#i am familiar with your game buddy

[sneakyboythingz]

Some weird Ragapom shippers think people cant see their litte slick move of headcanoing Jax and Ragatha as siblings so they can discretly make bunnydoll shipers ashamed of their otp bc they think bunnydoll is weird

I have seen this game being played far too many times, i know their exact intentions behind those "siblings" headcanons, i know very well.....

[fuji-sen]

the 'evil imposter' just wants to be a baker!

Prologue: The Foodie turned Imposter?!

Part 5: Burning Pinecones

[ part 4.5 ] || [ masterlist ] || [ part 6 ]

divider is made by @/saradika-graphics

warnings: the usual violence/blood for sagau fics.

"Traveller, would you like to accept a personal quest from me?"

Aether stared dubiously at the man in front of him, which the Cavalry captain noticed "Come on, aren't we friends?" The blond and Paimon stared at him incredulously, then the two travelling partners stared at each other, engaging in a mental conversation.

'Do they not trust me that much?' Kaeya felt a bit hurt but brushed it off when the duo turned to him once more. "You're not going to ask us to hunt down this 'imposter' are you?"

It was the blue haired man's turn to stare at them flabbergasted "My, you think so little of me. Haven't you heard the saying Innocent until proven guilty?" "We know that!" Paimon huffed "it's just. . you're still in the knights of Favonius, We're surprised you haven't gone all. ."

"Murderous" Aether offered.

"Yeah! It's a surprised you aren't as murderous as Jean and Lisa were with this lookalike." Paimon pointed out. "That's fair, but I would prefer knowing all the details before acting."

Aether sighed, "all right, then I'm guessing you want us to track down the lookalike and gather information to help decide whether they are the imposter or not. . right?"

"Astute as ever dear Traveler" Kaeya clapped with a Cheshire like grin. "Why can't you do it though?" The traveler questioned "You're more familiar with the region as a resident of Mondstadt."

"Be that as it may, I am a member of the Knights. I expect Jean will be ordering all of us in a mandatory man-hunt for the 'Imposter.' You two on the other hand have a chance of not partaking in it in the guise of already being on a separate quest."

Aether and Paimon frowned, "are they really set on killing them?" He asked, he did not like this, he did not like how they were acting. Upon first meeting them, they seemed reliable and level-headed, now they seemed like. .

"Faith does a lot of things to a person traveler, Paimon. You will find that once word spreads across Teyvat that person will no know peace, even if they end up really being the Creator. So hopefully you find them first."

Golden eyes stared into periwinkle eyes. "Should I warn them about everything?"

Kaeya combed his locks "I'll leave that decision to your judgement in character. I should go now, I have a feeling that Jean will have someone call for me soon."

"Then me and Paimon will head out now, but. . have you any idea where they might be?"

ִֶָ𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ🐇་༘࿐

Thanks to the effort of the Samuchurl and the other hilichurls you had recovered quickly. All though the scars remained littering your body, still the pain that lingered was gone, you were no longer bothered by the lingering effects of electro from Lisa's attacks.

Your stomach was no longer empty and you were no longer in tattered clothes. The Pajamas although salvaged was now in a rucksack, you debated on whether throwing it away but seeing as it is your last memento of a life so far away from your grasps. . you decided to keep it in the end.

Now however, what draped your body was clothes that you could only describe as traditional or ethic, the type of clothes you'd see hilichurls wear. Luckily it fitted you and covered you properly considering hilichurl clothings usually cover the lower half of the body if you compared it to the in-game models. It reminded you of Claude's first attire in 'who made me a princess'*.

However the Hilichurls did not wear shoes so you had were still going to be walking barefoot. Dvalin or rather in the current timeline, Stormterror, had not returned to the area, you assumed he would be with the abyss mages or terrorizing mondstadt so you weren't scared for your safety (not like Dvalin would ever hurt you but you don't know that-) and you could stay with the hilichurls and your pyro buddy who were the best company right now!

Still. . you can't help but let your eyes linger away from the hilichurl camp. Despite the trauma that would no doubt haunt you for a long time, you still wanted to just. . explore Teyvat and everything it had to offer, well except for the people, you wanted to try the cuisine, wear there clothes and if it seemed like you'd be stuck here till you die. . maybe open up a shop or find a permanent home.

Inazuma would be nice as it would be based on Japan, but Liyue's culture also caught your eye. . but then Mondstadt's scenery, Fontaine's architecture and fashion. . .

"So while the hilichurls were busy you decided to take a walk, of course, some inkling inside you knew to avoid any humans and since your choices were either the brightcrown canyon teeming with enemy mobs or go south and find your way to dawn winery and then wolvendom. .

Brightcrown canyon was your choice of course.

"What-" you stare at the pyro slime that was angrily bouncing in front of you, as if stopping your escape. "I'm just going to take a walk."

It's stare was unnerving, clearly not wanting you to go anywhere else but the hilichurl camp. "I'm not going near any mondstadters if that helps my case!"

It stopped, blinking and then began happily prancing around you in circles.

You chuckled at the cute pyro slime as you scoped him in your hands, you didn't question how you weren't harmed by its flames, you were afraid to know what that means for you after all. Would that be considered proof of being an imposter?

ִֶָ𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ🐇་༘࿐

"Okay so last that anybody has heard of this creator lookalike, is that they fell off the cliff behind the headquarters of the knights and landed in Cider Lake" Paimon repeated as she and Aether were just outside of the city, across the bridge and in front of a fork in the road.

The left road would lead back to the whispering woods then to the lake, then the beach where they came from when Aether first came to Mondstadt. The middle one would lead to Wind rise and farther off would be cape oath. Then the path that led to the right of them would lead to a small village named Springvale, then to dawn winery and Wolvendom and the farthest place there would be Stormterror's lair.

They stared at the map that Kaeya had kindly given them, marked with numerous locations that were well known in Mondstadt. "Okay then what happened after is that Stormterror came during the commotion which led to a chance for the person to escape. . then when they fell into the lake, followed by soldiers trying to catch them. . Stormterror took a sip or rather bite out of the lake and ate the people there?"

Aether continued with a distraught looking expression as he tried to imagine it, well he didn't have to imagine it for long because due to a commotion near the lakeside he turned, finding Amber and a few knights pulling a net which contained fish, clothes and . . dismembered limbs.

Paimon paled, floating behind him as she covered her eyes.

Despite the nauseating feeling he approached to inquire about the bodies, it would be bad if the creator lookalike had been eaten by Stormterror. "Oh Traveler come here!" Amber waved over as he gulped but nonetheless reluctantly got closer. The smell of iron filled their noses, nauseating them.

"A-are you finding the 'lookalike' I heard they fell into the lake?" Aether offered, trying to ignore the close up looks of the bodies in his peripheral vision. "Yes, we are looking for the 'imposter' we need to make sure they're dead." The outrider corrected, with a disturbing look the travelling duo could not quite place for a lack of better terms.

The blond haired boy scrutinized the outrider in front of him, sure they had a rough first meeting when Amber was very suspicious of him but he got past that because she was doing her job, this however. . hunting down a person just because of the face they were born with, was this her job as well as an outrider? as a knight of Favonius? This was not the person he respected, and that made it all the more disappointing.

This entire situation flabbergasted him, perhaps it was because he was not of this world but. . was it common sense to hunt someone down and kill them on sight for having the face of a God? would there be no trial? no interrogation or due process? He understood the appeal to devote ones self to the Creator, for he felt their lingering warmth and love even from an inanimate statue in their image.

He also understood that there was a prophecy of an imitator, a devil disguising themselves as the creator and being a sign of chaos, and sure Mondstadt was in a chaotic state but what if the prophecy wasn't real? prophecies weren't exactly reliable anyways and was it worth risking the chance of harming and offending their Creator if that person wasn't an imposter??

"What got you so quiet?" Amber noticed as the boy flinched, "nothing, it's just the smell is bothering me."

"Oh- that's fair, Sorry for making you come closer I should have approached you instead" she at least had the nerve to be sheepish about it "This is the first time Stormterror killed someone. Mostly they have been causing disturbances with the storms and some injuries here and there, but this would be the first recorded casualties."

"Does that mean, Stormterror's gotten ticked off by something?"

"Probably, it's probably because of the Imposter" the brown haired girl's lips had thinned considerably "I guess Stormterror has a bit more common sense to attack the Imposter as well. That's nice at least, if only he had finished the job."

Aether forced himself to laugh awkwardly, "well, I uh see. . anyways I need to go. I have a quest to fulfill."

Not really noticing his behavior, Amber offered something with a smile "Oh where are you headed? I'll be going on a search and exterminate party with a small group of knights maybe we could join together and help each other."

"Maybe some other time-" Paimon finally spoke, cutting Aether off "Sure! Where are you headed?" Amber who brushed off what Aether was originally going to say "We're going to comb the areas around the lake, if Stormterror didn't managed to kill the imposter then it's likely that they were able to swim to the shores."

"Wait-" Paimon quickly elbowed her friend before turning to Amber "then uhh, we'll pick the farthest one, it's more important that we find the Imposter after all, right Aether?"

"I- oh yeah, I guess." he quickly said after realizing why Paimon was agreeing to the suggestion.

Paimon's eyebrows had ticked in annoyance at the subpar acting Aether possessed. Honestly, could he not be so obviously weird about the imposter-lookalike situation!

Amber meanwhile smiled "That's great!" she was none the wiser "It's nice to see you prioritizing the more important things in life!"

She unrolled the map as she let them take their first pick, Paimon and Aether glanced at each other, wondering which place should they take.

Their outrider friend(?) was called away by a knight so they spoke in hush whispers. "where do you think they'd go. ." aether hummed as paimon whacked him in the head, "hey!" he hissed "what was that for!"

"For you terrible acting, could you be anymore obvious?? You know we have to find them first!" Paimon complained tugging at his ear, "right look sorry!" he swatter her much smaller hand away "but we have to choose now."

Paimon bit her lip "but what if we picked the wrong location and Amber and the others find her first. ." The traveler sighed "It's a risk we have to take, hopefully. . her luck doesn't run out."

ִֶָ𓂃 ࣪˖ ִֶָ🐇་༘࿐

"I need some herbs and spices, oh and some more sweet flowers and berries. . It'd be nice if I could catch some meat too." You absentmindedly said, as your pyro slime friend stared at you curiously, you love food after all so it's not entirely weird to be collecting ingredients.

The rucksack on your shoulder was already filled with mint, mushrooms, matsutakes, pinecones, sweet flowers and a few carrots. It was getting fairly heavy but still, you were excited to begin cooking with the ingredients and food that Teyvat had to offer. Would the mushrooms taste even slightly different from the ones in real life? is sweet flower sugar a better type of sugar than the one in real life as well? what about pinecones? how do they taste? she actually tried biting it but it wasn't any good, since the description of the item in-game was about having oil-rich seeds you assume it was either a substitute for cooking oil or the seeds are actually eaten or could add a taste to the few recipes that used them in the game like the hash browns.

"Want one?" you offered an apple to the pyro slime who shook in your hold, "so that's a no. Do you prefer sticks and coal? or what about pine cones?"

The pyro elemental being stared at the pinecone you handed him, and proceeded to eat it, simply by burning it inside of him. "Oh. ."

Luckily he seemed to like it enough when he jiggled like a happy jello. "We really need a name for you!**" you smile, petting him. There was a couple that went to your mind however before you could decide you stop by the coast or shores of the lake, you could see Mondstadt in the distance where the city was under dark gloomy skies.

'serves them right'

your eyes widened, surprised at your own bitter thoughts, one part of you loathed the city that traumatized you and rejected you but a part of you couldn't help but think of the poor people. .

"it's going to be okay, the traveler will save Dvalin and everything will be fine."

You basked in the sounds of the water and the chirping of the birds, as the smell of burning pine cones and freshwater filled your nostrils. You felt a sense of calm despite seeing the city under a blanket of darkness, from the looming dark clouds above it.

*snap!* body freezing up as you hear footsteps and the shaking of bushes. Your pyro slime friend jumped out of your hands, wiggling threateningly at the direction of the noise.

Turning slightly, you see two people getting out of the bushes. A boy with long blond hair, braided neatly and another, much smaller, floating near the other with silver hair.

Aether and Paimon. .

*this is claude, of course the clothes are not that open so your chest is covered (tho depending on you there may be a side-boob view (based on the shirt cut meme)) ** I will be posting a poll for the pyro slime's name, you are free to recommend names here, and if a name has been chosen, the person who gave the idea can request for a special chapter from this series (that can happen canonically, or not, or in a diff region.) however if a name I have suggested for has been chosen then I'll give a list of ideas for special chapters you can vote on that will be written.

ONE ACCOUNT IS ONLY ALLOWED TO SUGGEST AT MOST 2 NAMES (this applies to me)!

Current compiled suggestions: Fuji_Sen has suggested! Lava Cake or "Java" based on the food / coffee" Fuji_Sen has suggested! Monsieur Creme Brulee or "Creme" based on the food. @Fantasyhopperhea has suggested! Soleil or "Sol" @Cactus4226 has suggested! Ruru (Py-ro, ro -> ru -> ruru)

taglist: @fantasyhopperhea @rhoswen-drake @cchiiwinkle @aman3kkun @coffee-or-hot-cocoa

[slashmagpie]

Pearl and Gem glance at each other. Then, as one, they glance back at Tango, who is, evidently, not Tango.

“Do we have an amnesiacold on our hands?” Gem asks. 

“Maybe,” says Pearl, glancing back at Tango again. “Tango, buddy, you feeling alright?”

“I—” Tango opens his mouth. Closes it again. “I mean, I’m a little under the weather, to tell you the truth—I ate a South African sausage and it disagreed with me.”

Pearl hums. “And it’s messed with your memory a bit, right?”

“Yes! I mean, no—I mean, how did you—?”

“Would you say that you have a bit of an amnesiacold, Tango?” asks Gem.

“Amnesiacold?”

“You know. Amnesiacold!” Gem says. “When you get sick and forget everything and feel like somebody else?” 

“Ah.” Tango pulls himself to shore. Frowns. “It’s more of an amnesia-food-poisoning, if I’m honest.”

Pearl winces. “Your poor digestive system.”

“It’s not very nice Pearl, I’ll tell you that much,” Tango says, voice low, one hand pressed against his stomach as he pulls a face.

“Okay, that’s enough, I don’t need to hear about your gut issues,” Gem interrupts. “But—you have an amnesiacold! You know, I was an amnesiacold last season.”

“You mean, you had an amnesiacold?”

“No, I was one.” Gem winks. “Like—Tango has an amnesiacold. But you? You’re the amnesiacold. You know?”

Tango’s shoulders hike up with discomfort. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m Tango. And I think you guys should—should skadoodle somewhere else. Should bother-someone-else-ificate. Begone.” 

“I had an amnesiacold last season, you know,” Pearl says. “Gem was one. You can tell us, buddy, we’re not gonna tell anyone.”

“Promise,” Gem says with a nod. “This is a safe space! You don’t have to pretend to be someone you’re not with us.”

Tango stares at them for a long, long moment, then sags, face falling. He looks exhausted, suddenly, and Pearl feels a rush of sympathy. It can’t be easy, being thrown into the game halfway through, with no context for anything.

“It’s been rough, dudes,” Tango says, voice cracking. “It’s been really really rough. I forgot how hard it was to get anything done on this server! There’s so much chaos, and—”

Wait.

“Ren?”

Not-Tango grins. “In the flesh,” he says with a bow of his head. “Or… not my flesh, exactly.” 

“Ren?” Gem asks, tilting her head in confusion.

“Oh, that’s right, you’ve never met…”

Gem and Ren peer at each other for a moment. “You do look familiar,” Ren says eventually.

“Yeah,” Gem agrees. “I mean, obviously you look familiar—you look like Tango!—but… yeah.” 

They stare at each other for a moment more.

“Maybe we met in a dream?” Ren says at last.

Gem nods. “Sure. Makes as much sense as anything else.”

Pearl glances between them, rocking awkwardly back on her heels. She clears her throat, drawing their attentions back to her. “Welcome back, buddy,” she says to Ren. “Good to see you again.”

“I wish that I could say the same,” Ren says morosely. “I thought I was—I was done, Pearl.” Now that she knows it's Ren, she can hear his cadence in Tango’s voice, voice dropping rough and low with drama as he bows his head. “I was done. No more games, not for the ol’ diggity dog. And now… Here I am!” He laughs a little, stretching out his arms to indicate the server at large. “In a body that’s not mine, in a world I’ve never seen, in a game I do not understand.”

“Oh, Ren…” Pearl frowns. She doesn’t know what to say. 

Gem jumps in. “Hey, it’s okay! It’s just one session, you know? You can do one session!”

“I suppose I must.” Ren looks up at them, jaw tightening. “If I am here—I suppose I must.”

“I’d never been in any of these games before I was Cleo for a bit last season,” Gem says. “So you have an advantage there! And, hey—maybe you can come back next season, and we can meet for real?”

Ren shifts uncomfortably. There’s something heavy hanging about him, something Pearl can’t quite understand. She remembers the last time she’d seen him, skull caved in from the dripstone spike dropped on his head. She remembers her own amnesiacold, the exhaustion that had dragged at her before it had settled in, the memories that had plagued her and just wouldn’t go away. And she wonders—

Just how exhausted would you have to be that your body would have to leave as well as the rest of your self?

Just how sick would you have to be before you didn’t want to come back?

Still, Ren steadies himself. Quirks Tango’s mouth into a smile. “Maybe,” he says, meeting Gem’s gaze. “That would be nice, to meet for real.”

[cher-rei]

Hey babe

Your such a good writer please more lamine yamal fics im acc begging there literally none🙏🙏🙏🙏😪

the sitter— lamine yamal [ l.y ]

met you at the right time. this is what it feels like– feels like [gracie abrams]

pairing: lamine yamal x fem!reader

summary: a rushed call from lamine's mother to babysit kenye turns into more than just a regular afternoon

genre(s): toothrotting fluff (have your dentist on standby)

[w.c: 2.8k] masterlist

notes: I wrote this instead of watching the real sociedad match to cope with the fact that we're losing. I got a bit carried away with this one but I hope you like it <33

as you stepped into the familiar house, not even having to ring the doorbell you were greeted with the smell of fresh baked cookies and comfort. you shut the door behind you and easily walked through the familiar hallway.

when she saw you, lamine's mother's shoulders relaxed a heavy amount along with the breath of relief she let out. “my saviour,” she said with a smile and pulled you into a tight hug, her gratitude evident. “I'm so sorry for calling on short notice but I have an emergency— ow!”

she bit her tongue in frustration and looked down to see the toy car that she stepped on, her head spinning at her son's carelessness. “never have kids, you’ll regret it eventually,” she said half-joking and hurriedly led you to the living room where kenye was sitting on the floor, a toy car in his hand while he watched tv.

she didn't even have to call out to him, the second he saw you he was up and in your arms with a toothy grin. “hey, buddy. didn't expect to see me today did you?”

the older woman watched with a smile as you interacted with her son, the moment being cut off by her ringtone. she didn't even bother to look at it and instead grabbed her purse and made a beeline for the front door, yelling out instructions and goodbye's as if you hadn't been doing this for a year already.

“and thank you, sweetheart! I owe you! kenye, behave!”

the door slammed shut, leaving you to the 5 year old's energetic grasp. you quickly settled into your usual routine, skipping the snack part because he had his breakfast already since it was only after 10 am.

you took your usual seat on the carpet with him because he was usually full of energy this early and jittery. so to get it out of his system, you played games with him— built some lego, played with his toys and so on.

an hour had passed and you found yourself trying to make his yogurt seem edible. it was never an issue to get him to eat, all it took was one “hereeee comes the airplane” and he was more than compliant.

“there you go,” you said with a smile and lifted the final spoonful of yogurt to his lips, the boy clapping alone happily when it was finished. “you took that like a champ.”

that didn't last long however and he was starting to grow antsy again, his suffocated whines piercing your ears. it was obvious that he was sick of the house and needed to get out, so without another thought you cleaned him up and took him out to the backyard.

it was any kid's dream back there. a playhouse, jungle gym with a slide, a ball pit and his personal favourite— the mini football net that was more of a self indulgent addition from his older brother.

you'd known lamine for over 3 years now seeing that you attend the same high school but it was a cute coincidence that his mother picked you for the babysitting job. the job wasn't even needed, you were just bored and needed something to do on weekends, there wasn't even a proper answer for how she found you.

as you and kenye played in the sun-drenched backyard, laughter and joy radiated from your every move. the mini football net, a testament to lamine’s passion for the sport, stood like a sentinel awaiting kenye's energetic kicks. your eyes sparkled with delight as you cheered him on.

the air vibrated with the sweet scent of blooming flowers and freshly cut grass, infusing your playtime with an idyllic charm. kenye's giggles echoed throughout the yard, mingling with the chirping of the birds.

meanwhile inside the house, lamine stirred from his sleep, rubbing the remnants of sleep as he descended the stairs to look for his mother. he called for her a good few times but she didn't reply, so naturally he searched the kitchen and her bedroom only to realise that the house was awfully quiet.

she would of said something if she had something planned today, and the tv was still on so someone was definitely home. then he entered the living room, his feet padding on the tiled floor as his eyes adjusted to the light from outside.

with a yawn, he neared the sliding door to check the backyard, but just as he was about to open it his hand froze on the handle. his mind blanked, his immediate reaction to seeing you play with kenye being to hide behind the curtain.

his thoughts were reeling, not expecting you to come over today. in panic, he took one last peep outside which only made his pounding heart thump even louder at the sight of you passing the ball to his brother so effortlessly.

run. that's what he did when he got the clearance, not wasting a second to rush back upstairs and grab his phone and hit the facetime button in the group chat. after 3 rings, hector and pau were on the line with him— their confused faces synced as they watched the boy lock himself in his bathroom and start pacing.

“what happened to ‘hello'?” hector said, judgement evident in his tone but lamine didn't have time to fight his snarky comments.

he propped his phone up against the mirror and rushed to get his toothbrush, his palms sweating against the toothpaste tube.

“bro, are you going to tell us what's going on or is this some type of ‘get ready with me’ gimmick?” pau spoke up finally and put another spoonful of cereal his mouth, quickly getting distracted by the cover on the box and commenting on it.

“she's here. she's not supposed to be here today so I don't know why!” lamine muffled out through his mouth full of toothpaste but his friends got the gist of it. perks of knowing each other for nearly their entire lives.

hector couldn't suppress his laughter, his smile on the screen teasing lamine. “this is even funnier because it's actually never that deep.”

pau joined in on the laughter. “imagine asking why your brother's babysitter is over to babysit,” he snorted. “it's been a year, you're insane.”

lamine finished rinsing his mouth, double checking to see if there was anything in his teeth before splashing cold water on his face. “does it look like i just woke up?” he asked and touched up his hair. “is it giving ‘I just woke up and look this good’ or ‘I freaked out and had a panic attack in my bathroom’?”

his friends went silent, their jaws on the floor at the amount of overthinking that he was doing. he's liked you since he could remember. at first it was simple attraction, and then came the longing to know you more personally, and when he did that's when everything went to shit.

you were beautiful, that's for sure but you had this natural charm that he couldn't get enough of. you made an effort to talk to him, to help him with anything that he needed and your selflessness was barely the tip of the iceberg. family was the most important thing to him, and the fact that his family loved you and treated you as their own had him on his knees.

“it's giving, ‘I can't talk to girls I'm actually interested in'” hector deadpanned and pau was quick to follow.

“I got a better one,” he said in between his laughter. “It's giving, ‘professional winger by night, but professional wreck by day.”

the bathroom echoed with pau and hector’s non-stop laughter, both boys having rolled onto their sides by now while lamine stood with his head in his hands to try and calm himself down.

worst wingmen of the year, he liked to call them. the only advice he got was to breathe and not trip over his own feet. it was pathetic of him to let his attraction towards a girl make him this… messed up? but what was a teenage boy to do?

he put on his game face and made his way downstairs again, a smile tugging at his lips when he saw that you were watching kenye as he played in the ballpit.

when you turned around you saw him there, your heart skipping a beat as he opened the door with a warming smile. it was your turn to take a deep breath. “hey, I didn't know that you were home today,” you greeted cheerfully, you confidence oozing.

“yeah, we got the day off so I took the liberty to sleep in,” he answered a took a seat beside you on the grass to greet his brother who immediately threw one of the plastic balls at him.

laughter tickled at your throat as you watched lamine playfully throw them back at him but kenye took it personally and began hurling them at him. “we're going to have to put a warning sign on him or something,” you joked in between laughter and lamine scoffed.

“the real threat is his ability to kick a ball,” the footballer said with this lips pursed.

you playfully rolled your eyes at his comment. “oh, please, you're just mad because he already has better dribbling skills than you.”

lamine's face was contorted with mock offence, and he leant back on his hands to look at you. “are you talking about the same guy who won the kopa trophy less than 2 weeks ago.”

you couldn't shake off how laid back he looked in that moment. the way he was looking at you with such ease and playfulness made your head spin. “yes, yes I am.” you answered confidently to which he put a hand over his heart.

“you wound me,” he joked. “I'm going to start making you nurse me back to health.”

funny. he was joking. right?

kenye, thrilled by the attention hurled another ball at lamine to which his older brother caught and tossed it back at him with a gloat. “nice try, but we already have the backyard champion sitting next to me right now.”

you smile faltered for a moment. “that's only because you let me win.”

lameye's eyes twinkled as he took notice of your slightly flushed cheeks and he thought that maybe he was doing something right. “you literally crushed me.”

you shook your head at his retort, ready to counter his argument as you put your hands in the air, and swiftly as if it were second nature lamine gently took them into his own to stop you from talking further. “consider my ego bruised, you're just too good,” he joked with a shrug, his hands still holding yours.

it was for a moment that you stopped breathing, unable to function properly until you realised that kenye fell asleep in the ball pit. his light snores took the attention off from your banter and onto his peaceful figure that lamine effortlessly picked up and carried to his room.

when he came downstairs again, the house had gone quiet while you cleaned up kenye’s mess that he eventually helped with. “oh wow, okay mr house husband,” you teased and tossed one of the toys at him, his smile not wavering as he continued to help you in comfortable silence.

after lunch the two of you found yourselves in the backyard again, chatting as per normal while lamine kicked the ball at his feet. he ended up stopping mid sentence to propose an idea that you weren't too eager about. a rematch at what cost? your embarrassment?

unfortunately for you, he was persuasive as hell.

“what do I get if I win?” he shrugged at your question with a knowing smile.

“anything you want, amor.”

you nearly choked on air at the term of endearment that came from literally nowhere. he didn't seem fazed by saying it though so you were almost certain that you heard him wrong and pushed it to the back of your mind and focused on the little tournament in front of you.

the sun was high, the barcelona heat was warm on your skin as you watched lamine ready the ball. the game wasn't supposed to carry on for as long as it did, but both yours and his passionate calls for cheating and distractions played a huge role in the 40 minute rematch.

“okay, this is the last round I swear,” you said with a tired huff which he was more than happy with. the ball was at your feet for a split second before you felt lamine's hands on your waist, holding you close to his chest as he sneakily took the ball and shot it into the back of the net with ease.

you jaw dropped at the utter foulness of the round. “you cheater!” you said in shock and turned to look at him, but he was too busy relishing in his glory to care. he let go of you with a proud laugh and picked the ball up again, giving it one last kick.

“I didn't cheat,” he said through a cheeky smile and took a few steps towards you. “it's a contact sport, so it's fair.”

you rolled your eyes jokingly at his counter, still in disbelief that he'd go that far. but you weren't a spoilt sport so you congratulated him on his win, fair or not and he humbly thanked you.

you turned back with a smile and began heading inside but his hands were on your waist again, the familiar tingle setting your body on fire as he turned you to look at him, the smile on his face making your heart race.

“I'll be taking my prize, thank you,” he said with a boyish grin and let his lips gently brush your cheek, a gentle, fleeting kiss that had your knees weak for a split second.

he craned his neck to look down at you, a blushing mess and he couldn't help but coo even thought he was internally jumping off buildings. “aw, don't get shy on me now.”

you quirked your brow at what you took as a challenge, mild irritation clear in your eyes that were fluttered shut seconds later when your lips met his for what was supposed to be a quick peck.

keywords: supposed to be.

the feeling of your lips on his sent a surge of electricity through his body, and he couldn't waste the opportunity. he dropped the football that was underneath his arm and pulled you in, one hand resting on your cheek and the other on your waist as he relished the taste.

the long-awaited kiss finally came and it was everything that he hoped for and more. the way you melted into him, sent a warmth through his chest that had his head spinning and hoping that you'd never let go.

when you eventually pulled away to catch your breath, your lips tugged up into an amused smile at his lovestruck look and flushed cheeks. “isn't that a better prize?” you joked, your hands still loosely wrapped around his neck.

“I want a rematch, now,” he said immediately after, and pulled you back into the yard, his eagerness getting the best of him because he was not going down like this— “if I win then you have to marry me.”

“what?!”

[woso-dreamzzz]

Nena II

Barcelona Femení x Child!Reader

Summary: Just another day at your sister's work

You giggled as Asisat lifted from her shoulders and swung you around. Your tummy went all fluttery in a good way as she kept going before releasing you to stumble about.

She caught you when you lost your footing, putting you upright again and smothering a laugh when you fell right back onto the floor.

"Again?" She asked.

You got up immediately, nodding. "Uh-huh!"

"I think we should take a break," Sandra said as she approached," Or the little miss might throw up her breakfast."

"Ingrid's Mapi made pancakes!" You said excitedly," And Ingrid let me have syrup with it!"

"Wow!" Sandra said to you before turning to Asisat," It'll be a pain to clean if she pukes that all up and then you'll have to explain to Ingrid why we've got her kid sister throwing up her food."

"Alright." Asisat ruffled your hair. "Maybe later then."

"Later!" You agreed before allowing Sandra to take your hand and lead you to a shady area.

You had fallen into an easy routine in the past few weeks you've spent in Barcelona. Ingrid and her Mapi would get you ready for the day where one of their teammates (usually Frido or Keira) would take you out onto the field where you would sit in the shady area where the goalkeepers practiced.

Today, though, you were joined by familiar faces.

"Jana! Bruna! Look, I made pictures!"

The two girls, cleared from medical enough to lightly train but not enough to do the extremely complicated drills that were currently going on, hung out with you.

"That is very good, y/n," Jana complimented," You're the best colourer."

"I am very good." You knew that already because Ingrid and her Mapi told you often but, still, it was nice to be recognised for your talent. "You colour."

You tore a sheet out of your book and gave it to Jana along with a purple pencil.

You did the same for Bruna before deciding, after watching her for a moment, that she wasn't doing well so you sat on her lap and helped her.

"In the lines," You told her, parroting the words your Papa used to say to you," So it's not messy anymore. Don't worry. You'll get better when you practice more."

"Gracias, y/n," Bruna said," I'm sure with an expert like you, I will get it in no time."

You nodded and grabbed another sheet. "Mama says you have to practice to get better. She says that's why Ingrid's so good at the ball game so you have to practice your colouring, Bruna. So you can get better."

The warm Spanish sun beat down upon you and your friends as the other girls trained. When it get even hotter, Jana and Bruna gave you two bottles of water and sent you on your way with them.

"Gemma! Cata!" You said as you approached," Here!"

"Our hero!" Cata said as she unscrewed the lid and drained it. "Thanks, kiddo! Gemma, thank her."

Gemma sprayed water at Cata. "I was going to before you interrupted." She leaned down to hug you before allowing you to chug from her drink. "Thanks for the drink, little buddy. Why don't you head on back to Jana and Bruna and do some more colouring? It's nearly time for lunch."

Gemma was right because no sooner had you completed your third picture, did Marta and Caro come to collect you.

Your hand fit easily into Caro's hand and you took Marta's too - just because you could. Together, they swung you into the air every few steps and you giggled ecstatically every time.

Marta laughed with you while Caro settled for just a smile. You beamed at them both - especially when Caro decided to make a pitstop to get you a chocolate bar from the vending machine.

Marta ended up making your plate for lunch and no matter how much you begged and begged, she stuck to the list of approved food your sister had given her.

"Go on, nena," She said, directing you to a very full table," Can I trust you girls to look after her?" The occupants of said table all nodded and she gave them a fierce look before relenting.

Lucy stopped you from sitting down, grabbing her jacket to pile it onto the empty seat. She nudged Keira. "Pass it over." Once Keira surrendered her own jacket as well as Ona, Salma and Esmee, Lucy used them all to create a makeshift booster seat for you before plonking you onto it and pushing your food closer.

"I heard you had a fun weekend, nena," Ona said with a smile, glancing around before pushing part of her nice food onto your plate.

You nodded. "Uh-huh, Ingrid took me to the park and her Mapi let me take Bagheera on a walk."

Esmee rolled her eyes with a huff of a laugh. "She spoils that cat."

"Bagheera's my best boy," You replied to her, cramming food into your mouth," He naps in sunspots and sleeps in my bed with me."

"Really?" Keira asked before glaring daggers at Lucy," Sounds just like Narla."

You cocked your head to the side. "Tia Alexia's dog sleeps in her bed?"

"She means my dog," Lucy said as she ruffled your hair," I have a dog called Narla too."

You made a face. "That's mean, Lucy," You said," You shouldn't name your dog after Tia's Nala. She could get bullied."

Salma, on your other side, laughed. "I don't think dogs get bullied, nena."

"Cats get bullied," You said," Ingrid's Mapi said that's why Bagheera isn't allowed out without her - because the neighbourhood cats bully him. The other dogs could bully Lucy's Narla."

Salma chuckled as she ruffled your hair and shovelled food into your mouth. "Never change, nena. You're adorable."

You made a face at that but didn't argue, allowing Salma to feed you to rest of your meal.

You got restless halfway through lunch and slipped off your seat to tug on Irene's sleeve. You bounced up and down urgently. "Toilet," You said to her because she was Mateo's mama and your mama told you that every mama in the world recognised the potty dance.

Thankfully, your mama was right because Irene excused herself from her conversation and took your hand, leading you to the bathroom.

You did your business quickly but had to be lifted up to reach the sink and then again to use the hand dryer - bursting into hysterical giggles when Irene poked you in the stomach when your top rode up.

By the time you got out of the toilet, lunch had finished and Mariona joined the two of you on your walk to the gym.

"Looking cool in your shoes, nena," She said.

You grinned at her proudly. "They're my most favourite!" Yet again, you had chosen to wear your new light-up shoes. You had been wearing them a lot recently so now Ingrid didn't get worried your feet would start aching because they had finally been broken in.

"Well, they're my most favourite too!" Mariona replied.

"Good!" You said firmly, patting her side in approval with a smiling face. Mariona was pretty cool most of the time when she wasn't running around like a headless chicken and she was doubly cool when she talked to you about your new shoes.

"Are we talking about super cool light-up shoes because..." Patri stamped her feet and the bottom of her shoes lit up into a rainbow.

You gasped and jumped, showing that your shoes could do the same.

"I told you I'd find them, nena! Look at us, we're matching!"

"We are!"

Patri took your hands from Irene and jumped up and down with you, both of your shoes lighting up in sync. You giggled hysterically as the colours bounced.

Over her shoulder, you spied another recognisable face.

"Claudia! Claudia!" You exclaimed," Look! Look! We match!"

You and Patri jumped again to prove your point and Claudia gasped. She glanced around like she had a secret before beckoning you closer.

"You know what?" She asked.

"What?"

"All three of us match!"

She stamped her feet and her shoes lit up too.

You gasped.

"Wow! So cool!"

You looked around the room, holding onto Patri and Claudia and dragging them over to the corner of the gym.

"Aitana! Aitana! Aitana! We match!"

The three of you stamped your feet, causing the rainbow lights to appear again.

Aitana, as she lifted weights, smiled at you. "That's really cool, nena."

You looked down at Aitana's sad, boring shoes and sighed. You released Claudia and Patri to pat Aitana on the leg consolingly.

"It's okay," You told her," If you ask very nicely Claudia and Patri can take you to get matching shoes too."

She let out a chuckle. "Thanks, nena."

Before you could make any more suggestions though, you were pulled away from your friends by Frido, who promptly led you over to the opposite side of the gym which had been set up for your nap time.

You frowned. "Don't wanna nap," You complained.

Frido sighed. "I know. I don't want you to nap either but Ingrid says so."

You huffed. "Ingrid's not the boss of you."

Frido's eyebrows raised. "Somehow, I don't think Ingrid agrees with that. Come on, you, nap time. I'll get you some cake tomorrow if you nap now."

Your eyes narrowed. "With sprinkles?"

"With sprinkles."

"Okay. Naptime now."

Your nap went by very quickly and when you ended it, you still felt groggy.

Someone was touching you though and you squirmed around in their arms until your head was tucked into their neck. They were nice though, nice and warm even if they jostled you every time they took a step.

"You should take a picture for Olga," Your Ingrid's Mapi teased," It might get you one of these sooner rather than later."

"I'm quite content with this one." It was Tia Alexia's voice that spoke next and you realised that you were in her arms.

You blinked away your sleepiness and rubbed your eyes. "Hola, Tia," You said softly.

"Hola, nena," She replied," You slept a long while. I was getting worried you would sleep forever."

"Silly, Tia," You said," That's not possible."

"No?" She teased," Oh, silly me!" She bounced you. "It's nice to see you, nena. I was worried I wouldn't see you today."

"I always like seeing you, Tia," You replied.

"I like see you too."

You turned your head out of her neck and smiled softly at Ingrid's Mapi.

She smiled back at you, a small smile that was reserved only for you. "Hola, elskling," She said and her use of Ingrid's nickname for you made you feel all nice and fluttery inside. "We're heading home now. Ingrid's getting the car all nice and ready for us."

You nodded but didn't say anything else. You still felt kind of tired and sleepy so just soaked in Tia Alexia's warmth and the steady hum of talking between her and Ingrid's Mapi.

You didn't even notice when you moved from Tia Alexia's arms to your Ingrid's until you were placed in your car seat and strapped in.

Ingrid hovered over you as she wiped up the drool from your cheek. "Hi, elskling. Don't you look all nice and sleepy?"

"Frido made me nap," You replied, eyes drooping as she clipped in the last buckle," But I wasn't really sleepy."

"I bet you're sleepy now though, right?"

You nodded and yawned. "Little bit."

"That's alright, elskling," She said," You have a nice little nap in the car and then you can get up when we get home."

"Okay..." Your eyes drooped even lower. "Mapi?"

"Si, elskling?"

"Can we have cuddles with Bagheera on the sofa when I wake up?"

"Of course, elskling. I'm sure Bagheera would love to cuddle with you."

"And you."

"And me."

"And Ingrid."

"And Ingrid too."

[perpetuallyboo]

Is it insane for me to get emotional about Dang Litefoot? Let me get insane over Dang for a moment.

I know a lot of more emotionally intense moments in D20 are kind of stepped past and not taken in impact continuing on from it so I am simply left to go insane by myself. I already really liked Dang from the start with his very easy fuck authority attitude and his being a presumably struggling older teenager/young adult-I mean come on he's living in his uncles shed, it can't be said he has a great situation. So, already, I really liked him and found some relatability- also the sort of disheveled outgrown dyed hair reminded me quite a lot of people I've seen on T for awhile and I was personally quite happy to see that.

And clearly, Dang's familiar with being an outcast. However much his belief in Rashab goes, its clearly something precious to him that brings him a Peace and Comfort- how he got through the initial getting into the game so smoothly as the others struggle was holding true to his belief. It was both very funny for the insanity of the bits and the comedy in it but something I very much enjoyed that he had some sort of grounding- and then getting just absolutely punched in the gut by having it confirmed how much of an outcast Dang has been and how Lonely he is. Standing away from the group as they shop and recount, thinking about that horrible hope he must have had that his friends might take him seriously, might actually Respect him, since clearly theres insane magic shit thats REAL in the world with this insane thing they all went through together- that theres a chance they'll take him seriously.

Being so clearly not- Respected about this thing that's so important to him. Even with how nice russell and wendell were, clearly still finding him insane and not paying the thought to try and take him Seriously, ask him any questions about his belief or how its helped him, how he feels about this all-

Of course it sounds insane, out of character thats a big part of the bit. But it cements how no matter what- Dang is an outcast. No matter what insane shit happens to other people, something that can bond and get a group together like nothing else could- Dangs still alone.

Not to mention the immediately jumping to absolutely horrible coping mechanisms, getting drunk and sleeping with strangers. Its just- its the fact it all happened, that loneliness, going to those unhealthy coping mechanisms, almost dying, and then just- continuing on. Coming back. Not even mentioning what had happened to the others like hey I just almost died- the fucking cutting away to Paula talking about his "Stupid Rashab thing"

IMJUSTTT Im just I feel so insane im getting so emotional over Dang Litefoot and i want to give him a fucking hug and say I'd love to talk with him and understand him more and also hey lets talk about some healthier coping mechanisms buddy alright okay youre doing so good im fuckin sobbing

[thewintersoldierdisaster]

a/n: i am so proud of the boys and what they accomplished after everyone counted them out 💙🧡 can’t wait for next year when they’ve had a full training camp with patrick and they come back better than ever 🤍

tw: child goes “missing” for a brief moment, mild innuendo

word count: 2.9k

summary: the msg broadcast gets double the barzal men for a little bit

Offering to take the girls to the arena for a game seems like it’s a great idea until you’ve got Talia, both Martin girls, and Tulsa Horvat begging for pretzels mid-way through the second. Normally you’d have at least one of Syd or Holly with you, but since the outing is for Talia’s birthday, you’d thought it would be fine to just take the girls yourself. That you’d be a good friend, letting Syd and Holly have their Thursday night free, since all of your husbands are retired now and they don’t have to come to the arena if they don’t want to.

But Max is getting antsy and Talia is yapping your ear off - much like her father - begging for snacks.

“Mom, please, I’m starving,” she pokes her lip out at you in a pout and widens her hazel eyes. She looks unfairly like Mat when she makes that expression even though her general looks had shifted to favor yours as she got older. You’ve never really been able to say no to either kid anyway.

“Can you at least watch your brother while I go get snacks?” You ask, lifting your eyebrow and twisting your hair back into a slightly sloppy ponytail. Max swings his legs in his seat next to you, grinning at his big sister. His hat dips over his eyes and you make a mental note to adjust the strap.

Talia looks at you as if you just asked her to swallow a cup of live spiders. “Mom, please no! I don’t even know why we brought him, today was supposed to be for my birthday,” she whines a little, those pre-teen hormones working overtime. Two weeks from turning eleven, and you find yourself missing your baby girl more and more each day. She’s usually a pretty polite and delightful kid, but something about that upcoming eleventh birthday is creating that familiar teenage whine you’d been so good at back in the day. You should really call and apologize to your mother.

Max pipes up without taking his eyes off the action on the ice, “your birthday’s not even today!”

“Thank you, Max,” you hold a hand out in front of his face, covering his mouth, as Talia shoots him a glare. Max wiggles away from your hand, his head bobbing in every direction as he tries to see the players. “I should’ve known this would happen.” You pinch the bridge of your nose with your free hand.

The only reason Talia had picked this game for her birthday is because of Jack Cizikas’s last minute call up from the AHL. Her puppy crush on him is something you and Kristy like to joke about, but right now you’re not laughing. Casey, Kristy, Reese, and Cole are up in a suite with the grandparents for the moment and you should’ve just sent Max up there to join them, but your five-year-old is still a little clingy. He loves the Cizikas family, hero-worships ten-year-old Cole, but when you’d suggested it, his face had crumpled and he’d said, “I wanna stay with you, Mama!”

Who were you to argue with that?

“Okay, I’ll take Max with me, but Win,” you raise your voice and look down a few seats at Winnie Martin, the oldest of your babysitting charges at fifteen, “do not leave these seats until I get back, okay?”

Winnie grins at you, Matt’s smile copy and pasted onto her face. She gives you a little salute and nods, “you got it.”

Talia turns back to the girls, completely ignoring you, and you roll your eyes a little before holding out your hand to Max. “Come on, buddy. Let’s go get some snacks,” you say, savoring the feeling of his little hand in yours. You never know when he’ll start thinking he’s too cool for his mom, so you’ll enjoy it while it lasts.

“Can I get ice cream?” He asks, skipping along next to you. He gives Sparky a high five when you pass the mascot at the top of the stairs.

You laugh a little and point Sparky and his handler in the direction of the girls. “I’m sure Winnie will love to see you,” you say, nostalgia washing over you as you think about the early years of your relationship with Mat and Winnie’s love for the dragon. Sparky nods and gives you an enthusiastic thumbs up, before bounding down the stairs. It’s a different person in the costume now, obviously, but you all had made sure to keep Winnie humbled by making sure each iteration of the Sparky knew to stop and see her at a game. The teen plays along gamely, her mother’s daughter.

Max tugs on your hand, drawing your attention. “Mama! Can I get ice cream?” He repeats his request and you shake your head.

“Nope, sorry, kid. It’s past your sugar cutoff,” you shake his arm when he pouts and kicks his Nike against the floor, nearly tripping himself as he tries to keep walking. “I’ll split a pretzel with you though.”

“I don’t wanna pretzel,” he whines, dragging his feet as he traipses behind you. You dodge a few people, tugging Max along. He keeps whining a little, complaining under his breath, and you pinch at the bridge of your nose before squatting down so you’re at his eye level.

Max goes quiet, but his whole face scrunches up in annoyance and you smile softly. “If you have ice cream now, you’re not going to be able to sleep. And remember that Daddy’s coming on your field trip tomorrow so don’t you want to be well rested for that?” You raise an eyebrow at him while Max considers your explanation.

The line shifts forward while Max is considering and you smile awkwardly up at the family in line behind you, silently apologizing for not moving. The mother waves you off with a polite smile too. Solidarity.

“Can I have ice cream tomorrow then?” Max finally asks and negotiating with the tiny terrorist wasn’t on your to do list today, but you nod anyway, knowing it’ll bite you in the ass tomorrow.

“Yes, after your field trip you can have a little ice cream,” you stand up, knees creaking a bit, and move forward on the line. Matter settled, you hook your fingers in the back collar of Max’s Horvat jersey, worn because ‘Uncle Bo is the coolest!’ much to Mat’s annoyance and your amusement. At the self-serve counter, you grab five pretzels - even if Max doesn’t want to share, you still want a snack - and a Diet Coke, hoping for a quick burst of energy. You let go of Max’s jersey to fish your phone out of your back pocket and tap it against the reader.

“Okay, Max, back to -“ you cut yourself off, looking down at your side and not seeing Max. “Max? Oh, fuck. Where did he go?”

Your heart hammers in your chest, slight panic rising when you scan the concourse and don’t spot your kindergartener. “Fuck,” you mutter under your breath, the only thing keeping your panic at a reasonable level is the fact that Max was quite literally almost born in the arena and knows it better than anyone. Of course that also means he could be hiding literally anywhere and never be found.

“I…okay, think like Max,” you step off to the side, against the wall, so you can figure out what to do. “Where the hell is he going to go?”

The muffled cheers of the crowd filter through the arena, signifying that the Islanders have added to their lead late in the second. You smile faintly and, like a lightning bolt to the head, realize where Max wandered off to. Or where you hope he wandered off to.

You book it towards the Lab and the MSG broadcast set up, trying to see around the crowds of people that are leaving their seats now that the second period is over. Obviously, you can’t see anything around all the people and the closer you get to the main stairs, the more panic you’re starting to feel, thinking about the girls back at the seats and what you’ll do if Max isn’t with Mat.

Once the cameras and desk come into view, your entire body unclenches, Max is happily perched on Mat’s hip, chattering away with Shannon while Mat and Thomas discuss the second period’s play. The cameras are on and your son is broadcasting live on MSG. You wiggle your way through the little crowd of people around the set and get to the front, by the retractable belt barriers, and try to catch Mat’s eye.

The second he spots you, his entire expression changes, a delighted smile stretching across his face and his eyes crinkling up at the corners. He looks like a twenty-something again, not the nearly forty-year-old he actually is.

“Max!” You hiss, trying not to be heard. “Send him over here!” You wave your free hand at the duo, Diet Coke wedged under your arm and pretzels getting squished in your hand.

Mat shakes his head at you and Thomas and Shannon look over too, all three of them laughing. Mat turns back to the camera, Max smiling like the cat that got the canary. “My wife’s trying to get our broadcast sidekick back,” he says, laughing. Mat bounces Max in his arms. “But I think we’ll keep him around for his color commentary.”

“No, oh my god,” you shake your head and gesture for Max to come back to you. “Mat, stop it.”

“Max,” Mat turns to look at your son, totally ignoring you, “what did you think of the game so far?”

Embracing the fact that Mat’s going to let Max join them for a while at least, you sigh and relax into the moment, watching Max perk up as he gets to discuss his favorite thing.

“I missed Matt’s goal,” he complains, Matt Maggio must’ve been the one to score when you noticed Max was missing. “But I like Jack the best ‘cause he’s funny and plays mini sticks. And also he gave me a piggy-back all day at Easter.”

Shannon laughs and chimes in, “we like Jack around here too. But hey, Max, I can show you Matt’s goal while your dad and Thomas discuss some of the finer points of the game.”

Max wiggles out of Mat’s arms and darts around Thomas’s back so he can stand with Shannon and watch the goal he missed. You snap a picture of Max’s head poking over the desk, heart melting at the sheer excitement on his face. You also notice the dozen texts littering your phone’s screen - a multitude of laughing emojis sent from the girls while they watch at home.

The fans around you are clearly eating up Max’s presence and you feel a little spike of anxiety thinking about how exposed he is to the public now, after keeping his and Talia’s faces mostly hidden on your social media pages. It’s always a little inevitable that the kids are seen with Mat out in public, but you almost wish you could snatch up all the phones recording video and taking pictures of Max as he points something out to Shannon on the iPad.

You take a nervous bite out of your pretzel and try to just enjoy the moment until they go to commercial when you can duck under the belt barrier. Mat grins boyishly at you, grabbing your waist to pull you in for a quick kiss. “Well, this is fun,” he says, pulling back from the kiss. “Family broadcast.”

“He is so stupid sneaky,” you shake your head, offering Mat the pretzel that you’d taken a bite out of. He accepts it and tears off a piece of his own. “And fast.”

Thomas laughs, leaning his forearms on the desk. “That’ll be helpful when he’s zipping around defensemen and scoring goals,” he teases before going to say hi to the fans and take selfies.

“Mom, look!” Max pops up at your side, holding a puck. Where did he get that?

“Pretty cool,” you smile down at him and let Mat lift him back up onto his hip. Max’s long legs kick at Mat’s thighs. “Where’d you get that, bud?”

“From Dad when I got here,” Max chirps. “Can I stay? Cause I don’t wanna be with the girls.”

He cuddles up against Mat’s shoulder, the father-son duo wearing matching hangdog, pleading expressions on their faces. The day Mat taught both kids the look was the worst day of your life, weakening your already minimal willpower. This time you have to say no, interrupting Mat while he’s working is only cute for so long.

“Sorry, Maxy,” you reply sympathetically. “We have to get back to the girls, but we’ll see Dad right after the game.”

Max whines loudly, reminding you that he’s still only five, and you chew on the inside of your lip. Mat pats Max on the back and whispers something in his ear, the extra lighting catching on the few greys that are starting to form in Mat’s dark hair. You wait while Mat talks quietly to your son, trying not to worry about coming back from commercial while you’re all standing in the middle of everything. Eventually, Max huffs an exasperated sigh and wiggles out of Mat’s grip again, slumping his way over to your side.

You smirk a little, “gee, don’t look so thrilled to come hang with your mom.”

Mat laughs and you roll your eyes at him.

“I wanted to stay with Dad,” Max pouts, little fingers gripping tightly onto the puck. “But he said that he’d take me to the locker room if I go with you.”

“Bribery,” Mat winks at you. “A dad’s best weapon.”

The ten second warning that the commercial is ending blinks and you grab Max’s hand, “okay, time to go back to the girls. We’ll see Dad later, okay?”

Max waves at Mat as you guide him away from the set. “Bye, Dad! Don’t forget I wanna see Jack and the locker room,” he shouts and you can hear Mat’s laughter boom over the noise of the crowd.

“I won’t forget Max, be good for Mom,” Mat calls out.

You hurry back to your seats, Max hopping along and waving to people as you go. He gives big, cheerful greetings to the ushers and security guards he recognizes, forcing you to stop when Sparky passes by so he can give the mascot a high-five and a hug around the legs.

“Max, baby, please. We can see Sparky later,” you sigh, a little worried about leaving the girls alone for so long. You know they’ll listen and not leave the seats, but you feel vaguely like a terribly mother/babysitter since they’ve been sitting by themselves for nearly twenty minutes.

Max pouts, but takes a hold of the hand you’re holding out for him and dutifully follows you back to the seats. He clambers over the couple at the end of the row and you apologize quickly for him, making another mental note to work on the kid’s manners.

“Where did you go?” Talia pops up in her seat like a meerkat, wrinkling her face at you in confusion. “We thought you, like, got kidnapped!”

“We didn’t get kidnapped,” you huff, passing around the pretzels. The girls thank you and turn back to the on-ice intermission action. Max reaches for your half eaten one too and you’re glad you at least got a bite in earlier. “Max ran off to see Dad.”

Max grins at his sister, mouth full of chewed pretzel. “Dad gave me a puck and I got to be on TV with him,” he manages to sound smug and excited all at the same time, waving the gifted puck in one hand.

Talia pouts a little, still childish despite how she tries to mimic the older girls.

“Eat your pretzel,” you twirl your finger to get her to look back at the ice. “There are a thousand pucks at home. Oh,” you add, “we’re going to head down to the locker room after the game. Dad promised Max.”

That gets the girls going, chattering about how they get to see Jack and the rest of the players, giggling like crazy while huddled together. You lean back in your seat, smiling softly at how cute they all are. Max is on his feet, dancing along to the arena music, waving both hands in the air - your little party animal. You send Mat a video of him dancing, teasing that father and son have the same moves.

He shoots back a gif of himself dancing at the Martins’ wedding more than fifteen years ago, making you laugh out loud, drawing the attention of all five kids. “Ignore me,” you laugh, waving a hand at them.

Another message from Mat vibrates your phone: leave the kids with marts and syd when you drop the girls off after the game, i wanna show you more of my moves 👀

Giggling like a high schooler with a crush, you take a minute to appreciate that Mat still makes you feel floaty and dizzy with love. Over ten years together and he still makes your heart skip a beat.

“Mom,” Talia’s voice slices through your thoughts, “what’s Dad saying? Because you look so weird.”

Schooling your features into a more neutral expression, you lean forward over the seat and ask, “how do you guys feel about a sleepover at Aunt Syd and Uncle Matt’s?”

[have-you-seen-my-sanity]

Please I beg u, I am in desperate need of jealous Poe! 😭😩🤧 can be fo! or resistance, doesn't matter. No pressure ofc!!

Ooh! I'ma go with Resistance Poe because FO!Poe would probably just kill that person and punish reader for not telling that individual off lol.

Not on my watch

Poe Dameron x fem!reader

Wanna get tagged?

Summary: The new recruit was flirting with you. Poe did not like that.

Cw/triggers: Nsfw, jealous and possessive Poe, p in v, oral (fem! receiving).

The new recruit who had just been at the base a couple of days, was helping you out of your X-Wing, grasping your hand gently, too gentle in his hand, looking at you with lovesick expression.

"Thanks." you gave a friendly smile.

"You're welcome. Gotta say, didn't expect some pilots to be as gorgeous as you." he winked, having no intentions of releasing your hand yet.

Both of you were unaware of BB-8 zipping around nearby, catching that guy's obvious flirtation with you.

He gestured towards your helmet. "Oh, mind me holding that for you?" without waiting for your answer, he unclasped and gently moved it off from your head.

Suddenly BB-8 rolled up beside you, tilting its dome up and beeping curiously at you.

Just a second later, a familiar voice boomed through the hangar.

"Hey, you there!"

Poe approached you both, already looking displeased.

"That's your helmet?" Poe asked, his voice was filled with venom but he kept calm.

The recruit just smiled. "No, it's her helmet. I thought I'd be a gentleman for our pretty pilot."

Poe stared him down, his blood boiling up. "Well, I don't know if it works that way, buddy."

"And who are you?" The recruit scoffed, turning to face Poe, still grasping your helmet in his hands.

"Who do you think I am, recruit?" Poe tested him, arching his brow up.

The recruit scrutinized Poe, his eyes widened in realization as he spotted the rank tag.

"Oh, you're the com–"

"Yeah, the commander, that's right." Poe nodded, putting his hands on his hips.

The recruit literally swallowed down his cockiness and ego.

"Sorry about that, sir, I-I won't bother you again.." he stammered, handing you back your helmet then turned to leave, giving off how exposed and embarrassed he is.

Poe turned his attention to you. "Who was that guy?"

"A new recruit apparently." you shrug.

Poe arched his brow up once more. "And you let that guy get you out of your cockpit and almost pamper you?"

"I did not let him– wait, how do you know that?"

"BB-8 saw everything."

BB-8 confirmed Poe's statement with a proud beep.

"Anyways, you showed him his place. He won't annoy me anymore."

Poe cracked a cocky smile. "Yeah I did," he nods, then his demeanor turned more serious "and later I will show you yours too."

Not sure if you've heard him correctly, you blinked at his words. "Excuse me?" you gave a confused smile.

Poe's cocky smile turned into a grin. "I know you heard me, baby."

"Poe, it was just a recruit not knowing where his place was until you showed up." you giggle.

Poe looked around to see if he could catch the recruit again, seeing him carrying a crate, then stepped closer to you, leaning in for a hug, making sure to make it obvious so the guy would look.

Once Poe saw the recruit looking, both of his hands slid down your back to cup your ass, giving a soft squeeze.

"Well, he tried charming the wrong person. You're my girl, nobody gets to pamper her except me." he whispered into your ear, glancing back at the recruit, who's mouth was agape.

Seeing that reaction from the recruit, Poe couldn't help but smirk before he upped the game by planting kisses along the side of your neck.

"Poe, we're in the hangar." you chided softly but unable to hide the smile.

Only now did Poe pull away. "I know. Gotta make sure everyone knows who you belong to, right?" he smirked.

Later that day, Poe stormed into your quarters, sparing no second to get you undressed on the bed and on top of you.

"Baby, imagine that prick seeing me worshipping you rightnow."

Poe licks his way downwards your stomach, your belly, making you squirm and buck up as he changes his way to your inner thigh.

"You still can't get that guy out of your head?" you chuckle.

Poe smirks against your skin. "After all he was flirting with my girl, of course."

"You're being ridiculous–"

He didn't gave you another second, latching his mouth onto your dripping hole, sucking and licking until it was impossible for you to think straight.

"Maybe I am." he mumbled against you, dipping his tongue inside as far as possible. Then looked up, seeing your beautiful face contorted into pleasure, your fingers gripping the sheets so hard your knuckles were white.

Poe smirked, knowing he had you where he wanted you - underneath him, with the only thing on your mind being the pleasure he's giving you.

You got ripped out of the intense feeling he gave you when he abruptly stopped, making you whine at the loss, only so Poe could free himself.

Poe got between your legs, aligning his dick with your hole and leaning down to your ear.

"But hey, sometimes it's my job to make sure people know you're mine."

He started thrusting into you, slowly at first to get you riled up some more, increasing his movements as your moans got needier.

Suddenly Poe stopped, his mouth went next to your ear, letting you feel his hot breath against your skin.

"Tell me you're mine, sweetie..." he whispered huskily.

Your mind couldn't really comprehend what he just said due to you still being numb from all the ecstasy.

"W-what- wait what?" you gasp, bucking your hips up to get some desperate friction.

Poe chuckled lowly, thrusting into you all the way until he was fully sheathed, then proceeds to grind his pelvis against you, driving you mad with pleasure, then stopping again.

"Come on, baby," in a tortuously slow movement, he started thrusting again, knowing it will make your mind go blank "say it."

"P-Poe, you're killing me!" you whine, but it sounded more like a moan.

"That's not what I wanted you to say, honey." Poe chuckled, figuring you must be close due to your desperation.

You bucked your hips again, feeling your peak approaching. "I'm yours, Poe. All yours." you blurt out, your imminent orgasm made you sound so desperate.

Poe grins, starting to pound into you, sending your mind spiraling. "There you go, baby." he pants, his movements got sloppier with every thrust.

You came first, with Poe only a second behind before he released himself into you.

With both of you laying on the bed together afterwards, you couldn't help but ask. "Did you calm down now?"

Poe took you into his arms. "No chance, sweetie." he chuckled, giving you a lingering kiss. "If I catch that prick flirting with you again then I don't know what I will do."

---------------------------

With this fic I'd like to introduce my very new taglist! :)

No pressure, only if you're interested! <3

@nekoyin @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction

[in1-nutshell]

Hi!!!!! I love your writing <3<3 <3 <3

What about a continuation of the bot buddy with a sonic cream Who is Soundwave's conjux, where he and Megatron find out they're alive?

It was always a matter of time before Buddy would be discovered by the Decepticons...

Hope you enjoy!

Bot Buddy with sonic scream with Megatron and Soundwave finding out they are alive

SFW, Platonic, Slight angst, Romance, Cybertronain reader

TFP

The latest Decepticon ambush hadn’t gone according to plan, no surprise there.

But what surprised many on the Nemesis was the number of audial related injuries and that there were claims that the bot that did this didn’t even touch them.

Megatron had met few bots in his lifetime to be able to do such damage.

But they were all dead.

There had to be another explanation for this.

He had Soundwave dispatch Lazerbeak on the next ambush.

That way they would have a literal bird’s eye view of who was decimating their troops in one blow.

The next ambush was set off and Lazerbeak was sent out.

Now looking through the camera’s lens in the main monitor of the Nemesis everyone has a view of the battle.

Everything seemed normal for the first few minutes.

“Really Lord Megatron. I find this spying a bit excessive. The troops are doing an adequate job in handling the Autobots.”--Starscream

“We will watch until the battle is through.”--Megatron

“Anyways Screamer aren’t you curious to find out who this mysterious bot is?”--Knockout

“I know I am! Wonder who they could be though? Not many of the troops remember how they look like.”--Breakdown

Starscream huffs in annoyance.

Another groundbrigde opens in the battlefield.

“Looks like we’re about to find out.”--Knockout

The figure quickly blended into the crowd, but it was clear that they were fighting fiercely through.

Megatron and Soundwave recognized some of the moves from their days in the arena.

So, the new recruit had some gladiatorial experience.

This would be interesting after all.

It wasn’t until some lucky Vechicon managed to shoot Prime in the leg that their fighting sped up and started towards the Prime.

Lazerbeak started flying closer as the figure picked up the Prime over their shoulder and started running towards some larger boulders and dumped the Prime and ran back to the fight.

“Did—did they just dump Prime behind those boulders?”--Knockout

Soundwave tries to zoom in on the new bot.

The bot took a familiar stance.

An all too familiar stance.

Soundwave was sudden sent back to the last time he saw his Conjunx’s fights. They took their signature stance and decimated their opponent.

Megatron also understood what was about to happen.

“Get Lazerbeak out of the radius.”--Megatron

Soundwave sent out a message to the minicon just as the bot let out the sonic scream.

Lazerbeak shook around as some of the blast reached the minicon.

Soon the shaking stopped and Lazerbeak redirected to the former battlefield.

There was a crater surrounding the bot and dozens of Vechicons sprayed all around.

All the Cons watching had a shocked look on their faces.

“That’s impossible! There is no way a single Autobot could do that!”--Starscream

“Maybe they had a relic we don’t know about.”--Breakdown

“Highly unlikely considering that we’ve been on top of the relic game for some time now.”—Knockout

Starscream straightens his struts and turns to the rest of the Decepticons.

“Well, its clear that we need to ki—”--Starscream

Megatron slams his servo on the desk.

Silence.

“Tell Lazerbeak to enhance the bot on screen.”--Megatron

There is a zoom in on the bot who was helping Optimus back on his pedes.

The other Autobots had arrived and were starting to head back into their groundbridge.

Lazerbeak managed to snap a picture of the bot before they went in.

Megatron has a good look before turning to the other Decepticons.

“This bot is to be brought to me alive.”—Megatron

A lot of the Cons look scared and confused.

“Lord Megatron, surely you are not—”--Starscream

“Did I stutter Starscream? I believe not. You are all dismissed.”--Megatron

Megatron and Soundwave slowly looked at each other.

There was only one bot they knew that was able to do that.

But they were dead…

Right…?

Megatron stood up straightening his back struts at the realization.

Soundwave remained frozen in place.

Megatron moved to his third in Command and placed a servo on his shoulder while the frozen picture of Buddy’s frame was on the monitor.

“Its them Soundwave, I’m sure of it.”--Megatron

Soundwave doesn’t move from the monitor, just staring at the frozen frame.

Megatron turns back to the door.

“We will get them back Soundwave. That is a promise.”--Megatron

Megatron moves out of the room leaving Soundwave alone.

The only thought in his processor was that his Conjunx Endura was alive.

His Buddy was alive.

[akaridream]

all the right buttons (college AU Goku & Vegeta x reader)

have y'all seen the figure from FuzzFeet Studios featuring our favorite boys gaming on the couch in the sluttiest little shorts? lemme say, i was feeling thirsty after I saw it for the first time. thus, this fic was born.

vegeta and goku both will get a part 2, choose your own adventure style (coming very soon!)

As you padded down the hall of Bulma’s apartment building, muffled male voices arguing rang through the walls. Your favorite chemistry study buddy had warned that her two roommates would be home while you did homework together, but you hoped the voices were from a neighboring unit. Your hopes were dashed when you stood in front of Bulma’s door and knocked, the voices now quite clear in the hallway.

“Hey! Pipe down you two! My friend is here and we need to get some work done!” Bulma’s voice interrupted. The door swung open with a whoosh, revealing the blue-haired bombshell. She rolled her eyes and shuffled you inside.

“Sorry about the boys, Goku found his old game system and they’ve been at it for a while,” she explained as you kicked off your shoes and dropped your backpack by the kitchenette table. “I was hoping they’d be wrapping it up by now but-”

“Oh don’t worry about it!” you said with a dismissive wave. “I grew up with two brothers, so they won’t bother me!"

Beyond the kitchen sat the infamous roommates, backs turned on the couch, facing a comically small CRT television in front of Bulma’s fancy flat screen. The tiny TV sat precariously on a mini fridge, and on the floor was the little gray console, one which you hadn’t seen in at least a decade. The chiptune soundtrack was nostalgic and familiar.

“Is that Tenkaichi Tournament 5?” you asked.

“Yeah!” came the chipper voice from the guy on the left, though his focus remained on the game. His black hair splayed in all directions and his blue tank barely covered his built shoulders.

Oh shit. These boys are fit, you thought.

The guy in blue’s arms were bulky and strong, intimidatingly so. And the blond guy was just as fine with a cut-up yellow racerback showing off the hard work he had put into his lats. With their backs turned, you shamelessly admired what you could see of them, salivating at the sight of their carved muscles.

Bulma elbowed you and lifted a brow, tilting her head in the direction of the guys. Your eyes grew large and you fanned your face, mouthing “Oh my god” to her. She grinned and nodded.

“This is my friend from chemistry I was telling you about!” Bulma yelled over the TV, hands on her hips.

The guy in blue paused their game and turned around, draping his arm over the back of the worn couch.

“Hi!” he said in a sweet voice, eyes bright and friendly behind a pair of black frames.

The blond gave him a dirty look for pausing the game. “Hello,” he offered over his shoulder.

“I’m Goku! Nice to meet you!” he said with a wave. “This is Vegeta. Sorry, he’s a little sour because he’s lost three rounds in a row!”

The blond scoffed. “I am not sour! You just keep spamming your super move and it’s fucking annoying!”

“Have you tried countering him with a block?” you asked. That got the blond’s full attention and he turned around to you with an incredulous expression.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

With a look at both of their faces, you weren’t sure who was more handsome. Goku had boyish good looks and a natural charm, complimented by his endearingly wild hair. Vegeta resembled a model with smoldering eyes and immaculately styled hair sweeping upward. It was like comparing a golden retriever and a wolf: both were beautiful in their own ways. Had you known her roommates were perfect 10s, you would have opted for an outfit more put-together than your cotton booty shorts and oversized tee…

You swallowed, suddenly nervous under the gaze of two gorgeous men. “Um, if you hold down or back when he tries to hit you with a super move, you’ll block half the damage. But you have to get the timing just right,” you explained.

Vegeta pouted his lips and turned to Goku. “You didn’t tell me that, Kakarot!”

Goku laughed and shrugged. “I thought you knew how to block!”

“So you’ve been winning because you haven’t told me all the rules! New match, come on!” Vegeta shouted.

“It’s not really a rule,” Goku murmured with a glance to you and a smile. You smirked back as he turned towards their game once again.

“Try to keep it at a reasonable level guys, please. We have an exam next week and I am not letting my A slip to an A-minus because of this stupid game!” Bulma warned and led you to the round table in the kitchen. You extracted your laptop and a notebook from your backpack and opened up to your most recent homework.

From your seat in the kitchen, you could see directly between the pair of gentlemen, straight to the tiny TV. You couldn’t help but watch as Vegeta’s character desperately tried to master the block timing, barely eeking out a victory.

“HA!” Vegeta celebrated. “In your face! See, all I needed was to actually know all there is to the game to beat you!”

“Oh whatever Vegeta! Bet you can’t do it twice in a row!”

Bulma tapped a manicured finger on your laptop. “Um helloooo? Are you with me?” she asked.

You blushed and turned in your chair towards her. “Yes, I’m sorry! My brothers and I used to play that game together all the time, it’s been a while since I last saw it.”

She smiled at you knowingly. “Or are you just enjoying the eye candy?”

You sucked on your lips and shrugged. “Well… I’m not not enjoying it.”

The two of you snickered quietly at the table.

“I’ve heard that ladies find them attractive, but I’ve known them both since we were little kids. I just can’t see them that way, you know?” she said.

You nodded and glanced over at them, making sure they weren’t listening in. “So you’ve never dated either of them?”

“Goku, never. There was a very brief time in middle school where Vegeta and I went out but it just got weird and… Ugh, I don’t even know how to explain it. But that was ages ago. And both of them are single now,” she offered, brow raised.

You tapped your pencil to your lips. “Hm. Good to know…”

Despite the looming chemistry exam, between the noisy video game and the attractive boys playing it, your focus was gone. As the evening glow began to darken, every few minutes you glanced over between the muscular shoulders on display to see who was in the lead. They were quite evenly matched, trading wins without any notable streaks for either.

After having to steal your attention back several times, Bulma snapped her laptop shut and shook her head.

“We aren’t getting anything done tonight, are we?” she asked.

You turned fully towards her. “Geez, I’m sorry Bulma. I know you wanted to have this assignment finished up but-”

She chuckled and waved her hand. “Eh, don’t worry about it. Like I said, we both have solid A’s and the exam isn’t ‘til next week. We’ve got plenty of time. Go see if they’ll let you play a round!”

“You really don’t mind?” you asked, glancing over the back of the couch once more.

“No, we’ll finish up later. Go have some fun!” she insisted.

You grinned and stuffed your belongings back into your backpack and set it by the front door. “Thanks!”

Just as you approached the living area, Goku rose from the couch and stretched, his skimpy tank top rising to show his midriff. It was just as toned and hard as his arms. The tiny gray shorts he wore left little to the imagination, in both the bulk of his thighs and the size of his package. Oh Christ, you though. The room suddenly felt intensely hot.

“Done already?” you asked, trying not to drool.

Goku smiled. “Nah, I’m just taking a quick water break. You want anything?” he asked.

“Not to drink, but I wouldn’t mind going a round or two at Tenkaichi,” you said.

“Sure!” Goku said. He walked around the couch and handed you the controller on the way to the kitchen. “Kick his ass!”

Vegeta raised an eyebrow and looked at you over his shoulder. “Hm. Bring it on.”

As you walked around and plopped on the couch next to Vegeta, you got a better look at him. Significantly smaller in stature than Goku but just as built, he sat at the edge of the cushion with his elbows on his knees. You chuckled internally, recognizing it as the ‘serious’ pose your oldest brother took when playing video games. His gym shorts fit too small, his muscular legs pulling the fabric tight in places. The cut-off tank he wore displayed his fine musculature in a way that made your heart stutter.

Fuck’s sake, he is unbelievably hot, you thought.

Finally tearing your hungry gaze away, you selected the only female character in the game, earning a sideways smirk from your opponent.

“No way you’ll win with her,” he boasted as the game loaded.

“We’ll see,” you contested.

You took a few moments to refamiliarize yourself with the controls, but held your own against Vegeta. He had quickly mastered the block, but the timing came back to you like an old friend. The match was close the entire time until Vegeta managed to pull off a super move while you were in the air, catching you off guard. He smiled.

“A valiant effort,” he offered. “Best two out of three?”

“Of course!”

You fought again, but this time, you managed to recall a hidden combo you had memorized way back in the day. It took your opponent by complete surprise, depleting his health significantly before you moved in to finish the job for an easy win.

“What the hell was that?” he barked.

You grew shy and shrunk into the couch. “Just some muscle memory coming back to me. I’m guessing Goku didn’t tell you about hidden moves either, then?”

Vegeta turned towards you wearing a curious expression.

“Of course he didn’t. There are hidden moves?”

You pulled out your phone and furiously typed away. “Yeah! Each character has a combo that isn’t listed in the actual game anywhere, but they’re the strongest moves there are. My brothers and I used to play this all the time back in the day, but I only know Chacha’s combo. I’m looking up the combo for Prince Monkey so you can try it.”

He eyed you up and down as you searched, admiring the fact that you needed no makeup to look cute. Your features were soft and feminine, your smile lighting up your entire face. His cheeks grew warm when you scooted closer to him on the couch, showing him your phone.

“Here’s the button input. Give it a try!” you encouraged, leaning forward into your own ‘serious’ gaming pose, knee touching his.

He did as you suggested, but struggled with the combo at first. You eased back in the fight, allowing him time to figure it out before he finally blasted you away, winning the match by a hair.

“Nice! You did it!” you praised.

“It’ll be interesting to use that move against Kakarot,” he mused with a smirk.

“Kakarot? I thought his name was Goku,” you said.

“Kakarot is my first name, but I always go by my middle name,” Goku explained as he returned. “He just calls me that because he’s an ass.”

Goku held a dripping bottle of water against the back of Vegeta’s neck, making him recoil and snatch the bottle away.

“So who won?” Goku asked, taking a seat on your left and sandwiching you between two chiseled thighs.

“That would be Prince Monkey,” you admitted. “I took one round though.”

“You held your own well against me,” Vegeta said, giving a tiny hint of a smile. “It was an admirable effort.”

You nodded in appreciation and handed the controller back to Goku, but he waved you off and took a swig of water from his bottle.

“Keep playing as long as you want!” he said.

And so you did, managing to beat Vegeta in the next round thanks to your mastery over the hidden combo. Goku was flabbergasted when he saw the wildly powerful moves for the first time.

“Whoa! What the heck are those?”

"Hidden combos. You’ll have to figure it out on your own, Kakarot!” Vegeta sneered, his knee bumping into yours, then his elbow.

“Hey!” you chuckled, elbowing him back. “Quit trying to throw me off!”

“What are you talking about?” Vegeta rebutted. “I’m not doing anything!” He leaned against you and jostled your arm with his elbow.

“No fair!” you cried. You still managed to win the match, making Vegeta huff in annoyance.

Goku laughed. “Damn, she’s good!”

You shoved Vegeta playfully as he leaned for his bottle of water on the floor. You caught a glint of flirty eye contact as he did, making you want to kick your feet.

“That’s two to two,” Vegeta said. “One more to break the tie?”

“Absolutely. But I do want to change characters,” you said, inputting a code on the character select screen.

“King Monkey?” Goku asked after a new selection appeared.

“Wait, there’s another character?” Vegeta squawked. You nodded proudly.

“Yep. I know all the secrets to this game! Let’s see who will come out on top now!”

King Monkey, a larger and stronger version of his son, quickly dominated with a combo that devastated Vegeta. Despite his best efforts, he struggled to damage you, letting you come out on top without much trouble. Vegeta tossed his head and leaned back on the couch with an irritated grumble.

“Oh man!” Goku said. “That was really one-sided!”

You shrugged and laughed. “Well, King Monkey is a boss character so he’s not exactly fair. But I had to get him back for fighting dirty!”

“Tch, whatever,” Vegeta pouted, handing his controller off to Goku. “I have to get going anyway.”

You frowned and watched him get off the couch and head towards his bedroom down the hall. “Aw, bummer. Where you off to?”

“Astronomy lab,” he said over his shoulder.

Bulma called from the kitchen. “Oh, that’s finally happening?”

“Yes, finally,” Vegeta yelled down the hall, then reappeared with his backpack. “First clear evening in weeks. Cloud cover has been a pain in the ass all semester.”

“Sounds super interesting,” you said. “Well, it was really nice meeting you Vegeta!”

He gave a small smile and wave as he headed out the door. “Yeah. Been fun. See you around.”

“See ya, Jeeta!” Goku called from the couch.

As the door shut behind him, you blushed at the sweet, barely-there smile that had formed on his lips as he said goodbye. Intrigued by his stony, competitive personality, you wondered how Bulma would feel about you asking for his number…

“So he’s an astronomy major?” you asked. Bulma padded over and sat on the arm of the couch.

“Astrophysics, actually,” she explained.

Your eyebrows shot up. “Whoa. Didn’t take him for such an academic.”

Bulma snorted. “I know, right? Seems like more of a meathead like Goku.”

Expecting a retort for the insult, you turned towards him, but Goku was unperturbed.

“You gonna let her call you a meathead?” you asked.

He shrugged. “Well, I’m a kinesiology major, so I kind of am!”

You nodded. “Ah, I see. So you wanna be a physical therapist then?”

“I could do that,” he said, leaned his head from side to side. “But I also think running my own gym would be fun. Haven’t decided yet though.”

Quintessential himbo, you thought to yourself, smiling. Bulma’s roommates sure were interesting, to say the least. “Well, you certainly have the physique for it!”

“Thanks!” Goku said with pride. “Vegeta and I lift together all the time. Even though he’s really hard-working on his studies, he works just as hard in the gym. You should see all the other astro nerds, they’re like half his size! Well, in the muscle department at least.” Bulma laughed.

You couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of the pint-sized yet built Vegeta sitting in class with a bunch of pale, scrawny bookworms he could tear in half.

“So are you a chem major like Bulma?” Goku asked.

“Oh gosh, I could never do chemical engineering like her!” you said. “I’m just a regular chemistry major. She’s way smarter than me, plus I don’t really like math all that much.”

“Ugh, me neither!” Goku said, selecting Master Turtle as his character to fight you. “I barely scraped by the general math class, and that was all thanks to Bulma and Vegeta! I’d be stuck in there forever if it wasn’t for them!”

You fought round after round, not even noticing when Bulma slipped away to her bedroom. Conversation flowed easily with the amicable Goku. He had a way of making you feel comfortable even in the silence. He asked about your brothers, told you that he had an older brother but Vegeta was more like a brother to him. As you got to know each other, the twilight faded into darkness, the only light in the living room coming from the tiny TV.

“I need a break, my thumbs are killing me,” you said, rolling your wrists.

“Can I try out that hidden character you had earlier?” Goku asked.

You took his controller and punched in the secret code for him. As you handed it back, your fingers brushed his for an instant. You made brief eye contact, his handsome features illuminated by the TV. He couldn't help but smile at the dusting of blush that bloomed across your cheeks. Your long lashes framed your pretty eyes perfectly, he thought, and your bright smile made his stomach feel lighter than air. Neither of you had noticed that you had migrated towards the center of the couch, only separated by an inch between your thighs.

You watched Goku figure out the new character, following his expressive brown eyes dancing across the screen. You hoped he couldn’t tell how hard you were staring at him from the corner of your eye. He was too damn handsome to take your eyes off of for long. And his pecs looked like they’d make a perfect pillow…

As Goku fought against the computer-controlled Prince Monkey, a twinge of conflict made you bite your lip.

Shit, you thought. I have no idea which of these guys I like better! Surely you couldn’t ask Bulma for both of their numbers, that would just be greedy. But you had to get one of them. No way could you pass up the opportunity. They were far too fine.

As if she could sense your dilemma, Bulma emerged from her bedroom and came back into the living area.

“I cannot believe how long you have been playing that damn game, Goku,” she laughed.

He grinned. “I’m just glad my old TV still works! Wish we could hook it up to the big screen though.”

As he continued to play, you stood from the couch and motioned for Bulma to join you in the kitchen.

“What’s up?” she asked.

“I have a question,” you whispered, looking over your shoulder to make sure Goku was distracted by the game.

Bulma got the hint and lowered her voice. “Sure.”

“How would you feel…” you hesitated. “If I wanted one of your roommate’s numbers?”

She grinned like a Cheshire cat. “I freaking knew it. Which one though?”

You crossed your arms. “That’s the problem. I can’t decide!”

Bulma put her hands on her hips and shook her head. “Are you for real?”

You nodded and smooshed your cheeks in your hands. “They’re both so hot!”

Bulma thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up. “Ooh! I have an idea! Let me ask them how they felt about you, try to get a feel for which of them vibed with you the best.”

“Oh gosh, are you sure?” you asked. “Don’t make it too obvious though.”

Bulma smirked. “Please. I know the art of subtlety, my dear. I’ve got you covered.”

You bounced with glee. “You’re the best!”

“I know!” Bulma said with a shrug and proud smile.

After your nightly shower and bedtime routine, you climbed into bed to see your phone lit up with a new message.

BULMA: soooo i talked to the boys about you

YOU: ahhh

YOU: i’m gonna puke

BULMA: one of them actually asked about you before i got the chance to ;)

YOU: omg fr shut up

BULMA: wanna guess which one???

Part 2: Goku

Part 2: Vegeta coming soon!

dbz masterlist

tags: @artof-aristocracy

[shitsndgiggs]

Hi! I love your work and wanted to ask if you could write a fanfic about Kenan where he and reader have a kid together but they broke up.

Kenan is still obsessed with reader and literally never leaves her alone.

You can decide how their relationship goes whether they get back together or not.

A/N: I made the request into a part two of this fic, since some of you wanted it.

Part 1

SHADOWS OF THE PAST (Part 2) - KENAN YILDIZ

In which Kenan tries to win you back

Kenan Yildiz x co-parent! reader

︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿

Seeing Kenan at my doorstep again was becoming a frustratingly familiar sight. I sighed, trying to keep my composure as I opened the door.

Our son, Emre, peeked out from behind me, his eyes lighting up at the sight of his father.

"Daddy!" Emre shouted, running to Kenan.

"Hey, champ!" Kenan scooped Emre up into his arms, his face breaking into a wide smile. My heart clenched at the sight—Kenan was always such a good father, even if we couldn’t make our relationship work.

"Kenan, what are you doing here?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

"I wanted to see Emre," he said, his eyes locking onto mine with that familiar intensity. "And you."

I crossed my arms, leaning against the doorframe. "We've talked about this. You can’t just show up unannounced."

Kenan set Emre down gently, ruffling his hair. "Go play with your toys for a bit, buddy. Daddy needs to talk to Mommy."

Emre nodded and ran off to the living room, leaving the two of us alone on the porch.

Kenan stepped closer, his eyes never leaving mine. "I miss you," he said, his voice low and earnest.

"Kenan, we’ve been over this," I said, my voice tinged with frustration. "You can't keep doing this. We broke up for a reason."

He reached out, his hand brushing against my arm. "I know I messed up. But I can't stop thinking about you. About us."

I stepped back, putting some distance between us. "This isn’t healthy. For either of us. You need to move on."

"Move on?" he scoffed, running a hand through his hair. "How am I supposed to move on when you’re the love of my life?"

My heart ached at his words, but I steeled myself. "We need boundaries, Kenan. For Emre's sake. We can't keep confusing him like this."

Kenan's face fell, and he nodded reluctantly. "You're right. I'm sorry. It's just... hard."

"I know it is," I said softly. "But we need to do what's best for Emre. He needs stability."

Kenan sighed, his shoulders slumping. "Can we at least try to be friends? For him?"

I hesitated, then nodded. "Friends. For Emre."

As the days passed, Kenan made a genuine effort to respect my boundaries. He called before coming over, kept our conversations light, and focused on Emre. It was a start, but I could see the longing in his eyes every time he looked at me.

One evening, after putting Emre to bed, I found Kenan still lingering in the living room. "You should go," I said gently. "It's getting late."

He looked up, his eyes filled with sorrow. "Do you ever think about us? About what we had?"

I sighed, sitting down across from him. "Of course I do. But we can't go back, Kenan. Too much has happened."

"What if we tried again?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. "For real this time. No games, no lies."

I looked at him, seeing the sincerity in his eyes. "I don't know if I can trust you again. Not after everything."

"I'll earn it," he said, reaching out to take my hand. "I'll do whatever it takes."

I pulled my hand away, standing up. "This isn't something you can just fix overnight. It takes time."

"I have time," he said, standing up to face me. "And I'll wait as long as it takes."

Weeks turned into months, and Kenan kept his word. He was patient, respectful, and genuinely tried to rebuild our relationship. Slowly, I found myself opening up to him again.

One evening, as we sat on the porch watching Emre play in the yard, Kenan turned to me. "I love you," he said simply.

I looked at him, my heart racing. "I know."

"And?" he prompted, a hopeful smile tugging at his lips.

I took a deep breath, then nodded. "I love you too."

Kenan's smile widened, and he pulled me into his arms. "Thank you for giving me another chance."

I hugged him tightly, feeling the warmth of his embrace. "Don't mess it up."

He laughed softly, kissing the top of my head. "I won't. I promise."

[lookingfts]

Can’t think of dialogue to go along with this, but, for the writing game: Newton meeting Edmund for the first time!

Okay, last one for a few hours. You guys sent me like 40 prompts lol, so I'll probably some later tonight and tomorrow/over the next few days, and I’ll share the ones I don’t know how to fill and they can be free for anyone to take!

I especially love this one because my friend just had a baby and she sent me a picture the other day of her corgi licking the baby’s foot. So that image is fresh in my mind.

--

Everything had been off. Things had been changing for a while – Newton could tell by Kate’s scent, not to mention the roundness of her belly that seemed to be increasing each day, until he was struggling to find adequate space on her lap. He had even been forced into the indignity of laying on Anthony’s lap when it became too much of an ordeal.

And then he was promptly carted off to stay with Aunt Eddie for several days. She was nice, and had excellent snacks, but he was still on edge. Each time he would stare at the door and whine, Eddie would simply run a hand through his hair and shush him. “It’s okay, buddy. You’ll go home soon, I promise.”

He was embarrassingly excited to see Kate again, finally, rushing toward her and slipping on the wood floor. She gathered him up in her arms, cooing over him, and he realized with a start that her belly was gone.

“It’s time to meet your brother,” Kate said, setting him gently on the floor but keeping a hand on his collar. In a strange-looking contraption on the floor laid a tiny human that looked a bit like Kate and a bit like Anthony. Familiar but new.

Cautiously, he approached the tiny human. It was not his first time seeing one; the Bridgertons were a big family, and he had wrestled on the floor with his cousin Augie many times. But this one was different. This one was his.

He licked the tiny human’s foot, and it squirmed. Kate giggled next to them, patting Newton’s head. “Good boy. Gentle. This is Edmund. You’ll help me take care of him, yeah?”

Newton yipped in agreement. More of his favorite person in the world was never a bad thing. And he was determined to be the best guardian any dog had ever been.

Pulling Newton into her newly-freed lap, Kate brushed Edmund’s hair back, making a noise of contentment. “How lucky I am to have my boys.”

[okieedokes]

i’ll take care of you | john egan x f! reader

summary: you take care of Bucky after a fight (will probably write a pt 2)

warnings: swearing

word count: 1,386

requests and messages are open, enjoy :))

5:00 am

It was your favourite time of day. The sun was yet to rise, the camp enveloped in silence. Wrapped in your cardigan, you traverse from your sleeping quarters to the infirmary, fingers clutching the fabric tightly. Your hands tremble, fumbling with the lock as the winds slam the door shut behind you.

Upon entering the hospital, you are shocked to see every bed empty.

You should’ve been happy; the soldiers you had grown to love over the past few weeks that you had been stationed there, were all in good health. However, the vacant beds stirred feelings of unease within you, knowing there was a mission scheduled this morning.

You tried to keep busy by pre-filling syringes with the necessary medicines while humming softly to yourself.

As you begin to settle into the familiar routine, a sudden commotion from outside the building interrupts. The sound of argument draws nearer, and you instinctively listen.

“Get your dirty fucking hands off me, Curt, I said I’m fine!”You hear one man growl, clearly resisting against the other.

“Hey, I won’t let you lead us over Germany until you get checked out.” You hear an Irish voice reply firmly.

“Yeah, fuck that!” The another retorts.

You step back from the door, as they scuffle outside, silently hoping they won't catch you eavesdropping.

You watch them struggle against the handle before collectively throwing a man to his knees before you.

As you rush to help the man to his feet, the others vanish before you can even catch a glimpse of their faces.

“Gosh, are you okay?” You ask, placing the soldier's arm around your shoulders to assist him in standing.

"I'm sorry, miss. My buddies have this sick game they like to play where they—" His voice trails off as his gaze meets yours, and in that moment, you become acutely aware of the proximity between your bodies as you stand face to face.

“It doesn’t matter, I’m Bucky.” The soldier's droopy eyelids betray his inebriation, but his striking handsomeness distracts you.

“What happened to your head?” You are used to the attempts at flirtation from lonely soldiers and have become a master at deflecting them. This instance was no different.

“I fell,” Bucky says, smirking, aware that the bruise forming underneath his brow was the mark of a fistfight.

“I see…”You reply with sarcastic deliberation.

“You have a two-centimetre laceration above your left eye; it will need stitches.” You determine, placing a hand to his temple as you examine the wound. Bucky flinches at your touch before relaxing, resting his tired head against your palm.

“C’mon, let’s get you comfortable.” You mumble, taking the soldier's hand in yours as you guide him to the nearest cot.

Usually, you wouldn't extend such tender treatment, but you couldn't help feeling sorry for Bucky, as it was clear he was in pain, not just physically.

“You never told me your name.” He winces as you tend to his wounds with a wet rag.

“It’s not like you’ll remember when you wake up.” You remark playfully.

“I have a hunch I might," he replies, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. You roll your eyes and retrieve one of your prepared syringes.

“Close your eyes; I’m gonna help you get some rest.” You hum as you administrator the morphine into his arm.

“Good night, sweetheart”, Bucky mumbles as he succumbs to the medicine.

You don’t hesitate in stitching the wound above his brow, knowing that the pilot would be needed within a few hours. As you worked, you couldn’t help but graze his features with your fingers, taking in every detail of his perfect face. You stroked his forehead and played with his hair as he slept soundly, thankful that he was the only patient who required your attention.

His soft snores were oddly comforting, akin to a gentle lullaby, prompting you to rest your head against the soldier's side before drifting off yourself.

8:07 am

You awake to the gentle shakes of your fellow attendee, presumably just starting their shift. Your cheeks flush with embarrassment as you realise you'd fallen asleep on the job. However, what truly mortifies you is the sight of the soldier's empty bed. You cringe at the thought that he might have seen you in such a state.

“You best get organised, dear; I think it will be a busy day.” Your fellow nurse warns, gesturing to the sounds of explosives erupting from above.

“Yes, ma’am.” You answer before rushing to your station.

The day goes by as predicted. Soldiers were carried in by the dozen, all in various stages of injury. You barely have time to think as you rush between patients, attending to everything from scrapes to bullet wounds. Amid the chaos, your thoughts drift back to the pilot from that morning.

Was his mission successful? Or could it have gone even worse than imagined? The thought makes your stomach churn.

As the unsettling notion sinks in, you busy yourself by tending to a patient's wound, though your hands betray your nerves with a noticeable shake.

“You okay there?” The man you’re attending to questions.

“Yes sir…I just…have you heard any news on Bucky?” You spill, not been able to contain your worries any longer.

“Oh, that son of a bitch? I got hit pretty early, so I don’t remember much, but he’s one of the best we got, I’m sure he’s already back, pouring himself a whisky.” The man chuckled, your concern seemingly lost on him.

"Thank you, sir." With a nod, you step away to treat another patient, but the worries linger in your thoughts.

Before you knew it, the infirmary was quiet again, and you were relieved of your duties. As you journey back to your quarters, you start to wonder if the whole interaction was a dream conjured by your loneliness.

That is, until a hand grasps your shoulder. You turn to face Bucky. The cut above his eye was healing well, and you felt relieved that last night's encounter was, in fact not a delusion.

“Hey, I’ve been looking for you everywhere; they wouldn’t let me go in.” He pants, gesturing to the hospital.

"Ah, yeah, it's been quite busy," you mumble, suddenly nervous as you stand before the Major’s imposing figure.

"Hey, about last night, I wanted to apologise. You shouldn't have had to deal with that," he says, his eyes cast down, clearly ashamed.

“It’s okay, I’m sorry I couldn't be of more help in the morning…” You watch as a grin graces his lips.

“Oh yes, I woke, and your head was resting against me. It was very sweet.” He recounts, and your cheeks burn red.

"I meant to say goodbye, but I didn't want to disturb the sleeping beauty," he adds with a sheepish smile, eliciting an embarrassed giggle from you.

“Anyways, I came to ask your name and if you would join me for a drink?” He offers.

His enticing grin makes the offer hard to resist. However, you're mindful of the expectations regarding sharing drinks with a soldier, choosing to maintain your distance to avoid potential heartbreak.

“I’m sorry Major, but I’m not one for mixing work and play.” You reply, avoiding his gaze.

“If you think my intentions are unhonourable, I promise you I just want to get to know the kind girl who looked after me this morning.” He teases lightly, yet his eyes convey sincerity, filling you with a warm, comforting sensation.

“If you’re not a drinker, can I at least accompany you on a walk?” He adds, extending an arm for you to grasp.

"Why not," you concede, intertwining both your arms with his as he leads you down the path.

"So, tell me about yourself, Y/N," Bucky begins, and you freeze at the sound of your name, which you had never disclosed to the Major.

"How did you get my name?" You ask, astonished.

"Well, I asked around the cockpit this morning. Turns out you have more admirers than just me," The pilot admits.

Your heart sinks at the realisation that among the many pilots you've conversed with, Bucky was the only one who ignited sentiments within you.

This boy already had you under his spell.

[unstablenoodle]

Just graduated, and I’ve been dragging myself by my hair through the last 4 years. here’s advice if you’re new to college:

Basic advice:

Make friends in your lectures. You will know some of those people all four years, and some of them are better at this than you. You’re still capable, but there’s always a bigger fish and you should make that fish into a study buddy

Get a job at a food court/ campus restaurant. You get a free meal, which might be your only one for the day if you don’t have a meal plan. Work can also be a mental break from academics.

Abuse office hours. Annoy your TA. make them scared to see you. TA’s are tired grad students and you won’t have a formal relationship with them: they are students too.

Study advice:

Flash cards are for review and rote learning only. 15-30 minute power review sessions for things you already know. If you’re going over familiar shit, do it in short, repetitive bursts.

Be the bitch with annoying decorative notes. Make it a game, it’ll force you to look at the material more. I will say though, make sure you decorate with purpose.

Those friends you made in lecture? That’s where you get the big studying done. If you’re going for a higher 4 hour long study sesh, bring other people. They know things you don’t and vice versa, so you can fill in the gaps for each other. This type of studying is for unfamiliar or confusing material.

Big study sessions usually only happen a couple weeks out from exams at most. Before exams, your homework is your main means of studying.

Just go to the lecture. I don’t care if it’s at 7:30 am, go. Participation points could be the difference between a B and a C.

TI-84 graphing calculator

Pub chem

If a professor, for some ungodly reason, says you aren’t allowed to work on the homework with other people, fuck that guy.

Your $168.99 textbook is likely a free PDF online.

Date someone who fills in your gaps. I dated an engineer I met in a physics class and it worked beautifully.

Mental health (my advice on this is very specific):

Basic advice: drink water regularly, eat vegetables, exercise. You know all this.

Stay far, far away from any substance called a “study buddy” or something like that

Get a hobby. Actually. Something to do in your free time to keep you from going insane. I personally like knitting and drawing, but it can be anything. I’d say avoid something involving technology because it’s easy to fall into that for hours at a time. Do something that engages your hands and your brain. You might not be creative, but creativity is good for you. Your painting looks like shit? The benefits you have reaped from its creation are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Good job.

If you are having any kind of hallucination (visual, auditory, presence, etc.), seek professional help immediately. I have lived half my life with the feeling of eyes on me and the presence of people who aren’t actually there and never tried to fix it because I could “work around it.” Just go get help. Hallucinations can also be a symptom of neurological issues and physical illness.

OCD and disorders involving psychosis are aggravated by stress. Your classes will stress you out. Disorders like this are scary and debilitating, so you absolutely need to be in therapy, possibly on medication. They also tend to be episodic, so you may have periods of recovery where your life quality improves. Do NOT be fooled: you still need to be in therapy even if you feel good. Preventative measures are the best measures!!

Social:

Get a job. Work friends are funnier and way more entertaining than any other kind of friend

I recommend a group of 2-4 people you chill with regularly. Movie night with them once a week (barring exam weeks and extenuating circumstances)

Talk with your roommates at least occasionally. It’s no fun living with total strangers.

Do not start smoking cigarettes. A lot of people are repulsed by the smell and it clings to you.

Hygiene. Mainly you should smell good. You don’t have to go crazy with an expensive perfume/ cologne, but shower and always have a decent scent. Also try not to wear stained clothes.

Not sure how useful this is, but it’s the first thing I could think of. I’ll come back and edit if I think of more.

[leaping-lemur]

Thoughts on the Narrator

Played Slay the Princess: Pristine Cut over the weekend and while I expected to be feral about it, I ended up having a lot of thoughts. Like, philosophical thoughts. Mostly about the Narrator.

So without further ado, let's go to the spoilers under the cut. And boy do I mean SPOILERS: everything after this assumes you've beaten the game and are familiar with its structures and themes.

I mostly figured I'd putz along and go with my gut and see where I landed for the first playthrough, with a vague “I should kill the Shifting Mound this time around," but knew I would almost certainly go with a “leave with the princess” ending because I'm a softy, and a predictable softy. So predictable that my initial playthrough path was this:

Specter > Thorn > Stranger > Prisoner > Wraith (via the Nightmare) > time loop ending (because I was a derp and picked up the knife. Hero wanted it and I can deny him nothing.  Also I expected the Contrarian to tell me to throw it out the window but he didn't join that ending.)

I don’t think it’s because I already know the basic conceit and am numb to the “do I inflict violence now, or later?” mechanism of play, because I’ve definitely wanted to claw my own/someone else’s face off during previous playthroughs. Sure, I picked nicer options because I was treating it like a first run, but we all know how totally jacked up trying to be nice can get you.

Zero rancor for the Narrator, and the final conversation with the Shifting Mound felt… kind? Part of it was the new ability to talk to the vessels directly (it felt new anyway?) with less hard edged “we fought and hurt each other and raaaaah.” To the point where some of the angrier Explore options didn't feel relevant to the playthrough, where normally I'm like “you are not the culmination of my best girls, return them >:( “ I think part of it was because I went for the gentler routes, with just enough knowledge to know when to push (my first playthrough ever got me The Prisoner which probably tells you everything you need to know about how consistently wishy-washy I am).

It was all just nice. It felt _nice_ and I was so surprised that I felt this overall magnanimity toward everyone.

I tried it again and quickly realized that this first time was a fluke. Shifty is unable to give straight answers and it was a serendipitous confluence of options that made everything feel… gentle. Subsequent playthroughs, I scraped up against the same jagged edges I’d felt before, the bits that made me go “wait, NO!” and not in the funny way.

One thing jumped out at me. I don’t know if it was present in the base game, but I never noticed it until now.

I know I said everyone felt nice in my first playthrough, but of course the Narrator is…. You know. …himself. A smug prick. So when I say nice, I meant nice _for him_, nicer than I expected/remembered, but not… nice or supportive.

And then this interaction in The Tower:

This is after Broken tries to kill you, Hero fends him off, and you do your damndest to kill Tower. Normally in scenarios where you both die, the Narrator is frustrated, disappointed, sometimes hits you with “I told you so” in some way. But… not here.

I was so struck by this feeling of the Narrator saying “you did your best, good job, buddy. I am not going to lay the weight of my entire reality dying on you, because you tried.” I don't recall another time where he thanks you as you die, either. He knows when you die, the world is potentially destroyed. He still says "you saved the world" as you're dying. There's no need for him to soften that blow except to send you on to the next world with some hope and kindness.

Then you get to Chapter 3 Fury and this Narrator is much more typical. He's furious you'd even think about dying because his world will die.

I had this weird little gut punch when I realized that 1) this totally feels like a different guy and 2) fuck this guy in particular. I'm only saving the world for Tower Narrator now!

And you know it's not just a matter of making sure the Princess dies before you, because if you kill yourself after, the Narrator is... not happy. Well, there is some language suggesting that maybe the world isn't destroyed when you die, so much as you're sent to another world with a chance of fucking things up so please just stay in the void where the Princess is dead, no do-overs, kthnx, but the Narrator also says that the previous realities have been doomed in later chapters, so the only certainty is probably that any time you start in a new reality, there's the chance you destroy all of them, so a reality where both you and the Princess die isn't necessarily saved.

I thought a lot about the Narrator when the game first released, and I'm thinking about him a lot now. I think he's neat.

He is a man (bird, mortal being, whatever the mortal beings are; all that matters is that they’re people) living at the end of his universe’s timeline (maybe it’s the heat death of the universe, the big crunch, who knows). He can either make his peace with the end of all things, or he can do the very human thing and _do something about it_. This dude literally _rewrites physics_ to save humanity (birdmanity?) even knowing he, personally, will never get to reap the rewards of his work. All he has to do is rip a god/the laws of physics apart and excise certain immutable laws of thermodynamics. Sort of. He, as a mortal, can’t do this himself, but he can set certain laws of the universe against each other and tip the scales to one side over the other. (Was the singular god sentient before the Narrator did this? Unclear. Neither Long Quiet or Shifting Mound seem aware of personhood prior, just memories of feelings). He makes a Construct in which he can run this experiment - a sort of large hadron collider for baby gods. The major rule is: the more the baby gods know about the Construct, the more they can shape it, so he can’t just _tell_ them about it. Corollary: if the experiment fails, that instance of reality dies and the Construct moves the experiment to another one.

Getting caught up in LQ or SM’s feelings is kind of beside the point. Humans hurting others in these abstract/metaphysical ways is pretty common but rarely posited _quite_ in this same way. In thinking about it, I was oddly reminded of the Ring Entities from the Expanse: to achieve FTL capability/wormhole teleportation, the rings allow ships to travel through another dimension inhabited by the Ring Entities. They are _really pissed_ about it. This becomes really clear to everyone! _It doesn’t stop humanity from using the rings, it’s not even a debate._ The Ring Entities are something very beyond human understanding and thus, abstract. Humans are very good at punching holes in reality when given the tools and damn the consequences once we have the tools in hand. Gods, extra-dimensional entities, whatever. We'll punch 'em. And that’s just, y’know, space travel!

_This_ is ending death.

Sure, we call it hubris, but that just feels like the human condition.

Which brings me to the philosophical point that many people take as a given, that I’ve never understood: that death is necessary to make life meaningful. Life matters because we know it ends.

This is one of those “understandings” people have that feels totally alien to me, right up there with “if people didn’t have jobs,* they wouldn’t know what to do with themselves.” Every time I heard someone say that about themselves, I just had to sit in that feeling of realization (again, and again, and again) that people have vastly different experiences and inner lives from each other. Periods where I didn’t have a job were hands down my most productive, fulfilling years. No longer was I scratching out an existence for myself at the margins of what little time I was allowed, I could devote myself whole-heartedly to pursuits I cared about.

*By job I mean the capitalistic ‘sell labor for money to someone’ and not a job as in ‘having a task-oriented purpose.’

I know plenty of people who do good work, whose lives would have meaning even if they lived five hundred years, or forever (I do a lot of work in wildlife rescue/rehab spaces, which may color my view of things and how driven people are, and no I’m still not over being fucking _robbed_ of some of the heroes we’ve recently lost in those spaces). Death doesn’t have inherent meaning or nobility - it’s just a fact of life, and physics, and entropy. It’s the shortening of telomeres and the accumulation of mutations. We need death to mean something because fuck, if it’s pointless, if it’s just atoms rearranging themselves in a cold, unfeeling universe, how do we face that? 

And if a flippin’ _god_ can’t give me any argument for why death is a thing that should exist beyond “stupid mortals derive meaning from it” (not that they need it for meaning, just the assumption that they do) - yeah, I think the Narrator deserves to have the scales tilted in his favor. Even if, ultimately, his argument isn’t in support of some immutable meaning about the nature of the universe, so much as “it would be the kind thing to do.”

It's so human, in the face of something that purports to be inevitable. You're at the tipping point where the inevitable isn't, anymore, and the only argument inevitability can make is... itself.

I’ve also heard people say that the Narrator’s ideal universe is a bad one: without death, he describes a cycle of forgetfulness and rediscovery. I’ve heard it decried as lonely (forgetting your friends! etc) and pointless, but all _I_ heard was my own ADHD experience when I go diving through my closet and rediscovering old hobbies. I have had a lot of hobbies. I’ll probably have a lot more. I’ve accepted that I pick things up with passion for a few months to a couple years, then drop them. Many I come back to, eventually. As I get older, the more I think that this is a pretty cool way to spend eternity.

Death being the thing that gives life meaning is axiomatic, a conclusion without support. We already know death is undesirable and the reasons why. Is death desirable for reasons other than this nebulous “meaning”? Does the universe change? Does it matter? There is already more to do in the universe than can be done, because time and space are both infinite.

Ultimately, I don’t think he’s objectively wrong, or a bad guy (this is, of course, assuming that the rules of the Construct are the rules by necessity due to the kind of story the devs wanted to tell, because the Narrator would clearly not build the Construct the way he did if he didn’t absolutely have to). I think he’s a prick, and I think he cares more about his goals than about the gods he’s made, but he doesn’t _not_ care, and sometimes he seems to care more than others.

And I find that fascinating.

UPDATE: One of the new endings addresses this point and (in world) undermines my thoughts entirely! ....I think it's still wrong from a philosophical point of view, but that becomes a disagreement re: metaphysics between the author(s)'s opinion and my own. I don't think living forever would lead to everything being done and nothing left to do (because again, infinite time means infinite space means infinite things to do) but it's purely hypothetical, can't be proven either way, and is argued over by nerds for literally thousands of years. Not like we could ever empirically know.

[angstsfordays]

I will go to you like the first snow [1/?]

Pairing: Coriolanus Snow x OC! femreader

Summary: "Before I held you, I didn’t know that the world I was in was this bright." The beginning days of how Coriolanus and OC met in the Academy a year before the 10th Hunger games.

Warnings: Coriolanus Snow himself is a warning but nothing unhealthy from him in this chapter! Still relatively tame before his true nature unveils itself later on!

Notes: Hi everyone, I'm back from the dead. Just kidding, but yes I am back and definitely inspired to write again now that I have a wee bit of time. My latest addiction as you guessed from above is TBOSAS, and I swear it's so unhealthy for me to crush on villains albeit they're fictional. I have plans for this to be a series of reads with no structured timeline and rather it be snippets of different scenarios that could happen with a OC insert in this universe. Just wanted to get this out of my head and into words so please enjoy this humble writing of mine!

Love, Angstsfordays 🫶🏼

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The first time Coriolanus saw you was when you walked into the classroom on a random Wednesday. It was only halfway into his junior year at the academy and he least expected someone would be able to transfer into the prestigious elite Academy at all.

You were definitely not from the Capitol if you were to enroll into school this late.

"Do you think she's like Plinth?" Coriolanus overheard one of the students' hush whispers to another. A likely possibility- the young Snow thought. You must have come from new money- your family must have somewhat made a huge profit and earned the favour of the Capitol to be able to let their daughter enter the Academy.

Your dark and sleek long hair contrasted with the bright red and blue of the Academy's uniform. Despite the dark colour of your eyes, it shoned brightly with a type of confidence as you took your time to scan the entire class and made sure to stare right into each and one of the students who casting dubious glances at you.

"Now now, hush and let me introduce to you the latest addition to our class." Professor Demigloss spoke with a calm type of excitement.

Giving you a small courteous smile, the professor nudged you to introduce yourself. "My name is Y/N Y/L/N", you curtly answered. The students who heard your last name were even more perplexed at who you could be as they never heard of it before- not even in the latest gossips that the Capitol has to offer.

"Perhaps you lot are more familiar with the name, Carnell." Professor Demigloss then added with slight glee afterwards when your maternal family's name drew the gasps of the entire class. The Carnell family was famous as old legend in Panem- best known to be one of the few significant families who helped contributed to the founding of Panem in its early days. The Carnell family were known for their fearsome military strength and training of great soldiers.

Where was someone like you from such a powerful family hiding all this time? Coriolanus did not recall seeing someone like you during the social parties he attended when he was younger.

"That's my mother's family name. I am Y/N Y/L/N." You explained, more towards the professor than everyone else.

Professor Demigloss who seemed taken aback by your correction gave an awkward smile before nodding. He then informed you that Clemensia would be your student buddy to help you get orientated to the school and asked you to take your seat at the far end of Coriolanus' row.

Coriolanus' eyes followed you as you made your way up the stairs and to your seat with careful steps. Once you settled in your seat and the professor started talking, you felt a pair of eyes on you.

Tilting your head to the left, you saw your so called student buddy, Clemensia and beside her was a boy. A boy with eyes that held the intense gaze that you gave him. There was no animosity, no haughtiness like the rest of the students who looked at you when you first stepped into the room.

You couldn't read him but you were sure he was somewhat different from the rest in the room. Before it felt like it would get weird with the long staring, your eyes quickly flicked over to the professor and your postured leaned forward as if you were interested to listen to the class.

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"No way, someone got a higher score than Snow?!"

"Who is it?!"

"Who is the Academy's new top student now?"

Coriolanus was halfway through his lunch before he started hearing the hurried tones of other students in the cafeteria. Before this, Coriolanus knew that the latest exam scores would be posted around this timing.

As eager as he was to check his scores when they were posted, he wanted to give into his hunger first. He had no doubt that he would be the top scorer for the term. There was just no way else anyone else could have done better than him.

As his ears perked up on the sayings of the cohort of students, his heart dropped for a moment. Someone actually did better than him? The next feeling was adrenaline as he quickly packed up his extra food into his bag before his legs stood up and led the way to the bulletin board.

Term 2's Academic Ranking

Y/N Carnell

Coriolanus Snow

Coriolanus could not believe his eyes. How were you the top student? You haven't even been in this school for more than 3 months and you managed to stand at the top, knocking him to a humiliating second place. The thought of the Plinth's prize leaving his grasp washed over him.

Coriolanus was usually reserved especially in the public eye to maintain the prestige of his family name. But his obsession with perfection especially when it came to his grades were one of the few things that could shook his calm demeanor.

The young Snow turned his head furiously as he felt himself being swarmed by more students. That's when he spotted the wisp of your hair flying and leaving past as you turned around the corner of the hallway.

Coriolanus wormed his way out of the crowd and took long strides to storm his way to you. You were on your way out of the school with your hand on the door handle before you felt a presence behind you. A hand rested above yours on the handle, nudging it against the force of your pull to open and exit the school.

You turned around and was shocked by how close Coriolanus stood behind you as your face met with his chest before your eyes went up to meet his. His eyes were bright with somewhat of a calm rage.

"Shit, what are you doing?!" You said with a false bravado.

The both of you let go of the door while staring at each other in silence briefly. You were waiting for him to speak but when it seemed like he was not going to say anything, you feet started turning towards the door again before Coriolanus spoke. "How?"

"How what?" You spoke in confusion.

"How did you managed to take my spot?" So that's why he decided to stop you from leaving? You scoffed at the pettiness before deciding to give in and answer, hoping Coriolanus would leave you be.

"I just studied." Apparently your answer was not good for him as he continued to rambled on in a fit.

"What do you mean you just studied? You transferred less than 3 months ago, how are you able to catch up with everything?! Your grandfather managed to get a private tutor for you?" As you thought things couldn't get worse, Coriolanus managed to hit a sore spot of yours.

Coriolanus heard from the gossips of the likes of Livia Cardew and Arachne Crane that you were not originally born in the Capitol despite your maternal family's powerful name. You were the product of a tragic fairy tale romance. Your parents' love story was one from the books- the first-born daughter of the highest ranking military commander in Panem falling in love with a talented yet low-birth soldier who had caught the eye of your grandfather for his combat potential during an off-site training in district 7 and personally took him under his tutelage.

When your mother decided to reject an arranged marriage with one of Panem's prestigious families that could bring honor to both families, she did something no one else would expect of a prim and proper Capitol-born and raised lady. She decided to elope with your father and found refuge in a secluded village in District 11.

Your grandpa, embarrassed and outraged decided to disown your mother- not killing her as one last act of mercy being once a daughter of Carnell.

It was not until your grandfather's recent decline in health the past few years made he realised that he could not bear to separate from his precious only daughter and made arrangements for you and your mother to come back to the Capitol.

Your father had unfortunately passed away due to a sudden disease infection in his health a few years prior when you were thirteen. It was an excruciating time for you and your mother as there was no way you could seek proper medical help for him while living in the districts.

After your father's passing , your mother was struggling to provide for both of you so she agreed to come back to the Capitol for your sake when your grandfather reached out. She couldn't bear to see you suffer and wanted you to be able to have the same privileged upbringing she was born into. It was then she decided to move on from the past and accepted your grandfather's offer.

You only agreed for your mother's sake but had disdain that everything was the Capitol and for your grandfather who cold-heartedly threw your mother out. Before allowing you to make your debut into the Capitol, your grandfather hired a home tutor to prepare you enough to enter the Academy on an equal footing as any elite Capitol children.

The grueling and rigorous studying hours in your home study was an unwanted distant memory- you requested for your grandfather to dismiss the private tutor upon your enrollment and assured him you would be able to keep up once you enter the Academy.

"No, I don't have one. I didn't want one." Answering through gritted teeth, you hope that the boy in front of you can just stop.

"Then how?" Growing annoyed at his persistent questions, you decided to tell him the truth.

"I just have a good memory, okay? I can remember a lot of stuffs at once. That's all."

"That's cheating." Rolling your eyes at his pettiness, you folded your arms as you turned away from his annoying yet handsome face.

"It's not like I asked for it! Besides, the exams are not just about memorization but application of theories too. That's something even photographic memory can't help you with!" The stunned expression on Coriolanus face told you even that he had no choice but to agree with the validity of your point.

"Look, I'm sorry I took your spot. I didn't even expect to be at the top. I just want to graduate quietly, I never wanted any of this." Coriolanus grew quiet as he saw how you stared off with a forlorn look.

"Why wouldn't you not want any of this? Wealth and privilege."

"More like chains and scrutiny. He took my freedom away. And now I'm stuck here with a bunch of prissy stuck up kids." The disdain for your grandfather was evident in how you spoke with seething anger. You shot Coriolanus one last look before you walked out of the door.

This was the least expected outcome Coriolanus would have thought of when he decided to approach you. This was also the most that you two have talked ever since you have entered the Academy.

Despite being a new face and not Capitol-born, the Carnell name was too big for any elite to ignore and you soon gained some attention. There were people who admired your social standing and wanted to try to approach you for their own benefit and while some others disdained you for not being born and raised in the Capitol like them but still remained civil to you for your maternal family's namesake.

Coriolanus noticed that you kept to yourself mostly but were able to be friendly to most when approached. He seen you interact with Sejanus (of course of all people) the most- it seems that being district prior was likely the cause of why you were able to bond with him so much. Coriolanus scoffed to himself at the thought and for a moment wondered why that bothered him.

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The next time you both met again was when Coriolanus approached you during lunch. During the class before lunch, Professor Satyria announced for a paired class assignment and the whole class almost went into a frenzy when you and Coriolanus were announced as partners.

"How could you do that professor? They are literally number one and number two in the cohort! Where does that leave us?!" Upon seeing the students' fervent response, Professor Satyria smirked in child-life mischief before forming a wide Cheshire cat smile.

"Yes, I'm very aware and instead of the boring strategy to make them compete one another, I would like to see if the two top students are able to produce something far beyond my expectations!"

An invisible weight was placed on Coriolanus shoulders' at his professors words. He was her favourite student after and he did not want to disappoint her, furthermore with her expectations being set so high, the desire to meet it has caused the pressure to increased tenfold.

He hated group projects, knowing that if others failed to play their part, the brilliance of what he could create be diminished. But perhaps, if it was you- another fellow academic who has shown to be on par on his level, it could be different.

Coriolanus then decided that he needed to speak with you immediately to discuss the assignment and decided to do so during lunch. Where were you? He had never seen you once at the cafeteria during lunch.

Coriolanus then decided to approach Sejanus as much as his pride didn't want him to- figuring that if there was anyone who had a clue about where you were, it was the boy who shared a similar upbringing as you.

Sejanus figured that Coriolanus would have wanted to find you regarding the assignment and gave away your secret lunch spot. Under a tree with bright red leaves also known as the 'Burning ash', Coriolanus spotted you at the small table that was placed near the tree.

As he got closer, Coriolanus found himself feeling envious when greeted by the sight of the extravagant packed lunch that you had brought from home.

"That seems nice." He started off with a compliment to warm you up. You looked up at him with surprised doe eyes before quickly switching them to one that was guarded. He recalled that both of your last encounter with each other was far from pleasant and started to feel nervous at the thought.

"Hmm, abit too much." You brushed off his compliment as you continued to open up the different compartments of the boxes.

"The cafeteria food is actually pretty good so why...." Coriolanus tried to continue the conversation. To his surprise, you were not curt in your response and went on to explain in detail.

"My grandfather has an irrational fear of food poisoning from his warring days so he does not trust any food prepared by outsiders. He even has his own poison taster...." Rolling your eyes while continuing your explanation, you also can't help but to notice how the boy opposite you was looking at your food.

"Well, he passed his fear onto his family and does not allow us to eat any food prepared by anyone else other than our house chef unless we have a poison taster around." You continued explaining with a quirked smile as you thought about how dramatic your strict grandfather could be. Coriolanus then decided to pull out a cookie from his bag and into his mouth.

"Doesn't seem like this is poisoned." He spoke through muffled bites.

"Give it ten seconds." You quipped back playfully before Coriolanus started pretending to cough and gagged which caught you off guard. When he started to grin at your reaction, you couldn't help a smile forming on your face at the lame joke he tried to pull.

Searching for the extra spoon that was packed into your lunch to Coriolanus, you offered it to the boy in front of you. "Would you like to have some? I can't finish possibly all of them."

"Oh no- I couldn't-"

"Please. I happen to see food peeking out from your bag a couple of times. I don't know the reason but please- really. This is all too much for me and I hate to see food go to waste." At first, Coriolanus was embarrassed to hear that you have caught him in his act but it quickly turned to something else as your last statement stroke an emotional cord with Coriolanus.

You recommended for him to try the soup and your heart tightened with some warmth when you see Coriolanus taking more mouthfuls of soup. He usually had a cool facade so seeing him with such a light and boyish expression made you felt some sort of way.

The soup he had was one of the best food he had in awhile but before he could continue in his indulgence, he was then alerted about the statement you made earlier- about seeing the food that he would pack from lunch in his bag. How long have you been noticing it?

It would have been terrible if anyone else in the school knew about it and spread gossip. The fact that you knew and just kept it to yourself- Coriolanus' view of you have now moved to one in a positive light.

The two of you ate quietly without exchanging much words and instead reveled in the comforting of each other's company. The dynamics of your relationship started to change from this simple lunch onwards and the two of you started to spend more time togther.

Coriolanus and you ended up presenting the best assignment in the history of the Academy which solidified both of your reputations in the entire school. Despite being district born and raised, you definitely proven that you had 'Capitol blood' in you with your outstanding results and other students did best to not underestimate you anymore.

Coriolanus once again regained his standing as the top student the following term and both of you took turns to reclaim the top spot in a friendly competition. He gladly acknowledged you as someone who was worthy to be his academic rival and friend at the same time and would even be sincerely happy for you when your name came out on top.

The two of you always spent lunch together under the Burning Ash tree. You purposely asked for a bigger lunch to be prepared for yourself so that you could always share it with him. Sometimes you even got him to bring the extra food home too. Seeing him eating well made you feel some sort of indescribable contentment and even though he has not shared why he was always hiding and keeping food in his bag, you did not pry.

Coriolanus was grateful for this and he felt that one day, he would eventually want to share his deepest secrets that no one else knew with you.

The other students presumed that the two of you were always hanging out with each other because of the assignment that Professor Satyria gave but when the two of you continued to stay around each other after the assignment- people began to speculate especially when a guy and girl seems to be around each other most of the time.

While on the way to the restroom one day, Coriolanus was just about to open the door when he heard two boys talking about you from the inside.

"You think Y/N is together with Snow?" The first voice sounds like it belonged to Festus Creed.

"Tough to say, I mean she does talk to other guys but they're always having lunch I heard. But they don't seem like they're actually together you know?" The next voice belonged to another classmate, Apollo Ring.

"I think I'm going to ask her out." Festus spoke with an affirmative tone.

"Really? Since when do you like her?" Besides Apollo, Coriolanus also shared the same surprise upon Festus' declaration. Coriolanus inched his way closer to the door without giving away that he was there to listen in to the two boys' conversations.

"I wasn't sure about her being from the district before but she kind of proved everyone wrong at the Academy with how intelligent she is. Besides, she's way more likeable than girls like Cardew and Crane. And she's really pretty too especially when she smiles."

"You sound like you're in love already. You really think you have a chance with her? Forget Snow, her grandpa is Chief Commander Carnell." Apollo snickered at his friend who sounded like he was in a dreamy state. A gnawing feeling creeped inside Coriolanus' chest as he thought about the possibility of you going out with Festus.

Sure, Festus was an alright guy but was he worthy of you? You are afterall the only granddaughter of the Carnell family. Fester hit the nail on the head alright, you are not just beautiful but smart and likeable too. Besides the obvious attention you would get from guys, Coriolanus heard the whispers of envious girls who wanted to be like you which in itself showed how charming you were to everyone.

"You never know if you don't try, right?" Festus' voice brought Coriolanus out of his thoughts as he realised the door was opening. He was then met with the stunned faces of Fester and Apollo who were surprised to see Coriolanus at the other side of the door.

Giving a look of acknowledgment, Coriolanus pretended to be aloof and just walked past the two boys to use the restroom. As the door closed and he was left alone, Coriolanus looked up to see himself in the mirror. He felt himself feeling warm and his hand reached over to clutched the fabric that was covering where his heart would be.

What was this emotion he was feeling? He did not absolutely wanted to lose you to anyone else. Just imagining you directing your smile, the one where you would shyly look down before looking up like a ray of sunshine- at someone else but him would kill him.

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Coriolanus was waiting outside the school for you so that you could take a short walk out before heading your separate ways home. As Coriolanus fiddled with the compass that belonged to his dad to pass the time, his instinct told him to look up and that's when he saw you stopped in your tracks by Fester.

It looked like Fester was making an attempt to swoon you as he animatedly spoke which caused you to give a pleasant smile in return. As the wind blew and your let down hair started swirling in the air, Coriolanus' breath was taken away for a short moment before it stopped short seeing Fester reaching over to tuck a strand behind your ear.

Coriolanus could see the minute flinch you made upon the sudden contact. He was not going to allow any of Fester's forlorn wish to happen and took it upon himself to stride up the long steps to where you stood.

"Y/N, there you are!" Whipping your head to Coriolanus' voice, a sense of relief washed over you at his entrance.

Just a minute ago, Festus came up to you as you were leaving the school. He mentioned that he did pretty badly in the last term assignment and was wondering if you could tutor him given that you were the top student for the subject. You were actually considering it, thinking that there was no harm.

When you first came to the Academy, you were sure to hate it knowing that it was only open to children of the most elite families in the Capitol. You knew that most of the students had a privileged upbringing and tend to be quite stuck up, specially to someone like you were originally from the district despite coming from a prominent family.

You did noticed how the students pretended to be civil to Sejanus but spoke ill of him once his back was turned afterall. You were sure that you were subjected to the same treatment but was fortunate that it didn't happen thanks to how fearsome your grandfather's reputation and name could be.

You did however find that some of the students were still pleasant such as your Clemmie, Sejanus, the Ring twins, Lysistrata and the likes. Your mind then went to Coryo (as you now called him by his request) and a small smile quirked at the thought of him.

You were sure that he was the last person you had expected to be close friends with. You knew he was a studious person and he always appeared to calm and reserved, although when he spoke- you felt a sense of charisma and wit that distinguished him from the rest.

When he had came up to confront you about knocking off the podium for last term's grades, you thought he was a sore loser but when he then approached you again for the paired assignment, he showed another side to himself.

A more vulnerable and boyish side to him that allowed you to open up to him and that's the Coryo that you find yourself drawn to. The side of him he hardly shown to anyone else but you, at least that's what you think.

Coryo's voice woke you out of your thoughts as he spoke once more. "Hey, we should get going if we don't want to be late."

"Oh, late for what?" Fester asked curiously and your mind scrambled for an answer.

"Uhm, for something." You realised that this was not going well when Fester tilted his head to the side in confusion. Turning to Coryo for help, he tapped his fingers on the book he was holding and you immediately got the hint.

"I mean, Coryo and I had study plans together."

"Oh can I join?" Stumped by Fester's persistence, you looked back at Coryo who looked almost irritated. Coriolanus then slid his hand over your shoulder and took an inch closer to you. Your ears started turning red and your heart started to race uncontrollably at the contact. Why was your body reacting like this?

"This is something that Y/N and I had already planned together." Fester was not dumb as he saw how Coriolanus was looking at him right now.

"Oh is that right? Perhaps next time, Y/N?" Fester tried his luck on you seeing how you were the one not showing any hostility towards him.

You opened your mouth wanting to answer but nothing came to your mind. Seeing as you did not know how to reject the poor boy, Coryo slid his hand down from your shoulder to your hand and interlocked your fingers together.

Before you could comprehend what he was doing, Coryo pulled you forward to follow him as he almost leaped down the stairs and he turned back to you with an unknown look.

"We're going to be late." He spoke and you then nodded along before turning back to a confused Fester. "Sorry Fester, we're going to be late!" You echoed as you followed behind Coryo.

Not caring about Fester's response, you turned back to see Coryo looking at you with a cheeky grin and you returned one in same. Coryo looked down to your intertwined hands and then back up to your smile that looked like it could compete with the Sun.

Before I held you, I didn’t know that the world I was in was this bright.

"Yes, that's right. Only smile like this for me, Y/N. No one else."

Coriolanus thought to himself as he tightened the grip of your small hand in his.

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