#hopefully this doesn't turn out to be a terrible idea

[blackjackkent]

OK, so I might have to take back some of my decisions in the last post. Getting to the Inquisitor is more complicated than I thought.

He's currently behind a barrier, to which Therezzyn is holding the key. Our options, according to Google, are to a) give Therezzyn the artifact and get access given to us, b) pickpocket Therezzyn when she's not looking, or c) kill her.

Hector doesn't want to do any of these things, and I'm trying to figure out which one would be least out of character. :/

Really (going back to what I said in the previous post about Hector's usual compulsive honesty), option A makes the most sense for him. And, apparently, it doesn't actually take the artifact from us long-term and does actually get some approval from Lae'zel. The downside, of course, is everyone ELSE disapproves, and I want to get Karlach's romance going, goddammit. :P

Hypothesis. What if I ungroup Karlach and Gale and leave them outside the door on the (in-character) grounds that Therezzyn will be more likely to listen to a smaller number of random strangers barging into her office.

[tests]

OK, apparently that does work. We don't get any disapproval from the rest of the party, we still get Lae'zel's approval, we keep the artifact in the long run, and Hector gets to be his usual honest self. (The Dream Guardian is pretty unhappy with us, but hopefully she'll get over it and still keep us from turning into a squid in our sleep.)

On the bright side, also, this doesn't negate any of the previous scene, as we can pick up from right afterwards:

"I presume you are not stupid enough to return empty-handed. So give me the weapon - NOW."

"Here it is." Wondering if he is making the right decision, Hector reaches into his pack and pulls out the small, strangely-shaped item. Inwardly he thinks a small apology to Shadowheart. There seems no point to trying to navigate this place without being forthright, but it is such a dangerous choice...

Then again, no choice seems safe at present. Not anymore.

He can feel his dream guardian rebelling against this choice, her voice piercing in his mind. "No. NO!"

But he has no choice but to be forthright, and he extends his hand with the item held carefully between his fingers.

The kith'rak's eyes light with sudden glee. She flicks her hand outwards, pulling the object towards her with a spell and examining it as it hovers in her grasp.

"Yes...there it is...exactly as described. The inquisition will finally come to an end."

She moves as if to pocket the artifact...and suddenly, a familiar glow bursts around it, knocking her backwards against the wall. The artifact erupts from her hands and crashes back into Hector, settling itself back into his hands, vibrating with power.

"Tsk'va!" Therezzyn scrambles back to a standing position and glares at him furiously. "Trickery! Heresy! How did you--" She stammers incoherently, fists clenching at her sides. "You manipulate it when I cannot?!"

She visibly stills herself. Hector has seen this movement before in Lae'zel, and in himself - the grounding, centering, shoving aside the inconvenient, chaotic emotions. Her face goes hard as stone.

"It appears you have been chosen, istik," she says coldly. "You are lucky it is not for me to question why."

She pulls the glowing keystone from her pocket and stalks past him to the barrier blocking the way to the ch'r'ai. "Go. Seek the inquisitor below. And take the cursed thing with you."

[mythicmanuscripts]

Hi! 🫶🏻 It's me again! A have another ask, if you are not tired of me already 😂

How would Jace deal with his sensitive, pretty cock being sucked for the first time? And what are his thoughts on the act itself? I imagine he would think it is too degrading for his lady wife, love of his life, future queen of the seven kingdoms to perform such an act? Maybe she can prove him wrong?

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT QUESTION!! I am so glad to see how we all are obsessed with sensitive!Jace and how he absolutely adores his pretty wife.

NSFW sub!Jace below the cut!!

Okay I'm gonna go sort of off topic for a second before getting to the point of the ask because I think we must establish this. I thought of it and it is demanding to be freed. So firstly, I think I love the concept of inexperienced!Jace as much as I love sensitive!Jace and I think they go hand in hand? Cause obviously we know he's very very sensitive and gets super overwhelmed and obviously is a virgin when you marry him.

But it's more than just that. He's just... so noble and so proper? A real gentlemen. He's never touched another before you, but he's also very much all about duty and would never be caught dead doing anything anyone could consider to be debauchery.

As a result of both of these things, he gets flustered SO easily. And I don't just mean he blushes. He blushes bright red from his cheeks to his ears and he stumbles over his words and has absolutely no idea what to do with himself. Even the smallest things can turn him utterly useless.

Of course you notice thing long before the wedding, and of course you can't just ignore it. You see how blushy he gets when your hand brushes is, and so you just have to push it a little to see how flustered he can really get. Poor Jace is in heaven and hell when you do this, because it feels so good but it's so improper. He's supposed to wait until marriage! He's not even supposed to touch you before that and now you're kissing his cheek!!

He keeps on saying that he doesn't want to ruin your reputation. He knows you're supposed to be a virgin and he would never do anything that could have people doubting your purity before marriage (this is irrelevant of whether you're actually a virgin or not, that doesn't matter, it's all about what people think).

He's never jerked off so much in his life. Usually he avoids masturbation as much as he can because he gets far too sensitive afterwards and the comedown when the adrenaline drops leaves him feeling terrible. He can't keep that up now though, because you're driving him insane every day and for the first time he's getting hard ons that just won't go away no matter how much he tries to ignore them and so he has to deal with it. He does what he has to so that he hopefully won't lose control around you.

But damn being a gentleman like that gets more and more impossible with each passing day. He eventually tries to avoid you before the wedding but that only makes things worse because inevitably he'll get so desperate that he ends up outside of your door begging for something, anything.

This is the first time you offer to suck his dick. You'd ask if you could fuck him right then and there but considering how flustered and nervous he is you think he genuinely might run away if you ask that, so you settle for wanting to give him head. He's so cute and desperate and flustered and you just have to know what he sounds like when he cums.

But when you ask, he says no. You respect that of course, but you also ask why not because he's very clearly rock hard in his breeches and even bucking his hips up every now and then. He tells you that he could never ask you to do such a thing, and so you end up just kissing a bit until Jace is like 2 seconds away from cumming in his breeches which is when he runs off back to his own room.

You think that once you're married he'll want that, but then you are married and he doesn't? You can't figure out why. He lets you fuck him and give him handjobs and begs so prettily for you to couch him but for some reason he won't let you suck his cock.

Eventually he admits he thinks it's far too degrading. Jace sees you as an angel from heaven and he would never ever ask you to do the job of a whore. You respect this of course, but you're also confused and a little disappointed because you would love to see him lose his little mind when you wrap your lips around his cock.

I think maybe the way you show him hat the act isn't below you when you're doing it to your husband is to ask Jace to eat you out? Okay here me out, here's how it happens:

It's in the first week of your marriage and Jace cums too soon. Which is expected at this point and you honestly don't even mind because the way he cries and whines and moans your name is positively sinful and you always want to see it. You can get yourself off if you need to, but first you want to enjoy watching him.

Afterwards, he collapses against you and says he's sorry because he knows he wasnt good that time. Before you can reassure him, he carries on and asks what he can do to help. You consider telling him to just relax and enjoy the show, but you end up not saying that because you love experimenting with Jace and seeing what he likes.

So you tell him that he can eat you out if he'd like. It takes a few tries to be able to explain what you mean, and immediately he's down for it. He is down for anything that would make you feel good. From the moment he tastes you he's utterly obsessed. It honestly feels even better than sex to be between your thighs and hear you call out his name.

Once you're both recovered and laying in bed that night, you bring up how he gave you head. At first the darling thinks he did something wrong and it takes three kisses before he relaxes and just listens to what you have to say.

You ask him if he thought that eating you out was beneath him and unbecoming to a prince and heir to the thrown. Immediately he's scrambling to express how much he loved it and how it is not beneath him even slightly.

When you hear this, you smirk and tell him how you feel the same about giving him head. It's not beneath you. He is your husband.

He considers this and a few days later he says he wants to try. And holy fuck nothing could have prepared you for the way he whimpers your name. He loves every second of it, and of course he cums so so hard that all he can do afterwards it curl up in your chest and mumble his thanks over and over again.

He can never last long when you're blowing him, but he loves every single second and the moment he's recovered he's immediately moving down to between your thighs to return the favour.

[genshingorlsrevengeance]

Reacting and taking care of their S/O who, due to some accident, ended up shrinking in size, to the point where they can carry them with the palm of their hands.

Genshin Girls: Beidou, Noelle, Eula, Shenhe, Ganyu, Shogun Ei and Yae Miko.

(Genshin Impact) Beidou, Noelle, Eula, Shenhe, Ganyu, Ei, and Yae's S/O getting shrunk down

(Beidou) "How did you...? Bah, it doesn't matter. I'll get ya fixed up in no time, S/O!"

Beidou has no idea what caused S/O to become so tiny, but she won't rest until they're back to normal!

Though truth be told, Beidou just thought that S/O being tiny was a result of her being drunk off her ass.

While she does find it cute that she can carry them in her palm, she doesn't actually do so due to how much she talks with her hands, or in general just moves them.

She's afraid she's going to crush them based on pure muscle movement.

Instead, S/O rests comfortably on the back of her coat, near her neck, at least when they're moving.

Beidou has a bird cage in her room that she bought and adorned it with soft feathers.

(S/O) "...This makes me feel like a pet."

(Beidou) "Do you wanna be on the wooden floors of the Crux instead?"

At least this was temporary. Her first order of business is to get Ningguang to help out with this problem.

(Noelle) "My goodness, what happened to you?!"

Noelle is terribly confused, but she immediately sets off to find help, S/O safely in her palms all the while.

She becomes hyper aware of her grip strength and where S/O is, afraid that they would get hurt, crushed, stepped on, or all sorts of dangerous things!

Noelle goes to find Sucrose, Albedo, or Lisa, preferably all three so they could explain what happened!

She also becomes hyper defensive of anyone holding S/O, her palms shielding them as she turns her entire body away from said person.

(Noelle) "Ah, please do not touch S/O! They are in a very precarious state!"

(S/O) "Uh, Noelle? I still need to be able to see-"

(Noelle) "Please bear with me, it would give me peace of mind if you are wholly incapable of being harmed!"

(S/O) "If I were in anyone else's hands, I would've doubted that."

That comment makes Noelle beam with pride.

(Eula) "When I said that my vengeance would dwarf your entire being...I did not mean it literally."

(S/O) "Yes yes, very funny Eula. Now can you put me down? You holding me with two fingers just feels like I'm a grape or something."

Honestly? Eula finds the situation hilarious. Her teasing goes up tenfold when S/O is extremely tiny like this.

If they try to give her any lip, she'll just pull the-

(Eula) "How can you make such threats when you are the size of my thumb, S/O?"

-card.

Eula will ask Amber or the Traveler for help, and while she is concerned for S/O, there is a smile on her face whenever she looked at them.

A pocket S/O was very cute to her.

(Eula) "Would you like to go to Dragonspine with me in this state, S/O?"

(S/O) "What, you planning on turning me into a popsicle?"

(Eula) "That is an excellent idea!"

(Shenhe) "...You are tiny."

(S/O) "Really? I haven't noticed, Shenhe..."

Shenhe figured this is something that the Adepti can help her with.

In all her life, she had never encountered a situation as bizarre as her current predicament.

If Noelle was possessive of tiny S/O, then Shenhe is borderline yandere.

Those who seem to mean harm to her tiny significant other will be met with a violent and bloody end.

One which S/O's voice can be frantically heard coming out of her palms, begging her to stand down.

Hopefully her master, Cloud Retainer, can bring S/O back to normal.

(Shenhe) "Are you resting comfortably?"

(S/O) "I am but...resting on your chest is kind of...strange."

(Shenhe) "But you do so all the time."

(S/O) "It's one thing for me to rest my head on it, Shenhe, and an entirely different situation for me to literally sit on it!"

(Ganyu) "S-S/O! Are you okay, how did this happen? Don't worry, we'll get some help right away!"

Ganyu immediately defers to Cloud Retainer for bringing S/O back to normal.

But when she's told it'd take a few days before the rite would happen, Ganyu takes S/O with her at all times.

At work, S/O is sitting at her desk while she catches up on her neverending paperwork.

S/O has a plate with flowers to sit on as they watch her work.

In some strange fashion...Ganyu quite liked this.

It allowed S/O to be with her during work so she didn't feel entirely stressed.

Though the threat of S/O being blown away or crushed gave her a whole new level of stress.

(S/O) "Careful, Ganyu. You're sweating enough that it's threatening to splash on me."

(Ganyu) "R-REALLY?!"

(S/O) "A-ah, it was just a joke! Though, I guess not anymore with how you shot straight up like that...!"

(Ei) "...You did not tell me you were capable of this, S/O."

(S/O) "It's because I'm not!"

Ei decides to find out what happened to S/O herself, and leaves them in the most capable hands.

Also herself.

The Raiden Shogun stands unflinchingly on guard, meditating until Ei's return as S/O is sitting in her palm.

(S/O) "...Can I get something to eat?"

(Raiden) "Sara. Retrieve a bowl of rice at once."

(Sara) "Yes, Almighty Shogun!"

S/O awkwardly fidgets with their hands.

(S/O) "Can I move?-"

(Raiden) "No."

Meanwhile, Ei lets S/O sit on her finger like a bird, though they have a much harder time balancing themselves.

(Ei) "What a curious situation you have found yourself in."

(S/O) "Y-You don't have to stare at me that intensely, you know!"

(Yae) "Oh, how adorable you have become, S/O! I could just eat you up-"

(S/O) "Try it and I'm pulling out the fur on your ears!"

Yae has to try her best not to hurt herself laughing at S/O's situation.

Now this was worth writing down!

Though, S/O clearly disagreed.

(Yae) "Come now, S/O. I wouldn't be distressed, think of all the interesting new friends you can make!"

(S/O) "Yeah, plenty of bugs and birds would like to meet and eat me, Yae."

(Yae) "Do you want to test that out?"

(S/O) "Absolutely not!"

Surprisingly, she's seen this kind of situation happen throughout her long life.

And she knows that S/O will go back to normal in a few days.

But that's all the more reason for her to enjoy the time she has!

Who knows when the next time she'll be able to laugh this hard?

[prismuffin]

so for my bday ficcc i have two ideas

idea number one: male reader is based on my demon oc. basically personality wise they very sassy and flirty. kinda a bitch ass ho. idc who u pair it with imma be real. it could be ghost, soap or or price. or like batman. he summons them n junk

idea number 2:

polycule ghost, soap x male reader. male reader is a smart dumbass. like they’re an airhead all of the time minus work. they’re a colonel but honestly dumb as shit outside of work. obvious as hell.

if u want more ideas i can tell u love u mwahhhhh

A/n: Hey Webbie!! Happy birthday!! (Or late birthday depending on when I get this out) decided to go with option 2 kay? also i didnt know how to end this- fight me-

Idiot Boyfriend

Poly!GhostSoap x airhead!male!reader

( summary: Ghost reflects on how he fell in love with two dumbasses )

Warnings?: swearing, mentions of alcohol, talks of guns and violence, reader being a dumbass

!-!more under the cut!-!

Ghost sighed as he watched you chase Gaz around base. He'd apparently tickled you which you saw as a threat, immediately taking off to get your revenge. Hearing a laugh beside him Ghost turned, seeing an amused Soap who was also watching your silly antics. "Go get 'em sweetheart!" He cheered you on and Ghost groaned. "Don't encourage 'em Johnny," "Why not? This is a funny sight," He smirked, sitting next to Ghost, his head instinctually falling onto the taller mans shoulder. Ghost rolled his eyes as he watched you trip, Gaz stopping to laugh at you. "Oh damn, think he's alright Lt?" Soap asked only to get silence as a response. "Lt?" Ghost had heard him, though he was too busy wondering why he was even with such an airhead anyway. He'd already been dating one headache why did he feel the need to worsen his pain with another.

When he'd first met you he was already with Soap, their relationship being monogamous at the time. Though that was more of a suggestion than set in stone. Maybe it was the fact that the first time he'd met you- you were choking some guy out with the power of your thighs alone that'd intrigued him. Either way you'd easily clicked with Soap after meeting him, and after exchanging war stories and silly jokes with the two men all day they both knew at the end of it that they liked you. Initially, it wasn't going to go anywhere but Soap was the one who suggested adding you to their little relationship. Ghost was hesitant at first, not because he didn't like you but because he wasn't sure if you liked him. You'd obviously liked Soap, romantically or not you both clicked immediately, but for some reason for Ghost it was so hard to read you on your feelings for him. Sure you were polite out of respect but could it ever go deeper than that? He knows sometimes his dark humor can fall flat and his stoic tone doesn't help either. Soap had reassured him that he had a charm that couldn't be beat, but of course he'd say that. You and him clicked so easily, you both told terrible jokes and fucked around when you shouldn't. You both had a mutual love for explosives and beer and karaoke and had this natural bond he could only wish for with you. After talking about it they sort of dropped it for a few weeks but it was clear that Soap had liked you and he could understand why. Especially after what he considers the true turning point for him. It was a pretty normal night on base, everyone asleep in their barracks, everyone except Ghost. He often had nights like these where sleep was the last thing on his mind, memories plaguing his brain as he fought desperately to think of anything else. He would wake up Johnny, tell him about the bad thoughts, but he really needed the sleep after the last mission they'd been on. So he thought to deal with it alone, going into the kitchen to hopefully find a stashed bottle whisky to drown his sorrows for the night. Only upon entering he found you, leaning against the counter, pouring yourself a freshly brewed pot of coffee. You both locked eyes, a mutual understanding flooding you both as you held out the warm pot, asking silently if he'd join you. He, of course, was hesitant but had nothing better to do. So he grabbed a mug from the cabinet and watched as you poured his coffee, black.

You'd both sat in silence for some time before you asked quietly why he was up. He told the truth, nightmares, but didn't go into much detail understandably. You hummed, replying with the same answer when he'd asked you a similar question. Your jokey manner was all but lost in this moment, at least for a second. You'd asked him to talk about his nightmares with you, saying that it'd be better than him just holding everything in all the time. He didn't expect it, but you were so easy to talk to. Just the smallest amount of convincing and he did what you asked. That night you both shared the stories of your nightmares with each other. You comforted him, gave him advice and told him things he definitely needed to hear. Him ranting only got the ball rolling as he found himself sitting on the common room couch with you simply talking about anything and everything, your company in the now silent base was warming. You'd even laughed at his horrid jokes, throwing back a few that he's now added to his growing roster of dark humor. He hadn't felt like this since...well...Johnny. As the sun rose and light cracked through the curtains he couldn't help but feel a little glad that he'd gotten to spend time with you. That night alone showed him he did have a natural connection with you. You understood him in ways he didn't even think you could. He found you also shared his insomnia episodes, his love for dogs and specific guns, his respect of stealth and going at it alone on missions. When he saw Soap later that day he nonchalantly added that he's now considering asking you to join their relationship, and he couldn't help but replicate the smile on Soaps face.

One which he held now.

"Lt?" Soap glanced up at Ghost, noticing the slight crinkle in his eye and the small indent underneath his cloth balaclava. To anyone else he'd look completely normal right now, but Soap knew that those miniscule signs meant that he was smiling. Smiling at you as you groaned on the floor. Closing his eyes, Ghosts shoulders bounced in a silent laugh before he moved to stand, Soap following him with his eyes before realizing where he was going, and moving to go to you too.

Rolling on your back, you huffed, the cold floor on your rear as you stared up at the blinding white flood lights that shone down on you. Only they were blocked by a shadow, then two, the smiling faces of your boyfriends stood over you. "Need a hand sweetheart?" Soaps Scottish accent filled your ears and you couldn't help the small smile that found it's way to your face. Reaching out with both hands you grabbed onto one of each of theirs, laughing as they hoisted you up with ease. You felt Ghost pat your back before his arm wrapped itself around you. Looking at him you noticed the small smile beneath his mask and reciprocated his action, now committing to a full side hug. You just held each other there before Soap joined in, now you held both of your boyfriends in your arms. You rocked back and forth between them, your chase with Gaz momentarily forgotten as you accepted this newer task of being held. Only momentarily though as Gaz came back into view you suddenly remembered what you were doing before this, your glare being set on his form. "Garrick!" You yelled and he ran again, you moved to chase him but the hands of ghost didn't seem to want to let you go. "No you don't, come on, we're leaving." "Awww but Simon come on-" you groaned, "I'm starving." He stated bluntly, practically dragging you away from the scene as Soap laughed at your pouting face, following the two of you to the kitchen. Ghost simply listened as you began ranting about some random show that you and Soap had been watching, allowing you to completely forget about the Gaz thing as you got distracted by your own thoughts again. He watched as you and Soap recounted a particular episode that seemingly got on your nerves as it ended on a cliff hanger, silently smiling once again as he relished in the company of his two idiot boyfriends.

----!----

( HAPPY BIRTHDAY WEB I HOPE YOU LIKE YOU BIRTHDAY FIC SEXY !!! )

Thanks for reading! Have a great day/night!!

My requests are CLOSED !!

See my DIRECTORY for upcoming fics!

Masterlist

[recuira]

after hours

after hours : a live action buggy x fem!reader fanfiction

for some odd reason, you have no idea who he is. and he fucking loved that.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

chapter one chapter two chapter three

chapter four | suede. stalking. silly.

his pov;

"Your wanted poster."

Those three words settled in my mind as I stared at the distraught girl in front of me, watching as she fumbled with her hands, a nervous exterior brushing over her. She seemed to be so horrified with the fact that I was once a pirate sought after by thousands- wanted dead or alive, though much preferred dead. Many still wanted me dead but due to my brilliant idea of hiding out here, the chance of anyone getting my bounty was thin. I, however, didn't see it being as much of a big deal as she deemed it so. The real issue I found was tucked away in one of the books within the nightstand which I was so fucking thankful she didn't find. I'd rather her not have been looking around but if she were to find one of the two? I was glad she found the poster.

I tossed another slice of apple into my mouth then set the knife down on the cutting board. I approached Y/N but instantly halted when I noticed how nervous and uneasy she was. "What's wrong?"

"H-How many people did you kill?" She asked, her voice shaking.

"Does that really matter?" I asked, waving my hands up in the air to hopefully exaggerate my point. "It was almost a year ago."

"That doesn't change the fact that it happened!"

"I know, I know." Despite her discomfort, I took a seat next to her anyway. She tightened her arms around herself, almost to make sure there was as much distance between us without her actually moving. Clenching my jaw, I patted my hands upon my thighs. "I know it's a terrible thing, and there's nothing I can do to change that. It's in the past and if I could go back and alter things, I would. Being a pirate was all I knew. My old friend was one, too. Then we separated onto different things and-"

"Did he kill people?"

"Lots of pirates kill people. It's part of the hype, ya know? It's very unlikely to raid another ship without there being any casualties. But I stopped because I got tired of it. I wanted something more."

"It's a pretty big bounty. I mean- come on, fifteen million berries?"

"Don't think about turning me in now," I chuckled, wanting to add a bit of lightheartedness to this unfortunate predicament.

"I'm not like that. I know I'm in need of money but-"

"I didn't mean it like that, Y/N, come on. Give me some slack."

"Well, why exactly did you stop? Did you lose the thrill of stealing from others? O-Or did you get bored of killing innocent people?"

I rolled my eyes, scoffing. "We've all done some shit we're ashamed of. We're humans. I did a lot of fucked up shit," I said as I pointed at myself. "But I changed that. I moved and let all that go. I left my crew, made someone else the captain, and abandoned ship. I left all of that shit behind and came here."

"But why?"

"If I say this, I'll probably make things worse but I don't want to lie anymore," I said as I laid back, folding my hands over my chest. I stared up at the ceiling. "You've obviously heard of the One Piece, right?"

"Of course."

"Well, I was one of those pirates absolutely obsessed with finding it. Fuck, I even dreamt about it. It was the only thing I truly desired in life. It was the only thing I thought about. Not riches, women, alcohol- just the One Piece. I was making somewhat decent progress but then I heard that a group of Straw Hats-" I grimaced at the thought. "-made off with the map which they stole from one of the Marine bases. I happened to track them down and I managed to steal the map from some kid named Monkey D. Luffy. But all good things must come to an end and I lost it. I was back to square one. And then I discovered his bounty was thirty million berries." I frowned then sat up, turning to face Y/N. "Can you believe that? Some newby pirate-wannabe received a bounty double my own! Seeing that brought me back to reality. So I dropped everything then came here."

"All because of him?"

I nodded my head. Just the thought of that kid irked me. There was no one, other than Shanks, who I despised more than my own self.

"So, yeah, I know what I did was fucked up. But there's a reason I'm here now. There's a reason I've given you so much. It's because I want to be a better person, maybe redeem myself for what I've done. And I can do that by helping you, by making your life a little less miserable."

"Do you pity me?" The girl asked, finally meeting my gaze.

"What?" I laughed, almost obnoxiously. "Of course not. If anything, I envy you."

"Me?" Y/N pointed at herself. "You envy me?"

"You have no bad conscience. You've done nothing wrong, you have nothing to make up for. You have a clean slate."

She shrugged, a small smile creeping onto her lips. "Thank you."

"So, uh, do you hate me now?" I asked, forcing a frown to mimic a pouting child. She giggled at this and shook her head. I sighed in relief, wiping 'sweat' from my forehead. "Thank god. I don't know what I'd do with myself if you hated me."

"I knew you were a pirate but it's still shocking to learn about your past. It'll take me a bit to get used to it but I don't hate you."

"So, we're good?" I extended my hand.

"We're good." She shook it.

I felt as if a huge relief was lifted off my shoulders. And as long as she stayed out of the nightstand, there would be no more issues. But if I hid the book, then I would be even more safe. I pondered the possibilities before I watched as she rose from the confines of the bed and approached the counter. My eyes trailed down. The backs of her thighs were exposed and the shorts clung to her ass so divinely. I bit my lip and crossed my leg over my lap.

"I appreciate everything you've done for me," She mumbled as she started to chew on an apple, then began to cut into an orange. "I do have a question for you, though."

"Go ahead, shoot." As soon as she turned around, my eyes met hers and I smiled.

"Are devil fruits real? Or is that just an old tale? I've never seen one up close and I heard they cost a fortune, even for just one alone."

"They're real," I said with a small laugh. "I would know, I've eaten one."

Y/N nearly jumped before she darted over toward me, her hands grabbing at my shoulders. She still had a slice of half-chewed apple in her mouth which made her struggle to properly speak. "WHAT? You- NO! You didn't?!" She let go of my arms and instead planted her hands on my chest, shoving me back. I collapsed back against the bed, laughing. "You ate one?!"

"Years ago, when I was fifteen."

"You're lying!"

"I'm not. It was a mistake actually."

"What happened?"

I chuckled and pushed myself back up. "Give me an orange and I'll tell you."

If my reflexes weren't so quick, the fruit would've hit me in the face with how quick she threw it. But I caught it and began to pick apart the peel. "Easy, next time," I smirked and took a bite from it. "Well, when I was younger and was a pirate-in-training, the crew I was in raided this ginormous ship and hit the motherload. Not only gold and jewels and anything you could think of, but there was also a devil fruit. I found out how much they were worth and tried to steal it but I was caught in a predicament and I tried to hide it in my mouth."

"And?"

"I swallowed it whole."

She gasped, "And you're alive?"

"It doesn't kill you. It just takes your ability to swim when you're in the ocean, in salt water. It's like the sea turned its back on you."

"Did you get a power from it?"

I shrugged and winked at her, taking another bite. I licked the juices from my hand. "Guess."

"You can fly?"

"Ha! Nope."

"Read minds?"

"It's body-altering."

"Wait," The lovely maiden smirked, taking a seat on the bed. "Did it give you that red nose?" She snickered.

"Guess again," I said flatly, my expression turning cold as I stared at her. She gulped, clenching her jaw. I laughed and looked down at my lap, now using one hand to hold the orange. I continued to chew on it. But while she was distracted with her numerous attempts to guess what kind of body-altering power I had, I detached my left hand at the wrist. It floated behind the both of us and tapped on her right shoulder. Y/N jumped up, her head shooting to look at her side. Her eyes widened and her eyebrows furrowed together before she spotted my floating hand waving at her. She gasped and slapped it away. I broke out into a fit of laughter, my hand reconnecting to my wrist. "Impressive, huh?"

"You- what?" She was still flabbergasted.

"I ate the chop-chop fruit. It allows me to pretty much chop any part of my body. Like I can-" To avoid grossing her out, I chopped my left leg from my thigh instead of my head from my neck. She watched in amazement. I smiled at this. "I can disconnect anything from my body from my toes to my ears to my-"

"Even... ya know?"

I winked. "Oh, yeah. That, too."

"That's so cool. How come you haven't done it before around me?"

"I don't know. I just never found a reason to." Shrugging my shoulders, I allowed my leg to snap back. I continued to chew on the orange before finishing it and tossing the peel into a small bin to the left of the bedside table. Y/N finished hers as well. She wiped her hands down on her shirt.

"So, uh," I chewed on my bottom lip. "Do you think you and your mother will be okay?"

"Yeah. We fight all the time. Her drinking doesn't help."

I cringed. "Really?"

"Yeah, she's one of the reasons I hate it so much."

I pursed my lips and nodded my head. I knew I needed to cut back on it but it was something I've done for well over more than half my life. Though, I was destined to do it. Not only for myself, but for her, too. I'd do anything for Y/N. "So," I began, "what do you want to do today?"

"I need to go make up with my mother. That's a big to-do. I can't stand her ever being upset with me." The girl said as she stood up, slipping her shoes back onto her feet. "We can have dinner tonight if you want. Maybe you could meet her."

"Meet your mom?"

"Yeah, why not? She was wondering where all that money came from. She thought I stole it."

"Hell, I don't know. I'm not good with meeting new people."

"Will you, at least, consider it?"

"Sure," I smirked.

"Thank you." Y/N reached for the doorknob, giving it a strong and firm tug before it yanked open. A gush of cold wind washed over her, almost knocking her back. I tossed her my coat to which she whispered another 'thank you' then slipped it on. "I'll see you, Buggy."

"Bye," I murmured with a smile.

As soon as the door shut, I jumped down from the bed and pulled the drawer out from the nightstand, dropping it on the stone floor. I sorted through the numerous books and grabbed the novel I was so fucking thankful she didn't look through. As I opened the cover, the hollowed book had contents that almost spilled out. Papers among papers, among sketches fell out, wafting along the floor. Several notes about Y/N puddled on the floor. One, which was my favorite, was a letter I wrote to her- well, I refused to send it. If I sent it, any last fiber of my confidence would be crushed like a scrambled egg. My fingers lined the rigid edges as I unfolded it.

Messy paragraphs lined both the front and back of the page.

I smiled. How long ago did I write this? I haven't looked at it in so long. I usually added a sentence to it each time I saw Y/N, which is why it was so long. But I stopped pouring my thoughts and desires into it when I actually had the pleasure of speaking to her.

If she saw this, I would kill myself.

I'd purposely jump into the ocean with two anchors attached to my feet.

I looked over the first paragraph,

'I've never wanted something so badly in my life. To say I yearned for her would be a complete understatement. I longed for her, I yearned, I desired- In simple terms, I wanted her. I mean, how could I not? She was an angel. She was a siren. I would purposely listen to her enchanting song, allowing my boat to crash, just if it meant I could be graced by her presence, by her beauty. I was obsessed with her. If she found out my thoughts, my desires, she would never let herself be seen with me. I wouldn't blame her, though. I was obsessive. It was unhealthy, I knew that. But I didn't care. I wouldn't say I loved her because I didn't know what that felt like. I've never experienced it. But perhaps I did love her. I didn't know, I couldn't tell. All I knew was that she was the only treasure I wanted. Not the One Piece, no. Not even that could match up to her alluring person. If I had to travel every sea in order to find her, battle every sea snake in order to touch her, I would. I would in a heartbeat.'

I grimaced, cringing at what I was reading. Thank god, she didn't see this. I didn't even want to see this.

I tucked the papers back into the hollowed-out book, closing it. I slipped the other novels into the drawer then slid it into the nightstand. With the book of secrets, I needed to hide it somewhere she could never find it- where even I struggled to find it. I didn't want to throw it out for I would be completely discarding all of those moments we had together, although she couldn't reconcile them with me because at that time, I was nonexistent to her.

Maybe I could follow my own idea and form my own message in a bottle. I never mentioned her name, nor my own. To an outsider's perspective, it was anonymous.

I shook my head and slipped the book back into the bedside table. She wouldn't be back anytime soon so I had enough time to properly execute a fool-proof plan.

But right now?

I needed to go get another coat.

-=-

her pov;

My mother and I resolved things, just like always. And when she caught wind of a pirate suddenly becoming very fond of me, she begged me to invite him over for dinner. I didn’t think that was the best of ideas. Going out to dinner? Sure! But to have him over? At our house? I cringed at the idea.

She fell ill months ago. Nothing too major, but ever since she’s gotten better, she despises leaving the house and even made me bring her bed downstairs so she could sleep next to the kitchen just in case she had a hankering for something to eat. It was ridiculous, I knew that. But I couldn’t just tell her no. She was my own mother. While I was old enough, I definitely wasn't going to willingly disobey her.

She persisted that I go and grab Buggy so we could have him over for dinner, while I insisted we all go out to eat. She hated the idea and told me that it was her house, her rules.

I grimaced at the thought.

Now, I was just outside Buggy's home, knocking on the stone door. I hoped he was home, though there was no possibility of me being able to ask him prior to my arrival. I knew he was busy. He was a very busy man. I was surprised he made time for me.

With another knock, another silence fell. I groaned and backed up.

My eyes trailing down, I stared at the doorknob and chewed on my bottom lip. He wouldn't care if I waited inside, right? We trusted each other. He knew where I lived and I knew where he lived. As far as I knew, he never crossed any of my boundaries and I definitely didn't cross any of his- well, except for maybe 'snooping' through his nightstand.

Without thinking too much more about it, I grabbed the rusted doorknob, gave it a firm twist, then shoved it open. I almost fell through the doorway.

I caught my balance and stepped inside, closing the door behind me. Without the lantern being lit, it was rather dark, but the bright blue sky helped to illuminate the small room. He must've not been home since I left.

I looked around, admiring everything.

As I took a seat on the edge of the bed, I noticed a piece of paper laying on the floor. It wasn't there before.

I raised an eyebrow and reached to grab it but before I could, the door flung open, a certain blue-haired pirate standing in the entrance. When he noticed me, he smirked. I gulped.

"So, we're breaking and entering, are we?" The man grinned as he took a few paces forward.

"I'm sorry," I murmured, scratching the back of my neck. "I came over to ask you about dinner but you weren't here so I figured I would wait."

"No worries, I'm only teasing."

"So?" I folded my arms, leaning forwards.

"So what?" Buggy questioned as he slipped his coat off. Since when did he get a new coat? And why? I was only borrowing the one he lent me. I didn't plan on keeping it. But I guess now it was okay if I did.

"Dinner? Are you available?"

"Hmm, it depends. What time?"

"I don't know, sometime tonight? Only for two hours or so. My mother wanted to meet you. I told her about you."

"What did you tell her?"

"That you've been a friend of mine for a few weeks now and you've been fortunate enough to treat me and help me out," I said with a smile. "She thought you were my boyfriend." I chuckled.

"Heh, that's rich," Buggy said as he turned around to close the door.

"So? Can you?"

"I guess so. Just don't leave me alone with her. I really don't want to be bombarded with questions." The man said as he folded the jacket over his arm then slung it on the countertop. "Did you tell her about my nose?"

I laughed, confused. "No? Why would I?"

"It's my defining feature. It's hard not to notice it when you see me."

"I didn't tell her. I didn't think it was important. I even forget it's there."

The clown burst out in laughter, his eyes closing as he clutched his stomach and nearly fell back with his fit of giggles. I pursed my lips. "What's so funny?" I asked as I crossed my arms.

"It's cute how you're trying to be nice to me. With a nose like mine, how can you forget it's there?" He replied while wiping a tear from his eye.

I felt flustered with the first part of his monologue but I ignored it and shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know, I just do. It's not all I see whenever I look at you, ya know. It's not my main focus point when we speak. I look at your eyes, not your nose."

"And yet again, you prove to me that you're different than others."

I smiled. "Hope that's a good thing."

Buggy smirked, winking his left eye. "Of course it is."

The pirated approached me before he knelt down and picked up the piece of paper. He examined it for a moment then laughed to himself. "Grocery list," He explained as he shoved the paper into his pocket.

I paid no attention to the paper. It wasn't any of my business. "Speaking of groceries, want to go help me get food for dinner?"

"What's on the menu?"

"No idea, but let's just grab something so she won't be bitching later."

"Guess I'll be needing this again," The blue-haired man said as he reached to grab his jacket. He slipped his arms through and adjusted the collar. "We match now."

"Mine's more vintage than yours." I winked.

"Oh, so it's yours now?"

"No?" I gulped.

Buggy giggled. "It is. I got my own now so no worries about giving it back. Unless you'd like to trade from time to time."

"No, I like this one."

The man looked at me, an eyebrow cocked upward.

I paid his look no attention and instead looked down at the tattered suede coat I wore. I inhaled softly. It smelled like him.

A soft odor mixed with whiskey, coconut, and cinnamon. And while I hated the stench of alcohol, it worked for him.

I couldn't imagine him without it.

[sports-on-sundays]

you can do one where the reader and Pedri are best friends and she ends up declaring herself to him but he says he doesn't feel the same way, so a while later she starts getting closer to one of his friends and Pedri gets jealous and realizes his true feelings feelings for the reader💓💓

make up your mind / Pedri González

Summary: Pedri x female!reader - In which Pedri changes his mind.

Requested?: For sure!

Author's Note: Pedri anons 💓 Also I'm a sucker for picnic scenes; theyre my go-to when I can't think of a good setting. Send help.

This is it. This is the day. We'll sit in the sun, I'll take his hand, tell him the truth, and...

Hopefully he'll feel the same way.

As you park your car, you gradually reach out to switch off the radio and glance at Pedri, who is seated beside you. Just as you are about to say something, he flashes a grin and reaches over to switch the radio back on. With a slight chuckle, he explains, "I like this song."

You can't help but smile back. "Quevedo is your favorite." It's less of a question and more of a statement.

He agrees with a nod, turning off the radio after the song ends. "By the way, where did the idea of a picnic come from, anyway?" He opens the car door as you get out together.

What you want to say is Well, honestly, Pedri, because it's a beautiful day to admit to your handsome face in the sunshine that I'm in love with you. What you do say is: "I don't know. Just wanted to hang out with you, and I didn't have any better ideas."

You have formed a terrible habit of not saying what you're thinking to Pedri.

Today that's going to change.

As you walk alongside Pedri, swinging your arm, you let your hands brush on purpose. That doesn't stop you from blushing, so you look at your feet. You carry the blanket, and he carries the food. Finally you find a nice spot by the water, under the shade of a tree and lay down the blanket. You plop down and look up at Pedri with a playful grin. He sets the food down and sits down, criss-cross, across from you. You both kick off your sandals, and you smile giddily as you start taking out the food.

Pedri has, of course, realized your nervous excitement by now, and asks with an amused tone, "So, what is it? What's got you in such a good mood?"

A part of you desperately wants to just let it spill now, but the smarter part of you says that's not a good idea. That this isn't the best timing. You want to say, Well, Pedri, the thing that has got me in such a mood is that for years now I've been holding back my feelings for you and I've finally decided today is the day I'm just going to tell you, because I've got this hunch you might just feel the same way as I do.

Instead, you shrug. "Just a beautiful day. It's sunny, the water is beautiful, I made myself my favorite sandwich, and I'm enjoying all of it relaxing with my best friend in the shade. What is there not to be in a good mood about?"

Pedri seems to accept this answer with a nod, and replies, "Good point. It is quite lovely. I appreciate you inviting me."

You nod, and hand him the little lunch you promised you'd make him. He smiles, pleased. You grin back, watching him take a bite, and feel a little swarm of butterflies in your stomach as he congratulates. "Very good! Thanks so much for offering to bring me some lunch."

It, truthfully, is completely your pleasure. Seeing him enjoying anything you've done for him or said to him pretty much fills you with pure joy. If you could explain this to him, you would. But instead you respond with a simple, "You're welcome."

So you eat together, and as you do this, you subtly try to move closer to him. Eventually, you end up sitting side by side on the blanket, gazing at the water, legs stretched out, and sharing a gentle touch. With the meal done, you're now simply basking in the warmth of the sun.

And you know it's now or never. You swallow. It's silent. This is the time.

"Hey, uh, Pedri...?" you ask slowly, looking up toward his face.

"Yes?" he's smiling. You smile back as your eyes meet his.

You feel as confidence gradually grows in you. You swallow but say, "There's... there's something that's been on my mind for a while now. Something I've had on my mind. I've had it on my mind to tell you..."

He nods, looking slightly concerned, since you're now speaking in a softer, more serious tone.

You deeply inhale and exhale, before letting it go. You grab Pedri's hand as the words, "Pedri, I like you. Like, as more than a friend. And I have for a while now," tumble out from your mouth.

He stares. His mouth opens and closes. His face flushes. Your heart skips a beat.

Say something.

Tell me you like me back.

You watch as he swallows. He softly slips his hand out of yours. You swallow.

"Y/n... that's... I'm sorry... that's very sweet... But I'm afraid, I, uh..."

You feel a lump in your throat.

"...I'm afraid I don't feel the same way."

You cough. Stare ahead. "You... don't...?"

He speaks quickly but quietly, as though it's awkward to say, and he's trying to be gentle and honest at the same time.

No matter how much of a gentle tone he uses, nothing about that honesty can make you feel better.

"You're a lovely girl," he begins. "And I do love you, but as a friend... You're... You're like a sister to me. I've known you for years. I love spending time with you. I love you. Just... not in that way... I'm sorry."

You stand up and slip on your sandals, looking down. You can't let him see you cry over this. You need to understand. You can't let him feel bad over it, because he's done nothing wrong. He's just being honest. You wouldn't want him to pretend to like you.

You just want him to really like you.

But he doesn't.

The fact that he flat out said he sees you as a sister.

That hurts.

"Wait," Pedri says, standing up with you. He takes your arm. "I'm sorry- I-"

"It's okay," you respond. "Don't be sorry. You didn't do anything wrong."

It was you who messed up. You shouldn't have told him. You shouldn't have been so confident that he would feel the same way.

You grab hold of the blanket, which feels too soft. And the birds' chirping is overly shrill, and the water is too loud, and its waves are terribly big. And the grass and the trees are too green, and there are ants scurrying over your feet and the blanket, and you have a mosquito bite, and there's an empty soda bottle that someone carelessly tossed into the water, now floating away. Everything that was a flawless day just moments ago has turned, suddenly, utterly dreadful.

You almost throw up that delicious lunch in your mouth.

Pedri is saying something, but you can feel tears threatening to fall.

You interrupt him and say blandly, "I think I should go now... Bye."

As you walk off, Pedri calls after you. He follows you, and he doesn't want you to go. But you tell him to leave you alone, and he does. And you get in your car, leave him there, and go home.

It's ruined. Its all messed up and awkward with Pedri. You're aware he's trying not to have it that way, but it still is, anyway.

And you're pretty sure you're not imagining that all the sudden when you hang out together, he'd prefer to have someone else with him.

Well, sometimes it's some of his friends outside of football. Sometimes, more often, it's his teammates, because you already know them. You and Pedri met because of football. You like his friends/teammates in Barcelona.

Most of the time, it's Ferran or Gavi, which makes complete sense, since those are his closest buddies on the team. They're both sweet, and you get along well with both. Ferran, perhaps, more so, for whatever reason. He's got a great sense of humor and comes up with interesting conversation topics.

That's the thing, though. You feel more inclined, when it's you, Pedri, and Ferran hanging out, to relate with and talk with Ferran, just because there's not that terrible awkwardness between you and him.

Gavi's super nice too, but usually he doesn't have much to talk to you about, and then you just end up feeling like the tag-along.

Nothing against him, though. You get it.

He just wants to hang out with his friend.

You just wish Pedri would choose one way or another. He's always inviting you, but seems to have these strict walls he's building. You get it. Maybe he's just nervous. Maybe he doesn't want to give you hope.

But really, it's your fault. If you hadn't let the stupid confession tumble out, you'd still be good, normal friends like you have been for years.

You wish Pedri would either be that good, normal friend to you like he always had, you just cut you out of his life. Then at least you'd (hopefully) just eventually move on and get over him.

But, no. Instead, he's balancing in this weird in-between place. And you hate it.

And then, one day, you get a surprising text. Ferran had your number in a group chat with a few other people, but now you're getting a private text from him.

Ferran Torres: Hey, do you want to hang out?

Me: Why are you asking me, and not Pedri?

Ferran Torres: Because this doesn't have to do with Pedri. Im wondering if you want to hang out with me.

Me: No one else with us?

Ferran Torres: I was thinking just you and I. Unless you don't think so.

You stare at the screen, unsure. What is he getting at? You wouldn't want him to think you like him any more than a friend, but at the same time, spending some time together sounds nice.

Well, you already have your heart set on Pedri, whether he feels the same or not.

But you remember when, years ago, you were first getting to know Pedri, you were considering these same sorts of things. You finally sigh, shrug, and type back,

Me: Sure. What have you got in mind?

That's just the beginning. As time goes on, you and Ferran continue to grow closer, while the whole time you and Pedri are drifting farther and farther apart. While you enjoy Ferran's friendship, it's a different dynamic compared to your relationship with Pedri. Pedri was more open and understanding, providing a sense of comfort and security. He would hold your hand, lend a listening ear, and offer advice only when requested. Ferran, on the other hand, is more of a lighthearted friend with whom you have a good time. If you encounter any difficulties, he'll ask you questions about it, or try to come up with a solution, or distract you.

It's just different.

You lost your friendship with Pedri, but gained one with Ferran. But in the end, it feels more like a loss in the end. Your heart aches for Pedri.

You're not sure how Ferran feels about you, but you're careful about boundaries. You can't let your feelings get away from you after getting your heart broken so recently.

But from Ferran's point of view? Who knows how he feels?

One day, as you walk Ferran to your car after his training, since you're planning on going for lunch somewhere, you pass Pedri. Unexpectedly, Pedris eyes meet yours. In that fleeting moment, his eyes reflect a mix of contrition, confusion, and overall just strong emotion. It's as if he carries the weight of countless questions, yet only one manages to escape his lips, spoken in the gentlest of tones, "Hey, Y/n. I understand you're busy, but... Would you mind sending me a text later, when you're free? I'd like to talk it over."

You're not sure what 'it' is, but you nod.

When Ferran questions you about it, you admit that you're not even sure what Ferran's friend meant, but you feel nervous and excited about it at the same time.

Later, in the evening, you do text Pedri, telling him you can talk now. And he immediately asks if you'd like to come over to his house for dinner.

You say yes.

He tells you when he'll pick you up.

And you spring up off the coach, a strange hyper-excitement suddenly filling you. You go to your room and fix up your hair and makeup nicely. Nicer than you usually do. But of course, you always do that for Pedri. By the time you're done, the doorbell rings. You slip on your shoes and open the door, and there's Pedri.

His hair is a little messier than usually, strands falling over his forehead, but you find that cute. In the glow of the porch light, his very dark brown eyes shine, and he looks angelic. His cheeks and lips are a light pink color, and he's clean-shaven. He wears a navy blue hoodie, black sweatpants, and black gloves on his hands. You smile. He looks so comfy! "Are you chilly?" you ask.

He smiles back. "A little... Anyway, want to come to my car?"

"Well, have you started making dinner at your house yet? Because if not, we can just stay here...?"

He nods, looking (strangely) a little relieved by this suggestion. "Yeah, I haven't started on dinner yet. Maybe we should just stay here?"

You nod, opening the door wider for him. You walk in together, and he slips off his shoes as you say, "I'll just put a pizza in the oven. You can just go in the sitting room and wait for me."

He nods with a little smile and does just that.

You're fairly quick with the pizza.

And when you come back to the sitting room and see Pedri sitting there all comfortable, the thing you want most to do is sit down right next to him on the big grey couch and cuddle up. But instead, you walk to the blue chair on the other side of the coffee table and sit down on that.

But you're surprised when Pedri shakes his head. "No, no. You can sit next to me." He pats the spot, right next to himself.

You swallow but nod and sit down, still making sure you don't touch.

But Pedri wraps his arm around you, pulling you closer to his side, and gently prods your head to rest on his shoulder. You're feeling flustered now as you mutter, "Pedri...?" For such a long time, there's been such a distance between the two of you, and you're assuming that's because he didn't want you to think he liked you. He wanted to keep those boundaries.

Now, as he gently rests his head by the top of yours, all of that is gone. He whispers softly, "I've just missed you, Y/n. A lot."

You swallow and mutter, "But I see you weekly, at least."

He nods slowly, but then says, "But I miss talking with you, being able to touch you, and hold your hand." He gently takes your hand.

With every word from him, your face heats up furthermore. Would a friend really say thing like that? Friends don't talk like that, do they?

Well, Ferran sure doesn't.

You entwine your fingers, slowly, around his, and as if reading your mind, he asks, "So... How's Ferran?"

You look up in confusion, meeting his eyes. Your faces are so close... "You know. You spend more time with him than me, still. It's not like my whole life is centred around Ferran Torres. If anyone's was, that'd be sad for them," you chuckle, teasing your friend.

Pedri chuckles and says, "Wow. That's harsh. But, no, I mean, like, your... relationship with him." He seems to be choosing his words very carefully.

You blink in puzzlement. "It's... fine. We get along great..."

Pedri sighs, seems to consider something, and then finally says, "Alright... I guess I'll just ask it straight-out then." He swallows and says much softer, "So... are you and Ferran dating...?"

Your eyes widen. You open your mouth, close it, and then open it again to say, "No. Not at all. I don't like him that way, and I don't think he likes me that way, but if he did, I'd say no."

"Much like how I said no, huh?" he mutters.

You stare at him blankly, and you feel a little hurt, but nod. "I... I guess so..."

Suddenly, in the other room, the timer starts going off, indicating that the pizza has finished cooking. You rise slowly and stiffly, utterly perplexed about what on earth Pedri is trying to accomplish in this conversation, yet completely sure what it is doing is absolutely messing with your head.

When you come back with the pizza and two plates, Pedri grabs your hand and practically pulls you back down to sit next to him again. He wraps his arm around your back as you give yourself and him each a piece, feeling strange. He finishes his portion quickly, which compels you to do the same. Once he's finished, he thanks you, saying it was delicious, before a slightly awkward silence settles in once again.

Pedri slowly sets his plate down on the coffee table, before looking at you again, locking eyes. He hesitates, before asking, "So... do you still feel the same way about me?"

You nod slowly, blushing. "Yeah..."

He nods back, before murmuring, "What would you do if I said I feel the same way?"

Your heart skips a beat, but your eyebrows crinkle together. "If you do, then..."

"Then why didn't I say it when you confessed it to me?"

You nod. "R-Right. Exactly."

He sighs. "I don't know... It's just- I didn't know. I thought this was just a friendship, and that I didn't need a relationship any deeper. I was happy with what we had and didn't want to change it, and any feelings I had for you I honestly ignored because I didn't want to feel that way... I wanted to just be friends. But then you said it and I didn't accept it and we grew apart because I was confused and didn't know how to deal with any of these emotions... And then you started to get closer with Ferran, and even hanging out with him more than with me, and... Honestly, Y/n, I felt jealous. I had no reason to, because I was the one that rejected you, but as soon as I saw that, I thought 'No, that's Y/n. I'm the one who should be spending that time with her. I'm the one who has known her for years.' And then I started thinking maybe I really do like you back, and the only thing that could make stupid me realize it is when we started growing apart and you started spending a bunch of time with some other guy. Even if the 'other guy' is one of my best buddies."

It's a strange feeling, because you're shocked, happy, and also your head is spinning and your stomach is absolutely full of butterflies. You swallow, and at first when you try to speak nothing comes out, but on the second try you manage to murmur, "So..." you squeeze his hand. "Does that mean you'll give me a shot...?"

He nods right away, and suddenly pulls you into a hug. He wraps his arms around your back, you can feel his muscles, despite the gentleness of the touch. The smells of his cologne fills your nostrils, and it feels familiar, like home. He pulls you closer to himself, gently rubbing your back, holding you closely. You let your head snuggle into his shoulder, and he whispers in your ear, "Yes, please... I'd love that. I missed you so much..."

For some reason, you feel yourself getting a little emotional. You sniff and mutter, "Pedri, I missed you too. I'm so glad you made up your mind about me..." You giggle a little, trying to push away the strange tearful feeling coming on.

When you finally, slowly lean away from the hug, your hand rest against Pedri's chest, and he looks at you with the most shining, happy, contented eyes you've ever seen. It makes you feel warm inside. He gently kisses your cheeks, which makes you smile and blush, before pulling you close to him again for more cuddles.

[felixsramen]

Taste pt.2

It's long but it's a second part to taste. Hopefully you guys will enjoy it. I think I'll make it a short little series. This one has been marinating in the drafts for the longest time to be honest.

Here you were waking up in Minhos bed. Minho in front of you, Felix behind you, and Hyunjin behind Minho. You don't remember much besides falling asleep in Minhos car. You do remember however fucking all 3 of them in the dance studio. You have no regrets about it but your body says otherwise. It was sore. Terribly sore.

You shimmied your way out of Minho and Felixs grip careful to wake none of them up. You felt like a mess as you enter the bathroom. The mirror confirmed what your thoughts were. Your hair was everywhere and your lips plump. Maybe one of the boys had one of your hairbrushes. It wasn't the first time you had slept over with them but it was the first time you had slept with any of them much less 3 of them.

You check their cabinets and see none. Maybe Chan had one. He always seemed to have your stuff. You walk out of the bathroom and see all 3 boys laying down still asleep. You really didn't want to wake them considering they were probably exhausted and had stayed up longer than you.

You open the door as quietly as you can. Walking into the hallway as it was quiet. You open the unlocked door quietly. You look over to see him asleep in his chair near his desk. His head resting on his knuckles as he sleeps.

You sneak into his bathroom. Opening the cabinets and you finally find one of your brushes. You come back up looking in the mirror and you almost have a heart attack at Chan standing at the door.

"Don't you know you should knock before entering?" He says arms crossed leaning against the door frame.

"Christopher seriously?" You say and Chan rolls his eyes. He always hated you saying that for some reason. That's why you used it so much getting under his skin.

"Yes seriously." He says his eyes go to your hairbrush.

You look at him. "So you just have a collection of my stuff now?" You ask him joking.

"Yes I'm so obsessed with you I'm building a shrine." Chan says sarcastically to you. You laugh at his response.

"Thank you for keeping my stuff and not throwing it away like Changbin did that one time." You say remembering Changbin throwing away your favorite pair of socks because he had no idea whose it was.

Chan laughs at the memory. "Doesn't he owe you another pair?" Chan says still laughing.

"2 pairs." You say correcting him.

"Do you mind if I use your shower? Minho, Hyunjin, and Felix were asleep and I didn't want to wake them." You say looking at him again.

He raises an eyebrow. "But you'll wake me up rummaging through my cabinets for a hairbrush?"

You poke your bottom lip out at him. He gives in quickly sighing. "Fine but don't ever make that face again. It's weird." He says looking at you.

"Thank you Channie." You say happily.

"Yeah yeah. Do you have any clothes to change into?" He asks you and you shake your head.

"Get in. I'll bring you some of mine in a minute." He says sighing. You nod at him and he walks out the bathroom. You strip and turn the water on. You look at the mirror. Your neck was littered in hickeys from all the boys and you could still see Felixs nail prints in your skin but you didn't mind. Your neck was blue and purple all the way down. Probably mostly from Minho.

You realize the shower is made of glass. Luckily it wasn't clear mostly fogged up from the steam coming from the shower. You step into the shower not really caring at the moment if Chan saw you naked.

You slide the door closed and sigh as the hot water hit your body. It relaxed your muscles for the most part. You hear the door open.

"I'm putting the clothes on the counter. I have a shirt and some sweatpants and a pair of socks for you." Chan says and steps out after letting you know.

You grab your hairbrush brushing your hair. It was always much easier brushing your hair in the shower. You sigh as you brush the knots out.

It was kind of crazy to you. You had went from seeing your best friends and hanging out with them and watching them dance to having sex with them in a dance studio and waking up in bed with all 3 of them.

You weren't ashamed of it. You guys were all perfectly consenting adults. You didn't know how much you loved having control though. Felix was the first guy you ever had control over. It felt good but it also felt good being fucked by Hyunjin and gagging on Minhos cock.

You don't know how long you had been in there brushing your hair and off in your own thoughts. You sighed turning the water off and stepping out of the shower. You grabbed a towel quicky drying your body and then wrapping your hair in it.

You pulled on Chans Sweatpants and Chans shirt. You pull on the socks almost falling in the process. You finish drying your hair somewhat and decide to let it finish air drying now that it wasn't dripping. You open the door met with the cold air.

You look over at Chan on his bed scrolling through his phone. Bag packed sitting on the edge of the bed. "Where are you going?" You ask him and he looks up from his phone putting it down.

"About to head to the studio with Changbin and Jisung. You're more than welcome to come by later if you want but we have to finish some songs." Chan says closing his bag and getting up.

"I wanted to let you know though that you're more than welcome to stop by later." Chan says bag over his shoulder. You nod at him.

"Don't let Hyunjin do something stupid please. Definitely don't let him touch the stove." Chan says reminding you when Hyunjin thought he could bake bread and almost had the whole house on fire. Chan ended up having to replace the stove because it was so ruined.

You cringe at the thought. "Yeah will do." You say as Chan sighs.

"Good. You're more than welcome to come in here and do whatever." Chan says and you nod. Suddenly there's a knock on the door. Before Chan can even answer the door swings open revealing Jisung.

"Come onnnnn. Changbin said we need to hurry up and get this done. I'm too tired for this and so is Changbin." Jisung says dragging his words out emphasizing how tired he was.

"I'm coming. I hope you know I don't want to go as much as you don't but we need to finish these songs for the next album." Chan says walking towards the door.

"Yeah yeah. Anyways love you, bye Y/N!" Jisung says waving.

"Love you too Ji. I'll probably be at the studio later." You say and he nods smiling as him and Chan walk out the doorway.

It wasn't unusual for Jisung to tell you he loves you. He was always an affectionate person. Jisung would tell a tree he loves it but you loved that about him.

You go into the hallway and into the kitchen it find something to eat. You had a feeling Minho, Jisung, and Felix had bought you food last night. You open the door and you were right. You were surprised it had stayed and not gotten eaten by the members.

You pull it out of the fridge with a sticky note on top saying Y/Ns food. Right under that in Minhos handwriting it says 'If anybody other than Y/N touches it I will personally deal with you.'

That explained why it was still in the fridge. You put the food in the microwave heating it up. Suddenly you feel hands around your waist.

"How long have you been up?" Mumbles Hyunjin into your neck still tired. He almost had a panic attack waking up in a bed with the other 2 members and no sign of you. He had thought you had left but he decided to go see if you got hungry after Minho reminded him.

"About an hour. I didn't want to wake you guys up. I was sure you guys stayed up late." You say and Hyunjin sighs.

"Next time wake us up. Hyunjin almost had a heart attack." Minho says leaning on the counter beside you. Hyunjin cuts his eyes at his Hyung.

You nod. "Felix up?" You ask and Minho shakes his head.

"Still asleep. I think you took a toll on him last night." Hyunjin says still holding you.

"Well I hope it wasn't too much." You say and Minho shakes his head again.

"I don't think it was just you. I think it was everything." Minho says and you nod. You try turning in Hyunjins arms to face him and he lets you but his hands never leave you.

Your eyes meet his sleepy eyes. His hair is a mess and his face is slightly swollen. Yet you think he was even more attractive like that.

You run your fingers through his hair trying to smooth it down. He sighs as your nails trace along his scalp. When your fingers leave his scalp he starts kissing your neck.

"Okay we don't need Hyunjin fucking you on the counter right now. You need to eat. Quit getting a boner like a horny teenager." Minho says watching Hyunjin pull away from you at Minhos words.

"You're just jealous." Hyunjin says and Minho rolls his eyes.

"Of what? You." Minho says sarcastically.

Hyunjin lets go of you going up to Minho. "Not of me. Y/N." He says his hand now on Minhos hips.

Minho scoffs at him. "In your dreams Hwang." Minho says pushing Hyunjin off him. Hyunjin pouts at Minho.

"You literally kissed Felix last night but you won't indulge in my fantasies for 5 minutes." Hyunjin says and Minho raises an eyebrow.

"What? You dream about me fucking you?" Minho respond wanting to see Hyunjins reaction.

Hyunjin just smirks and shrugs. "Whatever Hwang." Minho says rolling his eyes. You thought with how much he rolled his eyes that they might get stuck.

"Can I at least get a kiss?" Hyunjin says pouting and Minho crosses his arms.

"Will you leave me alone if I do?" Minho says. Hyunjin nods but you can see the mischievous look in his eyes.

"Fine." Minho says uncrossing his arms. Hyunjins hands go to Minhos hips once again and Minho doesn't push him off immediately.

Minho leans and meets Hyunjin who kisses him back. Minho tries pulling away but one of Hyunjins hands go up to Minhos face cupping it. He forces Minho to kiss him longer and Minho stops struggling and relaxes in Hyunjins grip. Minho takes over the kiss like he had taken over the kiss with you and Felix.

Hyunjin pulls away smirking. Minho glares at him. Hyunjin giggles like a school girl.

"Seriously?" Minho says and Hyunjin nods smile still on his face.

"We're never doing that again as long as I live." Minho says and Hyunjin rolls his eyes.

"Get over yourself. It wasn't that bad kissing me." Hyunjin says looking at you as you grab your food out the microwave.

"I'm a good kisser right Y/N?" Hyunjin says trying to bring you in the argument.

You don't look at him or reply instead opting to grab a fork from the drawer. You dig into your food ignoring him ready to take a bite but Hyunjin takes the fork from your hand. He dumps your food from your fork back into your bowl and holding it like it's a trophy.

"You'll get this back when you answer me." He says crossing his arms.

"I hope you know I can just go grab another fork." You say raising an eyebrow at him.

He laughs at you. "You don't think I'll stop you?" He says questioning you and you roll your eyes.

You look at Minho asking him for help but he just watches you waiting for an answer.

"Yes you're a good kisser! Now can I have my fork back?" You ask him huffing and he smirks.

"Give me a kiss first." Hyunjin says and you roll your eyes.

"I'm not hungry anymore." You say walking away from the table.

"Oh come on you kissed me yesterday! Why won't you do it now?" He asks you. You sigh knowing he's right.

"Fine but you won't ask me for anything else you promise?" You ask him and he nods smiling.

You peck his lips and he pouts giving you back your fork because he wanted to be fair.

You eat and finish your food as Hyunjin continues teasing Minho. "I'm going to go see Chan, Changbin, and Jisung in the studio. Don't burn the house down Hyunjin." You say and Hyunjin pouts.

"It was one time." He says sighing. You and Minho laugh at his words.

You start to make your way to Minho's room but you're quickly grabbed by Minho who smirks at you. Minho had a knowing look in his eyes and you can't help but tilt your head.

"What is it Minho?" You ask and he just chuckles.

Minho's grip doesn't leave you though. "Why'd you ask me that?" Minho says questioning you and you sigh.

"You look like you know something. Spit it out already." You say glaring at him.

"Feisty. Watch it before I give you something to shut that pretty mouth of yours up again." Minho brings a hand to your face cupping.

Minho continues to smirk at you. "But I guess I'll tell you...." Minho starts to trail off.

"I heard from a little birdie that someone was quite jealous hearing about our little escapade." Minho says close to your face.

"Who?" You ask and Minho just chuckles.

"A certain rapper." Minho says and your mind immediately goes to the 3 guys who were at the studio.

Minho watches your eyes widen slightly in surprise. "Jisung?" You ask knowing that Jisung has made multiple jokes about having sex with you.

"Nope." Minho says smirk still on his face.

Your eyes widen while realizing. "Chan?" You ask and you wonder if his smirk had gotten bigger at the name.

"Ding Ding Ding. What's the prize Hyunjin?" Minho says and suddenly Hyunjin is behind you.

"I think there's a lot more prizes coming soon." Minho smirks at Hyunjins words.

"Jinnie is right." Minho says before pulling away and you let out a sigh. Now you were hot and bothered.

Minho lets out a chuckle as you flick him off walking to his room to grab your bag.

[randoimago]

since requests will be closed soon, may i ask for sora, riku, axel and roxas from kingdom hearts crushing on an oblivious reader?

They Have a Crush on an Oblivious Reader

Fandom: Kingdom Hearts

Character(s): Sora, Riku, Axel, Roxas

Type of Request: Headcanons

Note(s): You got it!

Axel

Axel is the one that makes it obvious he's flirting. Just lots of teasing and touching, mostly playful shoving or poking your forehead. A wide grin is just on his face whenever he hangs out with you and his nonexistant heart is pounding in his chest, but you just don't notice.

Buys you so much seasalt icecream that Roxas starts to get jealous. Also gets you little gifts that he thinks you'd like. His flirting isn't working so maybe he can buy your affection a bit?

Absolutely sighs in exasperation when he talks to Roxas, Xion, and/or Kairi about how you haven't picked up on his flirting. They try cheering him up about it but he really doesn't mind too terribly. He'll confess to you one day, but for now he'll just be happy with remembering how you smile at his jokes.

Riku

Riku really isn't one to fall in love or crush on people so when he realizes he likes you, it definitely takes him a bit by surprise. He doesn't really know what to do with this crush and so he just keeps trying to be your friend because he doesn't want to ruin this relationship.

Except you never seem to pick up on the fact his ears turn red when you look super happy because of him. Or the fact that his eyes are softer when he listens to you talk.

Honesly anyone would be oblivious if Riku had a crush on them, so he's glad that you haven't noticed. He wants to be the one to confess to you one day and likes the idea of it being a (hopefully) nice surprise when he's ready.

Roxas

Fights with himself so often over the fact that he has a crush on you. He doesn't hate that he has a crush, it's just new and scary and he knows how to treat you as a friend. He doesn't like the idea that a crush could cause you two to drift apart.

Roxas is constantly on eggshells because what if you realize he has a crush on you? What if you start questioning him about why he blushes so much or why his heartbeat is so loud when you're near?

Don't get me wrong, one day when he has the courage and isn't afraid of your relationship changing then he'll confess. But for now he just wants to make you laugh and smile as his friend. Even if calling you "just a friend" hurts.

Sora

It's so obvious to everyone that he's crushing on you with how red his face gets and how he stutters a bit when talking to you. You just give him the classic, "You're so sweet, I'm glad we're friends" and he nervously chuckles at it.

Constantly tries to spend time with you when he can. Just going on walks with you or telling you about the different worlds he's visited. Absolutely brings back a little souvenier for you that he thinks you'd enjoy. Even if you don't realize his crush, he does like how your face lights up at the gifts.

Riku and Kairi are the ones that teases him about the fact you haven't noticed and make suggestions with what Sora could do. But honestly, even if you are oblivious to Sora's affections then he's fine as long as he can enjoy your presence and friendship. One day he'll confess to you, but for now he's happy just being your good friend.

[ghostytoad]

Omg I loved the raph req you just did!! Could I req basically the same thing but with a reader that’s similar to Leo instead? Thanks a ton<3

jfksdjhgklsh i've had to break this into multiple parts bc they turned out a little long, but hopefully they're just as good TwT

* Fun n' Games *

ROTTMNT Boys x GN! Leo-esque reader who enjoys drama, making jokes, and being overall awesome

Summary: The Hamato brothers unexpectedly fall for the smug, but genuine, fun-loving reader despite their egocentric habits

Headcanons for: Raphael

GN! Reader; Romantic; Fluff || Words: 1.3k

Donnie | Leo | Mikey | Bonus!!

Raph:

oh god, he's gotten his fill of worry-fueled headaches dealing with his little brother's shenanigans; why, WHY great pizza supreme in the sky did there have to be another one??

y/n's reckless antics has him worrying himself into an early grave, especially when they're so keen on proving themselves to everyone with dangerous stunts and high-action battles

it's not that he doesn't enjoy the odd adventure or two with them, but y/n's a HUMAN and he's a WAR MACHINE. he has to be extra cautious around them!

he's taken it upon himself to keep an eye on y/n at (almost) all times bc of their more impulsive actions; he is the oldest and biggest hamato after all, so who better to protect y/n?

if they're out and about with leo or mikey, he will DEFINITELY be there to intervene bc he knows those two are just askin' for trouble; he's their only braincell and they're NOT leaving him behind

it's through his constant surveillance (with some help from donnie), that he slowly starts to realize his feelings for them runs deeper than just wanting to keep them safe

god forbid y/n tries to hide their latest blunder or misadventure, raph will have an absolute FIT (nothing physical obviously, he'll probably get all pouty and insecure)

"look, i know i might not look it but inside, raph is just as scared as anyone else that the people i love could get hurt. i'm not mad, i'm just… tryna look out for you, y'know?"

mikey likes to tease raph for "babying y/n", which says a lot when it comes from the literal baby of the family; kinda forces raph to rethink his overbearing behavior

once he realizes just how overbearing and borderline scary he's being, he will do his best to back off and cut back on all the 'stalking' and 'babying'

will genuinely laugh at y/n's jokes, no matter how bad they are; even if leo literally made the same exact joke 10 minutes ago, raph can't help but double over wheezing with laughter when they say it

he finds y/n's delivery a lot better than leo's; genuinely thinks they are the funniest person alive

he will sometimes join in on y/n's teasing whenever it's directed at his brothers or at an enemy while they're fighting; if he manages to make y/n laugh at one of his jokes, he'll be over the moon with joy

has the habit of accidentally referring to y/n as 'leo' when he's scolding them or going into a long rant about staying safe or something; it's not that he sees y/n as a "human leo", he's just used to getting onto the red slider turtle for the same exact shenanigans so it's like an auto-response

immediately catches himself the moment he does misname them and profusely apologizes through his flustering tears; forgets what he was even mad about every time it happens

for a while, raph considered getting y/n a guard dog or something to watch over them but would they even want a dog? what if they're allergic or they have a terrible fear of dogs or something!

on top of that, despite claiming to be "good with animals", he basically scares off any small animal that comes within 10 ft of his towering stature

but aha, an idea! what if instead of a pet, he gave y/n something special of his? something he can trust to take care of them

as long as y/n PROMISES to keep it safe and clean, raph will gift them one of his special teddy bears to watch over them when he's not around

won't admit it, but he finds y/n's big ego and constant bragging to be incredibly endearing and will add to it whenever he can

like yeah, what isn't to like? they're cool, funny, they know where all the action's at, they have the prettiest eyes; it's no wonder y/n is as confident as they are - to be honest, raph's not sure why EVERYONE doesn't feel the same way about y/n

likes to use his special raph-exclusive catchphrase 'like a boss' to describe everything y/n does (a high honor in his culture)

"did you guys catch how y/n totally shut those clowns down like a boss?? i betcha they could take you three down no sweat!"

gaming buddies!! it's one of his favorite pasttimes and what better way to channel y/n's competitive energy than with some good ol' beat 'em ups

1v1 video game marathons are GUARANTEED to last days for the two of them; they've both managed to lose major sleep bc of how invested they get into the competition

but sleep deprivation has a habit of making fools of us all, even headstrong turtle mutants. and y/n just happens to be the subject of raph's sleepy rambles

"I swear, I can't feel my eyes…" Y/N's croaky, tired voice muttered as they fought sleep against the now-deflated beanbag, the dim glow of the television screen highlighting the dark circles of exhaustion, "How long have we been playing?"

Slumped over next to Y/N was the large turtle, struggling to muster a coherent sentence as total nonsense tumbled from his lips. As he lay facedown across his own plush beanbag, controller lazily dangling from his large hand, he continued to mutter unintelligably.

"Alright, big guy, let's get you to bed." Y/N groaned as they sat up to stretch. They couldn't help but smile as they watched Raph's sleepy form slump further forward in protest, his knuckles brushing against the floor from how far he'd shifted. He was stubborn to be sure, and all of this just to win a single round. It's not like Y/N didn't warn him ahead of time just how epic their combat gaming skills were! He really should've heeded their warning, it would've saved him hours of humiliating losses and subsequent insomnia.

"L'go one more roun'…" Raph finally managed to grumble, his voice tapering off as the drowsiness overcame him once again. He refused to let the night end until he'd bested his opponent at least once.

"Nuh uh, we're getting you to bed and that's final." the amusement in Y/N's tone stirred the mutant back awake.

"Fine, but I'll getcha next time." Raph finally relented with a sluggish grin and heavy-lidded eyes. With a grunt, he pushed himself up off the sack and was sent stumbling into Y/N's awaiting arms. They struggled to keep a grip on his large form, nearly losing their balance once his full weight shifted onto them. In an impressive show of determination, Y/N had managed to carry Raph into his room, opting to (not so gracefully) toss the massive turtle back onto his bed. Raphael didn't anticipate such a toss and with a hand still tightly gripped onto Y/N's waist, he managed to yank the human down with a light thud against his chest. If it had been anyone else, Raph would've been embarrassed enough, but this particular situation was one he'd keep himself awake at night thinking about. And yet here Y/N was, eyes wide with surprise and body held snug against his, completely unaware of Raph's affection for them. Would they leave? Would they scold him for being too clumsy? Did they think he was a creep?

"Uh… s-sorry. Did I hurt ya?" he managed to stutter, his expression flustered and suddenly alert. Despite the internal conflict, his hand held firm on their waist as if it was urging them to stay.

"No, no, I'm fine. We can chalk this up to you being a sore loser though~" Y/N teased with a light smirk, the dark blush that dusted across their face very evident, only rivaled by the even darker shade that burned at Raph's.

A soft silence fell over the both of them as they timidly avoided each other's gazes, neither willing to yield.

"Um… Good night, Raph-a-doodle. Love ya…" Y/N hummed, nuzzling deeper into his chest while they tried to settle into their new sleeping position. Raph couldn't stop the sigh of relief that escaped him, but the way Y/N looked so peaceful and snug on top of him brought him back into the quiet lull of slumber. They were actually going to stay. Did that mean that they…?

He'd leave that question for another night.

[the-way-astray]

Ok just saw that your asks are open

Ik that you do not like Keefe (for valid reasons)

But here's something for you to analyze/think about

Not necessarily to change your mind about him bit if it does it does

Ok so

At the end of neverseen Keefe said "sometimes things have to get worse before they get better"

Yes he was referencing to him running away and for lodestat Yada Yada what have you

But I FULL heartedly believe that it was foreshadowing for the entirety of his chara arc throughout the series

Cause as of stellarlune he is at his lowest of lows

However you want to classify that us he's there

The way he treats his friends, his relationships with them, his mental state, ability state, common sense

All of it

And do I think it's gonna get worse than what it already is

YUP

But here's what that quote implies

It DOES get better

Never says when or how

But just that it does

I fully believe that after he gets past the roughest patch (whether that's him currently or even him in book 10) that he'll slowly start to realize how he's been and start trying to be better and get the help he needs

And tbh

I don't think it'll be anytime soon

I feel like he needs to have the (inevitable) argument with Sophie to finally realized it

Cause trust me as much as I ship sokeefe I really do believe they need to have an argument

Maybe even not speak for a book

But it'll be good for him in the end and hopefully he sees how he's been acting these last few books

Thoughts on this?

okay, sorry this took so long to get to. every time i try to answer it, it doesn't come out quite right. but here's my best shot.

i would agree with the idea of "sometimes things have to get worse before they get better" as an arc for keefe. that would be cool. and obviously, since at the time of this writing, the series is unfinished, there's always a possibility shannon could turn it around for herself. i've talked about this briefly in some post from a while ago, but there is a chance shannon will execute a flawless character arc for keefe in unraveled. is it likely? not really. but i wouldn't say it's impossible.

what makes me think this will not happen? in short: the fact that his flaws, the real flaws, not "cares too much about sophie" or "is too willing to self-sacrifice", have not once been villainized or called out as something seriously wrong in the series.

here's a list (referencing this post, where i list out all the things i dislike about keefe, there's more than just what i listed here, but these are the character flaws):

"i hate the way he manipulates, gaslights, extorts, and pressures sophie (and other people) into telling him shit they wouldn't ordinarily." this is never made out to be a bad thing. the person on the receiving end usually just grumbles something like "empaths", then after five seconds it's dropped. you don't see it affect keefe's relationships, you don't see people become uneasy around him, keep their distance from him because oh, that's the guy that's going to spill my secrets, it never feels like this affects keefe's relationships in any negative way. there is no long-term damage. it is completely swept under the rug, and it is never, ever seriously villainized. if shannon wanted to execute a "sometimes things have to get worse before they get better" type arc for keefe with regards to this flaw, she'd have to start by having it be a negative thing. then only can keefe work toward a better place. but shannon skipped that crucial step. so how can i assume that she's trying to develop keefe out of this, even if the development goes forwards and backwards and all over the place?

"i hate what a terrible friend he is." there are so many examples of this that i can't remember exactly what i was referencing when i wrote that. in any case, basically the same as what i said above applies. keefe needs to first be villainized for his toxic behavior if he's to grow out of it. take his comments toward fitz in the famous healing center scene, as an example. yes, the scene is told from keefe's perspective, meaning obviously he's not going to hold himself accountable. but maybe elwin steps in and reprimands keefe for what he said. maybe keefe detects sophie's anger toward him for the comments he made toward fitz. maybe he's even told off by fitz himself. there are a variety of ways to make it clear that this is not a good person to be. only then can keefe's journey even begin. if shannon is to do a "sometimes things have to get worse before they get better" type thing for keefe with regards to this, then things have to get worse for him. he needs to feel the consequences of his actions, which he never does.

"i hate the way he simultaneously pedestalizes and infantilizes sophie." once again, this is never made out to be a bad thing. if anything, keefe's pedestalization of sophie is meant to endear the audience to him. his infantilization is disguised as """"""witty"""""" jokes, so that is also probably supposed to make us like him. shannon actually managed to take keefe's toxic traits and sell them to the audience as good qualities. could be a masterclass in writing if she did something with this, but it's very clear she actually believes that these are good things. once again, if keefe is to develop out of these things and find a better place, even if he makes a few mistakes and "gets worse", so to speak, at various points along his character arc, that would still require his arc to actually like. begin. shannon hasn't even reached that part. so once again, how am i supposed to expect that she'll write any kind of arc with regards to this?

"i hate the way he's so jealous, so passive-aggressive, so toxic to his supposed friends." i've talked about this very, very briefly before, but i'm almost certain that we're supposed to see keefe as being "in the right" during the healing center scene, at least as the way shannon intended for it to be taken. one second . . . okay i found the post where i said it. here's what i said verbatim: "#i really feel like. shannon genuinely did not mean for him to come off so mean#she was definitely banking on the fact that everyone hates fitz#it's FITZ that's the one that's the butt of the mean joke by KEEFE so nobody will care! right? right guys? guys?#and honestly she's probably correct about that because most of the fandom DOES like keefe and hate fitz so like". now obviously i cannot be 100000000% sure, but from years of reading and rereading these books, i've become pretty confident that shannon genuinely wants us to perceive keefe as an otherwise-perfect angel whose only flaw is recklessness and his tendency to self-sacrifice. so those are the only flaws for which she writes a proper arc. and once again, if she wanted to write any sort of arc for him, even one that isn't perfectly linear, she would first have to start my acknowledging that keefe is the possessive, jealous, toxic friend here. but she doesn't.

"i hate the way sophie has to constantly babysit him because she doesn't know what stupid thing he'll do next and i hate the way he doesn't care about that, despite claiming he's doing half the things he does for her." this is the last one i'll mention in this post, promise. his stupidity is the flaw, by the way. i would say it's acknowledged. so congrats, shannon, you've reached the first step. better than i can say for the last four points. but that's where it ends. it's never developed from. keefe doesn't know how to work on a team and is incredibly stupid, something i ran into the ground while writing my rant. and come unlocked, 8.5 books into the series, he is still incredibly stupid and doesn't know how to work on a team. he consulted exactly zero people before running away to the forbidden cities, and while you could argue that it was ultimately his decision, i do think he should've at least gotten other people's opinions. this decision was so monumentally stupid, i cannot wrap my head around it. i'll talk about it more in my part two rant, but in my opinion, it's his stupidest move yet. now, what about the "sometimes things have to get worse before they get better" arc idea for this? doesn't this mean that this could just be a low he's hitting in his arc? well personally i'd say no. because he never reaches a point where he feels like he's working towards not hijacking plans because he wants to genuinely be better and stop. the famous nightfall scene comes to mind, and as i've mentioned before, the reason this, in my opinion, isn't indicative of his arc progressing is that he apologizes entirely out of a desire to appease sophie and win her back to his side, and not because he actually wants to change. so that doesn't count. in legacy, sophie thinks to herself that if she doesn't go with keefe to london, he will find a way to get there himself, once again showing that he has no desire to consider other people's opinions. sophie actually only agrees to go because she's scared of what stupid shit keefe will get into if she's not there to babysit him. she caves to his hijacking, instead of nipping it in the bud, the way she tried to in nightfall. so i'd say there isn't any spectacular moment before unlocked where keefe is getting better with regards to his hijacking plans because he thinks he knows better than everyone else.

okay, now that i've hopefully sufficiently proven that keefe's arc is not a "sometimes things have to get worse before they get better" arc, at least not in the way it's executed in canon, i'll move to the rest of your points:

"as of stellarlune he is at his lowest of lows/The way he treats his friends, his relationships with them, his mental state, ability state, common sense" (sorry for formatting this like the lyrics of a freaking song, but i wanted it all in one paragraph lmfao.)

i disagree with this. i actually think his arc is looking up, with regards to his flaws, at least, in stellarlune. he seems like, to put it very, very bluntly, a morally better person. like he did some thinking in the forbidden cities and decided to get his shit together. this is why i say that i have to read unraveled before making my mind up about whether keefe's arc truly sucks or not. because if shannon has him acknowledge all the things i mentioned and make an effort to be better for himself, because he wants to be, then i can see how i could be swayed to the "keefe has a good arc" side. i do still think the chances of this are incredibly slim, though.

i would tentatively say the way he treats his friends is better in stellarlune. he certainly seems like he mellowed out a bit. he also only has like a couple hundred pages of that book to himself, and even less to showing what he's truly thinking on the inside, so it's difficult to tell for sure. his ability state and mental state are as shit as ever, agreed. but i'm not really talking about that? i'm talking about his arc and the flaws that i dislike about him, that i believe should be developed or at least called out for him to be a decent character.

"And do I think it's gonna get worse than what it already is"

same, but i think that low will be hit in unraveled. i think what we're seeing in stellarlune is actually him getting better from some major low he must've hit in unraveled. but once again, none of this has anything to do with why i dislike keefe. i dislike him because his flaws are never acknowledged or developed out of as the series progesses.

"I fully believe that after he gets past the roughest patch (whether that's him currently or even him in book 10) that he'll slowly start to realize how he's been and start trying to be better and get the help he needs"

one thing that i absolutely despise when it comes to writing character arcs is when like 90% of the development happens in the last like 10% of the series. it always feels incredibly rushed and incredibly forced, and it can be done well almost never. it's my opinion that arcs, and all the major progress and setbacks, need to happen evenly throughout the series so that you really feel like the character at the 25% mark is a different character than the one at the 75% mark, with regards to the thing being developed. i don't see that with keefe. he's a toxic friend in everblaze, he's a toxic friend in legacy. he's stupid in everblaze, he's stupid in legacy. he's manipulative in everblaze, he's manipulative in legacy. there hasn't even been a realization on his part.

having said all that, i do think there is a way to write his arc in unraveled that could at least make me tolerate him. and i do agree that there's a slim possibility that shannon could magically decide to develop him in book ten. but also keep in mind that book ten or book eleven is the last book. so there's a strong possibility that i'll still consider it too little, too late. but they are future books. i'll have thoughts when they come out for sure, but for now it's hard to tell what i'll feel about them.

"I feel like he needs to have the (inevitable) argument with Sophie to finally realized it/Cause trust me as much as I ship sokeefe I really do believe they need to have an argument/Maybe even not speak for a book/But it'll be good for him in the end and hopefully he sees how he's been acting these last few books"

i agree. i've actually talked about this briefly in my keefe rant, except i've talked about how i wanted them to fight in nightfall, not in book ten. here's that part, copy-pasted verbatim:

“Sometimes I still worry that some tiny part of her holds it against me. That she’ll never fully trust me. That she’ll always see me as the guy who betrayed her and stole from her and ran off with the enemy.” (Unlocked, Keefe's diary entries, 494) This would be really cool to explore if it was actually done. Sophie holding this against Keefe and struggling with that in the aftermath of Lodestar would be an awesome way to develop their relationship and have them overcome that hurdle and give them both some much needed development. But we know that aside from a single line at the beginning of Nightfall, Sophie never really blames Keefe. She just immediately forgives him for his time with the Neverseen. It’s pathetic writing. Something like that should have consequences. But it doesn’t, because then our poor Keefe will have to be *gasp* villainized. There could be this whole arc about how Sophie doesn’t trust Keefe the same and it impacts their relationship subtly and both of them feel it but don’t want to talk about it and it’s this giant, gaping hole. Then finally there’s a climax where Keefe confronts her about it and maybe she yells at him and he agrees that he’ll do anything to get her trust back. Then he does it. He does the smart thing, takes the smart advice. And he learns. He understands what he did was wrong and is truly a different person now. Honestly, the fact that Shannon explained this out shows me that she’s aware the possibility of this arc exists, but unfortunately, didn’t actually put it into action. Would it have been the most original conflict ever? No. But it would’ve been much better than whatever this dumpster fire of a lack of an arc she actually wrote is. I think I might’ve genuinely enjoyed Sophie and Keefe as a couple if she’d just made them have some distrust that they overcome through genuine work and growth.

anyway, if i didn't answer your question the way you wanted, feel free to shoot me a follow-up ask. i think i got it, but if i misinterpreted, tell me.

tldr: the reason i don't buy keefe's arc as a "sometimes things have to get worse before they get better" kind of arc is because that would require keefe's flaws to actually be acknowledged and villainized by the narrative, and for them to have actual consequences that affect him, which they do not. this leads me to believe shannon doesn't see these things as flaws, and therefore will never give keefe the development he needs to have a good arc.

[yan-lorkai]

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ A/N: This was supposed to be posted on Halloween but oh well... I'm halfway thought my assignments so I finally finished this, first time writing for Trey though and hopefully he doesn't seem too ooc.

.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ Warnings: Yandere content, poisoning.

The campus was filled with a mysterious and unsettling atmosphere, the school completely decked out to celebrate Halloween. And while his friends were out having fun and scaring each other, Trey was cooking up something special; an extremely sweet aroma wafting through the air.

On any other day those sweets would be just that, mere sweets. But the smile plastered on Trey's handsome face held a gleam of dangerous promise. A danger you were in without knowing.

Trey Clover, the trustworthy and charismatic one who always helps everyone with a smile, the same Trey who made you feel safe, who danced with you in the rain, who helped you study and always went out of his way to take care of you. This same Trey had an unshakable fixation, an unhealthy passion that burned in his heart.

Is this right? He thinks, his fingers tremble only for a second before he makes up his mind. And then he pours the love potion over the ganache and mixes harder, knowing how you couldn't resist them. He smiles when he remembers your face covered in icing and crumbs, you always devoured everything he gave you in seconds and he was proud of that.

You had no idea what he was planning for the night and by the time you suspected something it would be too late. When you suspected, if you suspected, Trey would already have control over your mind, over your heart, as was his right.

Only he could protect you, take care of you, as you deserved.

Black and orange candles illuminated the dark space, revealing a gloomy kitchen that was about to witness a terrible deed. Trey finishes the final touches on his sweets and lets them cool on the counter, listening with great fascination to the ticking hands of the clock. Every second closer to bringing you to him.

Trey was washing the dishes when you finally arrived, a light smile on your face and dressed like an angel, the white fluff of the feathers contrasting perfectly with your skin and the lipstick you used. A dreamy sigh escaped Trey's lips as he looked you up and down and you, laughing, spun around.

"Isn't it beautiful? Vil helped me choose the costume." You commented, seeming to analyze the costume he was wearing. Nodding after a few seconds.

"Uh, yes, it's beautiful. But any outfit looks great on you."

You smiled and thanked him for the compliment, your face becoming hot with embarrassment at the affectionate look he was sending your way. You looked at the dishes he was washing and asked. "Do you want help?"

Trey denied it. "There's something you could do for me, yes, eat those cupcakes. I made them especially for you." He pointed to the other bench.

If this were an anime you would be making heart eyes right now, a sweet smile appearing on your lips as soon as you spotted the sweets in the designated place. Oblivious to the danger lurking around you, you hugged Trey tightly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" You laughed.

If only you knew how much your sudden affection meant to Trey, a light blush taking over his cheeks as he watched you hold one of the cupcakes carefully, admiring the color, smelling the good smell, you took the first bite, the taste slightly bitter - different from normal, but you kept eating.

You had no reason to suspect him. The friendship you had built over the months made you let your guard down, ignoring the strange feeling that ran through your tongue and throat.

With each bite though, the poison infiltrated your body, spreading an intense, paralyzing cold. Your eyes widened in panic as you finally realized what was happening, but it was too late. You turned around quickly, dropping the cupcake, your hand raised towards Trey as if asking for his help, but he was smiling.

Trey was smiling.

The same sweet Trey you asked for help and told your deepest secrets, this Trey was smilling at your demise. The feeling of suffocation grew, bright spots dancing in your vision. The poisoned cupcakes had sealed your fate.

"Why?" You asked with the last of your strength.

Your heart raced, your senses began to cloud. Trey silenced any thought, any foolish and useless action you might try, pulling you into his chest, stroking your scalp as he rocked you from side to side.

"You always belonged to me, darling," Trey murmured as he moved closer. His voice taking on a possessive tone as he cupped your face with great care as if you were made of porcelain. "I have loved you since the day I first saw you. Now, you will be mine forever, in this life and the next, and in all others."

"I know, my love, I know." The whispered voice in your ear didn't ease your pain and fear, despite being the cause of it all, you still clung to his chest. You wanted him to make it stop or do something. "it hurts but everything will be fine in a couple of minutes."

And he was right.

Trey just kept holding you tight as you let out screams of pain and punched his chest, the same hands that poisoned you bringing a sudden comfort after several minutes had passed. You lifted your head from his chest and looked at him carefully, your memory of the events completely clouded.

As Halloween night progressed, you were entangled in the clutches of the man who was once your best and dearest friend, and the darkness that enveloped Trey Clover only grew more intense, ate him up inside, made him yearn for more. More of you, your hugs, your kisses.

With you in his arms, smiling, melting into the warmth and protection he emanated, Trey compared you to a doll. One that he would make a point of protecting and loving for his entire life.

[re-bee-key]

Just watched the Tumblr Live QnA Panel, and here's some of my thoughts:

* Had to toggle on Tumblr Live to watch and agree to the terms.

The stream itself was a little low quality visually, not terrible, but either they used a low quality camera or streaming isn't up to the same quality as other sites like Tiktok

* the gifting feature that mimics Tiktok was obnoxious. Users that seem to use Tumblr Live a lot where using gifts very often. The gift icons would take up most of the screen covering chat.

Some people in chat suggested that the gifters were Staff plants to make the site seem more popular than it is. There is no way to verify if they are or are not. But these individuals talked in the chat about how they use Tumblr Live all the time, and some dont even have blogs they only use Live. Which is????

I don't like the gifting emojis. But i dont like them on Twitch or tiktok either, so shrug emoji, i guess

Questions Answered (that i remember)

* The Chronological Dashboard will stay. They mentioned this several times that tumblr, while they are going to improve the For You algorithm, the main Chronological Dashboard will not change.

* Tumblr Live apparently isn't blocked in Europe and is just waiting for approval, which is soon. They said it being blocked was misinformation. (Which i have no way to verify.)

* LGBTQA+ and specifically Trans content getting flagged or censored is a bug, apparently. They said it happens from time to time, but reporting should fix it. Users in the chat were unhappy with this answer since the issue has lasted for such a long time and doesn't seem or feel random. But they did not comment further.

* Tumblr posts being collapsable was not super addressed. They sort of skimmed over this question and just said that they try lots of new features to see what works and what doesn't. Apparently, there will be a toggle to turn this feature on or off.

* Tumblr Groups was addressed. It was shut down because not enough users used the feature.

Apparently, not many users use Tumblr Live either, but they want to keep working on it to make it appealing.

* Another bit about Tumblr Live. CEO essentially said they will not give the option to permanently toggle off the feature.

One user had asked if Tumblr had investors. CEO said, "Of course."

CEO did mention they "might" add a way to permanently turn off tumblr live. But it if they did, it would be a paid option over $20.

* One user commented that they are epileptic and that certain ads trigger their seizures because of the flashing colors and wanted to know what they would do for this issue. Tumblr CEO said "Well you could pay for No Ads."

CEO talked about paying to go ad free a lot. Saying only 25 thousand users pay for it at the moment.

Personally, it seems really irresponsible to suggest that the only way to fix an accessibility issue is for a user to pay money. As if disabled people dont have to pay enough as it is.

* I had asked if they were willing to work with more artists for Merch and Badges. They said they are working on it and there is a feature called Creatr that is set up to uplift creators and work with them on merch ideas.

I've never heard of Creatr. He seemed like we should have known what it was? Maybe they should promote that more. I know we all want more ways to support artists.

* More Badges and Achievements are coming. Apparently, a Legacy Badge that shows how long you've been on tumblr is in the works. (Im personally very excited about Badges.)

* Tumblr is thinking bout doing more QnA and even meet ups at different conventions and some even at the headquarters themselves. (They did not acknowledge questions that asked for a Headquarters video tour.)

Anyways, that was about all I can remember. Staff didn't record the panel, so hopefully, one of the other users did.

They talked about other random stuff. Calling out gifters specifically and rambling about donuts and books.

Oh, also, they brought a ball pit. Which is, yeah. Lol

[dracowars]

Hi you can write a draco: late at night he's in the main hall studying for an exam and he can't concentrate because he's already tired so a paper bird flies towards him where it says something like "rest your mind a while" bit" and then he looks up and sees that the paper came from an unknown Ravenclaw who also studied there. So they do something like, have fun in the hallways, something like running away from Filtch and his cat. Draco doesn't know her but she has always watched him from afar.

can't you see me | draco malfoy

pairing: draco x ravenclaw!reader

word count: 1,5k

summary: where y/n gets draco's mind off an upcoming exam

a/n: this was such a cute idea, hopefully i could do it justice. feedback & reblogs are always appreciated!

warnings: none

universe: harry potter

To say that Draco’s brain is spinning is an understatement. His head is throbbing, his eyes are dry, and his lips are a little chapped. He is balancing on the verge of shutting his eyes, just for a few seconds, but he keeps shaking his head in an attempt to stop himself, pushing his hands in his eye sockets to keep them from falling shut. Studying for this test for Professor Snape’s class really pushes him to the limit. He doesn’t even remember how long he has been sitting in the Great Hall, he is so engrossed in his work he doesn’t perceive anything happening around him. Lately, Draco comes here every night when he can’t fall asleep because he is plagued by those terrible nightmares once again. He feels safe here, surrounded by warm light that defies the darkness outside, and even though he is alone, it somehow makes him feel good.

However, he is not as alone as he initially thought or as is so often the case. Because just as he is about to pick up his quill again, which he had previously put aside to give his hand a break for at least a few minutes, something enters his field of vision. Out of nowhere, a white paper crane lands in front of him, carefully folded from parchment paper. Motionless, Draco stares at it for a few seconds before slowly raising his gaze and making eye contact with the most beautiful eyes he has ever locked eyes with.

You sit at the Ravenclaw table, studying, just as alone as Draco, but when your eyes meet you immediately lower your head and the letters on your paper suddenly seem so much more interesting. You know there is no point in pretending you weren’t the sender of the message when you are clearly the only two people in the Great Hall right now. In fact, you are probably the only two people in this castle who are still awake at this hour.

Draco, whose breath got stuck in his throat unnoticedly as he looked at you and saw your reaction, turns his attention to the paper crane still perched on his notes. Carefully, he unfolds it and his gaze wanders over the beautifully written words.

‘You should take a rest – Y/N’

An unfamiliar feeling washes over Draco, and heat rises in his cheeks as he scans the words over and over again, his gaze catching on the small peculiarities of your handwriting. Suddenly, despite your presence which he hasn’t noticed until now, he feels even safer and more comfortable in this place. Even though those are just written words, he feels seen, he feels cared for. From a person he doesn’t even know and who he has never noticed before, at least not that he knows of.

“Hi, uhm. Did you send me that message?”, Draco asks, wanting to bury himself in the ground and never come out into the open again after uttering those stupid words. ‘Of course the message is from her, you idiot’, he inwardly chides himself.

Although you are seated at a different table, the distance between you isn’t so great that you couldn’t have heard him, and for a moment Draco thinks that maybe you didn’t, perhaps you were too engrossed in your own tasks. But when he tries to start again, you interrupt him with a shy smile that makes Draco’s stomach churn.

“Y-Yes. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb. You.. just looked a bit exhausted”, you smile sheepishly, fidgeting with the quill in your hands, always avoiding Draco’s gaze.

“No, no, no. You didn’t disturb me. I just didn’t see you there is all..”, Draco laughs nervously and then falls silent again. “B-But thanks. For being worried about me. I mean- Maybe you aren’t even worried and just-”

“May I show you something?”, you ask after you have gathered all your courage, stopping his rambling in an instant. You have already sent him that message, so why not take it one step further? You want to take if further, mainly because he is so completely different than expected. Of course you already knew he is different alone than when he is hanging out with his Slytherin friends. You have watched him from afar long enough to be able to tell. But while you always see him, he has never seen you before.

“Yeah, sure. What is it?”, Draco asks curiously, snapping you out of your thoughts. Usually, it is not like you to lose yourself in them. Actually, you always know what is happening around you, always having a plan in mind, but Draco just seems to shatter these laws that you set up for yourself with ease.

Taking a deep breath, you stand up from your seat, stow all your books in your bag and look over at Draco, who didn’t expect that what you want to show him requires him to actually get up, but he does it anyway, following your every move without a word. At the entrance of the Great Hall, you stand directly opposite each other for the first time, each looking at the other directly.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“I’m Draco, but, uh, you probably already know that”, Draco introduces himself, an uncertain smile on his lips as he scratches his neck in embarrassment.

“I’m Y/N”, you reply, beginning to walk in one direction, with Draco following you suit. You didn’t expect that this banal introduction, this simple getting to know each other, would immediately lead to deeper discussions, but you suddenly find yourself hanging on his every word as he talks about his last lesson in Potions class or how much some of his friends – if you can even call them that – annoy him. From this moment on, it feels like you have known each other for ages.

“What, precisely, do you want to show me again?”

“See for yourself”, you smile at him, leading the way up a winding staircase before opening a heavy door at the top, revealing complete darkness that stretches beyond. Together, you step out onto the astronomy tower and into the cool night air. Draco, who suddenly fell completely silent, is now standing close to you, your hands only a few inches from touching.

“This is absolutely breathtaking. Wow!”, Draco marvels and you smile to yourself, proud to show him a place in this huge castle where he has apparently never been to before. It is your personal favorite place when you are feeling down, your safe space when you need to gather new strength. You always regain your focus up here, and you hope that Draco feels the same effect at right this moment.

You can’t enjoy this pleasant togetherness and sudden proximity for long, however, when suddenly you hear noises in the distance, faintly sounding like footsteps, which can only mean one thing: Filch. Draco, without much thought, takes your hand in his and drags you down the stairs behind him, going for a record-breaking sprint. Filch, running around the corner with his trusty cat, can’t see you anymore but he is still able to hear your footsteps and, especially, your laughter. You want to stop laughing, but right now you couldn’t care less about what would potentially happen if he caught the both of you. As long as it happens with Draco by your side, you will be fine.

Quickly, you wind your way through the corridors of the old castle, past the sleeping paintings and hundred of staircases, your final destination being the Ravenclaw common room. Along the way, your heart painfully pounds in your chest a few times because you do not want this night to end yet. You wish you could spend the whole night, or, at least, what is still left of it, with him.

“Here we are”, Draco smiles breathlessly as you arrive at the door without a doorknob or keyhole, but a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle. “Get in quick, don’t let the old man catch you.”

Another laugh escapes your mouth at these words, something you realize you do quite often around him. And Draco loves every single time he can hear this beautiful sound erupting from you. Smiling, you nod and reach for the knocker, but hesitate and turn to Draco, who seems to be waiting for something.

“This was.. great fun.”

“I had a lot of fun today”, you say at exactly the same time, your words overlapping each other, making you both giggle, before Draco speaks up again, this time without you interrupting.

“Thank you, Y/N. That was.. unbelievable”, he thanks you sincerely and you can see that he is more than serious about this. The way he is looking at you in that moment like there is only you in this world causes butterflies to flutter in your stomach.

“Can we.. meet again?”

His question catches you off guard for a second, but you couldn’t be happier about it. Suddenly the courage that got you into this situation in the first place returns, grabbing its hold on you. Gently, you place a kiss on his cheek, stepping back with a smile and looking at his flushed face before actually hitting the knocker this time.

“Same time tomorrow. I will wait.”

[factorialsotherfandoms]

It's strange, waking up on the island and being told nothing. Cellbit only has to look to see that there are problems, but there's no messages asking for a private audience, nobody screaming in chat, nobody tracking him down... When he said he retired he wanted this, wanted the ability to just work on ripping the Federation seam from seam, with teeth and claws and hate.

He can't say he doesn't miss it, though.

Given what little he has been told by the few people he has run into, he doubts there's anything new in the Order. Still, he makes a point of going to look.

The doors squeak and the entrance is dusty, and it doesn't look like anyone has been here... In months, really.

The lights are on, though.

Cellbit pauses, and looks around. The trail of lights leads to the meeting room, but nobody called hello to him.

He grabs his knife.

Slowly, slowly, slowly...

He creeps around the corner, and immediately relaxes.

As to why Philza is sat in his chair, asleep with his head resting on folded arms, Cellbit has no idea. But, the man is asleep there, great black wings draped over his back.

Cellbit has seen them before, of course, in purgatory, but... But everyone had had access to wings, then, or at least more had - Fit's certainly aren't still there, and even then they look somehow... Bigger.

He tries not to stare - he knows people called Philza Old Crow, but he did not realise it was quite so literal - and steps over. It's a poor place to sleep, and even at Cellbit's age it messes with his back.

Touching people is, though, a terrible way to wake them up.

So instead Cellbit takes the seat opposite, and watches him a little.

"Hey Philza."

He doesn't so much as stir - Cellbit tries a few more times, before concluding he either risks getting stabbed, or just leaves Philza there.

Leaving him is, of course, the sensible option.

So Cellbit takes a pen out of his pocket, and pokes Philza in the forehead with the back end.

Three pokes and Philza still hasn't stirred, so Cellbit decides to risk it. He gets back up, and moves over to that side of the table.

Knowing his own strength he does not risk moving Philza far, instead just hoists him to Foolish's sofa. Even for Philza it's a little short, but at least his back is straight.

The whole activity does not even cause Philza to stir, and Cellbit is not sure if he should laugh or be worried, but he does know what else can be done; he slips through to the infirmary, stealing the blankets and pillow from one of the beds. The pillow he eases beneath Philza's cheek, and the blanket he drapes over him.

It doesn't quite hide his wings, but it does hide the rose clutched in his hand - Cellbit wonders who it might be from, to be held so tight and carefully. Missa, perhaps? If Roier gave him a rose, Cellbit would probably cling to it for just as long.

He turns to go, to turn out the lights and let the man sleep - there's nothing to do in the meeting room, and he can just work further away so the sound doesn't travel.

And then he spots a book, dropped on the floor amongst a dusting of black feathers. So many fell when Philza was moved, and Cellbit only hopes that that is normal behaviour.

He wouldn't know - he doesn't have wings.

Intending to just put the book on the table, Cellbit reaches down for it. It fell face down and splayed open; no book deserves such punishment, so he turns it over, and begins straightening the pages.

'Dear Cellbit' the first line reads and, well, Cellbit can stop pretending he isn't going to snoop there and then.

'Dear Cellbit' he reads again, and a mental check confirms Philza's handwriting. 'Shit's fucked. Sorry if I missed you, came here to wait as you're probably busy. I've left you some crap in a locked chest by the Cucurucho with the pompoms poster - you're on the allow list - just in case. Hope it helps.

'Hopefully someone's given you the rundown already, if not here's the short version - Luffy, little guy from Purgatory, showed up, told me the Feds were fucking torturing him (stuff in the evidence bag, ask me later for a sharestone if you want to see the originals). Eye workers showed up, demanded him, I was like nah mate, they're like give me 3 days or we kill Chayanne. They left, the Feds showed up, they lassoed me and kidnapped Luffy and the fucking eye bastards have been attacking us since. Chayanne's fine, not everyone is. Empanada - Bagi and Mouse and Tina and I can't actually remember's new egg - has lost a life to them already. Feds don't give a shit, but when have they ever? We tried looking for Luffy, but can't find him.

'The other new eggs are Sunny and Pepito. Sunny's Tubbo's and Pepito's Roier's - I think Pepito's claimed you too? - but you'd have to ask about the other parents. All three are great. Em likes candy, Sunny likes diamonds, Pepito likes pretending to be spiderman. Apparently they're from Purgatory and Cucurucho found them while rescuing our eggs? Who then spent a week in fucking hospital? They're okay now, but I swear to God Cucurucho's been on a PR kick or something recently.

'Roier is missing. You probably want to know Roier is missing. I have no fucking clue what's going on, just seen the posters Pepito left - Foolish has been watching Pepito, so check with them. He's been gone since a bit before Christmas and nobody seems to know shit.

'Oh right in some of the photos I have wings. People keep being confused by my wings. I'm not sure why, but I guess a quick explain. They were fucked, they healed during purgatory, they got fucked again rescuing Tubbo and myself from the nuke. As you do. They usually stay in the backpack as they're too weak to stay folded and dragging injured limbs in the mud is a shit plan. Getting a bit stronger, though, so been exercising them.

'Good news for once! Fit and Pac are dating - congratulate Richas on getting them together for me? I've only managed to catch Ramon. Like. Officially dating dating, not whatever was going on before.

'Something about a worker named Elena getting arrested? And Cucurucho being missing but a different one spying on us? Ask Bagi, she told me.

'New way to do our governmental obligations to stop them murdering our kids, get someone to run you through the new egg quest system, any day I have time I'll leave what you need in the crate next to the baker. It makes sense I swear.

'Okay no it's fucking bullshit, but it's a Fed project what do you expect?

'Missa came back! He's not been about for long and I missed him :( but Chayanne managed to convince him out of the goat pen and back with the rest of us and they were attacked by a talking rat with a gun demanding they rob the store for fortnite cheese. Always the most cursed shit for him.

'What else... I've been having weird fucked up dreams, Fit made me promise to tell you. Mostly worked it out, though. But if I vanish and you find a weird purple portal do /not/ under any circumstances go through it. Don't lick black voidrocks either. And don't let anybody else. You'll know what I mean if you see it. There's a rose in the evidence bag. It's a protection charm, nothing else, but I'd feel better knowing you had it. Please humour me and carry it?

'There's also something about Naked Slenderman? Ask Mike. Have seen it, have left you a photo, it's fucking creepy but fuck only knows what's going on there.

'Glad to have you back, mate, sorry about the bullshit, had some leftover coffee from an egg quest so it's in the chest as an apology. Need to just hang out sometime without all this mess.

'Miss you, welcome back, shit only got more cursed in your absence lol,

'Philza.'

Cellbit isn't sure whether to laugh or cry; he's supposed to be retired, and now his husband is missing and the island is under attack and who even knows what the rest of this means. Nobody else has told him shit worth knowing when they always used to do so, a forgetting or a broken trust or /something/, and yet here Philza is telling him who to talk to, a bag of photos still in hand.

Cellbit is supposed to be retired.

He still goes straight to the Federation worker charts, finishing reading as he walks, and finding the chest.

There's a stack of coffee in there, and he immediately takes a cup. Philza's kinda crap at brewing the stuff, but coffee is coffee and it's warm.

And also the bag.

There's a note saying he can keep it, everything filed into the neat little rows - and, yes, the Naked Slenderman looks extremely cursed and Cellbit's probably a little murdery to approach Mike so good luck to him - with everything from just cute photos of Richas in the time he missed to a whole series of books and photographs about Luffy and the Eye Workers.

True to form, Philza has even left notes in a few places. Notes!

Cellbit's supposed to be retired, but... There's no harm in at least keeping track of it, surely? And if Philza happens to show him somewhere relevant, or someone else brings problems to him...

Roier first. Fuck, Roier. Roier first and pray it's not punishment for the murders. Save Roier, save Richas, find out what the hell is going on, then fuck shit up some more.

Philza really doesn't have anything on what happened to Roier, just a copy of a poster drawn in a very young hand, and an instruction to talk to Pepito and Foolish.

Foolish is on, though, so...

Cellbit sends him a message, slips the rose from the bag to his pocket, and remembers to breathe.

He'll thank Philza when he sees him - for now he has a husband to save.

[secretmellowblog]

@breadvidence recently wrote a great bit of Les Mis meta where they pointed out how Jean Valjean’s “compliments” to Javert in Montreuil-sur-Mer really are just..... conciliatory flattery, and don't reflect his real feelings about Javert at all. And that's a great point, and something I wish more people explored! Lines like "you are a good man and I esteem you" aren't Jean Valjean's earnest feelings towards Javert. Instead they’re examples of the way Jean Valjean often retreats into excessive deferential politeness to authority as a survival strategy. As I mentioned in another recent post— Jean Valjean is a genuinely kind person, but he’s also someone who often has literally no choice but to act overly polite to authorities/the police, because if he’s not polite enough they might start to find him suspicious. If he doesn't lick their boots enough, they might start investigating him. He's instinctively deferential out of fear of violence. He's flattering out of fear. He's polite "at gunpoint." He's polite to cops the way you're polite to an armed police officer who pulls you over.

And Jean Valjean's polite tranquil behavior towards Javert during Javert's "resignation"— saying things like “you are a good man and I esteem you, I want you to keep your job” and etc etc— is later explicitly confirmed to be at least somewhat of a calculated tactical decision Jean Valjean made out of terror:

He was carried away, at first, by the instinct of self-preservation; he rallied all his ideas in haste, stifled his emotions, took into consideration Javert’s presence, that great danger, postponed all decision with the firmness of terror, shook off thought as to what he had to do, and resumed his calmness as a warrior picks up his buckler.

I love the phrase "he resumed his calmness as a warrior picks up his buckler"-- it's such a great way of summarizing how Jean Valjean's ability to have polite conversations even when he's breaking down internally has been such a useful defense mechanism for him. I also love the contrast between the excessively polite way Jean Valjean talks to Javert when he’s acting out of terror/self-preservation….vs the more honest way he talks about Javert when he’s alone during Tempest in a Skull:

“That Javert, who has been annoying me so long; that terrible instinct which seemed to have divined me, which had divined me—good God! and which followed me everywhere; that frightful hunting-dog, always making a point at me, is thrown off the scent, engaged elsewhere, absolutely turned from the trail: henceforth he is satisfied; he will leave me in peace; he has his Jean Valjean. Who knows? it is even probable that he will wish to leave town! And all this has been brought about without any aid from me, and I count for nothing in it!”

It's just extremely funny. The contrast between “you are a good man and I esteem you” vs “that Javert, who has been annoying me so long” <3 The contrast between “you are an honest man” vs “that frightful hunting dog” <3 The contrast between “I want you to keep your job” vs Jean Valjean fantasizing enthusiastically about how hopefully Javert will leave town and never ever annoy him again. <3

It makes the “Punish Me, Monsieur le Maire” stuff even funnier. Jean Valjean is dissociating out of panic and saying whatever polite platitudes he thinks will flatter Javert....but those polite platitudes keep making Javert spiral further into long-winded deranged rants about how he dESPISES this kindness and it enRAGES him, as Jean Valjean just sits there very politely & quietly losing his mind. It’s peak comedy really.

I feel like Jean Valjean’s deeply weird thing with Javert often gets flattened in different directions, when people interpret it. Either Jean Valjean is an all-forgiving all-loving angel who thinks Javert did nothing wrong, and all of his flattery is sincere expressions of admiration—- or Jean Valjean is (like in the BBC version) the kind of violent pitiless person who would angrily order Javert to kill himself. It's rare for writers to get anything resembling the hilariously baffling ambiguous Weirdness of his relationship with Javert in the book. I think it's because adaptations often don't grasp the idea that a genuinely kind compassionate character can also (underneath it all) still be deeply tormented, broken, and angry-- and that their anger doesn't mean they're any less kind, or any less capable of pity and mercy.

[morgana-ren]

I'm sorry if something similar has been asked before. But, I imagine that some of Tav's close friends are concerned about her being a Dark Consort. She's not returning letters as frequently and is intentionally vague on any plans for a reunion. How would Ascendent Astarion react if one of their former comrades showed up at their palace attempting to see Tav? And if that person might have been a former flame of Tav's before she chose Astarion over them?

They aren't seeing Tav. I can tell you that right now.

Astarion is going to know they're coming before they've even decided to do it, and he's going to ensure that nothing intervenes with his plans.

Astarion has quite literally stated that he has zero qualms with turning on their old comrades if they get in his way. He makes a joke about preemptively killing Wyll because he's the most likely to be a problem for them going forward, and he absolutely means it.

If it was just an old comrade that used to be friends with them both, Astarion would probably receive them politely-- albeit there is no Tav in sight when he does-- and soothe over their anxiety as best as he can.

She's fine, she's fine! She's just busy, is all! A little indisposed at the moment. Resting. He wore her out... If you catch his meaning.

(Yes, I imagine he is inappropriate about it deliberately to keep them from asking questions and to assert just what kind of relationship they have to hopefully discourage further meddling.)

He'd prefer not to kill them if he can help it. Not because he cares, but because it would make his darling awful sore on him for a while, and it's such a miserable pain when she's angry. He's going to use his silver tongue to convince them that she's fine, but that their aspirations and plans keep them so busy so really, it's a terrible inconvenience to just have guests out of the blue, so it's best they be on their way. Ta!

For a former flame, he's really going to double down on the 'relationship' bit, and he's going to be blatantly... disrespectful, to put it nicely. No one is going to steal Tav from him, and if that's why they came here, they will not be leaving. At least not in one piece.

They lost. Astarion won. She belongs to him now, and they need to make peace with that. She's happy with him. It's not his fault they're a sore loser, and really, it's quite pathetic that they're coming up with excuses like this to try and see her. She doesn't want to see them. She's happy with Astarion. Don't you get it? She couldn't even be bothered to be here to greet them! (Of course she knew they were coming... what do you mean 'did she even know?')

She's his queen, and he has no intentions of ever changing that.

It's time they moved on from their pathetic little crush.

Astarion understands it's so hard to lose, but this is just a pathetic display of desperation. Making up some bollocks reason to check in on her in an attempt to see her. It's sad, truly. Tav has moved on, and it's time they did too.

He sends them on their way without ever catching hide nor tail of Tav, with nothing but his word...

And if they keep harassing Tav, then he takes matters into his own hands, one way or another.

Tav herself has absolutely no idea that anyone even came to visit, and Astarion would see it kept that way, staff held under pain of death to keep their fucking mouths shut. There will be hell to pay if she ever gleans someone dropped by.