ignores it as he stares at her, half delirious, half hopeful. "and i have. you can carry it for me, yes? if i turn you, i pass this curse along to you. and with it, my pain. and then, i will finally be free."

"i… i don’t know---" floribeth stammers. "---all i wanted was to give you my sincere condolences and be on my way. there’s---there’s a birthday party i’m invited to, you see, and I’m already late…" 

the man tears open his wrist, cornering her at one of the graves and leans into her space, pressing his wrist against her lips, forcing her to gulp down copious amounts of blood.

his blood.

she drops the present for sue that she’d been clutching. it clatters onto the ground.

floribeth hears rather than feels her neck snap and then it all goes black. when she wakes up, everything is still black though she smells wet, damp earth and hears the movement of critters that she probably shouldn't be able to. it takes her a moment too long to realize she’s buried beneath the ground. that she’s laying in a shallow grave.

she wants to scream, wants to cry out for help, but doesn’t dare to open her mouth in fear of choking on the dirt.

by the time she manages to claw out of her grave, the man is long gone and so are most of her memories of this harrowing incident.

[blackbutler-readerinsertsandjunk]

so. i wear comfortable clothes (like pajamas and sweaters and stuff) when i get sad. and tbh i'm sad a lot so i wear those kinds of clothes like 5 out of 7 days of the week. can i request alois, maurice, and both ciels (have their actual names been released yet?? 😭) with a s/o like that?

aaaaaa all I can offer are virtual hugs and prayers for you that things will get better and you'll be less sad in the future

.. and some reactions from some bois who really love you! <3

I don't think we have official names yet, but, I just call O!Ciel "Ciel" and my headcanon name for R!Ciel is "Astre" :D

… Oh, his darling looks so adorable like that! Really, he just can’t help but gush a little when he sees them looking so relaxed. Those kinds of clothes are ones that he doesn’t often wear himself despite very much wanting to, so he’s almost jealous. He’s happy for them, though! He just… maybe wishes he could join them? He might have to do that one of these days. But, when it becomes apparent that they usually only do this when they’re not having a good day, he starts to get… pouty. Mostly because he’s worried. He starts trying to cheer them up, by dancing around and urging them to come dance with him, or attempting to coax them into coming into town with him. When that doesn’t work? He puts on comfy clothes and has a sad day with them. While he knows it’s not a long-term solution, and he’ll have to figure out a long-term solution, for the moment he thinks everything is just fine if he dresses comfortably and lies down next to them and cuddles and lets them feel sad. It’s not as bad when you’re sad alongside someone you love, right?

Hm, how… unfortunate? Is that how he wants to word this? It’s a bit of a disappointment, to see his darling putting forth a lack of effort when it comes to their appearance. If they’re going to be on his arm, he needs to make sure they look appropriately elegant just like him. It’s not like he’s trying to be insensitive; deep down, he’s a lot more concerned than he lets on. When someone doesn’t look after how they present themself to the world, surely that means something bigger is going on. That’s distressing to him for the simple fact that he cares very much about them. He takes a very direct approach, though he does try not to be cruel about it. (He’s not in the business of making (Name) even sadder, after all.) So his efforts tend more toward cajoling them into wearing something else, telling them that he’s going to have a ball going on tonight so they need to wear that new dress or suit he got them. He’s hoping that getting them dressed up and moving and all that will naturally bring them out of sadness. While he knows he needs to find a more sustainable way to help them… this is the best thing he can think of. Well, this, and lots of ducking behind walls so he can kiss them. ‘Soft’ clothes or no, he’ll keep them plenty comfortable.

Well, if nothing else, they know what they’re doing. Nobody else knows what’s best for another person, right? Except maybe a doctor. He’s unsure if his dear would need any kind of doctor for… this. It strikes him as odd that they seem to dress comfortably only when they’re feeling down mentally, and even odder that he can point to the pattern that spells out the fact that they feel like that a lot. He doesn’t say much, but one can almost see the gears in his head turning when he looks at them in their too-big sweater, as he tries to think of how best to approach the topic. He can’t very well go up and tell them to stop wearing those clothes and tell him why they’re sad or any of that. There comes a single order he gives Sebastian which is nigh impossible for his butler to follow: “Keep (Name) happy.” It isn’t so easy… it’s the only thing he can think to do, aside from kissing them and doing things he knows they like. He just makes sure to get them out as often as possible so they have a reason to wear other clothing, so that perhaps that in itself will cheer them up. All the while, he makes sure to be thinking of how best to help them, and ensuring they know he cares for them.

Haha, what on Earth are they doing? Attempting to violate every law of fashion all at once? Honestly, he doesn’t mind so much if his sweetheart dresses in a way that lets them be more comfortable… except that they do so around his friends. Whilst he’s with them. Of course they look very calm and they’re not wearing stiff or hard to fiddle with clothing. He’s definitely jealous. Still, he also is perhaps a little embarrassed that they dress so casually when with him. Not only does he want to be known as someone beautiful, which also necessitates put-together people being associated with him, it also… sort of concerns him? Why aren’t they taking care of themself and dressing up a little? Although he doesn’t expect them to be flawlessly dressed all the time, the kind of clothes they wear while sad are so dressed down, it’s like they don’t want to pick something else out. He tries to be kind about it, offering to pick an outfit for them or to please, please, please let him do their makeup and/or their hair! It’s a way to bond, but also to help them dress themself up a bit. It might seem kind of shallow; however, he truly is worried about them. He has to try something, doesn’t he?

[ihatecoconut]

wip exercpt

uuh so this is like a weird part in the middle of a much longer thing that I’m writing, but i really like it and want validation now so here. hob talking to immortal child. 

-

“How do you do it?” she asks quietly, “how do you keep wanting to live when everything is so awful?”

Hob gestures for her to shift over on the bed and slides in next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She goes willingly, resting her head on his chest and leaving it at the perfect height for him to run his fingers through her hair.

She relaxes slightly at the motion, further into his chest and Hob hums as he contemplates where to start.

“I was born in the 14th century. You’d think I should know which year, but nobody really paid attention to that back then, you only really mattered if you survived to be able to crawl and move alone. Everyone back then was told not to get attached to their babies because they might not survive too long—”

“This is not very happy.” Grace mumbles into his chest.

Hob laughs, “I’m getting there. Shh.”

“mm.”

“But, telling humans not to get attached to things? You might as well tell the Earth itself not to spin, we can’t help it, we’ve never been able to help it and we would love those children, no matter how fleetingly they remained with us, we would mourn their short lives and we would name them regardless.” He sighs, runs a hand through her hair. “Part of the human condition, I suppose, to love, to bond,”

“’S that why you kept me?”

“Partially, I guess, because we bonded. Someone told me once that I was the pinnacle of the human condition – although I don’t think those are the exact words that were used – and I guess I kind of am.” He glances down at her. “I’ve always remembered the things the midwives would say, that you shouldn’t get attached until you know they’re going to survive and I think I’ve always ignored them. You and me? Everyone is going to die, so based on their advice we shouldn’t get attached to anyone.”

“Except each other.”

“Maybe. But it would be so easy to fall into that trap of not caring, of seeing other people like ants, you know? Fleeting and so small in comparison. But what’s the point in living if you don’t love? Right? That’s not living, that’s just surviving, yeah?”

She wriggles slightly, shifting so she can tilt her head back and look up at him as he speaks.

“And, you know, some people say that you die twice, once when you stop breathing and again when someone speaks your name for the last time. Maybe everyone we love can’t stay alive in the first sense, but we can keep them alive in the second.”

He pauses to let Grace take that in.

“My wife was called Eleanor. My son was called Robyn. I had a second child who didn’t make it, we never named them, but I remember none the less.”

“I had a brother called Charlie.” Grace whispers. “He died when he was just a baby. No one talks about him, no one ever talked about him.”

“But you haven’t forgotten him, and through that you can keep him alive.”

“Yeah.”

He presses a kiss to her forehead. “Does that help?”

“A little.”

“Do you want to hear about chimneys?”

She frowns up at him, confused, and he laughs.

“When I was a boy, we just lit fires inside. Sometimes people would have a hole in the ceiling to let the smoke out, but mostly that would just let the rain and cold in, so we tended not to, and then in… oh, I don’t know, the 1400s some time, people started adding chimneys to houses, a place to let the smoke out that was designed to not let the rain back in.”

Grace is watching him, a slight line between her eyebrows, but otherwise unfathomable. If he’d met her only once, he isn’t sure he would have walked away thinking that she was fully human, there was something almost other about her.

“And then we could light fires indoors, and we didn’t have to worry about choking on the smoke. It was revolutionary.” He grins. “I mean, they’re pretty commonplace now, but back then? Woo. It was something else.”

“What else?” She asks, and the way she watches him, interested in his experiences, in what he has to say, reminds him of those once-a-century meetings with his stranger.

“Hmm, handkerchiefs, those were a big one – fabric specifically for wiping your nose, didn’t have to use a sleeve anymore.”

She screws her nose up in disgust and he bites back a laugh.

“Different foods, different clothes, oh, I loved 19th century clothes, shame we don’t wear those anymore.”

“You could.”

“I think that would be playing a little too much into the eccentric history professor stereotype.”

Grace doesn’t laugh, but she does grace him with a tiny smile, the first he’s gotten out of her since he came home.

“Ok, your turn.”

She stops smiling abruptly. “What?”

“If you had died, what things would you have missed out on that you love?”

They’re silent for a moment as she thinks. “You.”

Hob is painfully touched. “Me?”

“I would never have met you, or Jay, or Joanna, or any of the staff at the New Inn.”

“That’s true.”

She frowns again, thinking. “Sugar waffles.”

“Ooh, good one. I think ice cream as well, that got real big during the Edwardian period.”

“Painting my room.” She pauses again. “I think… painting, generally. And playing the violin.”

Hob double takes. “You play the violin?”

She shrugs. “My social worker made me take up a hobby and that was the one I liked the most. The violin belonged to the school, so I… I could not take it with me.”

“Ok, well when we’re released from here, the first thing we’re gonna do is go to that music shop at the back of the high street and you can pick a violin, how’s that?”

She smiles again, a little bigger. “I would like that.”

[foxingpeculiar]

FF16 Blogging: I just got back from Kanver. Spoilers and whatnot.

I’ve only been playing a little bit for the last couple of days. And I don’t feel like I’ve hit any big “aha!” moments in the story.

Like first, after Twinside, was the “go around and see how shitty things are” quest where you have to help Martha’s Rest, Northreach, Dalimil. And basically, whatever Primogenesis does, exactly, it’s fuckin’ things up. The sky is all weird, there’s aether and akashic popping up everywhere, Ultima’s thralls are causing trouble, and governments basically aren’t a thing anymore on Storm, so there’s like anarchy and lots of bandits and other ne’er-do-wells are running rampant. Okay, got it.

Then you go Kanver to help Mid and Gav, except nothing really happens there. You’re too late to save the city, Harbard challenges you and then just kind of dies for no adequately explored reason. The most interesting part was Barnabas showing how powerful he actually is by giving you what-for. Annnnnd he’s kidnapped Jill. Great. I mean, I was gonna have to go to Waloed anyway. But I’m miffed she’s been fridged.

I guess it’s kinda cool that Joshua has had this whole secret service/CIA network at his disposal the whole time. But he hasnt yet explained how he came to find out about Ultima and its machinations. Also, and this is fandom-brain, but are he and Jote a thing? The way he kisses her forehead has a kind of intimacy, but it’s almost more fraternal. And there was something in the scene where he meets Mid and is all formal with her, which she doesn’t know how to take, that made me wonder.

I’m still trying to work out what Mythos and Ultima are, exactly. Like, in an ontological sense. Some of Harbard/Barnabas’s comments (“Mythos is everything”) have me really curious for them to nail that down, but I don’t know how much they’re really going to explain it. I guess we’ll see.

Most of what I have this time is stray thoughts, though:

I finally beat Atlas (at lvl 38), but damn if it didn’t take everything I had (including 2 Elixirs), plus Joshua and Jill’s help.

I dunno what’s going on with Oscar. But sure, send him to help rebuild Eastpool; there’s some poetry in that.

Lol @ Clive’s terrible acting in Dalimil. And also the clear LotR reference in the name Underhill. Doesn’t L’ubor even say something like “we don’t want to do the name Underhill a disservice?” Mmhm. I see you.

Some of the sidequests from the Hideaway in this bit were kind of fun. Clive’s a good teacher—the way he responds to the kids who are rebuilding Mid’s scales by indulging their questions while gently pointing them back on track—that was a really well-written bit that did a lot for him as a character in my mind. Also, I love the way he’s kind of afraid of Charon during that quest with “Wetlegs” and stuff. He’s a likeable guy—gruff, but with a soft, creamy interior.

So there’s that quest when you’re on the way to Kanver where you help the dying Republican soldiers deal with some akashic and, at the end, instead of being grateful, the guy you save is super pissed off cos he knows who you are and hates you. I let him live instead of fighting him, which I feel was the morally correct choice, but is that gonna bite me in the ass later? Cos he did swear revenge and all.

I forget exactly how it happened, but I have a note appreciating that they worked in the Phoenix Down. It’s such an iconic item.

Oh, and I finished the Quinten/Lostwing quest. There’s a lot in this game about like, finding purpose. I’d wanna play through it again with this in mind, but it’s interesting to see how it’s functioning as a piece of art created in the current socio-political environment.

I dunno. Again, I feel like I haven’t accomplished much in the past few hours of play. But I also feel like it’s the calm before the storm of the final push. Presumably I’m gonna cross over to Ash next, and whatever’s going on there is gonna be (had better be) crazy.

[sanemistar]

hii (ᵔᵕᵔ)◜

i see that your reqs are open again! if you can, can you do a fic where geto has been hiding his feelings yn for a while and he while hes alone w her, he cant hold it in anymore

smth like one day all of the friends r busy ( gojo, nanami, & shoko ) and only geto and yn r free at the moment and geto comes over to her shared apartment with that yn and shoko share nd he finds her doing skin care and self care things so he joins in, and when hes alone w her his butterflies in his stomach are going crazy and so is his heart, and as shes applying his face mask, close face to face, hes gazing at her in the eyes and he cant seem to hold back his feelings anymore, so he pushes her back, holding her arms, ears red and just admits everything.

hope this isnt too much !♡︎

can’t hold back — suguru geto

୨୧ pairing: suguru x fem!reader

୨୧ genre: fluff

୨୧ wc: 0.8k+

୨୧ warning: suguru may be a bit ooc

୨୧ a/n: lovesick suguru is definitely something omg !! i hope you enjoy reading <3

it’s your day off after a long week of work, so you plan to hang out with your best friends because you haven’t seen them in a while due to your busy schedule. you text them in your group chat, but they all say they’re busy except for suguru, who happens to have some free time and is nearby. you ask him privately to come over and hang out with you at your shared apartment with shoko to keep you company while she’s out, to which he agrees.

you decide to do some skincare while you’re waiting for suguru to come over, so you put on your favorite mask and play some soft music. a little while later you hear a loud ring coming from your front door, signaling suguru’s arrival. you quickly get there and open the door and happily greet him as you invite him to come in.

“enjoying yourself, huh? let me join you.” suguru asks, which of course, you gladly agree to. you guide him through the apartment until you reach your room, and the moment the door opens he’s instantly greeted with your scent that feels like a warm hug on a cold night. you sit on the edge of your soft bed and pat on the empty space next to you, waiting for suguru to join you. he’s hesitant to step any closer, wondering how can you be so defenseless around him this easily? but then decides to join in anyways.

the moment he realizes he’s completely alone with you, in your room at that, butterflies begin to form inside his stomach and his heart starts racing. but he keeps his composure and remains calm, though he’s not entirely sure how much longer can he hold himself back.

“i’m gonna apply this mask for you, it’s really good! it’ll make your skin look glowy and healthy.” you enthusiastically inform suguru. he’s not really into skincare or anything of that sort, he couldn’t care less about what this mask does. he just loves it when your eyes light up and you beam brightly whenever you talk about something you enjoy, he can never get tired of it.

you lean in to apply the mask for him, and your eyes are instantly locked in a long gaze. your faces are so dangerously close that your hot breath is fanning all over his face and your lips are only inches away from a kiss, causing his skin to slightly tingle in both excitement and nervousness. this new sensation sets his heart on fire, and it’s becoming so overwhelming. he doesn’t think his heart can handle it anymore, like it’s about to burst out of his chest. he can’t help but wonder if you’re also feeling the same way, or is it just him?

you’re done applying it, yet your eyes never dare to look away, as if you’re caught in a trance. you both stay like that for who knows how long before suguru pushes you back, his hands tightly holding your arms. he’s reached his limit, he can’t hold back any longer.

“y/n… are you deliberately tempting me or what? looking at me with those eyes with your face so dangerously close. i’m losing my mind here.” you? tempting him? what is even talking about? you’re completely oblivious to what’s going on, and suguru quickly catches onto that. of course you just have to be oblivious, which adds more to his suffering.

he lets a big sigh escape his lips, and he lets go of you. but his gaze is still onto you, you notice that his ears are turning bright red.

“i just can’t hold back anymore, i don’t think we can be friends anymore. i’m in love with you, i’ve been feeling this way for a long time now.” suguru’s sudden confession takes you by surprise, not only because you’re trying to process the fact that THE suguru geto has just confessed that he likes you, but also because you can’t believe that your crush on him has been mutual all along. you begin to connect the dots and now everything makes sense. how he used to push other guys away from you, how overprotective he is of you, how sulky he feels when you hang out with satoru and kento without him.

you start giggling all of a sudden, and it slightly startles suguru. but before he gets a chance to say anything, you pull him in a hug. arms wrapped around his neck as your fingers play with the jet black locks of his hair. it doesn’t take him long before he wraps his arms firmly around your waist.

“i love you too, suguru.” you whisper softly against his ear, sending shivers all over his spine. the moment he’s been dreaming of is no longer just a dream, but a beautiful reality. suguru pulls away from the hug and lets his hand find a home on your soft cheeks as he leans in for a deep kiss. you smile against his lips as you kiss him back, letting yourself melt in the sweet sensation.

[hugsandchaos]

You have my attention

Honestly, I’m not sure what to feel about the ship in canon, but in AUs and such where Dash isn’t a jerk, I can understand it, and this is a good example. Let’s talk about it a little!

I think they’d be a bit surprised that he’s dating Danny, but they’d be perfectly chill with it! Danny’s socializing more and seems pretty cool and really nice, so they’re supportive of them dating.

As for the hickey marks, Danny could probably cover them up the same way he did the lightning scar since there’s some on his neck, so either he forgot to hide them or simply didn’t care. Dash doesn’t own a lot of turtlenecks that fit him, and it was too warm for a scarf, unfortunately.

Dash didn’t know when he actually fell in love with Danny, but he’d realize that him wanting to spend time with Danny, always liking to hear his voice, and thinking that he looked good in pretty much anything wasn’t just him wanting to be close friends when he was talking to one of his friends about this and realized that kissing him wouldn’t be a bad idea.

I feel like there was a moment where Danny was laughing, which was a big thing for Dash because he hadn’t seen or heard Danny laugh at all since he met him, and it’s like those memes where there’s multiple versions of a character doing posses that look like they’re loosing it. It’s like that, because holy crap, his laugh is so cute! How was it possible for a laugh to be so pretty?!

Dash is a bit like a hopeless romantic. I can’t ignore it. And he’s 100% a gentleman, and thinks that his scar is concerning, but also badass!

Also, since they’re dating, Dash obviously knows Danny and Phantom are the same.

Danny is still hesitant to trust most people, but he also believed that Dash deserved to know, so against his anxiety telling him something bad would happen like it always does, he told him. Dash also got to see what he looks like without the mask and hood and fell twice as hard. Dash understands that Danny was still working on trusting others, and Dash knows that they can be trusted, so he helps Danny keep the secret.

Also, his boyfriend could actually kick his ass in a fight no problem? Why was that attractive?

Now for Danny. When he realized he was falling in love with Dash, he was in the ghost zone and shouted “GOD FUCKING DAMN IT” loud enough to be heard miles away. Why was he falling for a nice version of his bully?! This is ridiculous!

He tried not to fall at first with walls around his heart, but Dash found the back door on accident and decided to stay because he thought it was nice.

One of the things that Danny likes about Dash is that he actually laughs at his ridiculous puns, until it’s dark humor. Danny likes dark humor, Dash is worried and urging him to get therapy, but Danny has no trusts in therapists since the incident.

This one could be interpreted as platonic as well, but Dash is often the first to help Danny. Danny’s death scar would occasionally suddenly hurt or some part of him would go numb. Due do his ghost half sort of “healing” the scar and his human half being affected by it, Danny will mostly go through the day alright, with the exception of some soreness or fatigue that pops up and goes away.

On the bad days is when he has such a hard time standing that it’d take a simple shove to send him stumbling to the floor. He tries to get up and keep going, and it’s during these moments Dash has proved himself trustworthy and kind by helping him up and taking him to the nurse’s office despite Danny just wanting to make it to his next class.

Until Dash learned he and Phantom are the same, and Danny also explained how he got electrocuted and that’s why he occasionally falls over in pain.

Last bit that I need to include: Meeting the parents. Danny was alright. Dash, however…

Dash is currently standing in front of a ghost yeti, an anthropomorphic ghost wolf, a four armed woman wielding a spear, and the literal embodiment of time it-fucking-self. He is very scared. Send help.

halfa dash au but Danny x Dash

@hugsandchaos I thought of this now it won't leave my mind.

All I'm seeing is the reaction Dash's friends when they find out Dash is dating Danny.

No the thought of their reaction of seeing hickeys and hand marks on both Danny(bottom Danny supremacy) and Dash is not what inspired this.

im sorry for saying this but I really needed to get this out my mind and I wanted to know what you think about this then after that I can erase this post.

[evansbby]

IMAGINE poyt steve teaching omega how to play a video game and shes sitting on his lap and every few seconds shes like rubs her tush on steve’s peen and once steve noticed she already came

Okay but why is the idea of Steve teaching omega how to play video games so wholesome??? Like ugh!! Just imagine Steve in one of his good moods, deciding that today is the day he teaches his girl how to play one of his favourite games😌

Warnings: dirty talk, daddy kink, grinding, stripping, allusion to future smut, 18+ only, MINORS DNI

A/N: short drabble! Although I don’t know how accurate this is to Steve’s character — I feel like I can only imagine him playing football related video games. But oh well, this was too cute and I had to write something down!

***

“And you click this button to reload, and this one to shoot? Got it, omega?”

Steve might as well be speaking gibberish as far as you’re concerned, because not one word of his ten minute demonstration on how to play this video game has gotten through to you.

“I’m sorry, Steve, I don’t understand.” You say timidly, hoping he won’t get angry at you or call you stupid. You clear your throat and add, “I don’t really like shooting games. I th-think they’re barbaric and inappropriate.”

Steve snorts, his arm wrapped around your waist and securing you tightly on his lap while he manoeuvres the controller with his other hand. “Of course you think that, you’re just a little baby omega after all.”

You sigh, but there’s a part of you that’s curious about this whole situation. Steve’s never invited you to play video games with him before — the most you’ve done is sat on his lap while he played with his friends — which was objectifying enough except it made Steve feel really smug.

But today is different — he’s actually allowing you to play and you wonder what the catch is.

“Okay, now customise your character.” Steve orders you.

Your eyes widen, “Can’t I just play as your character?” (His character is called “AlphaKing4” and looks quite intimidating, in your humble opinion).

Steve doesn’t let you play as his character because apparently you’ll “ruin his ranking.” Instead, he helps you create your own: decking your avatar out in a pink bikini which does nothing to hide any of the digital cleavage.

“My character doesn’t have any armour on, Steve.” You point out shyly — because you’re no expert on this game but “AlphaKing4” seems to be decked out in heavy armour from head to toe, making your own character look very vulnerable and naked in comparison.

“Omegas don’t wear armour.” Is the response you get, before he grabs your hips and repositions you on his lap, so that your bum is right on top of his crotch and your back is against his abs. Casually, he thrusts upwards, his hardness poking against your ass deliciously and making you gulp.

“Go on, baby. Start playing.” He whispers almost beguilingly into your ear as he hands you the controller.

Predictably, you lose almost immediately. It only takes a few seconds for the enemies to completely decimate your character, and you pout in annoyance.

“I lost.” You say sadly, barely noticing Steve’s fingers deftly unbuttoning your blouse. “H-Hey! What’re you doing?”

“Shhh, baby, try again.”

You do. And, of course, you lose again. No matter how hard you concentrate (which you can’t because Steve’s hands are rubbing up and down your sides and he keeps popping more of your buttons open).

You yelp when the final button is opened, and he begins to push your blouse down, all while sponging wet kisses on your bare neck.

“Steve, ah!”

He chuckles meanly, “Oh, didn’t I mention? There’s a penalty — each time you lose, you strip off an item of clothing. And you’ve lost twice now.” He peels your blouse off and throws it aside, leaving your top half in just your bra, “So what’s next, skirt or bra? You can decide.”

You gape at him and shake your head pleadingly, “N-No! Steve, no! Not here!”

“Well, it’s not my fault your little baby brain couldn’t grasp the concept of a video game.” Steve smirks, fingers now playing with your bra strap and making your heart thud at the thought of Sam or Bucky walking in — you’re in the living room after all!

“Please stop!” You wiggle in his arms but his grip is like iron, pushing your bra strap down.

“Rules are rules, omega. Unless you prefer the other penalty.” His hands now slip down to your skirt, unzipping it and pushing it down and you can’t believe how quickly he’s gone from teaching you how to play a video game to forcibly stripping you while you cower in his arms.

“O-Other penalty?”

“Mmhm. You. Over my knee. Every time you lose, you get ten smacks with the paddle.” Steve licks his lips, “bare ass.”

You gape at him because this hardly seems fair at all! And the paddle scares you to death because Steve is always threatening to use it on you (he never gets a chance to because you’re usually always good and behave yourself for him).

“N-No! No paddle, please no paddle!”

“Then you better strip, baby.”

You sniffle, pushing your bra strap back up and opting to take your skirt off instead. At least Steve’s heavy arm across around waist would somewhat shield you — for now. But you have a strong feeling that the rest of this gaming session isn’t going to go in your favour.

“That’s my good little omega,” Steve kisses your cheek condescendingly before squeezing your bare thighs, “See? Playtime with daddy can be fun, can’t it?”

THE END! What do you think?

[curvingsunsets]

If you wanted to, I would very much love it if you wrote an Eddie one shot where Eddie’s boyfriend has knee problems so he can’t stand up for long periods of time or walk very long distances and he’s starting to push himself to the limit. While setting up for Hellfire Eddie notices that he’s not putting a lot of weight on one leg or maybe he’s started sort of limping and Eddie forces him to sit down, preferably forces him to sit down in Eddie’s lap in Eddie’s little throne, and Eddie starts massaging his knee which he didn’t even notice was beginning to act up until Eddie forced him to rest. Bonus points if the Hellfire club doesn’t know they’re dating (or maybe just Dustin does) and they’re all very confused (while Dustin is smug and teases Eddie about it afterwards).

Your Seat

Eddie Munson x Male!Reader

A/N: This ends kind of abruptly because if i didn’t end it when i did i would just keep going and going but i absolutely love it and i hope you do too

Today just decided to be an utter pain in the ass. After being called down to the office for some useless college planning shit, your gym teacher decided to go have you all run the mile. And though you tried to explain to him your problem, you were ultimately ignored and forced to do it anyways.

It was as if you’d spent most of your day on your feet rather than sitting. You would’ve been extremely more upset about continuing this pattern except for the fact that you were going to be hanging out with your boyfriend, Eddie. He asked you to join him at this week’s Hellfire meeting and you agreed.

He’s already there when you arrive, waving you over excitedly when you push open the door. You make your way over, dropping your bag down next to his and kissing him.

“And how’s my favorite boy today?” he asked, breaking the kiss.

You shrug, but didn’t want to alarm him with your joint problems. “I think I’m alright.”

“Just alright? Well we can’t have that,” he hums, hands cupping your cheeks. He leans in for another tender kiss, thumbs rubbing the skin of your face softly.

After the kiss breaks, you look over at the empty table. “Would you like some help setting up, babe?”

Eddie sighs, hands dropping down to your hips. “Only if you really want to. This round won’t be too crazy with the table setup, but a helping hand from my favorite boy is always welcome.”

You make your way over to his bins of table decor as he starts setting up his DM corner. The day’s long activity starting to weigh onto you as you feel your knees sting in pain. You try to ignore it, grabbing a small figure and making your way back.

Eddie notices you lean on the table when you thought he wasn’t looking. He would’ve brushed it off as normal if it weren’t for the fact that you started to walk back to the bin limping. He watched as you desperately tried to wipe the pain from your face.

“Hey hey hey, Sweetheart, what’s going on?” his face was painted with worry, approaching your side with care. He placed his hands on your waist for support.

You laugh, more inwards at yourself, and shake your head to try and shake the pain away. “It’s nothing I’m not used to, love,” you explain, “Just knee problems is all. Did a lot of walking today so I kinda pushed myself too far.”

Eddie frowns at your words, looking you over to assess the situation and figure out a better course of action. “I know,” he says with confidence. “Come sit here, my sweet boy,” he guides you over to the throne at the head of the table.

“Eddie, I couldn’t. This is your seat!” you try to argue, but the relief of sitting down on the soft velvet changes your mind. “Okay, I’ll stay. But once the rest of the club gets here I’m moving.”

Eddie doesn’t respond with anything but a cheeky smile. He gives you a soft peck on the lips before moving back to setting up the game. As he placed things in their designated spots, he couldn’t help but check on you frequently. He needed to make sure he was doing the best he could in order to help you feel better. So, when he finally set up the last part of the table, he came back over to you. You took this as a sign that he was ready to sit in his throne, so you start to push yourself off the chair, a small grunt of pain escaping your throat.

He stops you by placing his hands on your waist. “Now hold on there, darling. I’ve got a better idea.” Hands tucking underneath you, Eddie lifts you up gently and tucks himself in the throne, shifting a bit to get comfortable before he places you in his lap.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” you ask, a hand moving to rest at the back of his neck.

Eddie offers you the most genuine smile, humming happily. “Of course I am. Not only does it mean that I get to take care of you right now, but I also have the hottest guy in the entire universe plopped right in my lap. Who wouldn’t want that?” he asks before leaning in to kiss at your neck.

You scoff at him, lightly hitting his chest with your free hand. “And what about the club? Still haven’t told anyone but Henderson.”

“We never told Henderson. He’s the one who decided to show up at my trailer when you were over. Besides, he was sworn to secrecy.” His hands move from your waist to your knees, rubbing them. “Does that help at all?”

“Very much, Ed. Thank you,” you give him a soft kiss on the forehead as people start to arrive.

—

The game goes on quite smoothly, as the group deliberates their next move, Eddie asks you for help grabbing one of the papers in front of you. You hand it over happily and he thanks you. And even throughout the entire campaign, Eddie was still rubbing your knees and periodically whispering nice words over to you. A seemingly small gesture that meant way more to you than anything else.

You caught Dustin’s glances over at you throughout the entire night, definitely not missing the soft smile that painted his face every time. It made you happy that Dustin wasn’t rude or judgmental about the two of you.

The game ended quickly, another one of Eddie’s big bad bosses defeated, the party not without damage but they were sure they’d be back on their feet by the end of next week’s session.

As the party is packing up, getting ready to leave, Dustin’s approaches the two of you, eager to say something like he’d been planning it since he arrived. “Ed, spare my eyes from your gross flirting for one more evening, please.”

“If you want gross flirting I can get gross,” Eddie taps his fingers on your thigh. “My boy had a rough day and I wasn’t gonna let my game stop me from taking care of him. But if you want gross, Henderson, I will totally do that, isn’t that right, handsome?” he tucks a finger under your chin.

You laugh at Dustin’s playfully disgusted face. “You guys are so gross,” he groans before heading out the door to meet back up with Mike.

“Yeah, yeah, see you at lunch on Monday,” Eddie waves.

The two of you sit back for a couple of minutes after Eddie cleans up the table. Then, Eddie pipes up. “I would ask you if you could make it to the car, but i have an even better idea,” he stands up, back facing you, offering a piggyback ride.

You take the offer, climbing up onto his back. You cant stifle your laughter as he charges through the hallways, emphasizing every large step he makes with a crashing noise. He makes it to his van, placing you in the passenger side before running over to the driver’s side.

“Is it okay if you stay at my place tonight?” Eddie asks, a little bit of worry on his voice. “I just wanna make sure your legs get all the rest they can and I know the second I let you leave my sight you’ll try to walk again.”

You smile up at him. “That’s fine with me.”

And with that, he starts the drive to his place. The windows had been cracked open, letting in a gentle breeze that felt nice. You watched as Eddie hummed along to the song he played on the radio, banging his head slightly. And everything in that moment felt so very right.

[perfectprettypisces]

The Princess and The Pilot • J.H.S • Prologue: Meet The Family

Pairing: Jake “Hangman” Seresin x Admiral’sDaughter!OC

Synopsis: To be fair, Jake didn’t know Maya was the daughter of an admiral when they started dating. Or that her father was none other than Wilson “Hitchcock” Hayes, the legendary pilot famous for having a chip on his shoulder larger than the state of Texas and four sons who all graduated from the TOPGUN program. With her entire family set to come down to San Diego for her graduation, Jake enlists the help of his friends to woo his girlfriend’s family.

Warnings: swearing, angst(?), shit ton of dialogue lol

a/n: oh my goodness, i was not expecting that much good feedback on the sneak peek for this new series but i’m glad y’all liked it :) like i said before i don’t like using Y/N, so i will be using a name, but i will attempt to keep it as non-descriptive as possible in order for you to imagine whoever you like as the face claim. also, idk how consistent i’m going to be with updating, but i’ll try my best :)

Series Masterlist • Top Gun Masterlist

Next Part

“I have to tell you something.”

Hangman’s halfway out the front door when Maya makes her sudden declaration. He was supposed to meet the rest of his squadron at The Hard Deck twenty minutes ago and he’s already running behind, but her words make him halt in place. It was essentially a cousin of “we need to talk” and nothing good ever came from those conversations in his experience. And judging from the way his girlfriend was twiddling her thumbs nervously, this was no exception.

“Is this a good something or a bad something?” he asks, coming over to stand in front of her. He places his hands on her hips and squeezes. He can feel the uneasiness radiating off her and while it does nothing to stop his mind from racing, he keeps his expression neutral.

“Depends on how you take it,” she says with a nervous chuckle, rubbing her hands up and down his arms. “I just wanted to tell you that my family is flying in next week for my graduation and I want you to meet them.”

That’s… not as bad as he was expecting.

“Okay?” he drawls with a confused smile. “Why do you seem so worried? I would love to meet your family, babe.”

“It’s not you I’m worried about.” Oh, if only he knew, she thinks. “They’re just… a lot sometimes and I don’t want you to get scared off or something.”

“Baby, nothing could scare me away from you,” he says, leaning down to place a kiss on her lips. “And trust me, by the time your graduation comes, you’re gonna see that you had nothing to worry about.”

Hangman was a charmer by nature. His military confidence in combination with his southern hospitality made him every parent’s dream. And being an older brother to three sisters himself, he knew exactly the type of guy he would want his sisters to bring home. He was sure he could get her father and brothers to love him in no time.

“Is there anything I should know before they come?” he asks, dipping his head down to place kisses along the column of her neck.

“Well…” If this were any other situation, his kisses may have distracted her from the situation at hand, but not this time. Here goes nothing, she thinks. “I told you that my dad was a pilot for the Navy.”

Hangman hums in agreement, continuing his line of kisses to her jawline. “You did.”

“My brother’s in the Navy, too.”

“Oh?” He was mentally taking notes on potential things that could earn him brownie points. Finding a common ground would be easier than he thought. “What does he do?”

“He’s a pilot.”

Hangman stiffens. He lifts his head to see her biting her lip nervously. “A pilot? Like your dad?”

“Mhm,” she nods, refusing to meet his eye.

Now, that piqued his interest. He lifts an eyebrow skeptically. “Which brother is this?”

“All of them.”

“All of them?” he repeats in disbelief. “They’re all in the Navy or they’re all pilots?”

“Both.”

“Both?” he parrots, his voice significantly higher than before. He feels the self-assured mask he’d put on slip off a little more with each detail he learned.

“Wait, you said your dad was a pilot for the Navy? What does he do now?”

Please don’t say it, he begs internally.

“He’s an admiral.”

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

“You just left?”

Hangman thinks for a moment. “Yeah.”

In hindsight it wasn’t his best move, but his brain felt like it was on overdrive. He didn’t know if he was running on adrenaline or fear.

Hangman, the fearless fighter pilot, had run away with his tail between his legs.

His friends were left bewildered when Hangman had shown up over a half an hour late looking like he’d seen a ghost and started word vomiting all the new information he’d learned about his girlfriend’s family. All the way up to the point where he’d left her standing alone in the kitchen of her apartment.

Again, not his best move.

“So, you really had no idea?”

“No.”

“And you just found out today?” 

“Yes.”

“You had to have known–”

“For the last time, Phoenix; no, I didn’t know and no offense, but this is really not helping my case here,” Hangman groans. He straightens his posture from where he was bent over the pool table and runs a stressed hand over his face. “I mean, what the hell am I supposed to do?”

The group of pilots share a look before collectively turning their gazes to Bob, who’d been distracted by the cup of peanuts in his hand. He looks up to find them all staring at him expectantly, hoping he could provide a voice of reason. 

“Don’t look at me, I’m not the one dating the admiral’s daughter.”

Hangman’s shoulders visibly deflate as he sets aside his pool cue. He sits on the bar stool across from Coyote, downing his drink in one go in an attempt to ground himself. 

“I just don’t get it,” Phoenix says. “You knew her last name, she told you her dad was in the Navy, and yet you never made the connection?”

In hindsight, there were so many clues that could’ve told Hangman that her dad was not just an admiral, but the admiral. She’d briefly mentioned him being a Naval aviator when they’d first met, but the weight of his accomplishments didn’t strike her as something to mention off-hand. She rarely talked about him after that first time and Hangman never wanted to push, assuming that they probably didn’t have the best relationship.

Oh, how wrong he was.

“In my defense, it’s a common last name,” Hangman counters weakly.

“In the entire country? Maybe,” Rooster says, grabbing the abandoned pool cue and lining up his own shot. “In the Navy? You should’ve known, dude.”

“Thanks,” Hangman states flatly as he glares at his friend. He fiddles with the glass in his hands, wishing that if he stared at it long enough it would magically refill itself. He definitely needed another drink.

Payback, ever the mediator, chooses this moment to step in. “Look, man, I don’t know what you want us to tell you. If this were any other admiral, I wouldn’t see a problem, but this is Hitchcock. We’ve all heard the stories, his daughter’s like his pride and joy.”

Hangman knew his friend was right. Admiral Wilson “Hitchcock” Hayes was, in layman’s terms, a hardass. He notoriously ruled with an iron fist and anyone that stepped out of line under his watchful eye would have hell to pay. His ever-present scowl and booming voice were enough to make a grown man cry, as evident to the poor lieutenant who had gotten in his way on a particularly bad day. The one exception to his icy exterior was his one and only daughter, affectionately referred to as Princess by her father’s colleagues.

Princess, who also happened to be Hangman’s girlfriend of nine months. Go figure.

“Isn’t he stationed in Virginia? The hell is he coming to San Diego for?” Fanboy asks.

“Her graduation,” Hangman explains, but even the slight twinge of pride he got from the thought of his girlfriend completing medical school wasn’t enough to dull his anxiousness. “And it’s not just him, her entire family is going to be here.”

“You mean–”

“Yup.”

Payback holds out his full beer bottle towards Hangman. “I think you might need this more than I do.”

He mumbles out a thanks and takes a swig.

“If I were you, I’d worry about her brothers first,” Rooster says. “Because right now, you’re severely outnumbered.”

Admiral Hayes was well-known in his own right, but the fact that all four of his sons were amongst the top 1% of aviators practically immortalized him in the eyes of the Navy. And while each Hayes’ brother was wildly different from the next, wanting to follow in their father’s footsteps was their unwavering common ground. This included a fierce and shared protectiveness over the youngest member of their family.

It was common sense to anyone stationed with a Hayes to never mention Princess in the presence of her brothers, let alone her father. Dating her was unquestionably off the table. Another young officer had learned that the hard way after attempting to flirt with her in front of her oldest brother, Wes, when she had come up to Virginia to visit. It was no surprise when that same lieutenant had shown up to base the next day with a black eye.

And Wes was known as the level-headed one.

Fanboy lets out a low whistle. “Dude, you’re fucked.”

Hangman nods gratefully at Phoenix as she drives her elbow into Fanboy’s ribcage.

“I can’t speak for the others, but Pops isn’t a bad guy,” Payback says, referring to Admiral Hayes’ oldest son. “We were in the same TOPGUN class. He’s a hell of a pilot.”

“Same goes for Junior,” Coyote pipes from his seat, talking the second oldest. “I was stationed with him before I came here.”

Phoenix turns to Bob and points. “Bob, weren’t you stationed with one of the Hayes’ in Lemoore? What was his callsign?”

“Oh, Mouse?” Bob says. “Yeah, he’s the youngest, I think. He’s fine. He’s just… quiet, I guess.”

“Well, that’s three out of four,” Fanboy counts, looking between everyone else. “Who’s the fourth?”

Hangman’s head snaps up and his eyes meet Rooster and Phoenix’s concerned gazes from across the pool table. He groans in realization, pressing a hand to his forehead to ease the tension that had built up. “Sparky.”

“Sparky?” Payback echoes.

“Griffin Hayes,” Phoenix explains. “He and Hangman had it out for each other in the Academy.”

“C’mon, it’s been years,” Rooster says, painfully optimistic. “Do you really think he’s still holding a grudge against him?”

Hangman stares at him blankly. “Did you?”

Rooster’s silence was all the confirmation he needed.

“Well, you and Rooster are on good terms now,” Bob says, ignoring their indifferent expressions. Good terms, but not great, one might say. “Who says you can’t do the same with this Sparky guy?”

Rooster and Phoenix share a look while Hangman sighs. “It’s not that easy.”

“Had it out for each other” was a gross understatement as to what their relationship actually was. Griffin “Sparky” Hayes was the thorn in Hangman’s side throughout his years at the Academy all the way to his stint at TOPGUN, making whatever petty beef he had with Rooster seem like child’s play in comparison. While Hangman and Rooster’s rivalry remained strictly professional, the riff between Hangman and Sparky bled into aspects of their everyday life. From the type of car they drove all the way to the girls they dated.

Hangman swore he never wanted to see the son of a bitch again after he’d successfully beaten Sparky out for the number one spot in their TOPGUN class. The feeling, as expected, was mutual.

Now, he needed to play nice or he could kiss his sweet girlfriend goodbye.

“Jake?”

Hangman perks up at the sound of Maya’s voice. She’s wearing the same apprehensive expression she had on when he’d first left her apartment as she shrunk under the gazes of the six other pilots with him.

In the nine months they’d been dating, Maya had only spent time with his squadron on a handful of occasions. Between her rounds at the hospital and finishing medical school, it was rare for her to have a weekend off. But when she did, she gladly accompanied Hangman to The Hard Deck. While the conversations never went deeper than surface level, they all got along well.

So, it was slightly awkward to have them all stare at her like she’d just entered riding on a unicorn.

“Hey guys,” she waves shyly. They return her gesture timidly, like they were afraid Hitchcock was going to pop up out of nowhere and berate them for not greeting his daughter properly.

Hangman removes himself from his bar stool and goes to stand in front of her, blocking them from her view. “Babe, what’re you doing here?”

“Can we talk?” she asks, sparing a glance at his friends. “Privately?”

A sick sense of déjà vu washes over him, instantly flashing back to when she’d said a variation of those words not even an hour ago and how that conversation had ended. It doesn’t stop him from placing a hand on the small of her back and leading her away from the multiple pairs of prying eyes. He walks them out to the back patio of The Hard Deck, embracing the slight chill of the early evening. When he notices her slight shiver, he silently curses himself for not having a jacket to give her.

Boyfriend of the year award, he thinks. 0 for 2, Bagman.

“I am so sorry for walking out earlier, I don’t know what I was thinking,” he starts off, grabbing her hands in his larger ones to warm them up. 

“I don’t blame you, to be honest,” she says. “I did kind of drop a bomb on you.”

A massive, extremely explosive atomic bomb. But a bomb, nonetheless.

“It was just… unexpected, I guess,” he says. Understatement of the century. “I also wish I’d known a little sooner.”

“I know,” she groans, retracting her hands from his and burying her face in them. “I just didn’t want things to change between us.”

He pries her hands away from her face so he could look her in the eye. “You really think I would treat you any differently?”

“Aren’t you already? I mean, you saw how your friends looked at me in there like I was some mythical creature,” she says, gesturing towards the window. 

Hangman spares a glance back to the group of pilots, who’d conveniently made their way over to the piano sometime in the past five minutes. They were not at all subtle in the way they were trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. He catches Rooster’s eye, who turns away immediately as he scratches the back of his neck. The rest follow suit as they feign different levels of nonchalance. 

“Hell, you walked out right after I told you,” she points out.

Hangman grimaces. She got him there. “Again, not my best move.”

“Look, I love my dad and my brothers, but I also love you,” she says, laying an affectionate hand on his cheek. “And I know I’ve put you in an impossible position. It’s not what you signed up for.”

Maya, usually the epitome of confidence, had never looked smaller as she delivered her words so mechanically. Almost like she was repeating them from memory, like someone had said them to her before. Hangman’s heart breaks at the idea of his girlfriend being told those words as someone decided that she wasn’t worth the risk.

“What are you saying?” Hangman asks, almost certain he knew where the conversation was going.

“I’m offering you an out,” Maya sighs. “You don’t have to do this.”

In any other scenario, he would’ve viewed her proposition as a cop-out. He would’ve been upset that she was giving up before letting him have a chance to prove himself. He would’ve been upset that she was running away from him. But he could see the vulnerability hiding beneath the surface. She was offering him the out because that’s the way everyone else had taken.

Hangman’s decision is a no brainer. He wanted to show her that she was worth fighting for. 

“I love you and I made you a promise, didn’t I?” he says, bringing his hands up to cradle her face. “Like I said, there is absolutely nothing that can scare me away from you.”

Hopefully, those wouldn’t be his famous last words.

But he knows he made the right decision when her face lights up with a mixture of happiness and relief. She leans up and kisses him, wrapping her arms around his waist. His arms move around her shoulders when she pulls away, placing a firm kiss on her forehead.

“I love you.” Hangman repeats as he places another kiss on her head. “And I can’t wait to meet ‘em.”

“I love you, too,” she says, beaming at him. “They’re going to love you in no time.”

If only things were that easy.

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