#honestly I wouldn't be mad if she did turn out all along

[berrythefish]

Okay I'm not sure why but I suddenly got the urge to draw Mia...she pretty wack tho

Im still unsure if Mia is actually Mercedes killer but how can you not love this little crazy lady????

[allllium]

Jason Todd x childhood friend fem

fluff and potential angst

Jason runs into childhood friend from befor he died and she recognizes him

Back in Time

[ Jason Todd x Childhood Best Friend!Reader ]

~ Fluff, Maybe a little hurt/comfort, WC: 1,089

~ I'm so sorry this took so long 😭 Every time I went to write this it's like all ideas flew out of my head, but I finally got it done and I hope it meets your expectations<3

"Jason?"

He freezes.

He wasn't expecting to hear your voice today.

He wasn't expecting to hear your voice ever again.

Once he came back, you were gone.

He would say he tried to look for you but that isn't true. He thought your leaving was the universe telling him to leave you alone.

But now you're here. You're here and you recognize him. He doesn't know how to respond. He knows you know he heard you, otherwise he wouldn't have stopped moving.

The first thing he hears in your voice is the sadness. Not anger like he would've expected. Not even a hint of confusion. Just something sad.

After a minute of him being unmoving, clearly lost in his thoughts, he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Jason." You say.

This time it's not a question.

After he hears you a second time, he brings himself to turn around and look at you.

"Hey."

"Hey." He can't tell if you're about to cry or smile.

"I'm sorry." He immediately apologizes. Maybe for leaving or maybe for not finding you. He's not quite sure.

"For what?" You ask and take a deep breath.

He sees the way tears form in your eyes and has the strange urge to cry himself.

"I don't know. I just feel like I need to."

"You don't. Dick told me what happened. That's not something you need to be sorry for." You say it so surely he doesn't know how to respond.

"I was gonna find you."

"That's not your job. I mean a phone call would've been nice." You shrug and let out a small, awkward chuckle.

"I didn't know what to do." He tells you quietly.

"I would assume." You look around the sidewalk you're on. You're standing in front of what looks like a busy shop, people walk in and out every couple seconds.

"Where did you go?" He asks you after a moment. Probably to determine whether or not he could've found you.

"I was here. I mean I stayed in Gotham just not where I was before."

"If I had known you were so close I would've gone to you but when they told you left I assumed-"

"Jason, you don't have to defend yourself." You cut him off quickly, "If I died and came back the last thing on my list would be finding someone who left."

He nods. "This might be easier if you were at least a little mad." He smiles softly at you, watching more tears shine in your eyes.

"I missed you too much to be mad right now."

He goes to say something back but someone walking by bumps into your shoulder.

"Maybe we should get coffee or something?" He suggests, not wanting to keep blocking the sidewalk traffic.

"Are you free?"

"Oh yeah, yeah." Dick can wait, he thinks to himself.

"Then yeah, coffee sounds great."

You both walk into the coffee shop and order whatever drinks sound good. Jason chooses a table against the wall and by a giant window.

You sit awkwardly in silence as you both try and think of what to say.

"How are you doing?" You ask, after multiple minutes of nothing.

"I'm okay, I think." He shrugs and takes a sip of his drink. You take notice of his fingers tapping nervously along the side of the cup.

"That's good." You nod and sigh.

"How are you?"

"I've been better." You answer honestly. Your fingers also tap nervously along your cup.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why this is so weird."

You laugh at his words, "I do. It's been a while."

"And I'm guessing we've both changed." He smiles.

"Changed? No shit Jason, look at you." You smile at him in a reassuring way. You can clearly see how dying has changed him.

"Yeah I guess I did get a little taller." He jokes and shakes his head.

"Maybe just an inch or two." You play along, laughing as you speak.

"I missed this. I missed you." He tells you with a sudden seriousness in his tone.

"Well good thing it isn't going away this time." You reach across the table and grab his hand.

It was never unusual for you and Jason to be touchy. That's just the kinda friendship you had. But this feels different.

Instead of being a friendly touch between best friends, it's more like a reassurance that's he's actually alive. A piece of you feels relief that you're not imagining this.

"I really hope so." He wishes with a frown.

"It won't. If you think I'm leaving your side anytime soon you're very very wrong."

"What's one more person to the gang that follows me everywhere?" He laughs again and squeezes your hand. It's the first time he's felt so free to last in a while.

"Where is that gang by the way? I would've expected one of them to be here by now."

"Oh I left while they weren't looking. I needed time to myself."

"You snuck out? Jason, they're probably panicking." You scold him softly.

"It's fine I'm meeting with Dick later."

You shake your head in disapproval but a smile on your face gives you away once again.

For some reason no matter how sad you are, a smile can't leave your lips.

You fall back into a silence but this time it's not awkward at all. It's a comfortable silence that reminds you of old times.

"I should probably get going. Dick will be pissed if I'm late."

"Yeah I don't doubt it." You recall the many times Dick has given long lectures about being late to anything he's involved in.

"I'll call you." He swears, standing up from his seat at the table.

"You better. I know where to find you." You stand up as well and finish off your drink.

"Yes you do." He agrees but doesn't leave.

You stand together in front of your table. Both of you are waiting for the other to move first.

Just as you're about to make the move to leave he steps forward and pulls you into a hug.

You immediately hug back and feel the tears reappear in your eyes.

"I really missed you." He whispers.

"I really missed you too." You whisper back.

You savor every moment of the embrace. Not wanting to leave out of fear that he would leave again.

But as you watch him walk away to meet with his brother, you're overcome with the happiness of knowing your best friend is here.

[archangeldyke-all]

Wait I was just thinking about this

What if jinx went out to run errands and took isha along with and and they come back looking VERY suspicious.

Untill you were about to interrogate them and they admit too finding a kitten on the street and taking it in. But you are not mad at them at all and you guys all collectively try to find a way to tell sevika. And when she finds out she doesn’t seem happy but she’s so freaking excited because she has a family now- something she had always dreamed for but didn’t think was achievable

-💌

i need fluff like this right now. like a million pounds of feathers.

(here's what i picture the cat looking like, btw hehe)

men and minors dni

you're in the kitchen chopping veggies for dinner, listening to the gentle jazz floating out of sevika's old office.

right now, sevika's in there rearranging furniture to turn her study into a room for jinx and isha. she's already got the bunk beds built (jinx claimed top) and now she's busy building some bookshelves and desks for the girls.

they've been living with the two of you for about a month now. and despite the fact that you and sev's sex lives have taken a massive blow, you've honestly never been happier.

the girls bring so much energy and laughter into your life. neither you or sevika ever wanted children of your own, but this feels... right. you're not their mothers and you never will be. but you are family now, and you wouldn't trade it for the fucking world.

sevika feels the same. she hasn't said it in so many words, but there's this look about her now-- she glows. she's stopped smoking because of isha's asthma. she's stopped drinking because vi's still freshly sober and comes around for dinner a few times a week. she's even started taking breaks with her prosthetic arm, letting herself walk around the house with just one arm-- a vulnerability she was never comfortable with before.

you throw your veggies on the pan, a nice sizzle sounding throughout the kitchen as you start to stir them around. the front door clicks open, and you wait for the sound of your girls thumping through the door like usual... but they don't. you turn the flame down, the sizzle lessening with it, and turn to listen closer.

jinx is whispering excitedly, and you can hear isha's excited half giggles as she listens. you grin. the girls are plotting something.

you turn the flame completely off, setting your spoon to the side and ripping off your apron, carefully tipetoeing across the kitchen to lean against the door.

"alright. sevika'll be easy to convince, all you gotta do is give her the puppy eyes... just like that, good job kiddo." jinx chuckles. isha gives a happy little chuckle, and jinx continues. "it's the missus i'm worried about. y'know what she says goes. if we don't convince her, sev'll be out too." jinx huffs.

you have to bite your lip to keep from laughing at jinx's surprisingly accurate description of you and sevika's relationship.

isha makes a questioning noise, signing something you can't see to jinx. jinx hums, contemplating isha's suggestion, before speaking again. "what, y'mean like cookin' 'em both dinner or something nice? butter 'em up before we show 'em?" jinx asks. "that could work... dunno where we'd hide it until then though..."

"hide what?" you ask, pushing out of the kitchen just in time to watch isha and jinx jump and scramble to cover something up.

"heya sweetcheeks!" jinx greets, shoving a bundle of fabric into isha's hands. isha gawks at her, then turns around to hide the fabric pile from you. you chuckle, and jinx casually pushes isha behind her back. "how mucha that did you overhear?"

you giggle and tug on jinx's bangs, making her scowl a bit. "don't let sev catch you callin' me 'sweetcheeks'. she'll get jealous. show me what you two found." you say.

jinx huffs and tugs isha back out from behind her.

isha blinks up at you with her best puppy eyes, and you chuckle, flicking the rim of her miner's cap. "those only work on sevika." you say.

isha huffs and rolls her eyes in a way that she must've learnt from jinx-- then she unwraps the bundle in her hands.

"mmmew." a tiny little voice pipes up.

you gasp, and isha stops unwrapping the bundle to look up at you. "please tell me you guys didn't bring home a fucking baby." you plea. raising isha is one thing-- she knows how to use the fucking toilet already. but a newborn?! you're not sure if you and sevika could handle that...

jinx bursts into laughter and pulls the last bit of fabric away, and you sigh in relief when a scraggely, partially hairless cat blinks up at you from isha's arms. "mmmow?" it meows. you chuckle.

"where the hell'd you find this thing?"

isha grins at your positive reaction, then starts signing with both her arms full of cat. you can't make out much, but you manage to catch 'dumpster'. that explains the smell, then.

"we're callin' her chicken. 'cause her little bald belly looks like boiled chicken." jinx says, smiling just as wide as isha is.

you snort a little, and chicken reaches one of her paws out of isha's hands, like she's reaching out for you.

jinx cackles. "chicken likes you!"

you huff and shake chicken's little paw. "so what. you expect us to let you have a cat now?" you ask.

you know you're going to say yes. you just need the girls to grovel a little more-- you can't let them know you're just as soft for 'em as sevika is, otherwise there'll be no authority in your house.

"oh c'mon! we'll put the litterbox in our room so it doesn't stink up the house! i'm already comin' up with a self cleaning litter box invention-- and she can just eat our scraps! she'll be good for pest control! you know the building's been having problems with cave rats lately..." jinx trails off, pulling chicken out of isha's arms and dangling the surprisingly relaxed cat in front of you. "please sweetcheeks? i'm such a cute kitty." jinx says in a silly little voice, shaking chicken a bit as she talks.

isha sticks her lower lip out in a pout and clasps her hands under her chin in a 'please' motion.

you hold your stern glare for as long as you can before sighing and rolling your eyes. both girls burst into cheers and giggles before you can even say anything.

"fine." you huff. isha darts forward to tackle your legs in a hug, and you stumble a bit before giggling and lifting the girl up into your arms, hugging her properly. jinx and chicken join you quickly after, chicken meowing in discomfort as she's squished in the family hug. "but you two gotta talk to sev. she doesn't like animals, y'know."

"like how she doesn't like me or like how she doesn't like broccoli?" jinx asks. you giggle.

"what're you all whispering about?" sevika asks.

this time, all three of you jump and turn around to guiltily face your wife.

"mrow." chicken greets from jinx's arms. sevika's eyes widen.

"what the fuck is that?!"

isha steps forward. a cat. duh. she signs. you bite your lip to keep from laughing. jinx cackles. sevika flicks isha's cap.

"sevika, this is chicken, the newest member of our fucked up little family."

sevika blinks rapidly, and you watch in amusement as she tries to process the situation. "fuckin' ugly cat-- i don't--" suddenly, tears well up in sevika's eyes.

your stomach sinks, and you dart forward, reaching up to cup sevika's face. "what's wr--"

sevika cuts you off by collapsing against you, burying her face against your neck as she cries.

isha's big golden eyes stare up at the pair of you, shock on her face for a moment, before she just darts forward and hugs sevika's legs, nuzzling against her thigh.

jinx stands there awkwardly for a moment, chicken still in her hands. isha grunts and waves her hand for jinx to join you, and jinx sighs, rolling her eyes before moving chicken to one arm and half-heartedly wrapping her free arm around sevika's shoulders.

"fuck, fuck, sorry." sevika cries against you, sniffling and wiping her snot and tears on your shirt sleeve. you just rub her back as she collects herself. "sorry." she says again.

"'s okay." you whisper.

"...so does this mean chicken can't stay?" jinx asks. sevika lets out a shaky breath.

"why the fuck are you callin' that poor thing chicken?"

"'cause her belly looks like boiled chicken!" jinx says proudly, hauling chicken up into sevika's face. sevika just snorts.

"she's staying in your room. if i ever have to clean a single fucking cat turd, i'm puttin' it back out on the streets." sevika relents.

jinx and isha burst into squeals, both quickly darting forward to hug her, jinx even pressing a kiss to her cheek, before they dart off with chicken in tow to go check out their new bedroom set up.

you can hear the excited gasps as they enter their new place-- you haven't seen it yet but you're certain sevika went all out for her kids. you kiss her scalp, still holding her in the living room as jinx and isha start giving chicken the grand tour of their bedroom.

"you okay?" you ask.

sevika sighs and shakes her head. "these fucking kids are making me fucking soft." she groans miserably. you cackle.

"it's adorable, babe."

"it's-- it's fucking annoying! jinx called us a family and i just-- fuckin' burst into tears?! what the fuck?" she squawks. you laugh, kissing her tears up from her cheeks.

"they're happy tears, though, right?" you ask.

sevika huffs and nods. "who woulda thought i'd ever cry happy tears about being associated with jinx?" she asks.

you giggle and shrug. "i always had a feeling." you say.

sevika rolls her eyes, and then leans forward to kiss you.

[mywifealhaitham]

pre release boothill relationship headcanons!!!

a/n: I'm fiending off crumbs... I've wanted to read some x reader of him but theres none so I gotta write it myself. I hope the other 4 boothill fans enjoy

warnings: gn!reader, like 2 gendered pet names (pretty girl/boy), most of this is written with bias because we don't have alot to go off, obviously written prerelease, when we actually get content of him I'll definitely be rewriting

LEAKS AHEAD!!!

bc: Valentine_DD_ on twt

- Boothill is described as a righteous person if his bottom line doesn't get crossed, so he definitely treats you good. probably more on the protective side when it comes to you, he's probably not afraid to use his gun if someone is threatening you.

- and believe me he's intimidating. from his overall tough and "unruly" cowboy look to his mechanical body it leaves enemies just a little challenged. he lowers his voice too and probably has a more fierce look in his eyes too. after any threats have been delt with he probably turns to you and turns into the sweetest thing ever, a wide grin across his face and his hands on your cheeks peppering you with small kisses.

- Its said he's a bit sophisticated due to his experiences so I'd like to imagine sometimes he charms you with facts and details about other planets or just genuinely sharing some tips and tricks he's picked up from other cultures. he's also a person who can get along with others pretty well but he can easily give strangers an impression he's selfish and is a bad person.

- again this kinda feeds into he's basically you'd guard dog... but I mean who wouldn't want to be saved by a handsome and sweet cowboy. despite his unpredictable personality and looks he's a huge gentleman for sure. always opens doors and pulls out chairs for you, makes sure your behind him and okay if any danger approaches and practically listens to your every command (lowkey giving off my girl and I don't argue she tells me to shut up and I do)

- one part I'm so excited to see is what they mean by he's illiterate and using metaphors. it's probably just him using slang but it's still kinda cute. I feel like his cheesy and strange metaphors turn into pick up lines when talking to you. perhaps he'll pull a "did it hurt when you fell from heaven?" or something cheesier. Definitely a huge nickname guy, almost never uses your real name. I'm guessing he'd use stuff like doll, sugar, baby, pretty girl/boy and more teasing names. heavy on doll and sugar and just imagine him saying it in a deep southern accent... 😍 kicking my feet. also I imagine he loves making you giggle by not cursing (because he literally cant) and normally he'd get pissed if someone laughed at him like that if it's you he doesn't mind at all.

- that's pretty much it for like analyzing the leaks I saw but now the stuff up ahead is just bias yapping because I always project

- HE DEFINITELY IS A HAND KISSER. greets you by getting on one knee, holding his hat to his chest and kissing your hand. makes eye contact with you too and does that toothy smirk of his IM SWOONINGGG

- maybe he's a dancer! pulls you into his arms and places his hat on your head when a good song plays in taverns. even if your clueless on any type of dances then he'll pull you along to the beat whispering Instructions in your ear.

- gets so lovesick when drunk it drives everyone mad. any folks he's sitting with at a bar gets a whole speech on his wonderful beautiful darling who he owes his live and would happily die by their hand. and may God save you when you come pick him up because he'll be all over you. Immediately he wraps a arm around your waist as he slurrs his hello as he proceeds to tell you he loves you like 40 times. besides the mass amounts of kisses you'll receive once you both reach a private spot he let's some feelings that he might be too shy to share normally, holding your face as he calls you his pretty girl/boy and how he's so lucky to have you.

- honestly not the best for cuddling however unfortunately he needs to cuddle you to sleep so goodluck! his metal body isn't completely uncomfortable it's just cold alot. he tries to get around this by literally preheating himself with blankets before you go to bed.

very bad boothill brainrot atm... only a few more weeks until we get official content 😭 everyone hold hands we got this

here's the actual leaks if anyone is curious ^_^

[lanawinterscigarettes]

Can I ask for Natasha x reader where one of them calls the other one by their real name and the other one freaks out because they usually call them by petnames? Thanks!

Of course! I always love fics based off this idea 💞 this is kind of angsty because I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff alright 😭 also Малыш is supposed to mean baby in Russian, but I honestly have no idea how accurate that is

Terms of Endearment (Natasha Romanoff x reader)

Warnings: mentions of insecurity/self depreciating thoughts, not really hurt/comfort but also kind of?? Idk

You and your girlfriend Natasha had always been fond of using petnames for each other, often more so than your actual names themselves. Whether it be honey, sweetheart, darling, or simply just babe, you never ran out of cutesy names to call each other. But as much as you loved hearing the never ending abundance of pet names roll off Natasha's tongue, what you didn't love was how often you got teased for it. 

You knew the other members of the team didn't mean anything by it and would stop if they knew how much it upset you, but the problem was you didn't really have a good reason for feeling that way. It seemed silly just thinking about it, childish even. So you kept your mouth shut, laughing along at their meaningless jokes as you made yourself a promise to cut down on the cheesy nicknames. 

You hoped Natasha wouldn't notice the lack endearing terms on your part, but she did, of course. She always noticed the small things nobody else picked up on. It came with the job description of being an assassin.

Although she'd noticed it, she couldn't understand why there was a sudden change in your behavior, especially when she knew how much you loved the petnames you had for each other. 

Because of this, she cut down on the petnames, too, and only used them when you were alone, hoping maybe she could solve the problem that way, even if she didn't know what it was.

It all came it a head one day when you were cooking together. It was just the two of you, everyone else either busy or in another part of the Avengers base. 

Natasha was standing by the stove, making some sort of soup. "Малыш, could you hand me the salt?" She asked after tasting it and realizing it needed something. 

The way you tensed up at the name she used for you did not fly past her, and it caused her to let out a small sigh. "Are you okay? You haven't been using nearly as many petnames for me as you used to, and I've noticed whenever I use them you seem... upset. Even when we're alone." 

You let out a sigh yourself, knowing it wouldn't do you any good to lie about it. "I... I was hoping you wouldn't notice." You began meekly, looking down. 

Natasha had a slight frown on her face as she turned towards you fully. "And why is that?" Her tone was gentle, but firm. It was clear she wasn't going to let you leave without some sort of explanation. 

"It- its not you. Or me. Its the others," you confess quietly. "I didn't really like the way they teased me whenever I called you honey or babe, so I stopped all together." 

She nodded her head, the pieces suddenly falling into place. "Ah, so that's why. At first, I thought I'd done something to tick you off." She joked, it making her heart warm to hear the laugh that came from you after. 

"No, it wasn't that, and even if it was, you know I could never stay mad at you." You said playfully, finally handing her the salt. 

She took it from you and added some to the pot on the stove before speaking again. "I'll talk to everybody, and tell them to lay off on the teasing, that way you won't have to worry about it anymore." 

You gave her a loving smile, your tone filled with gratitude. "Thanks, hon." 

She smiled back at the petname before giving you a soft kiss. "Of course, darling. Anything for you." 

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[delicatenerdbluebird]

My Random Takes on The Secret History (contains spoilers)

The biggest tragedy that comes with being Richard Papen coded is you need a group like Julian's Greek class to feel normal about yourself because the rest of the world makes you feel like a misfit.

That Richard and Camilla scene where she reveals being physically abused by Charles... I feel that scene is a strong criticism of abusive households. Like Richard was used to seeing his mother getting beaten by his father and sometimes he was also a victim of his violence. And in 'that' scene, he fantasizes about doing the same to Camilla and worse. This shows it's a never-ending cycle no matter how you see it. The kids are gonna end up developing fucked up fantasies if their exposure to fucked up things is constant.

I strongly believe Henry was gonna make Richard the scapegoat had something gone sideways. And honestly, it makes perfect sense. Richard insisted on joining their class. He was an outsider. Henry could have easily made up something like Richard was envious of their group, he was jealous of his and Bunny's closeness and so he ended up killing him, something along those lines that Richard wanted to be accepted and we would not accept him instantly, naturally because of our prior history. Knowing how Henry was good with words, he could have made Richard an obsessive, disturbed freak to the FBI for all we know. Remember how Henry saved him from getting frozen to death? This incident can be perfectly used to portray him as a mentally disturbed person who would rather freeze to death than go back to his home to a normal eye.

Now Julian. Oh, Julian I knew was the red flag the moment it was mentioned he does not accept students who have different ideas than his. But to think that fucker would turn out to be the biggest crankiest bitch?!! I mean I am soo mad he was the one who fed those Dionysiac ideas to them and in the end, he just ran away?! I was baffled by how he treated Henry during that confession scene he did not even listen to him completely... Henry does not stutter HE WAS STUTTERING and Julian shoved the letter back to him... I mean the disrespect! This scene (for me at least) was a reality check that no matter how loving, cool, caring, and impactful you might think your teacher is, at the end of the day, they are gonna be a teacher and you are gonna be just a student. It destroyed my heart when Henry said he loved Julian more than his own father 😭 The worst thing you can do is take advantage of the vulnerabilities of someone who not only respects you but also loves you dearly. This mf can move mountains and I would still hate his old rat ass!

Charles and Camilla Idek what to make of them. Charles turned from a pitiable character to an entirely disgusting one for me. I accept Francis' theory that he wouldn't have made that much fuss about his interrogating situation if Camilla and Henry weren't a thing. Remember when Camilla and Henry had some secret code and he got mad why he didn't know about it? I do think camilla and henry were always a thing before it became apparent to everyone. Besides the book is from Richard's perspective, and he does seem oblivious at times.

I am not aware of the popular takes in the fandom so I don't know if this is gonna be a hot take or not but Camilla gave pick-me-girl vibes. She did not have any girl friends and looked down upon Judy (I am not asking them to be besties exactly but a little respect won't have killed) Judy only developed a weird impression about them during that party scene when Camilla dropped her drink onto her and did not apologize (or was it the opposite? i dont remember exactly but the point is Judy is not the type to judge others for no reason...she judged them after that party) Camilla's attitude could be attributed to the fact that Charles was controlling but idk

The Secret History reminded me of The Hollow Men by T.S. Eliot (some of the verses below):

We are the hollow men

    We are the stuffed men

    Leaning together

    Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!

    Our dried voices, when

    We whisper together

    Are quiet and meaningless

    As wind in dry grass

    Or rats' feet over broken glass

    In our dry cellar

   

    Shape without form, shade without colour,

    Paralysed force, gesture without motion;

So basically I am yapping here because my friend hasn't finished tsh yet and I just needed to let it all out 😩

Not to mention I absolutely love my expensive gossip boy Francis 🥺 ☕

(Thank u for reading it this far!!)

[seramilla]

divorce au who did Odette and Clara meet at the hotel ?

Odette and Clara were on their way to rent some snorkeling equipment from the hotel and ran into Emily manning the front desk. They've seen her working about the hotel during their trip and strike up a conversation. She appears about their age, maybe a year or two younger, and they worry that Emily is all by herself working so much. Does her sister Sera ever give her a break?

"I like working here!" Emily says, full of much more enthusiasm than the average person working behind a desk. But Emily genuinely doesn't seem to mind. "I like making our guests happy...and I'm out of school right now, so honestly, I'd probably just be sitting at home bored if I wasn't here. And it gives my friends an excuse to visit me!"

Emily's friends turn out to be a gaggle of characters who are supposedly in a band. There are three men and five women, one of the women being the lead singer named Verosika Mayday. They visit Sera's beachside resort to play their show every year, so Emily normally hangs out with them after work. They want to make it big in the music biz one day, and Sera's guests are usually a pretty big crowd.

They also have some roadies who usually travel with them: a tall, dark, handsome man named Tex, who is Verosika's bodyguard. His girlfriend, Bee, does their costumes and makeup. Sometimes their other friend Loona also tags along, when her overprotective, adopted father will let her off work. He usually doesn't.

Emily asks if Odette and Clara want to join them in the hotel restaurant for lunch, because her shift is about to end. Odette and Clara consider that they were thinking about going to the spa with their mom later that day...she'd actually told them she was looking forward to it. But then again, they're staying at the hotel for several more days yet. She probably wouldn't mind if they split. There'd be plenty of time to do the spa thing later, right?

They hope so, because the next thing they know, they're being whisked away by Emily and her hot gaggle of musical friends (particularly that Verosika chick... Odette thinks she'll be staring at her for the rest of the day.... Wait, did Odette say that out loud?!)

Odette frantically texts Carmilla to let her know what's up. She hopes her mom isn't too mad...she hates disappointing her, but these people seem pretty cool. Besides, it would be good for her and Clara to hang out with people their own age for a while. Carmilla will understand. Right?

[lolitakirstein]

a/n: ooof this turned into a damn text thread i'm sorry.and mostly eren POV, shitty editing this is going to have to be in multiple parts. I'll get part 2 up ASAP. :)

Eren reached for his phone, brows furrowing. It was odd for him to ever hear an alert from it, let alone a text notification. He had made it that way. Cutting off communication to most, keeping conversations to a bare minimum with those who were close...well...more at arm's length...maybe further than that.

If I keep people out, they can't hurt me. they won't know I'm such a fucked up person.

He flipped his phone over, reading the text.

You: hey eren :)

His heartbeat kicked up seeing your name on his phone. You seemed to be the only person who would reach out without being talked to first. Of all the people in his "friends" group, it was you who seemed the less likely to judge...if he ever got that vulnerable with you. Which he doubted he would, you deserved better than someone as fucked up at him. But when you looked at him, he sometimes felt that you saw past his flaws.

His fingers hovered over the screen unsure what to write, finally settling for a simple "Hey."

You: How are you? I haven't seen you in a while.

It was true, you hadn't seen each other in weeks. The last time being a get together for the end of summer.

Eren: I'm fine..just minding my own business as usual."

You: well you can mind your business and still not be a stranger :)

the lighterheardness of your message made him actually smile. The thought that you are wanting him to be closer though...that makes him nervous. He doesn't want you to look at him differently if he got any closer.

Eren: I wouldn't mind that

You: Well lets plan a hang out or something :)

Eren paced his living room. Were you being flirty? or just friendly? or maybe even pitying him? How was he supposed to go about this...play along? he wanted to. Fuck he wanted to get closer to you. But that voice in his head told him it would end in disaster.

"Fuck it," he said aloud to the room

Eren: Maybe we could go for ice cream, yeah?

You: that sounds fun!

Eren waited to respond, not wanting to seem to eager, but he had come this far he might as well go for it...

Eren: would you like to later today?

the minute he sent it, he regretted it. Too soon, too desperate, too overbearing.

You: I can't today. Me jean and connie are going downtown to the bar. I've already backed out twice ugh

His heart dropped at that fucking name

JEAN

He knew you and jean were friends, closer than you and him were, but it still boiled his blood that you were going out with him...even just as friends. He knew how jean got when he was drunk. Hell he knew how jean acted sober especially around you. Hanging around, shameless flirting, playfully tugging your hair as he'd pass behind you.

Eren:Why the fuck are you going with horseface. Hes a creep, he just wants to use you I hate how he touches you Alright, have fun.

He breathed deeply. Calming himself before he could get any angrier at the situation. Yes, he knew it was wrong to get mad at you for going out. But why did it have to be with Jean. He hoped Connie would keep an eye on you and him at least.

*4 hours later*

Eren was lying on his couch, the tv going, but honestly his thoughts were constantly on you being out there at some cheap bar with Jean. No doubt his fucking horse hooves all over you. What were you doing? what was he doing? what were you wearing?

Is she thinking of me?

His resolve to not text you the rest of the night crumbled at last. Reaching for his phone he thumbed to your name and typed

Eren: Hope you are having a fun night.

After what seemed like an eternity but was really only 10 minutes, he saw you begin to reply. His heart kicked up.

you: Heyyyy. I'm a bit buzzed but im havn fun. connie and jean are doing karaoke save me lol

He smirked at your jumbled reply and the thought of jackass jean doing karaoke thinking he's hot shit.

Eren: i'm sure that's a sight. What those dipshits singing...or attempting to sing

you: connies in his missy elliot era rn. Jean just serenaded me with some taylor swift.

Eren clenched his jaw. He knew you were a secret swiftie as much as you tried to act like you werent, he'd catch you humming it. Now it seems Jean is also aware of your little secret.

Playing cool he replies, "Never took that asshole to be a swiftie."

you: me neither, it's definitely the booze

Eren: How much more drinking do you guys plan on doing?

You: I'm tapping out after this one

An attached photo came along with your text. It was dimly lit but he could make out the shape of a dozen or so shot glasses empty on the table and your hand holding your last one up for the camera. And there, blurry but still visible, right in the corner was Jean...his hand on your leg.

DAMN HIM

He feels every emotion rush through him: anger, jealousy, possessiveness, sadness. He heartbeat pounded in his ear.

Eren: What's with Jean being all handsy?

He hoped that sounded subtle and not like a psychopath...with yes he was probably acting like one. Even going so far as to zoom in on the photo to see how far up your leg jeans hands were.

you: Probably to keep from falling over.

You were playing it off like it was no big deal?!

Eren: That doesn't look like the ideal place to put his hand to keep from falling over."

you: Lol. you know how he is when he is drunk...all...lovey

At this point, red is all Eren sees. He doesn't care if he comes off like an asshole or possessive anymore. How could you be so oblivious and naive that Jean was doing this intentionally.

Eren: Doesn't that piss you off that he gets all handsy like that? He shouldn't be allowed to touch you, even if he's drunk.

No going back now. Whatever progress eren had thought he had made with you would certainly be gone after this show of anger. His true self. Fuck it he didn't care. This is why he stayed to himself. In one evening, you had stabbed him in the heart...

Part 2 sneaky peak:

"You know i can't be like him right?" "I don't want you to be like him...I want you to be like you."

thanks for reading :)

[midnightmayhem13]

Hey idk if you're taking requests but if you are can I request (the marvel girls) x fem!reader? And if someone started hitting on reader (and like reader flirted back) but (the girls) and fem reader aren't dating yet, they just have a crush on reader but reader doesn't know that, sorry if this is confusing my English isn't so good

I LOVE NEBULA SM YOU WRITE HER SO GOOD

I'm the one who understands you

AHH love this! and dw abt your english babe mine wasn't very good a while back either🩶🩶

carol danvers

even before you're dating carol is very protective over you. and while everyone asks why she protects you but won't ask you out she can't answer. but when she sees you flirt back with someone all her pride is gone. she can't act like you're hers if you literally just flirted back. she'll try to coward away but she genuinely doesn't want to use you. if shes feeling up to herself she'll go up to you two and try to assert dominance. she'll let out a "who's this?" but way less confident than she wanted to. when she sees you don't seem uncomfortable with the presence of the other person she loses a little confidence. she won't directly tell you about it, but shell ask if you're dating the person later.

sharon carter

sharon watches from afar. she watches your every move and is suprised when she sees you flirt back. she's made it very known to you that she likes you but if you just don't realize it. and while she will definitely be a little hurt, she doesn't know how to react so it turns into silence. she'll give you the silence treatment and will honestly be a little mean. not enough to hurt you or intentionally make you cry. her flight or fight almost goes off but when she realizes that she genuinely wants to build a life with you, she eventually confess. after a few days she'll want to confess. she's realized that maybe ignoring you will drive you away and attract you to her 'competition'

darcy lewis

i feel like darcy would lowkey cry:(. like when you like someone so much that seeing them flirt with someone just hurts as if they cheated on you. that's what happens. she'll not want to confront you about it in the moment but later she will question. and jane will be hearing it all. you go to comfort her not knowing you're the reason for her state. in these moments she'll hold on to you tight and pray you want her. she'll be clingy. when you realize why's she's upset she might b a little mad but will eventually forgive you. when you take her out and cheer her up she'll slap you're head and scold you to not do it again

nebula

oh lord you're dead. i feel like nebulas either really mad or gets shy. of course you wouldn't want her. or you're mine and no one else can have you. a mix of both. when she sees you flirt with someone she'll get mad a drag you away from them. asking what the fuck you were doing. when you don't realize it's because she's jealous you'll be a little confused, wondering if you offended her. and shit you damn well did. she'll be mad at you for a while and won't let anyone near you for a few days after. then as you try to calm her down you here an almost inaudible "you're mine".

maria hill

seeing you flirt with someone else hurt maria. and she'll let you know. not in a toxic-try-to-make-you- feel-bad way. but a more mature way. she'll ask to speak to you in private and state things like 'i'm not sure we want the same thing' or 'i thought we had something' something along those lines. but she'll be very sincere and sweet. it's okay if you don't like her but she'd like to know. and sure she's pretty closed off about her romantic feelings, but she'd want you to know. if there's a chance that the feelings are mutual, she's going to take it.

kate bishop

kate would just be baffled. okay you're incredibly beautiful but she always looked away so she wouldn't see if you flirted back. and watching you get flirty and touchy with another person hurt. you always touch her arm like that and she's the only one who gets to make you laugh like that. shes confused because she genuinely thought you two were thingy thing. and afterwards when you get time alone she's asking you all the questions. are you going on a date with them? you like them? when did you meet? you sure you can trust them? but she'll just ramble trying to convince you not to be with them, but with her.

a/n W request bro. got so into them for no reason

[leiflitter]

Hi I'm doing a research paper on antiheroes and I'm using Oliver as one example. Could you maybe tell me why he appeals to you as a character despite the murdering and the scheming etc

You come into my askbox while I sleep and make me think? First thing in the morning? BUT I SHALL ANSWER

won't make any sense probably but HEY!

I think the main reason I love Oliver is because I can see a lot of myself in him.

Cut bc this will be long af

Granted, my perspective on the character is... I spend a lot of time thinking about that idiot, so this is fully based on my interpretation of him buttttt

Okay, so the murders and scheming are firstly... Ambiguous. Elspeth is the only one we see as it happens- not in a flashback, big-twist, oh it was my evil plan all along #classwarfare #girlboss #theyhatetoseeabadbitchwinning way- and she's so far gone she's on a ventilator and just dies without it. How did she get so sick? It isn't mentioned. Honestly, as someone with long covid, she's wandering around London without a mask. LADY. YOUR LUNGS.

Everything else? The spiked bottle. The razorblades. They're shown to us at the end, this big gotcha moment... From someone who has clearly spent every moment since Felix Catton died trying desperately to gather some small piece of him.

His home is decorated like Saltburn. He's immediately trying to get back in. The moth battering itself against the window.

Whether or not Oliver Quick is an evil, scheming murderer is entirely down to your interpretation of that reveal montage. Mad props to Emerald for that.

My interpretation of it is... Not to say he's innocent, but that he's a sad, sad man grasping at straws to give himself more agency. He's spent years dwelling on and analysing the worst time of his life, and as a good Eng Lit student (dude was doing essays on Browning) he's turned it into a narrative.

If we stop suspending disbelief, then we have:

Felix

Oliver put some cocaine in a bottle (as evidenced by Oliver having the same sort of vial Farleigh has in the main hall). Oliver drank some. Felix drank some. He threw up, Felix died.

I have probably said this before, but Felix's death cannot be directly attributed to Oliver's actions.

Felix was in the bathroom, and although we don't see him doing lines, he's not just hanging out there for funzies. He's going hard, probably mixing drugs and booze. He's so off his tits that he doesn't notice how bad/bitter the booze Oliver gives him tastes. Plus there's a reason people snort cocaine; it's efficacy is highly reduced when eaten, and it takes far longer to reach the brain. How long would Felix have just stood in the maze? Waiting there like a sim with no activities queued until he keeled over?

It's likely that Felix overdosed, but it's really unlikely that Oliver was the sole cause, if he was the cause at all.

Venetia

He left razorblades near her. That's literally all we see. From Oliver as a character, I don't think he has the guts to actually, directly kill- and it wouldn't make sense to. He'd be found out immediately if he did- any sign of violence and the Cattons would have private investigators and all sorts at their disposal. He was in the next room. It'd be open and shut. I do think, from the blood on the floor, that she tried to go to his room for help and he ignored her- but!

Leaving something sharp near someone in distress is another shitty scheme. What was he going to do if she didn't notice them? What if she knocked them off the side of the tub accidentally? Was he going to leave her a post-it note like HI V PLS KYS LUV OLLIE to make sure she noticed them?

Another thing that often is kinda... Glossed over... Is that Oliver is a fuckin teenager, and he isn't as smart as he portrays himself.

Olls. Why would you fool about with Felix's sister in plain view of the house? Ollie. What exactly did you expect one email to do? Erase Farleigh from existence? Oliver. Mate. You left your phone in the bathroom? Where Felix "no boundaries" Catton could find it? Why? Did you need to play Snake in the bath THAT BADLY? Oliver. Why would you lie about something so easily disprovable? Oliver Quick, you started digging a hole and it became Felix's fucking grave.

Older Oliver has turned what happened into a narrative where He Has Agency. He did it, and he did it on purpose, because HE WASN'T IN LOVE WITH FELIX (he was in love with Felix). He had a plan, you see, it wasn’t him being desperate and trying anything, everything he could to stay close to Felix.

He wasn’t a weird, awkward teenager who went away from home, fell in love with someone entirely unobtainable- due to socioeconomic bracket, gender, the year, all of that- and was so desperate to be near Felix that he built an unsustainable web of lies that fell apart. I think the maze scene is Oliver at his most honest, because he doesn't understand why his performance is any different, other than the amount of effort he's put in.

No, he was evil. A bad guy. A wolf in sheep's clothing, Felix his innocent victim. He's a genius... Because what is the alternative for Oliver Quick?

Admit that he was little more than a child, lashing out, unable to accept his own feelings- as he's unable to accept them as an adult- and now...

The immutable fact is that Felix died, and Oliver will never be over it.

What's the safer option?

I was a mess and I might be responsible for this and I was lashing out and I might have killed the thing I loved most because I fucked it all up.

or

I did it all on purpose.

And... To bring this back to the question.

I have been Oliver Quick in the bit before the bike scene. I've watched people I'd like to be friends with, living a life I was too shy or scared to go after. I can remember desperately wanting to be cool, to have a backstory, to be compelling...

I just never got desperate enough to lie. And I'm doing pretty good now, but I fucking get it. To want that connection so badly, to yearn for the life you see other people living, to want to be someone other than yourself.

So y'know

That's why I love him.

[rinhaler]

how does the topic of ‘sharing’ her even come up? Like what kind of dilemmas were going on yuujis head? Did sukuna like manipulate him to the point where yuuji was like alight you can have her for the night 😭??

Oh god honestly they were probably high. Like. I can imagine most of Sukuna's "come home it's urgent" texts are probably just him being like "I was bored let's smoke" and Yuuji is always like ffs fiiiiiiine...

So they were probably smoking together watching some shit on TV. Bear in mind that Sukuna thinks about the reader a lot. Not like he has a crush or anything but he's always like wow Yuuji's little girlfriend is SO hot. And if he's thinking about it while he's high he's probably let it slip. But Yuuji knows, of course. He knows how hot his girlfriend is and he can't imagine anyone being stupid enough to not wanna fuck her.

But then Sukuna has an in to bring it up now that it's been laid out on the table and he's like... you need to let me fuck her. And Yuuji would be mad and confused and probably horrified. But Sukuna can easily turn around and be like "no drugs for u then" which is not what either of you would want. So Yuuji, in turn, would say, "fine. You can try to pull her but I doubt she'd go for you. I'm not telling her to fuck you but if she willingly fucks you, fine. I'll give you the space, but don't hold your breath."

Or something along those lines. And he might have even thought it was a joke at the time and barely even remember the next day. But it's all Sukuna was thinking about so of course he brought it up again. He'll have told Yuuji to piss off somewhere and let him work his magic. And I just know Yuuji was nervous. He would have really been hoping you wouldn't have fucked him. Part of him probably thought you know first hand how much it sucks to be cheated on so you'd never do something like that.

Poor naive Yuuji :(

[thefandomenchantress]

A new Disventure Camp episode came out today!! I figured now would be a good time to list some of my thoughts. Not only on this episode in particular, but also on Hunter's whole situation.

I mostly liked Ashley this episode, which is good since it was her last, but there's this one point in the episode that bothered me a lot, that being how she blows up at Jake and Ally for not getting along...And then just immediately forgives Jake the next scene when he gets sad?

I don't care if they make up, that's not what I'm getting at, but I really wish Jake would've apologized and said something like: "I'm sorry, Ashley, you're always so supportive and I just keep messing things up. I--I should've blown up at Ally like that-" and then have Ashley forgive him. As it is, I got some severe whiplash by how it seemed like Ashley was having a falling out with Jake and Ally, genuinely being mad at them, only for that to just be forgotten a few minutes later. I understand that Ashley is a forgiving person, but it seems too extreme even for her to just forgive him without him doing anything but complain about Tom being close. That's just what I think, though.

I really liked the rest of the episode, besides that small nitpick. I was worried I wouldn't like Gabby as much if she became evil and a legitimate threat, since I liked her more cartoony demeanor. Luckily, my worry was misplaced, because Gabby is just as silly as ever, even if she is trying to be evil. She literally said she was going to make a costume with a cape and mask to be evil in like she's a Scooby-doo villain or something, I love her so much. Then again, Yul did say she was a "Tumblr girl" so maybe it makes sense that I like her haha. While Gabby is a threat now, the writers don't try to make you take her super seriously, which I appreciated. Non-serious villains are always my favorites.

Sadly, I got Ashley's elimination partially spoiled for me (someone replied to a comment I made on the YouTube trailer for the episode, saying something along the lines of, 'yeah she goes home :)' to someone else in the replies who speculated she would. The downside of your comment becoming popular I guess). But I still liked it and genuinely considered that the person might've been lying when the elimination ceremony started. That was a pretty good subversion of expectations, I really thought Aiden was a goner.

I've never been a big fan of Jake, and while I'm not desperate for him to go home...I'm kind of over him, if I'm being honest. I know he's supposed to be flawed and partially unlikeable, but personally I just can't deal with all his bullshit, it stresses me out. I've never been too invested in TomJake, so all that nonsense this season hasn't been too fun for me, I'll be honest. I understand why people like it, but it's just not for me, I suppose. At this point I'm thankful James got out early, so that at least there's no drama between him and Aiden (yet). Most of the relationships this season are going downhill, haha. Except for Ally and Tess (please bring the polycule back I miss it it's one of the only polycule representations I've ever seen in media PLEASE--).

(Now starting the Hunter section. if you don't want to hear my insane ramblings about him, turn back.)

...I don't know when I'm going to make another post about Disventure Camp so I'm gonna vent about Hunter here, too. He was technically mentioned this episode, so it's totally relevant that I talk about him, right? Right.

Hunter was my favorite in season 2. I honestly don't know why, since he's pretty bland all things considered. Usually, I like the zany characters. I think it was him repeatedly failing to befriend Tess that pulled me in, since I can never resist a...Boyfailure? I think that's the internet term for it.

But this season I was just...NOT into his characterization. And as far as I've seen, I'm in the minority with that opinion, since I've seen a lot of people say they like him more now. The main line of reasoning I've seen is, "He was boring in season 2, and I liked him better in All-Stars because they gave him flaws."

And...I don't agree. I'm fine with them 3-dimentionaliszing his character, I agree that he was pretty flat before in terms of characterization. Actually, I'd love if they gave him some flaws! What if they highlight how bad he is at making connections/alliances with anyone other than Ally and Tess? They kind of do this by making Fiore be on his team and showing how his strategy of "win challenges to stay in the game" completely falls apart when he can't win challenges. And I thought that was all fine and good.

The thing I don't like is how they decided one of his main flaws should be being a not-good boyfriend. Which just doesn't feel right to me? His whole thing in season two was offering emotional support to Ally and Tess, and now they spin it so that he isn't paying proper attention to Ally or what she says, not grabbing her Switch, not listening to her when she talks about her games, etc.. I'm fine with Ally and Hunter having relationship troubles, but...I don't know, I guess I'm just a little mad they took his compassion away. He just seems a lot angrier and more mean-spirited this go around. He's not fun to watch. I think I have a good example to prove what I mean.

In the Secret-revealing episode of season 2, one of Ally's secrets is that she yelled at a group of children until they cried because they were using cheats in a game she was playing, and her excuse for doing so is that she was stressed. The writers bashing Ally aside, Hunter says something like, "Do you always yell at children when you're stressed?" in response, showing that even though he hasn't met those children who were doing something wrong, he doesn't think lashing out at them was okay.

...Meanwhile season 3 Hunter is yelling and lashing out at Fiore, a child, the whole time he's in the game. I know it's not exactly the same, Fiore is a bit of a demon-child, and Hunter was, ironically, stressed, but still. He seems so much more competitive and not as nice as he used to be. Being chill used to be his default, but now it's a sort of aggressiveness that just doesn't mesh with the original Hunter in my mind.

...I recently read that something happened behind the scenes that helped create this change in characterization, but as someone who wasn't aware of that when the first episodes aired and became upset when he was changed, I really would've liked to at least have an in-universe explanation instead of this just happening. Because until I read that information, I thought they changed him just because they thought the audience didn't like him much in season two. In short, I thought it was a needless retcon and became upset when there was no explanation for the change. If the behind-the-scenes stuff was a big enough deal that they wanted to change him like this without in-universe explanation...I might've preferred them just not using him at all. Then again, the season's not over. So I guess it's a little unfair of me to assume anything yet.

Anyways, that's all just my opinion. Feel free to share your thoughts or tell me why you think I'm being too dramatic about Hunter, haha. I feel like I'm one of very few season-two-Hunter enjoyers, so I'm not expecting that to be a super popular take. I'm just mopey that he changed, I guess.

[adrealucia]

⋆⁺₊⋆☾⋆⁺₊⋆ choose ⋆⁺₊⋆☾⋆⁺₊⋆

·:*¨༺ ★ ༻¨*:·.

pairing: agedup!ao'nung x agedup!neteyam x y/n metkayina ( x lo'ak ? )

warning: sfw, love triangle (?), fighting, honestly just ao'nung and neteyam being simps for y/n

word count: 2.3 k

·:*¨༺ ★ ༻¨*:·.

„You have got to realise that you cannot give shit to her!", Neteyam laughs, and pushes his friend playfully aside. He doesn't like to see the pictures of you and Ao'nung, that sometimes creep up into his head. deep inside, he knows that he is the one for you and not the other guy. You on the other hand cannot picture yourself with either of them. The two men have been your best friends since you guys learned how to walk, also you may or may not already have laid an eye on someone else. You are so tired of the two fighting about who would be a potential better pick for you. Ao'nung puts on an evil grin: "If you say that her being the future Tsahìk of the Metkayina clan is giving shit to her, you're probably right men." It almost feels like they have this urge inside of them to fight about you for every second of the day. "Mating into the family of Toruk Makto sounds like a better pick to me.", Neteyam shrugs his shoulders and honestly that's the only thing he actually might be right about. "Bet she wouldn't want to pass the demon blood down to her future children.", Ao'nung pouts, pretending like he's deeply sorry for his friend. You wonder how they can even label themselves friends, when all they do is mock each other and fight.

The Omatikaya was almost about to throw a fit, punching the other in the face, right when you and lo'ak entered the Marui. You and lo'ak have been spending most of your time together now, since the other two man are really getting on your nerves. Once you enter Ao'nung's and Neteyam's sight they both innocently smile at you, pretending like they did not fight all along. "Did my little brother treat you well?", the older one asks and chuckles, making lo'ak roll his eyes. You sigh: "Of course he did".

"I will leave the two of you alone again, don't worry. I am just here to grab my bag", the annoyed undertone in your voice, leaves lo'ak giggling. He immediately earns an evil glare from his older brother. Taking his hands up in defense, shaking his head and takes one step back. "Where are you going?", Ao'nung asks, looking after you. "Oh, me and lo'ak wanted to look for some pretty shells on the beach. I promised my mother to help her, I guess she needs them to braid someone's hair.. I don't know.", you grab your bag and lightly smile back at your friends. You love them so much and it really hurts you to give them the cold shoulder, but things between the two of them have gotten out of hand. So you don't want to encourage them even more. "I will help you!", Neteyam also grabs a bag, throwing it over his shoulder, already good to go. You pull a face full of irritation, that is not really want you wanted. "Oh it's fine, lo'ak is already helpi-", your words were cut of by an eager Ao'nung: "I am also coming with you!"

You look around, helpless, looking at lo'ak. 'I am sorry' you mouth and he just gives you an understanding little smile. "Well, looks like you have enough hands to help you out. I will be looking for Tuk, if you want to hang out later again", your friend turns around and leaves the marui, leaving you alone with these two fools. "Great.", you sigh, turning around to face your other friends, putting on a forced smile. "Let's go.", Neteyam takes your hand, like it's nothing, intertwining your fingers with his and drags you out of the shelter, to the beach. Ao'nung, who's already mad, just follows after you.

"Okay, don't pick boring ones.. look for some shells with bright colours or the ones that have a pretty shine to them, got it?", both of them immediately nodding, already committed to the job. The one advantage is that they will put so much effort into the little things, to impress you and obviously to show off their skills. You turn your back to them and focus on searching the beach for pretty shells. When you find one you happily smile and put them into the bag that's hanging across your upper body. For a while you're not being distracted and very glad, that the man did not pick up on a fight yet.

"I have something for you.", being so focused on your task, you are slightly startled, when you suddenly feel Neteyam's hand on your shoulder. With interest you turn around, to face him. Seeing a beautiful flower in one of his hands, you can't help yourself but look at him in awe. "that's so pretty, thank you!", you giggle quietly, looking at Ao'nung who is still focused on his job. "Turn around, I will put it into your braid.", the older man gently turns you over and somewhere squeezes the pretty flower into your braid. He seems pleased with what he had done. You can feel him carefully stroking over your shoulders, before he adjusts your hair one more time. You would lie if you had said that this small gestures didn't make your heart drop for a second and the goosebumps on your skin would also give it away.

"And look what else I found!", setting your focus back on Neteyam, you can also see from the corner of your eyes that Ao'nung seems to be a little bit raging. The man are definitely going to pick up a fight sooner or later today, you already know it.

Neteyam holds up a really beautiful shell, that he found. It was shining in blue, green and yellow colours, your favourite colours actually. "woow", your open your month in excitement, slightly swinging on your feet back and forth. "I thought you could keep it to yourself!", Neteyam has always been the sweetest and you like that he's so affectionate and loving. You grin at him, taking the pretty shell into your hands and admiring it. "I like it very much, that's so sweet of you." You remember the days back to when you, Ao'nung and Neteyam used to play at the beach. Splashing water into each others faces, drawing into the sand, building little castles out of wet sand and looking for a shell the other would like. Of course this stoped once you guys got older, but him remembering touched your heart. "What's that?", the other man suddenly showed interest on your little present as well. "Isn't it pretty? Neteyam just gave it to me!", you remember, when it still used to be fun teasing the boys. One day talking more with Neteyam, making Ao'nung jealous, next day the other way around. Sometimes you told them a lie, just to see the jealousy in their eyes. It would always be something small, like saying : 'Neteyam's new hair is really pretty, don't you think so too?' or 'Ao'nung looks so manly lately, don't you agree?'. Well, it used to be fun. Now that both of the man know how to seriously hurt each other, it's no fun no more.

"You're really desperate trying to get her to like you, Neteyam.", Ao'nung tightens his jaw, making him look scary, angry, but you have to admit, also really good looking. But the words that just came out of his mouth are making you mad. Neteyam was just being nice, right? He did not had any other intentions, at least that is what you would like to believe. "I was just being kind to her. Not my problem, you did not thought of making her a pleasure.", the older man was furios, you could clearly tell. "If she would let, I would give all the pleasure in the world to her.", Ao'nung puts an evil grin, making you bite your inner cheek. His comment made your face turn red. You looked down at your feet, regretting taking them with you. "Don't be so nasty, is that all you want? To fuck her?".

Neteyam's question made you widen your eyes in disbelief. Did he really just say that? You take a step back, watching how the two get closer to each other. "You fucker", Ao'nung pushes the other back, making Neteyam stumble. He balanced himself out pretty quickly and the look on his face tells you it's about to go down bad. You don't want them fighting, but you honestly don't know how to stop them either. The older one is not holding back, instantly putting his hand to a fist, punching his friend. Your body twitches together in an instant, holding a hand up to your mouth in shook. Ao'nung doesn't punch back, instead he looks over to you: "Is that who you want? Someone who's not hesitating to punch a younger one?". Neteyam laughs, this time he's the one in disbelief. "Oh, that's what it's about. Provoking me to put yourself in a better light?". The older seems disappointed in his friend and somehow also in you. "Honestly, I am done.." He turns around, wanting to leave you and Ao'nung behind.

You react quick, not wanting him to leave for some reason. Grabbing his hand, making him stand still. "Don't go..", you whisper, looking at your friend with big eyes. Neteyam grunts, not knowing why you would want him to stay. "Choose.", he suddenly demands, not clear what he's talking about. Ao'nung licks his lips, tasting blood. He seems to be confused as well, but than it hits him and he kind of likes the idea. "what?", it's almost like there's no sound coming out of your mouth, that's how quiet you talk. "Choose, it's either him or me.", Neteyam seems serious, it's quite rare seeing him like that. You instantly shake your head. There is no way you're gonna choose one of them. Honestly your life would be missing something, if one them wouldn't be here with you. "I can't do that.", you look helpless and Neteyam has lost all of his expression. "Then I am making it easy for you.", he pulls his hand out of your grip, turning his back to you.

In a matter of seconds you had to make a decision, otherwise you would loose him or maybe even both of them. Your running after Neteyam, standing still right in front of him. He's trying to ignore you, trying to make his way past you. "..don't", you demand quietly and he actually stops for a moment. Ao'nung is quick to follow you, wanting to know what you would do next. Both of them standing next to each other, both looking into your eyes. They're waiting for you to do something.

"kiss me.", you whisper.

The two in front of you looking at you confused, who were you talking to? "I want you to kiss me, both of you.", you are nervous, maybe even shaking, not knowing how they would react. Your heart is beating so fast, you might faint if no one is going to react to your demand. Ao'nung reaches for your cheek, gently pulling your face towards him. His lips are meeting yours. Ever so slowly he is moving them against yours. You place your hand above his, grabbing Neteyam's hand with your other one. Squeezing it, trying to show him that he is not left out. You move your lips as well, gently and slow. Kissing your friend felt good, that's something you actually did not expect. A hand is finding its place on your shoulder, pulling you and Ao'nung apart. Immediately you're pulled into the next kiss, this time your lips are hitting a different pair of lips. Neteyam kisses you differently, more lustful, but not exactly rough. His lips are softer, but smaller. Someone is stroking through your hair and suddenly there are little butterflies flying around in your stomach, making your knees weak.

You pull away, taking the to two man by their hands, making them sit down on the sand with you. You place one hand onto Neteyam's thigh and the other one onto Ao'nung's. Your thumb is gently caressing their skin. Your looking back up, locking eyes with the Metkayina boy. This time you're the one kissing him. You're the one in charge, kissing him with more force this time. Kissing him fast and hungrier. Feeling little pecks on your shoulder, you pull away for a moment to look at Neteyam, who's giving you the sweetest smile. Immediately you're being drawn into another kiss, this time you're the one gently stroking Ao'nung's cheek. He smiles into the kiss and for a moment you're happy.

Pressing away again, you look at them and sigh. "I cannot choose.", you mutter, looking so sad. Both of the man feeling hurt, seeing you this way. Neteyam lifts his hand, placing it in yours and Ao'nung is doing the same. "it's okay y/n.", Ao'nung is the one to comfort you with his words, making you feel slightly better. But deep inside of you, you know someone's going to get hurt. You might like them more than you thought, but still there is someone else that also has your heart. You are feeling bad, not being able to decide on someone. But how could you? Neteyam gives you a sweet little peck onto your forehead, making you bite your lip. "You don't have to choose.", he smiles, looking at you in awe.

You know that you might not have to choose someone today, but one day you definitely have to.

·:*¨༺ ★ ༻¨*:·.

authors note: another repost!

I really hope tumblr will make this show up in the tags :(

[imperator-titus]

Ghost from the Past [Part 11]

Sorry for the long wait! (Is it long? Well, I've certainly updated quicker...) I had to focus on the end of my grad classes (and now have more... woo...) I also had to start really thinking about the next steps for the story.

I thought this bit was gonna have smut. Probably the next part will have a lot of spice.

A lot of my struggles came from modifying Gale's canon monogamous outlook without totally disregarding it and Astarion's character growth after the Yurgir fight. Clearly it has to be a little different since Eletha already confronted him about what he wants from her. Astarion in this part gets kind of a "+1 Emotional Intelligence."

I'm really enjoying this story, and I hope some of you are too! Please feel free to hit me up about it! I've been really enjoying some comments over on Ao3. Much love!

(Prev)[Part 10] (Next)[Part 12] [Master Post]

[For those unsure, yes, this is a made-up line the OP did, and honestly, it was perfect! Gale, you are about to be the star of the show.]

In the morning, Eletha was ready to go before anyone got up. She’d even started breakfast.

“You’re up bright and early,” Wyll remarked, one of the first to greet her.

“Early, at least,” Karlach said with a little laugh, indicating the permanent darkness that surrounded them. 

“I already have a plan of action for the next few days. We’ve wasted enough time waiting around for me to put my head on straight.” Eletha relinquished control of the cookware to Gale, who practically snatched the fork out of her hand.

“Are you sure you’re… okay?” Shadowheart asked hesitantly.

“Oh. No. No, I wouldn’t say I’m okay.” Seeing the looks they all gave her, Eletha chuckled. “I was never okay. Just… distracted. I can’t do anything about the whole… But I can do something about the problems that face us now.”

“Well said,” Gale said before turning back to their breakfast.

“Besides, I always feel better with a bloody blade in my hand.”

“I could not agree more.” Lae’zel’s eyes blazed with passion.

Before they headed out, Astarion approached Eletha.

“I know you said that I should stay behind with Gale and I normally wouldn't mind languishing around camp while you trudge waist-deep through curses and undead sludge, but-” 

Astarion stopped mid-speech as Eletha stopped digging through her bag and started rotating around, hand outstretched to the sky. Seemingly, she wasn't listening.

“Relapsing into madness again so quickly?”

“It's a sun glass. Can't be combusting in the middle of a fight,” she explained, tilting the piece of glass until she caught a glimmer of light. As she tucked it into her hip pouch she asked, “What did you want to tell me?”

“I wanted to come along. That's all. Wyll said it was fine if I took his place,” Astarion answered, throwing his words away as if it was no big deal.

“Okay.”

Astarion pouted a little. “You're not going to ask?”

“No.” Eletha stopped what she was doing and looked at him from the corner of her eye. He huffed and started walking away. She rolled her eyes and called after him, exasperated, “Why do you want to come so bad?”

“To look after you, of course,” he answered, practically sparkling. 

“Oh. You want praise.” He smacked her hand away when she tried to pat his cheek. She smiled. “Thank you. It's sweet of you to care.”

“I don't care and I'm not sweet. I have a personal interest in keeping you alive and not insane.”

“I get it. You're a magnificent bastard. So sorry, for implying you would be so weak as to look out for someone because you care.”

“That's right. I suppose all that brain damage hasn't made you stupid yet. Now that that’s settled.” Astarion turned and hesitated.

He ever so slightly wiggled his ass in her direction.

Eletha smirked. “Right. Best head out.”

As she passed him, she brought back her hand and smacked his backside so hard that he yelped and jumped a little.

“What is wrong with you, woman?!” he screeched, holding a hand to his stinging cheek.

“A lot.”

----

“This seem important to y’all?” Eletha asked, holding up the lute she just pulled off this weird doctor character.

“Are we gonna talk about how, in the past 4 hours, you've convinced someone to explode and another to let himself be brutally stabbed to death?” Karlach asked hesitantly, watching the mad nurses go back to their routines as if nothing happened.

“I dunno, I liked how that other one was full of gold,” Astarion remarked with a satisfied little smile.

“Why would he have a lute?” Eletha asked herself, ignoring Karlach’s question, looking over the instrument. She found some initialing carved into the neck. “That Art Cullagh guy seemed like the musical sort.”

“Well, he was insane. And he did seem to enjoy it…” Shadowheart said, regarding the gore with disgust.

“This place gives me the creeps,” Eletha said as she started to walk towards the back of the decrepit hospital.

“Because of the whole…” Karlach hesitantly made circles over her abdomen with a sympathetic pained face. Eletha’s eyebrows lowered in confusion.

“What? No. No, that probably happened in, like, the dirt, right? A pile of leaves?”

“You don't know?” Karlach asked, confused herself.

“Kinda blocked that bit out, yeah.” Eletha went through the doctor’s things, searching for anything interesting. Or valuable.

“I don't envy you. I've heard it ruins your vagina,” Shadowheart remarked flippantly as she cleaned her nails.

“That can't be true,” Karlach breathed in disbelief, her voice stressed.

“Oh, yeah, you can tear your arsehole like paper,” Eletha answered, tearing a piece of paper she found for effect.

“No! Don't tell me that!” Karlach cried in distress, closing her eyes and putting her hands over her ears.

“Is that why you're so shy? Worried it’ll be a disappointment for anyone but an ogre?” Astarion teased, indicating Eletha’s crotch with a cunty little wave of a finger. Eletha chuckled, smacking his hand like he was a child in need of a lesson.

“Not sure if I'm flattered or disgusted that you're thinking about my vagina.” Astarion’s lips curled into a mischievous smirk.

“I'm not the only one. Should I break the news to Gale that it's more like the Underdark than a cozy little cave?”

“Yeah, I got some glowing mushrooms in there and everything. Brightens the place up,” Eletha told him cheerily, mimicking decorating a home.

“Do you think a wizard can localize an enlarge spell?” Astarion asked after a comic hum.

“Aww, it's okay, I'm sure Gale’s more into technique than equipment.” Eletha patted his shoulder mockingly, a look of false sympathy in her eyes. Astarion laughed a little bark of a laugh.

“He'd be good for you. He could lend you a magic hand from the other side of his tower, no men involved,” he retorted cattily.

“He does know how to make a good steak.” 

“Oh darling, you wound me.” Astarion dramatically swooned and Eletha had to stop him from tripping over himself.

“That's what you’ll be saying when he's done with you.”

“Gods you two are weird,” Karlach breathed,shaking her head as she watched them.

Eletha let Karlach and Shadowheart take the lead as they walked through the crypt and the Sharran temple beyond.

“You look like you want to say something,” Eletha remarked, not turning her head to regard Astarion trailing beside her.

“Well…”

“You look nervous about it too.” She squints, eyeing him suspiciously. “Don't tell me you're actually thinking about my holes right now.”

“Maybe,” he retorted haughtily, bobbing his head in a mocking manner. After a defeated huff, he went on, “I feel like I should apologize. I never considered the possibility that I ruined you for all other men physically, not just emotionally.”

Eletha rolled her eyes so hard they threatened to get stuck that way. “Corellon save me.”

Astarion clicked his tongue, annoyed at her reaction. “Would it make you feel better if I said I have selfish reasons too? I've been thinking about that night after the goblin camp for quite a while.”

Eletha smirked and snorted, giving him a suggestive lift of her eyebrows. “Parched, are you?”

“Practically dying.”

“Gale not living up to his divine endorsement?”

“He is a good kisser…” Astarion clicked his tongue at her again. “Don't change the subject.”

Eletha wondered how she got in this conversation and how she was going to get out.

“No one has exactly complained, but that's not exactly a long list of possibilities and they probably had enough sense to not say anything.” She shrugged. “It used to just be uncomfortable, but as you know, I have quite the pain tolerance now.”

He emitted a soft “aww” and gave her sad eyes. She didn’t totally believe them, especially when his tone was a little too humorous. “You poor thing.” 

“Oh, look, a distraction!” she called out, pointing at a displacer beast skulking about.

Astarion sighed as he slipped his bow off his shoulder. “You’re no fun…”

----

“Did it go well?” Gale asked expectantly, following Eletha as she made for her tent.

“Bunch of cursed weirdos defeated, a clue to finding Thaniel, and a devil’s deal completed? Yes, a useful day,” she answered, laying down her weapons and stripping down to the clothes under her armor. 

“That is good to hear, but I was referring to, well, you.” He followed as she went towards where they'd set up a more “private” spot to bathe. It was nothing more than a bucket of cold water but it was better than nothing.

“You don't have to worry about me, Gale.”

“Perhaps, but I do.” He blushed and turned away as she started undressing, just like that night she showed them her curse. “If you desire, I can discuss this with you another time.”

“I’m not bothered. Are you bothered?”

“I… assumed you would be a bit more reserved, given… certain details.” Gale cleared his throat. “Anyway. You’ve been through a lot lately. I felt it prudent to check in.”

“Do I seem okay?”

“You seem like you’re burying your feelings. I should know, I’ve been doing that for a long time,” he said with a little self-deprecating chuckle.

Eletha touched his cheek and smiled softly. “You’re sweet, Bhin.”

“I was hoping for valiant or at least charming-” He stopped with a stammer as she got on her toes to place a kiss on his cheek. Her body brushed against his and a small gasp escaped his lips in surprise. “I… ahem… I will leave you to your ablutions.”

She watched him retreat with a coy little smirk on face before continuing with her “bath.” After washing the blood and dust out of her hair and off her face, she called out, “I know you’re there.”

“And you let me watch anyway?” Astarion asked as he stepped out of his hiding place.

“Nothing you haven’t seen before.”

“Mm, yes, but not that little display with Gale.”

“Jealous?”

“A little. Your approach is much more subtle than mine, and I think it might be more effective.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The way your soft touch caught him off-guard. His heart leapt, thinking your lips would meet in a kiss. Your naked body just so happens to brush against him? I’m sure he’s in his tent thinking about it right now. He’s asking himself, how can I convince her to see me as more than just a fool, worthy of more than just her sweet sympathies?” 

As he spoke, Astarion divested himself of his own armor and the clothes underneath it. It wasn’t the first time they’d washed the blood and road off in each other’s company. It was almost… comforting, that they could just be naked with no sexual context. 

However, knowing Astarion, he’d probably encourage it. 

“You’ve got quite the imagination.” 

“It’s true, though, isn’t it?” he suggested with a smirk, taking the sponge out of her hand. She merely gave him a quizzical squint. He regarded the object as if it was very interesting. “You know, you make fun of me, for not having plans. But I had a plan, once.

“You were right. I did want to make you desire me, protect me. Our previous relationship made that complicated, obviously. So I prodded the others, as a backup. Lae’zel and Shadowheart were too guarded, too difficult. Wyll, the gallant monster hunter, spent a long time debating if I was worthy of living. Karlach, well, we couldn’t touch her. And she’s so… sweet, when she’s not terrifying. She likes you enough that she’d take your lead.

“That left me with Gale. Handsome, powerful, doomed Gale. A tough nut to crack, until you get under the social awkwardness, emotional miscues, and over-inflated self-importance.”

“Well, you have a lot of experience with that,” Eletha remarked, unmoving as Astarion very carefully rinsed the sponge and wet it again with fresh water.

“The secret, as you have probably guessed, is how utterly desperate he is to be touched.” 

Astarion squeezed out the water from the sponge, watching as it dripped onto Eletha’s shoulder and ran down her chest, sometimes catching on a scar and running in another direction. 

A gasp escaped from her throat. 

“He hid behind that orb, but really, he was so desperate that it made him sick.

“I feel awful. He was supposed to be a sacrificial pawn and I feel awful. Those books… How he quivers under my touch…” 

Astarion began wiping away blood and sweat from her neck and shoulders. Eletha wasn’t quite sure why she allowed him to. It felt… nice.

“Today you went after that orthon like he wasn’t three times your size, like it didn’t matter how hard he hit you. You did it for me, just like I hoped, but feared you wouldn’t.”

His hand traveled down her chest, cleaning the shallow valley between her breasts. “Did you have a plan for this conversation or…?”

He stopped following his hand with his eyes and gazed deeply into hers. 

“When was the last time someone took care of you, my love?”

Eletha flushed and as she looked away, she took hold of his wrist and pushed it towards him. “Don't be ridiculous.”

“What's ridiculous about it? Gale wants us both. I want you both. And you want us. Why not a cheeky little three-sided thing?”

“You presume a lot.”

“My sweet, don't play so aloof. I've read your diaries.” With his other hand, he trailed his middle finger along one collarbone and then down her sternum. “You deny this part of yourself because you feel it's undeserved. Haven't you suffered enough?”

Eletha hesitantly let go of his wrist.

“Let me take care of you. Show you how much I appreciate you?” he purred, his hand taking hold of her waist, his lips approaching hers, their hips nearly touching. 

Sensing the proximity of the body that once so perfectly interlocked with hers, the long-forgotten part of her body awoke with a heat that was searing in comparison to the chill surrounding them. 

Eletha began to tremble. 

For a moment, Astarion’s eyes appeared golden as they gazed deeply into hers. 

“Please?”

Eletha opened her mouth to speak, but another voice was heard.

“Could you two move this somewhere else? I need to wash my hair,” Shadowheart complained, huffing and undoubtedly crossing her arms over her chest.

“Aww, Fringe, Lethi was going to finally get some…” Karlach complained quietly, although she could still be heard in the near-silence.

Eletha snatched the sponge out of Astarion’s hand and made a mad dash attempt at scrubbing the most important parts of her clean. When he stood there staring at her, she started cleaning him too, starting with his face so he couldn't argue. “Just a minute!”

Astarion glared at Shadowheart as he sauntered out behind a flustered Eletha. Karlach appeared apologetic.

From his position at the campfire, Gale appeared to be watching Eletha go into her tent, a worried look on his face. Then he saw Astarion, practically glowing in his underwear under what little light there was, and his expression changed to a glower.

“It's not what you think,” Astarion said as he passed him.

“Sure…” Gale grumbled, turning his attention back to the food he spent all day preparing.

----

Night fell, sort of, and Astarion stood in front of Gale’s tent.

“Can I speak with you?” he asked, trying to avoid any sarcasm and only using a little sass.

“I suppose,” Gale answered after a moment of silent consideration.

He was clearly upset, pouting as he flicked through a tome.

Astarion put his hands on his hips. “Look. We didn't do anything.”

“So you say.”

“Don't be like that. You were considering it too.”

“That is prepos-”

“You're not fooling me.” Astarion snatched the book away. Holding it more gingerly, he said deliberately, “I’m… sorry.”

“What are you doing right now?” Gale asked suspiciously.

“When I didn't know if Eletha was going to gut me or not, I… had a plan. You would fall in love with me and I would, well… have a powerful wizard in my corner. All I had to do was not fall for you. And I failed.”

Gale shook his head. “You have a funny way of showing it.”

“Because you’re blind.” Astarion sighed, the flow of his speech interrupted. “I see you with her. You can’t be jealous. Of course, it’s still not clear to me if you’re mad that I am flirting or that she is being flirted with. But what does it matter? We all like each other.”

“I thought this was an apology, not a call to a ménage à trois.”

“It is! Or, it's supposed to be. You know I'm not good at this.” Astarion offered the book back, only to move it out of reach at the last second. “Live a little, Gale. Expand your mind.”

Gale sighed wearily. “You've given me a lot to think about.”

Astarion’s lips curled in a self-satisfied little smile. “Hopefully something fun?”

Gale snatched his book back. Astarion huffed, although playfully, and left.

After a while, Gale left his tent and softly made his way towards Eletha’s.

“Are you awake?” he whispered, not wishing to disturb her.

“Come in,” she answered, making space for him in the small tent.

He could tell that she’d been drinking, but not as much as before, so that was good, right? Still, he felt the need to give her an out from the conversation. “We can discuss this some other time, if that would be more suitable.”

“I have the feeling you’re going to ask me something that will be easier to answer in my current state.” Eletha gestured for him to go on. “This is casual intoxication, not running away from my feelings intoxication.”

Gale would have to take her word for it. “Did anything happen between you? Today, I mean.”

“Are you asking because you’re concerned for me, or for personal interests?” She took a sip of her drink. 

“Can it not be both?” Eletha hummed. He had a fair point.

“He was coming onto me. Genuinely, this time, which was surprising.”

Gale swallowed around a lump in his throat. “Were you going to accept?” 

“I didn’t really have the time to fully consider it.” Eletha offered him her drink and, after a moment’s hesitation, he took it. “I was going to tell him off. Then he said something that made me reconsider.”

“He can be quite convincing,” Gale agreed sourly before taking a sip of her drink. It was just wine, not that hard stuff that seemed to magically appear in her hands.

“Well, he was right, which, if Astarion is right, you’ve kinda fucked up, yeah?” She grinned at him and he laughed, because she was right. 

“He was right. I’ve been running away from happiness ever since he left. Felt I didn’t deserve it. When I’d try again, I’d just get hurt, and I’d punish myself more. Sometimes it was just the wrong person, it doesn’t work. But sometimes… maybe it could have worked? If I didn’t get this knot in my stomach that says I’m worthless?

“I’ve tried being friends. I can do friendship. And I feel bad, that maybe I’m getting your hopes up, and not because I like teasing you, but because I hate myself. I’m punishing myself, by getting attached and ruining everything.

“So I considered it. I wanted to say no, because it would hurt you, because I didn’t deserve it. But… I wanted to say yes, so it would hurt you and you’d hate me and that was its own punishment. And just a little bit… I was happy with him, once upon a time. Maybe I could be happy again.”

Gale listened intently. Eletha had a habit of rambling, but she chose her words and tone carefully. With practice, he could untangle them to find the naked truth underneath. This time, it was… familiar.

“Do you think you could be happy again?” he asked her sincerely, meeting her two-toned gaze with his big brown eyes, so open and sad.

“After all we’ve been through?” She laughed a little and his heart sank. Then she smiled. “Yeah. I do.”

“Then I wish you the best of luck.”

Gale held out her wine bottle, intending it as a symbol of releasing her from the burden of worrying about his feelings. Eletha took the bottle, but with her other hand, took hold of his. 

“You deserve to be happy too.” Her words were so sweet. She was being so sincere and he just… had a hard time believing it was true. “If you want him, just tell him. And if he has to choose… I’m sure he’ll choose you.”

“I am not as sure as you. He loves you. You have-” Gale cut himself off before he could say something that might make her spiral again. Eletha appeared to understand what he was going to say, but she still seemed pleasant and level-headed. “Why would he choose me?”

“Because I’m old and boring. You’re young and exciting.” A mischievous smirk tugged at her lips. “And I’ll make him. He owes me for the rest of my life.”

Gale shook his head. “There is a wrinkle in your plan. You’d be alone.”

“My sweetling, I’ve been alone a long time. You have your whole life ahead of you” Gale opened his mouth to protest and the sharp dark gaze that instantly flashed in her eyes made him shut it again without her losing a beat “and my beloved Astarion is getting to start over. I can be alone a little longer. If you two are happy, then I will be happy.

“Besides. It’s not like we have done anything even close to what you two were doing. We haven’t even shared a kiss.”

Gale stared at their clasped hands. He thought about what Astarion said earlier.

“Would you like to?” he asked, squeezing her hand reflexively in his nervousness.

“I think that… I am just drunk enough to say yes, but not so drunk that I’ll be cursing myself in the morning.”

Eletha got to her knees and leaned forward, holding his face gently as she kept their other hands together. 

Gale let out a breath of excitement. 

Their eyes closed and their lips touched. 

The first kiss was hesitant, testing the unknown topography, finding the way to fit just right. A pleasurable heat rose to the surface of Eletha’s skin as she deepened the next kiss.

Gale’s heart fluttered while his stomach did flips. This felt so different from his interludes with Astarion. 

Those felt like a natural progression of a lanceboard game. They would have some heartfelt conversation that turned into an exchange of witty barbs and the only places to go from there were fighting or “fighting.”

That didn’t mean either was unpleasurable.

Actually. It was too pleasurable.

Eletha leaned back to catch her breath and make sure he was alright.

Luckily, this meant that she only got vomit on her chest and lap, not her face.

She was stunned as Gale pleaded for her forgiveness. “I’m so sorry, I don’t- I don’t understand-”

This time he managed to turn his head.

Rubbing his back soothingly, Eletha chuckled. “It’s okay. I know the feeling.”

If anyone noticed, they were kind enough to not talk about it the next morning. Eletha managed to clean herself up enough to help Gale back to his tent. There, she sat for a while, making sure he would recover.

“Words cannot express how foolish I feel,” Gale said weakly as she placed a cold damp towel on his forehead.

“It’s not the first time a wizard’s puked on me,” she answered, soothingly stroking his hair a few times before sitting back. It probably wouldn’t help to touch him too much right now.

“You must have a lot of interesting stories…”

“I promise to leave this one out of the ballad they’ll inevitably write about us.”

“It was enjoyable. Until the last bit.”

“I enjoyed it too,” Eletha said sweetly, a small smile on her lips.

A few minutes passed in silence. She was about to get up, assuming he’d fallen asleep, when Gale asked, “What was the first time?”

“So I was at this party in Suzail…”

[bonobonoyaatheart]

Confession - Choi Yeonjun

Summary: You are very nervous about confessing to Yeonjun, but it goes unexpectedly well.

Genre: Fluff, drama, crack[?] University AU

Pairing: non idol Yeonjun x gn Reader

Warnings: Swearing, description of kissing

Confessions can be scary, nerve wrecking and absolutely stressful. But the outcomes are often worth it.

You didn't have your hopes any high. You were Madly in love with Yeonjun. But why did it have to be him out of everyone? The school basketball team captain, kid of town's mayor, school heart-throbe, and what more? Your damn best friend!

Your sister was observing this all along. "Just go and tell him for God's sake! Y/N, do you think he will judge you? It's not like he is a stranger. Just be honest and say you like him, that's how simple it is." She placed her hands on her hips. She was done with you whinning how he just existed and made your heart race every now and then.

"He's my friend! What if I make stuff awkard? What if I ruin our friendship?What if he gets mad at me for falling for him? What if I fuck up the confession?" You were giving excuses and overthinking again.

"See, Y/N I honestly don't think Yeonjun is the type of person to distance himself after a confession. Also, what if he likes you? Be positive! How long you think you can continue your hopeless crushing? Tell him what you feel. It's not as hard as you think." She ruffled your hairs, as you hummed, agreeing.

You and Yeonjun sat in the crowded canteen as he bragged about his new sports bicycle. "You know what? Only a few people in town have it, it is the most reputed and expensive brand. My mum said this is only one of all birthday gifts she had for me." He noticed you were blank again. "Y/N! Are you even listening? He waved his hand in front of you.

"Oh yeah of course I am." You said, but well, you were bad at lying. It was obvious that you had spaced out. The thoughts of Yeonjun and confession were running wild in your mind. "You zoned out again didn't you? Poor kid, were my visuals distracting you?" He grinned, making you even more nervous.

"Well, Yeonjun, i had something to tell you....." You fiddled with your fingers. Where was the confidence you had while leaving home? "Go ahead, don't beat around the bush." He spoke. ''Umm...A-actually you know... we've been best friends since years....so.." You trailed off. You were so mad at yourself for being so dumb. "So what Y/Nie? It's a great thing." He raised his brows as you struggled to put your thoughts into words.

"It's just....i wanted to say that....Idon'tseeyouasfriend. Ilikeyousomuch. It's ok... if you don't like me back though..." Crap. You fucked up. Thoughts went crazy inside your head. Now he was gonna be mad at you. You ruined your friendship. You were such a loser.

Your train of thoughts was interrupted by a very loud Yeonjun as he got up from chair and stared at you like you were dumb. "Y/Nie! Is this what you were nervous about? Because you like me?" He spoke a little too loudly. You knew he was doing this on purpose.

"Why were you worried about such a tiny thing? Who wouldn't like a smart, sweet, brave, amazing, pretty yet the dumbest person like you?" Your cheeks turned pink. "Of course I like you! I have been head over heels for you since months! I just wanted to cherish our friendship. But you like me! It's like a freaking dream turned reality!"

Yeonjun was attracting everyone's attention now. "Jun, please speak in a lower tone" you whispered. Feeling your cheeks heat up in embarassment. "Why?" He asked innocently. "Everyone should know how amazingly stupid, oh sorry, stupidly amazing you are! They must know I love you so much!"

"Please.... no, just don't. You are enjoying this, aren't you?" You mumbled. You hated how he made you blush so easily, that too in front of the whole canteen. This was so stupid, but Yeonjun seemed to be liking that.

Yeonjun threw his arm around your shoulder. "Come on Y/N! You can't be shy. Well, the school heart-throb is your husband now!" "What!?!" You were done with this boy. You heard gigglings around you. You shot him a dead glare.

"Yeon. Fucking. Jun. You're gonna die if you don't shut up now." You spoke loud enough just for Yeonjun to hear. "Try me" he spoke, smirking. You huffed. "I regret confessing to yo-" Before you could complete, Yeonjun pulled you by your waist and pressed his plump lips against yours. Your eyes widened in shock as your whole body froze.

Your face heated up, in few seconds, you gave in, moulding your lips with his. The entire canteen stared at you now. But that was definately negligible when Yeonjun was kissing you like there was no tomorrow. Just when you felt yourself getting lost into kiss, he pulled away. "Why would you do that?" you whinned. 

"Imma see you initiating too babe. Let's see if you got the guts to kiss me here in front of everyone." Did he just  challenge you? This was an ego issue then. "You can't, can you? You're still a kid." He was getting on your nerves, pushing your buttons just to get you kiss him.

And he got it, in rather unexpected way.

You grabbed his collar and pushed him onto the wall besides your table. "Woah!" He chuckled. You pinned him against the wall and attacked his lips. You kissed him rough and hungrily. Something he hadn't quite expected.

You bit and sucked his lips as you seemed to forget the surroundings. Yeonjun felt like he was over cloud nine. After seemingly getting enough of him, you pulled away; panting, lips swollen as you stared into his brown orbs.

Yeonjun's eyes glistened as he took in the breathtaking sight of you. "Gosh, Y/N!"

"That. Felt. Fucking. Amazing!"

......... .......... .........

You glared at Yeonjun as you heard faint whispers and giggles from the crowd. "We should get going Jun." You held his hand and leaded him outside. You looked at him only to find him staring at you with a teasing grin. "I didn't expect you to be so bold." You scoffed. "You were being too annoying."

"Ohh..so making my lover blush is a sin now? Fine. I won't do that anymore" he shrugged. "No, no, not like that! I didn't mean it this way!" You panicked. Yeonjun started laughing loudly. "And here I got you again Y/N."

"You love teasing more than me don't you?" You sulked. Yeonjun's smile just widened. "Aww, you're so cute when you're sulking. But, i love you so much. You know right?" He rested his forehead against yours. "I have loved you since a long time but i was afraid you may not like me back. So after you confessed, I was in heaven."

"So you decided to announce it to the whole world?" You were still mad at how embarrassingly flustered he made you. "C'mon Y/N-ah I was just messing around. Also the way you ended the scene was worth it all." You felt your cheeks heating up at his words.

"So. Is my better half ready to go on our first official date?" Yeonjun asked, holding your hand gently like those in movies. "Yes I am! But it's my treat ok? You've fed me enough already." You were practically beaming.

You finished the last bite of your ramen as you turned to Yeonjun who was waiting for you to finish. "You have no idea how happy I am Junnie. A big pressure is now off of my chest. I wasn't expecting anything from your side." Yeonjun just smiled.

"You should've told me sooner baby. I would've treated you like the queen you are, instead of wasting my time on those bitches who were just there for my face and money. Even a million of them together won't compare to you." His voice got softer at the end.

You pulled Yeonjun into a tight embrace. You had witnessed how the girls used him and left him broken. He didn't deserve any of that. You realised those memories must be playing in his mind. You just held him quietly. "I love you so much Y/N.'' He whispered. "I love you too jun" Your voice was soft with emotions.

You two happier than ever at this moment, you finally had the person you loved the most. This was the confession you two would remember forever.

[koala711]

K! Actually have 2 so far:

1. Super cute Fluff oneshot about kaeya x female reader where the reader has a rough day from work and joins kaeya on the bed and as kaeya hears how exhausting and loaded her day was, he flips on top of her, lifts her shirt, and starts kissing and rubbing her stomach in order to hear giggles and as a reward for her hard work which she does giggle as a result?

Words: 1,201

CW(s): Grammar mistakes I'd missed, a smitten Kaeya, and hand holding

(A/n) Alright, first request- nervous- but I hope you like it <3

-

A part of you wished to quit that job.

Why stick with it when the work enviornment is not mixing with you at all and the work is not enjoyable at all?

Because you needed money.

That is how the world works after all. You just wish someone would accept your application elsewhere. So all you could really do for the time being, is come home and vent to your partner.

"Honestly, can't they just talk elsewhere?" You groan as you paced along the carpet floor of your shared bedroom, grabbing whatever you needed for your nightly routine.

Kaeya laid across the sheets with an amused smile and arms crossed ontop of a pillow as his eyes went back and forth following you. Seeing you so worked up was an uncommon sight. Sure, you've complained about the place before, but not to this extent with this much vigor.

"Like- SHUT UP for a second? This is our work room, not the gossip hall. I don't need to know about who is kissing who down the hall, I need to get this work done! It's hard enough as it is!" You groaned, stopping in place and facing Kaeya angrily. "And I've told them 4 times already- believe me I did- and it would stop for a week before it began again! The audacity!"

Kaeya chuckled, shaking his head in amusement.

"As I've suggested, just tell me their names and they won't be bothering you again."

"No," you laughed at his threat. "I am not telling you their names."

"Your loss."

In reality, he really could get their names by his own means. It wouldn't be that hard since he knew someone else that worked at your workplace, but your wishes were always clear since the beginning, so he never did press further.

"I wanna quit."

You plopped onto the bed right next to him and fiddled with his soft, navy locks with a heavy sigh.

"But?" Kaeya raised an eyebrow as he looked up at you with an all-knowing smile.

"But I need spending money for those damn books," you growled, tossing the bit of hair in your hand over his eyes. "Stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?" By the tone of his voice, you could already tell what kind of train you accidently hopped on. "Like I think you're the cutest thing in the world when you're mad?"

"Eugh."

You were used to his antics, but it doesn't mean they didn't both annoy and fluster you to bits.

"You're quite adorable with that frown, but I must say, I miss seeing your smile." Kaeya smiled, placing a hand onto your shoulder. Just from the way he looked at you could see the cog wheels turning as it created nothing but mischief. "Perhaps I should help you out with that."

"What do you- aGH!"

The next thing you knew, you were laying on the bed with Kaeya running his hands to the places you were the most ticklish.

"Sto- pff-"

Words struggled to escape your mouth as laughter quickly set in.

Sometimes you cursed your parents for giving you such a ticklish body. Once word got to anyone you were close with, it was something they used to their advantage- all in a joking manner, of course. It's just sometimes someone's tickling sessions last more than the usual 5 seconds.

"Dying-" You croaked through Kaeya's laughter, finally gripping onto his hand that sat on your bare waist. Although, with the exercise your lover put your stomach through with all that laughing, the cold air that was supposed to nip at your exposed stomach didn't bother you

"I suppose that's enough for now."

Forever the mischief, Kaeya Alberich was. It never really bothered you. If anything, it mostly entertained you despite the annoyance you tend you respond with.

"Kaeya, you did not have to tickle me to get me to smile."

The view you had of Kaeya as he laid his head on your stomach was amusing. You couldn't help but mess with his hair once again, pushing it back to see his forehead and releasing to let it flop back down.

"I might've resolved to something more tame, but someone's been coming home late and sleeping right away before anything else the past week."

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry for neglecting you." Your laughter rang through his heart. "How about we go on a date tomorrow, then? I deserve a small break, so I'll take work off early and pick you up! Then we could have each other for the rest of the day."

"Marvelous idea."

Your smile has yet to fall, still feeling the dopamine filling your brain. He only smiled as he laid on top of you with his head on your bare stomach, looking up at it.

It's been awhile since he was able to look at you awake for this long. You looked beautiful.

"What're you still doing down there?"

Kaeya pressed his cheek onto your stomach and kissed you soft and quick with a smile.

"Hey-"

You were going to tell him he's being weird but you were cut off as he placed another kiss on your stomach. Then slowly another and then another that was faster than the one before, causing the butterflies in your stomach to flutter with every kiss he made.

It wasn't long until your laughter met his ears once again while you made a sad attempt to push him off.

Each kiss tickled just a little bit, leaving a soft patch of warmth until it gradually faded away. It was a new feeling, that's for sure.

Once his kisses fell to a stop, he came up to meet your face that was burning from embarrassment and laughter. Still, a smile was laced on your lips.

"What was that for? Another punishment or something?"

You could barely meet his eye as he laid down next to you on his side.

"No no, a reward, of course." He was the kind to be awfully blunt during moments like these, too intoxicated on the love he had for you to weave his words. "If you won't let me aid you from those evil coworkers of yours, making you smile is the next best option."

A hot blush flushed your cheeks as you turned on your side with your faces inches away.

"Why're you so lovey-dovey today...?"

Kaeya huffed a small laugh as he reached down and took your hand in his, lifting it up to his lips for one last kiss.

"I love you. Is there supposed to be another reason?" He questions with his lips brushing you skin with every word. It was a flirtatious antic you were quite familiar with.

"I suppose not."

You slid your hand out of his and placed a quick peck in his lips as you got up fron the bed. You hoped to fizzle out this flame on your cheeks with cold water as soon as possible.

It doesn't matter how long the two of you have been together, he always uses the perfect moments to make you a bashful mess.

"W-well, lover boy, I'm gonna go shower now."

"I'd be glad to join you-"

"You wish."

(just in case because this is my first request) @sparklycupcake56