#gotta put my mental health first and it’s just a bit too much-

[l3viat8an]

I’LLTELL THE PEOPLE WHYTHE ANNON IS OFF

So someone is bother ro in annon and so they turn annon off to make sure they dont wanna do annoying annon again

Ro can explain in more detail if want

GOOD LUCCCKS ANNONS!

I was legit typing it out-

So basically I know anon is off right now (‘n I’m so sorry!) but there’s been this person bitch for the past couple of weeks absolutely spamming me with slurs and bible verses (sometimes in the same ask….like wtf?-) and I’ve just been deleting them and moving on-

but with school and stuff right now I just can’t. Like I’ve blocked them and deleted them!! but everytime I open the app there’d be more and I’m just tired of it.

(Adding that; I’ve blocked them multiple times now but it starts right up again a few hours later so I think they’re using a VPN / IP blocker? Idfk ‘n I don’t even know what I did!!! Like this is tumblr- just block me and move on!!)

+ I reallyyyy didn’t wanna post anything about this honestly- like it’s just a dumb anon ‘n I hate shit like this so fuckin’ much. It’s just stupid when blocking is so easy-

[echobx]

Big Boy - Rafe Cameron × fem!reader

summary: y/n is surprised to find out that Rafe is still innocent and wants to remedy that

word count: 1k

warnings: smut, p in v (protected), loss of virginity, light dom!reader

summary: I will be honest, this is from the old wip pile bc I didn't know if I should post it, but it fits in here.

kinktober masterlist

You can't believe that he’s standing in front of you, naked and hard and so fucking hot. It's a dream come true. Rafe Cameron has been your dream for months on end, but it has taken some time for you to charm him. He’s always too preoccupied with playing golf and selling coke, but you know your way around boys, how to charm them and more. “Fuck, Rafe, you're bigger than I thought,” you giggle and reach your hand out to stroke him as he stands before you, but he takes a tiny step back. “Are you sure you want this?” He seems weirdly shy for someone who is such a big mouthed asshole all the time. “Yeah. Are you sure?” You smile and he nods slowly. “Good, then maybe you should let me touch you? Unless, you don't want me to?” “It's just-” he turns his head and breathes out before looking back at you. “I've never done this,” he admits, and you feel like you won the fucking lottery. “What have you done?” You ask and he gnaws at his lip. “Jerked off, yeah, that's basically it,” he says and you nod. “What do you want to do tonight then?” you ask sweetly, wanting to run your hands over his exposed chest, but you restrain yourself. “Can I fuck you?” he asks hesitantly. “Of course,” you smile and take a step closer again, and this time he doesn't back away.

“Do you want to make out first?” He nods, and you start by leaning up to kiss him. He's not bad at kissing, but there's room for improvement. His hands don't seem to find their place on your body, hovering over your hips until you force them onto your skin. “Move them to my ass and squeeze,” you tell him and kiss him again, just as he squeezes harshly and you gasp excitedly. “Did that hurt?” he pulls away, concerned for your health. “Shit, you're cute,” you giggle. “That was perfect. You should do it again. And don't try to fight my lead when I kiss you, follow me, or move into me, it's not a competition.” He nods at your instructions, and when he kisses you again, it's a million times better than before. “Fuck, that was good,” you pant after pulling away. “Can I fuck you know?” he asks impatiently. “I have so much to teach you, pretty boy,” you smile happily, taking his hand and pushing it between your legs. “Am I wet?” you ask him, and he runs his fingers between your folds, grazing your clit, and you bite down on your lip. “Feels wet to me,” he smirks. “That's good, you don't want me to not be wet,” you tell him, and he nods, taking mental notes of everything you say. “You should lie down,” Rafe instructs, and you shake your head. “No, this is your first time, I'm taking control here. You can have it back later, I promise,” you whispered and pecked his cheek.

Rafe was sitting on the bed, back against the headboard, and his dick was leaking precum so deliciously you had a hard time not sucking him off immediately. “I'm going to fuck myself with your cock now,” you tell him, and he nods. “I'm ready.” “Good,” you smirk, pumping him a few times and watching his eyes roll with pleasure, before rolling the condom down his impressive length. “You know how to put this on by yourself, though, right?” “Yes, I'm not entirely incapable,” he rolls his eyes at you and in response you squeeze his dick just a tiny bit, making him hiss. “What the fuck!” “You gotta behave yourself,” you giggle and take him to your entrance. “Now hold it together for me, pretty, I don't want to have this be over in less than ten seconds.” “I'll do my best,” he laughs, but starts cursing as soon as you start sinking down his cock. He's bigger than expected, that was clear from the first look, but his stretch is still a little too overwhelming for you.

“Fuck, Rafe, you're so big,” you cry out, incapable of moving as long as your body grows accustomed. “You feel so good. So warm and soft,” Rafe pants, and you slowly start to roll your hips. “Shit! Fuck! I think I'm gonna come!” he threatens just fifteen seconds in. “Hold on, pretty. I know you can do it for me. Don't you wanna make me come too?” you try to bait him. “Fuck, yes. Please, come on my dick,” he babbles, and you give him a soft kiss. “Touch my clit, Rafe,” you tell him, and he does his best, but the misplaced strokes of his fingers do nothing for you. “This good?” he asks, and you shake your head. Taking his fingers into your hand, you press his digits against your clit, forcing a few heavy strokes out of him and as soon as he finds his rhythm on it, you start to bounce on his cock, letting him hit deeper like that and squeezing his cock as you neared your end. “I can't- S’too much, y/n,” Rafe begged, but he had already done better than you had expected. “It's okay, gorgeous, you can come for me,” you tell him and keep bouncing on him as he twitches and fills the condom. It only takes you a few more strokes of his fingers and some more friction of his cock for you to finish, too. And when you do, he's staring at you, watching every single move you make and feeling himself grow hard again at the feeling of your tight cunt squeezing him.

“That was perfect,” you praise him while getting up. “What now?” he asks. “Now, I go pee and clean myself off, and you do the same. And afterward we talk about all the nasty things I'm gonna teach you, because once I'm done, you'll be the best fuck on the entire island.”

please don't copy and/or post my work onto other platforms! ~e©ho

taglist: @redhead1180 @spideysimpossiblegirl @drwstarkeyy @princessmaybank @kys4-20 @immyowndefender @julczimozart @hoe4sunarin @m2m2m2 @mochimms @itsme-again @maybankslover @th3eternalersi @because-i-like-toxic-men @rafeeekam @carolinaxvz

[savnofilter]

On to Better Things | k. bakugo

      Pro Hero!DILF!Katsuki Bakugo x [FEM] Reader

CONTENT WARNING(S): sexual content, angst, strangers to lovers.

sfw — toxic & abusive relationship, toxic baby daddy, mentions postpartum, mental health, arguing, mentions of legal proceedings, counseling, drama, cultural family expectations, love bombing, manipulation, a man being a hypocrite, reader low-key needs a new circle of people around them but that's neither here nor there, reader loves their daughter to pieces </3, reader's daughter is a hand full but we stan!, reader spaces out a lot, "our kids are best friends but we never met before and so happen to be single" trope.

nsfw — sexual content, pro hero!bakugo sorry not sorry lmao, bakugo got rizz, fingering, cunnilingus, groping, praise kink, reader has multiple orgasms (2, hinted 4), reader is a bit shy as it's been awhile and feels nervous, vocal queen reader, clothed sex, protected sex, comforting!bakugo, non-established relationship.

COUNT: 11.4k words (45 mins.)

READ MORE: masterlist + [students | bakugo]

A/N: whooph the warnings… imo, it's nothing too serious, but yk i gotta put the warnings up!! it's not graphic, but it does talk ab the stuff listed. i didnt know how else to craft a toxic ex-baby daddy type of situation, and it divulged into this 😭 also use yalls brains with the sfw & nsfw discernment for the warnings… ofc i do not take lightly about what's written, so dont twist it any other way and the heavier subjects being under sfw. i digress!! ive been wanting to write this request for a while and finally got around to it. unfortunately, i alr want to rewrite. :') despite that, i actually kinda really liked this one so i hope yall fw it too. 🫶🏽 thank you, anon!

"Mommy!" Your daughter, Niyuki, calls out to you as she runs into your arms.

She had recently turned 6 years old and still loves the end of the day on Fridays where she could run into your arms, and recount everything about what she had learned that week. Niyuki is pretty much a chatterbox and you weren't too sure where she got it from considering that even your… ex wasn't quite the talkative one either. As you grew to love this quality about her, you found it endearing. Phone calls with her were always a delight and that was how she had persuaded (begged) you to let her go to the park despite having other plans for the day.

You had promised on Monday that she would be able to go to the park in addition to ending her day Friday night off with having a sleepover with her best friend. Niyuki, being an excitable kid, wanted to go straight from school to the park so she wouldn't waste any more time than she already had.

"Hi, Niyuki!" You beam back, a loving smile on your face as you pepper her face in kisses, and hold her cheeks as she tries to shy away with her boundless amounts of giggles. "How was your da-"

"Great -- Mommy you promised we could go to the park today!" Niyuki lightly pushes away from you, a slight whine to her voice as she attempts to get away from your onslaught of affection.

"We can still go, I can't greet my little angel first before I do that?" You poke her cheek as you stand up straight and hold your hand out for her to hold. "Tell me about your day, pumpkin."

There was a skip in her step as she recounted her day to you. When Niyuki gets started, she never stops. She talked about the first moment her feet reached the school grounds, to before school had started, then she talked about her first few classes, after that what she did during lunch and how much fun she had at recess, the "drama" (very unserious but nevertheless cute) that happened before classes resumed and so on. Niyuki is also the animated type and could often run out of breath when she talks. She would use her hands and voice inflictions just to convey what she was speaking about. Sometimes, you even had to remind her to slow down and that time was going nowhere when talking with you.

It was moments like this when you could take in the rambunctiousness and appreciate your lovable daughter. You two only seemed to have special moments like these—well, at least you thought they were special—because of the separation between you and your toxic ex.

Before you two had split your relationship had been decent. Despite that though, you were incredibly in love with him, but the same wasn't reciprocated in a way that emotionally gave back. He'd make excuses as to why he wasn't open to you, his reasoning that he "loved differently" and that if you really loved him you would believe him. So you did. Over, and over, and over again. Hoping that the days where he showed up like in the beginning would become more frequent, but your willingness to stay was how he knew he could toy with you.

He had been your first when you had finally agreed to be an item when you were in your early twenties and it took a long time to finally separate from him when things got bad. In addition to dealing with the conflicting feelings of your then-boyfriend, your friends who only wanted the best for you, and your close family members, you also had to deal with yourself. Nights and days spent venting and breaking down about the man had become so common that your friends' concerns grew. You had so many negative thoughts at that time and you were naive to truly believe that there was a happy ending to overcome this predicament. That his way of loving could change for both of you. His manipulative questions would often linger in your head if you left him, and who were you to argue? When arguments would start to come up again almost weekly, it always ended up with you an emotional mess while he "proved" to you that he was the only one who could handle you.

When your ex noticed you started to pull away, he suddenly had an interest in starting a family. Late nights where you two would lay in bed after making up, he'd share his daydreams about you mothering his children, how beautiful and perfect you'd be to fit in his little world.

Family this, family that. Family values, family roles, family life. You two had been friends since you both were in high school, and it only made sense that you two were dating now and getting married soon. Hell, he even made you question what would your family think if you were "running around" instead of being faithful to him. Imagine the embarrassment to your family if you threw all of that away and weren't able to find someone else like him?

People talk, people notice. Many of the older women noted how great you two looked together, and he was well off with a great future that could support you both. Neither did it help that you changed your once passionate future for being a pro-hero to a different career that was deemed less reliable than your previous choice. It was in your best interest that you stayed with him to avoid the awful gossip in town.

When you haven't been in a situation like yours with an inconsiderate lover, it's hard to understand why you stayed as long as you did. Consequently from being his friend for so long and dating him for years meant he knew the sort of things to target your psyche. To reinforce the pressures you had of making your family look good, mixed with the hidden fears of the burden of following the footsteps of your successful siblings as well.

It was a lot to take in and it wasn't long before you gave in. You just wanted him to be who he was again. The stress only grew older with you and the more time that passed had a looming connotation that the older you got the more undesirable and unfit you are to find another relationship. Even past that, you gave so many years to him. You were a virgin when you two had met, and he had already been around. He knew how to kiss you right, he memorized your soft spots and remembered the best ways to make you come undone. He'd expertly sweet talk you after each session, and on days when you were feeling down he would be the first person to show up, usually bearing gifts of some sort coupled with affection. You couldn't understand what had changed. Why did he decide to start treating you like this? You were vulnerable and scared, and nothing like the familiar could ease the fabricated feeling of comfort.

You thought that having his child would finally fix things but you were so wrong. So very, very wrong. After your first semester in the pregnancy, you had heard talk about people seeing your supposed boyfriend—the father of the child you were soon to birth—with other women. Of course, you didn't believe it, and you refused to listen when your friends tried to tell you. In this stage, you were mostly shut in, as this was taught to be the best preparation for giving birth. You couldn't fathom the fact he would stoop so low. He had his low moments, but not like this. He would never.

He had disconnected you from everyone who had truly cared for you and even convinced your family that you were safe and protected with him. It wasn't until one evening when he had the gall to meet one of his mistresses outside of your house is when you realized it was all true, but it was all too late.

You were an emotional wreck for days. You had hit your lowest and it didn't help that your delivery date was getting closer every day that passed. You'd weep to yourself when you were sure he wasn't around and soon enough the house that you had (forced) yourself to love had once again become a prison. A night when you were tired of the pain is when you decided to reach out to your friends and family again. It was a shameless plea for help and you didn't care how desperate you looked and you wanted out. At first, your parents weren't supportive of the fact that you wanted to leave the man but you didn't care. You wanted to leave everything behind and not give this horrible chapter in your life a look back ever again. With enough talking and white lies, you were able to make a workaround to at least get back up on your feet after your delivery.

The delivery of your daughter, Niyuki, was thankfully a smooth one. Not at all enjoyable but very few complications came along the way when the time came. You had made a deal with your parents that you would stay with them so you could comfortably recover from the delivery whilst being able to safely be under their vision when your ex and his in-laws would come over. Your friends started to visit when you were healing more and had even convinced you to go out with them which you hadn't done for over a year. You were utterly scared as you had missed such a large chunk of socialization that even you didn't think you could do it. But once the night started, you didn't want to go back.

One night out became two, then three, four, five, and so on. The time you were home lessened and it didn't help that your friends were more than willing to let you take refuge at their homes. It wasn't like you were going crazy but the high that you got from drinking and even sometimes having flings became addicting and it felt satisfactory in the way you felt autonomy over your body once again.

You'd ignore the calls from your parents and family including your in-laws, especially any communication from your ex. You had ghosted the situation. The most emotionally taxing period of your life was now being forcefully ignored. You'd spend your time if not partying, then out clubbing. Even when you weren't out on benders, you'd stay up all night and indulge in the fact you were being taken care of by friends. And while you deeply appreciated their hospitality, it was also a double-edged sword. You had dropped out of college, you were no longer reliable and the flings and high feelings were no longer distracting you from the fact that you had some serious issues to deal with.

It got to a point where you'd lay in whoever's spare room and drown in thoughts about the situation you were in. A year before then, you had been stuck with your ex, and somehow a year and a half later you had no idea what that situation was like in that home.

Anxiety and suffocating emotions would swallow you often as the memories of your toxic and abusive ex would soon follow the baby girl you had given birth to. Niyuki. You'd remember her smile, the way she giggled, and how active she was. Although you had only spent about a few months or so with her, you'd remember her bright smile. You'd remember the way her eyes shone when she looked at new things or heard new words—how her face always lit up when she heard your voice, felt your presence, or saw your face. The emptiness without her would eat at you and it was time to forcefully welcome a new cycle of you falling into a depression once again.

At this point, you had lost your job, didn't have any urge to pick up any new hobbies or skills and you'd lay in bed all day. Going out until early mornings trying to ignore the fact that you weren't happy in your current state no longer worked anymore. It was a draining process to get back up but you were willing to give your life a go again. You started looking for jobs that hopefully had good pay and were willing to hire someone with this big of a time gap in their resume. While still couch hopping, you still had places to stay so fortunately you didn't need to worry about that.

When you eventually came around to wanting to be in Niyuki's life again, it was too late. Of course, when you had finally decided to start to better yourself and the suffocating feeling of postpartum had slowly dwindled over time, he was there to make sure that you couldn't take control back of your life. Your ex had found out why you had been gone for so long and eventually had things filed so that he would have sole custody. It seemed as though no matter what you did, he was always ten steps ahead of you. And this time you knew that your support from your family was even less than before.

He had swindled the courts and your families to the point that he painted you as a deadbeat and to the courts, it didn't seem as though there was any evidence to contradict that. Eventually, as you went through counseling and legal support were you able to at least gain visitation, an absence of early childhood not being any signs or indicators that you were unfit to see your own daughter.

It was humiliating settling back into your life and getting back up on your feet. Your parents demanded that you would stay with them as a reassurance that you were serious about getting your shit together and you didn't want to argue. Although with their calloused nature sometimes, they did take care of you well. You couldn't tell what they were thinking but they treated you as gently as they could. Even your family members would come and help out from time to time and it made your recovery better. As stated by the courts, as long as the grandparents (either your parents or in-laws) were there to supervise, a social worker, or the dreaded last option, your ex, was there you would be able to spend time with your daughter.

Months would pass and soon years would follow. When you had shown no signs of negligence or malice occurring in your visits, the judge allowed that you didn't need supervision. Your ex protested but it went unheard. Plus your willingness to get your life together showed your dedication so it was a blessing that you were able to get back to a somewhat decent and regular life despite what has happened. Of course the label that had been placed on you wasn't fully gone, but you were at least able to see your own daughter again.

Which is why you deeply cherish moments like this. After inspections at your apartment, the courts approved that your daughter has now been allowed to stay a few days at your place, and this weekend she was scheduled to stay with you. She would get dropped off by him on Thursdays after school, but you limited the talk to only what was important. Usually, on the first day you get her for the week, you do something with her that she's been wanting to do. As much as you wanted to do it right away, you did make sure her homework was done (she would do it at school just so she could spend more time with you though). Despite her determination, you would still check her work and teach her the things she got wrong much to her dismay. You'd make sure you're on time to drop her off to her evening classes and still wake up early to cook her breakfast every Friday morning. Then you'd drop her off and then pick her up at the end of the day seeing as she had no evening classes on weekends.

"We're here, we're here!" Niyuki cheered, the sweet but mischievous smile never leaving her face when around you.

"It's so pretty out! Wanna get some ice cream, Niyuki?"

"Yes, please!"

After you park your car you hop out and help her out of her seat, holding out your hand for her to take as she knows the routine already. Niyuki admires the familiar park although she has been to numerous times. The way she gazes at everything looks as though this is her first time seeing the place, and this kind of wonder behind her eyes isn't unique to this particular place. No matter how many times she has been somewhere or seen something, her eyes always shine with curiosity and wonder. You can't help but watch her with a faint smile, never wanting to forget what her face looks like ever again.

"Which ice cream do you want, Niyuki?" You ask once you two reach the truck, an assortment of colorful ice cream pictures is decorated on the side of the vehicle.

"Hmm…." Niyuki thoughtfully hums. She raises her free hand to comically tap on her chin as she thinks, the gesture urging a laugh from both you and the ice cream salesman. "Can I have the one with the," She leans closer and points to it, "SpongeBob with the bubblegum, please!"

You think to yourself as you settle for something that's to your tastes, relaying your order to him and searching for your wallet to pay for the cold, sweet treats.

You look over at the man and he nods before leaving to the back, "Coming right up."

In no time at all you two are grabbing ice cream and heading to the playscape. Today was a bit hotter than what you were both expecting so you made a challenge that whoever was able to eat their ice cream without being messy gets to go to bed late tonight. You knew you'd win but it was still amusing to challenge her as her bright spirit came along with a competitive one.

In the midst of you two finishing up your ice cream, a younger but familiar voice calls out to your daughter. You look around confused before spotting a younger girl running towards Niyuki and then engulfing her in a bear hug.

"Mizuki!" Your daughter squeals as they both tightly embrace, her popsicle long forgotten now.

"I didn't know you were coming to the park today!" Mizuki said as she pulled away, still holding onto her best friend. Their bond started from the mere fact that their names sounded similar.

"Yeah, my mommy brought me!" Niyuki pulls away to pull at your dress.

"My dad brought me as a surprise, so I guess it's okay we didn't know!"

The two of them were pretty endearing you couldn't lie. They had been to the same Pre-K together before attending elementary together.

So far you had only met her mother and she was pretty kind. You only knew so much about her though and to your knowledge, she is happily engaged at this point. You two would talk often when the two played, often sharing play dates when it was your turn to have Niyuki on the weekends. That's how Niyuki and Mizuki were able to twin, have sleepovers, etc. While having other friends at school, those two were joined at the hip.

That's why you were utterly confused to hear about her father.

You knew nothing about him except for the fact that he and Mizuki's mother mutually decided that things just weren't working out. It's not like she knew much about your ex either. It seemed as though the separation of parents helped bond the two kids, but you felt saddened at how completely different the two situations were. You sometimes worried if Niyuki was embarrassed by this knowing it wasn't always easy at school due to the teasing.

"Mizuki!" A deeper voice calls out to the young girl. With the young girl's name being called, she turns around and excitedly waves him over. You pause in your tracks as you take him in.

Ashy blonde hair that resembles an explosion sits at the top of his head smothered in appearance by his hat, while his eyes are also covered by a pair of what appeared to be designer sunglasses. He sported a relaxed fit, a gray tank top with a light mesh patterned throw-over that did nothing but tease the muscles underneath the cloth, the colors on it being black and white. The look is finished off with black baggy pants and some boots. You could tell he was attractive even without the cover-up. As you finish up the assessment of your daughter's friend's (hot) dad, it occurs to you the fact that he had sunglasses on doesn't hide the fact that you were totally just checking him out.

"Mizuki, I told you to stop running off like that." He grabs the young girl and gives her a playful nuggy.

"Sorry Daddy!" Mizuki giggles and slips away from him and runs to hide behind you instead, your daughter following. They both peek from behind you, and you have no other choice but to introduce yourself.

"Hi, you're Mizuki's dad, I'm guessing? I'm Y/N, Niyuki's mom." You smile warmly.

He nods at your assumption, his expression still the same as before. "Katsuki, it's great to finally meet the mother of this other troublemaker's friend." He playfully steps in Mizuki's direction and she immediately runs to your other side, giggling.

Something about him was eerily familiar. You couldn't place your finger on it, but you simply chalked it up to the fact you have probably seen him in passing at a few of their birthday parties or so. But something about that didn't feel right… Either way, you ignore it. It wasn't a bad feeling but the fact you couldn't place your finger on it would later down the road bug you. You decide to ask instead.

"Have I seen you—"

"Daddy, can we go to Niyuki's house to watch movies now?" Mizuki cuts you off in the middle of your question, undoubtedly earning a glare from her father.

"Mizuki, what'd I tell you about interrupting people when they talk?" Bakugo lifts his sunglasses this time, his gaze revealing he was solely looking at her.

She pouts using you as a shield once again before tugging on your clothes. "Sorry oba-san…" Mizuki says with one of the deadliest puppy faces you've ever seen. There was no doubt she was one of the cutest 6-year-olds you have ever seen. How could you be annoyed with a look like that?

"It's okay, Mizuki. What were you asking?" You ask them and turn better, bending down a bit to be at both of the girl's levels.

"Can we please watch movies in Niyuki's playroom? Pleeaaseeee?" Mizuki asks and your daughter steps up to beg as well.

"Please, Mommy!! We'll be good too!" Niyuki reasons.

"I'm not sure, ladies…" You trail off as you consider that maybe Katsuki himself probably planned out for the afternoon and didn't want to forcefully make him commit to an impromptu earlier playdate.

"It's alright." Katsuki pipes up and you three look back at him. He lightly shrugs and answers as if he could read your mind, "We were going to play it by ear for the rest of the day anyways."

The two children couldn't quite comprehend the second bit of what he said, but they did understand that it was a yes from what he said in the beginning. They gleefully look at you and start tugging and hugging at you.

"Please, Mommmyyy!" Niyuki pleads, now joining in on giving you a hard to disapprove of puppy look as well.

You lightly laugh and nod your head, finally pulling them in for a proper hug and then giving them a tickle to fend off their offensive stance. "Okay, okay! We can do the movie night! But I want you two to at least spend an hour or so here before agreeing to let you two be cooped up inside for the night."

"Okay!" They exclaim in unison. The moment they break free of your grasp is when they run to the playscape. You sigh as you stand up and give Katsuki a soft smile before properly sitting down on one of the benches. He's close second to following your lead, you both now watching as the two girls play with each other as well as other kids. It seemed most parents decided today was a great day to let their kids out. Mostly because it would tire them out for the night which was a plus.

"I wasn't expecting Niyuki's mother to be so beautiful," Katsuki randomly says, cutting the silence. You look at him with a surprised look on your face, a blush starting to rise on your complexion.

"I could say the same for Mizuki's father." You bashfully laugh and un-subconsciously move to adjust your clothes. Admittedly you were not as designer dressed as he was, nor were you in your best fit. One thing to notice other than his attractiveness is that he has impeccable style. Something that shocked you a little since men in their 20s (especially with kids) don't seem to care too much these days. It wouldn't shock you if he had some sort of unconventional job.

He turns to you when you respond, a teasing smirk now dawning on his face. You don't miss the look-over he gives you and you're sure that he wasn't trying to hide it either. "You know they'll be all tired before they reach halfway through the first movie…"

"That is true…" You play into his words as you look forward instead. You feel your heart start to race when he rests his arm on the back of the bench behind you. You could feel the warmth of his skin through the cloth and welcome it. The weather was too hot but his touch was something you were starting to get curious about. "I guess that'll just leave us two to relax then."

"I could help you with that, I'm a pro at saving people."

You hum at his words, "You're a chivalrous man, that's uncommon these days," a teasing smile to rival him now finds its way on your face. "What else are you good at, Katsuki?"

"I'm also really good with my hands." Katsuki humors you, his hand shifting near your shoulder where his arm lay. "Pretty strong too."

"Ah, so those muscles aren't just for show?" Feeling bold, you reach to rest your hand on his thigh, his muscles immediately flexing under your touch.

He leans in closer to whisper in your ear as he answers, his hand now resting lightly on your shoulder. "I gotta make sure I'm always in shape to save beautiful women like you."

A buzzing near your touch catches you off guard as you try to not completely fold at his words. A catchy ringtone soon follows the buzzing and it's now apparent that what you were feeling was his phone. He pulls away with a huff and pulls out his phone, excusing himself as he answers it.

You exhale a breath you didn't realize you were holding in as he leaves. You can't remember the last time you had talked to a male, much less flirted. Most of your days surrounded working and finishing up school as you wanted nothing but the best for your kid. You didn't go out often anymore, and if you did, you only stuck around with your friends. You couldn't complain but feeling so affected like this was starting to make you feel nervous, almost like when you had got back out into the dating world the first time. You tried not to think about those thoughts.

Now, you were back to watching the girls again and they seemed to be having a blast. The day's heat didn't phase them at all and they played to their heart's content. It seemed as though they were playing cops & robbers with the other kids, and honestly, you didn't care what they were doing as long as they were being safe. The good thing about the friendship between the two was that they always looked out for each other; never mind the fact that their circumstances brought them closer together.

Even with how hard you've been trying to do this mother thing, inescapable thoughts always plagued your mind. Mainly about the fact if your daughter truly wanted to stay with you. This whole arrangement of only getting to see your child three days a week has been going on for about a year and some change now. You know that it'd be too early for her to get "tired" of you, but you can't help the fear of her getting sick of you. One thing was for certain is that you definitely are not as well off as her father although you did make sure to pick up extra shifts when you wanted to get her something real nice.

However, your moment of contemplation comes to an end when two girls come barreling towards you, their approaching giggles making you snap out of your thoughts.

"Mommy!"

"Yes?" Your eyes refocus and you smile softly at the two girls, their wild energy showing how much they truly were out there on the playground having fun.

"Can we have some ice cream please!" Mizuki asks, tugging your arm.

"Please, please, please, PLEASEEE!" Niyuki begs.

You gape a bit overwhelmed at the two young energies, trying to reason with yourself as Niyuki had already gotten ice cream prior. You were sure her best friend did as you knew that both her parents loved to spoil her—even before you had an introduction to Katsuki. It was a hot day and you didn't seem to mind, you were getting pretty hot as well…

"... Okay, but that's the last before we head home! When you finish, that's enough park time."

Your answer is to their standards as they both shower you with affection to thank you for caving into their cuteness. You roll your eyes but the smile doesn’t disappear as you keep an eye on them as they wander to the truck.

"Sorry 'bout that," The new but familiar voice calls out as he walks up to you. "Important business and shit."

Your brows raise at the casual curse and laugh a little, folding your arms as you look up at him. "No problem, but I did tell them that we will be leaving as soon as they finish their ice cream." You inform, nodding your head towards their direction as you keep an eye out for them.

"Great timing, I was about to talk to you about that."

— ✮ ★ ☆ —

The two girls were happier than ever riding together back to your apartment. They sang along to their favorite songs, played I Spy, and talked about all sorts of things you expect from children. It's easier to tune them out when you're around them long enough.

Their excitement continued when you got to your home. As soon as you reached your unit the two beelined to the kitchen after dropping their shoes and bags at the door. And yes, you guessed it, they had matching pairs too. Niyuki knew to go to the kitchen first thing though as she knew you would make something in the meantime before the movie started.

"You two know the rules! Stay near the island to avoid getting bit by sharks!" You called out to them as you fixed up the entryway. You listen out to hear them, still hearing them squeal and toy around in there. You slip off your shoes, adding them to the rest of the shoes before lazily pulling on your house slippers. "The sharks are coming in five… four… three…!" Your warning does the trick as by the time you reach the kitchen they're both sitting in their respective seats and both looking mischievous and peeking at you behind their hands. You make a show of surveying the room as if you can't see where they are and the girls are now "safe" for following your directions. "It seems as though the sharks are clear!"

They celebrate the win, now eager to watch you work your magic.

You three had a fun time as you tried your best to make sure they were safe (the entire time you were internally panicking to make sure everything was okay). Niyuki liked watching you cook and you were more than happy to help her learn as well as do some hands-on stuff. It was only natural that her best friend would follow suit in her curiosity. Niyuki's sole enjoyment of watching you cook is what encourages you to do it more often and get better at it too.

Now there was an assortment of snacks aside from their main meal. It was true that you spoiled her a wee bit when she was with you, but you couldn't help it. Niyuki was your everything and when times were needed you were able to say no.

Once you set up their bowls with their food, the doorbell rings. You figured it was the man who would make another appearance for the night.

"Alright girls, bring your food to the room." You command and watch them leave before making it out into the hallway, finally answering the door when they are both in the designated room. "Katsuki!" You smile and open the door wider.

The blonde-haired male grins at you and holds up the childishly bright bags for Mizuki. "Sorry for taking so long. This should be everything." You nod and reach for it, his actions making you pause as he pulls it a bit towards him as if to hold it from you. "Is it alright if I see Mizuki before I leave?"

You feel your skin flush in embarrassment, hastily stepping to the side and opening the door more to let him in. "I-I am so sorry! Of course, you can," You close the door and lock it behind him when he finally steps in and gets his shoes off. He doesn't need much introduction when two heads pop out from the doorway of the playroom, one squealing in excitement as she runs up to her father to hug him.

"Daddy you're here!" Mizuki exclaims and pulls him in the direction of the room. "Come look at Niyuki's playroom!"

"I'm not sure--"

"No, no it's okay! Let me clean up the kitchen in the meantime." You smile as the three make their way to the room.

Sticking to your word, you waste no time cleaning up. You have a slight hum as you move around the kitchen, appreciating how well today has gone so far. You even met your daughter's best friend, hot dad… who would've thunk? You bite your lip to suppress a giggle that threatens to escape you, a giddy smile still on your face. Gosh, when was the last time you ever found someone attractive? It felt like forever since you've been focusing on parenting, school, and not to mention having a job.

You think about how well the man dressed and how good he smelled. You had to hand it to him, he was really put together and you could see why Mizuki's mother let him in the first place. He didn't seem too bad personality-wise either. Katsuki was the right amount of cheeky and arrogant that was the complete opposite of your ex. It didn't help that his well-defined muscles and physique showed with his great fashion taste. Luckily for you though, Katsuki felt the same way about you.

When he had first seen you, there was no mistaking in the way he immediately found you attractive. Dressed in your form-fitting sundress surely accentuates everything about your womanly body. The way the cloth hung to your mounds and all the beautiful parts of your limbs. But unlike you, he was able to hide how much he was checking you out. Except while indoors he no longer needed sunglasses and he was sure you were feeling the same way about him.

Katsuki's eyes are trained on your butt as you flawlessly move around, the color of your dress perfectly folding around the two globes of your ass as you move. He leans against the doorway once he finally looks up at the back of your head, crossing his arms. "Hey," Katsuki's voice calls out to you. You whip your head around to look at him, eyes enraptured with how attractive the young man is. "Sorry for the weird behavior earlier at the park…"

"It's okay! Really. Stuff comes up sometimes, glad that you were able to get it settled." You turn off the sink and dry your hands, turning to face him as you place the towel on the island in front of you. You don't miss the way his eyes drag down to check out your body.

"The girls will probably knock before they even finish halfway through the movie," Katsuki predicts, his eyes predatory when he looks up at you. "could make it up to you while they're busy."

You shy as you two make proper eye contact. "How could you possibly make it up to me?" You bat your lashes at him, a faint blush heating your skin at the implications of his offer.

An attractive grin spreads across his lips as he pushes off your doorway. "I could show you but it's better if we do it somewhere private."

It takes everything in you to hide the chill that runs up your spine at how he easily toyed with ideas without being so vulgar with it. As if your body is moving on its own, you walk towards him and flash a smile that has equal parts of mischief and seduction.

"I'm interested."

As soon as that door closes behind you two, there is no denying the tension that fills the room. His lips are soft and hot against yours and the feeling has your body tingling. His heavy and calloused hands are tight on your hips as he pulls you closer to his chest, your hands placing themselves on his biceps to try and steady yourself against him. Katsuki hums in satisfaction, tasting your sweet lip gloss on his mouth, teeth moving to nip at your bottom lip to ask for more. You willingly comply and open your mouth although timid about the experience.

You were feeling fresh in the kitchen but now that you two were getting down to it, you were starting to feel shy again. Up until now, it had practically been years since you dated a man, much less kissed or hooked up with one. There was no denying that you were attracted to this man but your mind was starting to cloud with doubts that you wish would just go away. You try to ignore it erstwhile you feel his strong hands slip down to grab your rump through the beloved sundress you wore today.

You softly groan in the kiss as he pulls away, eyes with innocent determination to see this through. His eyes are hot on you and it takes everything in you not to look away. He walks you to your bed, instantly getting on top of you once he has you adjusted to his liking. In a hurry, you move to untie one of the straps on your shoulder, his heavy hand stopping you as he leans into your ear to convey his true thoughts

"'Gonna fuck you in this dress, princess," Katsuki smirks down at you when he pulls away and stands up properly. He tugs you towards the edge of the bed so that your legs hang off the edge, his hands on your hips. He leans down to give your lips a chaste kiss before spreading your legs and kneeling between them. Katsuki's hands softly grip your ankles, the tips of his fingers disappearing at the hem of your dress. His hands slowly drag the fabric up, his hot lips that were once on yours now kissing their way up on your left leg as took his time exposing his skin. "Keep looking at me, baby." Katsuki directs when you lose eye contact with him as he finally meets your inner thigh, his teeth giving the plush skin a teasing bite. You softly whimper, the apparent wet spot on your panties deepening.

He groans at your scent and slightly pulls away to look at your cunt, his hands now placed on the back of your thighs and pressing it to your body. He takes his knuckle to rub up against your labia, adding more pressure once he reaches the top of your cunt to play with your clit. You wantonly moan as he continues to rub at your clit, the fabric of your panties creating a friction that was heavenly but frustrating you greatly. You needed to feel his fingers on you and this wasn't cutting it.

"Katsuki," You breathe out, hips bucking into his handling. He simply hums at you calling out his name, his rubbing slowing down as his gaze now has a teasing glint to it. "N-Need more, please, Katsuki," There's a whimper in your voice, only barely hinting at the desperation that this man can stir inside you.

"More've what?" Katsuki grins at how flushed your expression is, your face dreamy as ever.

"Fingers, need them." You manage to prop yourself up on your elbow as the other reaches down to tug at the panties on your hip. Katsuki snickers at your impatience, his thumb pulling aside your panties to expose your soaked cunt to him. He gives you one last kiss on your inner thigh before he wordlessly dives in.

Katsuki applies his tongue flat against your cunt and gives you a long stripe up until it reaches your clit, just like what he had done with his knuckle moments ago. A breathless moan escapes your lips as he starts to swirl his tongue against the erect bud, his textured and wet muscle taking pride in its work. He closes his mouth around your cunt, leaning more to taste more of the slick that your cunny produces. The vibrations of him moaning from the taste makes you shiver, this feeling of having your cunt licked like this felt so familiar but foreign at the same time. His eyes stay glued to you as he pleasures you, finding everything you do so damn attractive to look at.

Lapping a bit more he pulls away and spits on your cunt using his fingers to lube you up more. He wraps one of his arms around your thigh and holds it to his shoulder, holding you in place as he finally inserts two thick fingers into your cunt. Soon enough, his mouth is back into your count, the tip of his tongue playing with the sensitive bud at the top of your pussy.

The sounds grow increasingly more obscene as he shamelessly laps at your cunt and works his fingers into you. His digits curl to find your g-spot, softly teasing the spot and eliciting more volume from you. You quickly try to hold back how loud you are, walls clenching around his fingers at how good it feels. You bite your lip and suppress a loud groan from slipping out, hips attempting to pull back with no use. Katsuki keeps you locked in close to him and ups the ante by using the tips of your fingers to continue to stroke at the sensitive spot of your g-spot. His tongue now applies more pressure to your clit to bring you further.

"'Suki--" You call out, your hand coming down to grip and tug at his hair. Shivers rack through your body as a long and drawn-out orgasm hits you, his movements aiding to help you bring you down from it. He pulls his fingers out and presses his tongue flat against your cunt to clean up the mess between your legs. You move your hips back in protest and he loosens his grip to let you do so.

You watch with bated breath as he starts to unbuckle his pants, your eyes glued to what is soon to be revealed. Katsuki's movements to get his garment removed are so fluid that you almost miss it when he pulls the condom out from his back pocket. He tears open the soft foil with his teeth and applies the slippery protection onto his hard cock. You instinctively open your legs when he draws closer, a soft mewl leaving your lips when he aligns his tip to your opening.

"You good?" Katsuki softly asks, his other hand holding your thigh open, thumb rubbing your thigh as he awaits your answer. You nod your head and grind your hips against his tip, hand coming up to pull him closer to you as you answer.

"Give it to me, Katsuki."

The man grins at your plea and lays you on your side, choosing to slowly sink himself into you from your approval. The obscene moan you let out gets covered up by Katsuki's lips finding itself upon yours again, happily taking in your willful noises. At first, he takes long and drawn thrusts, trying to accommodate his size for your comfort. This position allows no remorse and you already knew what you were in for when he put you in it. When you two separate from the kiss, his lips are quick to find your neck, his hands now respectively on your ass and thigh to hold you in place. Amid a deeper thrust, he gives an equally rough bite, the force making you moan. You relax your leg more to allow him to hold you better, him taking your actions as the go-ahead to pick finally pick up the pace.

You feel as though you are on cloud nine with his wet kisses and teasing bites covering your neck, his thrusts and handling furthering your ecstasy. His skin smacks against yours as he starts to get rougher with his thrusts, hands gripping you tighter too. You grip at the sheets below you and tilt your head back, mouth agape as you so desperately try to keep up with him. He gives your ass a spank when he feels your pussy clench around him, an animalistic growl coming from him as he repeats this. He pulls away from your half-covered chest and glares at the top of your dress, now getting annoyed at the article of clothing.

Katsuki doesn't slow his hips for a second as he more than easily rips open the top of your dress and earns a discontent whine from you that gets forgotten when he presses a bit deeper into your cunt. His lips press themselves to your newly exposed skin, his tongue happily taking in one of your nipples to suckle and nibble on. There's no mistaking that he's having free reign in the marks on your skin but you're too wrapped on how everything feels to care. An expletive leaves your mouth in a string of whispers when he angles his hips to hit your g-spot, prompting you to reach down and rub your clit for more stimulation.

"Fuck," Katsuki cusses under his breath as he leans up to watch you take his cock, nails digging into your skin and enjoying the way your pussy envelopes his cock. Not to mention the hot visual of you playing with yourself furthering his contentment. He lifts your leg a bit under your knee and quickens his pace. He watches with hungry eyes as your tits bounce at the force, a pretty face to match and his marks all over your body's skin. He groans as his thrusts start to feel heavier, his orgasm impending. He nearly loses it when you grind back against him to chase your release.

There was an air of innocence that surrounded you but everything you did said otherwise. Katsuki simply couldn't get enough of you and he simply didn't want to. Fuck, he wasn't expecting his daughter's best friend mom to be super hot and sweet.

"C-Cunming…!" You mewl, brows scrunch in concentration as you finish off on his cock. His swift thrusts help in coaxing it out of you, slick dripping from your cunt and messy-ing up your inner thighs. He swoops down to give you an open kiss, tongue pressed against yours haughtily as he follows your climax with his own after a few more pumps.

After a few lazy and exchanged kisses he pulls away, a string of saliva connecting you two. You laugh a little as you wipe the remnants away. "That's the best I've had in a long time." You jokingly cut the silence, a chuckle from him following.

"Could say the same." He softly grunts, pulling out from you, and gently places your legs down. He effortlessly picks you up and rests you further on the bed where your legs can find refuge on the plush mattress. "You okay, need me to get anything?"

The first question confuses you. To your recollection, you had never been asked that before. Not after sex when the deed has already been done and the willing participant has already had their fill. A pang of displaced emotions starts to wrack up inside you, a nervous laugh coming from you when you realize that you spaced out trying to conceptualize what you had just been innocently asked.

"Y-Yeah, I'm good! Thanks for asking," You smile sweetly and the cute expression earns a pat on the cheek from him. Shamelessly, the gesture shot a jolt of arousal straight to your core.

"You got a bathroom around here?"

Following Katsuki's departure leaves you in silence. There was a feeling of dissonance that you couldn't really place your finger on and the fact it was all coming together was undoubtedly giving you the worst post-nut clarity ever. You didn't regret having sex Katsuki, that wasn't the case, but how not sleazy he was certainly opened up your eyes. The male decency that you have been robbed of for so long was finally starting to settle and you didn't like the feeling one bit. Tears start to burn in your eyes and you desperately try to wipe them away the longer you sit in your thoughts.

Fortunately for you though, the doorbell sounds repeatedly which slowly brings you back to the present. Your once feelings of despair and disgust are now turning into annoyance. You take your time slinking out of your bed, you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and huff at how disheveled you looked. The dress that you've been dying to wear was now torn and stretched, the condition bringing a pout to your face.

You undress fully and grab one of your robes to cover yourself up with, the piece is a bit scandalous but covering you well. You quietly make your way down the hall to not wake up the two girls (if they were awake they definitely would've interrupted you and Katsuki) and finally make it to the door. You peer into the peephole and softly gasp at the person behind the door. The doorbell starts to buzz loudly again and you angrily fumble to unlock your door, it now also occurs to you that the noise could be disturbing the two young girls' sleep.

"Are you fucking crazy?!" You greet your ex with much-deserved hostility.

Shindo simply rolls his eyes at your annoyance and crosses his arms as if it were your fault for his impatience. "I called and texted you multiple times. I'm here to pick up Niyuki."

You openly scoff at his demand, standing taller at his attempt at showing his dominance. You mirror his actions and cross your arms too.

"She's staying with me for the weekend. Why are you here?"

Your ex mockingly scoffs at you questioning him, his eyes narrowing as he steps closer.

"I need to explain why I want my daughter to be with me? You know, the parent who never neglected her once in her entire life." Shindo looks you up and down, openly grimacing at how fucked out you look. "You can't even control yourself, you have no shame, do you?"

As much as you try to keep up the strong facade, there is no denying the tightening in your chest. You don't want to admit it but his words hurt you deeply. His toxic words were starting to feel all too familiar and your body was starting to shut down.

"The agreement was that she would stay the weekend with me. Niyuki's having a sleepover with her friend, there's no point of you coming here."

"Do you think I fucking care about a "sleepover" when her mother is busy being a tramp when she's distracted?" He shamelessly accuses and shifts his expression to one of fake pity and concern. "Do you think you deserve her, hm? I mean look at you, running around and can't even stay committed to us even when I've tried."

"Watch how you fuckin' talk to her, asshole."

A voice filled with just as much disdain comes from behind you, the sheer amount of aggression battling Shindo's. You immediately turn to look at him, mind moving faster than your body in your shocked state.

"I'm sorry, who the fuck are you exactly?" Shindo tilts his head and reaches out to push the door further to reveal who the man is. He freezes when a blonde and spiked hair catches his eyes first, his mockery of emotions from earlier now turning into real anger and a hint of fear. "Bakugo-?!"

Katsuki grabs the edge of the door and pulls it open wider to allow him more space to pass, making sure not to harm you as he gets between you and your toxic ex. "You wanna repeat that, dickhead?" He fists up his shirt and backs him away from the door. "Is that how a hero treats a woman, eh?"

Shindo curses under his breath, fighting against him. The mach attitudes between the two start to boil over as it's obvious that they have met prior. When it escalates to more than words, you start getting a bit fearful. A more aggressive push from Katsuki prompts you to call out for them to stop. One thing about your ex is that he hated being out matched and there was no denying that Katsuki seemed like the type of guy to beat that out of him. It wasn't until their exchange seemed to elevate in volume and another light next door turned on. You plead for them to stop again, your hand lightly tugging at Katsuki's arm although knowing your touch wouldn't be able to do shit against a muscled man like him. Eventually they do stop on Katsuki's accord, both breathing heavily as they stare down at each other. Your ex aggressively scoffs and shoves Katsuki away from him as he looks between you two, gathering himself.

"Have fun with the little gold digger, Dynamight," Shindo says lowly and bumps shoulders with Katsuki as he leaves.

A heavy silence is left in his wake between you and Katsuki. You tiredly rub your face and breathe out a sigh, the exhale soon turning into a dry sob. Katsuki fidgets awkwardly before reaching out to you and pulling you close, letting you rest your forehead on his chest.

"Fuck, he stresses me out," You mumble against his tank, wiping away your tears. "I'm sorry you had to witness that…"

"Hey, he's fuckin' douchebag, alright? Who gives a fuck what he thinks." Katsuki pills away a bit to cup your chin and forces you to look up at him, the gesture warming your cheeks. "Let's get you cleaned up and you can rant about whatever the fuck you want, it's getting cold." He holds the collar of your robe and gives it a playful tug. You softly nod your head then lead him inside.

— ✮ ★ ☆ —

It had only been two days since you had first met and slept with Katsuki and the smile on your face never seemed to disappear.

Thinking about the man easily brought butterflies to your chest, memories of you two keeping you on cloud nine. After you two had gone back inside Friday night, he had comforted you in many ways. It felt silly to say it—that the foreign feeling you were getting in your chest only had one name: a crush. Not full-blown but enough that every time you thought about your Friday night—past the awful interaction with your ex-boyfriend—was one of the best times you have ever enjoyed yourself with a man.

Katsuki did listen to you. He cleaned you up, cuddled you, kissed you throughout, and eventually you two even two more rounds. Never had you felt so comfortable, so… domestic. It was evident that your bright attitude was something your daughter noticed too.

"Mommy?" Niyuki calls out from the doorway, successfully gaining your attention.

You press the small bento box you were prepping Mizuki to take home closed, a smile on your face as you welcome your daughter to make her way to you. "What's up, munchkin?"

"I have to tell you something," She tugs at your pajama pants, a look far from playful or childish in her eyes. You feel your heart sink a bit at how serious she is, bending down to get face level with her.

"Niyuki? What's wrong?" You hold her arms and pull her closer to you, trying to keep contact with her as she avoids looking at you.

"I don't want to go to Pa's this week, I want to stay with you."

You're taken back from her confession, unsure of how to process it. "What do you mean, 'Yuki? Don't you want to see daddy-?"

"No, I want to stay with you," Niyuki regains her courage to look up at you, establishing how much she truly feels. "I heard you guys last night. I want to stay with you more. Daddy's house isn't nice, I don't like it there anymore."

"Niyuki, I…" You shamefully look away at the fact she bore witness to that awful exchange last night. You felt awful that she had seen it, much less found out how dysfunctional your relationship is. You pull her in for a hug and nuzzle her hair and she is more than willing to take in your embrace. "I am so sorry you had to see that, baby. Mommy will see what she can do about how you feel being at Daddy's house, okay?" You hold her cheeks in your palms and she nods her head in agreement.

She places a kiss on your cheek and swiftly leaves the kitchen as if the exchange didn't happen, leaving you by yourself in the kitchen. You stare off into the distance at the exchange, not sure what to think or do with yourself. It wasn't until you felt a wet sensation coating your cheeks that you realized you were crying.

Faintly down the hall, you could hear Niyuki nagging at her best friend and the two giggling and playing around as children do. You sit down on the floor and rest against one of the cupboards as your doubts start to ease themselves, everything in your life turning around so fast that it's hard to grasp.

You had thought for the longest time that Niyuki was simply putting up with you. It is no lie Shindo has more resources than you. The money, house, toys, etc. he has everything you don't. He didn't need to work the extra shifts to make sure she had presents for special occasions, he could easily buy the things she needed and wanted. You thought the only things that could make a child satisfied were the things they could see, touch, and have. You didn't think the small things counted, not when you're an adult where a random Friday could have easily been one of her favorite days in her childhood.

You don't bother wiping the tears from your face as you try to pull yourself together, snot and everything clouding your nasal passage. Oddly you felt numb, like the joy you were feeling was foreign. Nothing felt real but you knew you couldn't stay sitting on your kitchen floor silently crying as you desperately tried to register what the hell your body was going through at the moment. You weakly pull yourself up using the counter to grab a paper towel from the dispenser on the counter and obnoxiously blow your nose into it. You mumble a few cuss words under your breath as you attempt to freshen up as you try coming down from the emotional rollercoaster of this weekend. As much as you wanted time to process this, doing it in a home with a kid who could barge in at any minute was hard. Especially when there are two.

The doorbell rings and you glance at the time on the stove. It was a bit early for Mizuki's mother to pick her up, but you decided you'd just invite her in until the child was ready to leave.

You lazily walk over to the door and peer into the peephole to double-check, your face twisting into an expression of shock as you pull open the door and wordlessly confront the person on the other side.

"... Do you normally answer the door looking a mess?" Katsuki teases, giving you a look over and lingering at the places he seems to like.

You jokingly nudge him and roll your eyes, crossing your arms as you stand a bit taller, feeling your heartbeat pound against your chest. "Haha, very funny." You sniffle and wipe your cheek, the gesture not going unnoticed.

"Did something happen? Did that prick come over and harass you again?" Katsuki grows angrier at the idea, his expression souring.

"No, no, it wasn't that." You quickly ease his concerns and this time remind yourself to look around to make sure there aren't any extra ears before stepping out and closing the door behind you. "This morning, Niyuki told me she wants to stay with me, not just on the weekends." You look up at him finally, your lips immediately curling into a soft smile once you're able to say it out loud.

He grins and pulls you in for a hug, giving you a squeeze when you wrap your arms around his shoulder and squeal. He rocks you back and forth before pulling away while maintaining his hold on your waist. "This shit feels unreal, you know?" You lightly laugh as you look up at him, a radiant smile on your face.

"Her mother is amazing, of course she'd want to stay with you." Katsuki gives your hip a squeeze with his free hand, the action pulling your attention to the solid object digging into your side, the feeling making you look down at his hand.

"Oh," Katsuki steps back and holds up a slim, medium box that had a ribbon tied around it, holding it up for you. "Here."

"For me?"

"Who else, dumbass?"

You snort at his bluntness and shoot him a playful glare as you open the gift. It takes you a few seconds to realize what it is, a gasp following your surprise at the expensive dress, and start to close it back up. "Oh my god, I-I can't have this!"

"Why not? You'll look perfect in it." Katsuki pulls you closer with his hand that was still on your hip, his other landing on your abandoned one. "Pretty girls deserve pretty things."

You playfully push him away and look at the box again before looking up at him. "Seriously, for me?"

"Yes." Katsuki holds your chin up and softly rubs your bottom lip under the pad of his thumb. "And you better get used to it, I'll be buying you a lot of those."

"Why?" You laugh, leaning into him and tilting your head up to challenge him.

"'Cuz I'll be tearing a lot more stuff off of that pretty body of yours," He leans closer to brush his lips against yours with a smirk on his face, "Plus, I need an excuse to see you again."

He seals his promise with a kiss, hands coming up to hold your waist as he presses himself against you.

— ✮ ★ ☆ —

It had been a few months since you and Katsuki had officially started dating. Your mood significantly has changed for the better and made it a lot easier to adjust to having your daughter now finally staying with you instead of her father.

It was hard being able to advocate for yourself but the verdict was in favor since the child should be able to choose where to stay. It did help the fact that your new boyfriend, who you had learned and realized is a top pro-hero in the country, just so happened to bring the best kind of reputation to the courts.

As adults do, you did talk to Mizuki's mother before deciding to fully go through with dating the man. Ultimately it is true that she can't decide what you two do, but you owed it to her for being such a good friend to you and didn't want to step over any toes. She was more than happy to give her blessing and practically threw him over to you, more than happy to let things rest since she is soon to be married anyway.

There was nothing that could prepare you for this turn of events and every day it was easier to wake up feeling happy and blessed. Currently, you just got your culinary degree so that also means one less stress and burden off of your shoulders and another venture soon on the horizon: a head chef.

You just adjusted your graduation gown and looked around for your family, your face immediately lighting up seeing them not too far from where the graduates are exiting. It took almost everything in you not to run in excitement when you were finally able to make it towards them.

"Congratulations, honey!" Your parents are first to engulf you in a hug, the rest of the group close behind. You chuckle as two smaller bodies take your legs, none other than Niyuki and Mizuki claiming each side.

"Congratulations, Mommy!" Niyuki grins up at you.

"Thank you, Niyuki." You lean down to kiss her on the forehead and do the same for Mizuki.

"Do I get a kiss too?"

You look up at the inquisitor, a grin sprouting out on your face as you stand back up. "Of course."

He pulls you in and gives you a kiss, the action getting a mix of responses to the show of affection. Katsuki presents to you a beautifully arranged bouquet along with a promise that there were a lot more gifts back at his place.

Most days in the past you prayed for times like this, but now you were happy you didn't have to anymore.

    all rights reserved © do NOT steal, alter or copy this work.

[middlenamesage]

MARS, the planet of ACTION: What type of exercise Mars in each sign makes me think of

Note: this is not necessarily advice about exercise to consider based on your Mars sign. So many things in the chart and the individual’s life will tweak the picture. Being that I’m a 6th house Mars who’s making it a goal lately to exercise daily (or most-daily😆) because I see the benefits for my mental and physical health of having intentional physical activity in my routine, this is just my musings on the type of exercise that comes to mind first/strongest when thinking about the archetypes of each sign. ✨

Mars in Aries- lifting weights/strength training 🏋️‍♀️ Mars at home! I thought about maybe also going with martial arts for this one! ❤️‍🔥 Mars/Aries does have a strong purpose for defense. As the first sign in the zodiac, Aries’ archetype is also that of a straightforward, more simple and direct energy. To simply get buff seems like quite the way to pay tribute to this potent combined yang energy! 💪

Mars in Taurus- Yoga 🧘🏽‍♂️ Taurus needs something at a bit slower of a physical pace, and the very conscientious attention yoga places on your relationship with your body is very Taurus/2nd house. Plus every Taurus rising I’ve ever known has been into meditation and/or yoga. 🤷‍♀️ Always looking for the calmest ways to do things! 🧘‍♀️

Mars in Gemini- Running 🏃🏻‍♀️ idk this just seems like a flighty Mars sign! 🏃‍♂️🚀💨

Mars in Cancer- In-home exercise, regardless of type, is what immediately comes to mind! Maybe a really pimped out Mars in Cancer would have an in-home pool.💧😂 🏊‍♀️🏠

Mars in Leo- Dancing! 💃🏻🕺🏼This is my Mars sign and never been a dancer, so this goes to show how I’m just thinking about the archetypes of the signs. But the Sun’s gotta shine/will get noticed 🌞 and dancing also is so highly CREATIVE. ♌️

Mars in Virgo- Gymnastics 🤸🏿‍♀️ I’m just so impressed with the precision♍️ in the routines of gymnasts. Perhaps Pilates is another example, that’s a little more common place. I personally avoid any exercise that requires attention to precise detail as it gets my Mars worked up in a bad way😤… so more power to anyone who’s built to like this type of exercise!

Mars in Libra- Ballet 🩰 The pure archetype of Libra is grace. Enough said.

Mars in Scorpio- whichever combat sport or martial art is the slyest. 😂 Mars at home I think could be quite motivated to be fighting somebody; but Scorpio’s gonna be concerned with technique, not in it to make a big bold scene. 🤺

Mars in Sagittarius- Hiking 🥾🌄🌲 Or biking! 🚴🏻‍♀️ The sign built for exploring. Hiking is always an adventure. You never quite know what you’ll see even when you’re hiking nature trails you’ve hiked before. And it tends to be a popular activity when visiting new places. ✈️

Mars in Capricorn- Climbing 🧗🏽‍♂️ Climbing has an obvious association with Capricorn. 🐐🌄 And Caps could always use inspiration to reach some pinnacle! 🙏 Also, fun fact, Saturn is the planet that rules the skeletal system and muscles in medical astrology. 🩻 Climbing works basically every muscle in your body!

Mars in Aquarius- some eccentric aerial sport. 😂 I don’t know much about anything in this area, I just know something that’s done in the air 🌬️ and something that’s unusual makes me think of Aquarius! ♒️

Mars in Pisces- Swimming 🏊‍♀️ I’m giving the final water💧sign, the one most like the vastness of the whole ocean, this official association with swimming. Related fun fact: my Piscean🌞 grandmother was the one who taught me how to swim (and was very delighted to do it). 💙

Bonus thoughts, from a Mars conjunct Venus: it’s really worth considering exercise that puts you in nature if you too have this conjunction, or Venus in harmonious aspect with Mars!🌲🌷 On this note, I’d think of Mars-Mercury being suited for things that are also exercise for the mind, Mars-Sun being suited for daytime outside exercise, Mars-Moon being a good fit for nighttime exercise, and exercise in new places or that doesn’t follow a set routine being suited for Mars-Jupiter!

[lokisprettygirl]

Lose me to Love you (Loki x Female Reader) (AU) (18+)

Read Chapter 30 here / Series Masterlist

Chapter 31

Summary: Loki and you wants to leave the past behind and move forward but your shared past would never allow you to do that.

Trigger Warning: 18+, Mention of torture and psychological trauma, discussion of mental health, Smutty smut, degradation, unprotected sex, Description of rape and assault, panic attack, violence against women, Extreme dark themes, Sexual abuse, physical abuse, public sex, Rough violent sex, 18+, Steamy stuff, age difference ,Rough language, mention of suicide, talk of virginity and slut shaming, manipulative behaviour, mention of trauma, smut, toxic relationship between main characters. Dark themes, cult stuff

"Look to the right" you heard the photographer so you tilted your head to the right. Loki was watching your every little move and it made you feel so warm. And wet.

He smiled as your eyes met with him, he knew what he was doing, he knew how he affected you and he still couldn't stop giving you the bedroom eyes.

"Hiii" he heard a woman's voice next to him so he turned his head, she looked around his age and she was checking him out from top to bottom "Do you model?" She asked him so he looked at her curiously.

"If the pay is alright..yes"

"Cool..So you have your portfolio on you?"

"I have a few photos on my phone"

"Great, show me"

"Excuse me!! Who are you?" He raised his brow as he questioned.

"I'm Celia, I work for Suroze agency" She raised her hand forward so he grabbed it to give it a professional handshake. He passed her the phone and she was impressed by the pictures so she asked him for an official meeting and they agreed upon a date.

"Sooo you're her agent if I'm not wrong?" She asked him and he nodded.

"Do you have anything for her?" He asked her.

"Her??? Oh noo, she's not ummm the model type" his jaw clenched immediately as she answered him.

"She's fucking amazing"

"She's your Client ofcourse you're supposed to say it, I get it you know" she chuckled as she winked at him and it only made him angrier. He couldn't bear the smug look on her face. All these years he had tried so hard to never allow anyone to put you down in anyways, whether it was regarding your talent as an actor or your overall looks, you were beautiful but this industry was rottened and unfortunately once in a while he indeed bumped into such people.

"She's good, she knows what she's doing and she does it well"

"Blahhh I'd say she should stick to acting" she smiled at him and it only managed to infuriate him further.

You saw him having a conversation with an attractive modelesque looking blonde but you had no idea what they were talking about. He did seem a little upset though.

"Are you free after this?" She asked him so he snickered, when he moved to LA he was a bit taken by the ladies here, it's not that he didn't fuck people in New York but it didn't happen so quickly there. Some women here seemed too forward and he wasn't in the position to judge them but he was definitely judging this one, he was just pissed at the way she had tried to insult you slyly.

"No I'm going home with …her" he gestured towards you with the tilt of his head.

"Umm you guys?? Woww.. gotta say that's hella unprofessional" she looked at him with a disgusted look on her face.

"So is wanting to fuck the model you were just trying to book for your agency" that was enough to make her upset and she told him that she'd see him at the meeting before she left.

Once you both reached back home you noticed that he seemed a little upset and that was bothering you.

"Something wrong?" You asked him as you took your usual spot which was him on the couch and you on top of his lap. He shook his head at first but after much insistence he told you about the agency and the offer, he also told you the reason why he was in such a sullen mood.

It made you smile for some reason, just him being so upset that some random woman didn't think of you as model material and that it bothered him so much was endearing. If you didn't know him this well you'd grab his cheeks and give it a harsh squeeze.

"You know not everyone has to like me or the way I look right?" Your arms wrapped around his neck and his eyes met with yours.

"Why would anyone not like you?" He asked you and you felt a whirlpool of emotions running through you, he had no idea how sweet he was to you sometimes.

"You didn't like me like up until a few months ago" you chuckled so he cupped your cheeks. You were just joking but it went over his head.

"I have always liked you more than I ever wanted to like you darling" your eyes teared up as he said that so you kissed him softly.

"Was she flirting with you?"

"Maybe yes, maybe not" he smiled

"Well I'll just have to keep an eye on her at the shoot then" he chuckled as you said that.

"You want me to do this?"

"We do need the money daddy" you mumbled amidst the kisses so he hummed before he decided to unveil that he had a joint savings account on both of your names.

"I wasn't planning to tell you this anytime soon but i do have an emergency runaway fund saved for us, in case you ever wanted to just get the fuck out of this city and move to a village or something, far away from here, just me and you" you pulled away to look at him, the money wasn't just for that purpose, he wanted to leave you with something if he was to die for whatever reasons, death was the only thing that could have taken him away from you but he wasn't unprepared for that possibility.

"Maybe someday we can? We have time right?" You asked him so he tucked your hair strands behind the ears, making you relish in the touch then he kissed your forehead.

"We have all the time in the world sweetheart. I'll fulfill all your dreams i promise"

The next day you both met with Celia and she seemed infuriating but you both needed this job. You also met up with Jane and discussed how you both wanted this documentary to be made, you didn't want to put anything out there that you would regret later in life. You wanted to ask her about Thor but it felt weird, she didn't even know that he was Thor or that he suffered the same hell that you both did. She did seem upset though, you couldn't help but wonder if meeting him again resurfaced those old feelings she might have had for him or maybe she never moved on, it's not as if you knew her personally.

You wanted to go see Thor so Loki drove you there and you were met with his smug face but as soon as you mentioned Jane the smugness was gone in a flash.

"You loved her didn't you?" you asked him and he glared at you. Loki just sat down on the couch and watched the interaction occurring between you two, he didn't want to interfere in the matter.

"Love is bullshit"

"That's what Loki used to say too"

Thor looked at Loki as you said that.

"It is not… bullshit" Loki said to him, you could tell he was feeling awkward.

"Well what do you want me to do starling?" Thor crossed his arms as he questioned.

"Just talk to her, maybe she..ummm maybe she's the one for you"

"She doesn't even know who I am"

"That won't matter"

"It will, she'll try to use me for that docu- bullcrap like she's doing with you two" he huffed, he was getting more and more upset with every passing moment.

"You can't be certain of that Thor"

"I do .. I know her, she's all about films and money, how do you think she knew about you y/n? Who do you think told her about you? Ever thought of that?" He raised his voice so you took a step back and Loki immediately got up to grab your hand and pulled you closer to him.

"Lower your voice alright? She's just trying to help.. you told her about her didn't you?"

Loki asked him and your eyes teared up.

"That was…before we.. I can't undo it alright? But she jumped on the chance didn't she? That's what she'd do with me as well, i don't want to spend all my life in a fucking prison"

He turned around and stormed into one of the rooms to calm down. That day when you saw her looking so heartbroken you didn't think she'd ever use him like that if she knew his truth but then you couldn't have been sure.

Loki turned you towards him and cupped your cheeks to make you look at him, his thumbs grazed over your skin gently.

"You okay baby?" He asked you softly so you got on your tiptoes and wrapped your arms around his neck to hug him.

"He can't go on like this forever, he needs someone"

"I know, just give him time okay? I'll go talk to him" You nodded as he said that. He wrapped his arms around your waist and lifted you off the floor, it made you giggle in response, the sound warmed his heart. He couldn't even bear the sad look on your face any longer, not even for a second.

He did talk to Thor and was able to convince him to see Jane once and see what she wanted from him, he wanted his brother to take a leap of faith just like he did.

You both stayed there for the night, your body felt so tired from the day so it was easier to fall asleep, however his mind wasn't so kind to him tonight, there were a few things he didn't want to remember in life but once in a while all those memories came back to haunt him.

He was having a nightmare, it was about Jennifer, he was sixteen at the time and so was she, he was supposed to take her virginity before they would sacrifice her, he had no other choice but to do it.

It hurt a lot because she was so innocent, much like you, her mother brought her here, she didn't want to be a part of any of this but she had no choice either. After the sex Odin had asked him to take her to his room and keep her locked in there, they were supposed to sacrifice her the next day.

Loki couldn't have allowed that to happen, at least not on his watch, he heard her sobs all night long so right before the dawn he got her out of the binds and gave her a knife, he asked her to stab him in the back and he gave her the directions to find a way into the city through the woods but she was so young, he didn't even know if she made it out alive. The next day he was punished for being so weak that he couldn't even keep a girl under control, Clint, James and his other puppets looked for her in the woods and James told Odin that he had found her and killed her accidentally because she was struggling so much.

Later that night Loki tried to go find her body in the woods, he wanted to wallow and beg for forgiveness but he didn't find her. Maybe they buried her somewhere else, maybe an animal got to her but he had always blamed himself for allowing her to die.

When he woke up he was drenched in his own sweat, he turned to look at you and you were still asleep so he slowly got out of your embrace and made his way to the bathroom to take a shower, sleep was the last thing on his mind right now.

As he stood under the cold water he tried to calm himself down, just knowing that those monsters who ruined so many lives were still out there made him so angry, a part of him never wanted to face them again, he wanted to stay as far as possible, he wanted to take you somewhere safe but then he knew he'd be looking over his shoulders all his life, wondering when those people would turn up to ruin the life he wanted to build with his sweet girl.

As he came out, you were awake and had the lights turned on, you always awakened whenever you didn't feel him around you. His body was dripping wet and he had a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Why did you shower?"

"Was feeling hot" he answered as he pulled the briefs over his legs.

"Lower the temperature then" you told him and he hummed in response "Nightmare?" He looked at you as you questioned him. He ripped the towel off his waist and walked towards the bed where you were already sitting on the edge so he sat down next to you.

You placed a soft kiss on his shoulder blades before you climbed on top of him.

"I'm here" you whispered in his ears and his hold around your waist tightened. He felt vulnerable and weak, he abhorred feeling that way because it always made him feel unmanly.

You lowered him down on the bed slowly and you could tell he was a bit restricted but for some reason he still allowed you to do it. He didn't deny it or stopped you in any way.

"What are you doing?" He chuckled but his eyes were filled with tears.

"Nothing, I just want to love you"

"You're going to fuck me?" He questioned you immediately as you said that.

"Do you want me to?" You asked while you brought his right hand up and kissed each of the fingertips individually.

"Nooooo" his voice came out in a broken whisper so you looked at him.

"What do you want me to do?" As the tears escaped the corner of his eyes you wiped them away before they could hit the bedsheet underneath him.

"Kiss me" his voice was meek and it hurt you, it hurt to know that he felt so afraid asking for something so pure and innocuous. You leaned down and cupped his cheeks, you gave him a few chaste pecks before your lips planted firmly on his.

"I love youuuuuuu" you whispered against his mouth and it made him moan in response, he sounded so pretty and you wanted to tell him that but you didn't want to push him away, he was trying to allow you to be affectionate with him and you didn't want to do anything that would take it away from him.

"I don't want you to kiss anyone else ever again..I want this all to myself" he mumbled so you pulled away slightly.

"I wasn't going to do it anywayssss"

"You would if you have to..you know..for work" he argued

"I won't..I won't kiss anyone but you" his fingers tucked the strands of hair behind your ears that kept falling on his face.

"Yeahhh?"

"I promise"

"Now I feel like a jerk darling"

"You don't have to, I wouldn't want you to kiss anyone else either..it's so intimate and sacred. I wouldn't ever want to share you like that so I'm glad you feel the same way about me" he cupped your cheeks and pulled you closer to kiss you again. Your words made him feel better, just the thought of you being with someone like this made his heart ache, he wanted to be the only one to receive all this affection you had to offer.

You sat up taking him along with you, you held onto him as tightly as you could while you kissed every inch of his face then you moved onto his neck and then his shoulders, your fingers ran over the scars on his back in a gentle manner. Then you slowly laid him down again to worship every inch of him because if anyone deserved to feel that way then it was him. He couldn't help but hum everytime your lips touched a new surface on his skin.

He felt vulnerable and weak but he didn't hate feeling that way, not in that moment, he enjoyed it indeed.

He never thought he'd see a day where he'd have someone love him like this, accept him with all his evil and just be there for him. He never thought that someday he'd be willing to have a woman on top of him love him so tenderly and he definitely didn't think that he'd be so willing to spend a whole night like this without it ending into sex.

He didn't think he was capable of giving or receiving such pure love but yet here he was.

Next day on the way back he really just wanted to get back home with you, he really wanted to give you everything you'd ever need in life but he knew that his past and those evil people would always threaten the paradise he was trying to build with you, his fear solidified as his car broke down in the middle of nowhere, it shouldn't have, he knew it didn't happen naturally.

"Text Steve that we are in danger.. Thor as well" Your eyes teared up as he said that.

"Lokiii"

"Do it sweetheart.. please" he looked at you, pleading with his eyes so you immediately texted both of them. Once you were done he grabbed your phone and hid it under the seat of the car so at least Steve would be able to trace the location.

His fears weren't baseless because as soon as he stepped out he was shot by two men, you didn't even have the time to blink or process what had just happened.

All you remembered was seeing Odin's face before you blacked out.

🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃

@annoyingsweetsstranger @whylokiissocute @loki-s-wife @fraoid3 @siggytumbles @crzyplantladyvibes @stupidthoughtsinwriting @vickie5446 @wheredafandomat @mcufan72 @xxntiimulti @loz-3 @dishahaldar @mcdesij @scram1326 @elthreetimes @army24--7 @sinsandguilt @holotacopeely @blog-the-lilly @disneyismyworldforever @bunny24sstuff @kats72 @somewiseguy @asgardianprincess1050 @multifandom-world8 @loki-laufeyson-1054 @daddylokisqueen @lulubelle814 @huntress-artemiss @itsybitchylittlewitchy @rogerrhqpsody @praq123

[viceroywrites]

reunions and opportunities - chapter two

gary x fem!reader

both of you didn't get the ideal high school experience it would make sense that you both would be dreading the reunion.

little did you know how many doors would open after that.

ao3 version here - chapters on tumblr are slightly rewritten and restructured.

content warning: fic contains smut in later chapters. discussions of mental health including trauma and potential ptsd (aka gary is traumatized).

chapter two

A few hours had passed since Gary had brought you two to a small diner a few minutes away from your old high school and you two had been hitting off, discussing comics, cracking jokes, and just enjoying each other’s company. 

“Wait, you dropped your entire first paycheck on a replica of the Lord of the Rings sword?” You chuckled as you stirred around the little bit of milkshake you had left. He laughed along with you, putting his hands up, “Okay, in my defense, I was going through a very passionate Lord of the Rings phase and it was my own money okay!” 

You giggled, your elbows propped up on the table as you intertwine your fingers before propping your chin atop them. “That must’ve been a huge chunk of money then you got to afford a pretty accurate replica of that. What do you do for living?”

Gary froze quickly as he was sipping on his soda when you asked that question. ‘Shit. She can’t know about me being a henchman… she’ll probably think I’m bat shit crazy or be weirded out a bit. Fuck but I can’t lie to her… okay, dude. You just gotta embellish a little… stretch the truth.’ He thought to himself.

You blinked as he froze for quite a while and leaned over the table, waving a hand in front of his face, “Hello? Earth to Gary?” you teased. He quickly snapped out of it and nervously chuckled, scratching the back of his neck, “S-Sorry about that, spaced out for a bit there.”

“W-Well, it’s kind of hard to explain my job, I guess. I kinda do odd jobs and favors for this guy who is a part of this powerful company.” Gary stuttered out, trying to figure out how to even explain what he did for the Monarch. 

‘I mean… it isn’t a lie… the Monarch makes me do stuff like reconnaissance to watching Game of Thrones with him… plus the Guild is a powerful organization in a sense… well, it was, not so sure about now.’ He thought to himself, cursing a bit for not thinking up a better explanation or just saying he still worked for the Atomic Comic Collection Connection.

Your eyebrows rose a bit at his job description but you figured it wasn’t the weirdest thing you’d heard someone do for a career. You smiled and put your hand on top of his, making his face heat up visibly. You giggled and smiled, “So pretty much like a personal assistant, right? My new job is kinda like that too so I get it.”

He let out a sigh of relief and smiled, his expression softening at your touch. His eyes glanced over at the clock, seeing it read: 3 AM. ‘Shit, I have to go early morning reconnaissance with the Monarch tomorrow..’ he thought. You noticed his reaction and chuckled, “Getting past your bedtime I’m guessing?” you tease.

Gary grins sheepishly and nods, “Yeah, sorry about that.” You shake your head and chuckle, “No, no, it’s fine. I start my first day of work tomorrow anyway so I should head out too. Walk me out?” You stand up and grab your coat, beckoning for Gary to follow you.

He quickly gets up, following you out with a grin on his face.

--

Soon after you had parted ways, Gary collapsed on the couch with a pleased smile across his face. You two had exchanged numbers and had arranged to meet up sometime soon when it was convenient for both of you.

He scrambled for his phone when he felt it vibrate and a huge grin spread across his face as he saw you had texted him: 

‘thanks for an amazing night. let’s explore the city sometime since you’re new in town, okay? good night, sleep tight! (: ’

From: [Name]

‘God, she’s like perfect… but I can’t rush this… what if she just wants to be friends…? Shit, I didn’t even consider that..’ His expression twisted into worry before he was snapped out of his thoughts by a sudden light turning on.

“You’re home late. Jeez, did you get lost on the way home or something?” The Monarch muttered, wearing his robe and cowl combo and slippers, clearly awoken by Gary’s arrival.

Gary sighed, “Sorry about that… I.. actually met someone there.” The Monarch’s wild eyebrows rose quickly and he quickly blinked, “You picked up a chick tonight, 21? You’re kidding, right?” Gary shot his leader a glare which The Monarch put his hands up in defense, “Okay, okay, jeez… so did you nail her?” He grinned with a playful tone.

The henchman bit down on his lower lip, thinking about how that dress clung to your curves, how you bit your lip playfully and your cleavage would dip a little lower when you leaned over to take a sip of your milkshake. The Monarch caught that and chuckled, “Oh… I know that look. You wanted to but you didn’t, huh?”

Gary sighed, shaking his head, “It’s not just that she was hot… cause she was super gorgeous. She was literally… just amazing. She literally has the grace and intelligence of Khaleesi but she’s like super nerdy like me.”

The Monarch’s eyebrows shot up at the description, surprised at how enamored his henchman was and he grinned in amusement, “If you can pick up a woman like that, looks like my woman wooing charm is rubbing off on you. I have taught you well, 21!”

The henchman sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as at the Monarch began to ramble on about him teaching 21 of the ways of love and woman wooing, 

“Please stop talking.”

--

Having taken a shower and changed into your pajamas, you dried your hair in front of the mirror at your vanity. You unlocked your phone and smiled, seeing that Gary had replied to your text:

‘it would be an honor to see you again, m’lady. good luck with your first day of work tomorrow! good night, sleep tight.’ 

From: Gary

You giggled, seeing he had copied your good night message at the end of your text. After setting out your uniform for the next day, you slipped under the covers and quickly fell asleep.

Your phone illuminated part of the room as a reminder notification flashed from your new boss:

“Be at the Guild meeting by 10am. Make sure to wear your new uniform.”

From: Dr. Mrs. The Monarch

-

Your alarm blared, echoing through your room and waking you from your slumber. You abruptly shot up, groaning and sighing as you ran a hand through your tousled hair. 

Begrudgingly, you got up, getting ready for your first day of work. Checking your phone, you saw your boss’ reminder, smiling to yourself. Sure, she had high expectations but you knew she had your best interest in mind all the time. 

She wanted you to succeed and you knew that from the moment you met her.

You had previously been working for quite a while under Wide Wale as his secretary of sorts as well as a bodyguard for his daughter, Serena Ong, when she tired of the obnoxious burly men dressed as whale lice following her around and needed some girl company.

However, as much as you loved Serena and knew you lived quite the cushy lifestyle working under Wide Wale, you had to admit you were tired of being surrounded by the testosterone of the male bodyguards, the lack of respect you got from them because you were a female, having to work with your ex on a daily basis, and Wide Wale’s sometimes old-fashioned way of approaching arching and villainy.

Wide Wale was not a fool; after working for him for quite a while, he knew you almost as well as he knew his daughter. So that’s why he immediately connected you with Dr. Mrs. the Monarch after making a deal with the Guild – he knew that you wanted a new perspective and more freedom and Dr. Mrs. the Monarch had expressed interest in having a right hand man of sorts, similar to how 21 was with the Monarch.

You two hit it off right away and she immediately hired you to work under her in helping rebuild the Guild to its former state and glory.

After stepping out of the shower, you quickly dried your hair and applied a bit of makeup before slipping on your Guild uniform - a black and red button-up jacket with gold buttons, a plain black shirt and black pants, and black, platform heel boots. You clipped on your gun holster onto your thigh and slipped your pistol into the holster. 

Straightening out your outfit, you grabbed your keys and phone, grinning as you got a text from Gary:

‘hey good luck with your first day on the job. (:’

From: Gary

You smiled softly but sighed a bit, feeling guilty. Gary seemed to be such a sweet guy, a perfect mixture of dorky and caring. You could see yourself possibly becoming serious with him. But you feared dragging him into this life with the Guild you were becoming more and more involved in. 

Shaking your head, you pushed those thoughts to the back of your mind and got into your car, heading into the city for the Guild meeting.

[littledrummeraussie]

I hope you’re still accepting blurbs, could I have a comfort one with poly!cashton? 🥺 been feeling blue lately and that no one cares about me and I need some of your fluff. Thank you thank you sweet Angie💕💗

Dear Hailey 💗  this one is angsty and full of feelings, but I do hope you find some comfort in it as well! 💗

This little blurb also takes place in the All The Things We Dream About universe.

masterlist. | want to be added to my taglist? | Christmas Blurb Fest 2022

I’ll hold you until we are whole again. [a poly!Cashton comfort blurb]

warnings: poly!relationship. mentions of a small non-descriptive, unnamed accident. time spent apart. struggles in a relationship. lots of angst and tears. a small shiny ray of hope and love at the end. aka Ashton needs to travel back home, and Calum and Y/N have to manage their lives without their boyfriend.

word count: 2326

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“Hey, how was your flight? Did you arrive safely?”

“I need a shower, I smell like plane,” Ashton groaned on the other side of the line, probably rubbing his face tiredly. “Lauren is picking me up in ten then she’ll take me to Mom.”

“How are they doing?” Calum asked next to you, the phone strategically placed between the two of you on the table so both of you could speak to Ashton.

“They manage, but I think it will be better now that I’m here,” Ash continued, his voice sounding a bit strained and quiet. “I’ll take care of them until we figure everything out.”

You exchanged a look with Calum, both of you thinking of the same thing – how Ashton always took it upon himself to make sure everyone was okay, that they were fed and showered and slept at least 6 hours, taking medications and looking after their mental health. Not just the two of you, but Michael and Luke as well, their friends as well, and his whole family back in Australia.

That’s where he was currently, halfway across the world, waiting for his sister to pick him up so he could help Lauren and Harry take care of their Mom who had a small accident which left her bedridden. It only took him a day to arrange everything and before you knew it he was out of the door, already heading home to help where he could. Both of you wished that you could join him, but your workplace wouldn’t have let you go on such short notice for more than a few days, and Cal needed to overtake some of the band stuff Ashton left behind. You also had a feeling that they agreed to Calum staying so you wouldn’t be alone while Ash was helping his family.

“I already miss you, though,” Ashton confessed, murmuring his words into the speaker. “Do you think we could schedule a video call tomorrow? And maybe by then I’ll know more that I can share too…”

“Yeah, of course. I’ll see when we’re both available and let you know, okay?” Cal nodded like Ashton was able to see him, so used to having him by his side. “You just go and take care of Anne Marie. And get some sleep too, you sound tired.”

“I am,” he sighed, and you wanted more than anything to reach out and hug him, let him cuddle close to you and fall asleep. “I gotta go, Lauren is here.”

“Just… call us if you need anything, okay? Doesn’t matter what’s the time,” you added, hoping that Ash will remember it – he tended to forget about his own needs when he put others first.

“I love you, both of you,” Ashton finally said, and you could hear how much he meant it, how much he really appreciated you and Cal being so supportive and being there for him.

“We love you too, Ash,” Calum replied, and you hummed in agreement, whispering a quiet ‘love you’ as well.

“Alright, I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Now go to sleep, you stayed up way too late because of me,” a laugh slipped out of him, and you were sure his cheeks were tinted pink. “Sorry about that.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time…” your other boyfriend made another comment, and after catching another quick laugh from Ashton the call was disconnected.

Calum reached for you and grabbed your waist, pulling you from your chair and into his lap, wrapping his arms around you. Yours settled around his neck, fingers diving into his soft dark locks, eyes trained on each other.

“Let’s get you into bed, okay?,” he finally said, and pressed his lips against your cheek. “You look tired.”

“Is it okay if I say that I already miss Ashton from our bed?” the confession left you before you could stop yourself, burrowing closer to Calum.

“Of course. I miss him too,” he rubbed your back soothingly, whispering against your ear. “I also sleep best when both of you are next to me. But for now we have each other, so let’s take care of us until our grumpy boyfriend is back home, okay?”

“Okay,” you mumbled, a smile pulling at your lips at Calum’s not-so-secret nickname for Ashton.

Calum tilted your chin up towards him and kissed you, taking a little bit of extra time with it to make up for Ashton’s absence. You let him carry you upstairs and into the bedroom, Duke curled up against your stomach in bed as Calum held you from behind, whispering softly to help you fall asleep, and promising that your boyfriend will be back soon, you won’t even notice that he was gone.

You desperately wished that that was true.

.

You tried your best, you really did – but it was hard to stay positive when Ashton told you a few days later that he definitely needed to stay for two weeks, maybe even more, and with that Calum started to spend more and more time on his phone and laptop, discussing band things with their management, or arranging meetings with the others to talk over whatever idea or info Ashton has sent them. You also did your best to focus on your own job, hoping it will distract you enough that you don’t think about missing your boys, but most of the time it was futile.

Both of you were tired by the time you came back home, only having enough energy to send a message to Ashton and hope he was available for a quick chat, then after dinner you usually found yourselves in bed, Calum falling asleep before his head hit the pillow. But you found that your sleep was restless, even with your boyfriend holding you close, soft breaths tickling your ear as he slumbered. You knew you were overreacting it all: Ashton needed to take care of his Mom, and Calum had to take over his tasks to make the band run smoothly.

And you – well, you felt like you worried too much about Ashton and expected too much from Calum, and that was driving you crazy. You knew Ash was well capable of taking care of himself and his family at the same time, that he didn’t need you to worry about his well-being or mental health, that if he needed something from the two of you he would just tell you. And yet you felt like you were letting him down, that you should do more than this, make his life easier while he was back in Australia, not just feeling sorry for him and yourself from the distance.

And then there was Calum, who suddenly didn’t have that much time on his hands because he was working for the two of them so the band did not fall behind on their schedule, who was trying to keep everything running smoothly while still making sure you were okay too. He was doing his best and tried to give you as much attention as they usually would together with Ashton, but you felt like it was too much energy for one and that you might have been too needy. He deserved a break too, and you wanted to give it to him, to them, not wanting to burden any of your boys with your own made up problems.

.

“Hey, sweets? Are you okay?”

You didn’t realize Calum stopped speaking, or that there were tears streaming down your face. Frustratedly you wipe at your eyes, hoping he did not see them, quickly shaking your head.

“I’m fine…”

“You don’t seem fine,” he pursed his lips, crouching down next to you. “You wanna talk about it?”

The words in your throat desperately wanted to escape, and you gripped the hem of Ashton’s hoodie you stole from his closet to swallow them down. Because you were not okay, you were ready to fall apart. Ashton’s been away for almost three weeks, with no news about his arrival back home while Calum’s been trying to juggle two separate roles at the same time, and it made you feel selfish that he needed to focus on your bad mood now too. You curled up in a ball in front of the couch, knees pulled up to your chest as you hid your face, doing your best to hold yourself together.

“Y/N? Baby, what happened?”

“I’m fine, I’m just…” you hiccupped, voice muffled as you choked on your words. “I’m okay, don’t– don’t worry about me…”

“To hell with that!” Calum scoffed loudly, settling down next to you and pulling you into his arms, at which more sobs bubbled up from your chest. “Tell me love, please? Let me help you. I’m always here, you know that, right?”

It was like the floodgates opened at his words, because it was true, and you hated yourself for it – because of course he was always there, that was one of the problems. You cannot expect him to tire himself out looking after you. You hated yourself for being so needy with Calum, for worrying so much about Ash, for missing him this much even though this wasn’t the first time he was away for long weeks. You felt like you didn’t appreciate Calum enough, that you took his love for granted. You felt like your head’s going to explode, along with your heart.

“…and I miss Ashton too, I do,” Calum whispered against your ear as he cradled your head to his chest, his own voice teary, and you realized that you just said it all out loud, and that Calum was currently responding to all your feelings you’ve been bottling up since Ash left. “It’s really hard without him, I know. I’m so used to him being here with us, I don’t think I’ve spent more than a few days apart from him in the last 10 years. And I know you do this all the time while we are on tour, and I can imagine it does not get easier.”

“Cal, I–”

“And I promise you you’re not taking my love for you granted, and I’m sure Ashton would say the same. Because we both love you very much, and it’s not a burden, you’re not a burden. We take care of you because we love you, and we want you to tell us when you’re struggling and feeling low. Don’t bottle these feelings up, we want to know what is going on with you. You are our girlfriend and you always come first.”

“I really don’t deserve your love,” you gathered all your strength to move into his lap, arms hugging his neck and burrowing into him, crying against his shoulder.

“Don’t say that,” Cal mumbled against your ear, warm hand caressing your back up and down to sooth you while he also swallowed back tears. “I love you. You gotta accept that.”

“I love you too, Cal,” you snuggled close, trying to quieten the last of your sobs.

.

“I really wish Ashton was here…”

It’s been long minutes since you calmed down a little, a few quiet sobs still bubbling up every now and then, and Calum tried to help you talk through all your feelings you’ve been avoiding for weeks now.

“I know, baby, me too,” he kissed the top of your head, using the sleeve of his sweater to wipe away his own tears. “We gotta get our shit together before we speak to him, don’t you think?”

“I would rather you just tell me…” the voice came from the direction of the door, and both Calum and you looked that way, finding Ashton standing there with his luggage next to him.

He looked weary and like he needed a shower and a proper hug, curls hanging over his forehead and his glasses, dark circles under his eyes. Before you knew it he shrugged off his jacket, letting it fall to the floor while quickly kicking off his shoes, letting them land in a heap behind the couch before rounding it and dropping down next to you, his arms curling around the both of you.

“Hey honeys, I’m home,” Ash hooked his chin over your shoulder, a long sigh leaving his lips. “I fucking missed you too.”

“You didn’t tell us you were coming,” Cal murmured, no heat in his voice as his forehead knocked against Ashton’s. “Would have picked you up.”

“I wanted to surprise you,” Ash said, manoeuvring his body around yours until he was able to pull you to his chest while settling against Calum’s side, all three of you cuddled up in a pile. “Guess I was the one who got surprised… Hey, it’s okay, shhh baby! I’m here!”

You sobbed into his neck, suddenly feeling overwhelmed from your confession to Calum and the fact that Ashton came back home, holding both of you tightly against his body. You heard Cal sniffle above you, and Ash also took off his glasses to wipe at his eyes, his voice a little weak when he spoke again.

“I guess we all just need to hold each other a little tighter tonight.”

“It was a long three weeks without you,” Calum let his head rest on top of his, and Ash nodded, adjusting you in his lap as you started calming down again.

“I just wanna be with you two,” Ashton confessed, kissing your cheek and then Calum’s as well, his body slowly going lax. “Just want to be us again. Want to feel whole again.”

You quietly mumbled your love for them against his shirt as you found your words, voice still a little teary, but full of love, and they whispered their confessions right back to you, the three of you in a pile on the floor, trying to mend the pieces of your hearts which were not broken, but definitely needed some tender loving care from each other to properly heal – to be whole again.

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@mymindwide @fuckyeah5sostakemehome @suchalonelysunflower @talkfastromance4 @ashtonsunflower @in-superbloom @wiiildflowerrr @lovelywordsblog @heyitskelseaj @whentherosesbl00m

[skellymom]

Vagabonds Questions

What inspired you to write the fic this way?

What scene did you first put down?

Where did the title come from?

Thanks for asking @genericficerblog !

For reference and shameless self promotion, here is the intro and first chapter of my ongoing The Bad Batch Hunter x OC fan fic series:

The subsequent chapters after that are linked at the end of each chapter so you can continue to read uninterrupted (If indeed the links do still work. Message me if they don't please!). I've only just written 1/4 of the story arc so far. There is farther to go. And many surprises in store for the reader. Admittedly, I had hoped to pick up past chapter 8 already...but SUPER burnt during the holidays from working my main job (veterinary technician). So I might not start up the story again until Feb 2024. I need a mental health break.

#1. What inspired you to write the fic this way? When it comes to my OC, I'm a bit of a control freak. So third person omnipresent works for me. I get to share ALL OF THE DETAILS of everyone involved in the fic. However, I do have two first person one shots that work much better when the reader is the only person privy to what they are thinking and the other characters are a bit of a mystery.

Also, with all the horrible crap going on in the world that I have NO control over...it's nice to write something that's a bit escapist. I have control over this universe. And, while characters might encounter hardship and loss, the ending for sure will be happy. It might be bittersweet, but it's cosmically for the best. I feel like I have more control over this world than the one I live in. The one that control is really only an illusion. And, I'm no hero. Just another cog in the machine clicking away.

#2. What scene did you first put down? Actually, the scene with Love force grabbing and rescuing the puppy from the Coruscant meat market. They needed to rescue that poor little soul! However, the very first scene to even pop into my head as an idea was that of Mad trying to fly out of trouble on the Beldame and Love pretty much protecting the ship with their unrestrained Force Shield...with disastrously (or lucky) insane results. Didn't write it down until much, much later.

I LOVE WRITING ACTION SCENES! I tend to write the really meaty scenes first (I have several notebooks that I just scribble stuff down while sitting in front of the fire, with a cup of tea, or whenever I can pick up and write). Then I slowly piece bits together to make the whole of the story. I have ideas whizzing around all the time in my head...I just gotta commit to writing them into reality!!!

#3. Where did the title come from? A "Vagabond" is a person that wanders from place to place without a home or job. Or a person having no settled home. A wanderer or traveler. It usually doesn't have a pejorative meaning as it can have a romanticized connotation, but sometimes can be pejorative as in calling someone a vagrant.

I've always been interested in people who continually move from place to place, either by want or necessity. Most people tend to stay in one place and never go far due to being comfortable with what they know. But, what if you're comfortable with what you don't know? What if settling in too long in one place is stifling? Or constantly moving allows you freedom, opportunities, experiences...maybe even safety? What if your culture ENCOURAGED you to keep moving and embrace the unknown and new experiences?

I have been a bit of a Vagabond most of my life. Moved away from my home state at 21 years old (I would have left sooner...like 10 years old if I had the money, confidence, luck, parental consent, etc. My cousin reminded me that climbing through the bedroom window and running away with just a suitcase would land me in juvenile detention. Plus, she said she would miss me). Two Navy husbands, lots of places I've lived, visited, traveled to and still going whenever I can. Hell, I'd couch surf, floor crash, or whatever it takes to go visit ANYWHERE! And, if I stop moving too long I get restless and a major case of wanderlust.

So, in between saving money and planning to find places to go I write and travel to places in my mind that don't exist. Yep...Mad is ME! Surely you figured that out already. Been dreaming of flying away on adventures since I was a child. I LOVE planet earth. But, sometimes I look up in the sky at night and gaze at the stars...hoping to see a craft touch down in the greenspace behind my house. A band of rag-tag misfits emerge and call over the fence. They traveled an awfully long way through hyperspace lanes and time-space worm holes to come to this tiny blue planet holding life. They say they are looking for a few good Rebels. I turn and yell to my family that I'm off to fight a galactic war and don't wait up for me at dinner. Gotta shoot some imps and steal some intel. Be back tomorrow. <3

[elvenbeard]

Long rambly post about Phantom Liberty incoming cause HHHHH

Gonna put it under a read more just in case, also cause it got long, and bc I know people will still wanna avoid spoilers!

So.

Mr. Hands, amirite??

Holy shit, he is so cool XD Different than what I imagined, but so much better. Pure visuals-wise he's giving the biggest Sheogorath vibes, and a little bit of an older Dragon Age Dorian. I'm so here for it. Also the fucking phonecall he was on with his kid I assume when you first enter his office omfg XD The dad-est dad to ever dad, then a political schemer and so fashionable XD Also, he deserves his nickname 100%, his cyberhands are so cool. Also, the first fixer that offered Vince a drink and Vince actually didn't have to decline cause it was tea (and I bet it was really good, high-end shit, and that's how you get Vince xD). Also his gigs are all so good like... so varied, and always with difficult choices or just super interesting and entertaining storylines. "Waiting for Dodger" has gotta be my favourite one so far, and I'm excited for what's to come still!

Sure as hell this is gonna be a profitable business relationship (and I'm also super duper intrigued about his political interests and what he's planning/ where he's seeing Dogtown's future like... he doesn't like Hansen in power, he's affiliated with the VDBs AND Netwatch, and I'm just so.... I'm smelling political change, and I'm a bit sad that V didn't get some more inquisitive dialogue options about it all (but maybe that would've been too much at that point... ooor maybe with a few more gigs done the picture will get clearer).

Then also a bit more lore and hhhhh... I don't think I'll incorporate this bit into Vince's canon as is, but again, with everything Corpo-background-lore stuff in PL so far, I love the overall super dark and grim picture being painted like, gimme the angst!! Imagine being so dependent on your job/ so brainwashed/ under your bosses' control they can manipulate you into killing a guy just a few years older than you at that point with the promise "that's the last one... for a while, at least. Here's your raise". This also again lines up really well though with what I actually do have in Vince's background during his time at Arasaka, looking at the vibes and pressure and everything in general (even though the first guy he killed was someone else 👀 but similarly, it also gave him a raise, his supervisors' trust, and so so so many mental health problems).

BUT THEN FINALLY PARTY TIME!!

Maaan... the whole setup of sneaking into the Black Sapphire was so amazing to begin with. The diving portion gave me the worst claustrophobia and flashbacks to all the cave diving accident videos I've ever watched xD The portion with the sniper nest was also so cool but I failed epically at it repeatedly xD Did pull it off like a pro on my third attempt though xD I wish you could do it without having to kill anyone and I figure maybe it is possible. Definitely gonna play around some more on my second playthrough that is surely to come!

Then V's disguise I actually dig so hard XD Purple and black and gold super fancy suit, hell yes! And a nicely tailored one, too. Although Reed's outfit was also 👀👀👀 The main game was really missing a "infiltrate this party" like quest, and damn, did PL deliver with this one.

Then of course I had to have a look around and all the special guests made me so fucking happy xD I was crying at Hideshi Hino and Johnny pointing him out, he was one I would not have expected to meet XD Then also all the newsanchors!! Month ago I was like "ah, it makes sense that Gillean Jordan and Ziggy Q and whatnot have character models, but still so sad that they don't actually have a physical appearance in game". Phantom Liberty is the gift that gives on giving in that regard with fulfilling my little silly wishes like that XD And of course they're all horrible and awful, and I love it XD Goooood-Morning-Night-City Stanley raging about disowning his daughter cause she's into exotic implants, Holt conspiring with Arasaka, again, of course... And Lizzy Wizzy not really happy to see Vince cause I didn't help her get rid of Liam xDD

Also fucking damn... Songbird. First of all, her chrome is insane o.o I'm so torn about what to think of the whole situation like... I can definitely see what Reed says, that she's playing both sides, using Kurt to get her (and V's) cure, the other way around playing him by not actually wanting the president dead... But idk. I feel like something doesn't quite add up just yet. And that is: why even bring V in the equation? If this all is *really* just about curing herself and freeing herself from Myers' clutches, as Kurt says later on, why bring in a random merc with a ticking timebomb in his head and not the best track record when it comes to breaking into high security locations to steal things? (sorry Vince). Idk. I'm not buying it just yet, neither is Vince. He doesn't trust Songbird still, neither the president, both are still a means to his ends - although he also doesn't wish anything bad on So Mi as such, like, she is fighting just as hard for her cure as he is for his, so he can definitely relate to her struggles and whatnot. Being degraded to a tool for people to use as they see fit.

Reed gained a little trust and sympathy with coming clean about how the FIA got rid of him, that Songbird had to pull the trigger on him, metaphorically speaking and like... Vince is not sure if Reed wants revenge on Songbird or actually help her, or if maybe he wants revenge on the president and the whole "I'm just serving my country" thing is not just a very good act. He wouldn't be surprised at least if in the end this all does turn into a personal vendetta. Also, on a meta level I really loved Reed being like, despite everything they did to him, he still feels loyal to the FIA and wants to work for them, in a "I know my place" vibe - similarly how a Corpo!V can be like "I know where I come from" towards Hanako at Embers, that the FIA, in the end, is not too different from a Corp that still has Reed captured how Arasaka has Vince captured and he also couldn't guarantee to not go back to them if they offered him a deal good enough. So, on that basis, I feel like they can really understand each other.

Then these two omfg. Cackling at some details in their profiles still XD The whole roulette scene stressed me out so much, but it was also so fun and unique, really something new! Although internally dying when Aurore got all touchy feely all of a sudden and just picturing Vince utterly losing it internally and just wanting out of there, and then surpressing a sigh of relief when she's like "it's not like I wanna hop into bed with him" to her brother after being scolded xD Like hhhhhh playing this game with a gay OC is so fucking uncomfortable sometimes xD If I had one wish for a future Cyberpunk game it would be more male characters shamelessly flirting with the MC like this oooor at least giving everyone, regardless of gender etc etc the option to turn sth like that down to begin with, like... "oh, sorry, think you misunderstood, I wasn't actually flirting with you".

Would've preferred to flirt with him though:

aksdfhljkasjfhöasdjfhadsflas He's so. SO.

A little more than how I imagined him than most of the others I met so far, but he is also pretty out there. He sure as hell is a lot more layered than what you would think at first glance and I really really love that. I played Vince a little snappy and straightforward during this convo with him, cause I wanted to see how he would react, if he'd keep his calm or if he'd be aggressive or whatnot and in hindsight I wish I'd been a bit more friendly XD Also something for my second plathrough when I really make my canon choices, this first run is for testing the waters and getting to know everyone. THEN I can think properly about "how would my character even react here, truly" xD

Overall this was such a fucking good mission like, holy fuck. So much to see, so much to do, so many people to speak to, I feel like I've forgotten half of the intel I learned already - another reason why I'm looking forward to a second run xD

I still cannot even remotely guess how the DLC is gonna end too like, I feel like after every main mission everything I knew is off the table and there's a whole new array of options I hadn't even considered before. I do hope we get a lot lot lot more stuff on Kurt, cause he is being pinned as... not quite the bad guy in all of this, but not someone you should wanna side with. But I just know there is a lot more to all of this. I could kinda see that it does end up being something like "Songbird has to stay with the FIA and as Myers' pet, Kurt gets defeated, but we get our cure" versus "Songbird gets freed with Kurt's help but all hell breaks loose in the NUSA and Reed won't be happy about it". I feel like, whatever happens though, there's gonna be a war in a few years time at the latest, be it another corporate war, something with the NUSA and Myers schemings (that I'm 0% surprised about btw, do not trust her one bit still and that won't change anymore XD) but yeah.

YEAH. Next up: identity theft! I'm really fucking scared of that cause I remember one of the first trailers where V is getting that mask-like thing put on their face - I'm guessing exactly what Alex has, and I'm guessing it's cyberware... That would be such a big NOPE for Vince, holy shit XD I prefer my flesh-face, thank you! If this is not something that's reversible I pass.

We shall see... but yes. Damn. What a fucking good story so far, even with my long breaks inbetween playing, I'm still hooked anew every time I get to continue!

And again: if I'm way off with any of this (which is likely) or even if I'm guessing some stuff correctly that will transpire later on (which would also be awesome, cause then they're doing their foreshadowing right), please don't tell me or give me hints about it XD I would love to know how your Vs felt about the party cause damn... fanciest party Vince was ever at and will probably ever go to, but he wishes he could've stayed and just actually forgot about everything and partied properly XD Been too long since he did that at that point!

[alexx013]

Platonic (could be interpreted as romantic) Mammon X Reader

Also a bit of platonic Luke X Reader

Angst��️ -> Comfort⛅ (-> Chaos🌪️)

TW: academic validation, school sucks, MC has daddy issues

Word count: 823

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A/N: Hii, it's my first post here. Hope you like it

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When life on Earth was a hard task, the one with the seven Princes of Hell in Devildom isn't much easier. Not only does the RAD have very high expectations for its students, so you often found yourself barely getting any sleep just to finish some tasks and study, but the brothers are a pain.

Their constant bickering, calling each other names and then coming to you for reassurance or to get things of their shoulders was tiring. Between Lucifer complaining about the others driving him crazy, Asmodeus being insecure about his looks, and Mammon just wanting comfort and few nice words coming from you, you barely found time for bettering your own mental health. You loved them dearly, but being the therapist friend and feeling good about yourself almost never worked together.

One day the teacher gave back the tests you spent ages studying for. You felt pretty confident about getting an okay-ish grade, but when the teacher put the white as snow paper with the red like blood marks you felt as if a knot was tightening in your stomach. Even after studying so much you.. didn't pass. You quickly pinched the bridge of your nose to avoid any tears forming in your eyes and started counting the points, maybe the teacher made a mistake? They didn't, you really didn't pass.

Before you could get of out the class and go home, since it was your last the teacher told you to stay in class for a bit longer. Once everyone left they sat at their desk and with a disappointed look said:

"You didn't pass, I'm very disappointed. You should have studied more".

You quickly left the building and made your way towards HoL, wanting to barricade yourself in your room as quickly as possible.

You locked the door and jumped on the wooden bed with grey duvets, finally feeling safe in the closed space of your room. You left a few sniffles, as the words said by your teacher lingered in your memories. They reminded you of your dad, never showing any signs of being proud, yet always nitpicking every mistake you made.

Tears started forming in your eyes as you tried to muffle your voice by covering your mouth with a hand. You whispered:

"Haven't I given enough?"

to yourself as tears started streaming down your cheeks and started gathering on the pillow. You held your duvet tighter, as if was the only form of comfort you believed you deserved. You heard voices in your head and they were laughing at you:

"You're such a failure. You never can do anything right. You don't deserve anyone"

But before you could do anything about them you heard a song coming from your phone. It seems that someone was calling you. You quickly wiped away your tears, not wanting to ruin the facade of feeling fine even for yourself and looked at the screen. It was Luke. You answered and with your hoarse voice said:

- Yes Luke?

- MC, are you sick? You don't sound the best. Hold on for a while - the angel anwsered as he ended the call

Not so long after that, you heard a knock on your door. You staggered towards it thinking if you should open it, when you heard Mams voice:

- MC, Luke told me ya are sick. Why didn't ya tell me. I've got some tea and meds.

You unlocked the doors and opened them, so that the white haired demon could walk in. He set the things he was holding on your night table, then walking over to you. He gently patted your head saying: "You gotta take better care of yourself. Are you okay?"

That last sentence was too much for you. Tears started pouring out of your eyes as you hugged the demon tightly, to hide them. He was surprised at first from the sudden action, but then started softly stroking your back. He whispered: "Do ya wanna talk about it?", not wanting to startle you. When you shook your head, he asked again "How 'bout cuddles, and a little nap?", which to you agreed.

He laid on your bed, opening his arms so that he could embrace you later on. You joined him, nuzzling your face in the crook of his neck as his arms wrapped around you. Your eyes started getting heavy and both of you started falling asleep accompanied by the sound of each other's heartbeat.

Extra ending:

You heard a loud knock on your door, stirring you awake. But before you could get up and do anything the door was kicked down. A certain demon with orange hair appeared in your room and asked:

- Do you have any snacks in your room? I'm hungry.

You laid there dumbfounded. Beel decided to leave the room but then a small blonde hair angel barged in yelling:

- I CAME HERE TO THE RESCUE... oh.. um, is it a bad time?

Luke ran out of your room as quickly as he could. You looked at Avatar of Greed peacefully sleeping beside you. In pure disbelief you said:

- How tf aren't you awake by now?

[sweetescapeartist]

Just gonna talk a bit.

Having to be the manager sucks. The predicament I'm in sucks. I'm pretty much the middle man and being the middle man sucks.

I'm trying to do other work to make money, but certain things take up too much time. The job above takes up too much of my time.

I am trying to do more with my art. Both personal and DB art for this blog. Gonna make money off my personal art and gonna start making money from my DB art. Don't know why I put off making money from DB art for so long.

Mental health is good. Got away from the people and situations that caused me stress.

Gonna get back to my DB Databook. I already have a ton of things written out, but I can write more & update info. Like how I gave Gohan a blue eyed form with black hair, then Gohan Beast came out. My punnett chart about hybrids that I created in my notes vanished tho. So that sucks. So I will have to remember things from months ago and recreate them. Also gonna type things and save them to my google drive for safer keeping.

I might comm a couple of artists. I planned to comm one, but things were hectic & I needed to focus more. Still want to comm him tho cause he's a cool guy & I know he'll love my idea.

Want to teach myself to 2D animate. My plan for my first animation is a Krillin animation. Its funny so I'm sure Krillin fans will love it.

I need to learn how to work with 3D models and teach myself how to animate in Blender. Just need to watch some videos. I'd like to learn how to rip models from games too, but I aint worried about that.

I still have all these art WIPs that I need to finish. I will after I finish some personal art to make money. Cause I want to make a profit with DB art too, so I gotta set that up. I hear good and bad things about Patreon. I'll figure out what will be best.

Thats it. Yup... I'll also go and check on drafts I took a break from working on. Ones about DB info to post here on Tumblr. Like how strong Roshi is in DBS (the anime not the manga even tho it is revealed he is still weaker than Yamcha in the manga & I will explain that in a post one day too). Those drafts are gonna be informative & hopefully awesome

[asukaskerian]

monthly word count - february

TOTAL: 6 014 ... eh. to be fair i spent a lot of time being depressed this month. :X turns out unstructured vacation time is bad for my mental health! POSTED: none of this month's writing! BUT. Also posted!!! -Pack fuckening ABO chapter FIVE canse the chapter got so big i had to cut it in two (you guys are gonna laugh, i'm planning to rewrite the tiny little epiloguey bit and i might have to post it separately as well. whoops.) IN PROGRESS -Bleach: pack fuckening ABO (3 311 words) -Naruto: cherry wine - madatobiizu ABO (438 words) -Bleach: suburban OT4 (903 words) -Bleach: psychic wolves (1 362 words) yes indeed i did start writing the psychic wolves for lupercalia and then BAM writer's block and the day passed me by. bluh. also i added like two words to bloodsport but i ain't counting those. no teaser for pack fuckening since ideally it'll be posted soon! and a pretty small one for cherry wine because otherwise i’d be posting all of it.

-- cherry wine :/ -- "Did he say anything to you?" Izuna asked. The genjutsu had showed them moving lips, but the sharingan didn't record sounds; any impression of noise transmitted came from the imperfect kind of memory. Adrenaline made it hard to concentrate as well on accurate understanding. "Something about... Making the lesson stick this time," Naohime replied, eyes lowered, tone subdued. "That he would teach me respect, since Madara-sama couldn't be bothered." A reference to the clash in front of the daimyo's brother. Clear establishment of motive. Tobirama finding her punishment too lenient, or even suspecting it to be entirely absent, so taking it upon himself to take care of it. "Hm." Izuna leaned back, crossing his arms, eyebrows knit in thought. It made him look displeased enough that Naohime flinched, a bare hint of movement but from her significant enough. "Anything else? No? Then..." His eyes glided past Daichi, the brat tense and staring, vibrating with the desire to come closer, landed on Higashi. "Hey, card-cheater." "Aw, Izuna-sama." "Settle her down." Izuna made the hand signal for alone-isolated-stranded, but turned inwards instead of out as the gesture went when picking out an easy target, hinting... Ah. Not alone, alone, but without-littermates alone, and the hint of movement toward Izuna's own waist inviting Higashi to compensate for that somehow. Madara considered the variation on the established sign absently, head tilted. Should they create a 'this ally needs comfort' sign...? Hm. One would probably emerge on its own. Battle-sign was fluid enough... The other Uchiha keeping their distances, Madara and his littermate went drifting down the secured corridor, eyes scanning the varnished wood for telling scuff marks. -- suburban OT4, nel attempting to get grimmjow to sext -- Goat: okay, picture this. nineteen, five months pregnant, sleeping under a bridge. Me: alone? Goat: don't interrupt me. Me: who knocked you up Goat: idk some jerk Me: hn Goat: grimmjow. >:( Me: yeah fine ok. sleeping under a bridge. Goat: suddenly, guy in a limo. Me: suspension of disbelief crashed Goat: fuckin pick it up then! Guy. In a LIMO. Goat: by the way it's also raining copiously and my tattered t-shirt is sticking to me like cling wrap. Me: ...... ok how much thought did you put into this Goat: ANYWAY guy brings me to his manor (shut up. Yes the manor is essential and also their bed is like the size of two parking spots.) Goat: hot bath with bubbles, five courses dinner, etc etc etc. then comes the time to pay my rent with my body, BUT! Goat: intimidated, i believe he will then ravish me!! Me: and then you wonder why women take ten centuries to nut. If you gotta rewrite war and peace first Goat: shuuuut the frickfrack up Goat: it turns out! I am not for him! His beloved wife is in a tender condition (swooning, possibly also pregnant) and he, too vigorous and virile, etc etc Goat: just saying, i would go down like the titanic. Me: uh huh Goat: very grateful and also very seduced etc etc, him looming sternly to ensure i do it right, her overwhelmed, never knew the touch of a woman, yadda yadda Me: i'm still stuck on how SOME GUY got you pregnant and fucked off Goat: OKAY FINE there's this sexy bad boy who knocked me up, condom broke, i didn't tell him BUT he finds out, comes to find me just in time to see the limo take me away! Goat: climbs the wall to rescue me from my lascivious captor Me: if i gotta keep dictionary.com open for this Goat: >:////

-- grimmichi psychic wolves -- "Okay, when you said 'I know where we can hide,' I'm gonna be honest, I didn't think you meant a love hotel." Studiously avoiding looking too closely at the wall of dildos, Ichigo took a cautious step away from the door he had just locked behind them, and re-locked to be sure. Further into the room Shiro padded cautiously along the walls, throwing disgruntled commentary about the nose-burning smells of cleaning chemicals and the stink of human upon human and all their sweat and sex. As love hotel rooms went, this one was pretty tame. Sleek black fixtures and spooky purple lights that illuminated jack shit, a huge bed, and behind a glass wall (to keep from getting the bed drenched, he assumed) an entirely transparent bathtub under what seemed a surgical suite's worth of floodlights. Also each dildo had its little spotlight inside its little glass case like they were a rock collector's exhibit but he wasn't gonna -- "You take one out and we're gonna get billed for it," he warned, ears burning, as Grimmjow poked at a two-tipped monstrosity. Grimmjow only hummed vaguely and went back to the crate they'd somehow managed to smuggle inside. "How did you even know about love hotels anyway?" "You kidding?" the other man replied absently as he fit his fingers in a gap between the crate and its lid. "That's the only part of your culture that stayed even a little bit interesting, after Aizen and Tousen killed the samurai shit with their fuckin' pontificating." Ichigo scowled. Didn't find anything to reply, though. After what had happened to him on its soil, Grimmjow was entitled to dislike Japan. "Not that we were allowed to visit anything anyway... C'mere, hold this open." Ichigo went to hold up the lid. Inside, Pantera lay unmoving, a puddle of inky fur; didn't stir when Grimmjow bent over the edge of the crate to press his hand against her flank. He didn't say anything. Ichigo tried not to stare too obviously as he tried to read Grimmjow's face, tried to find worry or relief or anything at all. The pack bond between them had gone placid and flat like the surface of a deceptively slow river -- all sorts of things moving underneath and none of them for him to see. They'd abandoned the truck and the man had gone into commando mode, or Ichigo assumed -- swift decisions, swift movements that ended up feeling choreographed in advance for how seamless they were. Grimmjow had stopped them on a dock and swiped an unattended dolly like he'd had every right to make off with it, swiped a crate the same way -- tipped his wolf into it from the lip of the truck and off they went to steal someone else's flatbed truck, someone's jacket off the back of a café chair, someone's wallet out of their back pocket. Ichigo had trailed after him like a lump and tried not to look too spooked.

[chidoroki]

182 Days of TPN - Day 43

Chapter 43: “81194”

I never really paid too much attention to the chapter titles until I started doing this, so naturally I was unaware one title was simply Ray’s farm identifier. Yeah I noticed the titles when I first read the manga and when new chapters released way back, but I obviously don’t remember any of them now! I have a hard enough time trying to remember the id’s of the other GF kids. (honestly, I dunno any of them aside from the fullscore trio and Isabella’s).

One of the big reasons why this scene feels so short in anime is, of course, the lack of internal dialogue. We even get a moment of hearing the pursuer’s thoughts later on too, as it tries to figure out if it cornered 16194 (Don) or 81194. Yet another loss because we don’t get to see how hard Ray is pushing his brain into overdrive trying to think of a way out of this mess.

The house didn’t have knives but it had a pair of scissors? Unless it’s also from the infirmary..? I know Krone mentioned the room had a scalpel (which the kids do still have as Ray used it to get water from the anemones two chapters ago) but I don’t remember anything about there being scissors anywhere. Eh, whatever.

My boy is so smart. With one less thing to worry about, he can now focus on his own survival. I love that cocky grin of his. He even seems proud that everyone else managed to stay safe so far.

Damn right you gotta to live! Your family needs you! Better yet, they truly want him in their lives as well! Aaahhh he’s so devoted to Emma & the others (as if he wasn’t for his entire life already) and I just love him so very much.

I am grateful that he was thinking ahead if the worst does happen, but the chances of any of the kids finding this small carved message on this exact tree is so darn slim. This forest is massive and they surely can’t waste any time backtracking with demons lurking.

Though Emma can still hear out of her left ear, we occasionally see her rely on her right a bit more, such as now when the kids react to the pursuer whistling to signal its allies. (She uses a similar method to both ears in ch100 and puts her right ear straight to the ground in ch67.)

Mhhhmm she believes in him so much aahh. Also, head pat! Though the anime changes Chris to Jemima here.

Her wound and all this anxiety certainly isn’t doing wonders for her health. Anndd yet another head pat. (I’m like..so tempted to make a whole post dedicated to all the head pats. maybe. eventually..if I remember.)

She was, indeed, not okay. And I know I shouldn’t be impressed that she lasted this long but.. I am. On top of all the blood loss and her whole body heating up, she’s been running for her damn life, while also keeping everyone else safe, and now she’s panicking that one of her best friends could potentially be captured and eaten.. that’s just a lot to handle at once. This girl has been suffering physically, mentally and emotionally for way longer than necessary.

Can’t deny the anime made the whole forest look real pretty though.

Favorite panel/moment:

When a moment is so good we get three variations of it! HELL YEAH! (goes without saying but the cover to volume 6 is one of my favorites).

End of volume 5.

[builder051]

Ok, for realz this time—

I’m launching a project. I will follow through. I’m a bit better in terms of mental and physical health, and I’m regaining the skills to actually plan out and do a project.

I’m taking a lot of suggestions from my inbox and past to-do lists and addressing all of them in a long-form fic (as in, a milti-chapter novella that will release all all at once upon completion, just like my previous big projects.)

So, here are the ground rules:

Talk to me. Send asks or chats or whatever, and I will respond. I’m open to talking about the WIP, just without spoiling key content. Send me your prompts and ideas. I want to know what you are interested in seeing, which may or may not influence the track of the overall plot line. I will not be able to put out short stuff (with the tiniest bit of exception— I don’t know what my brain will deem immediately important in the future). Starbucks Sunday is still on hiatus. I’d love to bring it back if/when I’m able. Gotta focus on one thing at a time.

FAQ head off— the verse is Nat on Fire crossover with heroverse and real time events. It’s 2023, COVID has happened, and everyone is still alive post-endgame. So, all the Nat+Maria and Nat+Steve stuff is established and will set the baseline for the fic’s physical and emotional starting point.

This will address ‘the Rumlow fic.’ It’s part of the plot. I hope that’s satisfactory as follow-through.

This will be extremely dark and potentially disturbing, so mind the trigger warnings. Like, every one you can think of and more. In every category. X rated. NC17 rated. Explicit rated. This is not for kids; whatever age standards you set for yourself are not my business. There will be an overall tw, then specifics under the cut, and then the story waaaay under the cut, if that makes sense.

I am fishing for a beta— I usually work with DD on this stuff, but I think I’d like to have a little third party perspective on this. If you are 18+, into Nat on Fire, and are ok with blatant sex/abuse/gore/death/mental health issues/addiction/harassment/violence… then I would love to chat. This position does require an extreme amount of reading on a fairly short timeline, and the “work time” may be sporadic in terms of amount and turnaround time. I’m sorry for that; that’s just what comes with any long-form writing project. You’ll be credited as a co-creator, a shoutout, or remain anonymous, according to your wishes. If this sounds like way too much, pass it by. But if you want to be the first to learn all the secrets, the opportunity is open. I don’t know how to put it. I’m trying.

So, TLDR, I’m writing a long-form/novella for Nat on Fire, which will release all at once upon completion. It addresses a lot of prompts already in my inbox. I welcome chatter in every way about everything. I’m looking for a beta reader. It’s a hard job, but teamwork is necessary with projects like this.

[waywardxrhea]

Part Twenty-Three: 27/16

[slow burn romance between Steve Rogers and SHIELD agent Emma Baker]

Warnings: 18+, contains humor, fluff, mental health, family trauma, romance, angst, language, violence, (potentially smut later on).

installment list

Word count: 1.9k

Emma doesn't celebrate her birthday, but Sam insists that this year be different.

One day in late November, Emma is curled up in a blanket sitting at the kitchen island doing research with Sam and Maria. The three of them are looking more into Ant-Man and what he ended up doing with the tech he stole from them.

"How did you tell Steve you knew about this Ant-Man guy again?" Maria asks Sam.

"I told him that we were doing research much like we are right now and found him," Sam replies.

"I still have the footage you know if you want to show him someday," Emma teases.

"If you show him that, you'll have to show him you getting your ass beat too," he tells her. "Oh, and shooting me out of the sky."

"Samuel, you told me to do that!"

"And I thank you for your effort in saving my ass, but it still happened."

Maria puts a hand up and says, "Will you two stop your bickering and look at what I found?"

The two of them peer over to her laptop as she turns it around. On the screen, they see a kid in a red hoodie and mask fighting criminals in Queens. Emma is the first to speak, asking, "Who is that?"

"He calls himself Spider-Man apparently," Maria replies, pointing at the title of the video.

"What's he do?"

"Well in the more popular videos he is stopping petty criminals from stealing bikes and food, sometimes from hurting or assaulting people on the streets, but mostly he seems to help old ladies cross the road and give directions around Queens."

"He sounds like a nice kid, why does he interest us though?" Emma asks.

Sam had turned his attention to his own laptop while they were talking and brought up a second video. After watching it, he turns the screen to them and says, "Because of this."

On the screen, the kid lifts a car with one hand like it was nothing so he could get someone's skateboard out from under it. Emma's jaw drops as she whispers, "Oh wow, that's why." She pauses for a second, watching the kid, and then she adds on, "That kid's gotta be stronger than Steve."

"No doubt," Maria agrees.

"There's no way, look how scrawny he is," Sam says while watching another video of the Spider-Man.

"Looks can be deceiving Sam, remember how tiny Lang was when he kicked your ass?"

"You know what Emma," he says while laughing.

"Why aren't we moving to get him on board for the Avengers?" Emma asks Maria.

"Well all of this is relatively new, he just surfaced a week or so ago, so we need more time to gather data on him. We don't want to spook the poor kid," Maria tells her. "I have told Tony though, so he'll keep an eye on him if we end up needing him."

Sam nods and turns his laptop to himself again. "Let's take a break for a bit, this seems like a good stopping point for now."

"You just want to figure out how that kid does that," Maria teases while closing her laptop and getting up to get a drink.

"And you would be absolutely right."

While they take a break, Emma takes the opportunity to check her emails and clear out the junk mail. As Maria comes back to the island, she tells her, "Emma, you really need to put a program on your laptop so you don't get all that junk."

"I do have one on my work account, just not my personal one," she replies while clicking through some emails and deleting them.

One of the emails she clicks on explodes confetti on her screen, and it catches Sam's eye, bringing his attention away from the Spider-Man videos. "What's that about?"

"Oh, nothing, just junk mail," Emma replies casually.

Sam leans closer and sees the words on the screen before shouting, "Emma that isn't junk, it says happy birthday! When was your birthday? Also, how do I not know your birthday?"

"It was yesterday, and you don't know because it isn't a big deal, okay?"

Sam's jaw drops and he looks at Maria, asking, "Did you know it was her birthday yesterday?"

"Yeah, why do you think the two of us went out for sushi?" she asks as casually as Emma did.

"I told you we didn't even have to do that, Maria," Emma tells her as she continues scrolling on her laptop.

Sam looks between them and asks "Why are you two so nonchalant about not celebrating Emma's birthday?"

Emma shrugs and replies, "It's just another trip around the sun. I never celebrated growing up. Even with my grandparents, I only had four birthdays with them before I moved out when I was 18. I haven't really celebrated since."

"You're telling me you haven't celebrated your birthday in like..." he pauses and does the math before exclaiming, "nine years!?"

"Sam, keep your voice down," Emma tells him, "it's not a big deal."

"Of course it's a big deal," Sam says.

At that moment Steve pops his head into the kitchen to see what the commotion was about, asking, "What's a big deal? Did you guys find any leads?"

"That's not important right now, what's important is-" Sam tries to say, but Emma interrupts him.

"That we found another enhanced individual in New York!"

"That's not important right now!" Sam interjects. "Steve, yesterday was Emma's birthday and she refuses to celebrate."

"Because like I said it isn't a big deal," Emma says, jumping off the stool she was sitting on to grab a drink from the fridge.

She grabs a drink and starts to walk out of the kitchen area when Steve says, "Let us at least get you a cake."

Emma stops walking and sighs. She can't help but smile at Steve's gesture, so she replies, "Fine, but only because I like cake."

Steve smiles and the two of them head out to the garage before heading into town to get a cake. While driving there, Steve asks Emma, "So why don't you celebrate your birthday? I never even knew when it was until all of SHIELD's files were leaked. I never brought it up though because you never did."

"Oh, so you checked my SHIELD file?" Emma asks in a teasing tone.

Steve chuckles, replying, "Yes I did, but it was to protect you. I wanted to make sure if there was anything in there someone could use against you I would know about it. For your safety."

Emma smiles and replies, "My hero."

"I'll always have your back, Em," Steve tells her with a smile. "Now tell me about this enhanced individual you guys found out about." Emma nods and dives into the story about what they saw on Spider-Man while they drive to a nearby town to look for a cake.

When they get to the town with a cute little downtown area filled with shops, Steve parks the car and the two of them set out to find a bakery. After walking down the street a bit, Emma hugs her arms to her body. When they left she neglected to grab a jacket because she thought she could handle the cold. Steve sees this and takes his jacket off to wrap around Emma's shoulders. He smiles as he pretends not to see the blush on her cheeks at the gesture. "Steve, you don't have to, I can tough it out," Emma tells him after regaining her composure.

"It takes a bit for me to get cold, you need it more than I do, Em. Now let's get moving, I think I see a bakery sign up ahead."

Emma nods and tells him "Thank you" before they both continue their walk down the sidewalk. The smell of Steve's cologne on the jacket surrounds Emma and she pulls the fabric closer to her body to stay warm. She had never wanted to be in Steve's arms more than she did at that moment.

When they get to the shop, Steve holds open the door for Emma and they make their way into the small storefront. The smell of baked goods hangs in the air and Emma closes her eyes to fully enjoy the scent. When Emma reopens her eyes, they are met with a case filled with cakes of all sizes and colors. She crouches down and admires them like a kid. From behind the counter, a little old woman asks, "What can I do for you kids?"

"We're looking for a birthday cake," Steve tells the woman. "Preferably white chocolate raspberry if you have it."

Emma looks up at Steve and smiles. "You remembered my favorite cake flavor."

"How could I forget? You made it for me when I first got off the ice, it was fantastic."

Emma smiles even more, and the woman looks between the two and says, "I have just the thing. This one right here in the middle. Now, what do you two lovebirds want the frosting to say?"

Both of their cheeks become tinted red at the question and they both refuse to look at each other as Steve manages to get out the words, "Happy birthday Emma."

The woman nods and smiles at the two of them. "Here, try a sample of some of my other pastries. They're delicious."

"Thank you," Emma tells her as she takes the small tray.

They sit down at the two-person table in the corner of the store and try the pastries. "These are really good," Steve says, avoiding the subject of the two of them as a couple.

Emma nods as she pops a piece of croissant into her mouth. After she finishes it, she looks out the window and notices little flurries of snow start to fall. "Oh look!"

Steve is distracted for a second by the whimsy in her eyes before finally looking out the window at the snow falling. "The snow's really beautiful in a small town like this. Back home in Brooklyn it just isn't the same."

"I know what you mean," Emma replies with a nod. "Growing up we moved around to many small towns like this. The wintertime was my favorite because of the snow. When I moved to the city, like you said, it just wasn't the same."

After Emma says this, the little woman comes up to them with the cake, opening the box to show them the beautiful writing on top. "It's wonderful, thank you," Emma tells her.

"You're welcome. Happy birthday, sweetie." Emma smiles as Steve pays the woman and they head for the door. The little woman waves to them as she calls out, "You two be safe out there."

"Thank you, ma'am, we will," Steve tells her as he holds the door open for Emma who carries the cake.

The two carefully make their way to the car, making sure not to fall on the accumulating ice. They get back to the car and Emma buckles the cake box into the backseat before getting into the front. When she settles into the seat and cranks up the heater, she looks at Steve and says, "Thank you. For all of this."

"Anytime," he tells her as she puts the car into gear to head back to the compound to celebrate Emma's birthday with the rest of the team.

a/n: the fluff!! I cry lol

also the intention with the chapter title was inspired by 30/90 from Tick… Tick… Boom! so we’ll add that song here too!

link to the next part

[65ths]

Which song do you feel describes your character the most and why?

canon questionare.

gonna cheat here for a moment and mention three songs that describe finnick quite well to me. it's so hard to say there's just one, he's so complex, he wears so many faces, and so there are multiple songs that each tackle a side of him and what he's been through. they're all kind of similar in regard to the fact the path of being hurt, faking it, and having it chip away at you.

tldr: vampire by olivia rodrigo, you deserve an oscar by matt maltese, and free by florence + the machine

the first one is vampire by olivia rodrigo (lyrics below). i think it captures the unfortunate dream that is sold to every kid that goes into the games-- this idea of glory, parties, a forbidden paradise. i think this song specifically speaks to finnick and his relationship with the snow though because he is the one to hold all these secrets and he knows how he rose to power. he's the guy that all of panem should laugh and finnick feels stupid at times for having bought into those ideas.

hate to give the satisfaction, asking how you're doing now how's the castle built off people you pretend to care about? just what you wanted look at you, cool guy, you got it i see the parties and the diamonds sometimes when i close my eyes six months of torture you sold as some forbidden paradise i loved you truly gotta laugh at the stupidity

from there the lyrics only get more literal to finnick's circumstances and all that happened to him.

i used to think i was smart but you made me look so naive the way you sold me for parts as you sunk your teeth into me, oh bloodsucker, famefucker

you deserve an oscar by matt maltese (lyrics below). this song makes the little creatures in my head go crazy because it's just sooo perfectly finnick to me. he's the capitol darling! he's the guy! he's the everything, the poster boy for what a kid could accomplish and it's all such a deep and well constructed façade. there isn't a crack in this portrayal that he puts out and he does a lot to make sure of that, but the whole time he really is losing the grip he has on himself and his mental health

moisturize, your skin is dry ghosts are ringing off the bell tell your friends you're doing well call a doctor 'bout your health and i think you deserve an oscar for pretending nothing's wrong every day there's something else but you carry yourself like the greatest actor acting like the world is not breaking up before your eyes

free by florence + the machine (lyrics below). along the same lines as both of the last songs, except i think this song better describes finnick's mental state and all of how he's trying to manage everything that he's experienced and is feeling. the way he runs is simply not sustainable. he was always going to be break, and he does a bit over the years when he goes home but district 13 is really the height of that. i think there was so much of him wanting to cry out for help over the years and at least once or twice he would have in some way, but i imagine not in a way anyone truly understood

sometimes i wonder if i should be medicated if i would feel better just slightly sedated a feeling comes so fast and i cannot control it i'm on fire, but i'm trying not to show it as it picks me up, puts me down ... i push it back, but it keeps on coming and being clever never got me very far because it's all in my head and "you're too sensitive", they said i said, "okay, but let's discuss this at the hospital"