#i just know if football didn't work for him he'd be a model

[swaggypsyduck]

Achraf Hakimi is so fine i didn't realize that the guy beside him was Pharrell until i was about to post this

[nariism]

to the ends of our world — i. rin

academic rivals to lovers + "i could kiss you right now!" + "we fell asleep by accident and woke up as a mess of tangled limbs."

synopsis. all rin said was that he would help you with calculus. he didn't think he'd be waking up to your morning breath and wishing the moment would last forever.

wc. 1.6k

notes. kind of a highschool au where rin is out for the season because of an injury 🙏 also kind of a one-sided rivalry because rin is a loser :p

— for @itoshiexx <3 | event masterlist ✉️

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

I could kiss you right now.

Those were the last words you spoke to Rin almost an hour ago.

He's agonizing over it, really. He probably should have at least said something back to you instead of shutting you out like he does every time he feels himself getting too close.

Instead he's dutifully working through his calculus notebook.

If he focuses enough on perfecting derivatives, he can ignore the way your presence beside him has only gotten weightier. But it's hard to do that when the words are still echoing in his mind.

I could kiss you right now.

You're just as adamant on finishing your workbook, eyes glued to the page and attention completely devoted to making numbers dance.

When you asked him earlier in the day if he could help you with the new sets, he was confused. You'd always been the one to best him.

It irritated him. You reminded him too much of his big brother.

But then he saw your notebook. You'd hesitantly handed it over to him when you showed up at his doorstep with courtesy snacks and a bag of oranges for his mother.

(Which she gushed about, by the way. He felt like burying himself in a hole when she asked if you were dating.)

You'd been trying for so long to figure out the solutions that some areas of the page were torn where you had kept erasing and redoing the work. He even found things scribbled out in frustration.

He would have laughed if you didn't have such a grim look on your face. Rin was never one for humour, anyways.

He reluctantly agreed to help, though he was sure your other grades would make up for one botched math unit. It was the petty pride in him speaking—in reality, the way you looked like you were on the verge of tears was enough to send him into fight or flight mode.

He had never seen such a dazed, stressed expression on you before. You were the epitome of a model student—good grades, class representative, and friendly enough that no one ever wanted to step on your toes.

No one but Rin, that is.

He told himself he hated you. Goody-two shoes. Smiley. Obliviously and annoyingly cheerful. Successful enough to do anything you wanted to do, so long as you had the drive.

Everything Rin would have been if he hadn't injured his knee right before the football season started.

But what he thought he felt about you was a lie. He hadn't even realized it until you were sitting down on his bed, knee bumping into him as you lounged there criss-crossed.

He'd always just seen you as the person who sat in front of him in homeroom. Untouchable. He envied you, even though his grades were nearly as good now that he had all the time in the world to study.

Now, though, you're just as human as he is.

Rin can see your face instead of the back of your head. Your words are meant for him—thanking him, praising how easy his method for solving these equations is.

Then, you shattered his daydream.

I could kiss you right now.

You said it so unseriously, not even looking at him when you did. You had gotten to the end of your third page of work, conquering the math with ease now that you understood it.

It was your funny way of expressing gratitude. He knows you didn't mean anything by it, definitely. But it's been stuck in his mind.

And neither of you have uttered a word to each other since.

He nearly jumps out of his skin when you slam your pencil down in your notebook and shut it with an audible thud.

"Break time!" You sigh blissfully, though he isn't sure if you're talking to him or yourself.

You flop back into his mattress and he just stares in quiet disbelief while you scroll through your phone like you fucking pay rent here.

Rin debates whether or not to kick you off his bed so that he can finish his homework without distraction, or if he should just leave you be. Ultimately, he decides that it's too much of a hassle to deal with confrontation and silently goes back to doing derivatives.

He would feel bad shoving you away when you finally started talking to him, after all. And you look so at ease now, with your work almost done.

(Yeah, you started working at a faster pace than him with his method. You seriously piss him off.)

He comes to the conclusion that this is going to be a one-time thing. Rin hates the twist of despair in his stomach seeing you about to burst into tears.

He hates the peace that fills him when you're back to your smiling self even more.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Rin wakes up to warmth.

Groggily, he blinks the sleep out of his eyes until they adjust to the light of sunrise pouring into his room.

It's strange. He doesn't remember falling asleep at all.

What was he doing last night? He shifts a little bit and freezes when he hears the crinkle of paper beneath him.

Oh, his calculus homework. Did he finish it? It's due today.

He's just about to sit himself up to check the time and hope he has at least another hour to sleep before school, when he realizes much too late that there's a weight on his arm.

Rin gets yanked back by the arm that's pinned down, yelping quietly in surprise.

And then everything hits him like a goddamn truck.

Maybe more like a freight train, really, because he feels like he's about to have a fucking heart attack. Rin dares to turn his head, so comically slow that it's like life itself moves in slow motion.

Somehow in your sleep, you've become a tangled mess of limbs.

His arm is tucked under your neck—the culprit for making him whelp like a child when he tried to sit up. Your legs are twisted together and... Oh god. His free hand is resting where your hip melts into your thigh.

Panic rises in his chest because one, he's never had another person in his bed before. Period. And two, because there's heat boiling in the pit of his stomach and he's pretty sure he's about to keel over and pass away.

Just as he's about to shove you off the bed, realization dawns on him.

You look so peaceful when you sleep.

Your breath smells, and your hair has gotten tangled under the weight of his arm. You're muttering to yourself quietly in your sleep, and he's pretty sure he can see a bit of drool in the corner of your lip.

He so desperately wishes that his first thought would be to tease you about this until the end of time. Or maybe use it as blackmail against you, if you were to get a higher grade on the upcoming calculus exam because of his methods.

But instead, his first thought is that he never wants to move from this position. That he needs to savour this moment.

It's horrifying.

18 hours ago, you pranced up to the side of Rin's desk and asked if he could help you with the problem set.

All he said was that he would help you with calculus.

He didn't expect you to show up at his door right after dinner. And he didn't expect you to seat yourself on his bed before he could offer you the chair at his desk.

He certainly didn't think he'd be waking up to your morning breath and wishing the moment would last forever.

You've just been a bag full of mysteries. Rin hates mysteries. It's part of the reason why math works for him—no surprises, no ambiguity. There's always an answer.

Rin can't formulate an answer on why his heart feels like it's about to burst out of his ribcage.

You shuffle in his arms and suddenly the pounding in his chest ceases.

Is this what death feels like?

"Rin?" You murmur sleepily, shifting into his warmth as if this is something regular classmates should be doing. "What time is it?"

"I can't see the clock," he deadpans, though it's just a facade to hide how utterly enamoured he is right now. "It's behind you."

You groan, rolling over to check the time. He breathes a sigh of relief as you pull away but it gets stuck in his throat when you collapse back into him, your back against his chest.

"6:07," you tell him nonchalantly. And then you cozy yourself up in the blankets again, nice and warm, and go back to sleep.

"Hey," he shakes you lightly. "Don't just go back to bed, moron."

"We can talk about the homework later," you mumble as if that's what he fucking meant.

A million words run through his mind, parading to the tip of his tongue where they all fall off and die. He can't find them when you're slotting yourself closer and closer in your sleep, squeezing his arm against your cheek.

Eventually, he decides that it's not worth the hassle of getting up and having you see his flustered face right now. You'd never let him live it down.

So he closes his eyes and pretends that you're not just the person who sits in front of him in homeroom. Goody-two shoes. Smiley. Obliviously and annoyingly cheerful.

"I could..."

He swallows loudly, the words like molasses in his throat.

I could kiss you right now.

You're dead to the world, but he doesn't dare speak the thought into existence, anyway.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

("Rin! 95%!"

You shove your paper into his face and he opens his mouth to snark back about it.

But then you leap forward and press a kiss to his cheek. Everything in his head instantly melts into mush.

"You're the best," you gush.

He just glowers at you with burning red cheeks.)

[shadowsndaisies]

athena; the preamble

WC: 3k

synopsis: athena at a glance basically

main masterlist

athena-verse master post

a/n: i know I should be working on cnng, but this idea has just fully taken root. the brain rot is real.... please come talk to me about it... please

Having Maverick for a dad is exactly what it sounds like.

He played fast and loose with the rules of the Navy, which made him a highly decorated captain, but at the end of the day, he had two loves in his life, the Navy and his daughter. Despite the risks he took and the chances he played with, you never doubted your dad's love. You did, however, have to learn to speak his language.

That meant early mornings in the hangar, learning how to fix up engines and motors of relics. It meant doing homework on base after school. It meant learning ranks and callsigns as a kid. And so you did. You did it all. You learned poker and swindled more than a few Navy men before you'd even hit puberty. You smiled pretty for every commanding officer your father's managed to piss off. It also meant developing a need for speed.

Having Maverick for a dad meant being on edge every time he got deployed. It meant spending his deployments with Uncle Ice and Aunt Sarah and your summers with Aunt Carole and Bradley.

Every deployment that fell during the school year was spent based out of the Kazansky house. You didn't mind too much. Uncle Ice and your dad always had each other's back, a bond forged in loss, that much you knew. Aunt Sarah acted like a mom; she cooked hot meals and taught you how to make some of your favorites. You spent time with their kids and went to school with them, too. It was fun spending time with Ryan and Elizabeth Kazansky. Ryan was about five years younger than you but a ball of energy, and little Lizzie was a planner and was often your partner in crime despite being eight years younger than you.

There were the odd in-betweens when your dad would have someone he trusted enough to watch you. That being said, you'd only ever spent a few deployments with someone not named Bradshaw or Kazansky; the exception was always one woman, Penny Benjamin.

You weren't an idiot.

Having Pete Mitchell for a dad meant wising up quick. Meant quick humor and a reckless streak that you had to work twice as hard to overcorrect and suppress because you both knew he'd never be the one to police you on it. It meant a semi-stable home life but so much love and too many role models. It also meant a fluctuating Penny.

Penny, who met your dad years before you were born. Penny, who you knew your dad loved and who loved your dad, even though they never seemed to get their timing right. Penny, who taught you how to sail, throw a proper punch, and French braid. Who showed you how to open a beer bottle without an opener in several different ways, using a belt buckle, a spoon, and your house keys? Penny, who was.. a mom. As much as you are reluctant to admit it publicly, Penny Benjamin was probably the closest thing you had to a mom because even though Aunt Sarah loved you and cared for you like she did with Elizabeth, she was always Aunt Sarah, never Mom. Even Aunt Carole, who was your godmother, could never truly fill the void of mother even though you know she tried her best to help you with the parts you missed out on. Penny was the only one who came close, at least when she was around she was.

Summers, though, were your favorite. Whether or not your dad was on deployment, you spent every summer in Virginia with the Bradshaws. You had a room that Carole always referred to as "little Miss Mitchell's room" and a best friend who taught you so much more about life.

Bradley.

Bradley, who taught you how to swing a bat and throw a football. Bradley, who gave you your first driving lesson when your dad got deployed before he could. Bradley, who you talked with weekly when you weren't living under the same roof. Bradley, who let you make fun of his name when you needed an easy out, Brad Brad, had been the running joke.

Bradley always had your back; he piggybacked you home when you skinned your knees during your skater girl summer. He took you out of the way to your favorite ice cream place whenever you had cramps and planted himself on the sofa with you to watch Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, and I Dream of Jeanie when you refused to move. Bradley, who ate the things you cooked when you'd test out Aunt Sarah's recipes and forgave you while throwing up when you gave him food poisoning when you were thirteen, who still trusted what you put in front of him even after that (though he had gotten you a meat thermometer and written up a cheat sheet to ensure you knew when it was fully cooked).

And you had his.

When Aunt Carole died, you mourned for months. Navy royalty knocked on your dad's door to share their condolences with the teen for weeks. Bradley had been seventeen at the time, about to start his senior year of high school. He completed that year back in San Diego. He'd had friends and people who cared for him in Virginia, who'd offered their homes for his final year of high school, but when your dad offered, he clung to the familiarity that was Mav. That year, your dad had a few deployments, and all of them were short. Looking back, you wonder if Uncle Ice had pulled strings to ensure that. Either way, when Bradley went to his senior prom, Mav was there. He filmed the awkward getting-ready stage, caught on camera as you helped Bradley tie his tie, and you got a great moment of Mav doing the last inspection before Bradley left to pick up his date.

You spent all your free weekends that spring at every single one of Bradley's baseball games. Aunt Sarah would come to every home game, and little Lizzie and Ryan loved screaming and cheering for Brad's mama. Look at Brad Brad go!

Bradley grieved and cried, and he was so incredibly sad and heartbroken. But he was still Bradley. He was still your best friend. He intimidated any guy who got too close and was the only person outside your father who you could love one second and be planning his murder the next. Bradley was your best friend; he was until he wasn't.

Until papers were pulled and words were exchanged, Bradley stormed out one day and never came back.

You found him; of course you did. He was your best friend. And even though you coaxed him out of his hiding spot, words were said. Phrases hurled at you that targeted the softest of spots that only he knew about. You held together; you had to. You got him at Viper's and left him there. You went to Ice's. You didn't talk to your dad for months, and Bradley never spoke to him again.

He reached out to you during your senior year of high school in an email apologizing for how he lashed out at you. You never responded. A scabbed spot in your heart that used to belong to him, still too raw to touch. He kept emailing, though. Random updates, more apologies, congratulations, and happy birthdays. You read every email, but you never could bring yourself to respond. Then, four years had gone by.

Bradley's bi-weekly email arrived when you were in your second year of university. You read it, reread it, and then read it a third time. Aviation Officer Candidate School. You weren't surprised; you knew Bradley wouldn't abandon his dream. You never thought he would, but being faced with the reality of it weighed heavily. Bradley being selected for AOCS was proof of his dedication. OCS, in general, required sponsors within the Navy and was much more difficult to get into than the Naval Academy; they only took individuals with a bachelor's degree to start with. However, for Bradley to get into AOCS, specifically the aviation program, someone up the ladder had to have helped. The more you sat with it, the harder it became to figure out who. It could have been Viper, who had dealt with an Angry, Confused, and Isolated Bradley for the remainder of his senior year and the summer, probably every summer after that. Or maybe it was Ice, cleaning up the mess your dad had made, just as he always did.

Your dad had cost Bradley four years in the Navy, but this program might help him bridge it, at least to some degree.

For the first time since the day you dropped him at Viper's, you respond.

Congratulations, Bradley, I'm glad you're achieving your dream.

That was it.

You didn't tell your dad. But you heard about it when he found out. Ice, thankfully, had given you a heads-up. You played dumb; you knew better than to admit to the emails. Your dad was strong and stubborn, but you'd seen what his and Bradley's blowout had done to him. The hollowness that followed him, the pain in his eyes at every memento and reminder. The ache in his heart is located between the gaps titled Goose and Carole.

He hadn't told you why he'd pulled Bradley's papers. You'd made (somewhat) peace (begrudgingly) with that when you finally let your dad back into your life nearly two months after the Pulling of the Papers, and only because he almost died in a bird strike and you as his next of kin had been notified upon his hospitalization.

When he heard about AOCS, though, the secret came spilling out. Carole asked me, and she gave me one request. You'd known your dad had a private conversation with Carole Bradshaw on her deathbed. You and Bradley had been asked to stand outside her hospital room while they talked. When you were allowed back in, they both had tears in their eyes. You'd always assumed it had something to do with Goose, and to an extent, you were right. Carole Bradshaw was one of the strongest women you'd ever met, but it seemed even she was afraid of the price you pay to the Navy for the honor of serving your country.

You weren't sure what drove you to it.

It could have been Bradley's transition into AOCS.

The truth your dad had finally shared.

Or because you still felt like you had something to prove.

Maybe even that need for speed that had never been handled properly.

But you enrolled in your university's Navy ROTC program that same week.

The most surprising part of the change was how easily it came. Orders sounded like they did on the bases you grew up on. Your history, lineage, and contacts helped get you started and acted as an excuse for your late decision to join. You found some semblance of peace in ROTC as if the missing parts of the puzzle were starting to become visible.

You weren't sure how you managed to get through ROTC and into your first year as a Naval officer without your dad finding out, but you did. And by then, it was too late for him to do to you what he'd done to Bradley.

Bradley, to his credit, had a mellower response, only because he didn't have your phone number anymore and could only type an email in caps lock to convey his yelling. He did include it on the bottom, though; I wish I'd thought of ROTC. I could've sped the pipeline along more.

You hadn't responded to any emails since his admission into AOCS, and if you watched his college graduation and sent a gift to Ice to pass off to him, that was nobody's business but yours.

Your dad was… displeased.

But he kept calling. He didn't freeze you out, and you didn't have it in you to do it to him again. So you talked, told him how training was, and when he finally asked you why? In such a pained voice, you told him the truth. There was no tangible reason, just that you had to do it, that this was your path. Safe to say, it wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear.

Becoming an Aviator was difficult. Not only because of the requirements and the toll it takes. Not only because you were a woman. But because you faced accusations of nepotism at every turn. You were, however, your father's daughter, and his lack of movement within the Navy did not diminish his accomplishments. You learned. You learned from the best. From your teachers, from your peers, from your dad, and from the men you considered uncles. And you showed everyone what you were capable of. You were a Naval Aviator within a year of graduating from college and the ROTC program, achieving the rank quicker than almost anyone following the same pipeline. You made a name for yourself using your brain. Where people were quick to assume nepotism, you were quick to show them your dry wit, sharp tongue, and tactical thinking.

That's where the callsign came from. Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom and war, daughter of Zeus, and king of the gods. It fit well.

You did two and a half years as a Naval Aviator Officer in training in Norfolk and another two in Japan as a Junior Officer before you got the call.

Top Gun.

Returning to San Diego was… nostalgic. Being on the Miramar base even more so. You faced criticism of nepotism from your peers here as well; never mind that only the top two percent of naval aviators are invited to Top Gun to begin with. But you worked hard and proved your calling had more to do with wisdom and war than whose daughter you were. You came out of it with two friends: a pilot named Brigham Lennox, callsign: Harvard, and his WSO Logan Lee, callsign: Yale. Both of whom were the only two to wise up within the first day and realize you are so much more than your name.

It's also why the three of you were at the top of your class.

Afterward, Yale and Harvard are sent to Oceana, off the East Coast, where you knew Bradley had been based on his emails. And you were kept in state and sent to Lemoore. You preferred that, not that you'd say so. But being in-state meant being able to visit with Ice, even when you knew he wasn't doing so well, and it meant you could continue to avoid Bradley in peace. At Lemoore, you got placed with the VFA-14, the Tophatters, also known as the oldest currently active aircraft squadron in the US Navy. There's a lot of history attached there, a legacy to make proud of, as Ice and Viper would like to remind you when you'd join them for a monthly poker game.

Being stationed with the Tophatters came with two significant perks: Natasha Trace, callsign: Phoenix, and Jake Seresin, callsign: Hangman. Stationed with the VFA-41 (Black Aces) and VFA-151 (Vigilantes) respectively. Despite the fact that the two of them could not stand each other, you formed friendships with them both. In Natasha, you found someone who understood the uphill battle for women in service, but more than that, you found someone who kept it honest, called it like she saw it, and loved you for who you were.

With Jake, it was different. His bravado and charm worked, but not on you. Where other pilots got fed up with his cocky bullshit, you were able to stay leveled and see through. A benefit you shared once after a few beers of being raised by the best of the best. There must have been a sharper edge to your reminisces than you remember because Jake never made a nepo baby joke after that. A casual one here or there, but none at the heart of it, none with genuine malice. Not like he had in the beginning.

Jake allowed you to be. Rough edges and jagged ends. He kept your feet on the ground when you spent most of your day in the skies. You like to think you balanced him out a bit, too. Able to keep him from getting too stuck in the clouds, too sure of himself. You were always happy to knock him down a peg or two; truthfully, sometimes, he needed you to do so.

You found happiness on Commander, Carrier Wing Nine in the Strike Fighter Wing Pacific. You excelled in your squad and gained recognition and honors, ribbons that decorated your lapel. You talked with your dad, mostly about random things, given the confidentiality of both his and your assignments, but you found time. Ice and Sarah checked in, and Viper, too. And every time your feet were on solid ground, they found time for a barbecue or a poker game, or both, usually both.

You still read Bradley's emails. Bi-weekly had turned to monthly, and even then, they didn't come every month, but they did come, always with a reason, just as they had been for the last decade and change. You never could figure out why he kept sending them. You'd thought about replying, now, years after the rage and pain and grief you'd held onto had been let go of, nothing productive ever came from holding on too tight, you'd learned. But Bradley sent the emails, sometimes signing his name as Bradley or Rooster, but on the nostalgic ones, he'd always put Brad Brad, an olive branch, you knew, but you never could get yourself to click send on the drafts you'd write out, dozens of them sitting in the drafts folder as it was.

You'd found your space; it wasn't perfect, but it was yours.

And then you got recalled.

And so did 'Nix.

And Jake.

Then the email came in, and they're calling me back to Top Gun for some detachment. Maybe I could find time to come to Lemoore?

And then your dad hit Mach 10 and was missing in action for over five hours, only to be found in some small-town diner in the middle of nowhere Idaho.

He was sent back to Miramar, too.

And you were left wondering what the fuck was happening now, flying down with Phoenix and Hangman on your wings, and why it seemed to be colliding all the fragments of your world.

...

everything tags: @butterfly-skinnylegend

[octuscle]

My professor gave me a zero on my essay for no reason! I did the work! When I asked him why he said that it was because I was a jock and jocks always fail his class. It’s time for payback!

Seriously, what do you expect from a professor of German studies named Dr. Kurt-Heinrich Schulte Obermeier? He's a Westphalian lateral thinker with Prussian discipline oozing from his every pore. Immaculate hairstyle, perfectly fitting suits, first-class pressed shirts. Handkerchief and tie always coordinated with great taste. A luminary in matters of German post-war literature. And an asshole as a professor.

I am a natural scientist. Sort of. According to my self-image as a support staff member. I'm of the opinion that the world isn't a worse place with one less Germanist in it. If he spends his time on meaningful things instead of Günther Grass.

When he wakes up the next morning, he feels fresh and rested. Dr. Kurt Obermeier is one of the youngest research assistants to have ever worked at your university. He is cool. He knows he's clever. But he's a good tutor and even if he's always dressed a bit stuffy, you can have fun with him. Rather atypical for a German studies student, you can even meet him in the sports bar in the evening. When the German soccer league is on.

Curt Meier is a WASP like no other. Although half of him is not Anglo-Saxon but German. That's why he decided to study business administration and German studies. Out of pure interest. He doesn't need to earn any money anyway, he lives off his parents' money. And he lives off the occasional modeling job. Curt is New England incarnate. Cultured, educated. And in his beauty, he is unfortunately also a little boring. But what do you expect from someone who plays cricket?

Yo, dude! Check it out, this Curtis Meyers guy, man, he's like, totally not fitting in at the uni, you know? Button-down shirts? Rugby shirts? That ain't his vibe at all. He's all about football jerseys, bro. But honestly, he only throws those on when he has to. In German studies? Forget about it. The professor thinks he's gotta dress fancy? Ridiculous, man! If they kicked him out for that, he'd be damn happy. He only picked this damn major 'cause he thought it was gonna be all about Thor and Wotan and all those badass demigods, you feel me? They're awesome. But Rilke and Heine? Hell no. And their language, man! Who the hell came up with that? Must've had a sunstroke that day, dude. Oh, and what's up with the sun? Time to link up with the boys and toss some balls on the field...

Mike Curtis hated university, man. Those snobby dudes there were just dumbasses and annoying as hell. Too dumb to take out the trash properly. Too lazy to clean up their own mess. Keeping the campus clean was a crappy job. He especially hated that German Studies building. Full of stuck-up know-it-alls. All a bunch of weaklings. Supposedly Mike had some German great-grandfather or something. What a load of crap! What kind of dumbass has two last names? Anyway, Mike supposedly got his German looks from him. Also bullshit! That was all sweat and hard work in the gym. Mike didn't inherit nothing. He earned everything he got. And he was damn proud of it!

Mike is not a jock in the strict sense of the word. But certainly more than Professor Dr. Schulte Obermeier. I don't think you have anything more to fear from him, Bro. As long as you separate the garbage properly.

[ofstarsandvibranium]

HIIII!!

Can I get 122 "I'm not going anywhere" with Jamie??

Hurt/comfort maybe?? BUt idrc go with it where you will!!!!

(aaahh! yes! absolutely! here you go! hope you like it! <3)

Stay Right Here

Pairing: Jamie Tartt x GN!Reader

You've heard it all from the press, hell, even from some of Jamie's teammates. It didn't bother you. It never used to bother you, but now it was starting to.

See, you're just a regular person. You own and work at a cafe in Richmond. That's where you met, Jamie. You knew who he was, but didn't care too much about him. But he was nice to you as he ordered a croissant and a black coffee. He sat himself in the back corner, hoodie up, sunglasses on so people wouldn't bother him. He kept to himself as he scrolled on his phone.

He started coming in a lot more after that day. He liked how your cafe wasn't as busy as the other one he used to frequent.

You'd serve his drink and he'd ask you questions, whether they were about life or yourself, it was nice talking to him.

Then he did the unexpected: he asked you out on a date.

You thought he was fucking with you at first so you laughed at him. But then you saw how upset he got and then realized he was being serious.

"Sorry, I just-why me? Aren't guys like you supposed to be dating actresses or models? I mean, shit, your last girlfriend was Keeley fucking Jones!"

He shrugged, "Dunno what it is about you, but I like you. You're real, like. You're not afraid to say shit to me. You talk to me like I'm not a famous footballer, like I'm just Jamie. Listen, I like you, but you don't have to go out with me if you don't want to, yeah? I take consent seriously."

You giggle at him, "Alright. Tomorrow's Saturday and I like to close the cafe early so I can enjoy my night. You can take me out then."

"Fucking mint," he slaps a hand on his thigh in excitement and takes his to-go cup of coffee, bolting out of your cafe in excitement.

The date went well, as did the many ones after. Three years into dating and you're happy with Jamie. But you're not sure if he's still happy with you.

This all started because of some TMZ clip a friend sent you. It was footage of Jamie at dinner with a woman. The caption said that she was on Richmond's womens league. You watched as Jamie leaned in, whispering something into her ear and she bursts out laughing.

Usually paparazzi shots didn't get to you but this one did. The way he looked at her, spoke with her, his body language. It was very much giving the idea that he was interested in her. Who wouldn't though? She's a fit footballer just like he is. She's, quite literally, in the same league as Jamie.

Maybe this was the end of your relationship with him.

________________________

Ever since you saw that clip, you've been trying to read any signs that Jamie was going to break up with you. But he was behaving the same he always did. He'd kiss you before leaving for training, kiss you when he got back. He'd still drop you off at work before heading to the pitch. He'd hold your hand, tell you he loves you, he was the same just as before.

But you weren't.

Jamie could tell something was wrong, but you never said anything. Your smile stopped reaching your eyes. Your kisses with him were chaste. Shit, you didn't even face him when you two went to bed.

So when you pulled away from him when he tried to cuddle you during movie night, he had to know what was going on.

"Is something wrong?" he asks after pausing the movie.

You shrug, "Dunno, is there?"

He sighs, completely turning his body towards you, "You've been distant lately. Just trying to see what's goin' on. Did I do something?"

"Are you cheating on me?"

He looks at you with wide eyes, "What?! No!"

"Are you gonna break up with me?"

He shakes his head in confusion, "Lovey, what are you talking about? No! I'm not cheating on you and I'm not breaking up with you! What made you think that?"

You sigh, curling into yourself, as if protecting yourself, "I saw footage of you with one of the girls from the women's league. You looked...close. Sitting right next to her, whispering in her ear."

"When was this?"

"Last weekend."

"Tilda and I were the first ones to arrive at the restaurant. The music in there was pretty loud so we sat close together so we could hear each other. More people started arriving a little after. We weren't alone for long."

He reaches out and grabs your hand, "Y/N, I love you. And I mean it when I say it. There's no one else for me, but you."

"You say that now, but then someone prettier or more athletic or smarter or just so much better than me in general is gonna come around and you're gonna go running after them!"

"Says who? Lovey, do you really think so low of me that I'd do that?"

"..no, it's just...it's bound to happen right? Everyone's been saying it since we first started dating, I'm not like the other people you've dated. Hell, I even questioned why you wanted to date me when you asked me the very first time!"

Jamie scoots closer to you, hands gently cupping your face, "Listen to me, yeah. I. Love. You. I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here with you until you don't want me no more. I don't care what people say, you're the one that makes me happy."

You look down at your lap in shame, "I'm sorry."

He shook his head and pulls you into his arms, "It's not your fault. It's everyone else's fault for not seeing that I'm perfectly happy with my lovey."

3 months later, Jamie posts a photo of you and he in Paris with you sporting a very shiny ring on your finger. The caption reading: Fuck all of you who doubted our relationship. We're stuck together forever now. #MeetTheTartts

[findingnemosworld]

𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 - 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐝

• 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲: 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬. ( 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐢 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲'𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 )

𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐥 𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐬.

𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐭 + 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐩*𝐫𝐧.

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐲𝐲𝐲𝐲

His lips trail sweet; sensual kisses across the curvature of her spine drawing out a soft sigh from her trembling lips, lust coursed through her veins , enveloping her like a warm blanket on an icy winter morning, his lips trailed back up to tug on her ear before whispering with a deep tone, " I've missed you so fucking much love "

If only she could believe him, it seemed as if lying was second nature when it came to him — one minute he'd shower her with unconditional love, the next she finds herself left there with merely images clouding her mind. " If you miss me that much you wouldn't have been busy flirting with that blonde intern working in the training center last week when I came to visit "

He chuckles at her remark, recounting what had transpired a week ago, in his defense — it wasn't anything serious yet she had to make such a big deal out of it, " Oh come on love, it wasn't serious "

" It wasn't serious " She reiterated incredulously, tilting her head to face him as he continued peppering kisses across her soft skin. " You introduced me as your girl and then no more than three hours later, you had your tongue down her throat "

He turns her over to lay on her back as he caged her between his arms, " I don't know what the problem is, we agreed that this wasn't serious "

She sits up with a hardened expression across her face, " We agreed that it wasn't serious but we didn't agree on you treating me like I was your girlfriend but then turn around and claim I'm just a friend whenever you see fit "

He was taken back by her reaction, " Where's all this coming from? " he asks, in pure surprise.

" It's been pent up for ages, I'm tired Trent, I'm tired of dancing in circles — you only tell me you want me when it's fitting for you, when the girl you're with isn't good enough and then I'm stuck with your constant lies for a future that isn't even happening, so I'm done pretending there is hope " She proceeds to leave the bed in search of her clothes whilst he sits there completely shocked by her outburst.

_

It had been three months since they'd last seen one another — he tried to shift his focus more on football while she made more effort to thrive as a content creator/model which hadn’t been facile yet it seemed to work as in no time, she’d been receiving more offers to set her foot into professional modeling which ultimately lead to being invited to the D&G show during the PFW.

The exact same show he just so happened to be invited in.

Cameras flashed as they posed in different directions — all the while she attempted to ignore his presence, he seemed too enthralled by her presence to even look away, so much so – that by the time the show finished; it was time for the after party, he couldn’t resist the thrill of approaching her.

" You look incredible! " He exclaimed the moment he stood next to her at the bar area.

" I know " She retorts with a playful tone.

He chuckles then takes a sip of his drink before stating, " You know I missed you these past few months "

She chuckled softly, " Always a charmer with those lies, they never failed to leave a bad taste in my mouth "

" I’m not lying love " He states with a soft smile.

" Trent I know you, lying is like second nature to you — " She said, taking small sips of her drink before adding with a soft tone. " And for some odd reason I keep falling for it because a part of me continues to live with the hope that you’ll acknowledge the bond that we have is true "

His heart shatters into a million pieces, he whispers hoarsely. " I’m .. " he swallowed the lump in his throat, " I’m sorry … "

" It doesn’t matter … " She murmurs, " We moved on "

A brief wave of silence passed between them before he stated with a soft tone, " I didn’t … "

Her head shot up to meet his tender gaze and for a moment, she wonders if there is a hint of truth behind him; yet, as soon as the match flickers inside of her mind, the darkness clouds above, diminishing any hope of them becoming anymore than a pair of lost souls that cannot seem to crawl past the muddy waters that is their unresolved issues.

" I want to believe it … I want to believe that you love me, but the fact is … you only ever think of me when the girls you’re with aren’t up to your standards so I’m sorry Trent but I can’t do it anymore, I can’t keep running in circles " She said.

He watched with a torn expression as she walked away from him — his heart shattering even further at the sight before him, she embraced someone else, she was here with another man, he should have known that nothing ever lasts forever.

He was the one that shattered her entirely.

He was the one who’d woven vague promises only to shatter them with the grip of his hand.

He was the one that gave her the world then swiftly took it away.

And he will be the one to live with the ache for all eternity, the ache of losing her forever.

[pensat-i-fet]

Selfie partner (Rúben Dias x Reader)

**I got a request recently to do an imagine where Rúben and the protagonist meet, rather than the couple dynamics I’m usually requested. And I don’t even know if I’ve ever done this in imagine format before, how crazy is that? Then I realized I had this little idea outlined and it worked well for the request so hopefully you enjoy reading something cute this Sunday! ❤️**

Word count: 2033

Masterlist

Wattpad

“Alright. Like this…no, the shirt looks bad. Maybe this way…”, Rúben’s attempts at modelling while on the lift were interrupted by the doors opening on the 8th floor.

“Good morning”, you said, holding a laugh after finding one of your neighbours doing a photoshoot there at 8 am. Not what you expected.

“Morning”, he said, slightly embarrassed by being caught.

When you reached the ground floor, you said goodbye and left. He stayed on the lift to go one floor lower to find his car, but you were taking the bus. And all the way to work, you kept thinking about that funny moment. And about how cute the guy from the lift was. No wonder he was taking photos of himself everywhere. All guys who looked like him probably did the same.

“Sorry”, you said when you couldn’t help but laugh.

The next day, you thought about leaving in the morning ten minutes earlier than usual so you could grab a cup of coffee on the way to work. Tea wasn’t enough after staying up late to grade exams. And Rúben…well, he wanted to avoid being embarrassed again so he also left ten minutes earlier so he could get the stupid selfies done. He actually liked the shirt he was wearing that day better so it all worked out perfectly…until the doors opened on the 8th floor again and you caught him taking more photos.

“It’s ok. I just…I have to do this because of my management. I don’t just take photos all the time”.

“Management? Are you a model?”, you could believe that. But also couldn’t believe your luck of living in the same building as a model. Were there more? You were just wondering.

“No, I’m a footballer”.

You cocked your head to the side, confused. “I didn’t know that was part of the job”.

“Yeah…”.

"You don't have to make up jobs, really. It's ok to feel cute and want to take a photo of yourself. I'm not judging".

And now you didn't believe him…

"Look", he said, showing you his Instagram profile and then laughing seeing your shocked face. "You really didn't believe me then".

"Well, men lie all the time to impress girls", you said, shrugging and making him chuckle. "I imagine many pretend to be footballers often".

"Probably, yeah".

When you reached your floor, you left again after wishing him a good day and once you were gone, Rúben realised he didn't even ask your name. Too busy trying to justify his lift antics.

But it turned out he didn't need to ask it because you couldn't help going back to his profile while bored on the bus. He was a legit footballer but also…yes, there were all the photos he had to take because of his management. Or so he said.

He had more than 2 million followers so he wouldn't notice one new follower, right? But he did, of course. Rúben was just checking his notifications when he saw a face that looked familiar. And after clicking on the profile, he saw that it belonged to his neighbour that kept interrupting his photoshoots in the morning. It was a private account, should he request to follow you? Sure, he had nothing to lose, did he? Worst case scenario, he'd have to start walking down the stairs. He could always use the exercise.

After accepting his request, you hoped to find him in the lift the following day but…he wasn't there. Of course, three days in a row would be too much of a coincidence but you couldn't lie and say you weren't at least a bit disappointed.

And so was Rúben. He almost thought about talking to you on Instagram but that would have been too much, right? You barely knew each other. He did check your account to see if you had posted something about that day. Maybe it was your day off? It said on your profile that you were a professor but he wasn’t sure what your work schedule would look like.

When you got back home, you were so exhausted. But when the doors to the lift opened, you saw Rúben there and couldn't help but smile.

"Hi, mister footballer".

"Hello, professor. We see each other on the way back from work today then".

"Gotta spice it up a bit, I guess".

"8th floor, right?”, he asked, ready to press the button and you nodded. "I'm on the 12th".

Why was he telling you that?

There was silence after that. You didn't know each other after all but you both wanted to talk and didn't know what to say.

When you reached your floor, the doors opened and you stepped out after saying goodbye to Rúben. But instead of hearing the doors closing, you heard them open again and saw him leave the lift.

"What…".

"Do you wanna do something together? Like…go for a drink or food or I don't know…".

"I would love that", you said, happy he took the initiative. "I was planning on going for a picnic tomorrow by myself. I wouldn't mind the company".

"That's a great idea. I have training in the morning but then I'm free all day".

"Well, you know where to find me", you said, pointing at your door and making him chuckle. "Pick me up at noon?"

"I'll be there".

                                      **

Saturdays were the days you took off completely unless something came up. And you loved going out to have some food somewhere, either by yourself or with some friends. Since the weather was good for once, you knew you wanted to take that chance to go to the park and enjoy the sun. And now you had a companion for your little picnic.

Staring at your reflection in the mirror, you liked what you saw. Your outfit was cute but nothing that screamed “I’m going on a date”. Even if you guessed, and hoped, this was a date.

You were putting your hair up in a loose ponytail when the doorbell rang and you walked to open the door and found Rúben there. Well…he really put a lot of effort into his outfit, making you feel insecure all of a sudden.

“I need to get changed”, you said, making him frown.

“Why? You look good”.

“But you look better. I didn’t know we had to dress up so much for a picnic”.

He laughed and shook his head. “Remember I’m the one who takes selfies on the lift, so obviously I’ll try harder. But really, you look great so let’s go”.

This time you both were going to the same floor and soon you were out of the building on your way to the park you had chosen for the picnic.

“I hope you like the food. It’s healthy…for the most part”.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine but tell me what you have on that basket. I’m curious”.

“Oh, you know. The typical things…I got some sandwiches, summer rolls, some pasta salad, lots of fruit and some chocolate snacks. And juice and water”.

“Perfect!”

The park was obviously very busy on such a sunny day, but you found a nice little spot without too many people around. Placing the blanket on the grass, you got comfortable and started to take out the food so you could start eating.

“I’m starving. I didn’t eat after training”.

“Help yourself, then”, you laughed.

“Why don’t you tell me more about you? I only know you’re a professor and that you’re my neighbour”, he paused after trying some of the pasta salad. “And you’re pretty good at cooking too. Good qualities to have”.

“Thank you. I do know a bit about you…I googled you. Don’t judge”.

He smiled at you, trying not to laugh since his mouth was full of food.

And so you told him more about you. Where you were from, what you taught in University, why you had moved to Manchester, …

“And I’m guessing you're single”.

“You’re guessing right, mister Dias. I hope you’re single too. I don’t want to be fighting angry girlfriends”.

“Didn’t you find your answer to that on your Google search?”, he asked, raising an eyebrow playfully.

“Oh, I found a lot about your love life on my Google search. Hard to know how much I should believe, though”.

“Only believe the good. Always”, he laughed. And his laugh was so nice to hear that it always made you smile. “But yes, I’m single”.

“So the selfies weren’t for the posts your management wants you to do then. They were for Tinder. It all makes sense now”.

He snorted. “Will you help me choose the one that’ll attract all the pretty ladies? If you like them, then we know they’ll work”.

“I could help you take them too. Maybe we can add some shirtless photos too. You seem to like posting those and…well, I guess they are alright to look at”.

“Already asking me to take my clothes off. Wow! You move fast”.

“Sometimes”.

Anyone who saw you there would have known you two were flirting. The looks on your faces said it all. The smiles, the cheeky looks or the slight blush on both of your faces, but mostly on yours.

“Should we take a little walk around the park now we’re done eating?”

“Sure”, you agreed and with his help, you quickly tidied up and got up to go for that walk.

Rúben took the basket from your hands so he could hold it.

“Not as gentleman-like as you think because it weighs a lot less now, you know?”, you teased.

“Did I just lose points because of that?”

“One or two, yes. You should do something to get them back”.

“Like what?”

“Well, there are a few options. You could buy me an ice cream, you could carry me home later if my shoes hurt my feet or…you could give me a kiss? Your choice, really. Just offering some options”.

“Hmmm”, he pretended to think while turning to face you. “Ice cream sounds like the best option but I don’t see any places where we could buy it and those shoes actually look very comfy so I guess I’ll have to kiss you”.

“Poor you, it’s a big sacrifice but the points…”.

He interrupted you by placing a kiss on the tip of your nose, which made you laugh.

“That’s only half a point”.

“I have to do better then”.

He leaned down to kiss your lips and soon your arms were around his neck to help you kiss him better. One of his hands went to your waist while the other kept holding the basket until he got tired of not being able to hold you properly and dropped it, breaking your kiss for a second so you could laugh. And then you kissed again. Who cared about an old basket anyway?

“How many points was that?”

“Maybe…four? I don’t want you to get too comfortable by giving you too many”.

“Good…I love a challenge”.

                                     **

After that picnic date, there had been a few more. And now you texted each other every morning to know when to go to the lift and spend some minutes together before you both headed to work.

“You know”, you said one morning in between kisses. “We could take some selfies together. Not for your Instagram but for fun. It’s what made us talk to each other in the first place. It’d be cute”.

“Let’s do it”.

And when you were in the middle of taking another photo, the door opened on the 3rd floor and a neighbour looked at you with his eyebrows raised seeing the scene in front of him.

“I could wait if you’re busy…”.

“It’s ok”, you said, trying not to laugh. “We’re done. It’s for his Instagram. Not a model, just a footballer. This is part of the job apparently. Weird, I know”.

The neighbour kept looking at you two funny while Rúben pinched your arm and made you want to laugh even harder.

Minutes later, you were on the bus scrolling on social media when you got a notification for your Instagram that made you smile.

Rubendias

Finally found a selfie partner 📷

[neonpaperlanterns]

Transformers prime story request.

The vehicons are the decepticons storm troopers, treated like nobodies and abused by their commanders every so often.

So... How about a story where one seeks to leave the decepticon life. Posing as a regular car at a car sale. This vehicon figures some time among Humans will be just what he needs. Having changed paint jobs and removing any trackers in him. He hopes to just... Enjoy "human watching", seeing what their lives are like.

He ends up bought by Jacks' mother sometime before she and her son knows about the transformers. And slowly ends up caring about her as he poses as her car. Enjoying the little things of his new life.

... And then her son brings home Arcee and the series ticks off from there.

A "normal" life

T-34B watched as humans mingled around him. Idle chatter filled the parking lot as different fleshy servos brushed along his alt-mode. Grumbled words of distaste and disinterest bounced around in his helm.

Had he picked a bad color? He thought the light blue was good but maybe he was wrong.

Did he look too worn down? He thought if he looked too new that he'd have less options but maybe he was wrong.

Was his model wrong? His research said that VW Beetles were decent cars but maybe he was wrong.

Should he have gone flashier? Sleeker? Been red? Maybe if he-

"How bout this one?" A voice interrupted his thoughts. There was a female human standing in front of his hood. Looking at him. Judging him. As subtly as he could he tried to push out his plating, air up his tires, and catch the sun just right so he looked as presentable as possible.

And it seemed to be working until a shorter and what seemed to be younger human butted in.

"Looks like an old man." The boy stated which was hurtful, he thinks. T-34B knew he wasn't the best or the brightest or even that standout but he didn't look that bad right?

Right?

"Don't be mean Jack I think that gives it character." T-34B was full of character, the lady gets it. Jack rolled his weird organic optics but shrugged.

Which T-34B would later learn was a seal of approval. Sort of.

Being driven through the streets of Jasper was weird. It felt wrong not to be in control of himself. He had to stifle every little desire to take the wheel or change the radio station.

He liked Earth's music but he wasn't a fan of the genre of 'Country'. It sounded too similar to him. As the songs blurred together into one noise it just reminded him of staring at the countless versions of his face. He did not like it. But he did not change it because cars didn't do that.

Pulling into what would be his new home he tried not to feel cramped inside the garage. He told himself that it was cozy and really far better than what he had back on the Nemesis. Because it was, anything was better than the Decepticon ship. Even a tiny garage and fleshy organics who weren't careful with sugary fluids were better than what he came from.

He'd have thousands of drinks spilled in his cab before he ever regretted leaving.

.

.

Life with the Darby's was simple. He learned the woman's name was June and that she was Jacks carrier or mom as the teen called her. He learned what a teenager was too.

He discovered that June was a nurse and that Earth's hospitals were not that different to the ones that once operated on Cybertron. At least from the outside looking in.

They didn't drive him many places. Mostly June's job, Jack's educational center, a place called WinCo Foods, and building with a bright neon sign that read Jasper Bowlarama. He did not know what a "Bowlarama" was but the Darby's always seemed happy after coming and he got to see lots of humans doing human things so everything was good

T-34B was staring to like when the unit he drove around were happy. He liked the talks he got to overhear. Like how Jack was doing in chemistry and that he was thinking of trying out for football. Which his mother didn't seem fond of and countered with going for band instead. He liked when June had a long shift and could barely drive, it gave him the chance to repay her by getting her home safely.

He liked that randomly June decided to give him a name. Apparently naming cars what just a thing humans did. She suggested Nancy because that had been the last vehicles name and the one before that so it just made sense.

T-34B dreaded being named after another.

But Jack interjected unknowing on his behalf. Said he didn't look like a Nancy.

He agreed.

Instead sighting that he looked more like a Buggy or Ozzy.

June picked Ozzy.

.

.

When Jack came back with a motorcycle June had lost her mind but gradually came around.

Ozzy had also lost his mind and was still currently losing it. For one he had to share his garage now. For two he felt like he was losing Jack. The teen didn't need him now because of that death machine. And for three and technically most important that was a FRAGGIN Autobot!

Oh Primus he was slagged. He was so slagged. His only saving grace was that the Bot hadn't realized he wasn't just a beetle and that almost immediately after June left Jack and the Bot began arguing.

He learned the Bot was Arcee. He's never encountered the Femme before but he's heard about her. Quick tempered and a 'shot first ask questions later' type. She's offlined hundreds of vehicons and now he was stuck sharing space with her.

Oh Ozzy was so slagged.

[lovemetopieces]

Word Association Game: royalty, medal, snowflake, explosion, misery (you can pick which muse gets what)

"You probably won't believe this if I told you," Karmen started. "But royalty makes me think of this time I was at a friend's, another model's, housewarming party. I had quite a bit to drink and I spotted this redheaded man helping himself to a drink. Then I said, quite loudly, I didn’t know Ed Sheeran was at the party. The man in question looked really offended when I said it and told me to basically shut up. It wasn't until later that night that I found out that it wasn't Ed Sheeran at all. It was Prince Harry. I was so embarrassed."

"The word medal reminds me of when I was little and used to attend my brother's sports games with my mother," Alejandra explained. "My brother played basketball, football and did wrestling so we were at games and matches all of the time. I remember I'd always bring my pompoms and cheer him on from the sidelines. He used to have this trophy case in his room with all sorts of trophies and medals. He'd get mad at him when I tried to play with them though. He'd always tell me that they weren't toys."

"Snowflake reminds me of a time when I was about eleven years old," Abigail said. "We were in Darien, Connecticut at the time and there was this huge snow storm that lasted like 4-5 days. I remember it being really pretty at first. The first couple of inches of snow were showing and I really wanted to go out and play in it but my brother warned me that things were going to get bad out there with heavy snow and high winds. So we stayed inside, drinking hot chocolate and putting together puzzles. The entire city shutdown though. It was wild."

"Explosion makes me think of a time a few years back," she mused. "It was back when I was working at John Hopkins. I was in my second year of my residency and working the ER when we got news of an apartment fire that was in our vicinity. Being the closest hospital to the scene of the fire, our ER was packed with burn victims. I was treating a little girl who had second degree burns on her legs when I looked up at the news to actually see the explosion happening. It was slightly terrifying but I managed to do my job. The little girl thanked me after I finished treating her wounds. I remember the way she looked at me, like I was some kind of superhero. I think that's when I decided that I wanted to go into pediatrics."

"Misery loves company, eh?" Liz mused as she thought back to the most miserable time of her life. "No but really, misery makes me think of my senior year of high school. I was truly miserable... Things just, they weren't working out for me. I had dropped out of all of my after school activities, withdrew from all of my friends and family... I just didn't feel like myself anymore. I'd look in the mirror and see this foreign face looking back at me. It was a really low point in my life, to be honest. I like to look back at it and see how far I've come though. That's probably the only good thing that's come out of that point in my life."

[danceing-spelled-wrong]

I've created siblings.

Yes. I'm brain dead.

Yes I have too much time.

Yes I'm dying

And yes. They over lay with Amly

I guess I'll explain them..woo..

Cemi:

He came to Snaktooth Island because he was dragged there by his older sister

He's not a well known icon, but he's known for his modeling gigs

He gets crushes pretty easily and gets upset when they don't like him back

Even though he looks like he would never hurt anyone, he could hurt anyone and will do it

He's really good at hiding and publicly speaking

When he first stepped on the island, he met Eggabell and fell in love with her

Then he met Triffany and fell in love with her, then Wiggle, and lastly Floofty

He doesn't like his sister because she spends time with Floofty

He doesn't like Chandlo(he got confused and thought he was dating Floofty) or Gramble because they have a thing for his crushes

He covers his left eye due to incident with a wild animal but his sister took most of the fall for him

His hut is right beside his sister's hut which is near the woods

In town, he's known as a bit of a stalker

He's relatively popular despite him acting shy which might add to his "coolness" but that's up to perceptive

Beffica made him a bracelet and he always keeps it on

Even though Lizbert's with Eggabell, Cemi doesn't hate her along with Wambus

He goes out at night to..do whatever he wants

You meet him in the desert where he's stalking helping Triffany

Charlia:

She came to Snaktooth Island because she wanted to study the snaxs and get away from the city

She took a liking towards Floofty and Snorpy since they're siblings and she just so happened to bring her younger brother with her

Her and Floofty get along due to their fascination of the bugsnax and both missing their limbs

She uses a prosthetic arm due to an incident that happened when she was younger

Amly tried stealing her arm and now Charlia always keeps it on her no matter what

You find her in the Sugerpines not near Chandlo or Snorpy but closer towards the mountain

Sometimes, she lifts Cemi into the air because he's light weight and because she thinks it's cute when he tries to get out her grasp

If someone is older then her, then she'll refer to them as a Miss, Mr, Mrs, and Mx

Snorpy fixes her arm when it's broken or just isn't working

Lizbert sometimes invites her on expeditions that way Charlia can grab some test subjects

She doesn't eat the snax, seeing them as..gross but she thinks that of anything she consumes

The experiments she does aren't harsh like Floofty's but it still involves scalpels and jars of unused parts

Besides doing experiments, she really good at sports mainly basketball and football

Dialogue in game:

Cemi:

Filbo

"He's really cool! He once complimented my fur AND gave me a high five!"

Wambus

"I don't appreciate him eyeing my wife, I don't see why Filbo thinks he's so great."

Beffica

"O M G! Cemi is like, the coolest grumpus here! I gave him a bracelet and he hasn't taken it off yet!"

Gramble

"He doesn't..like me.."

Wiggle

"Darling..he followed me for a whole day! I'm no stranger to stalkers but this is just ridiculous!"

Snorpy

"No comment."

Cromdo

"All he does is stalk people and everyone still think he's such a great guy!"

Amly

"Isn't that the stalker? Cemy right? Geez..I don't try to steal from him in case it directs his attention towards me."

Triffany

"Cemi? Oh dear..he stood at mine and Wamby's doorway and watched me sleep all night.."

Chandlo

"He assumes I'm in a relationship with Floofty and now sends me death threats.."

Floofty

"I'm confused on how him and Charlia are related."

Shelda

"Absolutely no comment on that..thing!"

Being asked about Floofty:

"I would say yes..but they haven't said anything about the love letters I sent.."

Charlia

Filbo

"She's so sweet, I would love to have an older sister like her!"

Wambus

"I'd like to know why she doesn't slap some sense into her brother, maybe then he'd stop with the stalking."

Beffica

"Eh, I don't speak to her but I do know that her and Cemi are related..I see the resemblance, but they don't act the same."

Gramble

"Oh..she's..very kind..and she drops off some bugsnax if she ever catches an extra one!"

Wiggle

"A lot less..strange then her brother, I would ask why her brothers like that, but I have a feeling she's a bit like him in a way.."

Snorpy

"Charlia's arm would always break so I would be the one to fix it for her, she's quite a fan of my work, mainly because I also have a sibling who is..different."

Cromdo

"A two bit goody-two shoes is what she is! She's just as bad as Beffica, but worse!"

Amly

"I can't stand her, she's too nice to everyone and doesn't get upset when I steal stuff from her!"

Triffany

"I'm not around her a lot, but she sure is nice to talk to when we're near!"

Chandlo

"Any friend of Snorpy, is a friend of mine. She can also can jump pretty high, she's a great opponent in basketball!"

Floofty

"A curious type, like Triffany but can hold back her joy in favor of science, if only she'd let me experiment on her."

Shelda

"Nothing evil seems to be stemming from in her..but still..avoid at all cost!"

Being asked about Floofty:

"I would..but I've seen what they do..and I rather keep my other arm.."

Meeting Cemi

"Ah! Wambus! I'm not eyeing ya wife! I swear!"

*calm down, i'm not wambus*

"Oh thank grump! I don't want to be thrown again.."

"Who are you anyways? You here to stalk too?"

*explains*

"A journalist? Did Lizbert ask you to be here..or something?"

"Whatever. I'm Cemi Bowtwist, I'm a model, you a fan?"

*Come back to town?*

"Oh no! No no no! If I go back, Wambus will rip me to shreds!"

*what did you do?*

"I..um..was watching Triffany sleep."

*that's creepy*

"Hey! Can ya blame me? She's married AND hot!"

"So no. I'm not coming back to town. Not until Wambus forgives me for my action!"

*why should he?*

"Because..he has to agree..his wife is really hot.."

*Sure I guess*

"Wowy! Thank you so much!"

*Wambus agrees as long as you stop*

"Oh great..sure..I guess.."

"Alright, who else is in town?"

*Gramble, Beffica, Filbo, and Wambus*

"Oh great..is Wiggle in town? If she's there, then I'll definitely come back!"

*Wiggle's in town*

"Yes! My girl is back! Awooo!!"

"Ha ha! Alright buddy boy, I'm-"

"Woah! Wait! I got to bring something for her! Ahh!!"

"Hey boy..can you..get me a Sweetiefly? The ones in the shape of hearts? If I give it to her, she might forget I followed her for a day.."

*gives Lovely Sweetiefly*

"Thank you so much! I guess I'll see you in town then, ciao buddy boy!"

Meeting Charlia

"Oh hiya! I haven't seen you around before..you're that journalist Miss Megafig told me about, right?"

"I knew it! But..I guess you came for no reason, Miss Megafig gone missin'..whya still here?"

*explains*

"Oh! That's rather kinda of ya!"

"They call me Charlia! Charlia Bowtwist! Nice to meet cha!"

*Come back to town?*

"Town? Well..I do miss my hut..but I'm about to make a break through! I've been testing this Strabby and learned that bugsnax don't have organs!"

"With this..I can finally figure out what bugsnax are!"

"But I need more.."

"If ya don't mind bitsy..could you get me a..oh..a Weenyworm and a Cinnasnail? If it's no trouble."

*got the worm and snail*

"Perfect! They'll do perfectly!"

"Hm..just as I expected, no organs! But that doesn't explain why they don't, maybe they're their own species? How come Miss Megafig is the only grumpus who discovered them?"

"So many unknown answers! I gotta get more info!"

"Maybe Mx Fizzlebean could help me..hey..are they in town?"

"If so..can you ask them if they're willing to help me with my studies."

*Floofty says they're gonna help*

"I always liked that grumpus...*sigh*.."

"I'm comin' back! I'll see ya in town bitsy!"

Welcome back message:

Cemi

"Hello Wiggle!"

"Oh..you.."

"I..brought you some Sweetieflies!"

"Cemi. I appreciate the thought..but this doesn't fix the fact you stalked me for a whole day!"

"I was making sure..you were safe!"

"....."

"How about a walk on the beach?"

"....."

"Hehehe.."

"......"

"I'll..just..leave them here.."

"......"

"Um..bye!"

Charlia

"Oh..hey sis."

"Baby brother! I'm so happy you're here!"

"Yeah..happy to see you too.."

"What brings you back anywho?"

"All my crushes are back and I plan to ask one out."

"I wish the best of luck to you little brother!"

"What about you?"

"Me and Mx Fizzlebean are gonna study Bugsanx again."

"Oh..well..can you hook me up with them? Tell them how cool I am?

"Sorry brother, they're just not interested in you."

"Yet."

"You really have a problem."

"No. You do."

"...."

"...."

"Well bye Ce!"

"Cya Char."

Interviews

Interviewing Cemi:

*Have time for an interview?*

"Of course, I'm always open for an interview!"

*Who are you?*

"The names Cemi Bowtwist, beginner model, lady master, and Grump City's most eligible bachelor!"

*Why come to Snaktooth Island?*

"I didn't want to come here, I had my mansion and my fame but my sister dragged me here."

"That's because you've been living under a rock. Duh."

*Thoughts on Bugsnax*

"Amazing, delicious, and will get me a lover!"

*If you're famous, shouldn't it be easy to find a lover?*

"Um..skip."

*Why did you leave town?*

"*sigh*"

"When Triffany and Wambus split, I tried going after her to see if I could romance her..and when I failed I came back and..Wambus was waiting there.."

"Safe to say I got out of there before he could land a blow."

*Maybe you should stop going after peoples wives*

"Eh.."

*Any info on Lizbert?*

"Meh..I don't really like her all that much. The only reason I involved myself with her was because she was the girlfriend of Eggabell."

*Another crush?*

"I've been single since I was a teen, give me a break."

*What happened to Lizbert?*

"Her and Eggabell had an argument and I tried getting with Eggabell before they made up but then they went missing, so sadly..I have no idea."

*That'll be it, thank you!*

"That was nice! I enjoy interviews very much!"

"I also found..this..laying around..so..here."

"Now I'm gonna try to get Floofty's attention, cya!"

*you received a strange key*

Interviewing Charlia:

*Have time for an interview?*

"I'm always open to chat about my experiments!"

*Who are you?*

"Charlia Bowtwist! Eldest of the two!"

*Two?*

"Yeah! I have a younger brother! He's the cutest thing ever!"

*Why come to Snaktooth Island?*

*Why did you want to escape?*

*Thoughts on Bugsnax?*

"They're really interesting and confusing..like..what are they really? And why is everyone interested in eating them? I know Miss Megafig said they were safe..but I don't get it.."

*Then what do you do with the Bugsnax?*

"Unlike everyone else..I study them and figure out why they change everyone's limbs, Mx Fizzlebean said if I want my arm back, I could eat one..but..I think that wouldn't work very much.."

*How did you lose your arm?*

"An accident regarding an animal when I was a kid..well..it was my brothers fault but I took most of the damage for him."

*Why did you leave town*

"I left..because the fighting was too much, I'm not new to arguments..but the screaming and constant fighting was too much to handle, so I left around when Snorpy and Mr Funkbun left."

*Any info on Lizbert?*

"Miss Megafig is really nice grumpus! She shows me the ropes of catching the snax and talks to me about personal issues, I liked speaking with her a lot!"

*What happened to Lizbert*

"I'm not sure..I was asleep when she and Eggabell went missing.."

"According to Mx Fizzlebean, they had an argument before they disappeared..so..maybe they're sorting things out on a secret part of the island!"

"That was rather quick..but fun!"

"You know..I found this earlier, here, you seem to be interested in this investigation stuff!"

*You were given a journal with a lock*

Reaction to death when and after:

Cemi

"H-Huh? Charlia..?"

"Why was I so mean to her..she..she just wanted to help me..and I shoved her away..

She didn't deserve to go..I was being a jerk..why did..those things..take her?

They knew didn't they?

About her suffering?

That's why they took her..

I need to be alone..go away.."

Charlia

"Noooooooo! Cemi no! Please grump no!! Don't..please..come back.."

"This has to be a dream..please..say it's a dream..he..he's not dead..no..

I'm a terrible big sister! I deserved to go, not him! Why take him you..you evil creatures of hell?!

Just..take me..please..I..I want to leave..please..take me..

Go away..please."

No more OCs. I can't be bothered to make more concepts..

[findingnemosworld]

𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐢 𝐠𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐨? - 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐨 𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐬

・𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲: 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐲𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬

( 𝐀 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐨 𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐦𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐦 )

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭.

He didn't mean to eavesdrop, much less catch the tail end of her conversation with Luka yet when he heard his name, he couldn't help but stand there and listen in.

" You have to tell him at some point! " Luka advises her.

" He's probably dating someone " He hears her respond with a dejected tone, " I wouldn't blame him though, why on earth would he look at me like that when there are thousands of women more attractive than me? "

He hears Luka sigh then say, " First of all, you're very beautiful and if you don't believe me, ask Marco because that boy was crushing on you for a while before he realized you wouldn't be interested, second of all he definitely noticed you "

He raises a brow, surprised by the fact that Marco had a crush on her which then wasn't really a surprise given that she was in fact very beautiful yet he couldn't comprehend who they were really talking about, up until he hears her response.

" Luka, we're talking about Sergio here ... he's the perfect package and I'm just a measly photographer aiming for a higher shot, while I work here, when people think of Sergio, they'd definitely imagine him with a model, an actress or a singer, not a photographer "

He tilts his head, attempting to absorb and comprehend what he had just heard, was she ...? no way. he shakes his head.

" Stop undermining yourself draga " Luka sighs once again, " I'm telling you that he noticed you and if you ask me, you'll never know if he feels the same way until you speak to him "

He stands there with a wonderstruck expression across his features, Y/N likes him, Y/N actually likes him; the thought finally sinks in.

" I love him Luka, it's the first time I've ever felt like this around anyone, and I'm scared that he'll reject me, or worse, think that I'm only interested cause he's popular and rich "

It didn't take long for Luka to say, " Listen, why don't you come over tomorrow for the dinner party Vanja and I are hosting? it's only a few of the players and Sergio will be there, you can take the chance and talk to him, better yet I'll tell him to talk to you but I won't tell him, you will "

" Are you sure it will work? "

" Positive, now relax and don't overthink it ok "

" Ok, thanks Luka "

" You can thank me when you and him finally get together "

He makes a beeline for the canteen before they can notice him, and to say he was struck by the new revelation would be an understatement, he'd always held an affinity for her, admiring her skill set as well as her ability to hold her own during the training sessions cause the team wasn't easy to deal with, yet never did he think that she felt anything towards him, especially since she seemed so far ahead in life when it came to her career.

Before he can comprehend things further, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the plate being placed next to his followed by a smiling Luka sitting next to him, " Hermano, you ok? "

" Yeah, yeah I'm fine " He forces a smile, as he is now anticipating what tomorrow might hold.

____________________________________________________________

Y/N smoothes out the front of her white maxi dress before ringing the doorbell of Luka's home, the door soon opens and Vanja welcomes her in with an embrace before leading her to the living room where most of the players and their significant others were seated, she greets everyone with a smile before taking a seat in the empty spot on the couch, right next to Sergio who gives her a soft smile she reciprocates.

Throughout the dinner party, several people were chatting about the upcoming fixtures about football while the WAG's chatted amongst one another about other topics, Y/N would pitch in whenever she can, however she remained silent over all until suddenly,

" Y/N .. can we talk for a moment? "

She looks up to meet Sergio's gaze, " Oh " she echoes.

" Go " Vanja whispers with a soft smile.

Y/N stood up then followed him out to the balcony, " Is everything ok? "

Sergio nods, " Yes but I want to confess something " he said with a soft tone.

Her heart thumped, she then nodded slowly. " Ok "

Sergio inhales a deep breath before he begins, " When you first started working at the club, I was um .. I was enchanted by your infectious energy, the way you worked and handled yourself as the photographer for the club, and honestly I didn’t think I’d ever feel this way with anyone since my last relationship ended but the truth is … I like you, a lot "

She looks at him with wide eyes, " I … "

" I know, shocking " He chuckles, " But I mean it, I really like you and it would make very happy if you, let me take you out on a date "

She grew silent for a moment before nodding with a smile, " I’d love to "

Sergio beams before he closes the distance between them, placing one hand over her waist while the other rests on the back of her neck, " Can I kiss you? "

She nods, a shaky breath escapes her lips which shifts into a whimper when he placed his lips over hers, gently moving them against hers, he then pulls back and whispers. " deliciosa "