#for the sake of the case. while light needs everyone to think he's the most moral and intelligent person in the room at all times

[controlaltdelete-my-existence]

ah the parallels

[zegrasdrysdale]

Can you write about Nico dating a really famous actress, she is in House of the Dragon and in Dune, and now she is doing the press tour for the movie so she hasn't seen Nico in a while so to surprise him she goes to the stadium series and is at the family skate with him holding hands and being cute the whole time, so Nico is asked about their relationship the press conference after the game and he answered the question being a proud boyfriend, please? I love your writing

[ press pause ] n. hischier

paring : Nico Hischier x fem!reader

summary : after being away for a few months filming and doing press for her projects, (Y/N) surprises boyfriend Nico at family skate before the Stadium Series

warning(s) : one suggestive comment but other than that, cute and fluffy

author’s note : this request has been sitting in my drafts bc i wasn’t very proud of it but i decided to let it see the light of day bc i miss the stadium series. pls lmk what y’all think (the entire press conference is completely made up for the sake of the fic btw)

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She needed a vacation by the time her tour ended in New York City. It’s exhausting doing a multi-month press tour for a show that wasn’t coming out until the summer. She knows she’ll have to go on another one anyway while the season is airing on HBO.

The idea didn’t enter her mind until she saw a billboard on the highway going into New York. It advertises the two NHL Stadium Series games that are happening in a few days.

When the games were announced a few months ago, she was already booked on the press tour for season two of House of the Dragon. Nico wanted her to come to the game against the Flyers but she wasn’t sure if she’d be in the area to go.

Turns out, she is. Since she’s in the area, she decides to surprise her captain boyfriend at family skate.

Cat Toffoli worked closely with a designer to make some jackets for the wives and girlfriends of the players for the Stadium Series. She even made sure to make one with a “13” on it, just in case.

She’s happy that she gets to put the jacket to use since she’s surprising Nico at family skate. Pressing pause on her press tour to support her boyfriend in what’s one of the most important games of his life was the best idea she’s had in a while. It’s been a long time since she has laced up the skates Nico bought her when they first got together during the 2021-2022 season. Tonight seems a good time.

An Uber takes her from her shared apartment with Nico in Hoboken to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford once she's in something that she can comfortably skate in, which ends up being leggings, a red shirt, and her jacket that Cat had made for her. She grabs one of Nico's beanies out of the endless pile in his closet just in case her head gets cold.

She gets more excited the closer she gets to the football field turned hockey rink. She shakes with excitement when the Uber pulls into the player parking lot.

Cars are parked all over the place. She recognizes most of the cars that are parked. The Devils get the ice tonight for practice and family skate.

With her jacket wrapped tight around her and a duffel bag holding her skates, she heads in the back entrance. She shows her ID to the security guard, who gives her special credentials so everyone knows she’s allowed there and is allowed onto the ice.

She’s already late so she could pull off this surprise. All of the players and their families are out on the ice. With quick feet, she makes her way onto the field. Her duffel bag slung over her shoulder as she rushes to the rink.

As soon as she reaches the bench, someone tells, “Nice of you to join us!” She sits down so she can change into her skates. Jack skates by with a smile on his face. “He’s been hoping that you’d show up.”

Her eyes scan the ice to find her boyfriend. She finally is able to spot him as he skates over to her. Jack skates off and Nico takes his spot.

When her laces are tied, she stands up and Nico helps her over the boards. “You’re here?” he asks as she gains her balance on her skates. “I thought you were traveling today.”

“Decided to press pause so I could be here for you,” she tells him. “Wanted to support my boyfriend after all the supporting you’ve done for me.” Nico flashes his dimpled smile at her.

She takes in his appearance. He’s in full gear with his red practice jersey since they did practice before the families came onto the ice. He has on his Devils beanie with the pompom on top of his head. The eye black he has on his cheeks looks good.

Nico takes her hand and loosely laces their fingers. “I’m glad you came,” he says. “It wouldn’t have been the same if you weren’t here.”

“Your dad and sister came though,” she replies as Nico begins to skate backwards. He pulls her along and she manages to keep her balance by holding his hands. “I’m sure it would’ve been okay if I wasn’t able to come.”

He pulls her closer to him so her chest is pressed against his gear on his chest. Nico’s hands rest on her waist to make sure she doesn’t fall. “You’re the most important person in my life, schatzi,” he tells her. “It wouldn’t have been the same. I promise”

She smiles up at him.

Out of the corner of her eye, he notices all the cameras on the two of them. She’s not even surprised. She’s one of the world’s most known actresses and he’s the captain of the Devils. Reporters are probably getting all the pictures they can get.

Nico doesn't let go of her hand. He makes sure their fingers are locked the entire time she's on the ice.

It's easy to forget the world around her when she skates with Nico. She's so focused on Nico and Nico is so focused on her that it feels like they're the only two people in the world despite multiple pairs of eyes being on them and a bunch of cameras trained on them.

There's only a few minutes left of family skate when Nico decides that it would be a good idea to spin his girlfriend. When she's on the toe pick of her skates, because Nico thought it would be smart to get her figure skating skates, he grabs her hand and spins her around.

"Nico!" she gasps as she spins right into his arms. He wraps his arms around her waist "You can't just do that without warning me. What if I fell?"

He laughs against her ear. "You know I'll always have you," he tells her. "You would think that you'd be able to skate on your own by now."

She shakes her head as Nico kisses the swell of her ear. The smile that forms on her lips is involuntary since she's trying to be mad at Nico. "I don't think you understand that I skate maybe three times a year," she sighs. "My job doesn't involve skating like yours does."

Nico smiles and she looks up at him. "Have I ever told you how good you look on skates?" he asks. "Because this look does it for me. Hope you know that."

With a gentle shove from her, Nico backs away but always makes sure to keep a hand on her so she doesn't fall.

"You are so lucky that I love you," she says to Nico as she carefully turns to face him.

He hums and playfully rolls his eyes before he slides his hands up to cup her cheeks. His fingers are freezing, but she quickly pushes that thought out of her head when Nico pulls her in for a soft kiss. She can't help but smile as she returns the kiss.

It's very rare for Nico to show this type of affection in public let alone at a Devils event. They're both very shy about their relationship when it comes to the public eye, but sometimes a moment overwhelms them and they can't help it.

Like this moment. Center ice on the Stadium Series rink.

She wraps her arms around his waist for a little extra security. The last thing she wants to do right now is fall on her butt. She can hear all the snaps of the cameras the longer their lips are connected.

Nico breaks the kiss and smiles at her. She reaches up and pokes his dimple, which gets a laugh out of Nico.

"Alright, Dimple Lover," he says with a smile. "Let's go. I feel gross and sweaty. I need to shower."

"As long as I can join you if you decide to shower at home."

"We're going home right now."

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

From the moment Nico scored on Sam Ersson thirty seconds into the game, she's been on her feet. It set the pace for the rest of the game. The Devils scored two goals every period, and Nico himself scored two goals on the night.

East Rutherford is on fire in the stands. They're cheering. It gets even louder when Nico is being interviewed by Emily Kaplan on a live mic and he says, "Thanks for showing up. It was fucking amazing- sorry."

He has the cutest smile on his face and waves at the crowd around him. The smile she already had on her face grows impossibly bigger.

When Nico heads down the tunnel to get out of his gear, she heads down to stand outside the media room so she can catch Nico before he goes in and does his post-game comments.

She's liking pictures of her and Nico from yesterday on Instagram. She replies to some of her mentions on Twitter. She even posts one of the pictures of her and Nico from yesterday when they were on the ice at family skate. Almost immediately, it begins blowing up on every single social media platform like her posts usually do when she posts Nico.

Minutes after she posts the picture, Nico comes walking down the stairs that lead to the hallway. He's back in Sopranos outfit, sans the jacket. The white tank hugs his body and shows off his arms. The cut he has under his eye completes the look.

Nico spots her before he turns into the media room. He says that he'll be in the room in a second. Then he walks over to his girlfriend.

"Hi, handsome," she says with a smile on her face. "Nice goals. Oh, I like this outfit too."

He leans down and steals a kiss. "Those goals were for you, schatzi," he whispers to her as he tucks her hair behind her ear. "I had to show off for my girl."

She smiles up at him and he mirrors it.

"Nico, we need you in here," someone says. "Nate's ready to go."

Nico nods and looks into the room. "Want to come watch?" he asks. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind."

With a nod, the two of them head into the room.

The reporters buzz as Nico walks up to the table to sit with Nate and she makes her way to an empty seat among the reporters. The woman she sits next to has a moment of panic and realization of who she is as the press conference gets underway.

One of the reporters in the front row asks, "Nate, was that celly after your goal planned?"

Nate laughs and nods. "Yeah, actually," he replies. The reporters in the crowd laugh. "Chris and I sat down and planned out a couple of different cellys just in case either of us scored. I happened to be the one to score, twice."

"Speaking of two goals, Nico," another reporter begins to say. "How do you feel after those goals you scored? Effing amazing?"

Nico smiles. "Yeah, it felt good, without the addition of another word that shouldn't have been said on live television," he replies with a very light laugh. "No, it feels good to score two goals coming off the All Star break. Took some time off, skated and worked on what I needed to, and, uh, I'm ready to have a good second half of the season."

They make eye contact and she smiles at him. One of the reporters notices that Nico's smile has gotten softer. "So, your goals have nothing to do with the fact that your girlfriend was here all weekend?" a third reporter asks.

"The fact that she was able to take time out of her incredibly busy schedule to be here means a lot to me, yeah," Nico says. "Being able to score a couple goals was me telling her that I was happy she was here."

"So it doesn't bother you that her presence this weekend has made multiple headlines and occasionally overshadowed the game?"

Nico scans the crowd and finds the reporter that asked the question. "I have never once thought that her being here this weekend overshadowed the game," he replies. "I am more than happy to have her here. If she makes a view headlines then oh well. She's one of the world's most well known and talented actresses, and I am proud to be her boyfriend. If that means that some of the attention is off of me then okay."

She smiles and bites her bottom lip as she watches Nico while he and Nate finish up the press conference with questions about the game.

One of the things she's always been worried about was completely overshadowing Nico and his career with hers. Now that she knows that he's proud of her accomplishments.

As soon as Nico is done, he makes a beeline right for her. She opens her mouth to say something but Nico quickly cuts her off with his lips. She giggles into the kiss and wraps her arms around his neck.

Cameras click around them but she doesn't care. Neither does Nico if he meant what he said.

"Nico," she laughs as she breaks the kiss. "This is your day. Enough about me. Stop making me a headline by kissing me in front of the cameras."

He smiles. "I don't care," he tells her. "I'll kiss you in front of a million cameras."

She shakes her head and pushes his hair out of his face. "You are insane," she tells him.

"You love it."

"I do."

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[dixons-sunshine]

You Are My Sunshine | Daryl Dixon x Fem!Reader

*GIF isn't mine*

Summary: Being pregnant was a challenge, and being pregnant in an apocalypse came with a whole set of challenges on its own. Luckily, you had Daryl to take care of you, even if he was a little bit overprotective.

Genre: Fluff

Era: Alexandria, post Saviour war, pre the building of the bridge.

Warnings: Swearing, probably other things I can’t think of right now.

A/N: I don’t really know if pregnant ladies not being allowed to lift heavy things is factual or not. I just remembered someone telling me once that it could be harmful for the unborn child, and I’ve seen it being mentioned in movies and shows before, so I went based off of that. If it isn’t true, please pretend that it is for my sake lol.

“I know ya can, but it dun’ mean ya have to. Ya need’a take it easy.”

“Daryl, I'm perfectly capable of carrying it myself, you know.”

You rolled your eyes and shook your head, a small smile spreading over your face. “Dar, I have to do something. I can’t let everyone else do everything while I sit on my ass all day.”

“Yer pregnant. I ain't lettin’ ya overwork yerself. Anyone have a problem with that, let me know and I’ll handle ‘em. I ain’t lettin’ anythin’ happen to our baby jus’ ‘cause some people can’t pick up the slack and ya have to do their work for ‘em.”

“I highly doubt carrying one crate is gonna do anything,” you stated matter-of-factly, walking at a steady pace beside the archer while he was carrying the crate in question back to the pantry.

“Ain’t riskin’ it,” Daryl retorted with a sense of finality, pushing the crate onto one of the shelves before turning to you. He took a step towards you and placed a gentle hand on your growing bump, looking at you with a soft expression. “Ya and this baby, our baby, are the most important people in the world to me. I ain’t lettin’ nothin’ happen to the two of ya. If that means carryin’ a crate so that ya can rest or fightin’ off a herd of walkers so that yer safe, so be it. I’d do anythin’ for you and our lil’ one.”

You smiled softly at the archer you’ve grown to love above everything else. You leaned forward to press a quick, gentle peck on his cheek before leaning back, giggling at the bashful look and blush that coated Daryl’s face from the small action. “Sorry,” you said with a light laugh, aware of his feelings towards public displays of affection. “You’re just too adorable sometimes, you know that?”

That elicited a scoff from Daryl. He withdrew his hand from your bump and stepped back, ducking his head down to let his hair hide the growing blush on his face. “I ain’t adorable,” he retorted quietly.

“You are,” you responded with a light laugh. “There’s nothing you can say that’ll change my mind about that. You, Daryl Dixon, are adorable, sweet, caring and so much more. There honestly aren’t enough adjectives in the dictionary to describe how perfect you are to me.”

Daryl scoffed again. He shook his head at you, but you could see his mouth twitch up into a small smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Nah,” he started, glancing at you through the hair that hung in front of his eyes. “Yer the perfect one. ‘M lucky to call ya mine.”

“Don’t start with me, Dixon. We can go back and forth about who’s more perfect all day,” you joked, successfully gaining a small chuckle from him in response.

“Alright,” he started, taking a step forward to press a quick kiss to your forehead. “I ain’t about to start an argument with the pregnant lady.”

“If that’s the case, does that mean I can help out with the tasks around here?” you asked, batting your eyelashes up at him innocently.

Daryl scoffed and shook his head. “Nah, that I ain’t lettin' happen. I was talkin’ ‘bout petty arguments. Ya need to take it easy and rest. Leave the work to the people who ain’t got unborn babies in their bellies they have to worry ‘bout.”

“Daryl—” you started, about to voice your protest, but the archer cut you off.

“None of that,” he stated with a shake of his head, his tone stern. “Ya remember the times ya wouldn’t let me do much to help out when I was hurt? I could help jus’ fine then too, but ya were worried ‘bout me and takin’ care of me. Let me take care of ya now, alright? Ya have more at stake here than tearin’ a few stitches.”

You pondered over his words for a few moments, hesitantly nodding after a few seconds. “Alright,” you finally agreed with a small sigh. “I haven’t really been getting much sleep these past few days. I guess I can go take a nap or something if that’ll make you feel better.”

“Hey,” Daryl started, taking one of your hands in his. “This ain’t ‘cause I think yer incapable to help out or somethin’. I know ya can, but I would feel better knowin’ yer not accidentally overworkin’ yerself. I’ve seen it happen before. Ya’d get so focused on a task and would overwork yerself without even knowin’ it. I dun’ want that to happen to ya right now.”

“Okay,” you nodded, willing the feelings of being useless away at the archer’s reassuring words, knowing he spoke nothing but the truth. “But the moment you guys desperately need an extra pair of hands, promise me you’ll come get me?”

Daryl nodded half-heartedly, and you could tell that even if he promised he would, he probably wouldn’t come get you. He’d put yours and your baby’s safety above everything else, even at the cost of a few extra hours of work for him and the other Alexandrians.

You leaned up on your toes to press a feathery light kiss to his lips before withdrawing. You gave him a smile before turning to walk out of the pantry towards the home you shared with him. As soon as you reached the front door of your home and pushed inside, you shrugged off your jacket and kicked off your shoes, discarding them by the table next to the entrance. You looked at the expanse of the quiet house and sighed, knowing you’d be alone until the sun started to set.

Well, you thought to yourself, I might as well make the best of my time alone. You went towards the kitchen to get a glass of water before descending up the stairs towards your room. You changed into something more comfortable before settling down on the bed, grabbing the book you were busy reading and flipping to the page you were busy with. You absentmindedly placed one hand over your stomach, the other holding the book as your eyes started to trail over the words on the page.

After a while, the words on the page started to blur together. You blinked repeatedly, hoping to clear your vision, but to no avail. Your eyes fell closed on their own accord, and within a few moments, you were asleep.

The feeling of the bed dipping beside you awoke you from your slumber. You opened your eyes and brought one of your hands up to wipe the sleep out of your eyes. When your vision cleared, you locked eyes with Daryl, the man having a faint, soft smile on his face.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake ya,” he apologized, bringing a hand up to brush the stray hair back and away from your eyes.

“It’s okay,” you reassured him, bringing yourself up to a sitting position. You grabbed the book that you had read before falling asleep and placed it on your bedside table, before shifting your attention back to the archer.

Daryl was seated on the edge of the bed, busy pulling his boots off of his feet. When he was done, he laid back against the headboard, bringing his legs up to rest on the bed. His shoulders were slightly slumped, his posture giving away how tired he was. You furrowed your eyebrows at that. The workload hadn’t been that much that day, and as soon as the people were done they could return to their homes, so you couldn’t understand why Daryl looked so tired. Unless...

“Daryl,” you began softly, instantly catching the archer’s attention. “Did more work come in while I was here at home?” Daryl’s silence was enough of an answer. “Daryl—”

“S’fine. Nothin’ we couldn’t handle. Jus’ some buildin’ materials Maggie and the King sent us from their communities to fix up more houses. Rick wanted to get started on the repairs today, so Aaron and I got some people together to start.”

“Daryl,” you started, shaking your head. “I told you that if you needed an extra pair of hands to come and get me.”

“Nah, we were fine. Ya clearly needed the rest.”

“But—” you started to retort, but Daryl cut you off instantly.

“Michonne told me that really heavy liftin’ ain’t good for a pregnant lady. Said it can hurt the baby, so I didn’t want ya carryin’ logs and other heavy materials around. The rest of us can handle that.”

“When did you talk to Michonne?” you asked skeptically, your eyes narrowing in suspicion.

A sheepish look graced Daryl’s features. He avoided your gaze and instead focused his eyes on the bedsheets. “About a week after we found out that yer pregnant,” he admitted, nervously chewing on his bottom lip. “I was askin’ her and Carol what I could do to help make yer pregnancy easier, what would help with yer mornin’ sickness and what ya should avoid doin’, and she told me that ya needed to refrain from liftin’ heavy things. Said it could harm the baby.”

“So that’s why you’ve been so against me helping out around here?” you asked, earning a nod of confirmation from Daryl.

“Yeah. Most of the work we gotta do ‘round here involves heavy liftin’, and I didn’t want ya accidentally hurtin’ yerself or our lil’ one ‘cause of it. That’s why I’ve been so adamant about ya takin’ it easy,” he confirmed, ducking his head in embarrassment. “I didn’t wanna be overbearin’, but ya really wanted to help out with everythin’ and the thought of somethin’ goin’ wrong ‘cause of all the hard work we have to do was too much for me to handle. M’sorry.”

You gently grabbed Daryl’s hand, bringing it up to softly kiss his knuckles. “Why are you sorry? For not wanting anything to happen to me or our baby? You don’t have anything to apologize for. If anything, I should be apologizing.”

“For what?” Daryl asked confusedly, intertwining your fingers with his.

“For being so adamant about working. I just... I didn’t want to feel useless. I didn’t want to feel like a burden because I couldn’t help out.”

Daryl’s eyebrows furrowed, his lips pressing together tightly. “Yer not a burden. Dun’ ever think that. Yer carryin’ a life in yer belly, and that’s takin’ up most of yer energy and time. If anybody has a problem with the fact that ya can’t work as hard as ya used to for the next few months ‘cause yer pregnant, let me know and I’ll beat their ass.”

You smiled at him and pressed a kiss to his lips. When you pulled back, you could feel tears starting to form in your eyes. Daryl noticed it and frowned, concern lacing his voice.

“What’s wrong?” he asked frantically, bringing his hands up to cup your cheeks gently. He wiped away the tears that fell with his thumb.

“Hormones,” you said simply, laughing through your tears. “I don’t even really know why I’m crying.”

“C’mere,” Daryl said, wrapping his arms around you and guiding you to lay your head down on his chest. You shifted your body until your were comfortable, wrapping your arms around him as you listened to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. Daryl’s arms wrapped around you, one of his hands venturing down to your baby bump. He gently started to caress your stomach, his hand’s soft movements making you sleepy almost instantly.

“M’sorry for bein’ so overprotective,” Daryl voiced after a few moments of silence, placing a gentle kiss on the top of your head.

“And I’m sorry for being so stubborn. I promise I’ll be more careful and take it easier from now on,” you promised, nuzzling your head deeper into his chest.

“Thank god,” he sighed in relief. “Any more of yer stubbornness and I would’a been forced to lock ya in the house whenever there was work to do.”

You laughed and lightly hit one of his arms that were wrapped around you, eliciting a chuckle from the archer. “I love you,” you mumbled into his chest.

“I love ya too,” he responded, placing another kiss on your head. "Now get some more rest. I'll be right here when ya wake up.”

You nodded against his chest and closed your eyes, listening to his heartbeat, your own personal lullaby. As your eyes drifted closed for the second time that day, you swore you could hear Daryl start to hum a song. A song you’ve been singing to your baby in your stomach since you found out you were pregnant.

You are my sunshine.

A smile formed on your face as Daryl lowly continued to hum the song, his hand still gently caressing your stomach. With the gentle caress of his hand, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat and the song he was humming, you soon drifted into slumber, safe in your archer’s arms.

[sidekickjoey]

In the summer of '86, fresh off of saving the world, Steve Harrington and Nancy Wheeler get blonde highlights.

Be it a coping mechanism after handling the hell that was spring or simply a mutual need for change, the decision is made without nervousness from either party. They enter the salon together, swear up and down to their assigned hairstylists that, yes, this is what they want and no, they do not care that their hair already looks perfect as is, thanks, and leave donning notably different looks.

Steve's signature chestnut ends up woven between streaks of gold, giving him a sort of distracting glimmering effect when he walks out into the sun. Nancy's waves, though still shoulder length and crimped to perfection, sway almost completely and utterly blonde in any light.

Needless to say, their new looks quickly make them, the former it-couple of Hawkins, the talk of the town once more - including that of their two closest friends, Eddie and Robin.

They, unlike the general public of Hawkins, have spent the past few months slowly building massive crushes on Steve and Nancy, entranced by their might after surviving the horrors of the Upside Down. While to most a change in hair color for Steve and Nancy is merely an oddity, to them? It's like someone hit the panic button and left them to scatter in a secluded room.

Robin has only been over her gaga-for-Vickie phase for a few weeks now. The wound is still fresh, and she knows she should not be looking once again into a possible unrequited love situation until she is better healed emotionally. She also knows he has a weakness for blondes that goes beyond all reason, i.e. Tammy Thompson and her muppet singing voice. She shouldn't act and possibly jeopardize one of her most sincere female friendships over a silly little weakness like that.

However, Nancy looks like a vision in blonde.

Robin thinks it's her big doe eyes that do it. They pop when the blonde meshes with Nancy's fair skin, and it makes her heart swoon in the most debilitating of ways. Not to mention, the softer cut she got along with the lighter coloring frames her face so well. Robin swoons over it. If not for her fear of rejection, she probably would have already taken the leap and done something stupid, like confess how Nancy's scrambled her brain.

Eddie's not doing much better himself with Steve.

He had been there in the early days, when Scoops Ahoy's newest worker showed up in his first edition of golden highlights. Like any good Hawkins resident, he had handled it with poise, class, and lots of extra trips to Scoops Ahoy whenever he happened to be at the Starcourt Mall, along with frequent whisperings of 'what the hell' expressed in the confines of his room where no one could hear him freak out. T'was standard™.

This look, though...it blows Scoops Ahoy Steve away by miles.

It's bright. It's golden. It's like he slipped and fell into some kind of radiant daydream, only to emerge like a ray of sunlight to distract Eddie Munson and Eddie Munson alone, and Eddie can't shut up about it.

Seriously, Wayne has heard enough.

The issue is, he has next to no idea what to do about these feelings. His mind is screaming to make a move on the guy, because you only live once and, well, he's already on his second try. However, his little worried heart loves Steve's newfound companionship and whatever odd-couple friendship they have going on right now. He doesn't want to lose that because of some dye job and a trim. It's too important, too good.

So, like Robin, he finds himself refraining.

They both refrain, and over the next week or so, the decision to do so eats at them like mad. They stumble over their words when speaking to Steve and Nancy. They actually stumble physically, in Robin's case, when Nancy walks by one morning. They tell anyone and everyone they can about it aside from Steve and Nancy, and by the end of that week, it all hits a breaking point. Word slips for the sake of everyone's sanity to Steve and Nancy.

It should mark the beginning of havoc and betrayal.

Instead, it breeds two plans.

Because, here's the thing: Steve and Nancy are not dumb, contrary to what some might think. They are wildly observant people. They know what their friends are up to, and Robin and Eddie are high on that friend list after spring. They've seen their behavior and, though Nancy had to spell a little bit of it out for Steve, both have come to the conclusion that something is definitely up in the crush department. If they want to capitalize on it, they know there is no better time than now while their haircuts are still new and their own crushes are seeking an opportunity to spill their feelings.

Nancy's plan to handle Robin, to the untrained eye, is simple. She's known for carefully thought out strikes when people least expect them, and the last thing she's going to do is stop using that tactic to her advantage now.

So, she invites the other girl on a trip to the mall for new bracelets. She claims it's on account of Holly taking hers hostage (not a total lie) and needing time out with someone her age (also not a total lie), and Robin buys it in seconds. A day later, they meet up at a boutique mall just outside of Hawkins and roam for a few hours together. It's simple. Casual. Subtle enough to be innocent from afar yet just intimate enough for Nancy to make her move when the time is right.

The time becomes right when they're sitting at a booth in the food court, chatting about Holly's other jewelry-related crimes. Nancy accidentally knocks the fork for her salad off the table, catching the attention of them both. Robin is quick to say she's got it, but Nancy is faster. Ready. She reaches down, picks up the fork, and in a fit of bravery, makes damn sure she holds eye contact with Robin the entire way back up. Robin swallows and looks away, clearly flustered and trying to behave over such a small thing as eye contact. But, Nancy doesn't want her to ignore it this time. So, she pulls a cheesy line from Steve's old book (that she totally did not rehearse with Steve, not at all) and misbehaves, just to get the ball rolling.

Batting her eyes, she asks in her most casual drawl, "Sheesh Robin, do blondes always make you this nervous?"

Robin chokes on her milkshake. 'Accidentally' knocks over her own fork. Goes down beneath the table to - not subtly - whisper-scream about what the hell that just was, because what the hell was that? Hello?

Nancy finds it incredibly endearing. She kind of wants to tell her about it.

She joins Robin on the floor to do so and giggles, freakin giggles, at Robin's shock and awe over her being there. Robin, panicked, reaches for the fork she dropped and holds it up to Nancy for her to see like it's some kind of explanation for her huddling under the table a full minute after it fell. She then stutters out a small 'got it,' despite Nancy being a goddamn journalist who notices things for her job and is fully capable of using her own two eyes to see, what the heck Robin??

Nancy still finds it all so endearing, though she doesn't think saying it out loud would be the best course of action anymore. Her last words sort of sent the poor girl into a spiral, and as fun as it is sharing this cramped space with her, she kind of wants to get off the gross tile if at all possible. So, instead, she does the next best thing and expresses her fondness physically.

With a kiss.

On the mouth.

Hidden by the table but all-too-real and seen to Robin, who forgets how to breathe because oh my gosh. Oh my GOSH.

It's perfect. It's effortless. It's everything. It's hands-down worth the hours of waiting Nancy had to do under a hairdryer in foils to get her here, and even more worth Robin's adorably rushed confession after the fact that she's always liked blondes, just a little bit.

~~~~~~

Steve's plan is a lot different than Nancy's.

He is a tried-and-true passionate romantic after all, and Eddie is about as dramatic as Shakespeare. A casual outing or demure kiss under a table is just not going to cut it in terms of a confession for either of them. Steve knows this. He tells it to Nancy. Repeatedly.

After hours of back and forth over the phone, he eventually finds himself at a music store, equipped with a wad of cash and his eyes set on an, admittedly, badass looking guitar. It has blue flames along its black exterior that rise to its very top and are lined with a reflective silver, making it glimmer even in the dim light of the shop. Eddie's been moaning about losing his sweetheart to the Upside Down for weeks -- no, months at this point. Steve thinks this blue beauty would be a perfect replacement for her. He also thinks it might just be what they need to stop dancing around each other's feelings too, if he's lucky.

He purchases it and stows it away in his bedroom before calling Eddie over the following day. The boy is all nerves when he finally arrives. Steve doesn't help ease them by running his hand through his hair more than once, but what can he say? It's a tough habit to break, and he's been doing it ever since he's hand anything more than a buzz cut. Sue him.

After pleasantries about their day are discussed and Eddie appears to be more calmed down, Steve invites him upstairs for a 'surprise' that just about undoes all the poor boy's progress at once.

Because Steve didn't just place the new guitar in its case and put a bow on it to surprise Eddie. No, he propped that sucker on its stand, bought a small light to illuminate the silver and blue, and placed a little card on the case that said, 'To Eddie, from your sweetheart.'

Steve watches as Eddie physically has to reboot upon seeing it all. He then rushes to cover his ears as Eddie returns to consciousness with a full-blown yell, running over to his gift with repeated 'no way's that get higher and higher in volume with each utterance. All noise ceases when he finally reads the card, though. That's when Steve feels safe enough to drop his hands to his side and make his approach, a shy grin on his lips.

"Like it?"

"Y-You're my sweetheart?"

With a shrug, Steve once again cards a hand through his hair. "If you want me to be. I-I mean, I assumed you would want me to be with all the looks you've been giving me, a-and everything with the Upside Down. But if I've got that wrong, if...shit, maybe I should just-"

Their first kiss is messy, wet, and way too enthusiastic.

Eddie's all teeth from how wide he's smiling into the kiss, and Steve nearly falls over from the sheer force of the guy barreling into him. He grows a bit dizzy, too, from how firm Eddie's grip on his hair has him, and that does little for his already frazzled balance. But, it's perfect. It's so stupidly them and perfect and wild like Steve had hoped it to be, like Eddie hoped it to be.

Later, when Steve leaves Eddie to enjoy his guitar in peace and breathe because, yeah, he finds himself making a mental note to call Nancy when he's home. If this is what one round of highlights gets him, he'll be damned if they don't plan another round for touch ups soon.

Stepping inside, Steve catches sight of a blinking light on his answering machine that tells him Nancy'd be damned, too.

He smiles.

[she-wolf09231982]

Joe Toye

“The Bunny and The Fox”

Summary: You thought Joe Toye was too scary to even consider a friend, but he proves to be not only a great friend, but also a lover.

A/N: One shot, Mature audience, JoeToyeX!FemMedic, WW2, Female Pronouns, Cursing/Swearing, Derogatory Slurs, Womanizing Comments, Military and Medical Terminology, Inappropriate Nicknames, HBO Band of Brothers References, Mentions/Descriptions of Injuries, Weaponry, Smoking. Angst/Conflict, Smut, *John Wayne/McClintock Movie Quote*, FOREVER FLUFF

@awaterfalls 😁🪖♠️🦅❤️

These stories may not fall entirely in accordance with the TV series timeline. I do not know the real soldiers the actors portray in this series, so please understand I show no disrespect. Some or most of historical events and character interactions in my fanfics are fabricated purely for the sake of the enjoyment of fiction*

~~~~~~~

He always appeared so….serious. His face in a constant state of pissed off and disdain. If looks could kill, Joe Toye (and Johnny Martin) wouldn’t have needed weapons in the war.

You avoided him all through Toccoa. He just seemed like the type to leave the hell alone. But every now and then, you caught a glimpse of him smiling or laughing with the guys.

“Not bad.” You’d think to yourself as you admired his smile.

Since you trained with Easy as a medic, you rarely had an excuse to speak to him unless he was injured. Even then you kept your conversation short and sweet with hardly any eye contact. But with his low raspy voice came a sense of calm while you took care of him. You supposed he seemed friendly enough.

~~~~~~

June 1944 Post D-Day

Orders were given to take Carentan where German soldiers were being sheltered. Carentan was the main crossroad between Cotentin and Calvados where the ally force's tanks needed passage to attack the main objective, Cherbourg.

"Listen up!" LT Welsh shouted. "It'll be dark soon. I want light and noise discipline from here on. No talking, no smoking. And no playing grab-fanny with the man in front of you, Luz. We're taking Carentan. It's the only place where armor from Omaha and Utah Beach can link up and head inland. Until we take Carentan, they're stuck on the sand. General Taylor's sending the whole division."

Some of the men began to grumble under their breath. Everyone started to stir to gather their gear to begin the journey to Carentan.

Walking in a file formation on each side of the road to Carentan. You found yourself walking in front of Toye as Perconte proceeded you.

“Hey Toye, why you always in the middle when we convoy anywhere? Ain’t you ever in the front?” Guarnere teased.

“I go wherever the medic goes in case I get hit, Bill.” Joe responded.

You blushed and dared to sneak a glance behind you. As you did, Toye met your gaze shooting you a quick wink. You quickly look back to the front embarrassed he caught you acknowledging him.

“Awe now look what ya did. You scared her.” Guarnere teased.

You hear some of the guys laugh.

“Maintain your noise discipline.” Winters reminded.

~~~~~~~

"MEDIC!!"

You and Doc on separate ends of the streets trying to keep low to tend to the wounded.

You rush to two soldiers landing on your knees next to them, one on the ground with a trail of blood coming from his helmet, the other crouching over him.

"He's still breathing, help me carry him!" You call out. You each grab an arm of the injured soldier and drag him behind a building.

While you're working on the nameless soldier's head wound, a drug store gets blasted by German artillery not far from where you were, the force from the explosion sending you sideways into the brick wall next to you.

You shake your head to stop the ringing in your ears. Everything you could hear was distant as your vision became fuzzy and dark. You start to smack your ear trying to make it pop so you can get back to your senses.

“Y/L/N! We gotta move! Get up!” Toye’s muffled voice yelled out.

He grabbed you by the arm pulling you up to your feet. You still couldn’t barely see so you held onto his arms for dear life.

“I-I can’t see nothin’ Joe!” You called out to him.

“Ok, come on…UP we go!” You hear him grunt as he threw you over his shoulder.

You feel him trotting to safety while blast after blast erupted all around you. You feel him lower you as gently as he could to the ground against a wall.

“Hey, look at me.” Toye said as he guided your face towards his, “Can you see me now?”

You shake your head, “No, it’s all dark and blurry.” You reply as tears started to stream down your cheeks.

Were you going blind?? Is this it? You’re not going to be able to see your family’s faces? Never see your own reflection? You feel yourself slipping into shock.

“Hey! Stay with me now, ok doll? Don’t cry. Doc’s on his way.” You hear Toye’s voice break through your thoughts.

Doc ducked behind the wall with you and Toye.

“What’s the matta’ with her?” You hear Gene ask.

“She can’t see. Says everything is blurry.”

“Gene, I think I’m going blind. Am I going blind??” You asked panicked trying to reach out for him.

“What happened before she couldn’t see?”

“A shell dropped right by her and she went flying into a brick wall.”

Gene nodded, “That’ll do it. You got a concussion, Y/L/N, you ain’t goin’ blind.”

You released a sigh of relief.

“Joe, can you get her back to HQ? She ain’t no good out here if she can’t see nothin’.”

“I got her, Doc.”

~~~~~~~

Toye got you back to an aid station not long after Easy Company claimed victory over Carentan. You remained there until the following day after your vision returned. As you approached a group of the guys from Easy, you were welcomed with whoops and cheers.

“Hey! Look who it is!” Luz called out.

All the guys turned to find you walking towards them.

“Hey look what the cat dragged in!” Malarkey joked.

The chorus of laughter from the men lifted your spirits.

“Yeah, I look rough, I know. Thanks guys.” You greet.

You looked around for Toye.

“He’s over there.” Luz pointed out as he gestured with is thumb over his shoulder.

“Oh, I just, uh, wanted to thank him for-“ you began.

“-yeah, yeah we know. He’s over there.” Malarkey interjected pointing down the street.

You feel yourself get flustered so you scamper off to where they said Joe was. As you walk through the rubble that Carentan has become, you see Toye standing in a circle with a few of the other guys from Easy. He throws his cigarette butt on the ground, stomping it out with his boot before he turns and sees you.

His face lights up when he saw you walking up.

“Hey there she is!” Guarnere hailed.

Bill met you and extended his hand for you to shake, which you obliged.

“Good to see you, Bill.”

“Glad to see you up and about, doll.” He pulled you in closer, “Someone’s been real worried about you since they left you at the aid station, by the way.” He disclosed.

You pull back and met Bill’s face with confusion. He winked and motioned over to Toye with his chin.

“Go on and say hi to him.” Bill added.

You narrow your eyes at him and smile. You slowly approach Toye as he stood there with his hands in his pockets and smirking as he patiently waited for you.

“Hey, Toye.” You squeak.

“Hey, Y/L/N. Good to see you.” He replied with his signature husky voice.

“Well, if it weren’t for you, I probably wouldn’t be here. Thank you for helping me.” You say as you leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.

You hear Guarnere whistle. You turn around and shake your head at him.

Toye cleared his throat, “It was nothin’.”

You both stood there awkwardly until Bill came over.

“Hey, the guys were going to go to the bar that survived the wreck. You wanna join us later for a few night caps, Y/L/N?”

“Sure, if I can find a place to get cleaned up.”

“Ok it’s that little place over there. We’ll all be there around 1900, aight?”

You knew Bill was scheming something for you and Toye. You look at him suspiciously.

“Ok, I’ll see you guys there later.”

~~~~~~~

You breeze through the front door of the pub and begin scanning the room for the familiar faces of Easy.

“Hey! Y/F/N! Over here!” Guarnere called out waving his hand.

You push through the crowd to get to the table where most of your guys were sitting. You catch Toye playing darts with LT Compton, Luz, and Heffron.

“What can I getchya?” Bill asked.

“Oh, whatever you’re drinking, Bill.” You reply.

“Comin’ right up.” He announced as he walked to the bar.

You look back to Toye and catch his eyes looking at you too. He smiled and raised his glass to you with a wink. You smile back and give him a little wave.

“Here ya go.” Bill returned handing you a pint glass of beer.

You cheers and take a hearty gulp.

“Thanks, Bill.” You say as you squeeze his arm.

~~~~~~~

The night was filled with laughter, banter, and taunts amongst Easy. And somehow, your glass kept getting magically refilled by each of the guys. You had to refuse Malarkey’s offer to buy your next round because you felt your head starting to spin.

“Ok, we’ll slow down.” Don chuckled, “But when you’re ready, I got the next one!”

“Yessir.” You quipped.

You turn towards the dart boards and see that Toye had moved. You began to search the room for him and suddenly stop at the bar where he was talking to a local woman dressed in a tightly fit dress.

You felt a distinct sense of dread mixed with anger, but you weren’t sure why. The longer you watched Toye leaning closer to whisper in her ear while she giggled, the more your rage boiled over inside.

“What’s the matter, doll? You gotta look on ya like you’re gonna murder someone.” You hear Guarnere chime in.

You avert your eyes to the floor.

“It’s nothing.” You say quickly.

Bill looked where you were just looking.

“Well ain’t that a son of a bitch. After all the trouble I went through to set you’s guys up, he goes and finds another bird to chat up.”

You look at Bill, “What do you mean set us up?”

Bill looked at you alarmed.

“Oh, well, I thought you knew. Toye over there has got it real bad for ya. Has ever since basic but he figured he never had a chance. I told him you were a catch and that you had a thing for him too.”

“Oh do I now?” You asked astounded by his response.

“Well, don’tchya?”

“I suppose he’s handsome. Good soldier. But looks like he’s not as sweet on me as you think.” You state as you gesture to Toye by the bar getting disgustingly close to the blonde bombshell.

“Ah, he’s an idiot. He’s just trying to get laid.”

You look at him with daggers behind your eyes. Bill’s eyes widen.

“Uh, what I mean is he don’t care about her, ya know? He’s trying to not think about you because he thinks you’re outta his league.” Bill hastily explained.

“Yeah? Well, I’ll get his attention.” You declare as you storm off towards the bar.

“Ah shit.” Bill mumbled to himself rolling his eyes.

You walk up to a soldier from Fox Company standing a few feet away from where Toye was with his new little friend. You approach the bar and slightly bend over to the surface of the bar and rest your elbows on it. The soldier noticed you right away and a devilish grin appeared across his face.

You look over at him and smile.

“Hey, angel, you’re the prettiest face in here.” He said as he scanned you from head to toe.

You see Toye look over the blonde’s shoulder at you. So you inched closer to the stranger.

“At least someone noticed how hard I worked on my make up tonight.” You say loud enough for Joe to hear.

Toye’s jaw started to tighten. Your plan was working like a charm.

“What are you talkin’ about? You’re a dish!” He returned enthusiastically, “Can I get you a drink?”

“A pint is fine.”

Toye excused himself from the company of his little vixen and approached you with obvious vigor. He stopped so close to you, you can feel his breath on your face.

“You think you should have anymore?” Toye asked in a low gravelly tone.

You were almost a puddle at his feet.

“What’s one more?” You dismiss.

“Hey, buddy, this one’s mine. Get lost.” The Fox soldier warned.

Toye glared at him, a clear warning with his fierce gaze to back off. “Shut up.”

He turned back to you. “You hit your head hard yesterday. You got a concussion, remember? Drinking too much isn’t good for you right now.” He cautioned.

The soldier behind Toye huffed outloud. You bring your face closer to his.

“How about you go on back to your little blonde bunny over there and worry about her?” You say softly staring intensely into his eyes.

You snidely smile and gently push him aside to accept the beer the Fox soldier was holding for you. Toye grabbed your wrist before you could get your fingers around the glass.

“Because I’m worried about you.” He sternly replied.

“Hey, pal, I’m not gonna tell ya-“

Before the guy could finish his sentence, Toye swung and punched him across the face sending him to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

“Joe, what the hell is the matter with you?” You bark.

He turned to face you, his teeth clenched and resentment in his eyes.

“Isn’t this what you wanted? You got my attention.” He said raising his arms to the side.

Just then, another Fox Company soldier soared in and tackled Toye. When Guarnere saw Toye get sacked, him and the rest of Easy rushed in, clashing with Fox Company in a battle royalé in the middle of the dance floor.

You grab a bottle of whiskey and force your way into the horde to smash it over the head of one of the opposing soldiers when you suddenly feel your feet swiftly leave the floor, and you find yourself once again thrown over Joe Toye’s shoulder as he rushes out the front door.

You start to push off of his back to look at him.

“What are you doing?? Put me down, NOW! This is completely barbaric! Were you raised by wolves??”

“Shut your mouth.” Toye said sharply.

He wouldn’t cave no matter how hard you struggled. He continued to carry you until he got to the house where you had been staying at with the field nurses. He opened the front door and practically threw you onto the couch in the main corridor.

“You’re an absolute animal, Joe Toye.” You snarled at him.

“Yeah? You haven’t even seen the worst of it yet.” He retorted.

You stood up, only to lose your balance and fell backward on to the couch again.

“Well save it.” You spit back crossing your arms, “You can go now. I’m sure that little dish at the bar is waiting on you.”

Toye furrowed his eyebrows at you, “You’re the only one even thinking about her. I haven’t even given her a second thought since you walked through the door of that place!”

You scoff, “Sure, Joe. Didn’t seem like it when your hands were all over her like a magnet.” You pointed out as you stood up slowly.

“Yeah?” He queried as he closed the gap between the two of you, “You mean like this?”

He roughly grabbed you by the waist and kneaded your hips with his strong calloused hands as he pulled you into him. Your faces so close, you thought he was going to kiss you, but he only hovered over your mouth. You were a deer in the headlights, your words caught in your throat somewhere. You almost forgot to take breath when you started to feel faint, so you took in a deep breath through your nose to recover.

You put your hands on his chest and started to push away.

“What are you doing, Toye?” You manage to say.

He jerked you back into him, slithering his one hand across the small of your back while the other one firmly caressed the swell of your ass. You tried to protest, but your voice betrayed you only allowing a whimper to escape from your throat. This man had you a melting hot mess in his arms and it only made you angrier that he was getting you flustered.

“What? Got nothin’ snarky to say now, sweetheart?” He teased.

The fire inside you began to rise, and you weren’t sure if it was because you were turned on, or pissed off.

“I hate you.” You sneered as you slipped out of his grasp and headed for the staircase.

Before you could lift your foot to take the first step, you feel yourself twirled back around and face to face with Toye in his arms.

*“Half of the people in the world are women…Why does it have to be you that stirs me?”* He growled before grabbing the back of your head to bring your mouth to his.

You wanted to fight back and push away again, but your body fought you, leaning into his body and fisting his uniform jacket to pull him as close as possible to you. You part your lips to allow his tongue to pass and explore yours. You playfully nip at his bottom lip eliciting a deep guttural groan from him. His hands scoured your body as his hips instinctively pushed his hard on against you. You dig your nails into his shoulders as you moan into his mouth.

You pull back, “Let’s take this upstairs.”

Toye only replied with a mischievous grin, then picked you up bridal style to carry you up the stairs. When you direct him to your room, he set you down to secure the door. Right at the moment he turned around, you forced him against the door and hungrily kiss him while unraveling his tie.

He grabbed you by the shoulders swinging you around pinning you against the door with a ‘thud’ then placed his hand around your throat. He tightened his grip enough to make a point he was in charge, but not hard enough to alarm you. You instinctively grab his wrist with both hands as you clenched your thighs together, hoping to get some friction against your core and to prevent the wetness from dripping down your leg.

You hissed through your teeth as a smile stretched across your face. Toye pressed himself harder against you, the bulge in his pants grinding into your pelvis. You slide one hand away from his wrist gradually finding your way to his belt buckle. His fingers around your neck increased their grip.

You ran your tongue along your lower lip. He looks from your eyes to your mouth as a smirk tugs at the corner of his mouth. He suddenly scooped you up from behind your thighs wrapping your legs around his waist and carried you over to the bed, dropping you on your back onto the mattress.

He removed his tie, then with one hand unbuckled his belt all the while staring at you like a starved wolf about to pounce on his prey. You scoot to the edge of the bed and start to unbutton your uniform top. He situated himself between your spread knees at the edge of the bed.

You look up at him through your lashes and smile as you start to work on removing his pants. Your top partially open with your cleavage peaking through, he fisted the front with both hands and yanked the blouse off your shoulders. You wiggle out of the shirt and drop his pants and briefs as he removed his uniform top.

Now you were both ravenous for eachother just yanking off articles of clothing and throwing them carelessly onto the floor. Finally when he slid your panties off, a devilish grin graced his face when he saw how wet you were for him.

He looked at you roguishly as he glided two of his fingers up and down your drenched slit.

“Is this all from me?” His gruff honeyed voice had you melting in his hand.

You nod without breaking eye contact. He crawled over you, caging you in between his brawny arms. As his hardened dick rested on top of your center, he started to grind into you, coating the tip of his cock with your slick between your folds.

You couldn’t help but arch your back, rhythmically moving your hips with his to feel him rub against your clit. Your needy sighs spurred him on, knowing he was making you feel so good.

“Oh my God, Toye-“

“No. No more ‘Toye.’ I want to hear you say my name.” He commanded.

You stare at him.

“Fucking say it.” He ordered.

“Joe…” you breathed as you playfully nip at his lower lip, greedily locking onto his mouth.

He lifted you by the ass and pushed his length through your dripping entrance with one fleeting thrust forward.

You gasp then wrap your legs around his waist, waiting for the ride to begin. Joe unleashed over a year’s worth of pent up rage and frustration from the war onto you, railing into you in almost a deliciously painful pace. He was rough, and aggressive, yet attentive and sensual.

He sat up resting on his heels and angled you closer into him by hugging your thighs against him and driving into you, hitting that spot that had you edging to your finish.

He feels your walls constricting around his cock, and starts to slow his tempo. You look at him with a pout.

All you could manage was a strained, “Why?”

He pulled out and hastily flipped you onto your hands and knees. He reached around your front under your arms once again grabbing your throat with his perfect hand. He pulls you back until your back was flush with his chest.

He guided the back of your head to rest on his shoulder before he turned to your ear.

“You think that fucking Fox Company chump could’ve done this for you?” He hissed.

You feel his grip constricting your neck. You’re so fucked out you can’t help but laugh.

“Fucking answer me, sweetheart. You think that asshole’s got anything on me?” His voice rumbling in your ear like thunder.

You start to pant, your bare chest and peaked nipples heaving from overstimulation and restriction of oxygen.

“No, Joe. Never.” You huffed.

You feel his lips curl into a smile against your jawline. He nipped at your ear.

“That’s right, baby.” He purred before he thrusted you forward on all fours.

He lined his dick up with your slippery pussy and entered you with a sweet push forward until he bottomed out. He plummeted into you, spanking you occasionally while his hips slammed into you.

“My God, Joe.” You moaned pushing back into him so he can get inside you as deep as possible.

“Yeah, scream my name so all Fox Company can hear.”

He had a vice grip on your waist, guiding you back everytime his hips came forward. The slams of his front against your ass grew steadily louder with groans and grunts between the two of you.

His stride began to stagger, and you could feel him pulsate inside you.

“I’m getting close, sweetheart.” You hear his low rugged voice from behind you.

“Me too, Joe.”

“I know, I can feel you squeezing on me. Let go, baby.” He hummed.

He reached around finding your clit and began rubbing hard circles onto the bud.

You close your eyes and focus on the sensation of where his hands were and the throbbing of his cock inside you then hearing his voice roar,

“Come on, baby, let go for me.”

He chased your orgasm until he felt your walls fluttering around his cock. You throw your head back practically howling as ropes of Joe’s cum released over and over again inside you. A guttural grunt left Joe’s lips as he groped your ass to have something to hold onto to steady himself.

Sweat glistened on his chiseled torso while he caught his breath. He snatched the hand towel by the basin next to the bed to clean you up after he pulled out. He plopped onto the bed next to you, pulling you into him to hold you.

You each sigh, content and relaxed in eachother’s afterglow.

“Your little bunny friend is going to be heart broken.” You joke.

Joe chuckled, “Yeah, I have that effect on people.”

You giggled.

“I got my girl right here.” He added.

Joe looked down adoringly at you with your head on his shoulder, sensing his eyes were on you, you look up at him. He gently kissed your lips, then rubbed his nose on the tip of yours.

~~~~~~~

[would-you-punt-them]

to come to a conclusion on the light thing, I suggest: the voter conglomerate

I won't lie, that Light Yagami poll has got me thinking - I mean, the power we have isn't really any different from the Death Note, right?

The only difference is that while Light claimed he was using that power to punish the wicked for everyone's sake, in reality he was abusing it for personal gain and to fuel his god complex - the power corrupted him

On the other hand, we've been using that power purely to administer justice for the good of the world as a whole by punishing evildoers like Light, based on the will of the innocent who voted to administer judgement

And I think the voting results pretty clearly show that a world where evildoers are brought to justice is the kind of world everyone desires, so there's no doubt that bringing about that world is a noble cause - and if we have the power to create that perfect world, don't we have a moral duty to use it?

But it's just... do we really need to vote on every case?

I think we've established that a world of true justice is the world that everyone desires, so in a way we've kind of already voted by default that all evildoers should be punished

So, it feels like voting on each individual case is just dragging out the process unnecessarily - and the longer it takes to eradicate evil, the more we allow it to fester

And if a world governed by justice is morally good, then it stands to reason that anything impeding or slowing the pursuit of justice could be seen as morally evil - in fact, if we can expediate the deliverance of justice, really we have a responsibility to do so whenever possible

For example, wouldn't it be better and faster if there was just one super duper trustworthy person who could preside over that new world and make sure that true justice prevails?

A Mod of the New World, if you will

It would obviously need to be someone completely dedicated to justice, who could be trusted to not allow themselves to be corrupted by the power, as well as someone absolutely selfless - after all, to take on that role is to bear a heavy burden

Given my experience, it would seem that, entirely against my will, this duty would naturally fall to me as the most qualified - and if there is truly no other choice, then purely for the sake of justice, I'd be willing to take on that burden for the good of the world and all of you

I mean, I'm really the only one who can

You're welcome, basically

[sstormyskyess]

A Tender Surprise

author's note: hii guys i'm finally back to writing!! it took many weeks but i finished a piece [thank god] so i think i'll be back in the swing of things! if you pay attention to my tags you know i love priceghost and i wanna be a part of it 🙏 i hope y'all like this as much as i do!!

cw: smut, unintentional voyeurism, established ghostprice relation/situationship, oral sex (m receiving), sub!simon, handjobs, threesome

word count: 2500+

John Price x GN!Reader x Simon "Ghost" Riley

If there’s one thing everyone knew about Captain John Price, it was the fact that he always takes care of his team. No matter what, his team is his first priority. That didn’t change one bit when you were onboarded to the team. The very moment you showed up, he treated you like you had always been there without hesitation.

Of course, this wasn’t how everyone on the force treated you. You were an outsider after all; the others on the team barely knew you compared to Price, who you’d known for multiple years before he recruited you.

Ghost was the starkest offender in this case. No matter where you went or who you were talking to, if Ghost was there he was scrutinizing you, and he didn’t try to hide it in the slightest. At the very least, you appreciated his transparency on how he felt about you.

It took months of working together on operations and other missions for him to finally start letting his guard down enough for you to take a glimpse of the Ghost the rest of the task force knew and loved. It was a slow process, but it felt lovely to have his attention in a way that wasn’t unsettling at best.

Although you liked to think that all of it was simply him growing to like you just for you, the change in his attitude was supplemented by Price’s intervention along the way. The captain was a firm advocate of your skills and trustworthiness, and it certainly helped Ghost feel more comfortable around you.

After around a year and a half, you and Ghost have gotten much closer than you would’ve ever imagined upon first meeting him. Much, much closer. Close enough that you two will stay in each other’s private quarters overnight at least once a week, just for the sake of being in each other’s company. You’ve had many a late night talk, comforted each other through the worst of moods, and generally become more of a duo than just regular squadmates.

Tonight is one of those nights where you need someone to be around, just to keep your mind off your troubles for a little while, so you head to Ghost’s quarters just as you usually would. You made it to his door and gently nudged the door handle to check if it was locked or not, and to your relief, the door was open. Generally if he had the door unlocked, it meant he was fine with you visiting. No one else would be crazy enough to just open the lieutenant’s door without asking, so there was no need for concern.

So, you quietly open the door and push it open, taking a peek inside. It’s unlikely he’s asleep, even at this hour, but you don’t want to wake him up in the case he is. You’re met with a pair of eyes looking at you as your head slowly peeks inside, but they aren’t the caramel brown ones you’re used to seeing in the low light of the room. Instead, you’re staring into the soft blue-gray eyes of the one and only John Price, your captain.

If that wasn’t surprising enough, Ghost was there too, but his back was to the door as he sits between Price’s thighs, doing what you could only think is… giving his captain a blowjob. You can’t be fully sure, of course; Ghost is a big guy and he’s blocking off most of Price’s lower half with his large frame, but judging from the way his head is bobbing up and down, it’s hard to think of anything else he could be doing.

All you can do is stand there, eyes wide in disbelief. You had to be dreaming, right? This couldn’t possibly be real. Right?

You mouth out a ‘sorry,’ before starting to back out of the room, but Price stops you with a hand motion, beckoning you further inside. Somehow, he manages to compel you into walking inside fully and shutting the door behind you as quietly as possible, locking it and effectively sealing your fate. You’re not sure entirely what that fate may be, but the quiet sound of the lock clicking shut sounded eerily similar to that of a judge’s gavel dropping onto his bench, an intimidating sound indeed.

For a moment, you stand there awkwardly, shifting from one foot to the other and just watching your best friend sucking off your superior casually as can be. You swallow past the lump in your throat when Price threads his fingers through Ghost’s short, dirty blonde hair, an act so intimate that it feels even weirder to witness than the rest of what’s happening in this very moment.

After a few more tense moments of you watching the spectacle in front of you, Price gently pulls Ghost away from his cock and gives him a small, yet warm smile. You can’t see Ghost’s face, but the way he relaxes and slumps forward a bit, you can tell he’s having just as much of a good time as his captain is. Price mumbles something to him and he nods, leaning into the hand on the back of his head.

You’re about to start sneaking out of the room again before Price meets your eyes again. At this point, Ghost finally notices the captain’s fleeting glances over his shoulder and he turns to see what he was looking at. You freeze, your whole body stiffening up when his eyes finally meet yours. You expect him to get angry with you, to shout at you to get out and not come back, but none of that happens. In fact, his gaze travels down your body and his gaze darkens with something that looks like lust.

“I-I, um…” You glance back at the door. “I’ll just go, I’m so sorry for barging in—”

“Stay.”

Ghost’s command stops you in your tracks and you stand frozen in place again, waiting for some kind of indication of what the two of them wanted from you. Did they actually want you to stay and watch whatever this was? You don’t get to question it much longer since Price looks at you expectantly and motions you over with a tilt of his head. Reluctantly, you approach the two and wait for another command.

Price pats the spot next to him on the bed and you sit there, hands in your lap and fiddling with each other nervously. His hand comes to rest on your lower back, a comforting gesture. “You’re free to leave if you’d like,” he says quietly, making sure you were looking at him before continuing. “But, we’d love to have you.”

Now, you were no stranger to fantasizing about your team members every now and then. You figure that was at least a bit expected, considering you were surrounded by a group of handsome men in their prime, but you knew nothing would come from it. So this can’t possibly be real. It just can’t be. You’re sitting on a bed with your captain—who has his cock out and standing proud—looking at your friend sitting between his legs with wet lips from having just been sucking him off. This was far beyond any of the offhand scenarios you’ve brewed up in your head during your many late nights in a number of safehouses all across the world.

You’d be lying if you said you didn’t want to indulge in whatever they had planned for you.

“I don’t want to leave,” you say with certainty, though your voice still shook ever so slightly. Price gives you a kind smile when you speak your consent, then his eyes shift from you to Ghost. “Does that sound good to you, sunshine?” The way Ghost responds so readily to the nickname is endearing, so much softer than you ever imagined Ghost could be. He looks so relaxed like this, so content to be looked down upon so lovingly. It makes you wonder what exactly their relationship is, but you don’t ask simply because it would likely take a long time to explain it fully. Just this few minutes of bearing witness to the dynamic displays such complexity you doubt you could ever understand.

The fact they want you here for it is flattering, to say the least.

Price taps your back to grab your attention. “How about you sit down there with him and stroke him for me?” You nod and Ghost watches you intently as you slide off the bed and settle behind him. Your nerves start to get to you again as you begin to realize the barrier you were about to breach.

Ghost can sense your stiffness and he reaches back to run a hand up and down your thigh. You shiver and shuffle a little closer to him, pressing yourself against his back fully. His touch gave you confidence, letting you slide your hands around his waist and he hums appreciatively at the contact. 

“Go on and get his cock out, love,” Price instructs, but it sounds nothing like the firm tone you usually hear him use when he’s giving out orders. No, his voice is smooth, like a warm velvet sheet draping over you. In a way, it’s even more compelling than his more authoritative tone.

So, you do as he asks. Ghost makes a small noise in the back of his throat when your tentative hands palm his cock through his joggers. The size of him makes your breath hitch and you wonder if you’ll even manage to wrap your hand all the way around him with how thick his dick was. He lays his hand on top of yours, his fingers laying on the back of your hand. Slowly, you reach into his pants and boxers, your hand coming into contact with the soft skin of his hefty cock. He was just the slightest bit wet from a mix of his precum and sweat.

With a slight shake to your hand, you manage to maneuver his hard-on out of his pants and use your sense of touch to visualize what it might look like since you can’t see over his broad shoulders. It’s about as large as you imagined it would be with a couple thick veins along the underside, perfect to trace your fingers along. He shudders and sighs at the pleasant feeling of you doing just that, his head tilting back.

Price runs a hand through Ghost’s hair again to get his eyes back open and focused on him. “You ready to finish up what you started, sunshine?”

“Yes, sir,” Ghost mumbles, leaning into his touch. Price hums his approval, gently pulling his head forward and letting Ghost resume his worshiping of his cock.

You watch, enraptured by his ministrations. Your hand starts to tug at Ghost’s cock, pulling back his foreskin and rolling your palm over the tip to spread the slow drizzle of precum leaking from his cock. It punches out a grunt from him and his hips jump.

After a while, there’s spit coating his chin and dripping down his neck as a result of him taking Price’s cock so obediently. The wet sucking noises coming from his throat had your sex throbbing along with your heartbeat. Seeing Ghost so open and calm was a beautiful sight to see, and mixed with the way Price was looking down at the both of you with such reverence made it even more fulfilling.

Ghost is twitching in your hand, but he’s so good at holding himself back. You imagine anyone else having as much fun as he was would’ve finished by now, but not him. He’s still moaning up a storm though, his chest rumbling against your free hand. He shifts under your touch and takes hold of your hand and slides it under his shirt, putting it on his bare stomach. You get the message and start to paw at the soft layer of fat covering his muscles, tensed up because of the pleasure bubbling up beneath the base of his cock.

Price is grunting now too, praises and encouraging words falling from his lips, spurring Ghost on with a deep, needy moan. He sighs contentedly and extends his hand past Ghost’s hair and onto the top of your head, his fingers rubbing circles into your scalp. “You’re doing well, too, love. Taking such good care of our boy,” he says with a soft smile.

Our boy. Our boy. Something about that made your heart swell and the heat between your legs grow. You have to squeeze your thighs together to  keep yourself satisfied, having gone neglected for what felt like ages. A quiet whimper builds up in the back of your throat. Price chuckles at that and he looks down at Ghost. “You’re going to return the favor, aren’t you Simon?” Ghost nods the best he can with Price’s cock in his mouth and a wave of anticipation rolls through you.

You glance up from where you were looking straight forward to see Price’s hips buck upwards, making Ghost gag with a wet choking sound. It only seems to make him more eager and he grabs one of his captain’s thighs to steady himself, giving him more leverage to take him even further down his throat. Tears start to roll down his cheeks from the exertion and you see the wetness on Price’s fingers when he tenderly wipes Ghost’s cheeks clean. “Don’t push yourself too hard, sunshine.”

You chance running a hand up Ghost’s stomach, giving him time to pull you away if he wished, but all you feel is his abs tightening under your touch. 

Ghost sucks a quick breath in through his nose when you stroke him with a bit more fervor and he grabs your wrist with his other hand. His thighs shake and a shudder falls down his spine; he’s getting close. He groans around the dick in his throat, thrusting into your hand to meet it halfway. He moans around Price’s cock and you feel him throbbing in your palm.

Within a few more strokes he’s shooting his load out onto the floor and your hand, shuddering at the overwhelming feeling of you working him through his climax. He takes a deep, open-mouthed breath when Price pulls him away from his cock, now flushed bright red and glistening from Ghost’s drooling mouth. It registers for you at that point that Ghost wasn’t sucking cock for his captain’s pleasure, but for his own. This dynamic of theirs was much more… complex that you originally thought.

You rest against Ghost’s back and he leans back into you. Price’s fingers are running through his cropped dark blonde hair while he catches his breath. You can’t fully hear all of the murmured praises Price is offering Ghost, but you can tell there’s a gentleness there that was surprising coming from the two gruffest men you’ve had the pleasure of meeting.

A large hand comes to rest on your thigh and you jolt a bit, having been caught up in the second-hand feeling of warmth that was radiating from the pair. Ghost’s hand runs up and down your thigh, his nails scraping along the fabric of your pants just a bit, giving you chills. His voice is more gravelly than normal and you can hear the smirk in his voice when he utters his promise, “Your turn.”

𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

[artianaiolanthe]

Vampire academy ramblings under the cut cause this was stream of consciousness while I was going on an hour of sleep on airplane; Frostbite edition

All the times Rose has to say "it's not like I wanted to sleep with Lissa" while being intensely jealous of Christian will live rent free in my head

Also again. Will never not be disappointed we lost Tasha and Rose genuine friendship because of Dimitri fucking Belikov. HE'S JUST SOME GUY YOU BOTH CAN DO BETTER

Adrian, light of my life, balm to my soul, you're the only one in this cruel world that brings me joy

Also damn they brought up just moving up guardian graduations earlier than I remembered. This is Book Two.

Also shout-out to the guy who was like "well why can't we all live in private cut off areas for protection year round" because if the Strigoi and humans don't get you than I feel like one of y'all is going to go all Jonestown on the others. Fucking weirdo.

Back to the cult dynamic note I picked up earlier where the idea of acting in their own offense is so foreign to most Moroi that they believe a very reasonable suggestion is collusion for extinction. I wanna believe they're just lazy but I think everyone needs deprogramming so badly

"Suddenly Mason seemed like a child" YES HE IS ROSEMARIE AND SO THE FUCK ARE YOU. And the age gap talk isn't helping your case either.

"Blood Whore" "Strigoi Lover" can we all just be normal about the people in the closest proximity to some of the worst suffering in this world? No? Fuck me I guess.

I know it wasn't like that but I feel like Adrian was feeling out of Rose was also a person of culture (Bi or Pan). At least to confirm Lissa isn't a romantic roval

I forgot Moroi like. Used actual spells. I thought they just element bent like they did in Avatar. Don't they???

First Adrian and Dimitri interaction is hysterical knowing they're cousins. Like on some level deep in his psyche Dimitri just looked at Adrian and his monkey brain decided "this bitch sucks" because of the resemblance. How do I cope with this?

Dimitri you can't just be calling them young girls, that makes You look like the weirdo.

I need a safe adult where's a safe adult I miss Janine--

"The Guardian Council and the Moroi Government" interesting distinction y'all got there! Not one unified government and not even a sovereign government for the Dhampirs. Fun, cool, classy.

Mason I love you but you sure know how to torch the mood.

Drinking game, take a shot every time "they come first" fucks over a plan in these books. Or don't. Alcohol poisoning is no joke

Do they not. Ask if someone wants to get molnija marks. I get it they're supposed to be an "honour" but are we ignoring the very traumatic events for the sake of a tradition.

Did no one get this bitch into therapy after this until she started hallucinating?!

[celestialsoyeon]

Woozi centric

content: concussion, fainting

wc: 1,07k

They were all rehearsing for their next comeback. Lots of things had happened these past few days, even a few shocking things that left the members in need to find their balance again.

Jihoon was the only one able to block everything that had made things hard, to focus only on the comeback.This one would make or break their year as idols, and he needed it to be perfect. 

He had finished the polishing part of the title track for the next comeback, all this while Soonyoung had finished preparing the choreography.

They had started rehearsing it early this morning, and they were far from doing it perfectly, but they were making progress. A lot of progress.

They were now rehearsing the dance break and Jihoon was the center for this part, being held high by other members then jumping and dancing his part.

They rehearsed it once, twice, without getting it the way they wanted it to be. Third time’s a charm, that’s what they thought. 

They did it again, with Mingyu holding up most of Jihoon’s weight. The smaller boy didn’t mind it, he trusted Mingyu to hold him properly despite the giant being clumsy and always trying to playfully annoy them.

But as the music started again, it happened. 

As he was jumping to get into position, Jihoon slipped. Mingyu tried to catch him, but things happened too fast and he couldn’t prevent his hyung to heavily fall onto the hard floor of the dance room. 

His head hit the floor, and for a moment, his sight went all black. Mingyu immediately ran to him, wanting to make sure he was fine. 

“Jihoon hyung! Are you alright?! Did you hit your head?”

For sure he did. Blood trickled on his forehead and he looked disoriented. Mingyu immediately noticed.

“Damnit. Guys, let’s take a break. Jihoon hyung got hurt.”

Soonyoung, who was helping Minghao to learn his part despite his shoulder injury, immediately ran to them.

“What happened?!”

“He fell and hit his head. I think we should make him see a doctor.”

“Let’s stay here for now. Jihoon, you take a break. And if you feel any worse let us know and we will take you to the emergency room.”

Jihoon nodded, still slightly dazed. He was feeling light-headed, but there was no way he would burden his members with that. He was going to be okay, it wasn’t a big deal, why should he make them all pamper him like a kid? He wasn’t a kid, for God’s sake. Although he definitely had to admit he liked being taken care of by the members, he still wanted to handle things on his own.

But this wasn’t to be handled alone, and he would learn it soon enough. 

As the day went by, fatigue started to settle in Jihoon’s body. He had resumed practicing with the others, but he wasn’t very focused neither very energetic. 

Soonyoung noticed and ended up taking another break, taking advantage of it to check on Jihoon. He immediately saw something was wrong.

Jihoon was barely able to stand, his legs shaking as if he was going to collapse any moment. His face was a sickly shade of grey and he suddenly hunched over, throwing up on the floor. 

Everyone was worried, but the members knew better than to crowd the vocal team’s leader, and they let Soonyoung and Seungcheol handle the situation. The two leaders laid Jihoon on the floor, on his side in case he went unconscious, and kept reassuring him.

Seungcheol quickly assessed the situation and told Joshua to call 119. Maybe it wasn’t that much of a big deal, but he was no doctor and had no way to know that. It was better to be safe than sorry. 

Soonyoung kept talking to Jihoon, but as time passed by, the vocalist was less and less responsive. He was alarmed seeing him like that so he kept trying to keep him alert.

“Come on Hoonie, stay with me. We’ve called for help. I think you got a bad concussion. You’re going to get the help you need.”

Jihoon didn’t really respond. His eyes were still open, but distant and glassy. He wasn’t very conscious, if at all, of everything happening around him.

“Come on, Hoonie.. Come on..”

Soonyoung shook his broad shoulder lightly, to no avail.

“Jihoon, come on! Wake up!” he shouts, once again he was met with no response.

Seungcheol took the matter into his own hands.

“Soonyoung-ah, make sure he’s breathing properly. Let’s try to not move him around too much. Joshua, will they arrive soon? I think it’s quite bad and he really needs to get to the hospital.” Soonyoung immediately obeyed and checked Jihoon’s breathing while Joshua was keeping everyone updated. Help would arrive soon, but they had to hold on until then. 

Soonyoung kept an eye on Jihoon, hoping he would be alright. He had lost consciousness, and seeing him this vulnerable was tearing him apart, but he couldn’t afford to panic now.

When the paramedics arrived, Soonyoung couldn’t tear his gaze off them and the care they were providing Jihoon with.

“Will he be okay..? When will he wake up..?” 

One of the paramedics gave him a reassuring smile.

“He’s in good hands. We’ll do our best to get him back in shape in no time. However there’s no precise time frame as for the moment he’s going to wake up. It could be as soon as he arrives at the hospital just like in two or three days.”

Soonyoung nodded and thanked them in a voice he didn’t recognize as his own. He was feeling unsteady on his legs, clearly affected by what had just happened.

He couldn’t stand seeing his soulmate like that, hurt and possibly in danger. It’s not until Seungkwan and Seokmin wrapped him in a tight hug that he felt the slightest bit of reassurance. 

Things would be okay. They would as long as they were sticking together and looking out for each other.

@suraandsugar here it is! I hope you like it!

[star-fandoms]

Pumpkin

An: Cael is a character by @chercookue I hope I did him justice in the art and in the writing!!

Tw: mentions of yandere behavior!!(it's nothing too extreme(besides the infamous toothbrush mention), but just in case)

It was a rough start to the day, having only gotten three hours of sleep, but alas, Mai's roommate made plans to go pumpkin picking with her and Cael. or rather, she made plans to just go with Mai but…Cael follows Mai everywhere, not that she minds, but her roommate does. Things are so awkward when the two of them are together…Mai sighs and stands, changing out of her pajamas and into a cozy outfit. She glance's over at her chair and notices one of Cael’s sweater vests. When did that get here? She doesn't recall them removing it the last time they were in her room…oh well! She slips the sweater vest over her turtle neck cuddling into the warmth, she'll have to give it back to them later.

Mai flinches at the sudden knock on her door and opens it, seeing her roommate looking rather displeased while Cael is next to them, looking pleased. Cael immediately grabs her hand.

“Good morning, Mai! Did you sleep well last night? You look…you…” Cael looks down and takes in Mai's appearance, his face flushing as he notices her wearing his sweater vest.

“Ah…sorry, you can have it back now if you-“

“No! I-I mean…you can keep it! You look…really good…”

Before she can speak again, her roommate coughs loudly, reminding the two of her presence. Mai blushes and quickly pulls her hands out of Cael’s, failing to notice that he looks like a kicked puppy. “Right. Yeah, I’m ready, we can go.” Mai quickly passes the two of them and heads down the stairs, needing to get away from the awkward atmosphere. 'I'm not entirely sure why my roommate doesn’t like Cael…I wish they could get along.'

The car ride to the farm is awkward and uncomfortable. Mai has to sit in the back that way Cael can sit next to her. Cael holds her hand in the back of the car and can't bring themselves to look away, while Mai awkwardly looks out the window as they FINALLY reach the farm. As soon as they park, Mai gets out of the car and takes a deep breath to calm down before her roommate calls out to her. Mai heads over to Jess. "What's up?"

"You aren't exactly known for being the most comfortable with receiving affection Mai, don't you think you should set some boundaries?"

"I-I know...but I wanna be there for Cael if he needs me. I don't know what he's been through."

"Even more of a reason not to trust the guy. Mai, seriously, set some boundaries before I do it for you. I don't want you to be uncomfortable."

"It's fine. Besides...Cael is...warm and oddly comforting. I really do appreciate it though, Jess. I know you're just looking out for me."

"Have we met the same guy? All they do is stare at you and cling to you like a parasite. Besides, have you noticed how your toothbrush has been moved...multiple times?!"

"What?! No...has that really been happening? Maybe we're just accidentally bumping into it, I'll move it when we get home."

"For fucks sake...you're a master at making excuses for everyone...you better get back to loverboy, he's waiting for you..." Jess sighs and leaves towards the farm, side eyeing Cael. I sigh and make my way back to Cael, holding my hand out for him, which he quickly takes. We follow behind Jess and I try to make conversation, asking Cael about their favorite holidays and candies, smiling with each new fact she learned about him. Yeah...he isn't a bad guy...she knows it. They all reached the pumpkin picking area and started looking for a good pumpkin that they could carve cute designs into.

"Mai, Mai, how does this one look?" Cael held up a pumpkin, causing her to walk closer and inspect it.

"It looks perfect Cael!" Mai reaches up and gently pets Cael, he lights up and leans into her warm touch. "Let's run it by Jess, it's important to get her opinion too!" Cael sighs as you pull away AND mention your roommate. He nods along anyways, muttering an okay. The two of them head towards Jess. "Jess, check out this pumpkin! Does it look good?"

"Yeah, Mai. Good job picking it out."

"Cael picked it out!"

"...we should keep looking...just in case." Jess looks away nervously as their face falls. Mai stares dumbfounded at her, did she really just do that? She sneaks a glance up at Cael and notices him glaring at the back of Jess's head, pouting.

"I-it's okay! I know you'll be able to find another pumpkin that's just as good! We'll just...keep it a secret on who picked it out, okay? Our little secret!" Mai smiles up at Cael, gently placing her hand on his shoulder. His pout instantly turns into a wide smile, blushing as he looks down at Mai.

"Yeah! Our secret!" Cael smiles as the two of them go back to looking at pumpkins. A couple minutes pass and Cael get's Mai's attention again, holding up another good looking pumpkin. "It's not as good as the previous one, but I figured we can do something with it." Mai smiles and nods.

"It's perfect! Lets get it!" Mai takes the pumpkin, her fingers brushing against Cael's, causing him to shudder. "I'll show Jess and act like I picked it out." Cael nodded and followed behind Mai as she started walking towards Jess again, holding the pumpkin up. "Jess, look at this pumpkin I picked, does it look good?" Jess smiles and nods, ruffles Mai's hair.

The three of them began walking to the checkout station, Jess following behind and observing the two. Cael pouts slightly, so used to holding Mai's hands, but they couldn't this time because she was using both hands to hold the pumpkin. Without thinking, Cael reached to rest his hand on Mai's lower back, but stopped right before. Was it okay? They had only ever held hands or hugged, maybe it was too early in the relationship to rest his hand there, even if they were certain that Mai and them would be together for the rest of their lives. Cael hesitated up until they reached the cashier, ultimately, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Even though they checked out the pumpkin, Mai's mind kept drifting back to the first pumpkin Cael picked up...it wasn't fair of Jess to do that to them. "Hey Cael...can you wait here for me, just really quickly?"

They pouted and slouched. "But...I wanna be with you..." He gave Mai puppy dog eyes, causing her to falter slightly before she pushed the pumpkin she was holding into Cael's arms.

"I'm entrusting you with this pumpkins life. Take care of it for me, okay?" She looked up at Cael, determined to not be swayed so easily this time. Before he could even respond she ran away, back to where they had left the pumpkin, hoping no one else picked it up. She wants Cael to be happy. They deserve to be happy. She'd buy them their own pumpkin that they can carve and do anything they want with it. Jess probably wouldn't allow Cael to add anything to the pumpkin if they just got one if they couldn't even handle Cael picking out the pumpkin. She smiled, seeing the pumpkin Cael had first picked out still there. She picked it up and headed back to Cael, smiling when she saw him and Jess waiting for her. "I'm getting this one too! No worries, I'll pay for it with my own money, Jess!" Jess nods and gives the go ahead as Mai pays for the pumpkin. Cael stares dumbfounded. Was it really that serious for Mai to get that first pumpkin.

After they got home, it was time to carve the pumpkins. Mai placed Cael's pumpkin in front of him and smiled. "You get to choose any design you want, Cael. Have fun! Happy first Halloween with us...even if it's not Halloween yet." Mai let out an awkward chuckle before turning her attention to Jess. Cael smiled as he stared at Mai, completely in love. He smiled as he got an idea on what, or rather, who to carve. He watched her, studied her likeness as he tried to capture her eye shape, the stubby eyebrows, her moles, every strand of hair, including the split ends. Instead, he carved something that barely resembled a human. Mai stretches, having finished carving out the among us beans, chuckling at her work. "Cael, what did you carve?" Cael flinched and covered their pumpkin, they could not show Mai how badly they butchered her image. Mai smiled sympathetically. "It's fine if you don't wanna show me, but I'm sure its great!" Cael looked down and slowly turned the pumpkin to her. Jess sputtered and laughed, causing Mai to glare at her. Although Mai couldn't really tell what it was, she could see that Cael put in a lot of effort and love. "It's good! Are you gonna set it up outside?"

"N-no...I butchered you..."

"It's me?" Mai's eyes widened, honestly she was touched. Jess just laughed more, causing Mai to whack her head gently. "Stop it, it's cute! Besides, it's admirable that Cael tried to do realism on a pumpkin, that's extremely difficult to do! It turned out really good!" Mai leaned over and pet Cael's head. "You should show the world your piece, it's wonderful. Thank you."

The next day Mai walks down stairs to get something to eat, stopping in her tracks as she hears a light sobbing coming from the kitchen. She peeks her head to look through the doorway, first noticing 10 new pumpkins have been bought, two of which are completely ruined. Then she notices Cael above a pumpkin, their tears falling down the curves of the pumpkin. She stifles a laugh as she notices how messy they are, trying to focus more on the fact they’re upset and overwhelmed.

“Cael, why are you crying?” She walks closer and gives him a sympathetic smile, gently placing her hand on their sticky, pulp covered hand. He looks up at her, tears and snot dripping down his face, pulling at Mai's heartstrings as she gently cups his face and wipes their tears with her thumbs.

“I…I wanted to make the perfect pumpkin for you!” They sob out clinging to her, transferring a load of pulp onto Mai's pajama’s. She just chuckles and gently caresses his hair.

“Cael…I love the pumpkin you made yesterday, it was so…you. You made it, how could I not like it?” Cael holds her tighter, hiding his face in her chest. She gently pulls him away to look at him, a string of snot connecting him to her shirt. “Let’s…get you cleaned up. Maybe I could help you, if you wanted to try and get better.” He sniffles and nods, his face flushed.

A couple hours passed, and Mai had cleaned up Cael and focused on trying to calm him down before they started again. “I still can’t believe you bought 10 more pumpkins Cael…I guess we can make a lot of carved pumpkins. Oh! And we can make a pumpkin pie! I haven’t made one in forever…” Mai rambled, staring longingly at the pumpkins, reaching for those childhood memories. Cael nodded as they headed back into the kitchen, frankly he was worried about messing up again. Mai prepared the pumpkin for Cael, not wanting him to get messy again. She handed him a knife and went behind him, wrapping her arms around him and holding him hand that held the knife. Cael's brain short circuited as his heart pounded. "Lets go with a more simple design, okay? A realistic human is extremely difficult, especially if you haven't carved pumpkins often."

"...What's your favorite animal?"

"Mmmm...bunnies!"

"Okay, I'll do a b-bunny then."

"Cael, you can pick something you like, y'know?"

"...I like you..." Cael whispered, causing Mai to not hear them despite being so close to them. She continued to help Cael carve a bunny anyways though, after all, they still had 6 more pumpkins to spend the afternoon carving.

[theseasasleep]

Story of Kunning Palace, E05 (semi-live reaction)

Of all the ways I thought Ning would handle the proposed slander against her beloved Zhang Zhe, the way she actually handled it did not align with my imaginings in the slightest. Sometimes what plays out is really better than the fiction in your head, hee. I did not see her calling out, not the dumb fiancee but the You-daughter. Nor did I foresee her half-drowning her in a jar full of goldfish.

FIERCE

Judging by the all the clips I have gorged on, this particular love line will be quite strong and trend for a while. Sigh. A decade plus of drama watching has whittled my patience for second lead to first lead love lines to whisper-thin nub but everyone keeps commenting on how amazing Zhang Zhe is so.... I guess the wait and watch won't be too grating.

...

I'm not sure I understand.

Zhang Zhe broke or bent his principles to help her on the oath that she'd become a good person thereafter.

Sometime later, Zhang Zhe is condemned to death for this.

Did he naturally get caught? Or did she deliberately sell him out? Was it more similar to the Yan Lin situation in which her people made moves without her knowledge and when push came to shove, she didn't make the necessary moves to upend the conspiracy for the sake of remaining Empress?

Whatever the case, it's clear Ning did many terrible things - some in ignorance, some in knowledge - to accomplish everything she achieved. I think she squared most, if not all of it with herself when weighing it against the ultimate end result... until Zhang Zhe ended up on the chopping block. I don't think she would have been able to write this sin off and once one stone in her ambitious bedrock was overturned, the rest likely came apart. It's why when she knew she was going to die she wanted her death to mean something, to be a reparation of sort to the only person remaining who might accept it because he thought she was worth something, because he's that good.

...

Oh. Oh. Look at the expression on his face as he listens to the patronizing, sexist drivel:

My scrumptious proto-feminist

...

LOL, he did a dignified catwalk and every lady in the room forgot to think and breathe!

I understand, ladies, I understand.

Geez, Ning, Xie Wei had them open a window for you, and only you, so you would have fresh air and bright light, to improve your mood and chances! Not to silently accuse you of being a potential cheat!

Wow, this is all up hill climb, my guy. Get your shoes with the best tread on, Xie Wei.

I know not a drop of Chinese and even I can see that's atrocious. And what did she draw in the corner. A flower? A dancing sun? A really fat, disproportionate hand with a vestigial finger?

And she asks, did she put too much effort into [failing]? Girl. It's so obvious she'd bring out the contrarian impulses of a saint. But maybe it's worth it since we get this face:

Teacher does not approve.

What I am enjoying so much in this scene is the action and counteraction. The way they each boldly challenge the other. She sent up an exam paper so abominable as to be a mockery [of him]; he passes her. She tries to expose her "stupidity" to the rest of the class; he threatens to critique the entire class, turning everyone against her idea.

point:

Counterpoint:

Concession:

Me:

...

I'm not even touching the "dementia." Rolling my eyes and moving on.

But, but, but... How was he so spot on?! How did he guess at reincarnation?! I mean, yeah, he said he doesn't believe in the supernatural but it can't be a coincidence to the narrative that he's the first to come closest to the truth?

Xie Wei: Ning, what's your relationship with Yan Lin? I NEED TO KNOW... *whispers* for science.

Oh, your father asked me to take good care of you in the palace... Yan Lin asked me to help you... By the by, that study partner list? Yeah, another ministry generates it but ultimately it has to run by me. The moment I saw your name I marked you for the palace. After going to so much trouble, it would be stupid of me to release you from palace duties now!

Xie Wei, be like:

...

God. I Hate Ning's Mom.

[dearestones]

Coffee Mugs and Confessions (Matsuda Touta x Reader)

Warnings: Fluff. 

Anonymous Request: I've been reading your matsuda fics and they are so cute!! my boy needs more content🤧 I'm not sure if you still write for him but I could request Matsuda trying to confess his love to his coworker (sorry if my english is bad;;;

.

.

.

You absolutely adored your friend, Touta. Although he was usually held up with work on a case involving matters of great importance, he always made sure to spend time with you. Worrying about him was almost a futile effort. Even though there were days when you saw that there were more wrinkles on his face rather than sparkles in his eyes, when he saw you, his eyes would light up and his features would soften in light happiness. It was like he was a different person!

Gone was the stress and a subdued personality that was at odds with the persona you used to think was bubbly and somewhat childish back when you had first met. Yet, whenever he would invite you out for drinks after an entire day's worth of work lining the furrows of his brow, you could see that young man blooming to life again. With beer and sake flowing through the both of your veins, the both of you would talk about your day, often making jokes and commenting on the state of affairs regarding your places of work.

So, it surprised you one day, when Touta approached you.

You knew that he often stayed by his superior’s side, Chief Yagami Soichiro, but you were nonetheless happy that he sought you out. It wasn’t like you disliked the much older gentleman; it was quite the opposite actually! Almost everyone in your division loved and respected the chief and you hoped that once he retired, whoever would replace him would have at least a fraction of the charisma and the dedication that Chief Yagami often displayed. As one of his most devoted followers, Touta was sure to follow in his footsteps as a capable, but caring detective who had his eyes set on justice. 

Truly, it was one of the things that you adored about your friend. 

Even when it seemed like the world was bleak, there was an unerring sense of childlike faith that everything would turn out all right in the end.

Was it too childish in a field where sometimes investigations could be deadly or criminals had a tendency to get away if you weren’t careful? Perhaps, but you looked forward to his good nature and you hoped to learn from his resilience. Even if such naivete was not always welcome, you would support him no matter what. 

He was a rare radiant light in this world and you were loath to take part in extinguishing such a wonderful trait from the world.

“Hiya, Touta!” You nodded at a mug of coffee that he often procured just for you. As always, it would be steaming hot and filled to the brim with your preferred way of making coffee. He was a quick study when he applied himself and considerate to boot. As you greeted him with a smile, you took the mug away from him, careful not to burn your fingers against the warm porcelain. “Is there something wrong? You usually don’t bring me coffee this early.”

You were joking. There were times when Touta didn’t want to be idle at his desk picking apart paperwork or following up with witnesses sometimes, but it was rare enough that you were—while not concerned—curious about his motives. 

In response, Touta hummed anxiously, one of his hands reaching up to brush the back of his head. Was he trembling?

“Ah, do you mind taking a walk with me?” Your brows rose to your hairline. “I… It’s something important, but not that important? I mean if you’re busy, but—”

Kindly, you nodded at his rambling and eased yourself out of your desk and towards the exit. Grateful at your nonverbal acquiescence, your dear friend hurried after you, his words becoming more and more rapid as the both of you bypassed fellow detectives and police officers. 

As your polished shoes tapped against the floor—quick, determined, and purposeful—you felt Touta’s hand grasp your shoulder before leading you towards the lobby area. Here, while there were many people bustling around, it was less likely that some of your coworkers near your area would be able to hound you with teasing and other delightful comments. 

As much as you loved your job, there were times that you wished that some people would not pay your business any attention!

“So…” Touta took a sip of his coffee, probably burning his tongue by the looks of it as he suddenly gasped, before he regarded you sheepishly. “How was your day?”

You bit your lip to keep from laughing. “Touta, we barely started fifteen minutes ago.”

If there was one way to completely deflate Touta’s confidence, that was it. Like a bullet had hit his chest, Touta nearly keeled forward in embarrassment, but managed to right himself at the very last second. You felt bad, but you couldn’t help but pet his arm in amusement. 

You squeezed his arm through his blazer, the crisp material comforting under your touch. “You’re nervous, so why not just tell me. Did something bad happen?”

Your voice was level, but you couldn’t help but internally wince at the concern that the both of you could clearly hear. Somewhere out there, a serial killer was running loose in the streets and committing crimes to a degree that was almost unheard of. At first, you thought that heart attacks were all coincidental—a new disease perhaps? an overrepresentation of deaths?—but then INTERPOL began to interfere and there were forums you would frequent online to check out the mess. 

Apparently, everyone’s worst fears began to be realized. 

Kira was not an entity to be trifled with.

Thankfully, Touta must have sensed where your thoughts were headed because he placed a hand over yours, his warmth a grounding presence that gently brought you back to the present. 

“Well… that depends on your answer.”

Your brows furrowed. While Touta was clearly nervous now, there was a hidden strength in his words. It wasn’t a mask for his true feelings, no. It felt like he was steeling himself for a particularly tedious case. Or for battle. 

“Well then.” You leaned back and gave him a toothy grin behind the rim of your coffee mug. Might as well enjoy your coffee if Touta decided to give you bad news so early in the morning. “Ask away.”

“What would you say to a date this Friday afternoon?”

If it were not for the fact that you knew you would have to clean the floor, you would have dropped or sputtered out your coffee. To compensate for your sudden bout of shock, you forced yourself to swallow and breathe. 

In and out.

In and out.

In and—

That’s it. 

You had to ask.

“When you say date,” you proceed to ask in caution, “do you mean as friends or as… or as…” Your cheeks burned and the tips of your ears felt like someone had struck a match in close proximity. 

What if you had misinterpreted Touta’s intentions? 

Was that possible when you had heard him so clearly?

Or perhaps you were being delusional?

As your thoughts raced, which was akin to how Touta was rambling only moments ago you now began to realize, you felt Touta take the coffee mug away from your shaky grasp. A part of you wanted to hold onto the warmth, but you also knew that had he not done so, there was a very good chance that you would have become an impromptu janitor. 

Touta leaned in close, his eyes freezing you to the spot. 

Touta was a man who was able to live and grow from insecurities. He wore his vulnerability on his sleeve and he was not afraid to tell the truth. Although he was far from perfect, you knew that he would one day make someone so happy and proud to be his partner. 

Would that partner be you?

“I’ve always admired you.” You had to strain your ears, his voice a soothing melody that barely rose above a lull. Dimly, you were aware of the world outside of this bubble, but you chose to focus on Touta. Even if he was so soft, so vulnerable at this moment, you thought him just as beautiful and as radiant as the sun. You couldn’t look away if you tried. “You’re kind, sweet, and just as driven to justice as the Chief.” He took a deep breath and smiled at you. “I know we don’t always get a happy ending in law enforcement, but I would like to at least try with you. Would you like to be my partner?”

It didn’t matter if he was holding two coffee mugs, you wanted to be close to him. 

Without so much as an answer or warning, you flung your arms around his side. Splatters of coffee could be heard as Touta awkwardly tried to hug you back, but decided not to considering the fact that he was still holding the mugs filled with hot coffee. Instead, he inclined his head atop yours. 

“Is that a yes?”

You squeezed tighter and made a promise to help him clean up the coffee after you finished conveying how much his confession meant to you. 

“Of course it is!”

.

.

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If you want to donate a Ko-Fi, feel free https://ko-fi.com/devintrinidad.

DEATH NOTE MASTERLIST

[cozage]

If we're getting another chapter for made for two can we know the real reason why Zoro decided to end the relationship? I feel like there's something more than him getting annoyed at us like cheating or jealousy or whatever

Hello dear reader!

I'm so glad you're enjoying the fic and are super invested in it all! I actually did consider having Zoro do something awful like cheat on you or something, but (even for the sake of moving the story forward) I don't think he'd do that. Let me explain more below the cut (and show you why it's still just as tragic)

TL;DR: Zoro and the reader do love each other, but show it in very different ways, and they were doomed from the start because of it.

I think Zoro does care about and loves the reader in his own way, but Zoro doesn't show it in the same way other people on the crew do, especially you. Just because he cares about you doesn't mean he's going to alter his day to be with you more often, and in his mind, training (so he can protect you and the other people he cares about on the crew) is the most important thing. He's selfish, and he doesn't care about large romantic gestures. He doesn't remember important events like birthdays or anniversaries or even what day it is in general.

He's the kind of person who likes you around when he needs you around - which we see at the beginning of the story when he's playful in bed. But after his morning shower, his mindset shifts to training, and he doesn't need you around anymore because you'll just distract him. He's not the kind to spare feelings or tell you unnecessary words of affirmation. He gets to the point because that's what he understands, especially when he's upset.

And then we have the reader, who is someone that loves quality time, and wants to spend time together with not just Zoro but everyone on the ship. They love loudly and they want to be loved the same, which is something that Zoro has never had the capacity to understand or appreciate. This has resulted in months of arguments; most days looking like the one I had written.

The day written wasn't any different than most island days, expect for the date. The island you all landed on marked 6 months of you all dating, and Zoro never commented on it, he didn't want to be around you, he broke his promise and his compromise made with you, and he purposely avoided the one thing you guys do on a normal day (watching the sunset). He was angry with you and purposely avoided it all out of spite. He was itching for a screaming match because normally those types of fights end with you begging for forgiveness and you tiptoeing around him for the next few days because you don't want to lose him, and thats what he expected. But today was the day you gave up fighting, because of how hurt you were over the 6 months being forgotten by him. It was the straw that broke the camels back.

Sometimes people love each other deeply, but they simply aren't compatible. Such is the case with the reader and Zoro (which we can see from your POV and Zoro's argument with Sanji). That doesn't nullify the love that still remains between you two, in fact it makes it all the more painful. It's the reason I added a very small line into Dance for Two, actually.

"You wanted to run away, restart the day, or just go back to when you and Zoro first broke up and beg for his forgiveness."

It's a line that most people probably miss or doesn't mean anything to them. But the reader is used to this to portray just how messy their relationship is with Zoro. They're used to screaming and fighting, just to make up the next. This is the way their relationship has always been, so it must be normal.

You know how you're in a dimly lit room and you can almost see everything then a bright light blinds you? But when your eyes adjust, you realize you've been missing out on so many details and colors while you were sitting in the dark. It's a whole new world now, something you didn't know was possible.

I imagine Sanji is that light for the reader, and now that you've learned that there are people who will sacrifice for you rather than give you an occasional compromise, it's impossible to go back to the way it was before.

I must admit, I know this is not as enthralling as catching him cheating or having some other big thing happen that is earth-shattering for the reader. I don't think Zoro is a bad person, after all. He's just bad for you.

[cyndalyssa]

Here, let me give you a real cool hamster.

Bio under the cut.

Iceham (Gnawles) Merrimouser is a lot more mature than your average 14-year-old. This hamster is the most cool and collected of the bunch, and often has intense focus on what he deems important tasks. He has no time for petty things like the social hierarchy at school, and one look with his icy gaze can scare someone straight. He's quite intelligent and well-read, being a straight-A student who takes his studies seriously.

Between his smarts, his general seriousness, and his status as the oldest boy of the Squad, it's really no surprise that he is co-leader with the oldest girl, Bita. He is the cooler head to Bita's hotter head, and the strategist to Bita's enforcer. Even when they clash, the two have the utmost respect for each other.

His powers of ice suit him so well, it's a surprise that he wasn't born with it--he just happened to be chewing on ice cubes when he got empowered by the Great Comet. In any case, with the power to create ice and snow, he's got a handy way of catching baddies by simply freezing them in their tracks. He can survive in subzero temperatures while wearing light clothing. He even has a bit of weather manipulation in order to create blizzards, a miniature polar vortex, or his signature "Ice Hurricane" attack--though those are always last resorts because he wants to keep damage to a minimum.

He isn't without his pleasures, though. As stated before, he's well-read, so he clearly has reading as a hobby, and he likes to do puzzles and play chess to keep his mind sharp. He's even fond of writing poems, short stories, or even songs (sometimes Bita's band likes to play them, since he has a taste for rock). But on the flip side, he has a fondness for winter sports, snowboarding in particular. He doesn't even need to buy a board, he could just make one with his ice powers and away he goes. He's not above playing video, board, or even sports games with his siblings, and takes a little pleasure in frustrating them by beating them at more strategic games (though he'll lose gracefully if one of them gets lucky). And while he technically doesn't need it, he wears the jacket because he thinks it's cool.

He does have one fear that he would find a little embarrassing if not for the reasoning behind it--he's afraid of the dark. He can be even cautious of his own shadow at times. On the surface, it's laughable and breaks any coolness factor he may have. But if anyone were to learn about how his biological brother turned into a shadow thanks to the Great Comet, proceeded to consume their parents, and is still out there somewhere... yeah, it's a miracle that he still has a mostly level head. He just appreciates how there are three in the Squad that can emit light in some form (Fireball, Electrex, Lucia) that can keep that living shadow away, and it's been five years since that night and the official creation of the Squad and nothing happened. Still, Bita was the only one who knew for a while; to everyone else, his family just straight up disappeared.

(We'll get to why Mr. Shadow Brother hasn't shown up in those five years at some point in the future)

Overall, he does desire to keep being the big brother of the Squad, even if he often has to put his own troubles by the wayside.

~~~

Iceham was originally created by my brother as an addition to the Squad when we were kids, though his original name was Iceball (as an ice version of Fireball). Since bro has moved on, I've kind of adopted him. As part of a SRS revamp a few years back, I changed his name so he was less of a Fireball ripoff (he was also initially a dwarf hamster, but I decided that him being a regular Syrian hamster was just fine).

I did want to keep his more cool leader character intact, though I want to focus more on him being a more serious and level-headed character as opposed to him being that generically cool character that's cool for the sake of cool. So I decided to amp up his intelligence and more sophisticated side, though not to the point of making him a complete stereotypical nerd. A nice balance, if you will.

[magia-region]

Redesigns of the four friends/rivals you meet in school.

Aidan Trant-

Gryffindor student.

You have been friends with Aidan since elementary school and know him pretty well.

He is reckless and likes to be challenged, believing in a philosophy of pushing his boundaries to their limits and beyond.

As a result, he is an athletic boy but very accident prone and he gets hurt a lot. He knows a lot of good healing spells and potion recipes.

He visits the Hospital Wing semi-often.

He encourages others to push their own boundaries, especially his friends. He wants to see all of them do well in their chosen endeavors.

He’s not above teasing them.

He needs others to tell him when to quit for his own health.

He thinks romance is icky (aromantic) but still wants a nice relationship with a girl.

He doesn’t always understand sarcasm or when someone doesn’t want to be friendly with him. He is bad at reading social cues, but is getting better.

He can read well enough, but doesn’t do so for fun. He’d rather practice his flying, go out for a walk or train his pokemon.

His favorite food is carbs, but he knows to incorporate other things because his mother taught him well in that regard.

He carries a Recalorb just in case.

He enjoys physical activities such as sports and has trouble keeping still for more than an hour (unless he’s asleep).

He snores like an Ursaring

His favorite classes are Defense, Magitech, and Charms because those let him move about more.

If the Player is also sorted into Gryffindor, and they are a male or non-binary, then they get to share a room with Brendan.

His older sister is a member of the Home Guard

Emma Howard-

Hufflepuff student.

She is the shy one of the group, almost never speaking up unless she has something she wants to contribute to the conversation. She tries to be polite and aware of others’ boundaries.

She is usually soft-spoken, unless she’s frustrated by something (in which case she might come off as snarky or passive-aggressive) or is talking about her passions.

The way she talks can come off as blunt or rude, when she doesn’t mean to be. She’s just stating the facts as she understands them.

She’s the one that brings everyone back down to earth while also being the one who daydreams the most when she’s bored, for lack of anything else to do.

She is the most imaginative and creative of the friend group, with a talent for sketching and painting and an eye for colors and patterns.

She’s not interested in intimate relationships until after graduation, and gets all flustered at the mere mention of it.

She is also an introvert and needs a few hours at least every day to herself in order to recharge her social battery.

During this time, she can be found drawing in the Hufflepuff Common Room, her dorm room, or working on her homework.

She’s wary of flying and going into creepy places, despite being fascinated with the concept

She’s a diligent student that makes schedules for herself concerning what homework should get done when, preferring to get it done sooner rather than later.

She only procrastinates for the sake of hanging out with her friends and Pokémon.

If the Player is also sorted into Hufflepuff, and they are a female or non-binary, then they get to share a room with Emma. She lives in an organized mess, meaning she knows where everthing is even though her side of the room looks messy.

Michael Smith-

Slytherin student.

His father is a known manufacturer of wizarding tools. That being said, Michael is not actually an expert on the subject but enjoys the Magitech class nonetheless for the hands-on learning.

He is the most flamboyant and outspoken of the friend group, if a bit narcissistic. He has a passion for fashion and sometimes asks Emma to draw up designs for clothing he wants to experiment with.

He notices colors and patterns, as well as architectural styles. He prefers bright colors and light patterns in his designs.

He likes dressing himself, his Pokémon and his friends up no matter the occasion, but understands that they don’t like him rifling through their wardrobes unannounced.

Whenever they hang out, he always makes a beeline for the closest clothing store or tailor shop just to see what they have that he could take inspiration from or buy for himself or others.

He’s thoughtful and practical when it comes to gift giving, often thinking of things that they actually need while keeping what they want in mind.

He wants to be a clothes maker, using the tools his father manufactures.

Despite this ambition, Michael is actually a compassionate and emotionally sensitive person. He doesn’t like being yelled at for any reason and will retaliate in equal force. He is trying to strengthen his nerves in order to face the judgement of the fashion world.

He was raised by nursemaids and the Pokémon they kept as partners, having little interaction with his actual parents who were always too busy in the office or on the runway. His mother was a fashion model and quite the celebrity in Magia and beyond.

He wants to believe that people don’t just make friends with others so they can leech off your parents’s money. You can help him reaffirm that belief and restore his faith in humanity.

Despite all his bravado and desire to put his designs out there, he gets really bad stage fright and doesn’t like being put on the spot. He will trash talk people he doesn’t like behind their backs and start rumors about them.

If the Player is also sorted into Slytherin, and they are a male or non-binary, then they get to share a room with Michael (and be his personal dress up doll).

Maeve Clancy-

Ravenclaw student.

Maeve is stubborn and a bit of a tsundere, acting mean and uncaring when in reality she’s the biggest softie that cares very much for her friends’ wellbeing. More so than her own.

Her roommates have to physically drag her back to her dorm when she stays up into the wee hours of the morning studying, and that’s when her partner Pokémon goes and gets them.

She prefers to do things on her own, with her own personal resources for information, only asking for help when she hits a wall.

She takes a lot of notes during class so she doesn’t forget anything, for which she has several folders and notebook paper.

Each of them are color coded (as chosen by Emma)

She is considered the most intelligent and observant of the group, and she doesn’t like not knowing things that should be obvious.

She tends to be short with people sometimes and doesn’t like repeating herself.

She likes learning and enjoys reading and writing creatively, thinking about writing her own novel one day

She makes time for her friends and training her Pokémon. She doesn’t warm up to people immediately. In fact, if she senses there’s something she doesn’t like about you, she’ll avoid being around you as much as possible.

It might seem mean, but she considers it less of a hassle for herself.

She’s bad at communicating with others outside of when she can see them regularly. It completely slips her mind as it is soon occupied with other things.

She rarely makes first contact with people deliberately, rather relying on others to contact her first. She’ll only do so if she’s bored and wants to talk or has an actual reason to contact you.

She is close with her family, her mother and father being her first friends with whom she could confide in about anything.

Her mother would take her to visit her Grandparents every summer after she turned six years old, but being a half-blood she still felt a little bit ostracized from native Magian communities.

Being friends with you and the others helped her feel more comfortable in the region of her mother’s birth, but she will always feel more at home in her father’s region.

She sometimes has bouts of homesickness where she’ll write to her parents consistently.

The Wizarding Culture and Traditions Class has been a real boon to her.

If the Player is also sorted into Ravenclaw, and they are a female or non-binary, then they get to share a room with Maeve. We learn that her mother is a potions maker and her father is a dark-type gym leader in Johto.

[the-rarest-sexiest-coinkydink]

Hey :) i was the anon who asked if you're taking requests. This is a bit specific, so if you don't feel like writing this, that's totally fine. It's fun ghoul (in case you write for him, otherwise frank) x fem!reader (if that's okay). Reader has a few bigger scars on her face (from fighting some dracs or just general assholes) and is feeling pretty insecure about it. One day some people are making fun of her for it and her friend and crush Fun/Frank overhears and gets angry for her sake. She later asks him why he defended her so much, and he confesses he likes her?

You can probably guess who i am now, but I'll stay on anon anyway 😅 as I said, if you don't feel comfortable writing this, i totally get it. But I thought asking isn't hurting anyone.

Have a great week!

The World is Ugly (Frank Iero x reader)

Summary: Frank's best friend has had some pretty rough shit thrown at her by the universe recently, so he's delighted to see her out and about again. But when something happens that infuriates him completely, he's left with no choice but to reveal a secret he's been keeping for years...

Word count: 3689

Warnings: discussion of traumatic injury and facial scarring, people being assholes and making asshole-y comments

(y/n) pronouns: she/her 

AN: I really, really hope that I did this justice for you, sweet anon. While I don't have facial scars, I understand very well what it's like to have something about your body change very suddenly, and the struggle to adapt to that. I understand the pain, and the distress, and the wishes for things to go back to normal. But I promise you, you are still the person you were before. You are loved, and you are wonderful, and you are important.

Things do get better. It can take time, and it's very rarely a smooth process, but better is possible.

I believe in you <3

The mirrors in her apartment were still covered. 

With some of them, it was easy to invent an excuse. Oh, the one propped up against the wall with a button up thrown over the top half? Yeah, that’s just some laundry that I haven’t found the time to put away, and at least when it’s there I can’t trip over it. The little mirror on the desk covered by a tote bag? Well, it kept reflecting the sun in my eyes while I was working so it was just easier to do that. But others, it was harder to explain away. The bathroom mirror, certainly, was a tricky one to come up with something logical for. 

Realistically, everyone that visited knew exactly why they were hidden, just as much as (y/n) did. But nobody would even think about mentioning it. It was too soon, and she clearly needed time to acclimatise. Big changes had happened, and obviously she was still very firmly in the middle of the adjustment period. It was understandable, really. 

A traumatising incident that left significant facial scarring would be horrendous for anyone to deal with. 

She knew that, in time, she would have to accept the changes that had happened. The doctors had said that even once things had healed up fully, there would most likely still be some permanent marks. They had suggested some different things to try, types of creams and oils that could help make the lines less noticeable. But they had also been very clear - it was highly unlikely that her face would ever be quite the same again. Those scars would always be there in some capacity. 

Right now, thinking about that was far too much to bear. Which is why for now, for the forseeable future, the mirrors would remain shrouded. 

It was far more challenging to keep away from other people. Over the first couple of weeks, (y/n) had relied on her family and friends to shop and bring food home to her, simply unable to face the thought of going outside where strangers would be able to see. But cooping herself up inside was driving her insane. She missed the warmth of sunlight on her skin, the sensation of light rain dampening her hair. She missed the sound of dogs playing in the local park when she walked to the bookshop, and the shitty music that filled every store. She missed the smell of the bakery a few streets away, and the smile she always got from the pretty girl at the flower shop next door. She missed human existence. 

And so, staring at the empty carton of milk in her hand and the sparse leftovers in the fridge, she decided that she was going to go back to it. It would be difficult, obviously, but if she stuck to her old routines, she was sure she could manage. 

It was either this, or spend the rest of her life as a hermit. And she knew which idea she preferred. 

Thankfully, it was cool enough outside that (y/n) definitely needed a hoodie - the wind was disturbing the branches of the tree in the little shared garden of the apartment block, and the weather forecast promised rain later. Neither of those things were of vital importance to her; what mattered more was the fact that she would have an easy way to hide her face if needed. 

Going outside for the first time felt a little like being freed from prison. Her incarceration had been self inflicted, but the relief at liberation was a feeling any prisoner would understand. The feeling of the breeze against the new contours of her face, still very sensitive a week after the stitches had been removed, was bizarre. It felt like a cool finger was mapping them out: the one that crossed the bridge of her nose, the large one spanning her cheek, the places where scar tissue met hairline and lip and eyelid. Had she looked at her reflection, she would likely have been pleasantly surprised; none of the scars were as thick as they felt, and they already appeared to be healing fairly smoothly. Scars often feel far worse than they look, and getting used to the idea of their presence is half the battle. But of course, she wasn’t ready for that just yet. Healing takes time, of course. And baby steps were better than no steps at all. 

Her first stop was the bakery; bravery deserved a reward, and just getting past the foyer of the apartment building had taken a huge amount of guts, let alone getting this far. The teenager behind the counter had beamed when she went in, already reaching for her regular shopping. 

“Hey, it’s been far too long! I almost thought you’d been stolen away by that place down the road. Still going for the same stuff?” 

The fact that they hadn’t even commented on her face, simply looking pleased to see her, almost made her tear up. “Yeah, the usual is good with me. Throw a couple of those doughnuts in as well though, please. It’s been... a rough couple of weeks.”

As they took her money and handed over the bag, their smile softened. “Those doughnuts are on the house today. We, uh... we heard what happened. And we’ve all missed seeing our favourite customer, so... it’s nice to have you back.” 

Just about managing to croak out a ‘thanks’ before saying goodbye, promising to be back in again soon, she left. The tears that threatened to fall were happy ones. To have someone treat her just like an ordinary person was all she had wanted. Things were off to a far better start than she’d imagined. 

The next place she wanted to go was the coffee shop - because making her own was just far too much effort, quite honestly, but the number of people in there made her pause for a moment. There’d only been one other customer in the bakery, and he’d spent the entire time engrossed in a YouTube video while eating his way through a bag of mini cheese pastries. The cafe, in comparison, was pretty much packed. 

A familiar grinning face appeared in her line of sight, and the sound of Frank’s voice snapped her out of her little reverie. 

“Hey, if it isn’t my favourite person in the whole wide world! Good seeing you, sweet cheeks. You doing okay?” 

She nodded, pulling a slight face and desperately trying to ignore the way that her heart rate had picked up at the sight of him. “Yeah, I’m... alright, I think. I was just...” 

Having known (y/n) since the two of them were eight years old, Frank understood every one of her little expressions. Every thought and concern in her mind was clear to him. He held out a hand, smiling softly when she tucked herself against his side. He stroked her waist the way he always had done when one of them was feeling down, both of them comforted by the gentle repetitive motions. No matter the situation, being in each other’s presence was often enough to settle their emotions and bring a little clarity to their thoughts. 

“How about I pay for the coffee this time? I’m pretty sure I owe you a few cups anyway, after the last few trips out, so why don’t I get you this one?” 

“That would be nice, yeah...” The hesitation in her voice was blatantly obvious, and he squeezed her just a little tighter. 

“Hey, it’s just you and me. Coffee. We’ll get it to go, and then go sit in the park and stare at all the cute dogs for a while. Sound good?” 

She didn’t even need to look at him to know he was doing those infamous puppy-dog eyes again; it was a look he’d developed decades ago, and it worked on pretty much everyone. No matter who he used them on or what he wanted, whenever he broke them out things were basically guaranteed to go his way. He dropped his bottom lip for added effect, and she felt her heart do a somersault. She was just as under his spell as everyone else was. Well, probably more so.

“Oh, go on then. Only because you’re paying.” 

Grinning, he grabbed her by the hand and led her inside, joining the end of the rather long queue as he filled her in on what had been going on with the band since they’d last seen each other. Frank had been one of the people to bring stuff round to her flat in the days after she’d come home from the hospital, but they hadn’t had a proper conversation during that time. She’d been so worried about what he’d think of the way she looked now that she hadn’t wanted him to see, hadn’t wanted to give him the chance to say something. But so far, he was treating her exactly like he had always done. If she had more time to think into that fact, it would probably upset her all over again: she was desperately hoping for the day that he turned around and told her that he needed more, that he loved her too much to just be her friend. For now, though, normal was enough. Normal was what she needed. 

In between Frank’s rambles on what the band’s latest project was shaping up to be and the bursts of noise from the coffee machine, soft whispers were starting to worm their way into her ears. At first, she desperately hoped she was imagining it, but no - people were definitely talking about her. 

A little boy was tugging on his dad’s sleeve. “Daddy, what’s wrong with that lady’s face?” 

On the next table over, a grandmother was shushing a set of twins. "It's rude to stare, no matter what people look like. Now keep your voices down."

But far worse than innocent childish curiosity were the reactions from the older customers in the shop. Grown adults were sneaking sideways glances at her before turning back to their friends, making almost silent comments and hiding sneers behind their fingers. Some were openly staring, mouths agape and eyes wide.

Feeling the new tension in her shoulders, Frank squeezed her hand, leaning in to murmur against the side of her head. "You doing okay?"

"I... people are saying things. I can tell."

"I know, sweet cheeks. Please don't pay attention to it - I know that's really hard, but we won't be in here much longer. Look, there's only one more person in front of us. Then we can go hang out with the puppies. And those puppies will give you all the love you deserve, okay?"

Managing a nod, (y/n) relaxed a little as they reached the counter, concentrating on the way her best friend's eyes sparkled when he smiled and thanked the barista. She often thought that she could look at him forever - that those eyes, that face, would look perfectly at home in a work of classical art. He was just flawless.

The technique of focusing on the tiniest details of his features worked. She kept her mind occupied with his miniscule freckles, ridiculously pretty eyelashes, the way his hair curled slightly around his ears. He filled her brain entirely, chasing all the negatives away.

Until they turned to leave.

Half way through the queue was a group of teenage boys - and they were staring at her in sheer disgust. Noticing this, Frank shifted so that he would be walking closest to them, doing the best he could to shield her from view. But of course, that couldn't stop them talking.

"Ew, gross."

"What's wrong with the Joker over there?"

"If I looked like that, I wouldn't ever let other people see me."

"Damn, I hope she stays away from kids. That shit's scary."

Very calmly, Frank stopped and handed (y/n) his coffee. "Would you hang onto this for a second, cupcake? I'm about to have my hands full." And as she took it from him, he grabbed the tallest of the group by the collar and dragged him down to look him in the eyes. "You dare speak about her that way one more time - you even THINK something like that about her - and I'll make your face look more fucked up than it already is. You all wanna talk about ugly, go take a look in a mirror. And if you don't like the idea of no longer having your balls attached to you, you'll apologise. Right this instant."

Recognising the man who was threatening them, all four boys blanched, huddling together and barely stuttering out something vaguely like an apology. Arms folded across his chest, Frank was ready to tear them to shreds, but (y/n)'s hand against his upper back made his temper settle marginally. He turned back, and the sight of her trembling very nearly made him launch at the boys again. But the rational part of his mind took over, making it very clear that the best thing to do was just get out of there. And so with one final glare at the offending morons, he led her out to the street.

"Do you wanna go to the park, or do you want me to take you home?"

Taking a deep, faltering breath, she sniffled. "Home. Please."

"Your wish is my command, sweet cheeks. Come on. Let's go."

The walk back to her place was short, but they spent it in silence. He desperately wanted to say something to her, but knew that now just wasn't the right time. Over the years, he'd learned that quiet was the best thing for her until she decided to speak. Pushing conversation too far only ever made the situation even worse.

(y/n) was mute until the two of them were comfortably situated in her living room, sat at opposite ends of the tiny sofa as they sipped at their coffees.

"Thank you for being there."

"Hey, I'm always gonna be there for you. Every time. You could be stuck at the top of Mount Everest and I'd still make it up there to kick some ass if you needed me to."

She snorted, setting her drink down. "You hate the cold."

"That wasn't my point, and you know it." He rolled his eyes, kicking at her feet. "Those kids were total assholes. Half of me wants to go back there and kick their asses all the way into the next century."

"I'm glad you didn't actually do anything, I don't want you getting arrested for me. I’m not worth that much effort.” 

“You absolutely are. To me, you always have been. And you always will be. You're the most important person to me in the whole world.” 

His expression shifted a little, and (y/n) could read him like a book. The prevailing thought in his mind was panic. Clearly, he hadn’t intended to say that in quite that way. And that just made her want to dig a little deeper. 

“Frank... what are you saying?” 

“I just- well, I care about you, obviously. You’re my best friend, of course you’re worth it.” 

“No, that’s not it. I can tell.” 

“I swear, it’s-” 

“Please. Just tell me. I... I need you to be honest with me, okay? I can't keep worrying about the way everyone sees me now. I can't keep worrying that you don't see me the same.” 

He seemed to flounder for a moment before coming to the realisation that this time, he wasn’t going to get away with some flimsy excuse. She was far too clever for that. It had to be everything, raw and unfiltered and straight from the soul. “I’m saying that I love you. More than I could ever possibly describe. You came into my life scrawling smiley faces and animals on my arms in permanent marker, and you wrote yourself into my heart at the same time. I’ve never had eyes for anyone else - it was always an act. Every time someone asked, I’d choose a person at random so nobody would find out it was you. I couldn’t face the thought of losing you if you found out how I really felt. Hell, half my tattoos are based on something I remember about you, something you drew or said or made me laugh about. You are just... everything. Perfection. The sweetest soul this hellhole of a society has ever seen. I'm pretty sure I've loved you forever. That I was born to love you.” 

She could feel the tears catching at the patches of new skin on her face, but couldn’t find it in herself to care about the bizarre sensation. This was what she’d been waiting to hear since she was thirteen. “How... how long has it been? Really, how long?” 

“Um... well, thinking about it... since we were, like, ten. Maybe even before that, but that's probably when I started to notice it.” 

“And you...” She trailed off for a second, trying to think of how best to phrase things. “Even now that I look like this?” 

Frank practically threw himself across the couch and hugged her as tightly as he possibly could, burying his face into her shoulder as he let all of his thoughts out. “You’ve always been beautiful to me. Always. Even when you let your mom cut your hair when you were nine and the bangs were all wonky. Even that time you tried to dye your hair without any help and it went that weird shade of green. Oh, and the time you accidentally shaved off a whole eyebrow so you had to get rid of both, and you could never draw them both the same. Every art class where you ended up with multicolour freckles, and never remembered to wash them off before coming to lunch. Those hideous fake glasses you wore for a year because you were convinced they looked cool. I’ve seen you in every state imaginable, and I’ve never stopped loving you. I've seen you delirious with the flu, unable to walk because you were so hung over, greasy and tangled after not showering for a week. There are so many brilliant, unique things about you. And even if they aren't always things you like, they're still special. These scars are just another special part of you that we can both get to know.” 

Scoffing a little, (y/n) extricated herself from his grip and shuffled back, arms folded over her chest. “They’re not special, they’re awful.” 

Understanding that she needed a little space, he settled for resting a hand on her arm. “Hey. You’re allowed to hate them, you know? It’s totally okay that you do. I just really need you to know that I don’t. I could never hate any part of you, and that includes them.” 

“But I’m not the same.” Her voice cracked a little, and she sniffled, determined not to break down. “I don’t... feel like I’m me any more.” 

“I get that. It’s a big change, and it’s one that’s gonna take time to get used to. But I promise, it doesn’t make a difference to the person that you are inside. And it doesn’t make a difference in the way I feel about you.” 

“How can you be so sure?” 

“Because a life without you is not one I’m interested in living. Every second I’m without you, it feels like my soul is waiting for the rest of it to come back. You are everything to me.” 

He sounded so confident in his words, the honesty practically seeping from his pores, and she knew him well enough to know that he was telling the truth. He really did mean every word he’d said. And that was enough to start the flow of tears again. She didn’t resist as he took her back into his arms, kissing softly across her hairline as she melted against him. 

“I’m sorry. I- that was a lot. If you don’t feel, you know, quite the same way I do, then that’s-” 

Frank found himself unable to speak mid-sentence; (y/n)’s lips were locked against his own, and all he could do was kiss her back. They were both a little breathless when they broke apart, and she jabbed a warning finger into his chest. 

“Don’t you dare apologise. I’ve thought about kissing you, probably since I was twelve. Every date I ever went on, I wished it was you. I spent so many nights laying there in the dark wishing I was brave enough to say something, so I wouldn’t have to watch you with other people any more. I don’t think it’d be possible for me to ever love someone else as much as I love you.” 

Those last three words left them both in silence for a moment, overwhelmed by the enormity of what they’d both just confessed. And then, (y/n) started to giggle. He eyed her curiously. 

“What’s so funny?” 

“Well,” she shrugged, looking a little sheepish. “I just... that’s not exactly how I imagined our first kiss to go, that’s all.” 

He snorted, stroking gently at the spot where the largest of her scars disappeared into her hair. “Yeah, I don’t think I pictured it like that either. It-it was good though, wasn’t it?” 

“Oh, yeah, I’m definitely not complaining.” 

“I mean, we could always... do it again? Just so, you know, we’re sure we’re doing it properly.” 

The little glint in his eyes made her heart flip, and she nuzzled against him. “Sounds good to me.” 

“Good. Because now it’s happened once, I plan on kissing you for the rest of your life. I’ve imagined doing it for so long, there’s no way I’m letting you slip through my fingers again. I hope you’re okay with that, sweet cheeks.” 

As his lips brushed against hers, feather light and tasting of sheer desperation, she just about managed to answer before he took her breath away completely. “I’m sure I can cope with that.”