#hes like. before i learn this thing. is it Cool

[iftadwascool]

this is the dumbest thing, but i learned this from Gundam Wing back in 2001 of all places.

there's an episode a little bit after the midpoint of the series, but before when they get their suit upgrades/new suits. OZ had captured Duo and hes making an other failed escape. someone, i don't remember who because that's around the time everyone starts acting changing sides and introducing a lot of new people.

they tell him to scream and be loud because it would hurt less, and be more convincing to the guards outside the door. that little shithead Duo is like "nah dawg. first off i'm king of the Rule of Cool, and secondly fuck you." so they proceed beat the ever loving the shit out of him. he barely makes a peep till the end when it got too much.

Best thing my grandfather ever taught me is that you’ve gotta let yourself grunt and groan when you’re doing something difficult. Makes it easier.

[aerynwrites]

God Forbid

Simon “Ghost” Riley x Fem!Reader

A/N: had this idea in my head and it wouldn’t leave so here you go lol. Sorry for the later than usual post but hope yall enjoy! Word Count: 2.5k Warnings: attempted SA, hurt/comfort, canon typical violence, home invasion, breaking and entering, Simon saves the day as usual lol, gun violence, reader using a gun, soft at the end.

You can’t stop the smile that tugs at your lips as you light the candle in front of you, the smell of vanilla and cinnamon hitting your nose once the wick catches and starts to burn. The windows in the living room connected to the kitchen are open, a gentle breeze shifting the gauzy curtains and bringing in the cool autumnal air. 

It’s the perfect day.

It’s a Saturday, so you have the day off work. The weather has been wonderful you’ve been listening to your favorite music as you practically glide across the kitchen most of the day baking or moving to tidy up the house. Even now, veggies sit half chopped on the kitchen counter, broth on the stove getting ready to boil and -

Simon’s coming home. 

That’s what made it the best day of all. 

He had texted you early that morning - long before the sun rose from the horizon. He said he’d be home around dinner time if all went well with flights and such, and you couldn’t help the way your heart fluttered in your chest or the smile that split your lips. 

He’s coming home.

He had been away for six months this time - the longest he’s ever been gone. And while you were able to talk to him more often than usual, it just wasn’t the same as him being here. It never was. But you never complained. You knew what you were getting into when you started dating Simon - he had even tried to end things with you early on claiming you “deserve better than a ghost…”

But you’d shut him down and after some tears and reassurances on your part…he’d stayed. 

But it wasn’t without conditions. 

He tried to keep his work life separate from his one with you. He truly did. But being in the military - being part of the task force he was - it made him paranoid. After a year of trying to shield you from his own worries and fears, he couldn’t do it anymore. 

You’d been hesitant when he brought up the fact that he wanted you to learn to defend yourself. You didn’t mind taking the self defense classes he’d signed you up for, even going so far as to accept training from Simon himself. But when he brought up the fact that he wanted you to learn your way around a gun…you’d almost said no. 

But the flash of fear in his eyes made you relent. Something had scared him, and nothing scares him. So you’d agreed - silently grateful when he mainly insisted on you just knowing the basic like where they safety is, how to hold it and of course how to fire. 

“God forbid you ever have to use one,” he said, voice grim. “But at least now you know how.”

All of it was worth it though. 

The joy he brings you when he’s here and the joy you bring him vastly outweigh anything else. 

You smile to yourself again as you move back to the cutting board. 

God…you can’t wait to see him.

The next while passes by slower than you’d like, the giddiness of his arrival making the arms of the clock seem to move at a snails pace. But as you’re moving to dump the vegetables into the stew, you hear the telltale sign of a the front door knob jingling.

Excitement explodes in your chest and you’re heading for the door before you can blink. It still hasn’t opened, and you let out a small chuckle as you reach the door, imagining Simon fumbling with the keys and muttering curses under his breath. You reach for the door, unlocking it and pulling it open with a laugh.

“I didn’t take you for the nervous type, Si-”

Your words cut off abruptly when you come face to face with a stranger on your door step. Three of them, actually. Tall, muscular, intimidating military types that make a pit open up in your belly. Your fingers tighten on the door, closing it every so slightly as to lessen the opening into your home. 

“Oh, uh…can I help you?” You ask, fighting off the dread settling in your stomach. 

You can’t pinpoint where it’s coming from, but alarm bells go off in your head as the two men in the back glance at one another for just a moment, whispers you’re unable to decipher leaving their lips. 

The one in front is the one to respond, words laced with an accent that you immediately identify as Russian. 

“You can, actually,” he says casually, one thumb hooked through his belt loops while the other rests casually above the pistol on his hip. “We need to speak to a Simon Riley. Is he here?”

At the mention of Simons name you struggle against the instinct to freeze up. All of Simon’s warnings from the past flooding to the forefront of your mind. 

“If someone ever approaches you asking about me, don’t answer them. Ever.” His voice is firm. “They aren’t asking after me in a friendly way,  I can promise you that.”

You smile, trying to feign confusion.

“I don’t know anyone by that name,” you lie, palms getting clammy. “Maybe you have the wrong house? You might want to try-”

A heavy palm settling against the door cuts you off, the man in front of you looking down at you with an evil grin. 

“Come now, little one. Please don’t lie - it just makes things harder.”

Panic shoots through you in an instant, and before the man can react you slam the door closed as hard as possible, flipping the deadbolt in place as you run back through the kitchen to where you left your phone. 

Loud curses come from the other side of the door, and just as you reach your phone you hear wood splintering from behind you as they kick the door in. You see Simon’s name lighting up the screen on your phone and you answer as you grab the kitchen knife from the counter and move to sprint towards the back door. 

“Simon!” You cry out, bumping into the couch in the living room as you hear thudding footstep behind you. 

“You need to get to a gun,” his voice is steady, unnervingly so. He must have seen the men approach on the cameras he has installed around the house. “I’m almost there, love, please-”

You can hear the roar of the engine in his truck in the background as you approach the back door. It’s so close, just within reach, if you can just-

Your fingers barely brush the knob before a thick arm is around your waist and in half a breath you’re airborne. It isn’t long, but the shock of your feet leaving the floor, your phone falling from your hand as well as the knife, it makes the impact against the coffee table that much worse. 

Air is forced from your lungs as you tumble roughly over the wooden surface, the table toppling over as you crash to the ground. The vase that was in the middle shatters as it follows you, and in a strange moment of delirium you can’t stop the wave of disappointment hat washes over you as the daisies that were in it scatter across the floor. 

It doesn’t last long though, because soon your lungs burn for air that you can’t seem to inhale, your eyes move to see the man that had thrown you as he stoops down to pick up your phone, clicking a button and allowing Simon’s booming voice to crackle though the speakers. 

“I’ll fucking kill you!” He spits, vitriol lacing every word. “If you lay a fucking hand on her, I’ll kill you myself-”

The man above you tuts mockingly as he approaches you, and you manage to find the wherewithal to rise up, hands behind you as you try to scoot away from him. You notice the other men pacing lazily around the room, seemingly unconcerned with the helpless woman on the floor. 

“Now, now, Simon,” he jeers, “You mustn’t be so violent. I simply came for a chat, that’s all.” 

The man’s hungry gaze never leaves you, but you don’t deviate from your path backwards across the living room carpet. The end table at the end of the couch is your goal - more specifically the 9mm pistol in it’s drawer, loaded and ready to fire whenever necessary. 

In a moment of sheer bravery you jump to your feet, lunging for the table and its contents. The metal is somewhat familiar in your palm, and you manage to it raised at the intruder and the safety switched off, but before you can do much else a skilled fist knocks the weapon from your grasp and you don’t see where either goes as you’re tackled  to the ground by one of the other men. 

He’s heavy on top of you, squeezing what little breath you had from your lungs rough fingers tangle in your hair. You barely have time to react before blinding pain erupts from your head as it connects painfully with the floor beneath you - once, twice, three times until the assault stops. 

Unfamiliar warmth trickles down your face, pain blooming from your nose and out in a spiderweb of pain as the tears finally come. You can just barely hear Simon’s enraged curses over the phones speaker, the entire world muffled as fear and panic and pain set in full force. 

You’re going to die. 

The man on top of you moves just enough to flip you over onto your back beneath him, the world spins around you, not stopping when your body does, and you have to fight the urge to vomit. The main assailant laughs cruley from where he stands above you, letting out a low whistle.

“You’ve got one feisty bitch, Simon. I’ll give you that…” he trails off for a moment, completely ignoring the curses being spit at him from the other end of the line. 

He nods at the man trapping you, and without hesitation you feel his hands move down to the waistband of your jeans. 

“I was honest,” the leader drones on. “We’re not going to kill her,” he appeases. “But you’re going to wish we did.”

You can’t stop the wail that escapes from your throat as he undoes the button of your jeans, your eyes immediately moving to check your surroundings for something - anything - that will save you. you feel the hope slowly  drain out of you as you shove uselessly at the man on top of you, until a soft glint of metal shines at you from beneath the couch. 

The gun. 

In a moment of pure desperation, pure panic - a moment of life or death - the classes that Simon insisted you take, force their way through your panicked mind. In one quick movement you thrust your hips upwards, managing to just ever so slightly throw the man above you off balance just as you bring the heel of your palm up into his jaw with as much force as you can muster.

The impact startles him, you can physically hear and feel his teeth clack together from the force of the blow as he lets out a shout. You use his surprise to buck him off of you just enough to scramble to the right. The metal is cool against your burning skin and you turn just as you feel his hands on you once more. 

The crack is deafening and your ears are ringing once more as dead weight settles in top of you. a chorus of shouts ring out around you but you can’t react, the body on top of you effectively trapping you to the floor your only weapon pinned between your chest and his. 

You seem to observe the world through a fish bowl, the sounds far away and vision distorted as your mind tries to make sense of the visceral fear coursing through your veins. You hear more shouting, louder this time, and more gunshots and all you can do is close your eyes and cry as you wait for the inevitable. 

But as soon as it started, it’s over. 

Silence backfills what the ringing  in your ears doesn’t, until you hear a faint call of you name. 

It’s just your name over and over until the weight that’s on your chest lifts and your eyes fly open in panic until stormy brown eyes capture your own as calloused yet gentle hands pull you up from the floor. 

Simon…

More tears flood your vision at the sight of the man you love in front of you, a strong arm wrapping around your waist. You can see his lips moving though the haze, but you can’t understand what he’s saying the ringing in your ears still blocking everything out, your panicked mind still scrabbling for control. 

Simon reaches up, snapping his fingers next to your ears a few times until you start to register the noise, and when you flinch, he stops - letting go of you only long enough to shed his jacket and bring the soft fabric up to your face. 

“Simon,” you say, his name coming out on a sob.

He shushes you softly, wiping gently at what you realize now, is the blood trickling down your face. 

“I’m here love, you’re alright, you’re safe…”

Finally you get your limbs to cooperate, hands reaching out to clutch desperately at his shoulders, balling the fabric of his shirt between your fingers. 

“A-are they…can they-”

Simon shakes his head, eyes filled with regret and sorrow. “They can’t hurt you. Not anymore. Made sure of that.”

At the acknowledgment of their demise, you break down even more, but this time out of utter relief. 

“I’m sorry,” you cry, moving to shelter yourself in the familiar warmth of his chest, “I - I tried. They asked abo-about you and I tried to stop them but I-” more tears interrupt your words and Simon just holds you tighter. 

“You did good, love” he assure you, his own voice breaking. “Goddammit,” he mutters. “I knew this was a bad idea, I knew it - I told you-”

You just clutch him tighter, shaking your head. 

“Please don’t,” you shudder, fear gripping you again. “Please don’t leave me.”

He drops the jacket opting to wrap both arms around you, holding you tightly against him.

“Never,” He promises firmly, lips pressing to your temple. 

He continues to hold you, rocking side to side gently until your cries quiet and you’re able to take full breaths once more. Only then does he pull away, examining you quickly. 

“I called the team when I found out what was happening,” he says quietly, hand reaching up to cradle your cheek. “They’ll be here any minute to deal with…all this.”

You nod, wincing at the jolt of pain it sends through your head, making a frown tug at his lips. 

“Let’s go get you cleaned up, yeah?”

You nod again, gentler this time, and Simon goes to stand. However, you stop him before he can get up, and he looks down as you wrap your arms around him again. 

“I still love you,” you tell him softly, able to read his inner insecurities from a mile away. 

He freezes at your words, struggling to accept them before letting his shoulder finally fall. 

“I love you too.”

[setmeatopthepyre]

i've just. been thinking about this scene from chimney begins a lot, especially in relation to the bucktommy break up.

in this episode, the changing relationship between chimney and the general population of the 118 is shown through his (attempts at) interaction with tommy. so this conversation he has with eli is as much about 'the other firefighters' in general as it is about how tommy has been treating chim.

and there's... something there in the 'you don't name it until you know it'll pull through' and the 806 breakup in which neither tommy nor buck say the words i love you but they do say pretty much everything else. it feels like they've both been hurt before by this thing called love that might make it feel like they're pushing their luck to name it. and there's something there in tommy ending things before buck can hurt him.

and then there's this:

and there's something there in buck looking at tommy and thinking, wow, he's so cool, he's so confident, (he has a cleft), he's so comfortable with who he is and that makes me feel comfortable.

eli tells chim: [switching to my quick attempts at gifs here bc the text is spread out over so many shots otherwise]

and what eli's saying is: feeling like a hero isn't enough. it can be your motivation to start, but it can't be the only thing that keeps you going. you can't always be a hero. no one can. everyone is flawed and everyone's gonna slip up. there's a darkness, and if you don't account for that, you're going to run into the hard things, the things you can't solve by being a hero, the things you have to struggle through, change your perspective for. if you try to ignore those things, you're going to learn some really tough lessons really fast.

and I'm thinking about tommy and buck not knowing the details of each others' pasts, being maybe a little too comfortable with how comfortable they were, enjoying that honeymoon phase rush and thrill, not really having dug into the darkness. they learn some tough lessons really fast.

tommy leaves buck. they both didn't name the puppy. (it still hurts)

chimney loses kevin. he faces the hard, dark parts of this path he's chosen and he chooses to continue anyway. because of this, he's is in the right place at the right time to save tommy's life.

[hwaslayer]

the space between us three (jyh) | one.

⇢series masterlist | series playlist

⇢summary: while juggling the demands of life, yunho continues to do his best to raise his independent 11 yr old daughter, seora. throughout the years, they've built a strong foundation, an unbreakable bond— one that consists of late night talks and food runs, father/daughter dates, and sideline cheerleading at her basketball games. so when you unexpectedly come into their world, things shift. despite the uncertainty and the fear of stepping outside of their comfort zone, yunho and seora eventually learn how to open their hearts and learn how to rebuild a home where three can thrive together.

⇢pairing: single dad!yunho x f. reader

⇢genre: (18+ - minors dni) strangers to lovers, single dad au | fluff, angst, eventual smut

⇢word count: 7k

⇢chapter content/warnings: not much - just a basic intro to yunho x seora, yunho is 31 and seora is 11, cussing, mentions of character death, mentions of a tragic car accident by drunk driving, mentions of casual relationships (not yunho), mentions of distant/unsupportive parents

⇢a/n: it's finally here! i hope you all enjoy this journey and tysm for coming along! i'm not sure what the update schedule will be for this, but i'll try my best to update in between wildfire; this series came to me suddenly so i barely did any prior planning or writing. 😭 anywho, ty again for your support on this! <33

"Seora." Yunho calls her name one last time as he pops in two toaster strudels into the toaster. He lets out a small sigh, pausing when he doesn't hear any movements coming from her room. Just as he finishes getting his coffee together, he turns on his heel to head back down the hallway to check on his 11-year old daughter.

"I'm up." She mumbles, dragging herself across the hallway and into the bathroom. Yunho stands there for a minute, doing a slight head tilt before heading back to the kitchen.

"Well, that was slightly easy today." He finishes packing her lunch [some quickly made spam masubi], making sure she has all her favorite snacks tucked neatly in her lunch box. He nibbles onto some hardboiled eggs he made for himself, plopping Seora's toaster strudels onto a plate. She takes about a good 30 minutes before she's out and dressed in her uniform, hair neatly brushed and pulled back into a low ponytail. "Morning." He hands her the plate after she pours herself some milk. "How'd you sleep?"

"Fine, I guess." She sits and takes a bite before looking at her dad, leaning against the counter. "Just wish it was still the weekend." Yunho chuckles.

"Told you to stop sleeping late. Scrolling through TikTok and all that mess."

"Dad. I beg to differ." She says so matter-of-factly. "I get a lot from TikTok. If anything, I'm up late cause I'm learning."

"Please. You could also learn alot from those books you carry into the school I pay heavily for." 

"Yes, okay, but I learn other things. Like how to do cute hairstyles for myself. How to cook one pot dishes. What's important in an emergency kit. How to file taxes. Ou, and let's not forget the cool goodies on TikTok shop—"

"Why would you learn filing taxes on there?" Yunho furrows his brows. "It's not even something you need to worry about now."

"It's helping me prepare for the real world." She cocks a brow up and turns slightly. "What if you get too busy and forget to teach me?"

"Like you're not gonna pick up the phone to call me and have me do it for you when you get older." Yunho crosses his arms and leans back against the counter.

"See, no. I'll learn."

"Jeez, times really have changed." 

"You're only 31 but you sure sound like you're turning 80." She looks at him with a small teasing smile even though he's squinting his eyes at her.

"I'll just act like you didn't say that." He playfully scoffs. 

"Dad, don't you ever go on Instagram or Twitter? Anything?"

"Not like I used to. My Instagram is probably collecting cobwebs." She chuckles. "I just don't find it useful."

"I mean, you can see what your friends are up to. Like Uncle Hwa or Uncle Mingi. They post alot, no?"

"Your uncles don't even do anything fun. They aren't even fun." 

"Uncle Mingi travels a lot!" Yunho shrugs and nods in agreement. "Anyway, there's also good resources on there, actually."

"I would have never thought Twitter or Instagram could be categorized as resources."

"Pushing 85 now." He's playfully rolling his eyes now.

"Hurry and eat so we can get you to school on time." He checks his watch. "You have practice today, right?"

"Mhm."

"Are you riding home with Chan-mi?" 

"Yup!"

"Sorry, ace. I'll be home a bit after you, okay?" Seora smiles toothlessly at her father when she hears the beloved nickname slip from his lips. It had been a long time coming with that nickname, but Seora loves every bit of it. She knows it's her dad's way of saying he's proud of her in every way; all the good grades she gets, the games she plays, the hard days in and out of practice.

She is his ace, his everything.

"No big." She cleans up her plate and drinks the rest of her milk before washing her dishes. 

"Text me what you want for dinner later." She nods, facing him after setting the dishes on the rack.

"Ready." She throws her backpack strap over her shoulder.

"Alright." He grabs his bag and his thermos before handing Seora her lunch bag. He takes one last look around the kitchen to make sure all is good and unplugged before heading out the door to the car. Seora is patiently waiting at the passenger's door, already scrolling away on her phone. 

"Goodmorning you two!" Auntie Love, the next door neighbor, calls out. Yunho and Seora have grown a fond, wholesome relationship with their neighbors— they call themselves Auntie Love and Uncle Po. Despite having that relationship, Yunho feels like he doesn't know much about them besides the fact that their kids are grown and off doing their own thing— barely visiting cause of busy lives. At least, he's never seen them visit while he's around. They're sweet, and they always bring over food and check up on Seora when she's home alone while Yunho is still finishing up at work. "Where's my sweet girl?" Auntie Love comes running out in her pajamas just to give Seora a big bear hug. "Yunho, she grows more and more beautiful every day."

"Yeah she does, and the attitude grows, too!" She laughs just as he hops in the driver's seat, waving them off for the day.

"Dad." She buckles her seatbelt at the same time as he father, giving him the green light to drive off.

"That's me." Seora snorts. "What's up?"

"Have you ever met Auntie Love and Uncle Po's kids?"

"Never." Granted, Yunho and Seora just moved to their current spot about a year and a half ago, starting fresh in a smaller house that would be perfect for the two of them. But, he does find it a little odd that he's never even ran into them once. "I know they exist, I just never see them when I'm around. It's also kinda crazy cause Auntie Love said her daughter works at the same hospital as me, but it's such a huge hospital, I don't think we'd ever cross paths."

"That's pretty crazy if you did and you just didn't know it." Seora looks out the window. "I wonder why they don't visit often. They seem like such cool parents." 

"People get busy and have their own lives to end to. Plus, the sad thing about parenting is that we prepare our kids to tough it out in the world without us." Yunho playfully pinches her cheeks, making her laugh a bit.

"I'll always need you." Yunho smiles.

"You say that now, but once you find your footing in the world and someone who will take care of you, I'll be a long distant memory."

"Stop. Don't say that. I'll always need you." She repeats, tugging onto his free arm and hugging onto it like a koala. Yunho laughs at her as she continues to tug on his arm, giving it a few more playful tugs before she's letting go. "Dad."

"Yes?"

"Can you take me and my friends shopping this weekend?"

"Oh, so that's why you were being that way?" He pokes fun at her and she laughs.

"No! It's obviously because I love you."

"I love you, too." He smiles. "What're you guys trying to do?"

"I wanna buy more stuff for my scrapbook. Like stickers and stuff. And they just wanna walk around an shop. Do cute girly things." She shimmies a bit in her seat.

"Don't you have a ton of scrapbooking supplies sitting on your desk?" Yunho flawlessly turns down the street, approaching the lot to her school.

"I'm running through them. Plus, I need more highlighters and pens. And there's a new edition of the sticker books I buy." She pouts and pleads. "Please, please, please!"

"Seora." He laughs. "Yeah, cause you could certainly use more." He jokes. "Sure. Just let me know. But!"

"But?" She looks at him.

"As long as I can drag one of your uncles along."

"Duh." She laughs. "You're the best." She mumbles as she types away on her phone, Yunho pulling into a spot to walk her towards the school entrance. He helps her with her backpack, duffle bag and lunch bag, trailing behind his daughter with his hands in his pockets. He greets a few parents and teachers, pausing in his tracks just as they get to the steps. She turns to look at him, a smile on her face. Yunho looks at her and still can't believe his babygirl is already 11, going on 12 soon. She's tall, just like her father. She's got the same eyes and smile, but she definitely has similarities to Eunha. She's become quite the athlete, head deep in her books.

Time sure flies.

"See you later, ace. Have a good day at school and practice, k? Remember, text me when you get home and what you're craving for dinner." She nods, throwing her arms around her dad before they do their little handshake.

"I will. Have a good day too, gramps." He rolls his eyes again and shakes his head as he watches her walk up the steps and disappear into the main lobby of the school. 

"Goodmorning Yunho." One of the moms passing by waves and smiles sweetly at him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she tries to keep her blushing subtle. He gives her a simple nod of acknowledgement with a tiny smile, slipping into his car to head to work.

Yunho can't really remember the time he went on a real date. 

He has met a few women, but super casually. He didn't really feel anything special with anyone, and he's someone who loves to connect with people. Otherwise, he finds it to be a waste of time. He's not sure how people [aka Uncle Mingi and Uncle Seonghwa] slept around without getting attached; he doesn't think he could pull it off the same way.

Plus, he comes with a forever plus one. His Seora, his babygirl, his ace. And he will always put her before anything, anyone.

Maybe Yunho was just numb. Losing Eunha was the hardest thing he's ever had to endure, and he still feels it 'till this day, as if that accident was yesterday. Seora had been shy over 4 years old when she was tragically struck by an oncoming drunk driver, leaving her car to flip off the highway. Seora barely got to live her life with her mother and that's what aches the most for Yunho. He knows she's fine, and he knows he's tried his best all these years to help shape her into who she is today. But, he knows there is a part of her that misses her mother terribly, that yearns for a mother's love even though Yunho has done everything he can to fill the shoes for both.

So, he thinks about that when he goes on dates. He could never replace Eunha, but he also knows him and Seora are good with where they're at. No one else needed to come into the mix to disrupt their flow for now. Although, he yearns for love too, though. He is scared, but he is equally sad that the truest, most raw form of love he's ever experienced was stripped away from him so fast— he barely got to indulge in Eunha being there as his wife. He's not sure if he'll ever move past it, even though Seonghwa and Mingi tell him time and time again that he deserves to experience love despite everything that's happened.

That he's still deserving of it, and that he should try to open his heart up to it.

He isn't sure how Seora would be though, and that's the most important thing for him. Because he just wants his daughter to be happy. He will always put her first.

When he drives off to work, he pulls into the staff garage and flashes his badge to the security guard waiting at the booth. He drives down to the 2nd level before he's able to find a spot and reverses into it flawlessly. He shuts off the car and grabs his backpack, heading straight to the stairs to bring him back up to the ground level and entrance of the main hospital.

The main hospital has 8 floors, with the emergency room off to the side and valet at the front for patient pickup. It's connected to an adjacent building, the older hospital— which has 3 floors and the older emergency room at the back end of the building. The pediatrics hospital is right behind the main hospital but there isn't a bridge connecting the two; staff typically have to take a 5-10 minute walk over if they need anything on that end. Along the ways are food trucks and mobile coffee trucks, with cafeterias and smaller cafés and shops situated inside the buildings itself.

The hospital is huge and could literally float and function as its own island if it wanted to. 

"Morning, Yunho!" One of the front desk staff members greets him. Yunho sends them a small salute, before smiling and responding back.

"Goodmorning!" Yunho's dressed in jeans and a thick black sweater, the colder weather slowly making its way in at this time of the year. He heads up to the second floor, his office nestled in the corner of the huge office space dedicated to his IT team and part of the administrative team. He greets everyone goodmorning on the way over, setting his things down before he comes out to chat a bit with his team members.

"Yo." He leans against an empty desk while sipping on his coffee.

"Sup boss." Taehyun swings around in his chair, while his other two coworkers, Kyung-soo and Jihoon plop into their chairs. "How's it going?"

"Alright, not too bad." Yunho chuckles. "How about you?"

"All good, can't complain." His main team is made up of 10 people— Taehyun being the team lead, the others branching into specifics like system administrators, helpdesk techs and cybersecurity. His team alone supports a few departments since the hospital is so huge— other IT teams are spread out to cover other remaining wings; plus, the older hospital and the pediatrics corner. From time to time, they'll hop in and help if needed. Without Taehyun's help triaging and prioritizing certain tasks, Yunho wouldn't be able to focus on the high-level aspects of his job. Of course, their team meshes with so many different departments within the hospital— they're all involved deeply in current ongoing and new developments.

"Didn't seem like we got too many tickets last night? Any urgent action items come up in the last hour or so?" Taehyun shakes his head.

"Not really. We've been sorting through and closing out those tickets. Most have been quick fixes." Yunho nods.

"Sounds good. I gotta work on that new clinical project that's opening up on the fifth floor soon. Might loop some of you guys in to help with the Epic implementation and other tweaks we might need to incorporate for patient ordering." 

"Aye! They're finally moving forward with it?" Yunho chuckles.

"Yeah, I guess they've slowly been recruiting patients for their program so they've been moving at a quick pace for the space and everything."

"Sick, that'll be a big project."

"Yup, already starting to feel like it. Thanks for handling those tickets. If we can make sure we stay on top of the queue and help get the AV system going for the board meeting happening in the next hour, that would be great." Yunho goes through a few other priorities he needs his team members to focus on, thanking them for all their hardwork before excusing himself to the office and beginning his own project planning and schedule organization.

He's got a few higher-level meetings to hop into, especially to debrief about the new clinical department opening up and its current timeline. He also needs to set some time aside to brainstorm the data migration request he got a few days ago for another department, along with figuring out how to structure this new department's servers, bandwidth and storage.

It doesn't sound like much, but Yunho definitely has his day cut out for him.

And as he expected, he's barely getting a moment to breathe. Especially when Taehyun pulls him into an urgent server issue that has him thinking on his feet for close to 15 minutes until he realizes the best way to move forward without any major data loss. Then, he's making it to the next meeting but he is already exhausted and hungry. He doesn't get the chance to grab lunch until 1:30pm— Yunho rushing over to the cafeteria to grab today's lunch special before they stop offering hot food. 

"Today ended up being a lot busier than expected." Yunho mumbles as he slips into a seat, Taehyun and Jihoon following suit in the spaces in front of him.

"Seriously. Thanks for your help with the servers."

"All good." Yunho chuckles. "Sooner or later, we'll find better ways to tackle those issues. I know we're gonna have to work on upgrades soon."

"Agreed. And it's probably about time." Jihoon chimes in. "I know we were kinda brushing it off for a bit but I'm slowly seeing it crumble." Yunho nods.

"Nah, I agree. I'll think about it over the next few days. Let me know if you guys have any ideas." Yunho sips his water. "I'll also need your help for the clinical project a lot sooner than expected. I'll forward any invites so you two can start attending meetings. It'll be good for you to get involved now so you have a better idea of the setting and the trials taking place in this new department."

"Sounds good! Let me know if you need anything else, we'll be happy to help out." Yunho smiles and cocks his head to the side.

"Thanks. How's everything else been with you guys? I've been going through candidates, but I expect us to interview and wrap up the whole thing by next month. We'll get some extra help."

"Thanks, boss. That's good to hear." Taehyun hums. "And hm, I think everyone's completely fine and taking it day by day. No one seems to be unhappy."

"We've got a good team and good people around us so I can't complain either. Days are busy but wouldn't want it any other way." Jihoon takes a spoonful of food into his mouth and shrugs. "Got a good manager." He points at Yunho.

"Well, least I'm doing something right?" Taehyun laughs and shakes his head.

"Have a little faith, will you?" Taehyun smiles. "The team doesn't go anywhere without you."

"I think it's the other way around for sure."

"Hey." Seonghwa pops in and sits next to Yunho. Taehyun and Jihoon nod at Seonghwa and send their usual greetings, Yunho knitting his brows at how flustered he looks.

"You okay? Should I even ask?" Seonghwa shakes his head.

"Just tired." Seonghwa takes a bite of the sandwich he brought over. "This health fair we've been planning is driving me crazy. Vendors have been too flakey and our deadline to finalize everything is next week. Plus, I gotta get those interviews and articles done for the new department by next week, too." Seonghwa is one of the marketing and communications managers for the hospital. He had been working here for a bit longer than Yunho, and actually introduced him to the hiring manager and IT director when they were in dire need of building a new team to support the growth of the new main hospital. They had both been working there for a couple of years, Seonghwa organically growing from the bottom up since he had started. Yunho respects him alot [besides the fact that he's one of his bestfriends], and admires his work ethic. Seonghwa is probably one of the constants in his life that helps push him to where he needs to be and serves as a reminder that he needs to keep going regardless of what life brings to the table. 

"I bet you're hella roped into the fine details for that." Taehyun says.

"Yeah, and it doesn't help that the core faculty members are all crazy busy. They're all psychiatrists and neurosurgeons. I can barely get them to respond about meeting with me to talk about it." Seonghwa sighs. "Anyway, that's all. I just needed to let that out, so thanks." They all chuckle.

"Yeah." Yunho looks at him. "Going to that huge introductory meeting later this week then?"

"Mhm." 

"By the way, how's you and Seora?" Taehyun asks. 

"My ace!" Seonghwa adds.

"We're as good as we can be." Yunho smiles, eyes looking down at the polaroid on the back of his phone that Seora slipped in. It's a picture of them two at the amusement park, wearing cute headbands per her request.

"That's good. School and basketball still treating her okay?" Yunho nods. "Cool. I'm glad you're doing okay. I just wasn't sure when I could ask since you've been so busy."

"You can always pop into my office." Yunho laughs. "But, thank you. I appreciate you guys for asking and for all your help."

"Does she have a game soon?" Seonghwa cuts in to ask.

"Think so. Pretty sure."

"Let me know. I'll try and make it." Seonghwa's eyes are traveling across the room, situated on a person as they grab their lunch and sit at a table on the opposite end of the room. 

"How's that going?" Yunho follows his gaze and lets out a small laugh. Jihoon and Taehyun can't help themselves either, subtly looking over their shoulder to see what has gotten Seonghwa all quiet. It's Yoori, one of the Directors of Space and Planning, and the same girl he had been seeing recently.

"I dunno. It's alright I guess."

"Do you think you'll end up in something serious with her?"

"No." Seonghwa chuckles it off, but internally, he's torn between keeping Yoori as his past-time or his full-time.

"She seems to like you a lot already." Yunho continues to look at Yoori as she talks to her coworkers. She's about 4 years older than them. Was in a long term relationship that ended a few months ago, according to Seonghwa. He thought it was a good opportunity to get to know her and have some fun, assuming she wouldn't be ready for a relationship. He might've been wrong because yeah, she does like him a lot already. She's been hinting at it a lot. It's not that Seonghwa can't see them being something serious— he's just not sure if he's ready to jump into that or take that road right now.

He likes his independence and he likes having fun, he's not gonna lie about it.

"Yeah, but we already talked about where we were at and she agreed on it, so." 

"Uh huh.." Yunho responds. "You know, it's okay to want something serious." He chuckles. But, before Seonghwa can respond, he nods towards the aisle ahead.

"Hm." Seonghwa hums. "Speaking of something serious to get into."

"Hey Yunho!" One of the nurses, Ara, passes by with her friends, smiling at him. "Seonghwa, Taehyun, Jihoon." She gives them nods of acknowledgements.

"Sup!" They all say in their own way.

"Hey Ara." He looks up at her.

"Haven't seen you around for awhile?"

"Just been running around is all."

"Locked up in his office actually—" Taehyun says, causing Yunho to press on his foot under the table. "Ouch— yeah, we've all been busy."

"I see." She giggles. "How's Seora?"

"Good!"

"Give her a big hug for me." Ara smiles. "We should definitely grab some dinner one day and hang out. Bring Seora, too!"

"For sure! Sounds fun."

"See you around then, maybe?" She subtly bites onto her bottom lip as her friends giggle away and hurry along to a table.

"Yeah, I'll see you." She waves for one last goodbye before reuniting with her friends. Seonghwa lets out a small snort, while Taehyun and Jihoon quietly poke away at their food with a smirk growing on their lips.

"Um, so." Jihoon laughs when he's the first to break the silence. "She's definitely interested."

"And Yunho definitely should take the opportunity." Seonghwa responds right away, making Yunho shake his head.

"Nah."

"Why not? She's literally opening the door in front of you. Doesn't hurt to try."

"Could be fun. Doesn't have to be serious." Jihoon adds. "She's cute."

"You should see where it takes you. No harm in letting it go if it doesn't pan out as expected." Taehyun also adds his two cents.

"Was not expecting to get lectured by you three during lunch." They laugh.

"Seriously." Seonghwa looks at him. "It's been awhile since you've went on a date. Just see where it goes." Yunho stays silent as he pokes at his food, thinking about the whole thing. It couldn't hurt just to see where it'd take him— and quite frankly, he could use someone new to talk to and hang out with. It doesn't necessarily mean it needs to work out into anything. "I will literally sit at home with Seora and keep her occupied when you take Ara out." Yunho sighs and finally meets his gaze.

"Really now? I'm holding you to it."

"Yes! Not like I haven't before. Could use time to hangout with my ace and bring back the favorite uncle title." Yunho chuckles.

"Yeah, gotta say. Mingi has been taking over." Yunho says just to rile him up even though there's no such thing for Seora; she loves her uncles equally.

"Well, fuck Mingi." Taehyun and Jihoon laugh. "Ask her later. Or tomorrow. Promise me. It doesn't have to turn into anything but at least get out of the house and hang out with a fresh face." Seonghwa turns back to his food. "But for your sake, I hope it does." He mumbles, causing Yunho to nudge him.

"Fine, but no promises on a specific outcome."

"My job here is done." Seonghwa sips on his soda and tosses a crumpled napkin into the sandwich wrapper.

"Shoulda known."

"I was just gonna catch up with you guys, not my fault she happened to walk by at the same time." Seonghwa chuckles and stands. "Gotta get back to my desk and start pressing people for answers. See you guys around." He stands and grabs his trash, making his way to the trash can before walking off out of the cafeteria.

"He's right." Taehyun shrugs. "Gotta try and see where it goes. You deserve to take a break and have some fun. You always work so damn hard."

"And we all know how much Seora means to you and comes first, but you gotta think about yourself, too." Yunho chuckles as he takes his last forkful and sits back in his seat.

"Thanks guys."

"Just looking out for you." Jihoon stretches. "Anyway, time to head back?"

"Yup. I gotta get ready for my next meeting." They all stand and slowly make their way out of the cafeteria, throwing their trash into the appropriate bins.

Yunho's day ends a little after 5:45pm, which is when rush hour hits. He's heading downtown to pick up the food Seora requested, making sure to place the order ahead of time so he can just pick it up and go. As expected, he hits traffic and it takes him an extra 15 minutes to get deep into downtown. It's crazy everywhere, and all Yunho can do is look forward to getting home.

seora: daddy-o i am home

seora: honey-soy glazed fried chicken and kimchi fried rice from chick'n coop pls!

seora: pls pls pls <3333 love youuu

Luckily, he's able to snag a spot in front of the restaurant. It's a 15 minute spot, so he quickly runs in and grabs the food, thanking the friendly staff before running out and getting back into the car. He's not entirely excited about the trek home in all this chaos, but he finds it worth it when he reminds himself of how happy Seora will be when he gets home with her current craving.

So, his usual 30 min drive home ends up being 45 from inner downtown with all the traffic. He parks his car out front before grabbing his things and pulling on his car handle to make sure the doors are locked. When Yunho unlocks the front door, the house is quiet but it doesn't worry him one bit because he knows exactly where Seora is. He kicks off his shoes, setting the bag of food down on the counter before placing his bag down on a dining table chair. He turns down the hallway towards Seora's room, her door slightly ajar. He gives it a few knocks before he's poking his head in, finding her deep in her books at her desk— those huge Bose headphones she asked for last Christmas sitting on her head while she works on her homework.

"Ace." She surprisingly turns her head towards the door, but it's probably because she felt her father's looming figure standing there. She smiles and shoves off her headphones, playfully jumping on her dad while he wraps his arms around her and hugs her tightly.

"You're home!" Yunho laughs as she gently hops off.

"How was school and practice?" She shrugs, walking back to her desk.

"Um, it was okay? The usual."

"Got lots of homework?" She shakes her head.

"Not really. I'm about to finish up!"

"Why don't you wrap it up so we can have dinner and watch our show together?" She chuckles.

"Okay. I'll be out in a sec." Yunho nods, shutting her door before heading out to wash up and get comfy for the evening. He heads to his room and takes a piping hot shower before completing his routine and slipping into a shirt and some flannel pajamas. He heads into the kitchen to unpack dinner, setting out the plates and utensils for him and Seora. He's not usually a stickler about these things— there are days when the two of them sit at the table and talk about everything and anything, then there's days where they'll plop onto the living room floor to eat at the coffee table and watch a show or movie. Any moment spent with Seora is a cherished moment for Yunho, and he'll never take any of it for granted;

Not when she's growing up so damn fast.

Yunho remembers when Seora was born— him and Eunha were shy over 20 years old. Young, dumb and naive; so incredibly unsure of how they'd move forward with having a child so young, how they'd make it without the support they hoped to have. Both their parents didn't think they were ready and tried to force other agendas on them, ones that didn't include being in Seora's life and Eunha was almost convinced it was the better route solely because of all the noise and talk in her ear. But, Yunho didn't want any of it at all. He wanted to be in Seora's life, he wanted to raise her, he wanted to go through life's ups and downs with her— even if that meant their parents wouldn't agree and would cut off ties. 

All that mattered was Seora and Eunha.

So, they had her. Yunho and Eunha had the hardest, most challenging time trying to work to get by, all while finishing school over the years. They packed up and moved to different in-laws, renting rooms in random homes until they could afford a tiny studio to build in for awhile. They pushed through no matter how rough it got because they were both on the same page and understood the end goal: providing for Seora and being able to give her a comfortable life. Their parents weren't the happiest; hence, the disconnect between Seora and both her grandparents. When Eunha passed, her parents cut off ties completely because they claimed it was too painful to. Yunho's parents on the other hand, will see their granddaughter once in a blue moon over a quick meal. Otherwise, they send over birthday and holiday cards with extra cash wishing her the best. Yunho doesn't really have a great relationship with them anyway, and when he does manage to have dinner with them, he tries to keep it civil. 

Keyword: tries.

Things changed when Seora hit 7 years old and was smart enough to pick up on their cues. She realized her grandparents didn't really wanna be a part of her life like that and that was hurtful for Yunho to see. She'd question why they weren't there to see her exceed during the sports competitions in summer camp, she'd question why they wouldn't go to her little school dance recitals. She'd question why they weren't there when she'd win Student of the Month or when they'd have fall and spring family festivals.

She questioned why they weren't there and Yunho didn't have an answer for her. 

But, since they are his parents, he tries to keep that window open out of respect. In the end, he knows it would truly just be them two against the world, and that was completely fine. Yunho made it this far throughout all the trials and tribulations— he's sure he can handle anything else that comes their way.

"Yay!" Seora squeals when she comes out into the living room and plops next to her dad on the floor. "Thank you." She smiles at him and he chuckles.

"You're welcome. Good choice for dinner." She begins to plop some fried rice onto her plate, followed by pieces of the honey-soy glazed chicken wings. 

"Been craving it for so long."

"You could've just asked for it." Yunho switches it to their favorite zombie apocalypse show. 

"I know, but I know you have long days at work so I feel bad for asking you to stop by."

"I appreciate that." Yunho laughs. "But, I want you to know that I don't mind, okay? Just let me know and I'll make the stop."

"You really are the best." She mutters just as she takes a bite into her chicken. 

"You know what we haven't done in awhile?"

"Hm?" Her eyes widen at the scene, and she lets out a small 'oh my god, run!' in between.

"We haven't gone out for our usual father/daughter dates."

"You're right." She takes a spoonful of rice into her mouth. "Can we go next weekend? I think I have a game that Saturday, but in the morning."

"Yeah, what do you wanna do?" She grabs the remote to pause the show.

"Hold on, I need to think about this." She looks up in thought. "I wanna go to the movies to catch Wicked. But, I wanna go to the theater that has the cute suites with the couches inside."

"Okay. But, let me get this straight." Yunho laughs and takes a sip of his beer. "You wanna do that with me and not your friends?"

"They're surprisingly not all that into it. We might later on, but I definitely wanna watch it with you cause I know you'll enjoy it either way." Yunho nods.

"What else? More shopping? More eating out?"

"They opened up that new dog café downtown."

"Let's go then." 

"Bbq after it all?"

"Sounds like a good date to me."

"Dad, for the next-next one, we should drive somewhere or do something outdoorsy or active. Like those indoor rock climbing gyms."

"Woah." He laughs loudly. "Yeah, actually. We should. I'll start planning something for a weekend you don't have any games."

"Woohoo! Sick. Now I can beat you at rock climbing and rub it in your face." She claps and gently headbutts her dad's arm before resuming the show.

"Seora." Yunho looks over at her with a fond smile.

"Uh huh? Holy crap—" She responds to the show before quickly glancing over at him, then back to the TV. "Yeah, dad?"

"Love you." He makes it a point to always remind her because he doesn't want her to feel like she's lacking in love anywhere, despite no longer having her mother or her grandparents around. He is hoping he's enough to fill their shoes. "You know that, right?" He gently tickles her and she squeals.

"Yes! Oh my god, don't do that!" He laughs. "I love you too." Yunho sits back against the couch and fully immerses himself in dinner and the show— responding just as animatedly as Seora. They get through about four 50-min episodes, a little bit into the fifth before Seora is beginning to yawn like crazy, almost falling asleep on the opposite end of the couch.

"Ace." Yunho gently shakes her by the shoulder after pausing the show and slowly cleaning up the coffee table.

"I'm definitely not falling asleep." He snorts.

"You sure are. We'll pick this up again tomorrow. You had a long day." She sits up and yawns, stretching before she rubs at her eyes.

"Practice killed me today. Coach had us running suicides up and down the court for warm up."

"That's a good way to start practice." She nods and sleepily begins her walk off to the bathroom to brush her teeth and do her nightly routine.

"I'm off!" 

"Goodnight, sleep well. Don't stay up on your phone for too long."

"I won't, I won't. Actually—" She lazily pauses and walks back to give Yunho a hug. "Night dad." He playfully squeezes her before planting a chaste kiss to the top of her head and ruffling her hair.

"Night." He watches her finally walk off to the bathroom before turning his attention to the dishes in the sink. He takes his time washing them thoroughly before wiping down the kitchen counters, the dining table and living room coffee table. He slips the leftovers into Seora's tupperware for lunch tomorrow, prepping snacks for himself and Seora to take as well.

He'll probably head to the cafeteria and buy himself something to eat.

Once he's satisfied with his cleaning, he shuts off the lights and double checks the doors before heading into his room on the opposite side of Seora's. He lets out a sigh, exhaustion fully hitting him at this time. He gets himself ready for bed, brushing his teeth and doing his final round of skincare before plopping onto his bed and turning on his own TV. He lowers the volume slightly, the TV now just giving off soft background noise to fill the void. Before he could really settle in, his phone rings— a call coming in from his other bestfriend.

"What?" Mingi scoffs hearing Yunho's greeting.

"You're such a dick, you know that?" Yunho laughs as Mingi continues to whine. "I called to check on you and that's all I get?"

"Jesus, relax. What's wrong?"

"I'm just saying! You didn't even text me back."

"Sorry, I got caught up. Work was busy today, then I stopped by to grab some food Seora's been craving. We were watching our show all night and just finished up not too long ago." Yunho briefly puts him on speaker phone to check Mingi's text. 

mingi: wanna do something this weekend?

"I just asked if you wanted to do something this weekend." Yunho responds anyway, just to give him what he wants.

yunho: no

"Well, okay. It doesn't even matter anymore, why are you responding now?!" Mingi's voice turns up a pitch.

"You wanted me to text you back." Yunho laughs. "No can do anyway. I told Seora I'd take her and the girls shopping. Unless.. you wanna tag along?"

"How sweet. You want me to keep you company?" 

"We can go on our own date while they shop." Mingi chuckles.

"Yeah, sure."

"What did you have in mind originally?"

"Just walking around the city or grabbing dinner. Nothing too fancy."

"What's Hwa doing? Saw him earlier but didn't really get a chance to ask."

"Hanging out with that girl he's been talking to for a two weeks and three days. What's her name? Yoori?"

"Mhm. You're oddly specific." Yunho snorts.

"I don't think it'll last, if I'm being honest." Mingi laughs.

"He's having fun."

"As with the others. Anyway. When's ace's next game?"

"The following Saturday. I gotta check the exact time, but it's an early one. Was planning to take her out afterwards."

"No invite to that?"

"No, dude. My time with my daughter." He sighs.

"I want one."

"Then stop fucking around and settle down." Yunho chuckles. "Also not just something you can want like a toy, Mingi. You know it's way more than that."

"No, I know. You and Eunha did well with Seora, seriously. You're like her bestfriend."

"That's my girl." Mingi nods to himself because he does eventually wanna settle down and have a family, but he's mainly proud of the way Yunho has gracefully tackled life despite all the ups and downs. He wasn't afraid to ask for help when he really needed it, leaning on him and Seonghwa when times were incredibly trying. Taking turns babysitting and driving the girl to and from places, helping buy groceries or cook for the two. Sometimes, Seonghwa or Mingi would offer to hang out with her for a day or so just so Yunho could get some time to himself. For the most part though, Yunho and Eunha did their best. Yunho did his best to pick himself up and carry on for the both of them after Eunha passed. He's not sure how he managed, but he did. He commends Yunho cause he isn't sure how he'd do it if he was in his place.

He hopes his bestfriend can be genuinely happy one day. Yunho says he is but Mingi knows he isn't. There's always gonna be that empty space and that void that he'll look past, and he's worried it'll be too much to bear when times get tough again. Yunho feels like he has everything being by Seora's side and Mingi doesn't doubt that at all.

Still, it must get lonely at times.

"Anyway, I'll let you be. Just wanted to check in. Tell ace I said hi and give her a big hug for me. Send me the details of her game when you can and what time you need me to be ready this weekend."

"Yeah, I will."

"Alright, peaaace." Yunho ends the call and sticks his phone onto the charger. On his nightstand is a photo of him, Eunha and Seora when Seora just turned three— they took her up to the snow so she could play around and enjoy herself. He picks up the photo and smiles as he stares at Eunha's face, truly missing her presence until this day.

That's probably the one other thing that stops him when he thinks about seriously dating again and seeing people. He knows he shouldn't compare but he can't help himself when Eunha was ripped away from his life so suddenly; all he knows is Eunha. They were always on the same page. They weren't perfect, and they sure as hell had their ups and downs. But, they both had the end goal of making it together and being the best parents Seora could have. There was that mutual understanding, that same determination and grit to push through regardless of how tough it got.

He doesn't think he could find a partner in crime like that ever again. Maybe, he just isn't destined to.

And for now, that's okay.

It's okay because he has Seora, and she is the biggest reminder, the biggest vessel of love that he needs.

For now, he thinks he's okay.

⇢taglist: @asjkdk @interweab @woojirang @svintsandghosts @cheolliehugs @persphonesorchid @mxnsxngie @jycas @cowboydk @nopension @curse-of-art @thechaotictheoryy @likexaxdaydream @dalsuwaha @enha-stars @yasuraokaa @professormingisglasses @yunyunrin @pommelex @astral-trashcan @laura1399 @domfikeluva @tournesol155 @hwaskookies

[venic-bxtch]

✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼ Meet-Cute ✼　 ҉ 　✼　 ҉ 　✼

✼Joe Burrow x Ambitious!reader✼

Based on this ask: Hi! Can I request a JB fic where the girl isn’t much interested in the NFL and really focused on work or maybe finding work and then meets Joe. Like their meet cute and him pining for her if that’s okay? Thank you

⭒❃.✮:▹ A/N: LOVEEEEE, this idea🫶🏾

Warnings: none…just fluff as fluffy as a marshmallow!!!

She wasn’t like the other people at the gym. Joe could tell that the second he spotted her on the treadmill, jogging like she was on a mission, earbuds firmly in, completely ignoring everything and everyone.

He wasn’t used to being ignored. People usually gave him a double-take or tried to sneak a photo. But she didn’t even glance his way, and for some reason, that made her more interesting.

Joe wiped his hands on his towel, telling himself to let it go. She probably didn’t want to be bothered. But when he saw her frowning at the screen on her treadmill like it had personally wronged her, he couldn’t help it. He wandered over, hopping onto the treadmill next to hers.

“Hey,” he said, pulling out one of his earbuds.

She startled, glancing at him briefly. “Uh, hi?”

“You’ve got a good pace going,” he said, throwing out the first thing that came to mind.

She snorted—an actual snort—and he liked her even more. “Sure, if the goal is ‘don’t collapse in public.’”

Joe chuckled, slowing his treadmill to match her pace. “That’s a solid goal.”

She rolled her eyes but smiled, and for a second, Joe forgot where he was. There was something about the way her face lit up that made him want to keep her smiling.

“I’m just trying to not freak out before this interview,” she admitted, pulling out her own earbuds.

“Big interview?” he asked, leaning a little closer.

“Sort of,” she said. “It’s my third one this week, and I’m trying to stay optimistic, but it’s been… rough.”

Joe nodded, genuinely interested. “What’s the job?”

“Marketing,” she said, grabbing her water bottle. “But everyone wants experience I don’t have.”

“That’s tough,” he said. “You’ll get there, though. Sounds like you’re hustling.”

Her lips twitched, like she wasn’t used to hearing that kind of encouragement. “Thanks. What about you? You here to blow off steam too?”

Joe hesitated, scratching the back of his neck. “Kinda. I’m here for football. Gotta stay in shape.”

Her eyebrows raised. “You play football?”

“Yeah,” he said. “For the Bengals.”

She blinked at him, expression unreadable. “Like… professionally?”

“Yeah.”

There it was. The moment people usually lit up or started asking questions. But she just nodded like he’d told her he worked at the post office.

“Cool,” she said. “Not really my thing, but that’s cool.”

He couldn’t believe it. “You’re not a football fan?”

“Not really,” she said, smiling apologetically. “I mean, I know the basics, but I couldn’t name more than, like, two players. Sorry.”

Joe laughed, shaking his head. “That’s actually kinda nice.”

“What is?”

“Talking to someone who doesn’t care about all that,” he said honestly.

Her smile widened a little, and he felt his chest tighten. She had no idea who he was, but she was still talking to him like he mattered. He wanted to keep her here, to keep the conversation going, to learn more about the determined, slightly frazzled woman in front of him.

But she checked her watch and groaned. “I gotta go. Thanks for the pep talk, though. Uh… sorry, what was your name again?”

“Joe,” he said, grinning.

“Right. Well, thanks, Joe. Good luck with… football.”

As she walked away, Joe watched her go, his heart sinking a little. He didn’t even get her name.

Still, he couldn’t help the stupid smile that stayed on his face the rest of the day. And when he showed up at the gym the next morning at the same time, it wasn’t just for the workout.

Taglist: @joeybsboo @heavyhitterheaux @inmyfeelingsgnocchi @ikeepitlight @iknowdatsrightbih

[spiderb00]

FAM OUT HEADCANONS

The beginning

Dream Academy brought a lot of good things to Sophia, success, the Kats, the Eyekons and of course, you.   

you and Sophia met accidentally, your father was one of the camera operators, and Sophia always saw you backstage. She had thought you were beautiful, but she didn't have the courage, or the time, to stop and start a conversation with you. 

Weeks later, you were hired by the team on your father's recommendation (nepotism, Yunjin’s voice), they hired you for all kinds of work. So it was official, you had your first job as a handyman. You were called especially to fix things that the girls had damaged, and when Sophia found out about it, this girl went crazy.   

Sophia was very focused, she had good reviews, so she thought "Why not give me the luxury and have time with the kitten who works behind the scenes?" 

The sink in the room where Sophia was, magically appeared broken the next day, coincidence, right? The girl was scared to death of being caught, but, oh man, how it was worth it. 

When you came to fix it, Sophia made sure to open the door, show you where the faulty sink was, and keep you company throughout the repair. You talked about everything, and quickly grew closer. 

Sophia could tell you were her safe haven, the breath of air she needed every day, talking to you was magical, and Sophia loved every moment of it.   

Your first date was not called a "first date," at least not for others. You and Sophia knew it was a date, but you preferred to keep it a secret, so as not to threaten your jobs 

So imagine the relief you felt, sitting in the audience, hearing the name of Sophia, your girlfriend, being announced as the member of Hybe's new group, Katseye.

The reaction of the Kats

You two were not as discreet as you thought. The Kats always noticed how Sophia went out to mysterious places, with "friends" that none of the girls had the chance to meet.   

And it wasn't so discreet when Lara saw your face covered in lipstick marks stamped on the wallpaper of Sophia's cell phone.   

The girls had nothing against you, on the contrary, they thought you were very cool, and as long as you were treating Sophia well, everything would be in its proper place.   

When Sophia officially introduced you to the Kats, they asked thousands of questions; "How old are you?", "How long has this been happening?", "What are your intentions with our Sophia?"  

You answered all the questions calmly, I mean, those girls were very important to Sophia, and Sophia was very important to those girls, you would answer as many questions as they wanted.   

Despite all the noise and interrogation, you noticed that one of those girls was very quiet. Yoonchae. 

When you first spoke to the girl, you could notice how she was struggling with her pronunciation, and when she said she was Korean, your brain raced.   

You had learned a few words in Korean a few years ago. You couldn't say you were fluent, but you had a good grasp of the language.  

You swear you'll never forget the smile the girl gave you when you spoke in Korean to her.   

meeting her family 

Getting through the Kats' approval was harder than going through Sophia's parents' approval.   

In fact, they didn't even question it, Sophia's family was extremely receptive, and of course the Filipino girl had talked about you before. So when you arrived you were greeted with friendly hugs from everyone. 

Sophia's family was like your second family, you adored them as much as Sophia. So when Sophia went to visit her parents, she always took you along.   

You cooked with her mother, fixed things Sophia's dad asked you to do (he always said it was so you would remember the old days at Dream Academy), and spent time with her brother.   

At the end of the day, Sophia was fighting to get your attention, but she knows she wouldn't trade it for anything.   

my first headcanon ofc, well, I'm very happy that you guys are enjoying "Fam Out". feel free to send things, I love to see your ideas <3

(request)

[avvriie]

A ghostly Encounter

hohohoho, with the votes of 271, the mr crawling nsfw (draft fic) wonnn!

u ask, i shall give 🛐

You never imagined your life would take such a turn when you first saw Mr. Crawling. It all started on a gloomy evening when you found the abandoned apartments, a place filled with secrets. As you stepped inside, the musty air welcomed you, and that’s when you saw him.Mr. Crawling was a tall figure, 7'3", with a slender, strong build. His pale skin glowed in the dim light, and his dark eyes held a strange intensity. He stood in the corner, watching you. "Me not hurt you,"

he said, his voice raspy. Despite the eerie setting, you felt drawn to this mysterious being. "Me help you find path" he whispered, sounding happy, "Human!" His words tugged at your heart, and you wanted to know more about him. As you spent time together, you learned that he spoke simply. "Me want to stay with you," he said one day,

looking into your eyes. You felt a warm flutter in your stomach. Taking pity on his lonely life, you brought Mr. Crawling to your world. You showed him the wonders of modern life, and his excitement was like that of a child discovering something new. One day, while you were out, he found the internet.

His innocent curiosity turned into a journey through human desire. He discovered adult content, and his eyes widened with new ideas. "Me see many things," he said, giggling. "Me learn how to please you. "That night, as you lay in bed, Mr. Crawling appeared, his tall figure leaning over you. "Me want to show you," he said, his voice low and eager.

You felt your heart race as he leaned in, his breath tickling your neck. His hands, cool at first, warmed against your skin as he caressed your shoulders. "You like this?" he whispered, giggling softly. "Y-yes," you replied, your voice shaky with anticipation. His touch was electric, and you felt your body responding to him. He gently pushed

you back onto the bed, exploring your body with a sweet shyness. His fingers traced down your neck, over your breasts, making your nipples harden. "Me like how you react," he murmured, his breath warm against your skin. He teased your nipples, making you arch your back in pleasure .As his hands moved lower,

he traced the outline of your panties, then slipped his fingers beneath the fabric. "So wet already," he whispered, his voice thick with need. "Me want to feel you inside." He whimpered softly, sounding needy. He pulled your panties aside and lowered his head, his tongue seeking your core. You gasped as he made contact, his tongue circling and flicking, driving you wild with pleasure. "Oh, Mr. Crawling," you moaned,

gripping the sheets as he brought you closer to the edge. Just as you were about to climax, he stopped, looking at you with playful eyes. "Not yet," he said, breath hot on your lips. "Me want to feel you inside." Positioning himself between your thighs, his dark purple

cock stood erect, a stunning sight. "Me go slow," he promised. He teased you with the tip before slowly pushing inside. You felt yourself stretching around him, a fullness that made you sigh. Mr. Crawling’s eyes were on your face, searching for any sign of discomfort. He began to move, his thrusts slow and gentle, filling you with each stroke. "Feel good," he grunted, his voice strained. He picked up the pace, his thrusts

becoming harder, the sound of his body meeting yours filling the room. You held onto him, matching his rhythm. The pleasure was overwhelming, and you could feel your orgasm building again. As he continued, Mr. Crawling let out soft whimpers, clearly lost in the moment. The

sound made you feel even more connected to him. He collapsed onto your chest, breathing heavily as you both came down from the high. Mr. Crawling had discovered not just physical pleasure but also a deeper connection. As you lay together, you realized this was just the beginning of an exciting adventure filled with new discoveries. You were eager to see what else Mr. Crawling would learn in this new world with you.

[osunari]

⚠︎ s i l e n t t e m p t a t i o n s ( 18+ )

—ch.7

➤ s t a r t

Mr. crawling x MC

— h o m i c i p h e r 𒌧

“Fingers, Feet, and Lies”

+ slight NSFW

You were leaving the domain, but this time, it was with someone you trusted—someone who had proven himself time and again, even when you didn’t fully understand the depths of his feelings for you. As you walked toward the elevator, the doors slid open, with the two of you stepping inside. The metal doors closed with a soft hum, sealing you in the small, confined space.

Mr. crawling, who had always been so attuned to the oddities of the world around him, looked around with a mixture of curiosity and mild concern. His body lowered instinctively, his hands on the floor as if he feared the machinery might collapse on the two of you. You laughed softly at his antics, the sound light and genuine. The whole situation was absurd, but you couldn’t help but feel a little lighter. The anxiety that had clung to you for so long, the weight of your past decisions—it was lifting.

For a brief moment, the reflection in the elevator doors caught your eye. It was ms. bride, standing at a distance from beside your own reflection, waving a small handkerchief in the air. Her figure was framed by the soft, warm light, a fleeting moment of connection before the door closed completely. You felt your heart tighten as you looked back at her. Without words, you gave her a quiet look of thanks—an acknowledgment of everything she had done for you.

Mr. crawling, noticing her as well, waved his arms high in the air, his hands flailing with a kind of unrestrained enthusiasm. It was an odd sight, but it was heartfelt. A simple but sincere “thank you” from him, a sign that, despite everything, he wasn’t just letting you go—he was grateful for the journey you’d shared.

As the elevator began its slow ascent, you realized that for the first time in a long time, you felt peace. You weren’t running anymore. You weren’t hiding from the things that had haunted you. You were simply moving forward, side by side with the one person who had remained by your side. And you knew, without a doubt, that this was where you were meant to be.

You and your companion were finally transported back to the overworld, the familiar, fresh air of your homeland greeting you like a warm embrace after a long time away. You couldn’t help but inhale deeply, taking in the clean scent of nature, the absence of the metal scraps and the lingering, acrid stench of blood that had become so common in the otherworld. It was a strange contrast, almost jarring—how quickly you had become accustomed to the odors and sights of that place, but now that you were home, you found yourself rediscovering the simpler, purer air of your own world.

Looking beside you, you could see that your companion seemed to be adjusting to the surroundings as well, but his eyes still carried the curious wonder of someone who was experiencing this new world for the first time. You were excited to share your home with him, just as you had shared the otherworld with him. You knew that despite the strangeness of it all, he would find comfort here, and you could already imagine the bond you two would continue to build together in this peaceful place. It felt right.

Later that day, as you sat beside the tub, scrubbing your companion’s long hair with the care and precision you had learned over the past few hours, a sense of contentment filled you. His hair, so fine and seemingly endless, drained the tub of the Fino hair mask you had used. You had been at it for almost two hours now, but the process was oddly satisfying. He was completely fascinated with the foreign feeling and cool sensation of the water, his body almost weightless in the tub, you couldn’t help but laugh to yourself. You tried your best to ignore the temptation to peek at his athletic build—though it wasn’t easy, considering how little he seemed to care about modesty.

“This is for my bedsheets… this is for my bedsheets…” you muttered under your breath as you scrubbed his skin with the loofa—your eyes closed tight to prevent any awkwardness. The words were a quiet mantra to calm yourself as you worked diligently, trying not to let your gaze wander. His bare body, innocent in its own way, didn’t bother him, but you couldn’t help but feel a slight embarrassment. You raised his arm gently, scrubbing underneath, trying to focus on the task at hand. Surprisingly, he was obedient, listening to your gentle directions as you worked to clean the layers of grime from his body.

“几ㄚ(me) 千乃几卩(feel) 山ㄚ几(good) ! 几ㄚ(me) 千乃几卩(feel) ㄚㄥ山几(clean) !” he chimed happily, clearly content with the bath. His simple joy made you laugh, and you couldn’t help but mock his words as you continued to scrub more and more layers of dirt from his skin. “Yeah… you clean,” you said with a chuckle, trying to ignore the fact that you were practically bathing him like a pet, but in a way, it felt comforting.

After his bath, you quickly wrapped him in a towel, his damp hair still dripping slightly as you ushered him out of the bathroom. You left him to wait outside while you took your turn, and as you bathed, you felt a sense of relief you hadn’t known in a long time. The familiarity of your own bathroom, the space where you had once lived without fear, was like a balm to your soul. Unlike the otherworldly washroom, which had been stained with both physical and emotional trauma, here you felt at peace. You glanced at the reflective faucet, checking for the all-too-familiar sight of the red umbrella, but it was gone. It was just you now, and for the first time in what felt like forever, you were truly alone, free from the terrors that had haunted you.

A sigh of relief escaped you as you wrapped your body in a towel, drying your hair with a microfiber towel. The trauma had left its marks, but for the first time in so long, you could breathe freely. You walked to the door, curious about how your companion was doing. You opened it, only to be startled by his tall figure standing right in front of you, his torso exposed and his hair damp. A towel hung loosely around his neck, and the sight of him, so unexpectedly lean yet muscular—took your breath away. He had always been strong, but seeing him like this, with his bare upper body revealed, you couldn’t help but admire. The fact that he had spent so much time crawling had surely built his core strength, making his body look even more athletic than you had anticipated.

You quickly shook your head, cheeks flushed a bright red as your eyes refused to meet his, focusing instead on the floor. You clutched your towel tighter, trying to cover up your flustered state. “Wh-what you doing here?!” you stammered, trying to hide your obvious embarrassment.

“几ㄚ(me) ㄒ乃ㄩ几(wait) 几ㄩ(you) , 几ㄚ(me) 山ㄚ几(good) ?” he asked, his eyes shining with an innocent hope, waiting for your approval. His words were so simple, yet so endearing, and for a moment, you couldn’t help but feel your heart skip a beat. The way he looked at you, with that quiet devotion, made it impossible to say no. You nodded quickly, though you still couldn’t keep your eyes from darting around the room. “You good…” you managed to say, sweatdropping as you finally met his gaze.

He giggled at your reaction, feeling your heart stop for a moment. The sound was so pure, so innocent, yet it made you feel something strange—a fluttering in your chest that you couldn’t quite explain. I guess he’s just like other guys, wanting to be called a good boy… You thought, though it was strange, coming from him. But as you looked at him, standing there with that goofy smile, it didn’t feel strange at all. In fact, it felt just right.

Later, as you both finally settled into bed, the world outside seemed to fall away. His newly cleaned, silky hair served as your blanket, and he spooned you from behind, his warmth wrapping around you like a shield. You couldn’t help but feel safe, despite everything. His body, once strange and otherworldly, now felt like a comfort you didn’t want to live without. He was easy to care for, obedient, and surprisingly gentle. It felt like he had been waiting for moments like this all along, for you to be the one to care for him in this way. You had clothed him in your oversized clothes, but even those weren’t enough to cover his broad frame. So, you had gone and borrowed some of your dad’s clothes, dressing him in a loose, oversized white tee and baggy sweatpants that barely reached his ankles. Somehow, it suited him, and he wore them with a strange, innocent pride.

As you lay there, nestled into his warmth, a thought crept into your mind. What if the same thing happens to him? You remembered how, when you entered the otherworld, you were human but slowly turned into a something less the longer you stayed. What if that was the same for him? What if, the longer he stayed in this world, he would change too—become something different, something… more human? You weren’t sure, but the thought lingered, a shadow that you couldn’t quite shake.

But, despite all the uncertainties, you realized that it didn’t matter right now. You were content. In this moment, you were with him, and that was enough.

. . .

From the shadows beneath the bed, mr. gap peered out, his sharp eyes catching sight of you and someone cuddled together in the dim light. His lip curled into a grimace, the sight of your contentment gnawing at something inside him. He preferred you troubled—lost in fear or doubt. This… this happiness didn’t suit his taste. Saltiness filled him as he whispered, “Psst. ㄚ几乙(give) 卩爪山乙(finger) ?” His raspy voice cut through the silence, hoping to get a rise from you. But you were deep in sleep, completely oblivious to his presence.

“Psst… 几ㄚ(you) 卄乃几(hear) 山乙尺(gap) ? ㄚ几乙(give) 卩爪山乙(finger) . . 卩爪山乙(finger) ㄩ几卩(fun) !” he tried again, his voice a low croak as he stretched his head forward, yearning for attention. But you remained still, your soft breathing the only reply.

Just as he leaned closer, grumbling to himself about the lack of reaction, a faint shuffle caught his ears. His gaze shifted, watching as a dark pool of hair began spilling from the bed above, draping onto the floor. His brows furrowed in confusion. She had long black hair all along? The thought lingered for only a second before he realized the gruesome truth. Mr. crawling’s distorted form came into view, his long fingers dangling dangerously close to the floor.

Mr. gap recoiled, muttering, “几ㄩ(you) ? ! 卄ㄚ乙(how) 几ㄩ(you) 几爪ㄩ(here) ? !”But before he could retreat, a sharp jab, a claw-like finger—collided with his eyeball.

“AH! 卄卩爪几(hurt) ! ㄚ乃(no) 千尺乇(fair) !” he cried out, clutching his face in pain. The searing sensation was too much to bear, forcing him to vanish in an instant, retreating to whatever dark corner he called home, muttering bitterly, “几ㄩ(you) ㄚ乃(no) 尺ㄚ乃(fun) . . . 几ㄩ(you) 卩乙ㄚ(harm) !”

Your room was a cozy chaos of your interests. Posters of a certain anime character lined the walls, their smug, cool expression practically daring anyone to challenge their allure. Figurines of the same character stood proudly on shelves, their carefully painted features practically glowing in the soft light of your lamp. And on the couch, nestled against your chest, was a plushie of said character—a squishy, adorable version of your fictional favorite.

Mr. crawling sat on the floor, watching you in silence. At first, he seemed content, his head tilted as he observed you hugging the stuffed toy with a dreamy look in your eyes. But the longer he stared, the more his brow furrowed, the faint pout on his lips deepening. His glowing eyes darted from the plushie to the posters on the wall and then to the figurines.

Finally, he broke. “ㄚ几卩(why) . . . 尺几ㄚ(who) ㄒ乂匚(this) ?” he grumbled, his voice sharp with annoyance.

You blinked, surprised. “Who? Who what?”

He gestured wildly around the room. “ㄒ乂卩(that) !” His clawed finger pointed to the posters, the figurines, and finally the plushie in your arms. “乃ㄩ(that) . . ! ㄚ爪卩(why) ㄚ乃(him) 山乙乂匚(everywhere) ? ? ㄚ爪(why) 卩几ㄩ(hug) ㄚ乃(him) ? ?” His glowing eyes darted from the walls to the shelves and back to you, his expression a mixture of confusion and frustration. His claws tapped against the floor as if he was trying to vent his annoyance without saying too much, but the way he kept glaring at the plushie in your arms gave him away. It was clear that he didn’t understand why this particular “him” had your attention—and worse, your affection.

You tilted your head, amused. “You jealous? Of my anime husb—”

“ㄚ乙乃(yes) !” he interrupted, scooting closer to you on the floor, his sharp knees clinking slightly against the hardwood. “几ㄚ(me) 山丂尺乙(jealous) . . ㄚ乃(him) 爪几(no) 乂ㄩ千(real) , ㄚ乃(him) 爪几(no) 卄乂爪(talk) . ㄚ乃(him) . . .” He trailed off, looking for the right word before motioning toward himself. “ㄚ乃(him) 爪几(no) ㄚ乃爪(like) 几ㄚ(me) .” he added, fueling his one-sided beef with the fictional character.

Your jaw dropped, equal parts stunned and entertained. “Wait, you jealous him?” you pointed at the various merchandise of your favorite character, your head turned to the sulking figure of mr. crawling—an amused expression creeping up to your face.

“ㄚ乙乃(yes) . . .” he said without hesitation, his pout deepening as he stared at the plushie. “ㄚ乃(him) 乃几(no) 乙ㄚ几卩丂(deserve) 几ㄩ(you) . 几ㄚ(me) ㄒㄚ乃卩(better) , 几ㄚ(me) ㄚ乃乙(here) , 几ㄚ(me) 山丂几(real) .”

You couldn’t help but laugh. “Pff… you know him not real—”

With your sentence cut short, he turned and sat on the edge of your bed, the mattress dipping under his weight. His movements were unhurried, deliberate, as if he had all the time in the world to make his point. He glanced at you, his nonexistent eyes narrowing slightly, gesturing for you to come closer without a single word spoken. You hesitated, clutching another one of your stuffed toy tighter to your chest as if it could shield you from the intensity of his gaze. But before you could think to step back, his hand shot out, gentle yet firm—and caught your wrist. The contact sent a jolt through you, and with a soft tug, he pulled you forward, your balance tipping precariously.

In one swift motion, you found yourself perched on his lap, your knees framing his hips as your body instinctively sought stability. His claws rested against your waist, warm and solid through the fabric of your clothes, keeping you steady yet holding you firmly in place. The proximity was dizzying, your breath catching in your throat as you felt the heat radiating off his body, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. His hands, one settling possessively on your hip and the other lightly brushing the curve of your thigh, sent a wave of warmth through you that made it impossible to look anywhere but at him. He tilted his head slightly, his nonexistent eyes scanning your face with an expression you couldn’t decipher—something between amusement and quiet intensity.

You shifted nervously, trying to adjust, but the subtle movement only made his grip on you tighten, his claws pressing against your skin in a way that was neither painful nor entirely innocent—as if a signal not to move too much. “丂山几爪(stay) .” he murmured, his voice low and rough, the faintest hint of a growl curling at the edges as his thumb drew slow circles just at the smooth surface of your thighs. The heat between you was suffocating, his closeness making it impossible to think of anything but the way he held you—as if he’d been waiting for this moment and wasn’t about to let it slip away. “ㄚ乃(him) 几乂(no) ㄚ乃卩(need) 几乂几卂(touch) .” he declared, his voice firm and final. “几ㄚ(me) ㄚ乃卩(need) 几乂几卂(touch) .”

“几乂爪(now) . .” he said, his glowing eyes locking onto yours with an almost childlike determination, “几ㄩ(you) 卩几ㄩ(hug) 几ㄚ(me) , ㄚ几乃卩(please) ?” You felt his hands come in contact with your lower behind, pushing you closer to him as he urged you into giving in. Your breath hitched at the closeness, his face inches away from colliding into yours. The slight pout on his lips was somehow both endearing and maddeningly smug, as if he knew he’d just won whatever one-sided competition he imagined he was having with the stuffed toy.

“T-tch… you being ridiculous.” you said, trying to sound stern, but your voice wavered.

“ㄚ乃(not) 乙乂ㄚ几卩(ridiculous) .” he replied firmly, his clawed fingers flexing slightly against your sides. “几ㄩ(you) 乃乂几(hug) 丨几乙(toy) , 几ㄩ(you) 乃乂几(hug) 卩爪几山(poster) .” His voice dropped to a grumble as he glanced at the walls. “ㄚ几爪(why) 几乂(not) 几ㄩ(me) ?”

You could feel the heat of his body against yours, and without thinking, you pulled yourself closer to him, your hands instinctively wrapping around his neck, fingers curling into his hair. The movement caused your hips to shift, making your body press more fully against his, and with the clumsy jolt—you noticed his body budge slightly under you. With his breath, a little quicker than before, brushed against your skin. You realized the slight squirming of his body—It was almost as if he was struggling to maintain his usual composure, and that gave you an idea. You moved your hip again, moving it with a slight rhythm this time and repeating the same motion twice. Your hands hovered above his nape, grabbing a handful of his hair and lifting it upwards away from his shoulders, you shifted your body just a little more—then there was that shudder again. His eyes flickered down, watching the friction happen closely, the way his bulge grew was probably still a mystery to him. You couldn't help but let a smirk pull at the corner of your lips. You saw the intensity of the situation in his gaze—how badly he wanted to stay still, yet couldn't help the way his body reacted to you. The control he usually had seemed to slip, just a little, and that realization fueled something inside you.

Without another thought, you leaned in close, your breath mingling with his, and instead of a simple hug or a teasing touch, you lifted your hand and cupped his chin, tilting his face toward you—giving him a sensual yet passionate kiss. The gesture was gentle, yet heated, a silent promise passing between you as his body stiffened in surprise, his face flushing a deep shade of red. For a moment, you both sat there, eyes locked, and you pulled back just slightly, taking in his befuddled gaze.

“You okay, baby?" you whispered, your voice playful but laced with something more intense. As soon as the words left your mouth, you felt a slight heat rise to your cheeks. Calling him a word he didn’t understand felt so out of place, yet the moment it slipped out, you couldn’t help but feel a little stupid for doing so. It wasn’t that you thought he would understand the meaning, but somehow it felt like a slip-up, a word too human, too intimate for someone like him.

Still, despite your brief embarrassment, it was oddly fitting in the moment—something about the way his eyes softened under your touch made it feel like a small, tender connection between the two of you. His confusion didn’t matter; it still felt cute, and as ridiculous as it was, a part of you liked it. Even if he didn’t understand the weight of it, you did, and that made the moment feel real in a way that words couldn’t fully explain.

Your fingers traced down his jaw, grazing down lower to his shoulder, caressing the muscle there with a soft, lingering touch. The air between you thickened, charged with anticipation.

His eyes narrowed slightly—following your fingers as it caressed his shoulder, his voice came out low, unsure, as he repeated the words you’d just said, “You okay… baby?” The way he said it caught you completely off guard—his accent was thick, his pronunciation clumsy, and it felt more like a rough attempt than anything that resembled what you had said. Yet, despite how off it sounded, it somehow added a layer of sweetness to the moment, his curiosity trying to mimic your words.

You blinked, caught between laughter and surprise, unsure whether to explain or just let it slide. The sound of him saying the word, with that little mix of innocence and confusion, made your heart flutter for reasons you couldn’t quite place. It was cute, but it also made you feel strangely protective, as if you didn’t want him to get it wrong, even if it wasn’t something he could truly understand just yet.

As you adjusted your position slightly, trying to find a more comfortable way to sit on his lap, his large hands suddenly found its ways on your bare hips. “You okay… baby?” he repeated once more, as if experimenting with words, his hands copying the same motion you used as you caressed him in the shoulder earlier. It seemed like he’s already learnt a lot from you. The touch sent a shiver down your spine, surprising you a bit as his grip felt a little too aggressive—shooting him a look.

“Careful with those.” you warned.

“几ㄚ(me) ㄩ乃乙卩爪(careful) .” he promised, his voice low but earnest. “几ㄚ(you) 卩爪几尺(soft) .”

Your cheeks heated, and you turned your head away, biting back the embarrassed grin threatening to surface. “You’re impossible.” you muttered in your language, despite him not understanding the half.

He tilted his head, his expression tinted with curiosity. “Impossible . . ? ㄚ几(it) ㄚ乃几乇(good) ?” he questioned, still continuing the motion with his hands on your hips—this time a bit more gentler.

You couldn’t help the soft chuckle that escaped your lips, a little breathless. “Maybe.” you said, avoiding his gaze as you quickly averted your own, trying to hide the way your face was flushing, the warmth creeping up your neck and spreading to your cheeks.

Beneath him, you could feel the growing problem in his pants, the pressure of his hands on you, it made everything feel more intense, more real. The sudden awareness of how close you both were made the situation feel even more overwhelming, your heart racing in your chest as the flush deepened on your face. You couldn’t quite understand what you were feeling, but you were certain it had nothing to do with teasing anymore.

From the corner of your eye, you noticed him glance at the stuffed toy on the couch, his smug smile returning. “丨几乙(toy) 几乂(no) 卩爪ㄚ(come) 乃ㄒ几(back) .” he said firmly, pulling you a little closer. “几ㄩ(you) ㄚ几卩爪(mine) .”

You giggled, shaking your head at his jealousy. “Fine. You ridiculous.”

But deep down, you didn’t mind at all.

. . .

“几ㄩ(you) ㄚ乃乙(lie) .” he began, his voice calm but laced with something colder, something displeased. There was no mistaking the weight of his words—they hung in the air like a heavy stone, threatening to break apart the fragile truce they’d held. “几ㄩ(you) 山ㄒ乃(say) ㄚ乃(she) 卄几乇(safe) ㄚ乃山(with) 几ㄩ(you) .” he scoffed, the word rolling off his tongue with a bitter edge. He took a step closer to her, his eyes never leaving hers, as though daring her to deny it. “ㄒ乃几(then) . . . 乂乙几(why) ㄚ乃(she) ㄚ乃山(with) 山乙ㄚ丂爪(somebody else) ?” His voice grew darker, every word cutting deeper than the last.

The tension in the room had built up to a boiling point, every movement more consuming than the last. Mr. scarletella’s usual poise had given way to something darker, a growing fury beneath his cool exterior. His gaze, sharp and unforgiving, never wavered from ms. bride as she stood across from him, arms crossed defiantly. The space between them crackled with an almost tangible animosity, but beneath it was a layer of confusion and disbelief on mr. scarletella’s part, a confusion that only fueled his anger further.

Ms. bride’s nonexistent face twisted with anger, her composure faltering as the truth finally surfaced in front of her. She stepped forward, her heels clicking against the floor as she closed the distance between them. “ㄚ乃(she) 乙几爪乇(safe) ㄒ乃几(with) 山乙ㄚ丂爪(somebody else) !” she spat, her voice a mix of frustration and fury. “山乙ㄚ丂爪(somebody else) ㄚ乃几(take) ㄚ乃丂爪(good) 山乙几(care) 卄爪 (of) ㄚ乃(her) ! ㄚ乃(she) 卩几乃丂(should not) ㄒ乙(be) ㄒ乃几(with) 几ㄩ(you) !” Her words were sharp and cutting, each one landing with a thud, meant to pierce him, to drive home the betrayal she was now admitting.

“几ㄩ(you) ㄒ乃几(think) 几ㄩ(you) 爪卩尺(know) ㄒ乙几乃(better) ?” Scarletella’s voice was low, dangerous. His fists clenched at his sides, the muscles in his jaw tightening as he took another step closer to her, his every movement controlled, restrained. “几ㄩ(you) 乃乂ㄩ几(always) ㄚㄒ(in) 乃乙几(the) 山卩爪(way) ㄚ爪(of) 千丂卄乃(others) ? ㄚ乃(she) 几ㄒ卩(was) ㄚ乃几(mine) . ㄚ乃(she) 山乙(was) 卄ㄚ乃(happy) ㄒ山几(with) 几ㄚ(me) .” His eyes darkened, there was a cold, controlled edge to his stare as he ate her up, the weight of his accusation pressing down on her with each passing second. “几ㄩ(you) 乃卄几(help) ㄚ乃(them) , ㄚ山乃(now) ㄒ乙乂(they) 山卩乃几爪(together) . ㄚ乃几(leave) 几ㄩ(you) 乇几乃(here) , ㄩ丂乃丂ㄖ(alone) .”

Ms. bride’s anger flared, and for a brief moment, she looked as though she might strike him. But instead, she took a deep breath, visibly forcing herself to calm down. “几ㄩ(you) ㄚ乃乇(need) 几乂(stop) ㄒㄚ卩(talking) .” she snapped, though there was a sharp edge of regret in her voice. “几ㄩ(you) ㄚ乃几丂卩(unsafe) . 几ㄩ(you) ㄚ乃(not) ㄒ卂卩(take) ㄚ乃卂(care) ㄚ尺(of) ㄚ乃(her) .” Her hands gestured around the room, her frustration with everything that had happened now apparent. “几ㄩ(you) ㄚ乃丂(make) ㄚ乃(her) 山ㄚ乂几(suffer) . 几ㄩ(you) ㄩ几ㄖ(desire) ㄚ乃(her) ? ㄚ乃(she) ㄚ乂卩爪(afraid) ㄚ千(of) 几ㄩ(you) .”

The anger in Mr. Scarletella’s eyes flared again, stronger this time. “乃几爪卩(bring) ㄚ乃(her) 千几乙(back) ㄚㄒ(to) 几ㄩ(me) .” he demanded—the words were like daggers, each one aimed directly at the heart of the situation. His voice was laced with desperation, but the cold fury behind his words was undeniable. “几ㄚ(me) 山ㄚ几乃(want) ㄚ乃(her) . 几ㄚ(me) 几ㄚㄒ乃(need) ㄚ乃(her) . 几ㄚ(me) 卩乂几ㄒ几(desire) ㄚ乃(her) .” His gaze hardened as he took a step toward ms. bride, the tension in his body tightening with every word that passed through his clenched teeth.

Before he could further his steps, ms. bride’s hand moved, her gloved palm landing sharply against his cheek with a loud squeal that echoed in the otherwise silent room. Despite his presence being an illusion of his own delusions, ms. bride’s fuming impact somehow breaking the barrier of his protective essence—made him pause at the oddness of the moment. The force of it shocked him, but it wasn’t the slap itself that stung. It was the truth of her betrayal, the sting of losing you from someone he had trusted.

She didn’t wait for him to respond. With a huff, she turned on her heel, her gown swishing as she walked away from him. Her hands clutched at the fabric as if to steady herself, but there was no turning back now. Mr. scarletella’s gaze fixated on the ground, his anger seething beneath the surface, but the hurt was there too, deep down. He had given the person he cherished the most, trusted someone he shouldn’t have. And now, in this moment, your whole being was with somebody else—worse of it, it had been his foe. Even trusting the bride hadn’t been an easy decision for him, it took him time to build trust—all for it to come tubling down. Was it just a thing with girls? Was he really that wrong when it came to their ways? He never understood.

With one last glance at the hallway where she had turned, mr. scarletella’s chest tightened with fury. It was all so blatant now—the bride had played him, used his feelings to manipulate him into giving up what he held dear. And now, the worst part of it all was that, for a moment, he had actually believed her. Why had he not realized before? The realization hit him like a ton of bricks; nobody but himself had been the fool all along.

.

.

.

psst.

.

.

.

For a moment, mr. scarletella’s rage-filled thoughts were interrupted by a faint sound. A raspy, quiet whisper broke through the suffocating tension of the dimly lit hallway. “Psst.” It was almost too faint to register, but his sharp senses caught it. He froze, his void-like eyes narrowing as they scanned the flickering shadows. The sound came again, a little louder this time. “Psst.” His head snapped toward the source—a vent nestled in the corner of the hallway, where darkness gathered like a secret waiting to be uncovered.

From behind the slats, a familiar figure emerged. The dim glow from the hallway light cast eerie shadows across mr. gap’s gaunt, twisted face as he pressed himself partially out of the vent. His hollow eyes glimmered with mischief, his wide, unnerving grin was painted across his pale face like a haunting mask. “Scarletella…” Mr. gap hissed, the syllables of his name drawn out in a rasp that sounded like nails scratching against metal. “几ㄚ(me) . . . 卩乇几爪(know) ㄒ乙几(where) ㄚ乃(she) ㄚㄒ(is) .”

The air in the hallway shifted as mr. scarletella turned fully to face him, the weight of the moment crashing over him like a wave. For the first time since ms. bride’s betrayal, a flicker of hope pierced the cloud of fury and despair that had consumed him. His void-like eyes narrowed, scrutinizing the shadowy figure before him. “山卩几爪(show) .” he said coldly, though his voice betrayed a flicker of urgency.

Mr. gap chuckled, a low, rattling sound that echoed in the quiet. “几ㄚ(me) 乃几卩爪乇(special) , 乙乃(yes) ? 几ㄚ(me) 山丂卩爪几(travel) 乙ㄚ乂几(easily) . . .” He tapped his spindly fingers against the vent for emphasis. “ㄚ乃几ㄖ爪卩(overworld) , 几乂ㄚ丂(ghost) 几卂ㄩ丂几(apartment) , 几ㄚ(me) ㄒ乃(go) 丂ㄩ乙几乂(everywhere) . 几ㄚ(me) ㄒ乙丂(see) ㄚ卂卩山爪乙(everything) .” His grin widened, teeth glinting in the dim light. “ㄚ乃几(know) ㄒ乙乂(where) ㄚ乃(she) ㄚㄒ(is) . ㄚ乃几(know) . . . 山卩爪(what) 几ㄩ(you) 几ㄒ几乃(want) .”

Scarletella’s composure cracked just slightly, his hands flexing at his sides. “几ㄩ(you) 乙ㄚ乃卩(sure) ?” he demanded, stepping closer, the force of his presence bearing down on the smaller figure. “几ㄩ(you) ㄚ乃爪卩(bring) ㄚ乃(her) ㄚㄒ(to) 几ㄚ(me) ?”

“几ㄚ(me) 乙ㄚ乃卩(sure) .” Mr. gap crooned, tilting his head. “乃几卩(but) . . .” His voice trailed off, his grin widening, eyes narrowing with devious glee. “几ㄚ(me) 尺乃ㄒ几(want) ㄒ乙乃乂几(something) 千爪ㄒ(first) . . . 卩爪几卂(trade) , ㄚ乃(yes) ?”

Scarletella’s jaw clenched, his teeth grinding audibly. He hated being in the hands of others, especially someone like mr. gap, whose trustability was as stable as the flickering lights above them. But desperation clawed at him, the thought of her being out of his grasp was unbearable. “ㄚ乃几ㄒ(alright) . 卩爪几卂(trade) .” he allowed, his tone sharp.

Gap’s grin grew impossibly wider, his crooked teeth gleaming. “卩爪丂ㄚ几(simple) 尺乃几卩(things) , ㄚ乃几爪(easy) 尺乃几卩(things) .” He began listing them off with a casual air, as though discussing the weather; “千卄乃几(head) . ㄚ乃丂几(exactly) 64 乃ㄚ乂几丂(fingernails) . 2716 ㄒ乃乂几(strand) ㄚ尺(of) 尺卄山乃(hair) . 4 千尺卩几(pair) ㄚ尺(of) 几爪乂(feet) . 几ㄒㄚ(and) . . . 千ㄚ乇卄几(tongue) .”

The request was grotesque, macabre, and entirely in line with mr. gap’s nature. Scarletella’s expression didn’t waver, his inky eyes burning with resolve. If that was the price to pay, then so be it. “卩爪乇几(done) .” he said without hesitation, the word a cold knife slicing through the air. “几爪卩(but) . . . 尺千(if) 几ㄩ(you) ㄚ丂乃(lie) . . .”

“几ㄚ(me) 几乂(not) ㄚ丂乃(lie) .” Mr. gap interrupted, his grin never faltering. “几ㄚ(me) 几ㄩ(your) 卩爪匚乂(last) ㄚ乃几乇(hope) . 几ㄚ(me) 卩爪乙卄乇(savior) .” He tilted his head, his voice dropping into an almost mocking tone. “几ㄚ(you) ㄒ乃几(want) ㄚ乃(her) , ㄚ几(yes) ? 乃几ㄚ(then) ㄒ尺几爪(trust) 几ㄚ(me) .”

Scarletella didn’t respond. He didn’t need to. The deal was struck, the thought of seeing her again, of reclaiming what was his—overshadowed the horror of the bargain he had just made. With a finishing chuckle, mr. gap disappeared back into the vent, his unsettling laughter echoing down the hallway, leaving scarletella standing in the dim light, his shadow stretching long and dark across the floor.

—ch.7

➤ e n d

“Fingers, Feet, and Lies”

[xoxolilixx]

❤︎𝙇𝙚𝙩'𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙭 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩❤︎

𝙃𝙤𝙗𝙞𝙚 𝘽𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙭 𝙗𝙞𝙢𝙗𝙤 𝙜𝙛!𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

✩𝙨𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙮 - Hobie finds out the real reason for you being popular around headquarters, and his honored to fix the problem.

✩𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨 - SMUT...with plot. A bit of sexism, name calling (whore, tramp), pet names, virginity taking, oral, unprotected sex(WRAP IT UP), crying

✩𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙚 - this is based on my Hobie brown x bimbo!gf oneshot, but it's not a part two or anything of that nature, but if you want to go back and read that, you can find it here. Anywho, I hope you guys like this story❤️😘

Hobie wasn't a chatter, not even close, but ever since you and him became a thing, he tried to make himself a lot less unapproachable. Instead of sporting a serious, straight-face and expression 24/7, he carried a soft smirk most of the time. The difference sounded small, but honestly it made him seem a lot nicer. More people started conversations with him when they saw him, he was let in on topics that no one bothered to talk to him about before. Topics like you.

Hobie always wondered why it caused such a stir when you and him got together, and it boggled you just as much. If only you knew what people was saying about you. Now, it wasn't a secret to you that people knew you. You were a social person and you talked to a lot of people, but what you didn't know was what people were talking about when you walked away.

Hobie was walking through one of the halls of headquarters, hands in his pocket as he stalked down the hall in his usual attire, the only thing that was different was the bright pink bow that was tied to one of his back belt loops, courtesy of you. "Hey man, you got a little sum back there!" Someone joked as he walked past. He couldn't help but chuckle as he turned to the person who was in the hall. He never cared to learn the names of the people around headquarters, so he definitely didn't know his name, but nonetheless he still interacted with him. "I know, my girl did it," Hobie smirked. "Your girlfriend that real girly one, with the short ass skirt and shit?" The guy smirked, the description of you made him internally twitch with irritation. "Yea, what about it?" Hobie smirked as he tried to keep his cool. "Ya know, almost everybody is plotting on her, right?" He smirked, pushing himself off the wall as he walked closer to Hobie, "she's like…top wanted in all of headquarters." "Really? Why's that?" Hobie's smirk hid his urge to throw him through the wall. "You really don't know? She's the only whore that still has her virginity," the random man laughed, "after that get together last month, everyone been trying to be the first to pop her cherry. It was honestly surprising, giving that she dresses like a complete tramp--" Hobie couldn't help it anymore, one super-powered punch later, and he was laid flat out on the floor. He couldn't help but think this is what he got for trying to be nice to people as he stomped away, his objective now to find you.

You weren't hard to spot, all that glitter and rhinestones made you look like a walking star. You were chatting with Gwen, a sweet smile on your plump, pretty lips as you rambled on about god knows what. It would've made his heart melt if he wasn't so irritated. You barely had time to register his arrival as he came over and scooped you up onto his shoulder like a stack of potatoes, "I gotta borrow her for a second," Hobie uttered to Qwen as he stomped away, a hand holding your skirt down as he carried you away. "Hobs! What's going on?!" You giggled, your legs kicking a little bit as he carried you to a secluded area.

"Love, what happened at the get together?" His rushed tone stirred up worry in your chest, "why?! What happened?" You asked softly, your big doe eyes full of worry as you looked up at him. "Just-- tell me what happened darling. Tell me everything that happened," he sighed softly, realizing that his tone ushered you into a worried state. "Well…nothing really… everyone was chillin', having fun, we started drinking, and we played a few drinking games and after that, gwen took me home cause' i got too drunk," you shrugged. "Then why are people talking about something that happened at the get together and how your a virgin and all this other shit love?" He sighed softly. His hands rested on your hips as a look of embarrassment and realization washed over you. "We were playing put a finger down, and someone said put a finger down if you've had sex, and I was the only one who didn't put a finger down, and everyone made a big ass deal about it," you explained softly as you looked down. He stood there for a second, his expression blank as he processed the information before letting a chuckle out. Was that seriously it? Everyone had the hots for his girl because she admitted to being a virgin?

"Is everyone really still talking about that?" You asked softly, embarrassment evident on your face. He couldn't help but chuckle some more. "Sadly darling, you're a bit of a hot topic~" he said, a sympathetic smile on his face as his thumbs rubbed circles into your hips. You let out a whiny groan as your face fell into your hands, "oh my god~ I was hoping they would forget about that, what's even the big deal?!" You whined as your face fell into his chest, his arms wrapping around your shorter frame as he shook his head at how stupid this whole thing was. People were over sexualizing you because you wasn't sexually active.

Suddenly an idea popped into his head, causing a smirk to spread on his lips. "How about you let me fix it?" He smirked, making you look up at him with a questioning look, but as soon as you see the smirk on his lips you know what he means. Intimacy wasn't hobie's favorite thing, but shit, he willing to do damn there anything for you. "You for real?" You asked softly, your embarrassment melting away into nervousness and excitement. "Of course darling, let me show you how good I can make you feel~" his voice sultry as his big hands gripped your waist "let me fix your problem, love."~

Your head was spinning. You felt hot and everything felt like it was moving too fast and too slow at the same time. Your heart was pounding in your chest and you were a inch away from breaking into a sweat and what made it worse was nothing even happened yet. "Jus' say the word love, and I'll stop, okay?" His tone was lighthearted but his gaze was serious. The nervousness was coming off of you and waves, and he only wanted to make this easier for you. "M'kay hobs~" you uttered with a little nod of your head. You were on your knees atop his bed, looking up at his towering figure. He was trying his absolute best to ignore the mind-numbing throb that was coming from in his dick as he looked down at the sight. He had a perfect view of your cleavage and the way your big pretty doe eyes looked up at him made him wanna shove his dick down your pretty throat.

"Go on and lay back f'me love," he gently ordered, and you mindlessly obligated, sweeping your legs from under your body, swinging them off the edge of the bed as you slowly laid back, giving him a good view of your entire body. Your thick chubby thighs and wide hips paired with the little chubbiness of your tummy and your perky tits sitting prettily in your hot pink bra that peaked out of your white tank top sent him mentally flying. "You ready darling?" He asked, his voice soft and caring.

With a simple nod from you he sprung into action. His hands sliding up your bare thighs, slipping under your sparkly pink skirt as he gently rubbed and gripped them before spreading your knees apart. Your heart thumped out of your chest as you watched him lower himself down to his knees, making his face level with your heat. You propped yourself up onto your elbows as you watch him bunch up your skirt. Hobie's cock twitched in his pants at the sight before him; you were wearing hot pink lacy panties, which matched your hot pink bra, and he could see the outline of your soft pussy lips and swollen clit through the soaked fabric. "Fuckk" he breathed as he paced himself. The sound you let slip past your lips when he gently pressed the pad of his thumb into your clothed clit made it harder for him to control himself. He had to remind himself that this wasn't for him, it was for you.

His thumb circled your clothed clit a few times before gently pushing on your sobbing hole, coaxing a few soft whines out of you before finally hooking his fingers onto the sides of your panties. You eagerly lift your hips as he tugs the flimsy-and damp- fabric down your legs. Hobie was happy to see that your nervousness were slowly melting away, being replaced by eagerness and excitement. Hobie's mind spun wildly as he caught a glimpse of strings of your wetness pulling away with your panties, you were fucking soaked.

You let out a breathy giggle as you watch him pocket your panties, but your giggle quickly turns into a moan when you feel his finger slip in between your folds. He could feel you clenching around nothing, he didn't even have a chance to slip is finger into you. "Relax darling, I got you," he cooed as his other hand reached up to rest on your lower stomach his thumb rubbing soft circles into your skin as he slowly slid his finger in. Fuck you were tight, he could only imagine how your tightness felt wrapped around his cock and he almost came in his pants.

You quickly found out that Hobie was a pussy drunk, his tongue deep in your soaked cunt as his thumb rubbed tight circles into your clit. You couldn't even squirm away from him as he coaxed moans and whines from you, his strong arms were wrapped around your thighs, keeping you right where he wanted you. You thought you were gonna die the first few minutes, but once he found the spot in you that made you moan the loudest, you were a goner. He was a messy eater too, the sound of him suckling hard on your clit only made your walls clench, which only made him suck and lick harder as he groaned deep in your pussy.

By time he finished his meal, you were two orgasms deep and your cunt was filled with slick and spit, the same mess that was on his face. You panted as you watch him get up off of his knees, thankful for the break, but your mind went wild when you heard his belt buckle and his pants zipper. Hobie chuckled at the sight of your eyes widening when you saw how big he was. 8 inches of pure girth. How the hell was that gonna fit in you?! "Hobs, I don't think it's gonna fit~" you whimpered softly as your thighs subconsciously closed. He could see the fear and nervousness written all over your face and he couldn't help but coo at you.

His hand gently grabbed your jaw, forcing you to take your eyes off of his lower region and lock eyes with him before deeply kissing you, his tongue slipping into your mouth. Your eyes rolled back as you tasted yourself on his tongue as it explored your whole mouth, a long string of saliva connecting you both as he pulled away. "Don' worry love, I got you, okay?" He cooed softly, earning a soft nod and a "m'kay" from you. "Remember, jus' say the word, and I'll stop," he reminded you. You were starting to relax again, allowing him to spread your thighs apart with his torso, until he reached down, grabbing his length so he could guide it in you.

His cock was twitching in his hand, leaking precum from the tip. It left you feeling excited and scared. He was just so big, but all your thoughts disappeared out of your mind when you felt his messy, precum slicked tip start to push past your folds, making you clench down as your head lolled back.

You were a complete and utter moaning mess, but Hobie stayed patient with you, pausing whenever you clenched too tightly and constantly comforting you and coaxing you through it. The sight of you under him, face scrunched up with pain and pleasure as strings of moans and whines spilt past your lips as he sunk deeper and deeper into your pussy was enough to make him cum now. "You doin' so good f'me darling, good fucking girl, so wet, so fucking tight," he grunted into your neck, sucking hickeys into your soft skin, his eyes rolling back as you clenched around him at his words. "Hobs! m'cant~ your too big~" you whined as your walls choked his dick. He looked down in between you, you didn't even make it halfway. " shhh i know love, but imma need you to relax for me. It'll fit, jus' stay with me now ," he grunted as you whined out, your cunt milking little bits of cum out of his dick.

By time you got past the halfway mark, you were in tears, clinging onto his arms, which was holding him up on either side of your head. His heart ached slightly as you looked up at him, tears spilling down the sides of your face as you panted, "d-did I do it? Is it in?" You whimpered, making his head spin, it felt disgusting how much it turned him on to see you crying like that. He bit back a groan as he looked down between the two of you again. His whole body momentarily went weak, your small, tight, weeping pussy, stretched wide around his dick. You only had two inches left. "Almost darling, your doing so good f'me, yea? Just a little more, okay? You ready?" He cooed softly, kissing away your tears. "m'kay~" you whimpered.

If he kept dragging this out with you, he was gonna bury before he even got a thrust in. He braced himself before slammed into you, forcing the last two inches into your pussy. Your eyes widened and a silent scream left your parted lips, wincing at the pain as Hobie quickly wrapped a arm around you, holding you close. "Fuckk~ good fucking girl, see love? I got you, its all in now. M'so proud of you darling," he could feel you clenching around him at the praise as you whimpered into his neck, fighting off the urge to scream out.

"Soo fucking big~" you cried softly as you slowly got used to the large intrusion. "Shh I know, I know love, but your doin' so good," he cooed as he waited for the signal to move.

Before you knew it, he was fucking you dumb, jerking your body deeper and deeper into the mattress with each thrust. The mixture of moan, whines, screams, and incoherent babbles left your lips as he held the back of your knees up, giving him the perfect view of your small pussy getting abused by his cock as you left a gorgeous ring of your juices around his base. He watched as your eyes rolled back when he hit that one gummy spot in you, groaning as you clenched down on him tightly. He would sometimes give your cheek a soft tap whenever your watery eyes rolled back, wanting to make sure you were still coherent enough to tell him if you wanted to stop, even if he knew that you wouldn't want to.

It only took a good few more thrusts in the right spot for you to cum all over his dick, clenching so tightly on him that he could move as you screamed out, forcing him to cum too as he groaned into your neck.

You both were a panting mess, your hair messy and hickeys all over your neck, and his arms all scratched up and his mouth and chin still covered in your slick. "m'like when you fix my problems," you panted softly, earning a deep chuckle from him.

[posting-for-the-void]

So a lot of twins claim to have a sort of twintuition thing where they understand each other easily and often without words, and sometimes have high-level empathetic reactions to things that are happening to the other twin, even if they don’t know what’s happening to the other twin because they are in different locations at the time. There’s obviously not a lot of scientific evidence to back it up, but, eh. It’s a cool concept.

But what if, for the Skywalker twins, the force just ramped that up to 100.

Fic-ish thing below the cut.

Five-year-old Luke is learning the Tatooine slave language. After all, Aunt Beru used to be Beru Whitesun, before she married Uncle Owen, and his mom was Grandma Shmi, who used to be a Skywalker before she married Uncle Owen’s dad. Beru helps the recently-escaped hide in the secret compartment in the wall of their house more often than Owen does, but he claims it’s for plausible deniability, whatever that means. Leia, on Alderaan, begins mixing the harsh, clicking language with Basic subconsciously, but only when talking to herself in private. After all, she is a princess, and they must choose their words carefully in front of others.

Leia at age ten argues with her cousin about whether droids deserve respect, and across the galaxy, Luke is absolutely overcome with the need to thank every single droid he’s ever met for helping him with anything (he did this anyways before but for some reason he has to do it again Right Now).

Luke gets to drive a speeder by himself for the first time at 13 and Leia is practically begging for someone to take her out in a hovercar and go as fast as possible. And if that can’t happen she’s going to get the space equivalent of a Formula One racing sim, goddamnit.

Seventeen-year-old Junior Senator Leia’s heart skips a beat every time someone mentions Tatooine. She isn’t sure why. Obi-Wan lives there, yes, but something in her just knows that isn’t the real reason. Luke, meanwhile, yearns to see the galaxy, and often finds himself outside at night, staring at the sky. His eyes, for as long as he can remember, have always felt drawn towards a specific star. He asked Uncle Owen about it once when he was younger, and he gruffly explained that it was the Alderaan system. He feels like there’s something there, waiting for him. He’s not sure why.

And then they meet in person, and it’s “You’re a little short for a Stormtroope—Luke?”

“Leia?”

“Do I know you?”

“I don’t think so. Can I hug you?”

“Of course, you idiot. You’re my twin brother. You don’t even have to ask.”

“Thanks, Leia. You know, I had the weirdest dreams when I was ten about you and Old Ben.”

“Oh, yeah, that was actually real. I got kidnapped.”

“Cool.”

“Is it true you got nicknamed ‘Wormie’ by your friends?”

“…Yeah.”

And Han is so confused, but it’s fine, and within two hours their conversations are more like, “Hey, Leia, could you pass me the—“

“Yeah, do want the green one or the—“

“No, the blue one, probably. I need it to—“

“Oh, yeah, of course, that makes sense.”

And then Yoda tries to do the whole “Attached, you are,” routine, and Luke is like, “Well, duh. I’m only here so I can teach Leia everything I learn as soon as I get back. I’m just a pilot, which is a lot more replaceable than a princess, so we thought it would be best if I come learn from you instead of her.”

And meanwhile Leia is a lot stronger in the force now, and she meets Vader again and just goes, “Darth Dad, what the actual fuck,” under her breath in the Tatooine slave language, and the hint of Anakin that’s left absolutely freezes. Because Palpatine—Sideous—whatever, he said his kid was dead. He said that Padme died and the kid did too. He lied. And, when he meets Luke later, and he says the same Sithspitting thing, Anakin gets so thrown he accidentally cuts the kid’s hand off. Luke falls, and the shock of it in the force is so strong, and Anakin’s eyes flash blue in grief and love and hope, all at once, and all of the sudden he can think clearly for the first time in years. And his kids’—his kids!—bond in the force is so strong, how did he not notice it before?

And, anyways, I just feel like Skywalker Twintuition would be on a completely other and incomprehensible level.

[allthingsfern]

This amazed me and made me laugh.

For a generation that thinks it knows it all and especially among the new wave of analog photography lovers, to need a poster like this to inform them about what negatives are just blew me away.

And yeah, before I go on, unclench at least at one end, Boomers & Millennials, 'cuz we were just as know it all back in the day. (Boomers, remember how we thought we invented bell bottom pants? How we were the generation that would fix the world?)

I mean, I get why the newer generation of photographers need such posters, because to them film photography is new, but it just still blew me away that they (almost) worship at the altar of film photography and yet do not bother to delve in the facts of it. Well, truth be told, it is kinda like (Boomers, Millenials, or any of the new crop of Gens) buying a new product and not reading the instructions, which is something I never did or do...

Funny thing, though, the person behind the counter who laughed along with me at the need for the sign and who explained how often the younger photographers need to be told how negatives are part of the film print process and are needed for reproducing their images, unless the negatives were scanned, was young, by which I mean almost 50 years younger than me, as are most all the employees at Mike's Camera in Sacramento, with the one exception now being my camera guy, who is holding off retiring because, like me, he still enjoys his job, and also like me, he does not look his age, and bonus for him, unlike me, he is cool AF. And BTW, the young sales people who work with him all agree that he is cool AF.

So, just figured I'd share, because the poster made me laugh because I still recall I was young once, too, and thought I knew everything about how to be a famous photographer back when, over 40 years ago and then over 20 years ago, I tried my hand at photography with a DSLR. I also laughed because, as I told the person who gave me my prints of my digital photography, I recalled getting contact sheets back in my attempts at film photography, and I wondered out loud what the new crop of film photographers would think of contact sheets and how they would also need a lesson in how to use a film loupe, which is what you call the small contact sheet magnifier.

And if I'm not mistaken, such film loupes can also be used to view negatives.

Yeah, getting old can be fun and I can still learn stuff. I can also laugh at the young and I can laugh at the old, and I can even still laugh at old-ass myself.

Kinda cool, really.

[florawrites-blog]

The shift - Sim Jaeyun

Its thanksgiving but here you are stuck in a 24/7 shift with jake a guy whom you could swear you had no idea he worked in the same grocery shop you work in but lets go i guess .

I lowkey yapped here but enjoy lads

Thanksgiving night at Jerry’s All-Night Groceries wasn’t supposed to be exciting. It was supposed to be the dull kind of shift where you rang up frozen turkeys, boxed mashed potatoes, and watched sleep-deprived shoppers scuffle for canned cranberry sauce. But the moment you stepped inside the store and saw your supervisor, Jerry, glaring at his nemesis Martha like she’d stolen his parking spot, you knew this night would be different.

“Congratulations, you lucky ducks,” Jerry barked, gesturing to you and some guy you’d never seen before. “You two are hosting tonight’s 24-hour shift!”

Martha smirked. “Try not to cry about it, kiddos.”

The guy—tall, brown hair slightly tousled, an aura of “I’m too cool for this”—stood next to you with the same amount of confusion. You exchanged a glance, one that said Can you believe this garbage? Then, without much protest (because arguing with Jerry and Martha was like yelling at a brick wall), you accepted your fate.

For the first couple of hours, it was painfully mundane. The cashier beeped endlessly as shoppers stockpiled boxed meals and vaguely Thanksgiving-related knickknacks. You were zoning out, staring at a stack of pumpkin pies, when the guy spoke.

“So, you didn’t even know I worked here?” His voice was teasing, light, and caught you off guard.

You snorted. “I didn’t even know you existed until now.”

“Figures,” he replied with a smirk. “But I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you before.”

Your brow furrowed. “Wait, what? When?”

He chuckled darkly. “The day you flipped me off and called me a ‘vision-impaired asshole.’”

Your jaw dropped. “WHAT?! That’s a lie! I would never—” Then, like a lightning bolt, it hit you: Oh my god, I DID do that.

“Wait, no, no! You were staring at me for like 20 minutes straight! Of course, I thought you were some creepy weirdo!”

“I am that ‘creepy weirdo,’” he confirmed, ringing up a turkey for a confused customer. “But to be fair, you ignored me after I asked you a question. For 20 minutes.”

The customer looked between the two of you, clearly regretting every life choice that had led them here. You waved it off. “Okay, in my defense, I didn’t hear you ask anything, so yeah, you were creepy!”

From there, the ice was broken. Somehow, amidst the holiday chaos, you and Jake—the guy you didn’t even know worked here—were swapping sarcastic barbs like old friends.

In the phone section, Jake was snapping selfies like his life depended on it.

“Dude, you know we’re not supposed to do that, right?”

He shrugged, moving on to the next display. “So what? If customers can do it, why can’t I? Racist, don’t you think?”

“What does race have to do with this?” you groaned, watching as he switched from Androids to iPads.

“Whatever. Anyway, I look good. Imagine someone opens the camera roll and finds my face. They’ll fall in love instantly.”

You rolled your eyes. “Sure, heartthrob. Let’s hope that’s the legacy you leave behind.”

Jake smirked. “Speaking of heartthrobs… let me guess. You were the teacher’s pet in high school, the kind of nerd who snitched on jocks for smoking in the bathroom.”

“Wow, rude AND oddly specific,” you shot back. “And no, I wasn’t a snitch! I just… knew things. And okay, maybe teachers liked me. But only because I wasn’t annoying like some people.”

“Uh-huh. Sure.”

Jake wasn’t done being ridiculous. He led you to the bike section with a mischievous grin.

“Okay, here’s the deal,” he said, dragging you to a shiny red bike. “You’re learning how to ride.”

“I know how to ride a bike!”

“you quite literally mentioned how bad you are at riding bikes”

“yeah i said I’m bad didn’t say I can’t ride a bike”

“Can you ride a bike without training wheels and streamers?”

“…I hate you.”

Despite your protests, Jake was determined. He adjusted the seat, held the handlebars, and made sure you were balanced. His hands hovered at your waist as you wobbled.

“See? You’re doing fine!”

And then… crash.

You went down, dragging a row of bikes with you. From the security room, Andy the security guard was laughing his balls of knowing he caused this incident by playing “Careless Whisper” on the PA, after seeing how close you and Jake were getting as he taught you how to ride that bike . Jake, however, didn’t laugh. He immediately scooped you up, piggyback-style, and carried you to the first aid aisle.

“You LOSER YOU SAID YOU’D HOLD ME AND NOT MAKING ME FALL,” you muttered loudly as he patched you up.

“Sorry I’m so so sorry , but hey you rode a bike,” he replied with a grin.

The rest of the night blurred into something magical. You shared snacks in the camping aisle, played with Bluetooth speakers, and even danced a little when the store was empty. Jake told scary stories (badly), and you made bets on which customer would complain about prices first.

you also grew this weird yet undeniable tension between you guys that made it hard for both of you to face each other

But as the shift neared its end, Jake grew quieter.

“This is my last shift,” he said suddenly.

You froze. “What? Why?”

“I’m leaving town. Taking a train, starting over in a new city with some friends. We’re gonna try to start a band.”

Your heart sank. “You’re serious?”

“Yeah. But you should come with me.”

You laughed, but there was a lump in your throat. “You’re crazy, Jake.”

“Maybe. But think about it.”

you’ve spent few hours speaking about this he even discussed some of his “runaway” plans , and even after sometime passed Jake kept on bringing back the idea of you coming with him which is funny cause why’d he assume you have nothing to do here (you literally didn’t you only took this job to kill time while you had a job search) but it just happened so that it annoys you how he thinks that you have nothing to do here also it’s not like you guys were long time friends or anything so why’d he just ask you to accompany him right?

When the shift ended, Jake walked you to the entrance.

“So… I guess this is goodbye, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Don’t worry I won’t forget you when I’m famous,” he teased.

“Who are you again?” you shot back, smiling through the ache in your chest. All jokes aside you guys knew you were seriously at the end of the shift when Jerry and Martha both came in looking at you like the first thing they had a whiff of was fart.

As he walked away, you felt tugging at your chest like you knew you didn’t know him for long but cmon how come you see him today for what’s technically not the first time and now you have to say goodbye to him I mean it should be easy but it wasn’t .

But it wasn’t your case only cause as he got close to his car something pulled at him. He turned back, ran to you, and both of you now stood infront of each other his eyes went over your whole figure and just by then out of nowhere he hugged you tight.

“Can’t leave without a goodbye hug, can I?”

“bye bye, jakey jakey”

And just like that, it was goodbye he was actually gone, pedaling into the early morning.

You stood there for a moment, staring after him. Somewhere, Jake was probably cursing himself.

“Shit. I didn’t get her number.”

[maybanksmusings]

THE WALLS ; JJ MAYBANK

SYNOPSIS ; when an unknown face appears in the outer banks searching for a father she's never met, she's unaware of how her life is about to be completely turned upside down.

WARNINGS ; jjmaybank x routledge!oc, strong language, depictions of violence, afab!reader, sexual content, mentions of abuse, drug and alcohol consumption, strangers to lovers, fast burn to slow burn, canon adjacent, not proofread.

AUTHORS NOTE ; changes are being made! see this post to learn more. to me, this part seems a little like a filler, but i want to explore veronica as a character and develop each relationship with each character as something more than a side character, not just honing in on her relationship with jj, which of course is a huge part of the story also.

part one. part two. part three.

when veronica begins to stir, the sun had long set. there was no way of knowing how long the pair had been asleep, all she knew was the lights of the chateau were off and there was a bright pink post it note stuck to jj’s head.

‘gone fishin’. jb pissed.’

pope signed off on the note, a small smiley face drawn inside the o of his name. veronica knew the pouges hadn’t actually gone fishing, that is was some sort of code jj would decipher when he came to.

in this moment, veronica was content. wrapped in the arms of the most beautiful person she’d ever seen.

what could only be described as a war was ongoing in her head. she wasn’t exactly one to believe in love at first sight, she thought this entire ‘spark’ thing was something made up by male authors to keep women reading their shitty romance books to keep them hooked, waiting for it to happen to them.

but then she met jj, and he was like a magnet. every time veronica was in his presence she was mesmerised, whenever he was gone she felt like all the colour was drained from the world.

there was only two problems.

there was a maximum of forty eight hours that they knew each other, add to that he was her brothers best friend, then add to that said brother made it crystal clear that inter-group dating was not allowed.

oh, and then the whole ‘nobody knows i’m his sister but us’ thing.

“you’re staring, baby” jj mumbled, his voice low and tired as he stirred beneath her “can’t say i blame you”

with a sarcastic scoff, veronica sits upright in the hammock, her legs laid out across the blonds lap “just admiring the drool on your face”

“aren’t you funny.”

comfortable silence follows, jj crosses his arms behind his head and blinks the sleep out of his eyes. even though she was staring off into the water, veronica could feel jj’s eyes on her.

“can i help you?” veronica quipped, a teasing lilt to her words as she face the boy in question “use your words, you’ll get there.”

unexpectedly, jj sighs and lets his head fall back “what am i doing?”

veronica knows he didn’t intent for her to hear him, but she did. she would be lying if she said she wasn’t disappointed, but she was even more disappointed in herself at the pang of sadness that hit her.

before she can say, or do, anything, jj is sat up a little straighter and speaking again.

“listen, you’re a really cool girl,” he pauses, shaking his head and starting again “you’re hot as shit, damn it!”

barely, veronica manages to mask her giggle with a cough.

“don’t ask me how or why, but i gotta tell you i’m super into you.” he blurts out “yeah, makes no fuckin’ sense, we barely know each other, no pouge on pouge macking, you ain’t feeling me like that-“

her body is moving before her brain can even comprehend what she’s doing, chipped nail polish framing blond hair as she held his face in her hands and pressed their lips together.

then, her brain kicks in, and veronica jumps back like she’d just been burnt.

“fuck, jay i’m so sorry. i wasn’t thinking,”

seconds pass agonisingly slow and veronica can’t help but think about just how badly she had just fucked up.

but she doesn’t get to overthink for long.

a calloused hand tangled in long, brown hair. the other gripping her waist like it was a lifeline, helping her into his lap as his tongue makes its way into her mouth.

the kiss is messy, it’s desperate. like two people drowning, taking in the other like they were air. hands cling to whatever they can, afraid if they let go it would all be over.

any reservations veronica may have had about ‘the spark’ were discarded, undermined even, this wasn’t a spark, it was fireworks.

but fireworks don’t last forever, and when the sound of john b’s rickety van can be heard drawing closer. the newfound excitement being dulled by the shadow known as a protective older brother, a protective best friend.

by the time the missing pouges pour out of the twinkie, veronica and jj are in much less compromising positions, now sitting beside each other trading menial conversation about the earlier events of the day.

“welcome back to the land of the living,” kiara teases, a yellow vape coming up to her mouth as she took a hit “you two were out cold.”

instinctively, veronica’s hand shot out, wordlessly pleading for a hit of her vape. with a groan, kie handed it over.

veronica lets her head fall back against the hard oak of the tree behind her, relishing the feeling of her first hit of nicotine in two days. she had a vape when she left home, but it died before she even made it to the outer banks and being broke meant she couldn’t even go buy a replacement.

“you could’ve woke us up, y’know” jj defended, trying his hardest to act as if nothing happened, reminding himself to stop staring.

pope scoffs, not missing the longing stares sent the brunettes direction but purposefully ignoring them “we tried, it nearly cost us our lives.”

unamused, john b walks past the rest of the group in silence. when he gets to the door of the chateau he looks over his shoulder and nods for veronica to follow.

the girl is suddenly more attentive, climbing over the human embodiment of a golden retriever and padding her way into the house behind the older of the two.

“does the name redfield mean anything to you?” john b questions, passing a beer from the fridge and getting one for himself “like, the surname.”

veronica is quiet, her finger tracing the rim of the can as she goes through every crevice of her brain in search of any name even remotely close, there’s only one.

“chris redfield.” she answers with a nod, popping the tab of the can and taking a swig “but i don’t get how he’s involved.”

“why not? who is he!?”

“a video game character.”

with a huff of annoyance john b drags a chair across the kitchen to sit beside veronica, unscrewing his compass and placing it down on the table. the name ‘redfield’ is carved into the metal.

“we went back to the boat, found a motel key, whatever.” john b shrugs off the rest of their findings, more invested in whoever this redfield person was. “then i remembered when you showed me that note, the one in the compass. then i found this, figured you would know more than i do.”

veronica gently traced the carved metal, it was definitely their fathers scrawl, she’d memorised it from the note she read over and over and over.

it couldn’t be a coincidence, her fathers note asking her to meet, the matching compasses. now this?

“if i’m going to help you, i need to know..” she trailed off, biting at the edges of her nails as she wondered how to phrase her next question “does this have anything to do with dad dying?”

“he’s not dead.” john b’s voice is louder, stern. then his face softens and he tears his gaze away from the compass and to the floor “sorry, just, i know he’s out there. and this? this is proof.”

“john b, i get it.” the younger routledge speaks slowly, trying not to tread on any toes “you’re not the only one who wants him to be alive, that needs to see him. but i don’t see how this—”

“dad found the royal merchant. four hundred million dollars in gold, and he found it. he’s trying to tell us where to find it.”

veronica sighs, fingers rubbing at her tired eyes as she once again tried to think of any connection to any redfield. when it came to family, she only knew the bare minimum, her fathers name and her mothers maiden name.

what she did know, however, was the royal merchant. as a child her father sent her maps and books on birthdays and christmases without fail, until one day they stopped.

“you’ve got books and stuff, right?” she finally asked, not wanting to get either her or john b’s hopes up. a nagging feeling was telling her their dad was alive, but she knew he wouldn’t just up and abandon his son.

the walls of her fathers study feel like they’re closing in on her, john b let her inside and left her to it. veronicas hand ghosts over the framed maps and dusty books. blueprints of ships with her fathers messy scrawl written randomly around the paper.

there’s pictures of john b littered all over the office, all different life stages, a few feature jj and veronica can’t help but smile at the photo of two little boys holding a fish between them.

on the desk there’s a picture frame, immediately veronica recognises her mother, years younger and a gentle hand placed on her tummy. in the same frame, there’s an ultrasound that veronica almost bypassed as john b, but when she looked at the date it was a long time after he was born.

it was her ultrasound.

it was her in her moms tummy, framed and proudly placed right on her fathers desk.

everything comes back at once. finding the note, and in turn the years worth of letters her mother had hidden from her. the dateline special with john b pleading for information about his father, their father. the fight with her mother, packing a bag in the middle of the night and making her way to the address stored safely inside her compass.

the tears don’t register until they hit the glass of the frame, the last few weeks of pent up anger, sadness and hurt bubbling over from the flame that single photo sparked.

her dad loved her.

for years she’d heard about her absent father, then the absent father that passed when she was a baby. the father who didn’t want the responsibility of a child and ran away once he found out.

but the letters, the compass, this picture? john routledge loved the daughter he was forbidden from seeing, from the second he knew about her he loved her.

and now he was dead.

a sudden wave of anger rushes from her head to her toes, glass shattering when she throws the dusty old frame against the wall with a scream. papers fly and maps fall from the walls as she turns her fathers office into her own personal rage room.

the racket coming from the small room shakes the chateau, so it’s no surprise when the pouges come crashing through the door.

the pouges eyes briefly flash with fear when their eyes land on the destruction caused by the newest arrival, but it’s quickly replaced by a familiar sadness when veronica crumples to the ground, screaming as loud as her lungs would allow for them to get out.

they don’t know what’s wrong, but it doesn’t matter. veronica was now considered a friend, and they gathered that’s what she needed right about now.

jj is the first to enter, drawing closer slowly as if he were being cautious “it’s okay, ronnie.” he mutters softly, dodging shattered glass as he knelt beside her “we’re here, we got you.”

kiara, john b and pope are close behind, wrapping veronica in what could only be described as a group hug until her tears subsided.

taglist!

@ren-ni @marleymarleymarleymarley @miidollaasignnn @rainingcecilias @tanyaherondale @xspideyhollandx @sluterainterlude @loverofmarsss @xoxo-ada @gigistalked @genderlessmenance

[sturnswrites]

terms and conditions - pt.3

matt sturniolo x fem!reader

⤳ you move in with the triplets after losing your apartment prompting a "roommate agreement". after having a tricky relationship with matt, some of the rules begin to blur.

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The adjustment period was over. By now, you’d fallen into a rhythm in the house, learning to dodge the relentless pranks and boisterous outbursts. The chaos no longer felt overwhelming—it felt oddly comforting.

But then there was Matt.

You knew he was always quieter and less outgoing than his brothers. But when you were around he was even quieter than usual, more reserved, but you were starting to notice the subtleties in him. The way he’d lean against the counter, sipping a drink, his eyes scanning the room like he was both in his head and completely aware of everything at once. The way his lip would quirk up at the corner when someone said something sarcastic.

And then there were the moments that didn’t seem like Matt at all—the softer ones. Like how you’d open the fridge late at night and find a plate of leftovers from dinner, covered neatly in plastic wrap with a sticky note scrawled in his familiar handwriting: "Don’t forget to eat."

It was nothing, really. At least, that’s what you kept telling yourself.

But the nothingness started to pile up into something that tugged at the edges of your mind more than you’d care to admit.

-

It was another average night, almost midnight when you wandered downstairs, your stomach growling, per usual. The house was unusually quiet, the hum of the refrigerator the only sound as you padded into the kitchen.

You opened the fridge, and there it was—a Tupperware container of cut-up fruit and a bag of chips with another note in Matt’s sharp handwriting: "For whoever gets hungry after midnight."

You smiled to yourself, shaking your head. Of course, it wasn’t labeled for you specifically, but no one else in this house cared enough to do this kind of thing.

You were halfway through the container of fruit when Matt’s voice broke the silence behind you.

“You always eat standing up?”

You jumped, spinning around to find him leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed and his eyes flicking from the fruit in your hand to your startled expression.

“Well, I didn’t know I’d have an audience,” you said, trying to play it cool.

Matt smirked, stepping closer until he was standing across the island from you. His hair was messy, his hoodie loose around his shoulders, but his gaze was sharp, a quiet intensity that made your pulse quicken.

“Didn’t think you’d be up this late,” you added, popping another piece of fruit into your mouth, desperate to fill the silence.

“I don’t sleep much,” he replied casually, though his eyes lingered on you longer than they probably should have.

You tried to focus on the fruit, but the way he was watching you was making it impossible. Finally, you blurted out, “You know, for someone who doesn’t care, you sure leave a lot of snacks.”

Matt raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know,” you teased, leaning slightly over the island. “Maybe you’re trying to impress me or something.”

His smirk widened, but there was something else in his expression now—something darker, heavier. He stepped around the island, closing the distance between us until he was so close you could feel the heat radiating from him.

“Impress you?” he repeated, his voice low, almost a whisper.

You swallowed hard, your heart pounding as he leaned in, his face just inches from yours. His eyes flicked to your lips for a brief moment before meeting your gaze again.

“If I wanted to impress you,” he murmured, his tone dripping with suggestion, “I’d be doing a hell of a lot more than just leaving snacks in the fridge.”

Your breath hitched, the air between the two of you charged and impossibly thick. For a moment, you thought he might actually close the gap, and the idea both thrilled and terrified you.

But then he pulled back, smirking as if nothing had happened. “Goodnight, Y/N,” he said, his voice maddeningly calm as he turned and walked down the hall, leaving you standing there, speechless.

-

The next day passed in a haze, Matt’s words echoing in your mind at the most inconvenient moments. You were so preoccupied that you barely noticed Chris and Nick leaving in the afternoon, off to run some errand or another.

The house was eerily quiet when you got a call that sent your mood spiraling. It was nothing catastrophic, just a collection of bad news piling on top of a bad week. By the time you hung up, you felt completely drained, the weight of everything pressing against your chest.

You were curled up on the couch, staring blankly at the TV, when Matt appeared in the doorway. He hesitated, his usual confidence replaced with something softer.

“You okay?” he asked, his voice uncharacteristically gentle.

You shrugged, not trusting yourself to speak.

Matt walked over and sat down beside you, keeping a respectable distance but close enough that you could feel his presence. “What happened?”

You shook your head. “It’s nothing. Just a bad day.”

He didn’t say anything at first, just nodded, his gaze fixed on the TV. After a moment, he reached over and grabbed the blanket draped over the back of the couch, tossing it over your shoulders.

You blinked, caught off guard by the gesture. “Thanks,” you murmured.

“You don’t have to do this alone, you know,” he said, his voice quiet but firm.

You turned to look at him, and for a second, everything else faded away. His usual guarded expression was gone, replaced by something raw and unfiltered. It was a side of him you weren't used to seeing, and it made your chest ache in a way you didn’t understand.

“Thanks, Matt,” you said softly, and you meant it.

He gave you a small nod, his hand lingering on the edge of the blanket for a moment before he pulled away. The moment passed quickly, but it left a mark, the kind that made me question everything you thought you knew about him.

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kind of a shorter chapter but slow burnnn

⭒ margot

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@hesvoid3434

[ttheagcd]

- cue golden girls theme song -

you know these past few months on here have been so ugh and blah as something happened to me and a few friends that killed the fucking vibe for us. slowly but surely people’s true colors came out and i never spoke about it but some people know from experiencing it. now we’re all starting to feel like we used to before which leads me to this post bc thanksgiving and whatnot. in the mood to give thanks to you because you’re the reason I get to keep writing alex / buck / my multi.

okay so i love you all for putting up with my ass, my laziness and alex’s too because i know he is not easy to deal with:

@epihlogue & @loveindomitable / @twistedgrace / @pcrfidia & @firepiloted & @gonnabuck / @athl3tes / @shadowbrn / @forrkeeps / @gldngrrls / @leschanceux / @cfthesoul / @billyktothemax / @mecwmellc / @snnydcys — been loving you from afar so yolo you get a mention too / @dalphahale / @westwingsolo

to my mutuals who are my mutuals and nothing more: keep kicking ass. we are lowkey admiring and loving you from afar and love seeing you do your shit.

i gotta give these following people a little specific shout out because without them, i would not still be here on this blog today.

@gccdgraces — ceejay you fucking phenomenal human being you. we’ve gotten so much more closer in the past few months and tbh having you as the one to help me deal this shit with was a saving grace. you’re not only a fucking amazing writer but also a fucking amazing human being. thank you for everything. love crying over all our babies and our bookish obsession. stay cool. never change and keep being that fabulous bitch you are.

@hstoryhuh / @soulwaned — oh my dear britt britt 😉 my homie. my little partner in crime. i fucking adore you and your dogs, precious babies 🥺 thank you for everything. for the laughs, for the crying in the feels, for talking about giving me all the things and then we just vibe along. i love everything we’ve done and will keep doing.

@ssolessurvivor — oh saturn, let’s start at the beginning yeah? idk how you came across my blog but thank you for it because holy shit look at us now. a billion and one au’s with our boys and they keep on coming 😂 thank you for liking and trusting me enough to deep dive into logan and his past. not all oc’s have a defined background and information, the majority do but some don’t and that’s where things get hazy and it is so fucking hard to write with an oc when there’s barely any info for anyone to learn about but you cover any and every inch of logan’s past and future. but also thanks for letting me throw anyone at him lmao it’s been fun as hell.

@thcrealheroes — DELLA MY LOVE. my ride or die bitch. we barely write anymore but i still follow and love your ass all over the place because you cannot get rid of me 😏 i couldn’t do this and not mention you. god it feels like we’ve lived 50 lives in the time we’ve been rp-ing together. we’ve been through some shit and always find some way to share the experience, even if it doesn’t directly hit us both. lmao i fucking love you and your kids.

@kookmade — link i know that i mentioned your multi above but i had to give rafe’s blog its own little shout out because this is the blog we met and all. thank you for being my lil football homie and letting me constantly cry about taylor / alex at you. fucking love it and your muses. thank you for hearing me out as well on certain days.

i am so fucking sorry if i forgot someone. i probably did fuck me. i’m sorry if i did, i promise it’s not you. it’s my fucking brain.

[cadecastelis]

MHA epilogue spoilers 3 2 1

Mandatory internet Disclaimer I love most of the izuocha shippers and every ship has good and bad shippers etc

Second mandatory disclaimer I honestly believe the leaks could potentially be fake! but for the sake of assuming they’re not fake cause we don’t rly know…

I’ve already seen izuocha shippers claiming that the ending isn’t demeaning to any characters and doesn’t unravel their development at all and to this I say: I beg you to learn media literacy. You’re allowed to be happy your ship became canon! But to deny it became canon at the expense of all four of their characters is rich.

Reducing the main female character to just be the love interest in the very final moments of the series (when none of the rest of the series explicitly focused on much romantic love) can only take away from her character, not add to it. Whatever happened to her main arc? Learning to see the good in others and wanting to learn what makes himiko tick whilst letting go of the desires that were holding her back and confining her (aka her crush on deku), only to turn around in the last moments we see her to come crawling back to Deku with toga on the forefront of her mind.

Himiko dying for this woman, learning what it means to be understood and to be loved for who she truly is, only to be reduced to the motivating factor in Ochako’s relationship. Her memory is used to further Ochakos ambition to…go out with a man? We could have spent the final moments of the manga seeing how himiko inspired Ochako to help young kids be understood and gain control of their quirks!! Wasn’t that what she was doing in her honor and memory in the last chapter? Why not focus on that?

Once again, we see strong and competent women reduced to nothing but play pieces for the male characters in their final moments. You can say all you want how Ochako deserves to have a happy romantic relationship, regardless of gender, and she does, but no matter what this will take away from her character. This will be the first thing on peoples mind after finishing the series. The aftertaste left in their mouth. In their final moments, these women are used as romantic options for men. Himiko is not remembered as the martyr of a story about privilege and humanity, but instead as the mournful embodiment of the survivors guilt holding Ochako back.

As for the boys, this 100% reduced their characters as well. Izuku’s hero is Ochako? What did she do for him directly? Of course she’s heroic, but what did she do for him? Her most heroic moment was not when deku was even there to witness, it was a private moment between her and himiko so *why* is she his hero? What happened to all the reasons katsuki is his hero? Is he just chopped liver now? The beautiful parallels and hundreds of chapters set up to revolve around these two and instead in the end we focus on…something else? It’s kinda like how monoma is so prominent during the final battle as well as number ten on the rankings? He’s cool and all but why? Why him out of everyone? The focus is not where it should be.

And Katsuki’s whole motif with the hands and reaching out to Deku, finally being the one to reach out first in the final chapter, only for Deku to take someone else’s hand in the epilogue. Like. Come on. Now we don’t have the full epilogue yet, and rukasu & Ever (via twitter) said that there will be a scene where Baku and deku talk with each other, but going based on the full page leaks we have, is it not wild to u guys that the stories own deuteragonist gets less time in the epilogue than MULTIPLE side characters?? As much as I adore shoto, [he’s one of my top five mha characters (as is uraraka!)], Katsuki comes before both of them in terms of narrative importance. He is our deuteragonist, yet I see less of him in the leaks than monoma 😭

I could go on but like. I’m glad izuocha shippers can be happy, I truly am. But before any of you go around claiming it was a good way to make them canon, take some time to really understand the characters and what this kind of ending is saying about them.

Cause this isn’t the ending they deserve