#get to know yer admin!!

[bubble-popping]

day 15! give it up for day 15!!! i don't think i've ever written anything more c!rivalsduo than this idk what i was on but this captures their dynamic so well. set in my blood of the covenant au on ao3 :)

The last thing Technoblade expected on his doorstep that morning was a certain server admin. He supposed it wasn't that surprising, considering how they'd worked together to destroy Manberg or L'Manberg, whatever they referred to the cursed place as these days, but that didn't exactly call for a sudden visit. How did he even know where to find him? But he could overlook the strangeness and growing concern he had because he'd truly never heard Dream sound so earnest. "Forgive me, Dream, just makin' sure I heard ya right. Ya said ya want me to heh?"

Dream visibly bristled, shoulders going up to his chin--or at least, where Techno assumed his chin was. "Don't play dumb, Techno, I know you heard me. With those-those giant ears of yours." He tried to sound intimidating. Keyword: tried. Because Techno had a pretty good hunch Dream was red as a bush of berries under that ever-smiling mask.

"Relax, man, I'm just clarifyin'." Techno raised his hands in surrender. "So, ya said ya want to learn to make a ring, right? Why would ya come to me for that?"

"Well, cuz you're good with gold, right? Ya know, part piglin and all."

Techno pushed his lips to one side. "That's a little racist, Dream, not gonna lie."

Dream sputtered, entire body jolting like the raised fur of a frightened cat. The mask became kind of pointless when he was still so expressive in his body language. "WHAT, no! That's not-it wouldn't even be racist! It'd be like, species-ist or something-that's not the point!" And Techno couldn't help but laugh because, honestly, this was the guy everyone feared? Dream just scoffed, attempting to square his posture into something more befitting his villainous reputation. "Are you gonna help me or just laugh at me?"

"I dunno, makin' fun of ya sounds real temptin'." Techno shrugged, leaning lazily against the doorway to his newly built tundra home. "What kinda ring ya lookin' to make?"

At this, Dream grew quiet, contemplative. After a minute, he replied, "The kind that'll last. The kind that... that says everything I don't know how to put into words."

And again, Techno had never heard that sort of tone from the man. Soft and reverent, as if there existed anyone on this server somehow above him.

Techno hummed as he debated this. A genuine request, and the potential significance wasn't lost to him that Dream came to him for this. "I'll help ya, Dream."

"Really?"

"On one condition." And all the happiness seemed to instantly fall out of Dream's demeanor.

"What? What is it?"

"Who's the ring for?"

"Not happening," Dream deadpanned.

"Well, then, I guess no ring for you-"

"Ugh! Okay, fine, just, just look. You CAN'T tell ANYONE. Got it? Not even-not even Phil. Like, NO ONE."

"Ya can just say it's George, Dream. Everyone knows ya love him-"

"What, NO-it's not George!"

"Sapnap?"

"No."

"Then...?"

The admin sighed. He looked around, then leaned in before whispering, "It's Punz."

Techno blinked. Once, twice, then narrowed his eyes. Finally, he asked, "Who?"

But Dream didn't respond. In fact, he was deathly still. Statue-like, absolutely nothing given away.

"No, I'm-I'm serious, Dream. I dunno who that is."

"That's not my problem." Dream crossed his arms. "Now, c'mon, you owe me a ring."

"How do I know yer not just lyin' and sayin' some random name-"

"It's not my fault you don't know, bacon! Figure it out yourself-AFTER you help me make the ring."

"Fine, fine. A deal's a deal, and I'm a man of my word."

"More like pigman of your word."

"See, that's not how ya get a ring, Dream."

[magma-queen]

Rekindling the flames

After nearly causing the end of the world with Kyogre, and having his ass saved by some children of all people, and a Pikachu! A Pikachu ruined his plans! Archie found himself slumped as he and Shelly tried to leave the scene.

(This was right after the scene of watching the blue and red orbs destroy each other)

(Bonus points if you can read this in their anime voices >:3)

“Sir, please… I think you need to rest. You’ve been through a lot today.” She says, her hand on his shoulder.

“I’m fine, Shell.. I promise. We just need to get away from here before any police show up…”

“-Ahem.”

They both froze, Archie turns around to see Maxie and his admin Tabitha behind them.

“Oh. It’s.. just ye, Maxie…”

“We need to talk.”

Shelly and Tabitha didn’t know what to say to break the silence of their bosses staring each other down.

“Shelly, why don’t we let these two talk alone? Here, you look famished. Let me take you to get something to eat.”

At first, she was completely stunned by her rival’s actions, but she then realized… it was time to stop fighting. “Of course, I appreciate it.”

With that, they both disappeared into the town nearby. Thank goodness there was a village on this island.

The two leaders were still staring at each other, neither of them knowing what to say.

“Max, I-“

He cut him off. But he had to think, when was the last time that Archie had called him Max? Too long.

“What were you thinking?” Maxie asked him. “Do you understand how much damage you would have done? This is not what EITHER of our organizations strive for.” He had to pause. “Or.. strove for..”

“Max…”

“Do you understand.. that you very well could have died? Kyogre and Groudon are both more powerful and dangerous than we ever could have imagined.. and we were both fools for believing that we could actually control that kind of power..”

“I think from the experience we just had, Max… that I very well know what’s been done. Ya don’t know how much I regret that… and besides, I thought ye’d be happy if I just fell into the ocean and drown!”

“You damned fool!” Maxie shouted, on the verge of tears. “We may have had our differences since we have spilt, but I would NEVER. EVER. Want to lose you!”

“M-Max-?”

Want to lose him? Has Maxie still had his feelings for him after they broke up?

“Maxie…”

He cut him off again. “Just.. let this experience be a lesson to you, Archie… and move forward. Team Magma and Team Aqua are history. This is the last we’ll see each other.”

Before he could leave, Archie rushed to him and grasped his hand.

“It doesn’t have to be like that!” He exclaimed. “Max…”

“What are you-“

Archie wraps his arms around him and holds him close. “Maxie… I’ve missed ye.. so much…”

He was completely stunned. He would’ve never imagined Archie hugging him like this, after everything they’ve been through. All the fighting, the deals, battling, and betrayal.

He didn’t know what to say. He felt his face warm up as his ex cuddled into his shoulder.

“I- will not lie, and say I haven’t missed you as well.. but..”

With no hesitation, Archie lifts his head from Maxie’s shoulder, then presses a kiss to his lips.

“Hm-!”

Maxie didn’t struggle or try to push him away. Instead, he closed his eyes and kissed him back.

Once the kiss was over, Archie spoke once more. “Please… forgive me.. for everything I’ve done.. I was such a damn fool for this entire time.. and the biggest mistake I made… was ever leaving yer side.”

“Archie…”

“I love ye. I never stopped loving ye. Ye’ve always been my only love. Please let us rekindle our relationship, I’ll be forever lost without ye..”

Maxie had no words. He was completely blindsided by the fool. But.. then again, he was HIS fool.

“Max, Please… I love ye so much.. and I’m sorry for everything… can we please give us another chance?”

He had to think for a moment. They’ve been separated multiple times. But.. this time seemed different. Archie was in tears, begging for him to take him back. He did feel like his life was meaningless without him, and he knew that their feelings for each other never went away.

“We.. have much work to do.”

“We’ll do it together. Like we always have. We can get past our mistakes and differences, Max.”

In that moment, Maxie finally gave in and started to cry, leaning himself into Archie’s shoulder and bawling. “Y-You don’t know how long I’ve been w-waiting to hear those words!”

It’s been a long time since he’s seen Maxie cry. “Shh.. shh.. I’ve missed ye, Maxie. So much.”

“I-I- missed you too… don’t ever leave me again…”

He hugged him tightly. “I won’t, Max. Not ever again. Yer mine. And I’m yers.”

Maxie finally said the words Archie was wanting to hear. “I love you.”

”I love ye too.” He smiles, kissing his temple.

With that, they both made the decision to disband both of their teams. They agreed to put their differences aside in order to be together. They even decided to start living together, and they’ve never been closer.

One night, 6 months after they got back together, Archie noticed his boyfriend was more silent than usual before bed, he took his hand and placed it on Maxie’s shoulder.

“Max, ye’ve been really quiet today.. is everything alright, hun?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Archie wasn’t buying his lie. “Max, I can tell when yer lying. C’mon, ye can talk to me.”

“I told you, everything’s fine.”

Archie grinned and pulled him to his chest. “Maxie… tell me what’s bothering ye.”

He stayed silent. Archie tried to think of ways to make him spill it. Then, he remembered something. Something that ALWAYS got the redhead to spill every detail of what he wanted.

“Oh, Max?”

“Mmm… what?” He grumbled. “I told you, nothing is wrong.”

“Oh no, I just wanted to ask ye something.”

“What is it?”

Archie grinned evilly. “After all these years, I must ask… are ye still super ticklish?”

Those words horrified him. He immediately tried to wiggle out of Archie’s grip.

“No-! No I’m not-! Don’t you dare!” Maxie yelled.

“Oh, no? Well, let’s test that out, then.” He says, gently digging his fingers into Maxie’s side.

“Gmmmph-! St-stop it!”

Archie laughs, moving up a bit to a set of his ribs. “Aww c’mon, Max! Don’t ye remember all the times I cheered ye up with tickles? Huh?”

“Eeh-! Y-Yes but- ihihihi’m not- mmmmh! T-Ticklish ahahnymore!”

“Is that so?” He asks, using both hands now, trailing his wiggling fingers and skittering them down to Maxie’s hips.

He slaps his hands over his mouth, knowing that if his boyfriend hears him laugh, it was all over for him.

“Are ye okay, Max?” He laughs again, going up and down his ribs and sides simultaneously.

Even while fighting for his life not to laugh, he accidentally lets out a squeak, making Archie grin once more.

“Oh? Was that a squeak I heard? Maybe I’ve found a spot that’s still ticklish, mmm?”

The teasing was going to be the death of him. After all these years, his ticklishness never went away. And sooner rather than later, Archie was about to find out.

“I remember a particular weak spot ye had.” Archie whispers, moving from his boyfriend’s sides to his belly.

“Oh no! Not there!” He thought, internally panicking. His stomach was one of his most ticklish spots.

“Mmmmm- mhmhmhm-!”

“C’mon, Max.. ye know that ye want to laugh. C’mon~ let it out! tickle tickle tickle~”

Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore, and bursted into a fit of laughter. “Ahahahahaheheheheehe-! N-No!! Nohohohoahahahahahaahah!!!”

“Aha! I knew it! Tickle tickle tickle! Awwww… I missed seeing ye like this, Max. Looks like yer sensitivity never went away, huh?”

“Ahahahahahehehehehe- Sh-Shuhuhuhut uhuhuhup!! *snort* Okahahahay okahahahay-! Y-you gohohohot mehehehe! Ehehehehenough ahahahalready!”

“Ohohoho no, I don’t think so. Ye better spill yer guts about what’s bothering ye, or else ye’ll be laughing all night!”

“Ehehehehehehehe!!! N-Nohothing ihihihihis wrong!! Eeeeeh-!! Stahahahahahahp ihihihihihiht!! Nahahahaht my ahahaharmpihihits! Ahahahahahahahahah- cohohohome ohohohohohohn-!!”

“Hehe! I’ve always loved that laugh of yers. Ye never laugh enough anymore, and we should fix that! Coochie coochie coo!”

“NAHAHAH- Nahahahohohoho teheheheheheasing!!!” The redhead squealed, wiggling back and forth in Archie’s arms as he went back to his sides. “Y-Yohohohou’re suhuhuhuhuch a chihihihihild!!! Ehehehehe- l-let mehehehehe gohohohohohoho!!!”

“Nope~ Sorry, giggle butt. Ye know what to do to have me let ye go. Hmmm… I wonder if yer feet are still ticklish….”

That sent Maxie into a panic. “Oh fohohohor the love ohohohf gahahahahd, nohohohot thehehere!!”

Archie’s eyes lit up. “Oh! So they are, huh? Good!”

“N-NAHAHO!!”

With that, Archie left his other tickle spots alone, then took his socks off.

“No no-! Archie, no!!” He pleaded, gasping for breath. “Please!! I promise, nothing is wrong!”

“Sorry, babe. But I don’t believe ye.” He laughs, poking his foot.

“Ehehehehee! Nooooohohoho!” He giggles, covering his face with a pillow. “Dohohohon’t!!”

Archie gently tickles one of his feet, sending his boyfriend into a mess of cackles.

“EHEHAHAHAHAHAH!!! NAHAHAHAHAT THAHAHAHAT!!! PLEHEHEHEASE NAHAHAHT THE FEHEHEHEHEHEET!!!”

“Dawwwww! The former leader of Team Magma, taken down by a few tickles! Coochie coochie coo!” He quickly grabs the other foot and tickles them both. “Ye ready to tell me now?”

“OKAHAHAHAHAAY!! OHOHOHOKAHAHAHAHAY!! I’LL TEHEHEEHEHELL YOHUHUHU!! JUHUHUST STAHAHAHP IT!!”

Archie releases the iron grip on Maxie’s ankles, and lets him catch his breath. “So, what’s been bothering ye, love?”

“L-Let me.. cahahahtch.. my breath..” He coughed out. Once he finally caught his breath, he spoke. “It has occurred to me… that we’ve been broken up and gotten back together 3 separate times..”

“Yeah? There’s nothing wrong with that, babe. We love each other.”

“Yes, but.. I’m afraid of us falling apart again.. I don’t want that to happen.. Because.. I love you.”

Archie teared up. “Awwww… Maxie.. *kiss* I love ye too. I promise ye that this time will be different. We’ll work through it, together. We’re a team.”

*sniffle*

“Oh- Maxie, honey… c’mon, don’t cry. I love ye.”

“I love you too.. Please forgive my ignorance..”

“You hush. *kiss* Yer not ignorant. Quit saying stuff like that about yerself.”

*sob*

Archie smiles at him. “C’mon, no more of that..” He wipes his tears away. “Don’t make the tickle monster come back and get ye!”

He yelps as his side was poked and wiggled away from him, but not getting far. “N-No-! No tickle monster!!! Hahahahahahahahahah- nohohohoho tihihihihihickle mohohohohonster!!”

“Yes! The tickle monster is gonna getchu!” Archie gleefully attacks his sides. “Hehe, I love that laugh of yers. It’s so cute. Laugh some more, my sweet Max.”

“Ihihihihi ahahaham a grohohohown mahahahan dahahahamn it!! St-Stohohohohohoahahahahp treheheheheheeheating me lihihike ahahahahahah chihihihild!!”

“I’m not!” Archie chuckles, going to his ribs next. “I just love teasing the shit outta ye. It makes ye turn that lovely shade of red~”

“Ehehehehehehehehe!!! A-Archie!!Stahahahahahp ihihihihihihit!!”

“Eventually, I will~”

This continued for a while. Archie was happy to have his redhead smiling and laughing once again.

[ransprang]

YOO I wanted to request a sendo (hni) fanfic(?) about s/o giving him a massage after a match?STAY HEALTHY😋

ANOOOOON THANK YOUUUU IM FROTHING AT THE MOUTH AAAAAAA DJNDKDNFJLDOQO

side note for other people who requested hni content - i've seen y'alls requests! i'll get to them slowly c:

Sendo Takeshi x fem! reader - massage

You peeled off your clothes and watched Sendo's naked form sink into the bathtub. You made your way to the bathtub getting behind him. Being a built man, he takes up most of the space so your chest was pressed against his back.

Gently moving back your hands started working their magic on his shoulders and back. You started to massage every sore spot on Sendo's back as he closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief. His hands gently rested on your thighs.

As the tension from his muscles were waning, his head tilted back and he groaned. A few minutes of hearing his groans made your mind wander..

Your hands moved from his back to wrap around his torso, moving downwards feeling his pecs and abs. Sendo inhaled sharply one of your hands descended further, and gripped his large hard cock.

"Darlin' you don't have t'.." his gaze carefully followed your hand pumping his cock at a leisurely pace. "Fuck babe," he moaned pushing his hips upwards. The grip on your thighs tightening as you increased the pace.

His breath quickened, "Fuck 'm close babe." As you teased the head, Sendo shut his eyes tights and let out a guttural groan. Cum shot out of his cock and into your hand and the bathtub.

Slowly his breath steadied, "That felt good." Grinning you embraced his midsection and put your head on his shoulder, "I'm glad. You looked real tired today. The least I could do for my hardworking man."

Sendo sighed happily putting one hand on yours. The other hand was lifted up to his mouth giving it a kiss. "Yea? Imma make y'feel real good too. So don't bother wearin' yer clothes."

You shivered in anticipation.

.

After the bath you both dried up with towels and went into the bedroom.

"Lie down," Sendo commanded you before crawling on top of your soft body all splayed out perfectly for him. He took a moment to take in the sight before kissing you and grabbing your ass. You both engaged in passionate kisses as your hands rested on his chest.

Kissing down your neck, he makes work of your breasts. Sendo massages and plays with your nipples, the way you do with yourself. He tweaks your nipples earning your sweet moans and squirms.

"Tha' feel good baby? My sweet girl likes her nipples played with hm?" he asked despite very well knowing the effect he was having on you. Arching your back to make him continue, "Y-yes Sendo. Please I need more."

Sendo kisses down your body as you shudder at the feeling. His arms hook underneath your legs as he hoists them up with his body. Your legs now parted, are over his shoulders.

"Gotta taste ya," he whispers while gripping your hips and pulling your wet pussy closer. He parts your lips and kisses your clit. Your legs quivered around his head with every stroke of his tongue caress your sensitive clit.

Letting out every moan, you began rocking your hips, "Yes right there!" Sendo groaned in response, the vibrations of his voice shooting up your spine, making you shiver.

Your thighs clench around his head as a familiar pressure built up. "I'm- I'm!" Before you could finish, you were cumming, legs shaking and quivering around his head.

Sendo made work of your clit gently prolonging your orgasm. As he felt your body relax he gently placed your legs back down.

Looking at your red face he commented, "We gotta do this massage shi' more often."

your masseuse,

admin sar

[realm-sweet-realm]

The Infiltrator, chapter 4: A Legendary Rivalry

N woke up in the orb pool and sat up. It occurred to him that he wasn’t sure what to ask it for. If nothing else, now could be a good time to see if he could give it more complicated demands.

“I want to see what he thinks the plan is. And if you can show me anything about the other admins, that would be great, too.”

Several orbs lifted from the pool and arranged themselves in a line. The line of orbs slithered towards N’s forehead like a snake, and the first one made contact with his forehead, transporting him into the memories.

---

Maxie seethed anger. To be rescued from his dried-out husk of a universe, only to be wrapped up in an evil scheme he wasn’t even allowed to know about, planted in an room to slow down challengers like a mere grunt, and then whipped by random child had not put him in a good mood. He was just on his way down the Aether Foundation’s halls to fetch some revives and hyper potions when he saw someone emerged from one of the doors to make his day even worse.

“Archie?!”

The pirate caught notice of him. “Maxie?!”

“What are you doing here? How are you even here? Are you here to ruin my plans again, you imbecile!?”

“Yer plans? Giovanni made a deal with me! He said that I’m the most successful Archie in the multiverse! And that every version of me was more successful than you’ve ever been!

Maxie crossed his arms and smiled condescendingly in the way that he knew infuriated Archie so much. “Hmph! Well, he was lying to you. You see, he said the exact same thing to me, and I happen to be able to tell when people are being dishonest.”

Archie ground his teeth. “Arg, you pretentious little dolt! Come here and I’ll show ye who the better man is!”

Maxie wasn’t about to take that sitting down. He came towards Archie with fists raised. Predictably, Archie had him pinned down quick with his caveman strength, but Maxie managed to get his teeth around Archie’s wrist and bit until he drew blood. Bellowing in pain, Archie tore his arms away for long enough for Maxie to get to his feet. They exchanged blows for a few seconds before a group of Rainbow Rocket grunts took notice of the brawl and held the two back from each other.

“This isn’t over, Archie!” Maxie spat, struggling against the grips of three grunts.

“Aye. Seems it ain’t ever over, Maxie,” Archie replied.

The scene changed. Maxie was sitting in Giovanni’s office, Archie in a chair beside him and Giovanni pacing before them.

“Alright. So, you had a physical fight. In front of the invading children. While you were headed to revive your Pokémon. You do realize that the time and manpower those grunts wasted splitting you up could have been used to stop them, right?”

Archie and Maxie stayed silent.

“So, truth be told, I was hoping to keep the two of you on separate sides of the Aether Paradise building long enough to raise the Ultra Beast army and move on into the next stage of the plan, at which point it wouldn’t matter if you two could be left in the same room or not. But the fact is, the takeover wasn’t a smash success or a complete failure. Everyone escaped to the back-up compound, and we at least stole the information to raise Ultra Beasts. But that means that I still have use for you two, and so you’re going to have to tolerate each other or I will be putting you both back into your respective universes. Capisce?”

“Yes, Giovanni,” the two said in unison. Maxie thought better of asking what would have been done with them had the plan been more successful.

“Good. Honestly, you two were such a good team back before you decided terrorism should be done to help your fellow beings. Just focus on the dollar bill and you won’t argue about your petty little differences in values anymore. Now scram. I’m late for my persian’s dance recital.”

Archie and Maxie got up and went back to the admins’ common area, which was surprisingly empty for it being around break time. The two gravitated to separate sides of the room, taking the occasional glance at each other.

Don’t do it, Maxie. Just play on your phone for a few minutes and then someone else will come in and it’ll be easier to resist the urge to strangle him.

“So, you won in your universe, too.” Damn it, Maxie. Self-control!

“Aye.”

“Was it worth it?”

“Without a single doubt.  Pokémon can thrive now that people aren’t ruinin’ things for em’.”

“I’m sure all the children you drowned will be thrilled to hear that. How many people are left in your world? How are they living now that you ruined the planet?”

“A few hundred people escaped the flood on boats before the waters receded, and now they’re doin’ just fine. Adapting as humans do. And how goes the mass extinction over in your universe? How are you all doin’ without water?”

“I’m not an idiot, Archie. I know we need water. We still have lakes and rivers. The ecosystem is adapting, as ecosystems do. Humanity will never want for space or resources again now that the oceans are drained. And don’t lecture me on mass extinctions. You must have wiped out just about every land-dwelling species on the planet.”

Archie rolled his eyes and started going through a stack of magazines left on the coffee table. Maxie turned his attention to his phone for a few minutes before looking back to Archie.

“Look. This sucks for both of us, and we might as well not make it suck worse. I’m sorry for starting an argument. Let’s agree to not do that again, and to not engage the other if either of us does. We don’t have to be friends. We just have to stay out of each other’s way. Okay?”

Archie nodded. “Okay.” Was there something sad in his voice, or was Maxie just imagining it?

The scene changed. The Maxie was sitting in a line with the five other admins, Giovanni standing before a white board with a roughly-drawn map of Melemele island with three photos, one of each of the Alola starters on it. He and Archie kept giving each other sharp glances despite there being two people in between them.

“Alright, gentlemen,” Giovanni started, standing in front of the map, “one month from now, school will let off for the summer, meaning that a number of young people will be starting their Pokémon journeys. And we all know that the greatest threat to any criminal empire is that posed by children on Pokémon journeys. So, here’s what we’re going to do about it: We’ll intercept the shipments of starter Pokémon so that the children of Alola will have to wait until next year to have their journeys. Lysandre and I will be taking the shipment of rowlets being bred near Verdant Cavern. Archie, the littens are already en-route, so you’re going to have to steal their ship. Can you handle that?”

“Of course,” Archie answered, passing a smug side glance at Maxie.

He’ll have something for me. He’ll have something better for me, Maxie assured himself.

“Alright. And someone needs to go after the popplio being bred at the seashore, so... Archie, choose a partner, and whoever’s left, go get the popplio.”

Archie immediately grabbed Ghetsis’ hand. Of course he chose the one with military experience- he wanted to make himself look like some big hero with this stupid mission. Well, Maxie would show him!

Cyrus was the only one left for Maxie to pair with. He could work with that. Maxie took him into the hallway.

“So... Cyrus. You must have explosives in your lab, right?”

Cyrus looked at Maxie with dead eyes, as though Maxie were the stupidest and most annoying person alive. “How is that relevant?”

“I wanted to put some flair into this mission, and I was thinking...”

“We’re stealing Pokémon. What good is ‘flair’ when, in the best case scenario, we won’t even be seen?”

“Well, I- Archie gets to do something incredible, so-”

“I have no interest in the meaningless strife between you and Archie. But, if that’s what this about, it would be easier to give in than to risk you trying to come up with some heroics on the fly.”

Maxie smiled. “I knew you’d be on on board with this.” Maybe, Maxie thought, while Archie was stuck with Ghetsis, Maxie could get a second victory on Archie by befriending one of the most unpersonable admins.

A few hours later, the two men were watching as dozens of popplio and brionne clumsily rolled and flopped over each other as they exited their crates and made their way down the steep rock cliff and into the waters of a secluded, rocky beach. The adorable seals looked none too bothered. The distant crackling of a fire and wail of a fire siren pierced the air as the two got into their getaway vehicle.

“Well, that was a near-perfect success, now wasn’t it?” Maxie said.

“It was,” Cyrus replied, starting the car’s engine and pulling onto the road.

“Not only will the kids not be getting their popplio this year, we burnt down their breeding facility and released their breeding brionne. They’ll be lucky if there’s popplio next year, either.”

“Yes.”

“It’s so good to have another academic to talk to. So, how are you adjusting to Team Rainbow Rocket, Cyrus?”

“I’m not interested in your friendship. I don’t intend on spending more time in Rainbow Rocket than necessary. This is a waste of your time.”

“No, it isn’t. We’re in a vehicle. It’ll go just as fast whether I fill the awkward silence or not.”

Cyrus sighed. “I suppose. What do you want to talk about?”

“Well... where do you come from? Do you miss home?”

“Sinnoh. And no.”

“Oh. Because you like this place better?”

“I care nothing for the old world. That’s why I was willing to destroy it to create something better.”

Maxie nodded. “We both have reasons for regret.”

“My only regret is that I wasn’t able to finish my work.”

“Oh. Well, I’d ask for elaboration on why you don’t regret destroying the world and everyone in it, but I want to be able to sleep tonight, so, um.” Maxie cleared his throat. “You’re into space, right? Hoenn was a real nice place for meteor showers and I even got to do some geology work on some asteroids. Interesting stuff, right?”

Hey, this had to be better than Archie was doing with Ghetsis, so he was still winning, right?

The scene changed. Maxie was lying in his bed, wide awake. He turned over to look at his digital clock, which read 4:46. A few hours ago, he’d woken up from a dream about Hoenn. Nothing special had happened in it, just regular nonsensical dream things, but anything that made him think of the home he might never return to was bound to keep him up at night.

It was useless to lay in bed. Maxie got up, put on his daytime clothes, and left his room. He approached Archie’s door and raised a fist to knock on it, but he just couldn’t. Archie was adapting so well to this place, and to show weakness like this... Archie would never let him forget it. Maxie turned and took to his office instead.

Maxie focused himself on balancing Rainbow Rocket’s books. It was fairly easy work considering their generous budget, but also a reminder that the other admins were as intractable as cats. He scanned over a list of bills and invoices.

An invoice from Stage 3- a pure gold necklace, gifted to the princess of Paldea. Of course Lysandre had found another person he wanted to bribe into joining his little task force. It was more surprising that this was the first one this month.

The monthly energy bill- surely enough to power a small village thanks to Cyrus’ lab.

An invoice from Stage 2- a Judas Cradle. Inexpensive, and Maxie knew better than to question what that was. He’d made that mistake before by searching up “breaking wheels” on his pokétch and was forced to conclude that either Ghetsis’ invasion plans involved a lot of psychological warfare or... well, it was better not to wonder.

About an hour into his work, Maxie heard a knock at the door.

Maxie groaned. Who could it possibly be at this hour?

To Maxie’s surprise, it was Archie. “Maxie, could ya come with me a second?” he asked, a sheepish look on his face.

Maxie looked up at Archie. “Sure.”

Archie led Maxie down to a beach. The sunrise was turning both the water and the sand a brilliant orange, and the air was beginning to warm up. Archie looked out at the water, a solemn look on his face.

“If yer world is so great, then why do ya follow Giovanni? The threat he be usin’ on us is to put us back in our universes, after all.”

Maxie sighed. “I was hoping you’d ask that, actually. My universe didn’t turn out. Groudon was uncontrollable. He dried out all the surface water in the world. Pockets of humanity are surviving by using ground water for crops and personal use, but I’m not sure they’ll be able to last long enough for the water to return.” Maxie brushed tears from his eyes. “You tried to stop me. I know you’re not the version of him who did, but I’m sorry that I didn’t listen. I’m so, so sorry.”

Archie turned to look at him, bewildered. “There’s a universe where I was the rational one?”

“Yes!”

“In my universe, you tried to stop me.”

“I’m sorry-”

“No! I should’ve listened. Kyogre flooded the world. He capsized every one of our ships and I couldn’t stop it! I’m not sure humanity’s going to make it.”

There was a moment of silence between them.

“I’m glad there’s someone who knows how I feel. Do you miss Hoenn, Archie?”

“Aye. Every day. I miss  Slateport City. And I miss knowin’ what the hell I was workin’ towards.”

Maxie nodded. “Remember back when we were just Team Rocket grunts and you took me to the hot springs in  Lavaridge? Or did that happen in your universe?”

Archie smiled. “It did. Yer numel ran off with yer glasses-”

“-And I had to run after him with just a towel on. I remember. In that universe, were we... you know...”

“Datin’? No. I never had the courage to ask.”

“Well, actually, I asked you.”

Archie’s face scrunched up in offence. “You got the courage up before me?!”

“Yes,” Maxie said, his voice slipping back into that condescending tone, but he stopped himself. “If it makes you feel better, you could do the honours now.”

“Well, alright. Maxie, this position we’re in is shitty and the other admins are monsters, but let’s give this place a silver lining. Come here.” Archie spread his arms out, and Maxie came in to kiss him. It had been years since he’d felt the stubble on Archie’s face and tasted his sea salt-flavoured lips, and he loved it.

The two separated. “You know, I’ve been wondering: what did Giovanni tell you about the plan? Maybe we can figure out a little more of what he’s planning.”

“He told me that there would be more wild areas for Pokémon. I didn’t ask him to elaborate because I didn’t believe him to begin with.

“Hm. He promised me more space for people. Assuming he isn’t just lying entirely, maybe he’s going to create a new country for himself. It would make sense, as that would give him a good place to start the invasion he’s planning. But again, he could have just been lying to both of us.”

“Well, regardless, let’s keep our eyes peeled for a way out of here, or more information on what the bloody hell he’s doing.”

“Yes. Once there’s a chance, we’ll leave here together. Let’s make that a promise.”

Archie put a hand on Maxie’s shoulder as they looked out at the sunrise. “I promise.”

[housetummelt]

She didn't often go elsewhere other than the hut where Meldacio's admin met for meetings, but today Ezma waited 'till she knew her boy was gone on a hunt an' knocked on the door of his home an' waited for the blonde lady to answer it. The surprise was obvious on Ida's fine features an' Ezma offered a polite smile.

"I wonder if I might have a word with ya?" She waited for Ida to open the door more, knowin' the lady would be too polite t'deny her. Ezma was careful an' quiet in her movements, makin' sure the little'uns were asleep 'fore she spoke to Ida.

"I done heard what yer boy told Kaleb's girl. Now, I don't want ya thinkin' I was told neither - I been around long enough t'know there was more to yer story than bein' a simple refugee an' that's neither here nor there." The old lady didn't mince her words, but they weren't unkind neither. If anythin', Ezma kept her voice low and sympathetic; this was the lady that'd made her David smile again after all.

"I tell everyone that comes here that Meldacio is safe, an' I mean it. Even for you an' yer boys Ida." She fixed her spectacles before lookin' the elegant lady up an' down. "Them fellers think they know best an' that's their own ignorance." She meant her own boy, Kaleb an' Reno in all of that - maybe even jus' fellers in general. "- but it's women who run this place, don't forget that."

"I got eyes an' ears across this continent an' in Nifelheim too. You an' yer boys are still safe, I want ya to know that. An' yer David's family ... that makes y'all mine. I don't take kindly t'folks threatenin' my kin. Ain't no one gonna get any wind o' yer past, y'have my word."

Ida indeed was surprised to see Ezma here, when Dave wasn't around. Not that she would have ever denied the matriarch of Meldacio entrance to her son's house, but there usually was good reason Ezma came to visit.

She stood still when Ezma talked. It were... direct words. They were honest, nothing honeyed. And yet... somehow they offered comfort, too. Ida had her hands folded in front of herself and her knuckles turned white at the tight grip she had on herself.

The past hours had been a rush. The admission and then argument with Reno. The bags Ida had prepared. Telling David what had happened. And still... nothing could subdue her fear. The fate of her family now laid in the hands of a young girl, whose life had been wrecked by Niflheim. Ida had no faith in that. Because having that would be naive. And she could not be naive when her sons' lives were concerned.

"I guess I should just put up a sign to advertise where I and the boys hail from by now."

Dave knew. He had told Kaleb. Against Ida's insistence. Reno of course knew. He had told Selena. Against Ida's warnings.

Somehow Ezma knew, too - and somehow Ida couldn't blame her any more. She had given up on this secret, because honestly... now it was out anyway. Though, still. Ezma was somehow different.

And maybe it was the way this older woman behaved, the way she always acted, the way she always seemed to be in control... somehow that broke Ida's otherwise very collected composure. She could feel tears trickle down her face for a moment, quickly wiping them away again.

"Thank you... I want to trust your promise. But I am not sure a promise will be enough against bullets or blades. Not even yours. Tensions are high enough as it is. And now this just paints the perfect target on us - for all the grief and anger Niflheim caused the Lucians. I don't expect anyone to listen to my pleas, when it comes to that. Not anymore. It's not like even those around me listened before. No one will listen."

@ezma-auburnbrie

[yuma-mukami-garden-god]

(I wanna do a little roleplay with ya admin ^^ oh and I'll start)

Lui was at the Mukami's residents. She's staying for a few nights since she's close friends with Azusa, even though she's also friends with the others, well except for one...Yuma mukami.

She can tell he's a nice guy and loves his garden but she just can't seem to go up to him and have a conversation with him, why? Because she's kinda scared......why? Well, um let's just say she may have been the one who ate all of his sugar cubes while he was out gardening and that was before even getting a chance to meet him,literally!

Anyways, right now she's looking for something to snack on until she saw the sugar cubes and couldn't help but to grab some. Meanwhile, she doesn't notice a certain someone(Yuma) entering the kitchen.

(This is how Lui looks like btw and I hope you have a wonderful day too)

OI sow whatcha think yer doing those are mine ya know

*walks up behind her towering over her and takes the jar of sugar cubes out of her hand*

If ya hungry there's plenty of other food the sugar cubes are mine and it's rare I ever share em sow

*puts sugar cubes on top shelf out of her reach*

Now what are we gonna do fer yer punishment?

(Hi sorry it took so long!! Hope u had a great day)

[the-prophesied-disco-gay]

I've spent a lot of my life speaking on a telephone in exchange for wages. Call centers of a variety of stripes and spots, receptionist/admin/legal assistant type work etc, and I've overheard *so many* amazing and hilarious and disturbing things. One of my favorites was while I was working doing customer service and appointment setting/management for a window and door company (one of the 3 different jobs I have had doing...exactly that lol). The customer that called in was an older lady, hard of hearing, so the conversation had already been a bit shouty through the initial "get the basic info" part of the call. Then, enter her also hard of hearing old man husband:

"Woman! What in tarnation are you doin?!?"

"I'm gettin the window people out here!

"What?!? Why?!"

Earl! Do not start talkin to me when I. Am. On. The. Phone!"

*noticibly quieter, as though he's walking out of the room* "yer spendin my money woman, I know it"

They signed for full home replacement on the first visit, it took them 20 minutes to decide everything, which the rep described as "20 minutes of the greatest test of his poker face he's ever experienced"

Me: I hate gossip

Also me:

[meldaciomartyr]

"Don't I get a kiss for luck? It's kind of a tradition, right?"

Percy Jackson sentence starters:

The hunt to the dungeons every year was always the same; a party of their highest-ranking, chosen by the admin of the outpost, all left for a week or two, not knowin' if they'd be back.

It was understandable for folks t'be worried, which was what Ida was when he kissed her and felt her fingers holdin' onto his vest tighter and longer than normal. Plantin' a kiss on Will's head, he passed their little'un back over and offered a reassurin' smile.

But it was walkin' towards the trucks, past Enok and his always-smilin' face that Dave heard the words an' felt his patience wearing to a point and he paused beside the boy. "I don't know who went an' told y'all ya were funny, but y'aint an' yer on some mighty thin ice.

"I ain't gonna be here t'protect yer ass till after this hunt, neither is Kaleb. Think that over for yerself."

[worksinprogress1]

N woke up in the orb pool and sat up. It occurred to him that he wasn’t sure what to ask it for. If nothing else, now could be a good time to see if he could give it more complicated demands.

“I want to see what he thinks the plan is. And if you can show me anything about the other admins, that would be great, too.”

Several orbs lifted from the pool and arranged themselves in a line. The line of orbs slithered towards N’s forehead like a snake, and the first one made contact with his forehead.

---

Maxie seethed anger. To be rescued from his dried-out husk of a universe, only to be wrapped up in an evil scheme he wasn’t even allowed to know about, planted in an room to slow down challengers like a mere grunt, and then whipped by random child had not put him in a good mood. He was just on his way down the Aether Foundation’s halls to fetch some revives and hyper potions when he saw someone emerged from one of the doors to make his day even worse.

“Archie?!”

The pirate caught notice of him. “Maxie?!”

“What are you doing here? How are you even here? Are you here to ruin my plans again, you imbecile!?”

“Yer plans? Giovanni made a deal with me! He said that I’m the most successful Archie in the multiverse! And that every version of me was more successful than you’ve ever been!

Maxie crossed his arms and smiled condescendingly in the way that he knew infuriated Archie so much. “Hmph! Well, he was lying to you. You see, he said the exact same thing to me, and I happen to be able to tell when people are being dishonest.”

Archie ground his teeth. “Arg, you pretentious little dolt! Come here and I’ll show ye who the better man is!”

Maxie wasn’t about to take that sitting down. He came towards Archie with fists raised. Predictably, Archie had him pinned down quick with his caveman strength, but Maxie managed to get his teeth around Archie’s wrist and bit until he drew blood. Bellowing in pain, Archie tore his arms away for long enough for Maxie to get to his feet. They exchanged blows for a few seconds before a group of Rainbow Rocket grunts took notice of the brawl and held the two back from each other.

“This isn’t over, Archie!” Maxie spat, struggling against the grips of three grunts.

“Aye. Seems it ain’t ever over, Maxie,” Archie replied.

The scene changed. Maxie was sitting in Giovanni’s office, Archie in a chair beside him and Giovanni pacing before them.

“Alright. So, you had a physical fight. In front of the invading children. While you were headed to revive your Pokémon. You do realize that the time and manpower those grunts wasted splitting you up could have been used to stop them, right?”

Archie and Maxie stayed silent.

“So, truth be told, I was hoping to keep the two of you on separate sides of the Aether Paradise building long enough to raise the Ultra Beast army and move on into the next stage of the plan, at which point it wouldn’t matter if you two could be left in the same room or not. But the fact is, the takeover wasn’t a smash success or a complete failure. Everyone escaped to the back-up compound, and we at least stole the information to raise Ultra Beasts. But that means that I still have use for you two, and so you’re going to have to tolerate each other or I will be putting you both back into your respective universes. Capisce?”

“Yes, Giovanni,” the two said in unison. Maxie thought better of asking what would have been done with them had the plan been more successful.

“Good. Honestly, you two were such a good team back before you decided terrorism should be done to help your fellow beings. Just focus on the dollar bill and you won’t argue about your petty little differences in values anymore. Now scram. I’m late for my persian’s dance recital.”

Archie and Maxie got up and went back to the admins’ common area, which was surprisingly empty for it being around break time. The two gravitated to separate sides of the room, taking the occasional glance at each other.

Don’t do it, Maxie. Just play on your phone for a few minutes and then someone else will come in and it’ll be easier to resist the urge to strangle him.

“So, you won in your universe, too.” Damn it, Maxie. Self-control!

“Aye.”

“Was it worth it?”

“Without a single doubt. Pokémon can thrive now that people aren’t ruinin’ things for em’.”

“I’m sure all the children you drowned will be thrilled to hear that. How many people are left in your world? How are they living now that you ruined the planet?”

“A few hundred people escaped the flood on boats before the waters receded, and now they’re doin’ just fine. Adapting as humans do. And how goes the mass extinction over in your universe? How are you all doin’ without water?”

“I’m not an idiot, Archie. I know we need water. We still have lakes and rivers. The ecosystem is adapting, as ecosystems do. Humanity will never want for space or resources again now that the oceans are drained. And don’t lecture me on mass extinctions. You must have wiped out just about every land-dwelling species on the planet.”

Archie rolled his eyes and started going through a stack of magazines left on the coffee table. Maxie turned his attention to his phone for a few minutes before looking back to Archie.

“Look. This sucks for both of us, and we might as well not make it suck worse. I’m sorry for starting an argument. Let’s agree to not do that again, and to not engage the other if either of us does. We don’t have to be friends. We just have to stay out of each other’s way. Okay?”

Archie nodded. “Okay.” Was there something sad in his voice, or was Maxie just imagining it?”

The scene changed. The Maxie was sitting in a line with the five other admins, Giovanni standing before a white board with a roughly-drawn map of Melemele island with three photos, one of each of the Alola starters on it. He and Archie kept giving each other sharp glances despite there being two people in between them.

“Alright, gentlemen,” Giovanni started, standing in front of the map, “one month from now, school will let off for the summer, meaning that a number of young people will be starting their Pokémon journeys. And we all know that the greatest threat to any criminal empire is that posed by children on Pokémon journeys. So, here’s what we’re going to do about it: We’ll intercept the shipments of starter Pokémon so that the children of Alola will have to wait until next year to have their journeys. Lysandre and I will be taking the shipment of rowlets being bred near Verdant Cavern. Archie, the littens are already en-route, so you’re going to have to steal their ship. Can you handle that?”

“Of course,” Archie answered, passing a smug side glance at Maxie.

He’ll have something for me. He’ll have something better for me, Maxie assured himself.

“Alright. And someone needs to go after the popplios being bred at the seashore, so... Archie, choose a partner, and whoever’s left, go get the popplio.”

Archie immediately grabbed Ghetsis’ hand. Of course he chose the one with military experience- he wanted to make himself look like some big hero with this stupid mission. Well, Maxie would show him!

Cyrus was the only one left for Maxie to pair with. He could work with that. Maxie took him into the hallway.

“So... Cyrus. You must have explosives in your lab, right?”

Cyrus looked at Maxie dead eyes, as though Maxie were the stupidest and most annoying person alive. “How is that relevant?”

“I wanted to put some flair into this mission, and I was thinking...”

“We’re stealing Pokémon. What good is ‘flair’ when, in the best case scenario, we won’t even be seen?”

“Well, I- Archie gets to do something incredible, so-”

“I have no interest in the meaningless strife between you and Archie. But, if that’s what this about, it would be easier to give in than risk you trying to come up with some heroics on the fly.”

Maxie smiled. “I knew you’d be on on board with this.” Maybe, Maxie thought, while Archie was stuck with Ghetsis, Maxie could get a second victory on Archie by befriending one of the most unpersonable admins.

A few hours later, the two men were watching as dozens of popplio and brionne clumsily rolled and flopped over each other as they exited their crates and made their way down the steep rock cliff and into the waters of a secluded, rocky beach. The adorable seals looked none too bothered. The distant crackling of a fire and wail of a fire siren were pierced the air as the two got into their getaway vehicle.

“Well, that was a near-perfect success, now wasn’t it?” Maxie said.

“It was,” Cyrus replied, starting the car’s engine and pulling onto the road.

“Not only will the kids not be getting their popplio this year, we burnt down their breeding facility and released their breeding brionne. They’ll be lucky if there’s popplio next year, either.”

“Yes.”

“It’s so good to have another academic to talk to. So, how are you adjusting to Team Rainbow Rocket, Cyrus?”

“I’m not interested in your friendship. I don’t intend on spending more time in Rainbow Rocket than necessary. This is a waste of your time.”

“No it isn’t. We’re in a vehicle. It’ll go just as fast whether I fill the awkward silence or not.”

Cyrus sighed. “I suppose. What do you want to talk about?”

“Well... where do you come from? Do you miss home?”

“Sinnoh. And no.”

“Oh. Because you like this place better?”

“I care nothing for the old world. That’s why I was willing to destroy it to create something better.”

Maxie nodded. “We both have reasons for regret.”

“My only regret is that I wasn’t able to finish my work.”

“Oh. Um. Well, I’d ask for elaboration on why you don’t regret destroying the world and everyone in it, but I want to be able to sleep tonight, so, um.” Maxie cleared his throat. “You’re into space, right? Hoenn was a real nice place for meteor showers and I even got to do some geology work on some asteroids. Interesting stuff, right?”

Hey, this had to be better than Archie was doing with Ghetsis, so he was still winning, right?

The scene changed. Maxie was lying in his bed, wide awake. He turned over to look at his digital clock, which read 4:46. A few hours ago, he’d woken up from a dream about Hoenn. Nothing special had happened in it, just regular nonsensical dream things, but anything that made him think of the home he might never return to was bound to keep him up at night.

It was useless to lay in bed. Maxie got up, put on his daytime clothes, and left his room. He approached Archie’s door and raised a fist to knock on it, but he just couldn’t. Archie was adapting so well to this place, and to show weakness like this... Archie would never let him forget it. Maxie turned and took to his office instead.

Maxie focused himself on balancing Rainbow Rocket’s books. It was fairly easy work considering their generous budget, but also a reminder that the other admins were as intractable as cats. He scanned over a list of bills and invoices.

An invoice from Stage 3- a pure gold necklace, gifted to the princess of Paldea. Of course Lysandre had found another person he wanted to bribe into joining his little task force. It was more surprising that this was the first one this month.

The monthly energy bill- surely enough to power a small village thanks to Cyrus’ lab.

An invoice from Stage 2- a Judas Cradle. Inexpensive, and Maxie knew better than to question what that was. He’d made that mistake before by searching up “breaking wheels” on his pokétch and was forced to conclude that either Ghetsis’ invasion plans involved a lot of psychological warfare or... well, it was better not to wonder.

About an hour into his work, Maxie heard a knock at the door.

Maxie groaned. Who could it possibly be at this hour?

To Maxie’s surprise, it was Archie. “Maxie, could ya come with me a second?” he asked, a sheepish look on his face.

Maxie looked up at Archie. “Sure.”

Archie led Maxie down to a beach. The sunrise was turning both the water and the sand a brilliant orange, and the air was beginning to warm up. Archie looked out at the water, a solemn look on his face.

“If yer world is so great, then why do ya follow Giovanni? The threat he be usin’ on us is to put us back in our universes, after all.”

Maxie sighed. “I was hoping you’d ask that, actually. My universe didn’t turn out. Groudon was uncontrollable. He dried out all the surface water in the world. Pockets of humanity are surviving by using ground water for crops and personal use, but I’m not sure they’ll be able to last long enough for the water to return.” Maxie brushed tears from his eyes. “You tried to stop me. I know you’re not the version of him who did, but I’m sorry that I didn’t listen. I’m so, so sorry.”

Archie turned to look at him, bewildered. “There’s a universe where I was the rational one?”

“Yes!”

“In my universe, you tried to stop me.”

“I’m sorry-”

“No! I should’ve listened. Kyogre flooded the world. He capsized every one of our ships and I couldn’t stop it! I’m not sure humanity’s going to make it.”

There was a moment of silence between them.

“I’m glad there’s someone who knows how I feel. Do you miss Hoenn, Archie?”

“Aye. Every day. I miss Slateport City. And I miss knowin’ what the hell I was workin’ towards.”

Maxie nodded. “Remember back when we were just Team Rocket grunts and you took me to the hot springs in Lavaridge? Or did that happen in your universe?”

Archie smiled. “It did. Yer numel ran off with yer glasses-”

“-And I had to run after him with just a towel on. I remember. In that universe, were we... you know...”

“Datin’? No. I never had the courage to ask.”

“Well, actually, I asked you.”

Archie’s face scrunched up in offence. “You got the courage up before me?!”

“Yes,” Maxie said, his voice slipping back into that condescending tone, but he stopped himself. “If it makes you feel better, you could do the honours now.”

“Well, alright. Maxie, this position we’re in is shitty and the other admins are beyond crazy, but let’s give this place a silver lining. Come here.” Archie spread his arms out, and Maxie came in to kiss him. It had been years since he’d felt the stubble on Archie’s face and tasted his sea salt-flavoured lips, and he loved it.

The two separated. “You know, I’ve been wondering: what did Giovanni tell you about the plan? Maybe we can figure out a little more of what he’s planning.”

“He told me that there would be more wild areas for Pokémon. I didn’t ask him to elaborate because I didn’t believe him to begin with.

“Hm. He promised me more space for people. Assuming he isn’t just lying entirely, maybe he’s going to create a new country for himself. It would make sense, as that would be a good place to start the invasion he’s planning. But again, he could have just been lying to both of us.”

“Well, regardless, let’s keep our eyes peeled for a way out of here, or more information on what the bloody hell he’s doing.”

“Yes. Once there’s a chance, we’ll leave here together. Let’s make that a promise.”

Archie put a hand on Maxie’s shoulder as they looked out at the sunrise. “Aye. I promise.”

[askengiecow]

Taurie could see that Pyro was attentive though couldn't detect just how excited the firebug was, least not until he finally shared the news.

"Dell n'me, we're gonna get hitched." He smiled, the words still not feeling real. "Gonna- whoa there!" Taurie gasped as Pyro wrapped their arms around the cowman. It felt like the little merc was giddly trying to implode his rib cage and if not for the happy mumbles he'd be concerned that Pyro was actually trying to do him in.

"Py....not so....tight..." Taurie wheezed, letting out a relieved low when he was finally released. He sucked in several lungfuls of air, hand on his aching chest.

"Heh, glad yer happy at least." He managed to smile, giving Pyro's shoulder a squeeze. "Where's everyone else at? Think they'll take the news good as you?"

He chuckled. If so, he might need to make sure he was close to a dispenser.

"Dell's off callin' Admin..." Taurie added, his joyful expression turning to one of worry. The woman had to know how close the two had become. She seemed to know everything that went on at the bases. The fact she hadn't transferred Taurie as he and Dell grew more serious had to be a good sign, right?

“It ain’t that bad, to be honest it didn’t really feel like ya, felt like… well, It kinda felt like I was lookin’ after our kid.” Dell admitted, a small ache forming in his chest knowing that the child was gone, the device not destroyed but locked away with a few other devices he couldn’t bring himself to take apart or destroy.

“But it’s a good thing it wasn’t. Turns out I ain’t as cut out for being a Pop as I’d hoped.” he lamented with a laugh.

Putting his arms on Taurie’s shoulders as he sat sulking at his desk, Dell began to massage them. “Really though, I missed ya, this ya, dearly. Didn’t feel right with ya gone, so do ya think ya could maybe let me make it up to ya with a date tonight? Think yer gonna be happy with where I got in mind.” He cooed sweetly, voice packed with affection as he tried his best to coax Taurie into going and accepting his company after their fight over all the pictures he had taken of child Tauire being adorable. Dell’s refusal to let Tauire destroy them.

Sitting with a frown on his face, Taurie idly shuffled through a stack of paperwork that had been left on his desk, trying to think about anything but the apparently humiliating events of the past few days. He couldn't remember anything after walking down to respawn with the box of spare parts; a blessing in disguise perhaps, if Dell hadn't of been so eager to document his time as a child with enough photos to put his own mother to shame.

Though he had to admit.... it had been clever of Pyro to put him in that onesie. Horribly, embarrassingly, clever.

Aside from plenty of jokes and good natured teasing from his teammates once returned to normal it seems his secret had been kept.

Listening to Dell behind him the cowman snorted, glancing over his shoulder with a half smirk.

"Ain't cut out huh? Well, ya did keep me in one piece." No simple feat at the base, even without an infestation of man eating muffins. "But did ya have to take so many pictures?"

Turning back to his desk he pauses as (at least one) warm hands began to knead his shoulders. Groaning softly he closes his eyes and listens to Dell's sweet drawl. His Sugar quickly diluting his sour mood.

"You tryin' to butter me up?" He said with a click of his tongue. "Hmm... has been awhile since we went out together hasn't it?" Turning his head Taurie pushes his own goggles up to his forehead, fixing Dell with those familiar greens.

"Guess ah can be persuaded. Save me another evenin' of Scout's jokes. What sort of place ya got in mind?"

@dirty-dell

[prettylittleliarsxxxx]

Could you answer like all the questions you posted? (If you feel comfortable) I was literally going down the list and thinking of asking you every single one! Haha

alksghldgh sure! I love doing these!

1. Would you have sex with the last person you text messaged? Nope, last person I texted was my brother so. Nope nope nope.2. You talked to an ex today, correct? I would rather jump out of a plane without a parachute.3. Have you taken someone's virginity? I guess? Does it count if he ‘took’ mine too? lol4. Is trust a big issue for you? Sometimes. I tend to trust other people more than I trust myself, which is a problem.5. Did you hang out with the person you like recently? Naw. I don’t really like anyone hehe. I’ve had crushes over the years but they’ve mostly been on online people!

the rest is under the cut!

6. What are you excited for? I go to the UK in like…3 weeks or something! I get to see my best friend!!!7. What happened tonight? It’s 7am. I can tell you there’ll be hockey tonight but Idk if my team is gonna win or lose...8. Do you think it’s disgusting when girls get really wasted? No. You do you, honey. Unless you have a drinking problem, then maybe it’s not the best idea9. Is confidence cute? Confidence is great10. What is the last beverage you had? Water or diet coke11. How many people of the opposite sex do you fully trust? Uhhhh two, I suppose. My brothers lol12. Do you own a pair of skinny jeans? Ya Old Navy surprisingly has super comfy plus size skinny jeans and I love them13. What are you gonna do Saturday night? I have absolutely nothing planned :D14. What are you going to spend money on next? The bus15. Are you going out with the last person you kissed? God no16. Do you think you’ll change in the next 3 months? I hope so17. Who do you feel most comfortable talking to about anything? Really anyone I’d consider a friend. But Ellie & Joy for sure, I don’t know what I’d do without them18. The last time you felt broken? Every day of my life for 15 years19. Have you had sex today? No20. Are you starting to realize anything? I realize stuff every day lol. It’s normally about my depression. Lately I’ve come to realize that I try to make myself available 24/7 for people. I stay near my phone or computer in case anybody is in a crisis and needs to talk because I feel bad if I’m not there for people. I need to work on that.21. Are you in a good mood? Meh, decent enough22. Would you ever want to swim with sharks? BINCH I ALREADY DID23. Are your eyes the same color as your dad’s? Errrr maybe. I don’t remember what colour his eyes are24. What do you want right this second?  Take a nap25. What would you say if the person you love/like kissed another girl/boy? If we weren’t dating, I’d say go for it. If we were dating, we’d obviously have to talk about some things.26. Is your current hair color your natural hair color? No. I dyed my hair 7 fucking months ago and IT’S STILL RED!!!!!! It’s faded decently but it’s still red!!! I’m tired of red! I gotta get my hair dyed again lol27. Would you be able to date someone who doesn’t make you laugh? No.28. What was the last thing that made you laugh? I dunno, probably something I said to my mom last night29. Do you really, truly miss someone right now? Ya30. Does everyone deserve a second chance? I used to think yes but now, I’m not sure. I think it depends what you did. If you’re a ped*phile? No, no you don’t. If you break someone’s trust or something, yeah, I think people deserve a second chance.31. Honestly, do you hate the last boy you were talking to? Literally the only boys I talk to are my cousin and my brothers, so no.32. Does the person you have feelings for right now, know you do? WHY ARE YOU SO INTERESTED IN MY LOVE LIFE!! Not everyone is into that, Brenda!!!33. Are you one of those people who never drinks soda? No. I literally always have a diet coke with me.34. Listening to? Nothing right now35. Do you ever write in pencil anymore? Sometimes but not usually.36. Do you know where the last person you kissed is? No, it’s been like 2 years37. Do you believe in love at first sight? Eh. Sort of. I think people have connections at first sight, I think people can know if there’s a capacity to love someone at first sight. But I don’t know if I think love at first sight exists.38. Who did you last call? My brother39. Who was the last person you danced with? My ex boyfriend when we were in 9th grade.40. Why did you kiss the last person you kissed? Because he wouldn’t leave me alone so I caved.41. When was the last time you ate a cupcake? No idea tbh42. Did you hug/kiss one of your parents today? No. We’re not the hugging type43. Ever embarrass yourself in front of a crush? Of course. I embarrass myself in front of everyone lol44. Do you tan in the nude? No45. If you could, would you take back your last kiss? Yeah I’d take back that whole like 1 week relationship tbh46. Did you talk to someone until you fell asleep last night? Naw47. Who was the last person to call you? A telemarketer48. Do you sing in the shower? Boy do I!!!! I put on like a full fucking concert in the shower49. Do you dance in the car? Ya! Only if I’m with my friend though. Our playlist is basically a bunch of songs we listened to in high school.50. Ever used a bow and arrow? Yes51. Last time you got a portrait taken by a photographer? My brothers wedding, so I think 201352. Do you think musicals are cheesy? Some can be but I like them anyway53. Is Christmas stressful? Oh my god yes. Mostly just the big dinner part but once the excess people leave and it’s just me, my mom, my brothers & their other halves, and my cousin, it’s great!54. Ever eat a pierogi? Yeah55. Favorite type of fruit pie? Cherry56. Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid? Meteorologist, marine biologist, psychologist, social worker, interior designer57. Do you believe in ghosts? Yes58. Ever have a deja-vu feeling? YES. I get that all the time, I hate it59. Take a vitamin daily? No, just my anti depressants lol60. Wear slippers? Only in the winter if I’m really cold61. Wear a bath robe? No, never62. What do you wear to bed? Tank top and sweatpants63. First concert? Simple Plan, 10th Grade.64. Wal-Mart, Target or Kmart? Walmart because I’m Canadian and we ain’t got Target or K-mart anymore65. Nike or Adidas? Neither66. Cheetos Or Fritos? Cheetos67. Peanuts or sunflower seeds? I love both68. Favorite Taylor Swift song? Long Live69. Ever take dance lessons? I took ballet for a hot second when I was like 3 or 4. It didn’t last long lol70. Is there a profession you picture your future spouse doing? I don’t intend on having a future spouse, but if I do settle down with anyone (and I don’t think it’s likely), they’d have to be a creative type71. Can you curl your tongue? No but I can roll it72. Ever won a spelling bee? No because I never entered one lol73. Have you ever cried because you were so happy? Probably74. What is your favorite book? Aristotle and Dante Discover The Secrets of The Universe75. Do you study better with or without music? With76. Regularly burn incense? No77. Ever been in love? Yeah78. Who would you like to see in concert? I’ve seen most of my faves in concert but the one group that alludes me because they never come here is The Script.79. What was the last concert you saw? Simple Plan, July 201680. Hot tea or cold tea? Either81. Tea or coffee? BOTH82. Favorite type of cookie? Oatmeal raisin or peanut butter83. Can you swim well? Extremely well.84. Can you hold your breath without holding your nose? Like in regards to swimming?? If so, then nope.85. Are you patient? Sometimes overly so.86. DJ or band at a wedding? DJ87. Ever won a contest? No88. Ever have plastic surgery? No but I’m hoping to get a breast reduction within the next few years.89. Which are better, black or green olives? Black olives but basically only on pizza or in salad.90. Opinions on sex before marriage? Whatever floats your boat91. Best room for a fireplace? Living room92. Do you want to get married? No

[leggerefiore]

Select Villainous Team Leaders as Dad's Reacting To You Dating the Subway Bosses

cw: Lysandre's part is a bit darker

🌧Archie🌊

💧 He's a bit overprotective as a father, not overly so, but he is ready to fight anyone at a moment's notice (in general). You're a precious thing to him, and he wants to see you happy more than anything. Not to mention, some people have tried to attack you in an attempt to hurt him.

💧 He was upset to see you leave Hoenn and move off to somewhere like Unova. The lack of ocean was terribly disappointing, and how far you would be from him was distressing. You weren't no longer than a few hours away at most anymore. He calls you often to check in on you.

💧 Then, you start telling them of these guys you have started dating. His dad instincts kick in, and he needs to meet these men. Shelly and Matt tag along to watch the show unfold. Well, Shelly's coming to watch and perhaps mediate, while Matt is going to cheer on his bro.

💧 Archie lands in Unova and immediately takes a cab to Nimbasa. Shelly is trailing along, and Matt is rushing after him. He enters the Gear Station and stares at the crowds of people. How was he supposed to find two 'Subway Bosses' in this mess? He thinks for a moment before getting frustrated. “WHERE ARE THE SUBWAY BITCHBOYS?” booms across the station.

💧 Ingo doesn't miss that from his conversation he was having with an upset commuter. Apologising to the person, he backs away from them and approaches whoever yelled that. Were they another unhappy patron, or was it someone making a bad joke? Ingo needed to find out and ask that they don't try to put his volume to shame.

💧 The Subway Boss's approach is noticed by the Aqua Leader, who immediately is stomping over to him. Archie is actually a few centimetres below the man in height, but his muscular build gives him one advantage. Pirate dad must test this man the only way he knows how. The tanned man charges at Ingo, who freezes in shock. His eyes close as he readies himself to hit the ground and possibly be hit.

💧 It never comes. Silver eyes spy a scene happening before him. Emmet was pinning the man to the ground with a terrifying grin on his face. Matt yells out and moves to free Archie, while Shelly is trying to figure out whether the police need to be called. Ingo further confused when Archie starts laughing. “I was worried about my scamp's new boyfriends,” he continues his antics while looking at Emmet with an impressed gleam in his eyes, “You seem like you'll keep 'em safe.”

💧 Shelly, smartly, called you. It was a fun experience introducing your father as the man who tried to take out Ingo. The twins were a bit distressed, they felt like they had seen his face somewhere before, but couldn't pin it down. Emmet watched him carefully as he brought you into a tight hug before pulling away to mess up your hair. “Well, I'm trusting you to keep them safe,” Archie took on a serious tone, “People might try to hurt 'em 'cause of me. Yer job is to not let that happen.”

💧 After Archie and his admins left, you turned to the horribly confused twins. How do you explain that your dad is a wanted ecoterrorist? Especially to such seemingly average men. Did they need to know? You shook your head and kissed Ingo in another apology. Emmet whined and demanded you do the same (and more) to him.

☀️Maxie🌋

🪨 Maxie was not an overprotective father. No, he was overbearing. He scrutinised everyone who tried to enter your life to an impossible standard. The Magma Leader wants to be the parent he feels he never had. There's also the fear that people may try to manipulate you, or you'll end up in a criminal organisation like he had.

🪨 He accepted that you were leaving Hoenn, but didn't agree with it. The climate of the region was perfect, and his feelings toward Unova were odd. What with the weird group trying to advocate for "Pokemon Liberation" and terrible food. He calls you every day at the same time to check in on you. Maxie is constantly worrying about you.

🪨 He panics when you start telling him about these twins you had started dating. The Magma Leader asks his millions of questions before deciding final judgment must be made in person. Tabitha helps him pick a discreet flight, while Courtney is going with him. Tabitha is, too, of course. They are Maxie's closest friends and view you as their nibling. The upper crust of Team Magma are coming to pass judgment on some conductors.

🪨 Maxie researches these 'Subway Bosses' and comes to the conclusion that he will pretend to be a commuter with a complaint. He marches into the station (Tabitha and Courtney trailing close behind) to submit a fake complaint. He stands with stiff posture, hands firmly behind his back. The chill of Unova was already bothering him. The depot agent apologises and explains that it will take a while for one of the Subway Bosses to speak with him. He accepts; he can wait.

🪨 His hunger begins to make itself known while he waits, so he investigates a shops set up in the station. One is a sweets store, and Maxie feels his mouth water. It had been a while since he had something sugary. He walks in and spies a lava cookie, only one left in stock. Someone enters after him, but he doesn't turn to see who. He orders the cookie from the cashier, but a gasp comes from behind. “I was going to order that,” the monotone voice manages to whine.

🪨 Maxie turns around to see who complained. It was one of the Subway Bosses! The Magma Leader grew enraged. Is this why he had been waiting? “Excuse me, are you a Subway Boss?” He questions with a clinical tone. The man nods at him, “Yes. I am Emmet. I am a Subway Boss.” The judgment was made as he considered the twin closely. His tie was a bit messy, there was a noticeable stain on his bottom right pant leg, and there was Joltik laying on his shoulder. Unworthy.

🪨 “Cease communication with,” your name was hissed out, “immediately or face Team Magma's fury.” Emmet tilted his head in confusion. Who was this guy? Team Magma? “No. Why do you know my partner's name? You aren't stalking them, are you?” The younger twin would show no mercy if he was. “I am Maxie, their father. Did they not tell you? What a passing fancy you must be,” the red-head sneered.

🪨 In the end, Emmet was restrained by Tabitha, while Courtney and Maxie both left bad reviews for the Battle Subway. Ingo was alerted of the scene and called you. Yes, Maxie was your father, and, yes, the people with him are your family. You freed Emmet from the admin's grip after you had gotten to the station.

🪨 A long, private discussion was had with the Magma Leader before he approached the twins again. “I suppose I must accept you. I have a mission for you both, however. Keep them away from harm and Team Plasma,” he ordered them. Emmet was confused by your father's attitude, and Ingo was debating how you were related to an ecoterrorist.

🪨 After Maxie and the admins leave, you are asked many, many questions. Namely, do you want to dry up the oceans, too? You do not. They find it strange, but overall shrug it off. You're not your parent, after all. On the bright side, Emmet got that lava cookie.

🔥Lysandre🍷

☕️ He is overprotective and overbearing. You are the most precious thing in the Flare Boss's life. No one is allowed to even look at you funny, or they are dealt with in some way. You were hidden away in his Lumiose City apartment for most of your life, educated by a private tutor and guarded against the corruption of the outside world.

☕️ Needless to say, he refused to let you leave Kalos. You were safest in his reach, and he was not about to let you rush into some unknown, unpure world. Well, you buy your own plane ticket and rush off to Unova. Escaping your father was the freedom you needed. Lysandre did not take it well. Money is spent in desperate attempts to find you, yet somehow you evade even the most seasoned of investigators.

☕️ It's during a time he was visiting with Sycamore that he sees you. His assistant, Sina was watching a video from a gossip account, and there you were standing beside two men. One holding your hand while the other's arm was around your waist. Lysandre loses his ability to breathe for a moment, then he begs to know who the men were and where that picture was from. Sina and Sycamore both are startled by the revelation that you were hiding in plain sight.

☕️ He takes the first plane he can to get to Unova. There is no hesitation, he must have you back under his protection. His plans can't be completed until he knows you're safe from the destruction he will bring upon the earth. The touches of those men burned within his memory.

☕️ People gasp and whisper when Lysandre enters the station, a beautiful and famous man seemingly somewhere so trivial. He walks up to a depot agent. They shudder under his harsh azure glare. He orders them to retrieve the Subway Bosses. They do without any questions.

☕️ Ingo and Emmet know of your issues with your father, so they aren't surprised he's showed up. That picture got around fast, despite Elesa deleting it almost instantly. They weren't going to let you be harmed further by the Flare Boss. “Hello, sir. What is your issue? It must be something of grave importance as you called upon us,” Ingo starts, hand firmly on Emmet's shoulder to restrain him. The younger desperately wanting to chase off your father.

☕️ “How much will it take for you to leave my child alone and tell me where they are?” Lysandre stares down at the men in disgust. These lanky, creatures were unworthy to have your attention, much less your affection. He wanted to remove them from the picture first so that you would be more willing to return with him and give up your delusions. Ingo's eyes go wide while Emmet sneers at the question. What a disgusting implication, they thought. There wasn't a price for their love for you.

☕️ “None. Leave,” Emmet stands up as straight as he could, attempting to reach the height of the Kalosian man. Lysandre leered at them. They weren't going to make this easy, it seemed. All of you caught on a mistaken belief of love. No matter, the man had connections that could solve this problem. You may be upset by the drastic measures, but you brought this on yourself by disobeying him. For now, a stalemate had been reached.

[seulgiology]

nobody better | lee jeno

pairings: college student!jeno x college student!y/n

words: 3322

genre: fluff, slight angst

synopsis: jeno's always there for you, and you never even ask him; it's just his nature. especially since he's hopelessly in love with you

warnings: cursing, drinking, slight innuendos but nothing crazy

a/n: yer, admin 1 here :P i been feeling real fluffy lately. here's the first post of the year :D. nothing else to say, please enjoy this, and feedback is accepted ofc

disclaimer: This is a work of fiction from our imagination. It is not intended that the plot, theme, original characters, idols, etc. portray any real-life events/people. Plagiarism is NOT tolerated on this blog. If you believe we have copied an existing authors’ work, please message us privately. thank you and enjoy :)

-

You couldn't ask for anybody better. He had to know he was better too, inside and out.

The way he slid you your favorite hot tea, lemon zinger with honey to be specific, whenever it was a late-night and your eyes hurt from staring at your laptop, it made your heart ache from those sweet gestures. He'd press his lips to your temple and whisper little phrases of encouragement. He didn't even know the tight hold he had on your heart- and damn did it hurt so good when did things like that.

"You got this y/n, it's only a couple more pages left." Of course, you didn't want to finish your research paper for your philosophy class. You were burnt out from bulky projects and trying to stay attentive in other classes. Jeno could see it, couldn’t miss it.

Sometimes he'd be in your dorm in the early morning, already prepared himself at his own apartment (lucky bastard). He looked as attractive as ever in that simply loose long sleeve white shirt that vaguely outlined his toned arms and abdomen. You preferred his presence more since you were desolate and your roommate practically lived in her boyfriend's single room. Once again, those lucky bastards.

Nowadays, he'd see your slightly sunken skin under your eyes, a deeper shade than typical. Your sclera was tinted red from the lack of sleep you were getting, and sometimes he swore you were consuming cannabis. Your body tended to slow, trudging back in your room after he hugged you a warm good morning. You genuinely lacked energy and you swore you were seeing colors at this point, the hues seemed to either be dialing up and down, scaring you when by yourself.

Yeah, your headaches were nothing to play around with either. It made it difficult to want to get up in the morning when you knew pain and discomfort were later to follow. However, it felt worse to lay there in pain knowing something could’ve been done.

So back in your little desk space in your dorm room, when you were slowly sliding off your hand because you were falling asleep reading over the last page you wrote, he hoped the sweet aroma of the tea woke your senses. You just hummed in response to his words, your heart swelling a little more with love for him when you felt him slide one of his hands in yours, interlocking your fingers and squeezing it for extra reassurance.

You loved him so damn much.

"I'll buy you those chocolate-covered strawberries from that shop down on Jonesview Ave if you turn it in on time," is what his final words were as he walked away that made you get a B+ on that paper, to say the least.

And when he came knocking on your door later that week at around 10 p.m. because he knew you just came from your "mandatory" boba break on Thursdays, you were pleasantly surprised to see two sheet masks in his hands and a cheeky smile on his face.

"If you think this is an attack it is. I already know you haven't been following your nightly routine," is what he'd say before you could question him. Now don't get him wrong (ever), you still had the face of a girl he couldn't help but stare at, but he didn't want you obsessing over the acne that was going to make a not-so-subtle entrance on your face if you gave up now.

"So," you drawled out softly as you tried not to smile in fulfillment from his tender hands smoothing out the cold and wet sheet on your face. Your legs were a little frigid from the shorts you wore as you sat on the toilet seat, him hovering close in front of you. He tapped your cheek to remind you that facial movement would ruin the placement of the mask. He already finished his, and it was an amusing sight to see his hair in a sprout-like ponytail with your orange scrunchie to keep it together.

"How long do we keep this on?" You questioned cautiously. His face blanked as he tried to remember, but he naively threw the packages away without reading the directions first.

"Uh- that’s a great question, but did you know that this mask actually is supposed to help with hydrating the skin?" He sputtered out to cover his lack of incentive to answer, knowing how to distract you. You had a thing for product benefits and you fell for it every time. So he went on a tangent about the masks potato extract and what the hyaluronic acid would provide for your pores and blemishes.

He was honestly bullshitting and going off of what one of his latest friends, Sungchan, would say. You would enjoy his company.

You couldn't see his eyes become crescent moons when you poached him for more information and he answered with just as much interest. Jeno sat on the bathroom mat in front of the shower and looked up at you with his undivided attention as you waved your hands and widened your eyes in animation. White sheet mask and all. You beamed under that small bathroom dingy fluorescent lights that night.

It was a feeling he didn't know how to describe, let alone acknowledge. A feeling that made him a little dizzy just being in your vicinity. It washed over as if it ran through his nervous system, and he welcomed it every single time.

He loved you so fucking much.

"Shh, stop fussing, Lee. I'm just fixing his mess you call a bedroom," You interrupted his complaining. It truly was a very hypocritical statement from you, considering your room looked like it had its own demons to deal with. He insisted you come over, your place was very depressing and a change of environment might help you get out of your slump to see your active personality again.

It was the perfect size apartment, and the furnishing complimented him well- masculine, mature, and stylish.

You crawled in his memory foamed bed after straightening his space out and instantly regretted laying down on the cloud-like duvet. You needed to sleep, but how could you. There was work that always needed to be done and how were you going to even start them?

The bed dipped beside you, and nothing could wipe that worrying look of the inner turmoil of your pretty features. He had two steaming mugs in hand, whipped cream perfectly swirled. But you looked up at him, a sudden rush of panic beginning to settle in. Something wasn't right when your chest began hurting from your heart pounding and your mouth went dry.

"Hey, you know what, I think I need to head back now that I think about it, there's tons of stuff I need to catch up on," You hurried your speech since your voice was becoming thick with emotion, stumbling over some words. He could read you like a book and knew the last thing you needed was to be alone. He was quick and careful in setting the mugs on the nightstand, brows furrowed as he did his best in comfortably pulling you against him, your body physically quivering now.

"You don't need to leave, y/n," his usual silvery yet husky voice was traded out for a more urging and softer one. His back was leaning against the headboard as he held you safely in between his legs, your form curled against him, seeking security and comfort. You hiccuped into the crook of his neck, holding back tears you simply can't let him see. That stupid lump in your throat was making it hard to breathe properly.

And he let you cry. He let your tears saturate his shirt when you reached to wrap your arms around his neck to seek more of his warmth. It was not a pleasant surprise to see you lose the last bit of control you were maintaining this entire week come crumbling down with the unconditional amount of kindness and care he was showing you.

It was just so, so hard. Being a responsible young adult, while also trying to live life to the fullest. Trying to turn your assignments in on time and have them be of acceptable quality. Worrying about the future, trying to stay level in the fast pace of it all. Needless to say, you were overwhelmed. Nights of avoiding and putting off things till later, or cramming every assignment possible into one sitting.

At times like this where you realized you did have someone in your corner; always there to cheer you on, to show you in every way they can the love that they have for you. You appreciated the fact that he didn't question you as you shuddered against him, the untrollable faucet you called your eyes kept pouring and pouring.

He never loosened his hold around your waist, his other hand holding your nape. He whispered such sweet things to you, encouraging you to feel what you were in the moment. He was so good to you. It felt like an eternity being this close, this intimate.

"I'm sorry," you croaked out after your sobbing subsided. He held you tighter against him and whispered that there was nothing you should ever be sorry about, especially when it came to him. God, you felt bad now. You felt undeserving of it all. But he kept coming back to you, checking on you, making sure you were still eating and taking care of yourself. He pulled you back, making sure you looked him in the eyes

"Listen to me okay, you shouldn't be stressing about these kinds of things. Professor Janes hasn't even graded the papers from the midterm yet, she's definitely not worried about next week's assignment being handed in." Jeno joked, his thumb caressing your cheek and tone light-hearted and mellow. It worked in getting you to scoff and tighten the nervous grip on the hem of his shirt.

"I'm serious, think about it- you're burying yourself into getting ahead of someone who isn't even trying to keep up." He stressed, and it did make sense. Your face dropped when you realized he was right. You were purposely burning yourself out and for what? To compete? Personal gain?

It was in that moment, your watery eyes gazed into inquisitive ones; that puppy dog look never gets old. You came to the conclusion; there was nobody like him. Call it whatever you want, but there was not a single man you'd let hold you at your lowest, tell you truths you were denying in your head, and be so amorous with overall.

And you looked at him, really did. It was cute when he frowned at how quiet you were and looked around the room to avoid that weird look you were giving him. That overwhelming feeling in your chest, it ruptured and spread until it was the only emotion consuming you, panic be damned. His slightly calloused hand could feel how flushed your cheek was getting, but you weren't crying anymore.

"I tried figuring that out on my own, to be honest with you, but I didn't want to realize I was doing this to myself," you concluded and he hummed in response. So you laid back on his chest, closing your eyes and taking in the surrealness of the situation. His fingers lightly glided over your scalp, lulling you to a lax and languid state when the stars plagued behind your eyelids.

"I wish you wouldn't work yourself so hard," was the last thing you heard him murmur before you went to sleep in his hold. And he was filled with unbridled joy knowing you were getting some shut-eye while being by your side.

The t.v. was the first thing you heard when you woke, an R&B artist you didn't recognize singing over slow beats. Your vision was fuzzy when you looked at two miserable mugs in the dim room. It took a few more seconds to realize you were laying comfortably on Jeno's bed, but the owner was nowhere to be found. You stretched and yawned in the most unpleasant way possible when your clothes began itching you the wrong way.

Picking your phone off the nightstand, you scrolled through your notifications and finally found one from Taeyong, Mark, Ten, Haechan, and the samoyed impersonator about 15 minutes ago. What a coincidence, it only happens once in a blue moon.

leader of the lee's: please tell me you have measuring tape and the will to live

lee #4: went to get some food, you know where my clother are, there's a clean towel in the closet tho. and if you steal my blankets, im putting my cold feet on you :/

morkus lee: Hey, sorry to bother you but it's very urgent. So like is it true that my forehead is like big cause hyuck said that he can play tic tac toe on it and ma ybe he's lying but like I tried and now I have...

lee #5: if you respond to markus i'll tell jeno you used to write smutty fanfic about Zayn Malik

lee #10: i ran out of white gouache, so i'm stealing yours, thx love u :3

You snorted to yourself and replied to everyone accordingly, Mark not included. You liked Jeno's message to signal you read and understood. He should be back any second so you got to work on draping his tee over your head and tying the drawstring around your waist from his larger pajama pants.

It smelled like his pleasant scent and it instantly felt like home. You washed your face with his products (they were the same as yours since you recommended them to him) and patted your skin dry.

In the midst of cocooning yourself on the large bed, Two Broke Girls playing on the screen, Jeno, sauntered in with a tied bag that smelled of fried chicken and fries. He apologized for taking so long, he somehow got lost on his way back.

It clinked with the familiar sound and the green hue of Soju bottles pressing against the transparent bag. Ah, your eyes glittered upon the liquor and good food just mere inches away.

"I know it's Sunday at," he proceeded to look at the time before continuing, "7:03 p.m., but you need this. So don't throw up on my floors." He's too good because you were a talking machine with a potty mouth when drunk.

You both sat on the floor with your backs against the side of the bed, the boxes of food empty, about 4 small-sized empty bottles split between the two of you (you drank a little too much) and the conversations shared were random and full of life.

Then, you were yapping his ear off about color theory and how it's a bunch of bullshit at around 9 at night.

"What's even the point? People love whatever shitty color combinations they can pull out of their ass anyways, so what's the goddamn point?" You shouted as your companion giggled at your incredulity, honestly not comprehending a word you were saying.

"Oh wait you have something on your face," he slurred his words, his dark grey hair moving along with his head as it tilted. He scooted closer and reached a shaky hand up to your lips. It was hot in the space, yet chills ran down to your fingertips. He licked his own lips looking at yours and peeked through his lashes into your widened stare. A hard thump, thump, thump, resounded in your ear as your heart couldn't keep up with the trepidation. Your body was attracted to his as you leaned forward, and it quite literally felt as though time slowed with every moment he was getting closer.

You yelped in surprise when he flicked your cheek instead.

"You piece of shit, why'd you do that? I thought you were going to kiss me or something! Stop laughing! What if I did that to you, huh? You'd be sitting there blue balls and all." He was rolled over wholeheartedly laughing at you, stuttering over his words trying to respond. He contained himself but almost lost it again after seeing your childish form frowning at him with the ugliest face you could muster.

A teasing grin took over his face when he motioned for you to come closer. With the alcohol in your system, you didn't have the incentive to hesitate to move in front of him place your palms on his muscular thighs to lean over in his flushed face, your knees planted on the floor. He was delighted to feel you shiver when he moved closer to your ear, hot breath fanning your neck.

"I wouldn't want our first kiss to happen when you wouldn't even remember it y/n." The sultry sweet voice made you feel a little more than love, it was something lustier. You clumsily leaned back from him, wheezing out a breath from the way his lips were barely parted and eyes were hooded. What did he just say?

But he was right too. He wasn't as intolerant as you when it came to alcohol, so his senses were there more than yours were absent. Just a little bolder than his typical observant self. And of course, you end up blacking out some time after.

You awoke once again, this time at 1:25 a.m. exactly upon looking at the laminating analog clock, the same two mugs on the nightstand.

We should really dump those out now.

When should I text Jiwoo about the presentation?

You couldn't but think about your assignments again now that it was technically Monday, a feeling kin to fear beginning to settle.

Your head didn't hurt (thank fucking god) but you were laying on top of a firm body. You wondered how you both ended up in the bed anyways. You instantly began feeling around to make sure that-

"We didn't do anything, don't worry," His raspy voice startled you into sitting up slightly. He was laying on his back, arm draped behind his head, the other around your shoulders shifted to your mid-back upon you sitting up. He was changed into clothes suitable for sleep, you obviously having no recollection of him doing that.

It wouldn't be a lie if you didn't think it was odd that you two always ended up staring at each other in a daze. A silent plead for permission neither of you could figure out. It was comical and so cliche; two people navigating college life very differently end up falling for each other without being able to grasp it completely. Jeno was flawless in the eyes of the beholder, and he always would be.

A lazy, "Okay," was your response, a neutral and calm mood taking over the atmosphere in its heed. You settled back into him and let the aroma of his moisturizer waft through your nostrils.

He loved being close to you, loved giving his love to you even more. Absentmindedly tracing stars, hearts, and even your name on your back with the tips of his fingers, it was enough. Hearts beating shamelessly against each other, he breathed out in content- this is where he could be forever.

You didn't fight your heavy lids drooped once more and you welcomed the sleep, welcomed it all. He pulled the blankets over your bodies and shifted so you were both on your side. And he allowed you to subconsciously tangle your legs with his, a sigh of gratification from it.

Neither of you would figure out what didn't separate you for the rest of the night. One would guess it was the uncanny want and need for each other. It wasn't awkward nor suffocating. Souls moved in sync with each other, matching the others for a lifetime.

It was pure, unrefined love.

[greentrickster]

Take the Blue Door

(Archie arrives back in his world, in the water... but on the surface instead on having been swept beneath it. Say one thing for him, he sticks to his brand - he’s always been a good swimmer and he knows his water survival techniques inside and out. Shoes get kicked off, his sharpedo is deployed to help him stay above water. But there’s still Kyogre’s storm to deal with and, while he still has the pokeball that contained it in that other world, he has no idea if it will listen to him now that the pair of them are back in their own world, or if he’ll even be able to make himself heard over the storm-

“WEEZING, USE THUNDERBOLT!”

“CRADILY, GIGA DRAIN!”

He turns around, there’s a boat speeding towards Kyogre, and standing in the bow, pokemon already facing off against Kyogre, are Champion Steven Stone and-

“MAXIE!”

“ARCHIE YOU IDIOT-!!!”

But his old rival drags him onboard (where he discovers the person at the helm is Gym Leader Wallace, water type expert and all), and he’s able to lend his pokemons’ strength in helping subdue Kyogre and capture it in its pokeball once more. Archie then relinquishes Kyogre’s pokeball to Steven. He’s in so much trouble, but at least he and the rest of the world are alive to face it...

“I can’t believe- no, I take it back, I absolutely can believe it, you barnacle-encrusted, salt-for-brains, magikarp-witted-!”

“Hey, Max?”

“What?!?”

“Thanks fer comin’ fer me.” And he just leans on Maxie like he used to, like in the old days when they were on the same team, and his old rival/friend splutters something fierce, but he doesn’t push him away, just huffs and adjusts his posture to better support Archie.

And he’s too tired from what just happened to talk about it right now, but when he’s a bit more rested, he’s going to mention to Maxie that there’s a young man in Sinnoh who’s developing some technology that Maxie might like, him being so into human advancement and ingenuity and all. (Because no scamp should have to end up so lonely and depressed they try and remake the world to make it stop, so Archie’s going to make sure that doesn’t happen.))

Take the Red Door

(Maxie arrives back in his own world at the bottom of the fissure he’d been falling into when he was whisked away to the other world, uninjured. And he might not be as smart as he thinks he is, but he’s still quick on his feet, summoning his crobat to fly him back to the surface and try and stop what he’s started. He reaches it in time to see Archie and his admins sending out their strongest water types to attack Groudon.

“Trust a pirate to always show up uninvited!”

Archie’s shocked enough at Maxie’s appearance that the Magma leader has time to drop down beside him and deploy his own pokemon (because he likes to make an entrance). “Mightyena, use Ice Fang on Groudon!”

“Yer helpin’ us?”

“Let’s just say I’ve had a rearrangement of priorities.”

The four of them subdue Groudon to the point that Maxie is able to properly recapture it. After everyone’s caught their breaths, Archie warily asks what his once-friend plans to do next. And Maxie just turns to him smiles, and announces, “I’m going to take Groudon and run away to Sinnoh.”

“You’re what?!?”

“It’s struck me that, while both of us have good intentions, we’ve also both been inherently flawed in our methods. Perhaps... there is enough of water and land both already in the world, and we simply need to become better in how we care for and make use of it.”

“After this mess? I can agree with that,” Archie scratches his head, “But why Sinnoh?”

“It doesn’t have extradition treaties with Hoenn. And I have reason to believe there’s a young man there with some interesting ideas on how to help change the world for the better, with a preference to clean energy that might just tickle your environmentalist fancy. One who could use a little more... balance in his life.” Maxie turns and smirks at him, “That is if I can interest you and your team accompanying me and mine...”

(Over in Sinnoh there’s a young man with severe undiagnosed depression in the process of starting up his own eco-clean energy company who’s about to get adopted by a pair of fugitives only a few years older than him, who make it their life’s goal to ensure he knows, in success or failure, he’s not alone.))

Take the Grey Door

(Cyrus comes to on Spear Pillar in his original world, the red chains still in his hands, Palkia and Dialga still in the beginning stages of bringing about the new world he’d commanded them to make. And he knows that he could still do it, there’s nothing here to stop him, he could ignore what happened in that other world and bring about one free of the suffering caused by human emotion and spirit...

He looks up at the gods he has literally bound to his will, looks down at his own hands... and lets go of the chains. The strange mass before him that had been becoming the new world vanishes as though it had never been, the world around it snapping back into place. It takes the work of moments for the gods of Time and Space to shake themselves free of their chains and turn on him-

“CYRUS, STOP-!!!”

He turns from the gods bearing down on him to see Cynthia charging up the steps to the Spear Pillar, some others behind her, anger but also fear in her expression.

A little part of him flickers in brief realization that, while the anger is at him... the fear is probably for him.

It’s enough to let him give her a small nod, the tiniest of smiles, before something grabs him from behind, and he’s yanked into darkness.

Cyrus comes to again in Distortion World, with Giratina staring down at him. Which is frankly unexpected, because he’d been under the impression he was about to get smote by divine wrath. He stands, dusts himself off, and looks up at the massive pokemon deity. “Why did you do that?”

Giratina cocks their head at him, then, in a mental voice that’s only mildly mind-numbingly eldritch, replies, “You vanished. Then returned. Then let go. Then awaited judgement. The other one tried, and tried again, and still has yet to repent. You have changed in a moment. And you are not afraid of me.” Giratina leans in and gently nudges Cyrus on the forehead with their nose. “I will calm my siblings’ ire. You are interesting. I will be watching you.”

The ground falls out from beneath Cyrus’s feet, and he lands in a stunned heap in front of a startled Cynthia.

“BOSS!”

And also a very emotional Mars and Saturn, with a slightly more stoic but relieved-looking Jupiter in the background.

“You weren’t really going to leave without us, right Boss?” “Please don’t leave us behind!”

“You’re not still planning to remake the universe, right?” Cynthia adds, fierce but also concerned.

It’s not the welcome back he was expecting (because he wasn’t expecting one), and he ends up blurting out, “No, I’m not. Doing either of those things.” then, without intending to, “...I think I may have depression.”

Cynthia looks relieved even as his admins take this as permission to latch onto Cyrus and give him hugs. “We can get you help with that. If you want.”

And Cyrus remembers the other Cynthia, standing in a doorway looking back at him. “It’s good to see you again. I like our Cyrus, but he’s not you.”

“I think... I do.”)

[l-eruzu-diabolik-oc]

A girl tried to get close to you, so she touched you here and here. You did not hit her or push her because she is a woman, but you told her to stop, but still she continued and wanted to kiss you. Your girlfriend came in and saw you and she and from the shock she came out angry (I honestly start to love your acc admin! <3 best Yuma stan)

*picks up the girl who tried to flirt with me*

Ya caused me too much trouble now!

*drops her on laitos lap*

Yer made for each other now stay away from me and my girl or ill make sure ya regret it!

*finds my s/o in an empty classroom crying and angry*

Oi sow! Ya gon-

*dodges books shes throwing at me amd listens to her yell at me*

Are ya done now?

*grabs her wrists before she can throw anything else at me*

Let me explain will ya

She was coming on to me not the other way round i dont like her like you ya know that!

No ones ever gonna replace ya the faces ya make when i drink from ya are too hot yer mine forever sow!

And im all yers forever!

*kisses them*

I think its time fer yer punishment for doubting me

*pins them to the table with their hands above their head*

If ya beg i might go easy on ya

*lifts your skirt up and spreads your legs biting your inner thigh*

Ya might wanna start begging now sow before i get impatient...and rougher

[another-tmnt-writer]

Truth or Dare?

Raphael x Reader

Author: Admin Mo

Summary: When Mikey needs another actor for his film project, Raph gets roped into it. He didn’t, however, expect for his costar to be so cool.

Note: There are not NEARLY enough college au fics for the bayverse boys, so have this as my first contribution. <3

Warnings: Swears, mentions of drinking, plenty of fluff

Word Count: 3.9k

“Raph, PLEEEEEAAAASE!!!” Mikey folded his hands together, pleading. “We need actors for our project and our group members can’t be in it.”

Mikey, as part of his endeavor to explore every creative program at the university the turtles were currently attending, was taking a filmmaking class. And, as a part of that class, he and his fellow classmates were required to make short projects in order to learn the basics of filmmaking, from writing to directing to using the equipment to editing. As an added bonus because his professor was so especially cruel, none of the people in his group could appear in his project, and while they had managed to recruit some of their classmates to fill in the smaller roles, one of the main roles was still unclaimed.

Raph scoffed. “Mikey, you know I can’t act for shit.”

“You don’t have to actually be good at it!” He pleaded. “You should see some of the other projects. No one in the program is good at acting.”

Raph was quiet for a second, his large arms crossed in front of him, thinking. “How long is it gonna take?”

“Few hours.” Mikey shrugged. He raised an eyebrow. “And your costar is really, really hot.”

Raph sighed, disgruntled. “When?”

“YES! DUDE THANK YOU SO MUCH! YOU WON’T REGRET IT!” Mikey ran and returned with a script and a schedule, shoving it into his older brother’s hands. “We film tomorrow!”

Raph’s eyes widened. “TOMORROW?!”

***

Raph went with Mikey to where the rest of his group was meeting to film their project. He hadn’t really had time to look at the script and Mikey assured him that they’d be filming in small enough chunks that he wouldn’t need to have very much memorized at a time. He also didn’t really know what kind of movie it was and he didn’t care; he just couldn’t wait until it was over.

A few minutes after they arrived, so did his costar. And god, he couldn’t stop staring. Mikey was right. God, why was Mikey always right?

“I am so sorry I’m late. The bus almost hit a pedestrian and it was a whole thing.” You apologized.

“Don’t worry about it!” Mikey waved off your concern. “This is my brother, Raph.”

“Nice to meet you, Raph. I’m (Y/N).” You introduced, a warm smile on your face.

Raph didn’t miss the way your eyes lingered on him, but instead of the looks disdain he usually got, instead it seemed to be curiosity. Awe, even? Weird, he decided, but not unwelcome.

It was a long, awkward moment before he realized he’d better respond. “Oh, uh, nice to meet you too.”

“Um, you guys can get to know each other a little better. We’ve gotta get the equipment set up.” Mikey said, leaving the two of you on your own.

The filming location was a place you were very familiar with: the library. Particularly, in front of the cozy little coffee shop in the library.

“I didn’t really, uh, look at the script, but I’m guessing they needed a monster for a horror movie or something…” Raph flipped through the pages, skimming.

“It’s a rom com.” You corrected quietly. “I’m the main character. You’re the love interest.”

If Raph could physically blush, he was sure his cheeks would rival the color of his mask. “…Oh.”

“Is that alright?” You asked.

“Oh! Yeah, yeah it’s fine, I just…” He chuckled to himself. “I ain’t ever acted in anything before, let alone anything romantic.”

“It’s not too much, I don’t think.” You reassured him. “I’m pretty sure the most they’ll have us do is awkwardly brush hands. It’s a coffee shop meet-cute.”

“Gotcha.” And while he was relieved, he was also a little…disappointed? Huh. Weird. “So, uh, what’s yer major?”

“I’m a film major. I’m in Mikey’s class and they needed actors, so I’m paying it forward in case I need someone in my project. What’s yours?”

“I’m undecided. Just, uh, taking some time to figure things out, you know. I never really had any…school experience before this.”

“That’s a lot to adjust to.”

“Yeah, it is. I’m getting used to it, though.”

“That’s good! If you need any help with anything, let me know. I’ve picked up a bunch of good tips and tricks.”

He chuckled. “I will, thanks.”

“Do you have snapchat?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“One second.” You fished your phone out of your bag and unlocked it, opening the app to your snapcode, which he scanned and added you. “There you go.”

“Thanks.”

“Of course.”

Raph took some more time reading over the script to get the gist of the scene and you were right. Indeed, it was a rom com. Not his preferred genre, by any means, but maybe he’d warm up to it a bit over the course of the day.

“Hey (Y/N)?” Mikey called from over where they had the camera set up on the tripod. “Do you know how to white-balance this thing? Everything is orange for some reason. Which is a great color, but I’m sure Smith will dock us points for it.”

“Oh, I’ve got you.” You nodded. You looked up at Raph, your purse in hand. “Will you hold this for a second?”

“Uh, yeah. Sure.” He nodded, holding out a giant three-fingered hand to take the bag from you. He watched you walk over to where the rest of the group was standing, crowded around the camera. You worked your magic, shuffling through the menu and helping adjust the camera correctly. Raph couldn’t stop staring. You looked so focused. So passionate. He could tell you really liked film and everything it entailed and he wished he could just find something he cared about as much as you cared about your major.

“Awesome.” He heard Mikey say, his eyes fixed on the camera’s screen. “Thanks!”

“Of course!” You walked back over to where Raph was and he handed you your bag back. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, no problem.” He opened his mouth to say something else, but Mikey walked over to the two of you.

“You guys ready? I think we’re good to start now.”

“All set.” You confirmed, giving him a thumbs-up, and Raph nodded.

***

Raph might have to reconsider his stance on this acting thing. Did he think he was all that good at it? No. But so long as he had you as a costar, he’d act willingly in any project Mikey (or you) needed him for. And at the end of the shoot, he ended up having a really good time. So much so that when you guys were all done, he was…sad. Like, really sad about it.

You parted ways. You weren’t in any of his classes, so Raph wasn’t really sure if he’d see you around that much. And he didn’t see you around…until a few weeks later.

He was at the library studying with his brothers at their favorite table when suddenly, his phone buzzed, a message from snapchat coming in. He looked at the notification, doing a double-take when he read your name there. And when he reached to answer it, he moved too fast and knocked his shell-shaped cell phone off of the table.

Shit.

He bent down to pick it up and when he opened the snapchat, he was surprised to see…the back of his shell? It was captioned: “I spy with my little eye…Something red and green 😉”

Immediately, he whipped around, and sure enough, nestled in a table by the windows was you, looking at him over the top of your laptop screen. You giggled when he spotted you, waving.

Raph nudged Mikey, who was sitting across from him and Mikey traced Raph’s eyeline to where you were, his face immediately lighting up.

“Oh! Hey (Y/N)!” Mikey waved. “You wanna sit with us?”

“Is that alright?”

“Hell yeah!” Mikey motioned you over. “The more the merrier! We can pull up a chair over here on the end.”

So, you gathered your stuff while the guys rearranged some things, putting you on the end of the table, right between Mikey and Raph. When you got over there, you noticed they were sitting with the other two giant mutated turtles on campus, who you had heard of, but hadn’t met yet.

“(Y/N), these are our brothers. Leo’s over there in the blue, our fearless leader. And this is Donatello, the one we go to for homework help.”

“Not tonight you aren’t. This paper is due at midnight and it is…” Donnie glanced down at the clock on his laptop and as soon as he did, he started typing impossibly faster. “Eleven thirty-seven. Do not look at me or breathe in my direction.”

“Noted.” Mikey nodded, a trace of fear in his eyes.

“Nice to meet you, (Y/N). You’re in one of Mikey’s classes, right?”

“Yep! I’m in his film class.” You smiled, taking a sip of your iced coffee. “I got the pleasure of costarring with this one.” You nudged Raph lightly, causing him to smile the most genuine smile Mikey had ever seen on his older brother’s face.

Huh. Mikey took note, something devious stirring in the back of his mind. Interesting…

“What did you get on that, by the way?” You asked.

“We got an A! Well, Minus. But you know how Smith is.”

“Dude that’s awesome!” You bumped your fist against his. “Good job. I’m pretty sure my group got a B, but we’re not mad about it. C’s get degrees, as they say.”

“Cheers to that.” Leo chuckled.

“What are you working on today, Raph?” You asked, tilting your head in a way that sent his heart racing in a way he could not explain.

“I have a paper for my Writing 150 class.”

“Oof that sucks. Who do you have?”

“Trainor.”

“Ouch. She hated me.” You grimaced, shaking your head. “She found out I was bi and it was all over for me.”

“Did you report her? I’m pretty sure you can report her for that sort of thing.” Raph asked, trying not to get heated over it. He was pretty sure she didn’t like him very much either, but it was probably due to the fact that he was a giant green turtle. “That’s bullshit.”

“I’m in the process of that right now.” You nodded. “She’s a bitch. I don’t know if they’ll actually do anything about it though.”

“Keep me posted. I might file something too if she doesn’t stop glaring at me during class.” Raph grumbled. “It’s annoying.”

“That would be annoying. Her beady little eyes glaring at you for two agonizing hours of ‘This is how to correctly use a comma’.”

He chuckled. “Yeah. It is.”

You glanced at your phone, which buzzed with a text from one of your roommates. “Oh! Uh, do you guys have any plans this weekend?”

“Nope. Why?” Mikey asked, curiosity seeping into his voice.

“My roommate is throwing a party, if you guys wanna come. It’ll be pretty chill. Drinks, pizza, some music.”

“Oh hell yes.” Mikey nodded. He looked at Leo. “Leo, can we?”

“I don’t see why not.” Leo shrugged. “Sounds like a good time.”

“Is there a dress code?” Mikey asked. Now that he was finally allowed to socialize, he didn’t want to fuck it up.

“Nope. Just casual. Come as you are.”

“Do you need us to bring anything?”

“If you guys have a drink of choice, bring that, I guess, but otherwise, my roommate’s boyfriend works at a pizza place, so we get a pretty good discount and we have literally so much wine.”

“That’s amazing.” Mikey nodded, making a mental note to look into jobs at a pizza place later.

“We’ll bring a veggie tray.” Donnie said, his fingers flying across the keyboard of his laptop until finally, he stopped. “I finished, by the way.”

“Good job, dude!” Mikey gave him a thumbs up. “You wanna write mine next?”

“Ha.” Donnie stared at him. “Funny.”

“What’s your paper on, Raph? Maybe I can help.”

Raph turned his laptop towards you. “We have to write it about like growing up. You can, uh, read it if you want. I don’t mind. I’m kinda stuck right now anyway.”

“Okay.” You agreed, switching his laptop for yours. You winked. “Trade ya.”

“What are you writing about?” He asked, scrolling to the top of your document.

“Women in Film.” You shot finger guns at him. “I’m about to make some Film Bois REALLLL mad.”

“Roast ‘em, (Y/N).” Mikey laughed, knowing all too well exactly which film boys you were talking about. He was not a fan.

“That’s the plan.” You chuckled and then started reading over Raph’s paper. You had known before meeting them that they hadn’t exactly had the best childhood, but…wow was it eye-opening reading the experience from his eyes. “Holy shit.”

“That bad?” He joked, trying to read your expression.

“No, it’s…Raph, this is really good, but wow. You guys went through a lot, huh?”

“Yeah…” He shrugged. “It wasn’t all bad, but it sure wasn’t normal by any means.”

“Mmm…” You nodded, looking up at him. “I mean, normal is kinda overrated.”

He chuckled. “I’m glad ya think so. Not many people do.”

You shrugged, smiling softly. “Well, it’s a good thing I’m not like many people.”

***

“(Y/N), this place is as clean as it’s gonna get. It’s a party. It’ll be messed up in,” your roommate, Haley, glanced down at her watch, “like twenty minutes.”

“I know, I just…I’m nervous. These guys are basically superheroes. I want to make a good impression.”

“Fair point.”

You swept the kitchen floor and got out the cutest paper plates you had in the cupboard as well as some solo cups and plastic wine glasses. If you could avoid broken glass today, that was probably the move.

The doorbell buzzed and your heart raced, but it was just your other roommate’s boyfriend with the pizza.

“Is Darcy here?” He asked.

“She’s upstairs getting ready, you explained, helping him get the pizza and breadsticks and everything set up on the counter. He’d also brought a few two-liters of Pepsi, which was good. You put it next to the giant jug of fruit punch you’d bought at the grocery store. It was important to make sure your non-drinking friends had something to drink, too.

A few minutes after, guests started arriving. Darcy came downstairs and started up her iconic party playlist. Your neighbors popped in. It was easier to invite them and let them have a good time with you than have them call security on you guys for throwing a party, even if it was the weekend and it was only nine.

You turned off the lamps in the living room and instead set your strip lights to party mode, causing them to cycle through a bunch of colors in time with the music. It was then that the doorbell rang again and you rushed to the mirror to check yourself once more. You adjusted your hair, straightened out your top, and checked your teeth for food. Nope, you were good.

So, with the rest of the hosts distracted, you opened the door. On the other side of it were four tall, green gentlemen, one of them carrying a veggie tray.

“Hey guys, come on in!”

You moved out of the way so they could step inside.

Mikey’s eyes widened, looking into the living room full of dancing college kids. “Woahhhhh this is awesome!”

“Glad you think so.” You laughed. “There’s food and drinks in here, the bathroom is in the hallway, and everyone else seems to be either in the living room or the back yard.”

“Where do you want this veggie tray?” Donnie asked.

“Thank you so much for bringing this, by the way! You can set it over by the pizza boxes. I can get a spoon for the dip.” You said, walking towards the silverware drawer and producing a spoon while Donnie popped the lid off of the plastic serving tray and opened up the dip. You handed him the spoon.

The guys were each sporting their signature color, but they were wearing clothes you hadn’t seen them in before. Usually, Raph liked to wear a large gray hoodie, but today, he was sporting a black t-shirt and an impossibly large red flannel with some jeans. It looked good on him. Like, really good.

Apparently, he was thinking the same thing, because as soon as you were free, he walked up to you and nudged you gently. “You look really good.”

Your cheeks flushed with warmth and you wished you could blame it on wine, but you hadn’t even had a sip yet. “Thanks. You clean up pretty nice yourself.”

Had you worn a red top on purpose? Yes, absolutely. Would you admit to it, though? No, definitely not.

But Mikey noticed. Oh, Mikey noticed everything. And he couldn’t help but think that you and his older brother would make quite the couple. Maybe there was something he could do to just…give it a little push.

***

The time came later, when the party was finally starting to wind down. Some people had left. Your neighbors had gone home, and you’d switched the strip lights to a light, warm color. You’d also switched the upbeat party playlist for something chill to play in the background. The remaining partygoers were all settled in a circle in the living room, eating whatever pizza was left, sipping on box wine, and playing a game of truth or dare.

“Haley, truth or dare?” Darcy challenged.

“Truth.”

“Okay…Fuck, Marry, Kill: Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth and…..Chris Pine.”

“DAMN.” She cursed. “You can’t do that to me. Shit. Uh…Fuck Chris…Hemsworth. Marry Chris…Pine? And—”

“Don’t you do it!” You warned.

“Kill Chris Evans.”

“Noooooooooo!” You whined, taking a sip of your drink. The rest of the group laughed. “Poor Captain America.”

“Rest in pieces, Cap.” She agreed, shaking her head. “Okay…Mikey, truth or dare.”

“Dare.” Mikey answered quickly. He always picked dare, so in the fifth round of the game, it wasn’t much of a surprise.

“I dare you…to take a shot of straight lemon juice.”

“Easy peasy.” Mikey scoffed, pouring himself a shot and downing it.

You watched as his face contorted at the sour, sour taste. You couldn’t help but giggle a little at that.

“Good job, Mikey.” Donnie laughed, dipping a piece of broccoli in dip before popping it into his mouth.

“Taking it like a champ.” Leo added, nodding.

“Alright, my turn?” Mikey asked, looking around the circle for his victim, pretending he hadn’t been planning this since round one. “(Y/N). Truth or dare?”

You thought about it for a second. How easy it would be to just choose truth again, but for some reason, you were feeling a little brave, so instead, you picked, “Dare.”

“Oooooooh,” the circle said, all of them a little surprised by that choice.

“Okay. Alright.” Mikey rubbed his hands together mischievously. All according to plan. “I dare you to kiss the hottest person in the room.”

“OOOOOOOHHHH!” The circle all stared at you and you thought for a second, a smirk settling on your features.

“Oh that’s easy.” You got up and crossed the circle until you were standing in front of Raph. Even sitting down, he was almost your height. “Think I could get a kiss?”

Raph stared up at you, shocked, waiting for you to say Sike! HAHA! Did you actually think I thought you were hot?! Loser!

But you never did, instead looking down at him with sincerity, patience. Were you a little…nervous, even?

“Why me?” He whispered, his eyes fixed on you. There were plenty of good-looking human guys still there, and yet you were certain. Unwavering. Then, louder, he asked, his heart absolutely fighting to get out of his chest, “Are you sure?”

“Positive.” You nodded, starting to lean closer. Once you were most of the way in, you let him meet you in the middle, your soft human lips meeting his, which were, you had to admit, way softer than you thought they would be.

Raphael kissed you like you were made of glass, like if he moved too fast, you would shatter. It was his first kiss, after all, and he didn’t want to fuck it up.

When it finally ended, you walked back to your seat in the circle, your cheeks rosy, heart racing. Haley gave you a nudge and you giggled, your stomach filled with butterflies. The rest of the game went along with little fanfare, and once everyone was tired enough, the apartment cleared out even more, leaving just your roommates, Darcy’s boyfriend, and the turtles, who insisted on helping clean everything up. Well, it had been Leo’s idea, but the rest had agreed to stick around to help.

You volunteered to go out into the backyard to pick up all of the stray solo cups and White Claw cans. You hated litter. You worked out there alone for a bit. As you bent down to pick up the last can you heard the signature screech of the sliding door opening.

Raph squeezed through the narrow doorway, cursing his shell for making him so damn wide.

“Hey,” you said softly, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear. Your voice was almost swallowed up by the sounds of the choir of crickets outside.

“Hey.” He closed the sliding door. “Can we talk?”

“Yeah, of course.” You nodded, tying off the trash bag you were using to collect garbage. “How was your first college party?”

“It was great. Really, really great.” He said, taking slow steps through the grass towards you. “Um…I…did you mean what you said? Earlier.”

“What do you mean?”

“When you…was I really…” he laughed at the absurdity of it. “You think I���m hot?”

“I do.” You nodded. “Of course I do.”

“I’m sorry if I find that a little hard to believe.” He shook his head, stopping right in front of you. When he was standing in front of you like this, he was remined of just how big he was compared to you, just how much he towered over you. Just how different you were. “I’m just used to the opposite reaction.”

“Believe it.” You reached forward and took his hand in yours, gripping one of his giant green fingers.

“I’m trying to.” He chuckled and fiddled with your little hand, nervous. “You know, uh…that was my first kiss in there. I wasn’t too awful, was I?”

“I didn’t mean to steal your first one.” You laughed softly. “Sorry. But to answer your question, I thought it was perfect.”

“That’s a relief.” He was quiet for a moment, thinking. “Uh…If it’s alright with ya…I’d like to give you my second kiss, too.”

Instead of answering, you took another step closer, looking up, up, up into his piercing green eyes. “You’re gonna have to come down here; I can’t reach.”

He laughed. “Right.” Raph craned his neck down, one of his large hands tilting your face up towards his so he could meet you in the middle for another perfect kiss.

***

“What are you doing?” Leo asked Mikey, who was peering through the blinds into the back yard of the apartment.

Mikey only grinned proudly, nodding to himself. “Works every time…”