#if it wasn't obvious to you you should go reflect on yourself

[symphony-calamity]

I'm starting new discourse. Dating is inherently abusive because no two people have had exactly the same life experiences, so there will always be a maturity gap no matter how close in age the people are.

[cupcakeinat0r]

Thinkin' abt DadBod!Miguel at the gym <3

You'd been going to the gym routinely, or at least trying to. You decided to go after working up the courage and convincing yourself that this was just for fun. That your body was your temple, and you were tending to it, no matter how it looked <3

The first week wasn't so bad. After embarrassingly tripping on equipment or accidentally dropping weights here and there, it was alright! Though at times, it was still difficult to stay consistent, until one day, you saw him.

Over on the other side of the gym, curling some dumbbells (100s, mind you), was a total 6-foot, thick, hairy dream of a man. You first noticed his chiseled face adorned by fine lines, locks of black hair framing it. With each draw of the weights, his biceps bulged. Beads of sweat trickled down his bulky chest and wide shoulders. When your eyes wander downward, you're surprised to not find washboard abs.

Oh no, what you find instead excites you even more than any pack of abs could offer you.

Your mouth waters slightly to find that his tank top has ridden up slightly over his hefty belly, graciously allowing a peek at a happy trail, its path sadly blocked by some basketball shorts (his cute bubble butt and giant dick print made up for it tho).

Despite his low, breathy grunts and intense crimson gaze towards his own reflection, he was making it look easy. You thought about how easy it'd probably be for him to carry you bride-style and throw you onto a bed before spreading your legs with those enormous hands so he could feast until your eyes crossed. Or how it'd be effortless for him to hold you tightly with your legs wrapped around that stocky midsection of his while he bullied his-

"'scuse me, you waiting for this bench?" a deep voice snaps you out of a daydream. You see the man is now looking at you with what looks like a knowing smirk. Fuck, he noticed you staring.

"Oh! N-no, was just looking for the 10s!" You blurt, evoking a velvety chuckle and dashing smile from him.

"Right over there." He motions with his chin toward the weight rack where the 10s are obviously displayed. After you thanked him, He smiled and nodded back to you, turning back toward the mirror to do his last set.

The second week felt like no problem. Instead of dragging yourself to the gym, you looked forward to it, scanning for your new gym crush every time you entered.

You'd feel a lil surge of happiness when you do find him there, feeling brave enough to exchange smiles and sometimes even little waves from across the gym. One time, the older man made you swoon when he winked at you upon entering the gym. After seeing your cute reaction, this would be how he greeted you every time.

The third week came You're at the squat rack, feeling stronger than usual, so you opt to go the heaviest you've ever gone. Big mistake. By the third rep, you fail to get back up, panicking and legs shaking. Just when you feel yourself start to fall, you see a pair of hands dart toward the bar from behind you, lifting it with ease and allowing you to stand back up. The bar is re-racked and you turn to find gym bae.

"You okay?" he gently prompts, a worried look on his face.

"Yes, thank you... think I might've gone too heavy." you nervously chuckle. He does as well, seeing that you're alright.

"Next time you go for a PR, you need to ask for a spotter, hun." He gives you that dashing smile again, his hands on his love handles.

"Yeah, I probably should've," you lower your head in defeat, "I didn't bring anyone with me though."

"You could've asked me," He says matter of factly as if it should've been obvious that he should be the one to spot you. "I would've done it with no problem, mama." His pet names make your womanhood pulse.

You look back up at him, your lips curled into a shy smile.

"C'mon, let's try again." "No, no, mama, I got that, I'll put it away for you." "Keep your knees like this-theeeere you go. "Gimme one more, mama, just one more, you can do it." "Atta girl! Good job, mamita."

You learned that his name is Miguel. He'd become your designated spotter on leg days, the sensation of his larger frame against yours making you nervous in the best way.

Your favorite is when his tummy accidentally brushes against your back, and borderline, your ass, and if not his tummy, it'd be his prominent bulge (which isn't there bc he gets to spot the adorable girl with an amazing ass from the gym... totally not that).

On the Fourth week, Miguel would ask you if you wanted to be workout buddies altogether. Of course, you accept, in which he asks for your number so like that, he can text you when he's going and vice versa.

It's the fifth week, and you both have worked out together a couple times already. Miguel texted you in the morning asking if you'd like to join him, which you were totally down for.

You two started with lateral pull-downs. Once it was your turn, you sat on the machine and reached for the handle, pulling it as you began your set.

Anytime you felt like you wanted advice or correction, Miguel eagerly helped you.

His hands would stay on your waist, his warm breath tickling your ear. "Mhm, there you go, you're doin' so good, mama." He praises in almost a whisper.

If only he knew he was making the exercise only harder. As if that weren't enough, his finger would occasionally message your hip. Your bodies were so close that you were able to hear each satisfied hum from his lips, suggesting you were doing the exercise right.

"Good girl, that was better. You feel it now?" He says, letting go to let you off the machine.

"Yeah, thank you! When it comes to upper body, I'll need all the help I can get. I'm just glad I’m getting it from an upper-body master." You flirtatiously add, playfully poking at one of his biceps.

This makes him blush, but only for a moment before he returns with a cocky response, "Thanks, hun. I'm glad to be working out with a leg-day goddess."

Now it was your turn to blush, except you didn't have any smart comeback, boosting Miguel's ego.

"Listen, let me treat you to smoothie after this, yeah?" He says it more like a statement than a request, and you happily oblige.

What you were expecting was a simple, cheap smoothie from a spot you usually go to, but instead, you're met with a drive-thru menu listing shakes from $20 and up. Oh he got moneyyyy.

Miguel tells you to pick any that looks good to you. He orders for himself and you as well, parking the car once the two of you get the smoothies.

As he sips from the cup, you take the opportunity to subtly glance at his figure, his muscles, how his pecs sit beautifully on top of his soft belly, his thighs constrained by the confines of his gym shorts. You think how badly you wanna sit there, grinding on the print 'til there was a wet spot-

"Something on your mind, mama?" You look back at him, taking a few seconds to register his words.

You hastily look back down at your drink and shake your head, “Nothing… thank you so much for this, it’s delicious!”

then he grabs the shoulder of your chair to lean toward you, “Of course, mama, but I don’t think you’re being completely truthful with me, hm?”

You look at him, playfully shaking your head again, knowing full well you’ve been caught.

“What’s in that pretty lil head of yours, hm? dime.” He puts the smoothie into the cup holder to free his other hand, placing it on your thigh, and softly squeezes it. “Just say the word, and you’ll get anything you want.”

Your lips curl slyly as you think of a response.

“Well… we never did cardio.”

Now you were here in his car, being bounced on his fat dick on the passenger seat, holding onto his his big shoulders for dear life. You were basically his fleshlight at this point… with those big hands.

You could feel his body now taut against yours, your tits bouncing relentlessly, his muscled, thick thighs below your ass, his balls slapping against your pussy lips, his bush tickling your clit, his pelvis pushing your ass up and his curved belly against your front side. It all was sending you into euphoria.

With you vigorously bouncing on his cock and his beautiful moaning, you fully let go. “Aw yes, Daddy,“ you mumbled without thinking.

In fact, you couldn’t think at all. All you knew was this fat cock and your pussy was memorizing all its veins and curves.

“Mmfuck baby, yea, say that again f’me”, he groaned through gritted teeth as he mercilessly bounced you down his painfully hard shaft.

“Please, Daddy, please!” You whined with your hands desperately seeking support on his big shoulders.

You can feel the sheet of sweat on his belly and on his thighs, which turned the smacking of your ass sound even more lewd.

“Fuck, say it again.” He growled, getting faster now.

“Mmmm, Daddy— Daddy, pleaseeee.”

“Louder, baby, c’mon—“

“UNGH DADDYYYY”

“Oh FUCK… you wanted cardio, baby, I’ll give you cardio… fuckin’ take it… coño.” Your panting became synchronized with every pound of his cock into your abused and bruised cunt, getting higher and higher in pitch, firing him up to go faster and harder.

“Gonna cum on this fat cock, right? Gonna cum f’me, mami?” He ordered, dropping octaves from his usual gentle tone with you.

“Mmmnn, Nnyesyyesyesyes—“ you babbled, the shakiness of your voice the result of the aggressive bouncing.

“Ah… carajo…” his cock accidentally slips out from your cunt, making you wince from the sudden empty sensation, “ungh!”

Holding up your ass, he takes a moment to admire the view, hissing from the sight of his angrily red cock and veins pulsing from your cunt sucking him in so deliciously. A ring of your cream erotically placed at the base of his length, just above his perfect bush. He guides his fat tip back to your dripping cunt using his thumb, pushing it back into your swollen folds.

He was back to ramming into your abused cunt in no time, chasing each others high’s.

“C’mon…fuck, c’mon, mama, you’re almost there…. Aw f-fuck… almost there…” he moans with his brows knitted and through a clenched jaw.

“Daddy I’m g’na— I’m cummingimcummingimcumming—“

“Aw, fuck, asi— asi mami— ah, ah…” Miguel holds back choked whines as he get closer, not allowing himself to let go until he knew you came first.

You speak in gibberish before crying into your climax, Miguel letting out a long, exasperated groan when he reaches his. You can feel his hot cum overfilling you, making you whine as it leaks down your thigh.

After draining himself completely, making sure every drop was in you, he gently pulls out, “Fuck… you did so good for me, mama… so good.”

Miguel lets you rest against his heaving chest and soft belly, rubbing your back as you caught your breath. You smiled a tired smile when you notice how hard Miguel is breathing as well, knowing you worked him out, too.

“You ok, mamita?” He plants a tender kiss on your shoulder, making a trail up your neck and finally to your forehead.

“Mhm,” you hum, you look up at him and are met with his plump, wet lips, tongues becoming entangled with each other as he groans into your mouth.

“I say… we do cardio like this every day.”

A/n: Haiii, I hope u liked it <3 Love my man sm <3 None of my gym baes could ever compare to himmmmm😭😭😭

@angel-of-the-moons Ty Ty Ty my luv for planting the seed in my head <3

Want more DadBod!Miguel ? Here’s my master list, bae!!

[endereies]

ATTRIBUTES AND QUALITIES - MS - BLURB

Pairing: bf!matt x gf!reader

Contains: The details of Matt as your boyfriend, on and off camera

Requested?: yes by @bernardsbendystraws - Request

Author's notes: This shouldn't have taken me so very long to write but neither should almost everything on my platform

Word Count: 1692

╰┈➤ SFW

༊*·˚ You both tended to avoid social situations, this included date nights

You had fixed your dress one too many times for it to slip Matt's conscience. It was adorned with two perfectly symmetrical bows which lined the skin of your shoulders. They barely reached the built in corset line, covered in a soft silk. It was so barely blue to the point where you could only see it in the dim lighting of your room. Pleats curve at your hips and flow to your knees. It was clear how much you were smitten with the fabric. Matt watched you steal glances at the mannequin poised at the front window, hence his insisted purchase.

Delicate touches, traced your hips from behind and as much as you felt unease within the situation, you melted into his touch. "Hi pretty" His voice felt so pure against your neck and you couldn't help but giggle. A few peppered kisses later, he leant back to watch the reflection of you both in the full body mirror. Knitted material covered his arms, covering sections of his darker belt. That was wrapped round his light-wash jeans that became a staple in his wardrobe.

"Hey Matt" It was a timid voice that escaped your mouth, you hadn't meant for it to. It faded into the air but when you finally looked up you were met with Matt's gaze, falling heavily on you. He smiled against your neck, allowing his breath to tickle he skin.

"You don't want to go out tonight do you..?" Guilt filled you almost instantly. You were aware that he had made reservations at this fine dining place he pointed out one late-night drive. It was a high end place but the atmosphere was one to be appreciated. Yet tonight you were dreading it.

"Baby, I'm sorry. I know you booked this fancy place but I-" His fingers quickly silenced you as he pressed them against your lips. He dryly laughed and turned your chin to face him directly. "I was hoping you'd say that..I just want to watch movies alongside you. How'd you feel with that, love?"

You sighed deeply, letting yourself relax onto him. "I'd love nothing more."

༊*·˚ He loved to make you feel safe and loved whenever he could

The last few days had been filled with thunderstorms that stretched into every evening. Tonight was no different. Several hours had gone by and nothing showed signs of the storm easing up. Clouds remained dark and your window was covered in drops of rain that sped down the glass. It wasn't that you hated the way the clouds lit up to reveal the purple hues. It was the way the thunder clapped unexpectedly that made you tense. It was deafening and not even the steady hums of your playlist could block out the sounds.

You had given up the idea of sleep and simply attempted to sleep between the duvet and pillows of your bed. Bunches of fabric were huddled near your chest and practically covered your face.

"Baby? I'm home!" Finally Matt had come home from his filming session that got cut early from the rain. They all agreed it would be better to continue when sounds of water and lightning didn't fill the mic.

He wasn't oblivious to the way thunder made you uneasy, he had seen you more than once feel uncomfortable and refuse to relax. Although never this bad.

Once he was met with silence, you heard him wonder around the house. It wasn't long before he creaked open the bedroom door. You could see the way his expression softened thanks to the bursts of light outside.

"Are you okay..?" The answer was obvious when he saw stray tears lingering on your cheeks. Rustling was quickly caused by the shaking of your head, not trusting your voice to not let you down.

He caught on your feelings instantly and slid under whatever duvet you hadn't bundled at your chest. You felt his body slide next to yours, the warmth welcoming. A sudden crash of thunder echoed through the room. Matt would be lying if he said it didn't feel good when you immediately reached out for him with closed eyes.

"You're okay baby.." Reassuring words slipped past his lips as he caressed your hair gently. "I got you."

༊*·˚ He always managed to slip your name into a conversation

Tara had thrown one of her iconic parties and as per Matt's request, you were by his side. Finally meeting some people you had dreamed of seeing for years, it was safe to say you were happy.

The whole night you were beaming alongside Matt and his friends. Dressed in a light silver dress that has small glitters embedded in the fabric, Matt could watch the way you shined forever.

"Hey baby? I'm gonna go with Nick and see Tara for a moment. I'll be back" It was hard to suppress a chuckle as his brother pretended to gag at the pet name. "Go ahead y/n."

With the lack of vibrant lighting, he easily lost you in the crowd but once he turned around he caught the eye of Jake. "Matt, didn't think you would turn up if imma be honest." His eyes took in his outfit, carefully put together. Laying on his wrist was a bracelet that caught his eye. "Woah, nice bling. How much was that?"

"Oh, I'm not sure, my girl got it for me a few weeks ago. She asked if I could wear it to match her dress tonight." A knowing smile crossed Jakes's face and a slight laughed escaped his lips. "Ahh is that so."

༊*·˚ He hates the way you think so low of yourself and would always defend against any negative thoughts you had

You had been shopping around stores on one of the rare days that Matt had no work on. You had been invited out to an event with your friends so it only seemed fitting to find a specialized outfit.

He was patiently sat outside the fitting rooms with the assortment of bags surrounding his feet. He saw a figure walk out and when he finally lifted his eyes, his jaw dropped. You were wrapped in a gorgeous red fabric that was cinched at the left side of your body. It had laid gently across your mid thigh.

You opened the curtain and revealed your outfit to Matt. "Woah.."

"I know, I'm not really a fan of it, I mean.." Your words trailed off as you looked down towards your stomach and hips.

"What are you on about? I'm obsessed with the way this looks on you, It looks even better when you feel that way too. This dress highlights your best features, baby. All of them."

You placed yourself in front of the mirror and tried to brush down any features you felt mildly uncomfortable with. Matt had come up behind you and placed his hands on your hip while resting his chin on to your bare shoulder.

"My pretty girl." He sighed into your neck and that was enough to pay for the dress with your Matt's card later.

༊*·˚ He would always pamper you whenever you felt unwell / on your period

It had been about an hour since Matt left your apartment. All you asked was that he pick up some chocolate to satiate your cravings, which had been an upset for the past six hours. The sharp pains in your stomach had only gotten worse, even after medication. Every time that Matt crossed your mind it only made you feel so needy, clingy. Like a burden.

Little did you know that Matt was rushing around several stores for more than your sweet treats. Any time you made a comment about something you liked, he made sure that you got it. A bouquet of your favourite flowers had ended in his basket, along with an assortment of treats, a candle with your preferred smells inside, a pink bath bomb and of course, Pads and tampons.

He hadn't meant to take so long but when you finally heard the front door of your apartment click open you were full of relief.

The gentle knocks on your bedroom door spurred you to sit up against the headboard, the hot water bottle across your midriff.

"Hey sweetheart, I'm back" His voice was meek, as if you had barely woken up.

"What took you so long, Matt? Did you get lost" A slight giggle passed your lips, met with a shake of Matt's head.

"No, baby. I just went on a little spree." That's when your jaw dropped. Finally, he pulled the bags from behind the door and placed them heavily at the end of your bed.

"So, at first, I was only going to get you the chocolates, but then I saw these Haribo's I remember you practically stole from me because they were 'too good to resist'." The bags of confectionary rustled on the blankets. "Then I saw this candle and it was blue, which grabbed my attention. Then I saw it was your favourite so of course I grabbed it. I had to get you pads and tampons. I know you alternate so I grabbed both kinds." A small pile began to form at your feet. "Oh! I also saw some fuzzy socks so they went in and i stopped at Lush to get you a bath bomb. They didn't have your normal one so i got a back up one for you!"

His gaze finally met your eyes, staring at the pile with tears forming. It was obvious you weren't blinking so that you didn't cry. You knew if you had tried to speak, your emotions would quickly be revealed. if they weren't already by your expression.

"Y/n..? You okay.. did i do something wrong..?" With an insistent shake of your head, you denied his words.

"You did all this for...me?" You looked up to him in mere disbelief. "Of course I did. I always will. I can tell you needed this."

"Matt...thank you.."

"You can thank me once I've run your bath, okay love?"

────────────────────˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗───────────────────

@melliflws @axolotllover225 @yuhayeee @st7rnioioss @sturn-bugz @bueckerslover @worldlxvlys @raysmayhem-72 @patscorner @y0urm4m @bernardsbendystraws @junnniiieee07 @luverboychris @sleepysturnss @jnkvivi @rac00ns-are-c00l4 @shorthairchris

[runningfrom2am]

cold nights // part six

summary: all the stars aligned, and it was you.

pairing: coriolanus snow x fem!reader

wc: 2.7k

masterlists / nav / requests

tags/warnings: tribute!reader and mentor!coriolanus, r is very sweet (too kind for this world. literally.), sunshine x grumpy trope kinda, he falls first, violence typical for the source material, r is very smart (as she should), district twelve!reader.

a/n: i just finished writing s1, and we're halfway through! so in case anyone was wondering, s1 will have 12 parts :) i haven't started s2 yet but i am so excited to!!

series masterlist // playlist

Days passed, no sign of Coryo. The only reason you know he isn't dead is because Sejanus came and told you he would be alright. That didn't do much to quell your worries.

Selfishly, you were scared you wouldn't get to see him again. You knew you wouldn't, actually. Now you were truly alone. Just you and his blanket, the book he gave you, and the dress your mother made. And Sejanus Plinth, you supposed. None of the surviving tributes would even talk to you- not that you really felt like talking. Just reading. You've read and re-read Romeo and Juliet no less than three times since Coriolanus passed the book through the bars to you the night before you went into the arena.

"I know you asked for this, and it's a little early, but happy birthday." Coryo whispers, smiling as the dark of night encases the two of you into your own little world.

He hands you a small box, wrapped in parcel paper and complete with a ribbon made of some kind of knitting thread. You grin, taking it from his hand and carefully untying the bow, delicately pulling the paper apart where it's taped together so as not to rip it. A copy of Romeo and Juliet. Old, tattered, falling apart; well-loved.

"Oh, Coryo, you didn't have to give me anything. That's too sweet." You grin, immediately flipping through the pages despite the dark preventing you from seeing a single word. "Thank you."

"Of course." He says, watching only you as your eyes flick over the pages. What little light falls from the moon is reflected in your eyes, and he wouldn't dare look away.

"My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite." You say softly, and at first, he thinks you're talking to yourself until you look up at him. A small, almost shy smile fit perfectly onto your lips.

"You like it?" He asks, the answer obvious even to him.

"I love it."

You were his tribute. Not a friend, certainly not more, but as he reaches through the bars to let his fingers brush over your cheek all rational thought means nothing. He doesn't realize he's staring at your lips until you comment on it.

"Is this why you asked if I have a boyfriend?" You whisper, your natural smile returns, and he's quickly looking anywhere else. Your eyes, your hair, the spot where his fingertips meet your cheekbone just below your hairline. Anywhere else. "Because I know it wasn't on that list of questions."

He's quickly backtracking, dropping his hand. This was wrong and he knew it. "I, uh, Tigris made you some cake. It's not good, but it's the best we could do." He says, redirecting his attention to his bag as he pulls out the small paper bag.

You sit back, blushing furiously. "I'm sure it's delicious." You smile, and it comes across more nervously than you intended.

"Here." He hands it to you, and you gently place the book next to you on the ground so you don't get any crumbs on it. "I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow."

And just like that, he's gone.

You're grateful when you see Sejanus coming back with his bag of food and water. It had become some form of a routine, at this point. The citizens of the Capitol weren't allowed to bring you food anymore, he was the only one who did for you now that Coryo was gone, and now that his tribute had escaped as well.

"Sejanus." You smile, standing up as he gets closer.

"Y/N. Holding up okay?" He asks, a sad look behind his tired eyes. He looked almost as tired as you, you were sure, but you hadn't seen a mirror since you left your house before the reaping.

You sigh. "I'm holding up." You answer simply. Sejanus is the only person you feel comfortable being totally honest with, but at the same time, you don't want to because you know he already feels bad for what you're going through. He's the only one outside this cage who kind of understands. "How about you?"

"I'm alright." He shrugs, reaching into his bag and pulling out a sandwich for you. You could never get sick of these. "I also have salt, if it needs more of that." He hands you a small bag of table salt alongside it.

"Thank you." You grin, tucking the bag into your pocket incase you needed it. "Any news about Coryo?" You ask hopefully, taking a bite. You already feel your starvation-induced nausea fading away.

"Not really. He's recovering, though." Sejanus answers. "Are you ready for the interview tonight?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." You grin. "I was right, I didn't need the book. I already had the whole thing memorized, but it's been so lovely to get to read it again."

"It must be." He nods. "Gives you something to do."

You hum in agreement, looking around at the other tributes. No one is even moving much anymore. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

You look down at your sandwich while you think about how you want to word this. "Is Coryo..." No, that's not it. "I got the feeling that he actually cared for me. Is that true?"

"Coryo has never been one to tell anyone what he's thinking." Sejanus says, entirely unhelpfully. That's not his fault, though. "But if I had to guess, I would say yes."

"I'm just wondering because it's nice to have friends now. Here. At the end." You smile sadly before taking another bite. "And I was worried I had upset him."

"You? No." Sejanus shakes his head. "I don't think you could if you tried."

"Why's that?"

"Well... It's hard to explain. He's always been super focused on school, on the prize, but now, when it matters most, I feel like he's more focused on you and making sure you actually win." He tells you. "But, like I said, he wouldn't talk about it even if I asked him outright."

You nod. "Thank you, Sejanus. For always being honest with me."

"Of course. It's the very least I can do, all things considered."

"Can I ask you for one more favour?" You ask hopefully. "If not I understand, you must be quite busy."

"I have the rest of my life to be busy." He shakes his head. "What do you need?"

"Will you tell Coryo thank you, for me?"

"Yes. Of course." He agrees without hesitation.

"And do you have a pencil and paper?"

Sejanus headed home for a while and then back to the hospital after his visit with you, armed with your note in his pocket to pass on to Coryo. He was hoping he would be awake right now, he had been so on and off the last few days. More grumpy than normal, and Sejanus could tell it was driving him up the wall that he couldn't go see you. But the interviews had already started, so he would get to see you soon- even if it's just through the screen.

"Tigris." He whispers, pulling back the curtain as he sees the familiar girl sitting at his friend's side. She hadn't left her cousin most of the time he'd been bedridden, she was there every time Sejanus checked in.

"Oh, hello." She whispers, smiling at him. "He's still resting, but he's feeling a bit better today I think."

"That's good. I'm glad to hear it." Sejanus agrees, taking the seat next to her. "I went to see Y/N. She's eaten. She doesn't look good, though."

Tigris nods, returning her gaze to her sleeping cousin and pushing his hair away from his eyes. It's not like he needs to see, but she would do it anyway. Just to make sure he wouldn't be annoyed when he woke up. "He's been worrying about her. I can tell."

"She asked me if she did something to upset him. Has he said anything to you?"

"No, nothing." She shakes her head, lip jutting out at the confusing statement. Nothing at all would indicate to her that he was upset with you, but it's entirely possible that stuck in that cage day in and day out you could quickly become paranoid about who you could trust.

"Okay, good. That's what I told her anyway." He tries to be quiet as he speaks, but the whispering wakes his friend anyway.

Coryo's eyes fly open and he gasps, eyes landing on the two of them sitting in front of him.

"Coryo," Tigris says softly, a small, worried smile on her face.

"Y/N?" He asks, his voice husky from sleep. "Is she-"

"She's alive," Tigris promises, gently rubbing his arm, landing her hand on his and squeezing it gently.

"Is she hurt?"

"Not badly." Sejanus shakes his head. "A few decent cuts and bruises, but she'll be okay. I brought her some antibiotics the other day so nothing will get infected." You won't be okay, they both know that, but you certainly wouldn't be dying from the minor injuries you sustained in the rebel bombing.

He nods, slightly, trying to sit up. "How long was I sleeping? What did I miss?"

"Another tribute died from injuries," Sejanus replies. "Everyone is still scared. No one will go see them anymore, I haven't seen any of the other mentors there either. But I've been feeding her. She's okay."

Coryo nods, wincing at the pain in his back as he moves. The burn was bad, but apparently, it was healing well.

"Marcus is still missing. I haven't heard anything about him. They're hunting him but I still think he has a better chance out there than he would tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Coryo asks, rubbing his head with his free hand, Tigris still holding his other one. "They're still going ahead with the games?"

Sejanus just slightly shakes his head, looking away. Coryo knows that that is a yes.

"Oh no... Y/N.... She could've run," He mumbles. "But she saved me."

"I tried to convince her to. I did." Sejanus reminds him. "She wouldn't budge."

All heads turn as Lucky's voice on the TV catches their attention. "And now, our final tribute. I first met this young lady in the zoo not too long ago. From District Twelve, Y/N Y/L/N. Come on out here!"

Lucretius motions for you to step out onto the stage and you do, gently placing the book and the blanket you had brought with you on the floor in a neat pile before joining him.

"Lucretius." You smile. "It's good to see you." You're nervous in front of so many people, the audience in front of you is much larger than the small one you spoke in front of at the reaping, and being in front of a camera without Coryo by your side made you antsy.

"You as well, Darling. Now, I was told you had something you wanted to do for us so I'll just leave you to that. Charm us! Remember, the world is watching." He smiles, gently patting your shoulder before walking just out of view of the cameras. His statement was far from reassuring.

"Uhm..." You stare out at the audience, and suddenly you're scared you've forgotten the entire thing. You had to do well. For Coryo and his prize. He needed this. "I've become aware that not many people know this play." You chuckle, trying to hide your nervousness behind it. "But Romeo and Juliet has always held a special place in my heart and I want to share that with the world, before I go."

You take a deep breath, closing your eyes. You wonder if Coryo is watching. He's not here, you're sure of that, but you do hope he gets to see. And he does.

He stands up as soon as your face first appears on the screen, declining help from both Tigris and Sejanus as he limps over to the TV, cranking up the volume. Your fate depends on this, he knows it, but he can't look past the blue tint under your eyes and the bruises that litter almost every part of your exposed skin. The cuts are what get him the most. Your knuckles are cleaned up, mostly, but red and irritated as you twist your hands together nervously in front of you. Same with the crude black stitches on your upper arm. Irritated, neglected by professionals, but at least it wasn't serious.

"Come on... You can do it." He mumbles mostly to himself, and Tigris reaches up to place a reassuring hand on his shoulder as the three of them watch.

"O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" Immediately, he is confused. He expected to be, of course, but he could also tell as soon as you started reciting it, after the first line, your confidence was coming back to you. This play was your safe space.

"Deny thy father and refuse thy name. Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love; and I'll no longer be a Capulet." You look out at the silent audience as you speak, a smile forming on your lips. They're listening. "'Tis but thy name that is my enemy: Thou art thyself, though not a Montague."

Coryo is wishing you had explained more to him about what this play is about. "What's Montague? It is nor hand nor foot, nor arm nor face nor any other part belonging to a man. Oh, be some other name." He should have asked. Why didn't he ask? You told him yourself that you could talk about it for hours. Why didn't he take advantage of that when he had the chance?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet; so Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd, retain that dear perfection which he owes without that title." A rose. Of course a rose, was this for him? He longed to understand it better as he watched the donations tracker tick up and up toward the thousands.

"Romeo, doff thy name, And for that name, which is no part of thee," You take a deep breath for the first time since you started speaking. "Take all myself."

It was a beat or two before the audience clued in that you were done, and then the cheers started. A standing ovation, people wiping their eyes and clapping for you like you had changed their lives.

"Wow! Now wasn't that something, everyone!" Lucky laughs, coming back into the frame of Coryo's view from the camera. Tigris was in tears. The continual uptick of the donations counter was reassuring to him. As you smiled, cheeks flushing red. "The donations are just flooding in with a record high! That must feel good."

"Thank you, it does." You nod at Lucky, trying to place all your focus on him so you don't get too embarrassed in front of the crowd. At least you knew Coryo would be pleased. If you understood his prize situation as well as you thought you did, this was very good for him. "I just want to make my family and my mentor proud."

"You have a real talent. It's such a shame." The host says to you and you laugh awkwardly.

"Well, everyone loves something. I just loved books."

You continually referring to yourself in the past tense makes Coryo want to puke, looking away from the screen only briefly to take in the other nurses and patients watching too.

"We have just a few moments left, but I need to know, what is that about?"

"Oh! Well, Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy." You explain, back to yourself again. "It's about two star-crossed lovers from feuding families. So, what Juliet was talking about, to put it very simply because I could go on and on about this, was that she loved Romeo for who he was- not just his name or his family. It didn't matter to her that they came from different places. She loves him anyway, and if he couldn't let go of his family, she would give up her own life for him."

Coryo's eyes widen. So it was about him. He can't help the tug on his lips that threatens to form a smile.

"Alrighty then, that's very sweet." Lucky replies. "Now, you said it's a tragedy. What is so tragic about a love story?"

"Well," You chuckle nervously. "They both die at the end."

taglist: @soulessjourney, @keziahcore, @that-veela-girl, @motorsport, @dreamyysouls, @rockstarbfs, @Lanadelrey3, @rawrmameh, @3zae-zae3, @babyspice6, @pastel0rchid, @maysileeewrites, @articxari, @Urfavpouge, @Multivitaminfy, @baybieruth, @kitscutie, @annaelise, @serrendiipty, @fratboyharrysgf0201, @totallynotkaibiased, @stelleduarte, @klplynn, @secretsicanthideanymore, @bejeweledreverie, @fals3-g0d, @drewsandsebastianswife, @niicole-87, @queenofshinigamis, @innercreationflower, @nallasstuff, @spring-goddess1, @baybieruth, @lovelyxtom, @throughgoeshxmilton, @enwonie, @scorpiolystoned, @iovemoonyy, @kodzuvk, @soupasoup, @eedwardss, @thatmarvelchick19, @wearemadeofstardust0, @regulusblackcore, @kbakery , @qardasngan, @omgsuperstarg, @kuroosbby001, @puredreamagination, @fantasticchaosthing, @coolcatyarb, @yokolesbianism, @becauseseaotters, @KimmiB13

if your user has a strikethrough i wasn't able to tag you! i'm so sorry!

[httpsryu]

muse? pt. 5

pairing: kang haerin x fem newjeans!reader

summary: getting a new member way long after debut and before a comeback isn't really the best idea to haerin

category: enemies-to-lovers (?), kpop idol au

genre: slow burn, angst, and fluff

warnings: a bit frustrating and A LOT of jealousy

a/n: i appreciate all the love muse has gotten so far! tysm everyone :)

It has been a week of you being a member of NewJeans.

All of you finally finished with the concept photoshoots for the comeback along with the re-designing of the albums and completing new photo-cards as well.

While the days are hectic with everything, you feel happy with the newfound idea of being on a team. A team where the members are very inviting and warming to you. Well...all except for that grouchy roommate of yours.

You recall only exchanging a single word to her, especially after that accidental kiss. To your surprise, Haerin kind of seems like she opened up to you. (JUST A TEENY TINY BIT!) However, you don't pay much attention to her.

Practice today was going smoother than expected, especially because of the fact that no one has been in this room since that day you messed up. Everyone was so occupied with the concept shots and re-recording everything that no one had time to practice.

Much to Haerin's surprise, she might have to admit that you're actually not as bad as you made yourself seem. Of course, Haerin believes you still joining the team is a 'setting NewJeans up for failure' thing but she gives some sort of props to you, she guesses. 

However, looking at the reflection of you through the practice room's mirrors and seeing the look of determination in your eyes, the feline-like female understands why SM was so determined to cast you. The way your eyes speaks for itself, it looks quite too good for a 4th generation idol. 

"Alright! We'll take a quick half an hour break before countering Cool With You." The dance instructor informs the girls before turning over to you. "Impressed at how fast you're keeping up, great job, Y/N!" 

Your eyes lit up, a smile that is so perfect for your face appears on your pretty pink lips. "Thank you, unnie." 

Haerin bores her eyes a little too much, lingering on your features. Her lips are parted in concentration at the way you simply move; bowing at the instructor and letting out another smile before brushing your hand through your hair. She was going to stare a bit harder too but she notices the youngest with a teasing smirk on her face from her peripheral view. 

Immediately, her pupils pull away from you and lock to the ground in hopes of Hyein not catching onto anything. She hopes that she wasn't too obvious of staring at you. 

"I'll be back." The instructor leaves the practice room, the door shutting behind her. 

Everyone started doing their own thing the second the door shut. Minji and Hanni are bickering again over some issue while stretching their arms. Hyein makes her way to her bag to grab a quick snack to avoid passing out while Danielle leaves the room to get her water bottle refilled. 

Haerin picks up her phone from the couch, resting leisurely on the soft cushion to interact with 'Bunnies'. However, she takes a quick sneaky glance over at you. You stare at your reflection in the mirrors of the room, she doesn't look past the discontented expression of yours. 

Something in the cat-eyed female feels her own heart feeling quite bitter at the way you look unpleased at your own self. And she wants to reach out to you and ask if you're alright; however, Haerin doesn't want to be distract herself with anything at this critical moment right now. 

No one else seemed to ask if she was alright with adding you to the lineup last minute, so why should she ask if you're okay? 

Is that so wrong of her? 

"Is everything alright?" Minji walks over to you, concern painting over her eyes as she look at you. 

Haerin bites down on her jaw, wondering why Minji couldn't have continued arguing with Hanni. She looks down at her phone, not caring anymore. 

"I'm just worried." You tried to smile it off, however, being the oldest, Minji knows something is bothering you.

What could it be?

"Are you not feeling well?" The oldest brings the back of hand to your forehead, her eyes are down-turnt as her eyes worryingly fixed at you.

Looking at Minji, you feel your heart warming up from having a considerate leader of the team. Something you never experienced at your previous company. You feel happy for once.

Minji breath hitches at the eye contact from you. The way your eyes seem to shine a bit brighter, even in the dark room has the older nervous. She feels her ears going red and her mind is flooded by the sounds of her heartbeat that wants to jump out of her chest.

"I'm fine, unnie." You laugh a bit to lighten up the sudden concern from her. "I guess I'm just worried the fans won't like the change. I'm not too sure really."

Haerin doesn't care, yet, her eyes aren't on her phone like she wanted to. Instead, they're glancing over at you and Minji through the mirror of the room. Why does she seem to care so much about Minji touching you? Why does she care about who you talk to?

Most of all, why does Haerin want to talk to you more?

"Y/N-shi, you're a really beautiful person. Inside and out. From my eyes, you're so hardworking and you deserve to be on this team. After all, you were specially picked." The oldest gently smiles as she lightly boops your nose (she couldn't help it.)

Minji pulls out a lollipop from the pockets of her sweatpants, handing it to you with a soft adoring look in her eyes. You let out a small giggle, taking the piece of candy from her.

Haerin's eyes glower down at the physical touch, letting out a quiet scoff as she rips her eyes away from the sight. A sour taste is forming in her mouth and she despises it. After all, she's unconcerned about you. Right?

"Scoot over." Hyein towers over the cat-eyed, her bag of chips in one hand while the other is constantly moving between the bag and her mouth.

Haerin stares at the younger with a stoic face.

"You're scooting or...?"

Letting out a grumble in frustration, the raven-haired girl puts her legs down and scoots towards the wall for Hyein to sit besides her.

"So, I saw you looking at Y/N unnie earlier."

Oh fuck.

Haerin knew Hyein was going to bring it up someday, just not now. Especially when you're literally a few meters away from them.

"No, I wasn't." Haerin lies, hoping and praying that Hyein will believe her.

The youngest stares at the cat-eyed, confused. "Hmm..yes you were."

"Why would I?" Getting a bit defensive now, Haerin puts her phone away as her mind scrambles to find more lies to get out of this investigation from the youngest of the group. "You know we don't get along so why would I look at her?"

Popping a chip into her mouth, Hyein shrugs. "Maybe cause you realize she's actually not bad and is really good at this."

"Like I said, I don't care about her." Haerin's voice is stern now, upset at what Hyein is trying to get out of her.

"You can lie to yourself but you cannot lie to me."

Whatever.

"Unnie, can you show me how you do that popping trick?" Hyein jumps up from the couch, rushing over to you.

You divert your eyes away from Minji and Hanni, paying attention to the youngest. In the process, you make eye contact with Haerin who only looks away while she rubs the back of her neck and letting out a cough afterwards.

"Of course!"

Oh, screw Hyein. She did that on purpose. For you to look over in this direction.

And screw Haerin's slight excitement at the way your eyes landed on her for the first time today.

Finally exiting HYBE's building, everyone lets out noises of excitement. The night breeze feels very cooling across your face, especially after countless of practicing for Cool With You. You shut your eyes for a couple of seconds, reminiscing about the air of your hometown.

"Move, you're in the way." A voice causes you to immediately open your eyes, ruining your 'main character moment'.

Turning to the person besides you, you cross your arms with a scowl. "Let me get some fresh air."

"Well, you're in my way." Haerin retorts back, placing her hands in the pockets of her zip-up to fend for something. "And it's getting windy."

Rolling your eyes and letting out a small tsk at the other's words, you can only look at the view outside again. The night sky looks very calming today, with the streets all lit up ready for some people to have their nighttime adventure.

"The night is my favorite time of the day." You softly smile, looking at how the moon is glowing with a few stars. "It's so pretty."

Haerin can only stare at the view beside her, her eyes focuses on how your natural face seems to look pretty. She would admit that if there was a definition for beauty; you would be the first contender.

"I overheard you talking to Minji unnie earlier." She looks away, not wanting to look at your decently overwhelming eyes. "While I'm personally not a fan of you for joining the team, I think 'Bunnies' would like you."

You can't help but let out a gasp at the other's sudden words and kindness. Suddenly feeling a frenzy of a stomachache at what your teammate just said, you let out a small sigh.

"Why do you not like me joining the team, Haerin?"

The cat-eyed diverts her attention back to you at the way you called out her name.

That was the first time either of you acknowledged one another by name.

"I don't like changes, Y/N." She can only defend her reasoning, pulling out a lollipop and staring down at it. "Do you see this candy I just pulled out, it was never there but all of a sudden, it's in my pocket. That's the type of change I dislike."

What in the world is this girl talking about?

You furrow your brows, looking down at the strawberry-flavored candy in her hand.

"Here, you can have it." She hands it to you.

You don't even know whether you'd want to take it from her. "Hmm, keep it. Get used to the change, you'll like it soon."

"You think I will?" She responds back, her voice sounding cold yet unsure.

Letting out a small hum in response, you smile over at her. "It takes time, I understand."

Haerin and you stare at each other in silence.

"What are they doing out there?" Hanni squints her eyes from the car's window.

Hyein can only shake her head while she too stares at the view from the car. "Haerin is so stupid."

"I don't want them to get sick, omg." Minji stresses, head in her hands.

Ripping your eyes away from the sudden moment between you two, you cannot help but to let out an awkward laugh. Motioning with your hands at the van. "Let's go, I think the others are waiting for us."

Haerin nods at you.

"What are they doing over there?" Hanni squints, looking out from the window of the van.

Minji stresses, placing her head into her hands. "I don't want them to get sick omg."

"Oh they're coming!" Hyein sits up, moving her things away and placing them onto her lap. "I want to sit by Y/N unnie!"

Hanni disagrees, turning away at god speed from the front to look over at the youngest. "No way! It's my turn!"

"You've always sat next to her! My turn! Plus, you chose that front seat."

Danielle stares at the tantrums from both of them, thinking of a solution. "Let's make it simple and have her sit next to me for today."

"She's always welcome to sit next to me." The oldest proposes. "I can always move to the back."

Hanni purses her lips in an upset manner, lowering her eyes at the unofficial leader. "Bro, you're going to make a move on her."

"Bro? What?"

The Vietnamese crosses her arm, squinting her eyes at the one besides her. "You heard me."

"Sorry we took long out there." Haerin opens the door, scanning the van and is met with an unsure atmosphere. "What happened?"

The youngest lets out a laugh at how the oldest members are arguing over something small again. "Minji unnie and Hanni unnie were fighting over who Y/N sits next to."

"Me?" You peek your head in from the outside, earning a gasp from Danielle at how cute you just looked.

Haerin rolls her eyes at how Minji and Hanni just automatically assumes you're some sort of property once it comes to the seating arrangement in the van. After all, at the end of the day, they're all going to leave in the same way so why does it matter where and who Y/N sits.

"You two need to stop fighting over the same thing." Haerin can only mutter to the two OLDEST members acting like immature toddlers, stepping into the van to bee-line her way towards the back of the van where Danielle is sitting.

You let out a smile while scanning where to sit. Ultimately deciding to sit between Haerin and Hyein.

"Thanks a lot, you scared her." Minji mumbles with her teeth gritted at Hanni.

The female with the bangs scoff before pointing at herself. "Me? More like you."

"Whatever, Pham."

"Suck my toes, Kim."

Finally, with everyone seated, the manager takes off for the night to end.

Haerin can only let out another thousandth sigh at how they were acting. There's too many things going on in the world than to fight over sitting next to someone (like controlling the small excitement she felt when you chose to sit next to her).

As the ride is a bit bumpy, your thigh accidentally touches the cat-eyed female's thigh as well. Feeling shy all of sudden from the physical touch, you scoot a bit closer to Hyein. This leaves Haerin a bit confused and fazed at why you didn't want to sit next to her.

But whatever, right?

"Haha, unnie likes me more than you." Hyein sticks her tongue out at Haerin, who only stares back with a blank.

"That's not true, haha~" You say. "I just wanted to give her some room."

Everyone sits near each other, huddled around the computer after the manager sent a file of all the concept photos for each album. Gasps and squeals at how each individual photo turned out while Minji scrolls through the photos.

"Hanni unnie looks so cute in these polaroids." Hyein compliments, looking at how tiny the older is.

The Vietnamese giggles, waving her hand off. "Oh stopp~"

Haerin has to admit, she liked that there was more water concept ones compared to the previous ones proposed earlier before you were added to the lineup.

"I loved the way your hair was done in these." You too compliment the Australian.

At the compliment coming from you, Hanni suddenly feels shy. Letting out a small and quiet "thank you" to you.

Minji whips her head to look over at her best friend with an unsure expression, confused as to why the Vietnamese is acting all "coquette".

"Oh! Look at Haerin's photos." Danielle proudly admires how her best friend is charming, she starts complimenting the hair, outfit, makeup and pose but stops once seeing the paired photos that Haerin took with you.

The feline-like furrows her brows at how the paired photos turned out. They look pleasing with the scenery of the tree and sun in the background. The simple picnic theme with both girls wearing light colors to balance one another.

Continuing to scroll, Minji pauses upon the photo where Haerin accidentally kisses your cheek.

"This looks so good! With the butterfly adding a touch to it." Hyein excitedly sits up, her eyes sending a teasing look over to Haerin.

"We do look cute here." You nod in agreement, trying to ignore the way your heart is beating and all of sudden you feel the need to grab a glass of water from how hot it is in the living room.

Hanni rolls her eyes, crossing her arms at the mere fact she wasn't paired up with you. "It's cute and all but Y/N and I would've been cuter."

"Too bad." Haerin replies, sticking her tongue out at the older. "Where's the one where I fixed her hair? She looked cute during it."

Cute?

You have a funny feeling at the way your cheeks are starting to warm up. "Let me go get a glass of water real quick."

You need to get out of being in the same room as her.

"OOO, this one looks super good." Minji hums, satisfied with the way these looks. Especially with the fact that you and Haerin don't get along but somehow, the photos make it look otherwise.

Haerin throws out a delighted smile at how your eyes looked in the picture taken. Admiring the view points of you, from your eyes to your lips. And maybe, just maybe Haerin can admit what Hanni and the others mean by you being real.

Meanwhile, you're pacing back and forth in the kitchen.

There's no way you feel nervous around your very mean roommate, right? RIGHT?

Yeah, it can't be.

Kang Haerin and her mean comments. Kang Haerin and her cute smile. Kang Haerin and her boba eyes. WAIT-...

This is bad...

prev part

june 16, 2024; publishing date

AHHH FINALLY UPDATED MUSE!! tysm for all being patient .^.

taglist: @xszn , @airice , @nnewjeansstuff , @xeiinpain , @jiwoneric , @brocoliisscared , @ilamara , @linnnsworld , @gayforalll, @lorsstar1st , @haechansbbg, @dhdhdjjf , @hyejin67 , @mushroom-main, @ilovekimminji , @justme-idle , @kyuusberry , @masuowo , @iraa567 , @shycreationdreamland , @idunnofr , @imahybridicannotbekilled , @twicesserafim, @awkwardtoafault, @olives-on-pizza, @misclsims, @lailac13, @gtfoiydlyj 

[shockercoco]

Unwanted Help

Feyd Rautha x sister!reader

Warnings - nothing just fluff

Word count - 2587

a/n - it's my birthday, so i thought I might as well get this out of the drafts and give you guys a gift too :) also let's just pretend Feyd never killed his mother and his upbringing wasn't so terrible lol. Thank you guys for all the love and enjoy :)

“So, how do I look?” you ask as you step out of your walk-in closet. 

Your mother and your brother Feyd had been waiting in your bedroom to see your dress for the debutante ball; Feyd was looking out the window with his hands clasped behind his back, while your mother made herself comfortable at the edge of your bed.

You do a little spin as you walk out of your closet, for the theatrics of course, before turning to face your family. A smile instantly appeared on your mothers face as she clapped her hands, while Feyd turned his attention away from the window to give you a questionable look. It was obvious he wasn’t a fan of the dress.

“It’s gorgeous, my love,” your mother beams as she walks over to gather your hands in hers.

“I’ve seen better looks on the commoners wandering the streets,” Feyd declares as his eyebrows furrow, looking at the fabric like it was one of the ugliest things he’s ever seen. Your face drops and your mouth falls ajar at Feyd’s statement.

“Feyd-Rautha!” your mother exclaims, scowling at your brother.

“I’m sorry, I thought she was asking for our opinions,” he dully states with a shrug.

“An opinion doesn’t mean tearing her down,” your mother retorts. “Besides, there are only a handful of people that could afford the seamstress that designed your sister's dress.”

You pull your hands out from your mother’s grasp and walk over to the mirror on the wall to see your appearance for yourself. She follows and stands behind you as you look at your reflection, while Feyd keeps his place by the window. The gown was everything you could imagine and more – and it should be, given the fact that you gave the seamstress explicit directions in order to bring your visions to life. You turn to the side and assess the back of you before turning back and running a hand down your dress.

“It’s perfect,” you say, mainly to yourself, then turn to frown at your brother, “You’re an imbecile, Feyd.” 

He just rolls his eyes in response.

Deep down, Feyd did appreciate the way you looked, but all he could think of was the amount of men that were going to be looking at you later tonight. His skin crawled at the thought. He made a mental note to make sure to keep a blade under his robe.

You also knew that Feyd wasn’t completely disgusted with the way you look – even though it would take a lot for him to say that out loud – so his opinion didn’t affect you too much. Feyd was a huge softie when it came to you, but also extremely protective.

“That seamstress could’ve made you something that wasn’t so…revealing. There’s no doubt people will be looking,” Feyd says.

He was referring to the way the dress accentuated your breasts, and how the corset helped give your body an hourglass figure.

“That’s kind of the point. The whole point of a debutante ball is to help a woman find a suitor, you know, and of course to show off to everyone else,” your mother smirks at the end.

Feyd’s eye twitched at the idea of you marrying some pathetic man.

“Does father know?” Feyd asks.

“Of course he does, and he’s fine with it because he understands,” your mother tells him. Feyd frowned at her response. “Now, enough of this. Let’s leave her be until it’s time to go.”

Your mother started to walk to the door of your bedroom, and when she noticed Feyd hadn’t moved, she whirls around to give him a look. Feyd rolls his eyes, but then moves to follow her out of your room.

Later that day when you and your family were walking into the building, you felt excited and nervous. Most of the public outings you experienced had to do with Feyd’s games or business meetings off planet, so you rarely enjoyed more casual outings. 

It didn’t take long for you to start socializing with some of the other girls that you did know – they were princesses of lords or barons your father had done business with in the past. They were kind and easy to converse with, but you found yourself having to listen to them putting your brother on a pedestal; they talked about how strong and undefeated he was, or they talked about how attractive they found him and who they thought could get with him first. They didn’t seem to care about the fact that his sister was standing there talking with them as well, or maybe they did and was hoping you would mention one of them to Feyd. You wouldn’t.

There was of course that one group of girls that formed a clique to gossip about everyone in attendance, like how much each family was worth and which one had the higher place in society, but they also made sure to discuss who was dressed the best and who had the best chance of finding a suitor. You saw a couple of them whispering and pointing at you, but you just rolled your eyes because you knew each one of their backstories, such as the fact that a few of them belonged to families that were going bankrupt. There was no doubt they were projecting their own insecurities.

It also didn’t take long for men to approach you to strike up conversation, or to ask you to join them in the middle for a dance. Those who said they would be back later to get to know you more never did. You just figured that those men weren’t really interested in you.

Little did you know, Feyd was watching you the whole time, but he mostly cared for the men who had the audacity to approach you. He was standing in a group of well known men, your guys’ father amongst them, discussing politics and whatever else they felt was important. Feyd, of course, had to chip in every now and again, but that didn’t stop him from keeping you in his sight and leaving the conversation when needed.

“May I have this dance,” a gentleman known as Prince Killian approached you, his hand extended out for you to take.

Apparently, he was next in line to inherit his father’s title as lord –  a man who had recently gotten sick with an incurable illness.

“You may,” you smile as you hold out your hand for him to take. Why not, right? He was a kind and humble man, according to what you heard from word of mouth, but was too gentle and soft to take his father’s place. He was also awfully easy on the eyes.

Prince Killian led you to the center of the packed ballroom and guided you through the music. He made sure to ask about your interests and your hobbies, what occupied your time during your days. He even made sure to compliment your dress. His eyes remained on yours and he kept a gentle smile on his face the whole time. You enjoyed your time with him, and the feeling seemed to be reciprocated on his end.

When you had to excuse yourself because your mother wanted to pull you aside, you didn’t notice Feyd swiftly and smoothly making his way over to Prince Killian. Feyd had been waiting for this moment since he saw the two of you getting very close during your dance. He saw the way Prince Killian looked at you, and there was no doubt in Feyd’s mind that he was interested in you.

Feyd didn’t approve, Prince Killian was too soft as a man after all. Did you really want to be tied down to someone with that kind of a reputation? Would he be able to protect you? Feyd felt disgusted just looking at him. He had to stop this relationship from blossoming even further.

“What is your business with my sister?” Feyd asked the prince. He had snuck up on him from behind, so Killian had gotten startled. He faced Feyd and tried his best to keep his cool as Feyd stood there expressionless with his hands clasped behind his back. Feyd intimated him, he intimated everyone.

“Nothing of ill intent, I promise you, na-baron,”Prince Killian says to him and holds his hands behind his back, mimicking Feyd and trying to seem unaffected.

“Is that so?” asks Feyd while giving him a once-over. “So you’ve taken a liking to her then?”

“Yes, I have,” Prince Killian nods.

“And you would like to pursue her?”

“With your permission, of course,” Prince Killian offers a smile.

“How unfortunate because you don’t have it,” Feyd gives him an insincere smile.

“Excuse me?”

“Don’t question me. I’ll-,” Feyd stops when he sees you enter the room, scanning the crowd for the prince in front of him. “I don’t want to see you around her again, for the rest of the night and for the rest of your life, however long that may be,” Feyd tells him before walking away, not giving Prince Killian a chance to say anything else.

Prince Killian gulps as he watches Feyd leave. He decides it would be the wisest to listen to your brother and leave you alone. Princes Killian goes up to his mother to tell him he doesn’t feel well and that he wants to leave. His mother is upset, but agrees to leave. 

You don’t see him leave the room as you continue to look around, but Feyd does. He stops a smirk from forming on his face as he joins his father in another conversation. 

Your heart drops once you don’t find Prince Killian anywhere. After all, he did promise to find you after your mother was done with you. Did you really read him wrong? Did he not like you just like the other men you had met throughout the night? Was there something wrong with you?

Tears form in your eyes as you begin to doubt yourself, but you quickly hold them back, not wanting to be seen crying in public. You go to find your mother once again to tell her that you were ready to leave. The whole evening had basically been a complete waste of your time. Your mother notices the difference in your mood, but doesn’t question as goes to ask the car to be brought around and gather Feyd and your father.

You spent that night locked in your room crying, feeling defeated. Your mother came to talk to you, but you didn’t open the door, feeling too embarrassed to explain. It was your fault for getting your hopes up in the first place, wasn’t it? A couple of your favorite lady’s maids also came by to check on you and asked from the other side of the door if there was anything you could do, but at the moment there wasn’t.

You stayed in that gloomy mood for the next couple of days before deciding it was time to get over it. You were a Harkonnen, after all.

About a week later, you were sitting in the library reading like you usually do at some point in the day. Today though, you were interrupted by your mother barging through the library doors with an unpleasant expression on her face, her gown flowing with her steps with your brother not too far behind. You thought you had done something wrong, causing you to replay the past few days in your mind, but you couldn’t find the problem.

That’s because you weren’t the problem.

“Mother, I don’t think this is necessary. There’s no need to get her upset all over again,” Feyd says. Is that panic in his voice?

Your mother holds up her hand to stop him from saying anything else.

Feyd had walked past your room several times, hearing your cries flood out of your room. He would stop outside of your door and wondered if he should knock and go talk to you, but each time he decided not to. He wasn’t a fan of hearing you in pain, but he figured there was no use in saying anything because the damage was done.

It got to the point where he felt guilty so he decided to confess to his mother what he had done, not thinking she would react this way. Though when the words fell out of his mouth, she was fuming; she had every right to be.

“Tell her what you just told me, or I will,” your mother glares at Feyd. 

You look between them in confusion, deciding it was best to put your book aside. Feyd’s jaw tensed as he stared his mother down, not really wanting to say it aloud again. He finally gives into her gaze and looks away.

“Feyd?” you question as you watch the wheels turn inside his head.

He shakes his head as if to shake the thought away, but of course it remains. Might as well just get it over with.

“The reason why Prince Killian didn’t return to you that night at the ball, or any of the men that had approached you, was because of me,” Feyd tells you. You can’t see it, but his fists are clenched behind his back.

“Tell her how you threatened them to never go near her again,” your mother tells him. Your eyes widen as you look over at your brother who seemed to be uncomfortable. 

Feyd lets out a frustrated sigh before looking you in the eye. “It’s true.”

You don’t know whether to be angry or relieved. “All this time I thought it was my fault, but it was you?” you ask, but it’s honestly more of a statement. Feyd nods in response.

“What do you have to say for yourself?” your mother asks him, and Feyd avoids her gaze.

“I’m sorry,” he tells you, and he means it no matter how hard it was for him to say it. You can tell also, but that doesn’t make it all better.

“And?” your mother prods, her arms folded across her chest. 

“I will make it right, if you will let me, of course,” he says.

And he did. The next day Prince Killian had arrived at your home, by the request of your father, knowing he wouldn’t come if it was Feyd who had asked. You weren’t entirely thrilled because you weren’t sure if he would still feel the same towards you, if there were any feelings there in the first place. Your worry quickly turned into happiness as the two of you reconnected with Prince Killian telling you what you wanted to hear.

Your mother and father watched from afar as he bent down to kiss your hand before standing straight again, your hand still in his. Feyd was also there beside them, not entirely pleased with the sight in front of him, but as long as you were happy he would have to learn to deal with it. Of course if Prince Killian ever decided to hurt you or stop pursuing you, he would have to take matters into his own hands.

“This is the man, huh?” your father asks with a tilt of his head. 

It brought Feyd joy that his father was also unsure about the man standing in front of you.

“Would you both quit it and be happy for her,” your mother scowled at them both before fixing her face as you turned around to face your family.

[perictione00]

Selfish

Ch 4: Lost

Pairing: Geto Suguru x reader

Warning: Mentions of death and mental degeneration.

Synopsis: You left the Jujutsu World behind the moment the source of your warmth turned cold. So what happens when you come face to face with that one episode in your life that you wanted to obliterate? Simple, you reap what you sow.

Jujutsu Kaisen Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Ch 3

2008

It was so lonely. Life became so monotonous, so stagnant. You had no classmates or friends. You had stopped talking to Shoko and Gojo after Suguru left. After Gojo blamed you for driving his best friend insane. He wasn't wrong, but you didn't want things to turn out this way. The guilt of his parents' deaths, innocent civilians who loved him unconditionally, was taking a toll on you. The blood was on your hands, and you were drowning. There were constant voices in your head, telling you to let go and be free, but somehow you knew that you could never let that happen. You could never let go. The nightmares were back, but this time it didn't feel like it was the doing of any curse but yourself.

The incident hadn't only disturbed you, but it had Yaga questioning his ability to teach. How was he so blind to the suffering of his student? He regrets not asking Geto about his sudden weight loss or how hopeless his eyes looked when he was assigning him to his last mission. He had been so busy making his students capable that it took him too long to notice their volatile mental states. But not again. He's never going to lose another student of his to a lowly curse or an unacceptable ideology. He knew that he couldn't help people who didn't want to be helped, but in your case, the least he could do was try. And just like that, he noticed your deteriorating condition right away. The dark circles under your eyes, the paranoia in your body language. You were not present in the moment. It was obvious that something was wrong with you. His suspicions were proven right when you didn't respond to your name being called out twice.

"What's on your mind?" He asked, walking closer to you. Yaga was a man of few words, but he was willing to open up to his students if that was what it took to help them.

"Huh-oh, nothing". You replied absent-mindedly. The nightmares were getting out of hand. It felt like they were melting into your reality. Were you really surrounded by curses? Did one of them latch on to you? With every passing second, you were losing touch with reality.

"Suguru was troubled. He was already on edge. It's not your fault that he left. He had no one, but you do. You can talk to me anytime about anything that's troubling you."

His multiple attempts to understand you and his consoling words were falling on deaf ears. Maybe it was your fault. Everything turned foggy the moment he abandoned you. How could you not blame yourself when his actions reflected your conversations with him? Were you wrong to entertain such thoughts? Should you have tried harder to change his perspective? It was confusing to have to deal with everything all of a sudden. Was this how he felt when he was alone?

You went to a restaurant for a change of scenery. The same one where you tried new things with Suguru. It was an unconscious decision, and you didn't realize it until you took a seat. You were alone. You had never been alone at this restaurant. Was everyone looking at you? Were they pitying you for sitting alone? Should you start doing something on your cellphone to appear busy? Why was there so much noise in your head? People were talking too loudly. Were they screaming too, or was it all in your head? Was that curse staring at you? Why were you feeling like throwing up? Your heart's not beating normally. Your vision is turning bloody. What-?

"Here's your order—are you ok? Do you need anything? Please wait. I'll come with some water." The waitress said this as she ran to the counter.

You didn't know that you were sweating profoundly and breathing abnormally, basically hyperventilating. Your head was aching like hell, your throat was literally a desert, and you were trembling. Why was this happening right now, of all times? You didn't want more eyes on you. The feeling of utter helplessness and embarrassment was too much to bear. Fuck, your nose was bleeding. Why are the tissues so far out of reach? The voices were louder than ever.

It's them. It's all because of them. Kill them; you'll feel better, I promise.

They're looking at you. They're all looking at you.

No. Please stop.

You killed his parents. You wanted him to kill his parents.

Look at that kid laughing at you. Let's melt it.

Let go. Let go now.

Tears were streaming down your face. You were losing it. You wanted to stop thinking. You wanted to go back home. You wanted your parents.

"Hey. I'm here. I've got you." Suguru reassured you as he pulled you to his chest, shielding your body. He knew it the moment he felt it. This had happened before, your meltdown. The enormous amount of familiar cursed energy that he felt was leaking from this building attracted many 2nd grade curses in your direction. He wondered what would've happened had he not been here. In no way was he here to protect the unworthy souls that were crowding this place. He was here for you.

"What-...what? Are you real?" The shock was evident in your voice. You were sobbing, and your eyes were begging for his existence to be true, yet at the same time, you didn't know how to face him. How was he here? What was he doing here?

"You need to come with me right now." It was wrong. He should've been helping you, but instead here he was, requesting that you follow him.

"This is not real. No. God, please."

"Hey, hey, I'm here; I'm real. We need to get out of here." You were shivering, covering your ears with your hands. A few more minutes, and the curse energy surge would alert a nearby sorcerer.

"Here, please help yourself with some wat-" Finally, it was all silent.

Screams erupted in the cafe as the head of the waitress exploded, splattering blood everywhere. You had done it. You had crossed every limit, and there's no going back now. A broken smile decorated your hopeless face. In this moment, you had lost everything. How did it come to this? You didn't give in, so why was this happening to you? Were you never in control to begin with? What a fucking joke!

"It's okay. It's going to be okay. Come on, please." Suguru led your trembling form out of the cafe. He knew what you were going through. He knew that this incident was going to scar you forever. However, he does not regret it. He does not regret blind siding you. He does not regret killing the waitress. Geto Suguru was a kind man, but he was a man nonetheless. So when it came to you, he was shamelessly selfish.

Ch 5

[eveenstar]

heii!! ^^, can you make another hoodie x reader one-shot? i've come to love ALL of your scenarios ,, left me wanting more :D

if you don't want to do this... well! thats fine, i'd understand! ^^

maybe... hoodie's hurt? and reader cares for him?

hurt, as in, wounded! like, knife stab or something!

thank you,

take care

One injured Hoodie coming through! This was interesting to write. Hope you enjoy! Sorry it's short. Take care! ♡

your blood in my hands (and I wouldn't have it any other way) | Brian Thomas/Hoodie

tw: reader's gender isn't specified. Obvious blood mentions, nothing too gory.

Beneath your hands, Brian lays as still as a rock. He doesn't flinch from your touch, not after the last three reprimands you muttered under your breath. It was odd enough that he let you tend to his wound, even more that he actually listened to you! Then again, there was a bullet wound on his body. Thankfully, it hadn't punctured any organs. Still, you were surprised someone had managed to survive long enough to shoot him.

Ah, well, Brian wasn't a young man anymore. He was closer to his mid forties than his mid twenties.

And with the number of Americans now possessing guns as if it were candy? Tsk. That was bad for business. Brian's business, that is.

"That's enough." Brian uttered, pulling himself up to his feet - and almost sliding back down onto the blood-stained chair with a frustrated hiss. "Fuck.."

"You lost too much blood." You sat back, rummaging through the old medpack. Living with a stalker-killer "employed" by an eldritch being, far away from any civilization, had forced you to take on skills such as cleaning wounds (of any kind), sewing and cooking with the bare least you had.

You sighed. "I thought... Why did you take on such a mission alone? Why not take a lesser one with you?"

"It is what He asked of me."

The words fell off painted in tones of melancholy and numbness. There was no trace of emotion behind them, like a corpse. If it wasn't for his beating heart or the living blood that stained your hands, you would've thought Brian was as much of a dead man as those that fell to his hands.

Resigned, you closed the medpack. "Then you should tell him that you are not allowed to go on any missions that aren't scavenging for information."

For the first time that morning, a hint of emotion reflected on his eyes. Raising an eyebrow, a wheeze of laughter escaped his lips. "Allowed?"

"Yes," You mimicked his expression. "You care for me, I care for you. That was our deal."

"Our deal," Brian leaned forward, supporting his elbows on his knees. He bared his teeth at you in a low hiss, "did not include you bossing me around."

Still mimicking him, you too leaned closer until the tips of your noses were grazing each other. "Consider our deal emended."

For the briefest of moments, you thought Brian would lash out, pull you away as he always did. When his eyes narrowed, you prepared yourself for the worst. Your gazes met, and you hoped to see the man behind the walls Brian built around himself. You had his blood in your hands, but you didn't have his heart. No, his heart already belonged to something far above you.

Far darker.

The flicker of his gaze to your lips did not go unnoticed. You were close enough to smell the iron-blood in his skin and feel his breath mixing with yours. You believed Brian would kiss you right then and there.

Instead, he stood to his feet with unprompted strength. With a low rumble, he said, "Your skill with the needle has improved."

You assumed that was his way of thanking you and acknowledging your efforts. One, for removing the bullet. Two, for cleaning the wound. Three, for stitching it. You huffed lightly; Brian should be thankful you didn't take advantage of his altered state, stumbling bloody upon the kitchen at early sunrise and take him out of his misery right then and there.

Then again, you doubted you could take a man of his size and strength even when injured. A deep but low voice whispered in the back of your mind that that was not the only reason; you were in this with Brian. There was no turning back. Surely, no one sane enough would happily remain in your position.

Maybe you two weren't so different after all.

[scarletcomalies]

broken reflection

Wanda Maximoff x Fem Reader

Word count: 5,342

A/N: This story is inspired by Elizabeth Olsen's character in Love And Death. However, I must clarify that while I appreciate her performance in the show, I don’t agree with nor glorify the actions of the real-life person she portrays, Candy Montgomery. Therefore, I made the decision to switch the character to Wanda Maximoff and create a “multiverse” storyline. I was inspired by someone else who did a similar switch, and I felt that it was the right decision for my own. With nothing else to add, I hope you enjoy!

Marriage was supposed to be your happy ending, but as your marriage deteriorated, an encounter with another woman opened your eyes to a new world of possibilities and desires you never knew existed.

Time seemed to pass at a frantic pace whenever you found yourself immersed in your most tormenting thoughts. The ceiling, which you watched as you lay in your bed, became your silent witness, as the moonlight streaming in through the window illuminated the cracks in the ceiling, which you could have sworn, you knew by heart by that point.

You caught yourself finding comfort in those seemingly insignificant details, but at that moment, they seemed to be the only tangible things in your life.

Because, no one had prepared you for this.

For as long as you could remember, the idea of marriage had been presented to you as something wonderful, as a kind of destiny that you had to reach in order to be happy and fulfilled. And very late you realized that, in your quest to find that sense of belonging and fulfillment you so longed for, you had fallen into the error of looking for in marriage what you should have found within yourself.

"I worked my ass off to give you everything you needed, I spoiled you rotten, and the one thing you were supposed to give me in return, you couldn't give it to me!" He exclaimed when he came home from work at nine o'clock at night, and you found yourself in the painful position of telling him again that no, you were not in the mood to try.

He had never told you anything like that, at least not explicitly. However, he always let you know by giving you those little looks whenever he saw those happy families with their children in the park, or disguised as a brief "we're working on it" whenever the subject came up in those absurd after-dinner conversations he made you attend. He never felt the need to say those hurtful words to you, until that time.

You could hear your mother's voice echoing in your head, "That's what you get for marrying so young, to someone so old." And yes, you were the youngest of all the wives who gathered after church on Sundays. From the way they talked to you, it was obvious that they thought you were so ignorant of everything just because you were young.

Before, every day of your marriage felt like a fairy tale, everything seemed solved, and you thought you had fulfilled your purpose. It wasn't until, for a change, some idiot friend of James' decided to pick on him by telling him that he was "falling behind."

What hurt the most was that he was looking for in children what you were looking for in marriage, both wrong because, you insisted, it was within you. That was why you refused to even try, in the first place. Being a father wasn't supposed to be just a compensation for his lack of fulfillment.

After failing miserably to go to sleep at a decent hour, you woke up at noon and realized that he was gone. It wasn't the first time he had breakfast out because you simply refused to wake up to prepare him something. The only reason it didn't bother him was because afterward, he took advantage to see other women. Oh, you knew, he didn't even deign to hide it.

Even if you weren't doing the same thing, you supposed you could care less anyway. Any semblance of love had vanished so long ago, but you couldn't afford to be as bold as he was, because you repeated, you were doing the same thing, seeing other women...

... or rather, another woman.

It all happened when one Sunday night, which you thought would end up as hell, was what started a part of your life that really meant something. Very chaotic and perhaps sick to consider it as such, but all you aspired to was those weekday evenings. Before, you had nothing to aspire to, no one you really wanted to give yourself to in that sense.

For a change, you were fighting with your husband. You were eagerly talking to the women about everything and nothing at the same time when he called you over to talk, and his expression was so serene that it was inevitable to think it was not good.

"You'll be happy now! I'm the laughing stock of all my friends because they know we are not even trying to have a child," he blurted out, his alcohol breath invading your nose, causing you a feeling of revulsion immediately.

"How fragile you are to accept a commitment as big as a child is, just because you can't stand the awful comments," you replied, almost in a mocking tone. He hated that, he hated that you seconded all the remarks in some way. His friends teased him because you refused to sleep with him, and you teased him because he cared. It was his nightmare and your delight.

"Not everything is about having kids! They know you're disgusted by me!" He clarified, and just imagining the kind of conversations they were having made you loathe him even more.

"We women are not trophies for you to show off. We are human beings," you replied, pushing him slightly, which was enough for him to fall like a sack of potatoes. "How empty-minded are you guys that the only remarkable thing you have to say is whether or not you slept with a woman, huh?"

He stood up awkwardly and laughed.

"Spare me your feminist talk, I'm outta here," he growled and proceeded to walk off to who knows where.

You let out a long sigh after watching his figure shrink in size until he became invisible to your eyes. Every time he was gone, you felt free. It was as if all your problems disappeared in the form of a loathsome person like he was.

You felt even too guilty because that day you wished he would dawn lost somewhere and never find his way back or have a horrible accident.

"What you said is too true," you heard a voice behind you, making you startle.

You looked around until you came upon Wanda in the driver's seat of her car, with the window open. You were so immersed in your discussion that you didn't even notice that she had been listening to everything.

"I'm sorry you had to witness this," you muttered, lowering your head.

"You know, I always thought of you as a naive girl who doesn't have a fucking clue, but I realize you have guts. Even more than many in there," she ignored your apology, and at her statement, you didn't know whether to be flattered or offended.

"I guess it only takes being ten years younger than you for you to condemn me like that," you shrugged, opting to feel satisfied. This was a great opportunity to prove yourself wrong.

"What are you talking about? That's a lifetime!" She exclaimed as she laughed. You really appreciated that she decided to lighten up what could have been another argument with a little joke, where she made fun of her own mistake. That definitely marked a before and after between you two.

"You're right, you were all here by the time Queen Elizabeth was born," you joked back, causing her to let out a loud laugh that even echoed throughout the neighborhood. It was her reaction that made you laugh even harder.

That day, she asked you to go with her in the car and get lost around the neighborhood. It was almost like a therapeutic session; she talked about her husband, and you talked about yours. You made them the biggest targets of ridicule and insults for maybe three hours, and only stopped when you went to a gas station store to buy snacks and subsequently find a spot in a parking lot on top of a building.

"Don't you sometimes wish you had met other people?" you concluded, as she finished telling you how her husband responded to a piece she wrote. With such indifference that it made you feel extremely indignant.

"All the time," she confirmed, nodding. "Sometimes I imagine what my life would have been like if I had married someone who cared about my mind and not my uterus, and who treats me like a diamond in the rough that values at all times, and not like a trophy that just shows off but leaves to rest in some closet as soon as everyone is gone."

"That's me!" you laughed, placing your hand above hers to squeeze it, as a sign of comfort.

"But I do have a better proposition for you, why don't you start by doing it yourself? Prove to yourself that you're more than what your stupid husband thinks you are, and maybe that will even give you the courage to walk away from him if that's what you want."

You felt a mixture of fear and excitement at the idea. Could you really do it? Would you be able to find the strength to stand on your own two feet and figure out what are your own dreams, even if it meant abandoning the security of your marriage?

You looked at her, who was smiling encouragingly at you, and you felt a surge of gratitude for the moment you shared. Maybe it was time to take a chance and see what else life had to offer.

"...Wow! Such wonderful words were not rehearsed before? You're a natural," you praised her. She blushed slightly at that. "Keep in mind that I'll think about it carefully."

"Think about it! Besides, my husband is an idiot and your husband is an idiot, what would you say if... we found that courage between us? That way maybe we won't settle for less," her voice became raspy in a matter of seconds, as she leaned towards you.

"Oh, sure! Keep in mind that I'm willing to support you...-"

"Look, regardless of that silly prejudice I had about you, when we were playing volleyball, and the sweat was running down your tight blouse... oh, you have no idea what it provoked inside me," she confessed. "Today when I saw you put that fucker in his place, I realized, I'm incredibly attracted to you."

You watched her for a moment, and noticed how her green eyes turned dark. Who were you kidding? If you didn't want James to lay a finger on you it was because it was women like Wanda that you coveted with your being to do whatever they wanted with you.

"I'm not going to lie to you, I was only going to volleyball to see you," you whispered, as if you weren't the only souls in that compound.

You weren't lying. You weren't a big fan of going to physically exhaust yourself after the mental exhaustion that being under the same roof as that disgusting man brought you. However, the mere thought of Wanda being there made you become the most passionate athlete.

"Would you be interested in having an affair?" She inquired without preamble.

Every day used to feel like a cycle of dreary routines from which you could find no escape, leaving you with a sense of longing for something different to shake up your existence. You never imagined, however, that said "something" would be an affair with Wanda Maximoff.

Instead, you adopted an exciting routine that was previously calculated, in order to be able to get away with it, and so far, not a soul suspected you.

However, you were also highly involved in the delight of each other's company, so there was no danger in going to the movies, shopping, visiting each other at home to simply read together, or sharing a lunch.

You hoped that, like you, Wanda would also feel that your presence had irrevocably improved her life, for it was evident that you found in her what you knew you would never find in anyone else.

And so the sleepless nights had become somewhat more frequent than usual. They were minutes turning into hours, until the light of a new dawn appeared through the windows of the room.

Your thoughts were mainly shaped by the failure of your marriage, which there was no longer any point in fighting to save, and how it all led to an affair whose most essential rule you had broken: don't fall in love.

Fortunately, you would fall asleep after your idiot husband left the bed and his scent gradually faded away. It was during those nights that you longed to find yourself on Wanda's chest instead, with her intoxicating scent invading your nostrils. For you, it was one of the most effective ways for you to sleep.

"Who is this?" You groaned, after the ringing of the phone had woken you from your slumber. It was when you saw the clock hanging on the wall that you realized it was four-thirty in the afternoon.

"Your mistress," Wanda laughed on the other end of the phone, replacing annoyance with a feeling of happiness that only she knew how to bring.

The more you fell in love with her, the more you knew this was doomed to fail. You could feel the impending apocalypse, the moment when she would break your heart because you were asking for too much. She was the only solace in a world that had lost all meaning, and you refused to lose her.

"Oh," You replied with a chuckle. "Are there plans for today?"

"I'm too excited to see the new Star Wars movie, and I was wondering if you'd like to go watch it with me," she proposed. "I know we went to the movies recently, but I really hope you don't mind..."

"Yes! You'd love to go with you," You exclaimed, with a huge smile plastered on your face. "If you want to go to the movies a thousand times, a thousand times I'll go with you."

"Yay, perfect! I'll pick you up in an hour and a half," she anticipated you. "See you then."

As soon as you hung up the phone, you set about taking a shower, putting on an outfit and applying makeup that would leave you sufficiently satisfied with your appearance. In a matter of effectively an hour, you were fully ready.

You were putting away the mess you had left behind when you heard your doorbell ring, and with great joy, you ran to the front door.

There she was, with a smile even bigger than yours, and she didn't hesitate for a second to throw herself at you and hug you warmly.

"You look beautiful," You complimented her, appreciating her green orbs and full lips that once kissed every inch of your being.

With a slight blush on her cheeks, she looked around, then grabbed the back of your neck and kissed your lips.

As if it was the first time ever, the softness of her lips against yours was an indescribable sensation that never failed to make you melt by her touch and surrender to her.

"And you look divine," she whispered, a few millimeters away, causing you to feel her hot breath as if it were your own.

When you finally broke apart, you were both breathless and flushed. You looked into her eyes and she returned your gaze with a look that was a mixture of passion and maybe, just maybe, a reciprocated feeling of love.

***

"Have you eaten yet, darling?" she asked, once you stopped in front of the cinema, whose line was somewhat extensive.

One thing you greatly appreciated was that concern which was represented through small actions, as in this case, they were questions of whether you had eaten, and at other times they regarded your sleeping habits or whether you had eaten something really healthy and not just fast food from some restaurant nearby. These were acts that may have been automatic and even inert to her, but to you they meant the world.

"I know that tone you take when you've just woken up," she began, referring to the way you answered the phone. "And since I only gave you an hour's notice, I guess you didn't get to eat."

You laughed at her conclusion, which completely evidenced how well she knew you and how interested she seemed in you, "You got me, but it's okay, popcorn will do."

"Not a chance," she countered, predictably. "Let's get you something to eat, and we'll smuggle it into the cinema to make it more fun," she proposed.

You nodded, knowing that she always found ways to make any situation more exciting.

Together you headed towards a small food stall near the cinema, and as you waited for your order, you couldn't help but feel grateful to have someone so thoughtful and considerate by your side.

Once your plates of food were delivered, you took care to hide them appropriately in your respective bags, and, after purchasing your tickets and popcorn, you proceeded to walk towards the cinema, completely satisfied with your successful smuggling.

Finally, you found your seats in the darkness of the theatre, surrounded by the fragrance of corn and butter. You looked to your side and saw Wanda already looking in your direction. It was there that you confirmed once again that the movie didn't matter as much as the fact that you were there together, sharing a fun moment where you could escape for a brief moment.

The film turned out to be shocking in every way.

From the very beginning, it kept you on the edge of your nerves with its intense and exciting plot. The pace of the film gradually picked up and the tension built up. The scenes were shocking and you were holding each other's hands tightly.

It was then that the unexpected plot twist occurred that left you gasping.

The iconic "I am your father" stunned everyone, especially the woman next to you, who was perhaps the biggest fan of the franchise in this room.

"No way," she whispered, and you noticed her eyes watering. "There is no way!"

You couldn't lie, you were just as surprised. Even though it all started as a way to keep Wanda company, you couldn't help but feel moved. You could say you were even beginning to understand what all the fuss was about.

Once the film was over, she stared into the void for a long time, still processing what had happened.

"Do you want me to drive?" You proposed, somewhat amused at her state, but also willing to help and understand her.

"No no, I'm fine, come on! I'm not a teenager!" She shook her head, heading for the passenger door and opening it for you - a gesture you adored.

"Thank you, ma'am," You thanked her, getting into the car. Once she made her way to the driver's seat, you decided to comfort her a little. "Sometimes you're a teenager... sometimes we are. I think growing up is overrated."

She took your hand in hers, and kissed it affectionately, "I wish it was like that all the time and not sometimes; I wish all the time I could have exciting experiences that constantly make me feel on top of the world. I wish I could give that to you all the time. If only we could get married... I swear I would make you the happiest, as happy as I know you would make me."

"Unfortunately you have Vision and I have James... society is slowly programming us to be another one of the bunch, another model of the housewives we're expected to be," You retorted, feeling infected by her melancholy. "That's why we have this, to escape from time to time."

"But I don't want it from time to time! You know something? I've had it with Vision," she stated, starting her car. "I'm sick of him not touching me, not listening to me, and just watching his stupid show."

Your eyes widened.

You never imagined hearing her say that. Sure, you complained about your husbands and the life they gave you, it just didn't seem feasible for neither of you to leave them.

But in the end, why couldn't you have what Steve and Peggy had, for example? And that's when you knew you could have it, you were just with the wrong people. The biggest question was, if Wanda got this person, was she going to leave you? Was it going to be really you?

And that was your biggest epiphany.

You didn't care if you could never have her the way you wanted her, just having her in your life in any way was more than enough. You wanted her happiness even if it was at the cost of your own, and that's when you realized that what you felt was love at its best.

"What are you going to do?" You questioned, once you came back to your senses. It wasn't until you got to your house that it happened.

"I'm going to take all the money he keeps hidden in that shoe box, get the hell out of this town and start over," she replied. "I've been thinking about it for about two weeks now, but I think it's time."

You felt a lump in your throat as you listened to Wanda's words. You couldn't believe that she was planning to go away and leave everything behind, and that on top of it all, she had her mind completely made up.

You had been through so much together, you had laughed, cried and shared unforgettable moments. But now, it seemed that all that would come to an end. You would return to that monotony where you desperately searched for something that could make the day different from others. You missed your home, your family, your friends... and it wasn't your husband, it was Wanda who made you feel that leaving all that behind was for the best.

And again, if she promised to do her best to find the happiness you knew she longed for as well, then this too would be worth it.

Tears began to well up in your eyes as you tried to keep your composure. You struggled for words, for inevitably, sadness gripped your heart. Goodbyes were never easy.

"What are you doing? Why are you crying?" Wanda asked, taking your face in her hands.

"It's just... I don't want to lose you, I love you and going back to the life before I met you is scary, but if that's what you want, then..."

"Don't be silly, you're coming with me," she interrupted, wiping your cheeks with her thumbs. "Wait, you said you loved me?"

You were surprised to hear Wanda's question, immediately mentally beating yourself up for not having calculated your words, but, to your surprise, you also felt a surge of joy at finally being able to express your feelings.

"Yes, I said I love you, silly!" You exclaimed, as if it hadn't been obvious enough. "Look at this godforsaken mess that you've made of me. You're like a bright light in my life, you're the only one who makes me laugh until my cheeks go numb, you make me feel alive, you taught me colors after I got used to so much black and white, you taught me a language I can't speak to someone else. You're everything I ever dreamed I could find in someone, how could I not love you?"

"We don't need to get married, we don't need a damn piece of paper to be happy. Happiness is the most important thing and we already have it," she said, moving closer to press her lips against yours for a moment. "I love you madly. Thank you for opening my eyes. You were my motivation for coming up with this plan in the first place, now that I know what it's like to really live, I refuse to go back to what came before."

"How are we going to do that?" You inquired, somehow reminding her that you too had an issue to disengage from.

"Meet me at midnight."

Once you returned home, you found the person you were unexpectedly certain you would leave behind in a matter of hours.

He had his feet up on the coffee table, his hair tousled and his tie undone, his eyes too focused on the television, which fortunately were struggling to stay open.

"You should go to sleep, or you'll have a very hard time getting up tomorrow," You suggested, knowing full well that you were only going to earn a complaint.

"It's my problem if I want to stay up all night," he grunted, straightening his posture to wake up a little. Even he couldn't deny that it was in vain.

With a scoff, you dropped your bag on the kitchen counter and headed for the bedroom.

You had to pack as soon as possible so that when James decided to go to bed, you wouldn't be caught literally displacing your entire life in a single suitcase.

You started with your clothes, which you folded into rolls so they would fit more effectively, and proceeded to take your beauty products, hygiene products, belongings that held sentimental significance, and sadly, space only allowed you to pack two pairs of your favorite shoes. It was a huge suitcase, the same one you used when you moved here, and you were even surprised at how much you could fit in it. You guess it was again going to accompany you in a new scenario, this time a successful one.

You heard James' clumsy footsteps approaching the room. By that time, you had the suitcase packed and hidden under the bed, waiting for midnight. It was only half an hour away.

He collapsed into bed, not bothering to change or pull the covers over himself. He just tossed and turned, with nothing else on his mind but sleep as soon as possible.

When the time came, you let out a deep sigh and carefully got out of bed, feeling your every movement like an explosion in the darkness of the room.

Once you felt more confident, you slowly bent down towards the suitcase you had hidden under the bed. Every inch you moved was a huge effort, but you knew you couldn't afford to be discovered.

Finally, you reached for the suitcase and carefully pulled it out. Each movement was as if you were touching a taut string, expecting that at any moment it might snap and make everything fall apart. Likewise, each step you took seemed to be heavier than the last, but without looking back for a moment, you kept moving forward, knowing that you were on the last step of your escape.

You heard footsteps approaching from behind and your heart began to pound.

No, no, no. You refused to turn around and look. You were too close!

You tried not to think about it, to convince yourself that everything was fine, but it was impossible.

Suddenly, a hand landed on your shoulder and you were startled. You turned around to face James, who was standing there, his eyes full of sadness and worry.

"Let me go, James. There's nothing you can do to stop me," you said quietly, trying to hide your fear.

"I know," he said in a calm voice. "I'm not going to stop you. There's no point in keeping this marriage if you're not happy. If I'm not happy. Go with her."

You were shocked to hear those words coming out of James' mouth. For so long, you had been holding back your true feelings for fear of hurting him, and that it would end badly. He already knew that, and he accepted it.

Your expression made him chuckle, "I saw you kissing before you came in," as if reading your thoughts, he confessed what you were wondering. "I just want you to know that I've been watching you for a while now. I noticed how happy you were coming back after spending time with her. Only someone very cruel would stand in the way of that... I'm not cruel, even though I haven't done a very good job of showing it."

You couldn't help but feel some gratitude towards James for being so understanding. It was a strange feeling, considering you were running away from him, but in that moment, you felt that you had finally found someone who understood what was going through your mind.

"You're not the only one who's been seeing other people. I've been seeing... men, too." He confessed, leaving you paralyzed, not knowing what to say. You never would have imagined James would say something like that to you. You felt confused, shocked, and at the same time, a little relieved. At least you weren't the only one who had been hiding something. "You should learn from me, I was careful about it," James joked, trying to lighten the tension in the air.

Finally, you found the right words, "Thank you, James. For understanding me, for being honest. I don't know what's going to happen to me and Wanda from now on, but I'm sure I'll find my way to happiness. And please do whatever it takes to find yours too, no matter with whom it is."

He simply nodded, an understanding expression on his face. "I promise I will, and I hope this isn't goodbye."

James and you hugged each other tightly, sharing an emotional moment that would seal the end of your marriage. It was amazing how this moment of parting was the one where you felt the most respect and compassion for him, and you could tell the feeling was mutual. It would have been easier if instead of condemning each other, you had been willing to understand each other.

Afterwards, he offered to walk you to the car towards Wanda, and you accepted. You walked together in silence, as if you both knew it was better to leave words behind.

The older woman was waiting inside the car, and both James and you laughed as her jaw practically dropped to the floor when she saw you. The confusion was palpable on every faction of her face.

James walked over to her and took her hand, looking at her lovingly, "Take care of each other as only you know how, love each other as you deserve to be loved, because you two are amazing people and deserve all the best in life." He told her sincerely, conveying his flooding desire to redeem himself.

Wanda was overwhelmed by your now ex-husband's words, and nodded tearfully. "Thank you for trusting me with something as precious as the happiness of this one right here."

James gave you one last hug before walking away, and Wanda's gaze was still fixed on him with equal parts sadness and gratitude.

You placed your suitcase in the trunk, and subsequently made your way to the passenger seat.

Wanda asked, "Do I want to know what happened?"

"Long story," you sighed, letting out the air you'd been holding in for far too long.

"Well, we have a long trip waiting for us. There's time," she started the car's engine.

With great excitement, your story with Wanda began this way, the person with whom you were destined to witness fulfillment at its greatest expression.

Together you started a business and lived on it, your daily routines never lacked for adventure and laughter. Every day your love grew more and more, and you never looked back, always moving forward together.

You fondly remember how each sunrise was like a new roller coaster of emotions, always full of new challenges. And in the most difficult moments, when darkness threatened to invade you, you clung to your union, knowing that together you could overcome any obstacle.

And so, with Wanda by your side, living each day with passion and enthusiasm, you knew you were exactly where you were meant to be, living your life to the fullest alongside the person you love most in this world.

[ilovejoo]

｡･:*:･ﾟ★｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

crushes: nishimura riki & female!reader

w/c: 0.8k summary: a compilation of riki having the biggest, most obvious crush on you, his classmate and hopefully future lover.

☆...

it started with just a crush. he swore it was just a crush.

it was just a crush when he stared at the back of your head during science class, the window being placed so conveniently where the sun shone right at you. the gleam reflected on your hair and face, striking you with a golden shimmer that he could not get enough of- how could he not stare? just a crush when he noticed your head bobbing down as you fought to stay awake, laughing a bit under his breath and getting a weird look from his unknowing lab partner.

he shot a quick glare at his partner before digging into his backpack.

he asked the teacher to go to the restroom, only to slip a candy on your desk to help you fight your drowsiness discreetly without looking back. your favorite flavor.

...

it was just a crush when he saw you walking down the halls, textbooks in hand. he formulated a big, huge plan to walk into you and make you drop your books so he could help you pick up your things, possibly(?!) brush hands, and make conversation.

this plan never happened, he was too shy & freaked out at the thought.

it was definitely a crush when he purposefully changed his route to go the long way just so he could see you every day. sometimes he would take a step further, take a deep breath, and work up the courage to walk you to your next class, not even noticing the warmth you gained in your cheeks.

he pulled up to you, putting on his sweetest smile.

"funny running into you here huh? where are you headed?" he took the books from your hands, as they seemed heavy. you were a bit taken aback, but went with it anyway.

"math.. it's just right here."

"oh perfect, i'm headed this way anyway." (he was not.)

...

it was just a crush when he watched you tie your hair in gym class, pulling your strands into a high ponytail in a majestic way niki didn't even think was possible. maybe he was being too much, the way his mouth was slightly open and he couldn't stop staring, earning a snicker from a teasing jungwon, who saw the obvious signs.

"what are you staring at for like the fourth time today?" he asked playfully. niki slapped jungwon and snapped out of it. "just go tell her already, i'm sure she'll be flattered." niki shook his head, no way.

he probably looked like a creep, he should probably stop, but you were just too cute.

...

it was just a crush when your science teacher asked the class to find partners for a project, and his mind instantly went to you, despite only exchanging a few conversations together. he turned his head with eyes full of hope, only to be shattered by the sight of you already talking to your best friend. of course, you and niki weren't even really friends, he shouldn't even be disappointed.

despite that, jungwon pointed out how sulky he was for the rest of the day.

...

it was just a crush.

but it wasn't just a crush when he walked you home after the school dance, finding out you didn't have a date after all and silently wishing he had asked you out the entire time. you assured him you would be fine walking by yourself, to which he argued that it was unsafe with rolling eyes. the pale moonlight complimented your features perfectly: your eyes sparkled brighter than the stars, and your smile was brighter than the full moon.

when you got to your doorstep, you took a quick breath.

"thanks for walking me here, it was really sweet of you." you turned to face him, and he laughed awkwardly.

"of course- i can't let a pretty girl like you walk by yourself at night." he paused. "i shouldn't have said that." he covered his mouth with his hand, shocked at the own words that came out of his lips.

"not that you aren't pretty of course! you look great today. but it was probably weird for you, so uh, sorry."

"yeah, it was." you laughed before adding, "you look good today too."

you gently kissed his cheek before walking inside- niki was forever grateful for the darkness so you couldn't see the bright red tinting his cheeks.

he told all his friends about you, retelling this story of "the best night of his life" as he liked to call it. "just date her already," "ask her out, niki," and "you are head over heels" were the only responses he got, which did not help him with his inner turmoil. they were only stating the obvious, he needed real advice.

he took it into his own hands.

...

it wasn't just a crush when you guys were in your house together, hanging out on your bedroom floor. he looked up at your eyes, head in your lap and heart so full he couldn't think straight.

"y/n," he mumbled.

"yeah?"

"i have a crush on you," he said, giggling. you smiled, eyes full of endearment, and he swore he fell even harder.

"we're dating, riki."

it definitely wasn't just a crush.

---

here's my masterlist!

taglist! send an ask to be added: @jaysbiceps @yeomha

[anissa-mason]

"Never let the same snake bite you twice."

Family get togethers had almost always been hell since as far back as Anissa could remember. The only time she was able to stomach them was when both her father and eldest brother, Kian, were in attendance. The two Mason men had a way of handling her mother, Jolie as if she were a harmless garden snake instead of the venomous and calculating viper that Anissa and her sister, Serena, knew her to be. 

While Anissa loathed her mother for her inability to keep from injecting her family with her venom, Serena seemed to idolize her for it, making the relationship between the sisters strained. Which was exactly why Anissa had ignored the first text Serena sent her early that afternoon. Just seeing the name wicked bitch appear on her phone screen was enough to sour her mood. It was only a moment later that another arrived. Then another. And another. Reluctantly, Anissa checked the text messages. 

I know your instinct is to ignore anything I send to you. 

But I'm not going to allow it this time. 

The bridesmaid fittings are at 3. 

If you're not there I'll send mom to get you. 

With a groan of frustration and as if Serena could feel how hard her thumbs hit her phone screen, Anissa furiously responded that she would be there. 

Everything had been going so smoothly for the first hour that Anissa forgot that she was in the presence of two venomous creatures. Serena was awful, but her friends weren't nearly as hard to stomach and the presence of mimosas helped to ease the nerves and take the edge off that Anissa had been feeling. Even then, she couldn't entirely relax. Not while her mother was in attendance. 

Anissa was grateful that she wasn't the maid of honor for her sister's wedding, that kept her mother's attention off of her throughout most of the fitting. She was too busy focusing her reptilian gaze on Ashlin making sure she fit the picture of perfection she required for her golden child. She was so close to finally making it out of the bridal boutique and back to her car when she felt the familiar scaly grasp of a hand wrap around her arm. 

Without much time to think, Anissa was yanked to the side, out of sight, cornered by the wretched beast she hated most in the world. Her mother. She didn't speak, just glared at the woman. As if the heat of her glare could cause the woman to burst into flames. 

“Don't be like that, Anissa.” Jolie Mason said in a harsh whisper. She had that fake smile plastered on her face, the one everyone else in the world fell for, the one that her patients trusted. The very smile that Anissa had always seen straight through to those massive fangs dripping with that deadly venom. 

“What do you want?” Anissa finally spoke, nearly choking on the rage she was trying so hard to contain

The smile fell from Jolie’s face. Displeased with her daughter's tone. “Isn't it obvious, sweetheart?” The concern in her voice almost sounded sincere as Jolie reached towards her daughter to tuck some of her hair behind the curve of her ear. “I've been so worried about you.” Jolie embraced Anissa then and that was when she felt the dig of her nails curling hard into the flesh of the backs of her arms. Inflicting pain where no one could see if they happened to be watching. That was Jolie, always careful about her image, not willing to tarnish it in the slightest. And then she began to whisper, a barrage of things she felt Anissa had done wrong.

“Those friends of yours. That man you've been seeing. The things you've been doing. You think I don't know simply because you're not living under my roof, but that's just not the case. I hear things. I see things. Do you have any idea how terribly your behavior reflects upon me? We've been over this so many times, Anissa. I have a reputation to uphold. You should be proud to call yourself my daughter. Instead you're parading around tarnishing my name and everything I stand for.” Each word was sharper than the last, dropping with more venom, her fingernails digging deeper. 

Anissa tore herself  away from Jolie, refusing to let that snake squeeze the life out of her. “Fuck you.” She hissed, spitting venom of her own before she turned and bolted out of the door to the bridal boutique. The slight breeze hit the backs of her arms and it stung, but she didn't stop until she was back in the safety of her car. Reaching one hand around she touched the place on the back of the opposite arm where Jolie had dug her nails into her skin. When she drew her hand back, her fingers were speckled with fresh blood. 

As she drove home, fighting the rage that stormed inside of her, she promised herself that the next time she had to face that viper, Anissa would be the one making her bleed. 

[suitstars]

⤷ suna rintarou x gn!reader; i don't even know what to call this dynamic tbh (w.c 632)

— 15:47

"is it true?" he asks. before he opened his mouth the only thing you could hear was your synchronized breaths and the rhythmic tick of the wall clock.

"is what true?" you look up at him, meeting his eyes. the look you share is nonetheless intense, a language only you two could understand.

the sun hits your skin just right.

he thinks.

"you're staying in tokyo?"

you let out a puff. of course he already knows, "yes. does it bother you?"

you're both sitting on the same twin bed. even though the years have passed, not much has changed. the house you're staying at is pretty much empty, no decoration, but still a perfect reflection of yourself— shoes scattered next to the door, a scarf hanging from the chair in front of your desk, an open notebook with notes full of doodles thrown everywhere. he still leans against the wall of the room while he's sat on the bed, with you in front of him.

too close.

"it does, actually."

you roll your eyes.

"did you really have to come back?" it doesn't come out as harsh as it may sound. you understand what he means, he's being sarcastic. you hit his arm weakly, giggling.

you rest your head on his arm for a couple of seconds before looking up at him.

"i missed my friends, suna."

you both share another glance, in silence. for a moment you think he's going to ask you if you missed him too. there's no need for such a thing. too cliché, and the answer is obvious anyway.

years have passed. pretty much nothing has changed.

he can feel your faint breathing hitting his arm. he takes his time analyzing your eyes. and then your entire face; how the golden light hits not just the room just perfectly, but you, too. again.

"you're still too pretty."

there 'sa beat.

your eyes meet his lips.

and when you look at his eyes again, he's thinking of the same thing.

it'd be easy.

another beat.

"—aand, you still have a girlfriend." you pull away.

years have passed. one thing has changed.

"i'm not a homewrecker, rin."

he stares at you, raising one brow slightly.

"theoretically. and, you're not a cheater." you tell him.

"or are you?"

"of course not!"

"then there's that."

silence reigns again. so much that it would be uncomfortable if it were with anyone else, but you both enjoyed it.

"she's not you, though."

"that 's mean."

you've met the girl. a sweetheart, who truly did not deserve to get involved into this mess. although it's more sophisticated than it once was, everyone around you could see that you and suna were still trapped inside of your own little world you both had created; and the girl certainly wasn't blind. you were honestly surprised when you were met with nothing but kindness when you first greeted each other. you wish she wasn't so nice, it would have made you feel better.

there is still much in common that remains between him and you. a trusted familiarity that makes it easy to forget all the years of long distance and different people. if you let yourself flow within, it becomes easy to be convinced that there is no other person quite like suna to you.

he sighs. you stare at each other.

"you were not supposed to come back." he says, leaning closer so he could rest his head on your shoulder.

"i know." you whisper.

"it'd be easier."

"i know." you sigh, bobbing your head to the side, breathing in his recently cleaned hair, still smelling of his cedar shampoo, "i'm sorry."

he level a stare at you, eyes full of something. it'd be easy.

you breathe.

"i think you should leave, rin.”

[hotpinkrathian]

I will never get over the Suyin playing cupid trope and if you can't either than you should go read chapter 11 of A United Front

Still not convinced here's an excerpt of Lin and Kya rizzing each other up

I've posted about 1/2 of the complete story on AO3 now and I think yall deserve a special shout out your comments and theories are so inspiring and I hope I can post the rest of it soon. I'm up to 90K words now and I PROMISE those of you waiting for angst, it is coming.

But for now, enjoy these two awkward gays trying to flirt with each other

“Lin call me crazy but I think you enjoyed yourself, even if you did slip a bit of work in at the end.” 

“Having someone to fight other than my sister helped.” Lin said plainly. 

“I see,” Kya said, “so in summary, you like having me around.” 

Lin watched her family walk inside, busied by their own chatter and reflections of the evening. Suyin offered pointers and Bataar offered his excitement and encouragement. 

When they were inside, she turned back to Kya, who was watching her a little too intently. 

The sky had darkened significantly, Lin hadn't noticed before, but the stars were out. The sky wasn't quite black, but rather a stark shade of navy. The moon was almost full, a few more days and the fox-wolves would be audible from inside the dome. 

“Maybe I do,” Lin replied. “Would that be so bad?”

Kya seemed surprised, looking from Lin, to the house, to the sky before her eyes landed back on her. 

Lin's stomach tumulted in nervousness, or excitement, or both. 

You're not exactly subtle. 

Suyin was right, she wasn't subtle. She never had been. When she was angry she made it obvious. When she was frustrated she was expressive. She had held a grudge for twenty years because of how un-subtle she was. 

“Not at all,” Kya answered, her eyes darting back and forth with nervousness. 

There was a knock on the glass, so Lin looked to see her niece waving her over. 

“That can't be good,” Lin said, looking back to Kya. 

“Always the pessimist.” Kya laughed, brushing past her. Her shoulder nearly made Lin stumble with the impact. Kya's face turned at just the right angle that Lin could see a grin form when she thought Lin couldn't see. 

Lin sighed contently before following the others inside. 

She watched Kya in front of her, hoping the waterbender wouldn't turn around and catch her smile. 

[writer-darling]

Are You Ever Dreaming of Me?

Chapter 8: Out of the Woods | Read Chapter 7: Style!

I NEVER USE Y/N OR ANYTHING LIKE IT THANK YOU SO MUCH :)

Rating: M - Mature (THE TIME HAS COME) (18+ MINORS DNI)

Pairing: Ezra (Prospect, 2018) x F!Reader

Warnings: Good old enemies-to-lovers trope. age gap (10 years). Nothing super descriptive for Reader but they are described as having hair. Tension, OF ALL KINDS, reaches an all-time high. Adult language. A LOT of feelings and things of that nature. Banter. Flirting. It’s E-to-L, you know where this is going. Feral Ezra (he starts at an 83.5% but ends up at about a 90.79% in this chapter). Mentions of smoking and cigarettes. Crude language. If there are any that I missed, please inbox me to let me know and I will add them in :)

Word Count: 4.3k

Summary!: Things are different, changed after last night. As you and Ezra both try to comes to terms with what's happened, there's a disruption.

******

“Are we in the clear yet?

In the clear yet, good

(Are we out of the woods?)”

Ezra sees the change in you instantly. You’ve always been hyperfocused, even when not on the job. It’s one of the first things he ever admired about you… before he admired everything else, of course. But today is not like any other day. No… it most certainly is not. You’re avoiding him, as he suspected, but you don’t seem upset about what happened. No, rather you seem… out of it. Like your mind is miles away… or perhaps more accurately: hours in the past. Your distraction is obvious as you try to go about your day, but your eyes have a dazed, glassiness to them and you curse under your breath repeatedly every time you almost drop the clean laundry you’re trying to remove from the clothesline, which is becoming a frequent occurrence this morning. 

He watches as he sits outside of his tent, spending the morning sitting on a stool shining his boots to perfection, and chainsmoking like he’s never smoked before. He’s meticulously changed the laces, wiped the leather clean, and buffed and conditioned them until he can practically see his reflection. He’s heard your frustrated mumbling all morning and it has worried him. While he wishes to help, his guilt stops him. 

He doesn’t regret what happened, not one damn bit. It was the catalyst of all the fantasies he’s had these last few months. No, he doesn’t regret it at all. The guilt comes from how he handled everything else that happened yesterday. The petty bickering, his stubbornness, how the catalyst started, and the fact that he practically ran out of your tent like a bat out of hell just to fuck his fist before he took things much, much further than either one of you would’ve been comfortable with.

He should’ve stayed. He should’ve finally told you everything he wanted to tell you. He should have held you and apologized for his earlier behavior and then he should have had that amazing dinner with you tonight where he would finally tell you what he really wanted. That catalyst should have come from a place of understanding, of harmony, of love - maybe. But, Kevva-be-damned, he just couldn’t help himself last night. He loved seeing that fire in your eyes, hearing that venom in your voice. It drove him damn near crazy, it always did. Which, admittedly, wasn't the healthiest thing. But, Ezra could admit he wasn’t perfect, and he had never claimed to be. Still, he can’t help the slight anxiety that rises in him each time that crinkle between your brows deepens. Like now,

“Kevvasake!” You whisper angrily to yourself, your gloved palm on your thigh as you yank a particularly stubborn shirt. He can almost picture the whites of your knuckles under the leather of your glove. You sigh once it finally falls, tossing it into the laundry basket with the rest of the clean clothes, which you then lean against your hip. You straighten up and meet his gaze as if you sensed his eyes on you. Your eyes meet his for only a microsecond before you look away and head into your tent, not even giving Ezra a chance to offer you a smile or a wave. 

He sighs as he exhales his latest drag, and debates with himself to call after you, but ultimately makes the decision not to. It’s clear he pushed you too far, and you deserve some modicum of respectful distance from him. Even if it stings like carrom acid in his chest. Denver’s voice interrupts his internal debate, and Ezra realizes he didn’t even hear him walk up. Denver’d also been keeping an eye on you, and on Ezra.

“The hell’s going on with you two?” Ezra cracks a smile, a brief one. His brow furrows as he thinks of how best to word this, throwing the bud on the ground and crushing it with his boot before he answers Denver.

“We had a bit of a situation last night, boss.”

“And I’m guessing you screwed everything up?” It’s not really a question. Ezra sighs before answering, setting his boots aside with a sharp nod,

“...Your assumption would be a fairly adequate estimate.” 

“Hm… how bad?” The question makes Ezra pause for a moment as he meets Denver’s green eyes.

“That remains to be seen.” Both men go silent for a few minutes. Denver looks pensively at the forest floor. Finally, he speaks,

“Fix it.” Ezra raises his eyes to Denver’s, who’s already looking right at him again. Ezra simply salutes and trudges off to find you. When he pauses at the entrance of your tent, he realizes you’re not inside after his call for you goes unanswered. 

You’re not anywhere in the camp. But eventually, he finds you, knowing where you’ve headed.

You sit by the pool's edge, staring into the dark but tranquil water, your gaze unfocused. It’s only upon seeing the area that he remembers. He remembers what you told him about the apprentice camp. Shit. He clears his throat and you turn to face him.

“Can I ask you somethin’?” He starts cautiously.

“I’m guessing you’re gonna ask either way.” You respond, but your tone isn’t harsh at all, which floods him with relief.

“Did last night… Did it trigger anythin’ for you?” Your brow furrows at the way he says that. He’s thrown you for a loop with that question.

“What do you mean?” You ask. He sighs, the guilt suddenly back and threatening to swallow him whole. He approaches but keeps his distance, a good ten feet away from you. He removes his helmet and runs a gloved hand through his hair.

“I mean… about your… previous experience with prospectors.” He says. “Is that why you’ve been off all mornin’?” You blink at him a few times. That was not at all what was on your mind. Now Ezra’s really tearing himself up inside. It all spills out in a rush now. “I’m so sorry, rook, I didn’t even think. I was such a goddamn, horned-up fuckmonger that I completely forgot about that and I never meant to cause you any further trauma. If you no longer wish to speak to me, I fully understand, please believe that. I’m such a damned idiot that I-”

“Ezra.” Your voice is firm and clear, but again not as harsh as he expected. He shuts up instantly and focuses all of his attention on what you say next. You wait until his undivided attention is on you before you continue with your response, “No. It didn’t. I reciprocated. I’m only… confused. That’s all.” You say. For a second it seems like he doesn’t believe you, but he nods anyway.

“That’s fair then.” He says. You sigh and run a hand through your hair next.

“Truth is, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. But I know what we agreed on, and so I’m gonna let it go.” You conclude.

“Let it go?” He asks. You nod and smile, though it doesn’t reach your eyes for long.

“Mhm, just pretend it never happened. Easier that way. I mean that’s what we agreed to do, right?” You ask, your tone far too nonchalant for this conversation. And even as Ezra’s brow furrows and he mumbles a quiet confirmation, you both know that’s the last thing either of you want.

Especially Ezra. It’s like your words have an effect on him. As he averts his eyes, all he can see, hear, feel, and think is last night. The way you looked at him with starry-eyed haziness. The soft whine of your voice as you begged him for more. The heat of you as he touched you over and over again. His trousers are suddenly uncomfortably tight and he turns his body away from you for a full minute as he tries his damned hardest to get himself under control.

“Look, I’m fine.” You insist, making him turn towards you again. “I was just… overreacting. We’re friends.” You say, your lie does little to convince either of you. But you don’t let that stop you. “C’mon,” You brighten up and smile again. “We gotta get back to camp.” You walk ahead without turning to see if he’s followed.

You’re committed to this ‘friends’ bit, Ezra will give you that. He gives you your space but it’s like you insist on proving his concern for you wrong. You smile and joke with him and are suddenly hyperfocused as usual, going from one extreme to another. And Ezra isn’t quite sure how to feel about it, but he plays along. As lunch rolls around, you invite him back to your tent for a round of cards. He agrees, even if his heart skips in his chest and a light flush takes his face. 

You stop by the dining hall and have a difficult time maneuvering your way around. You’re still distracted, painfully so, but you try your best to just power through it. Still, the hall seems stuffier than usual. Like there’s suddenly every prospecter on camp inside it. As you look around for Ezra, you realize it is packed to the brim. Damn, were there always this many men in here? 

“Rook,” Ezra’s voice catches your attention and you notice he has his pack on his shoulders. He smiles and leads you two out with ease. You both make light conversation as you walk back to your tent for the moment, but your mind is still on trying to let last night go. It’s not healthy for you to be so focused on the vents of last night. Ezra’s not acting any different, so why are you? 

That all flies out the window as you two enter the tent and the tension almost threatens to paralyze the both of you as you’re alone now, with not even the distractions of nature as a buffer. But, you smile and walk over to your ice chest, acting like nothing’s off.

“Want anything?” You ask as you grab a water bottle from inside. He grabs a chair and shakes his head.

"I'm absolutely fine, I brought my own snacks from the mess hall." He says with a chuckle, "You got any other fun ideas for today? Other than playin’ cards and me havin’ to serve you once again?" he asks. He’s well aware he’s pushing his luck with that little flirtation at the end, but he wants to know how you’ll react anyway. Hell, he needs to know. He’s tempted to ask if you two are still on for dinner but he has a feeling that if he even remotely brings it up, you’ll go running for the hills. So, for once, he wisely holds his tongue.

“Serve me, huh?” You ask, opening up your bottle and taking a big gulp. You smile a little as you sit on your cot, in front of him. “Now there’s an idea.” You say with a twinkle. “I could use a personal servant.” You laugh softly, clearly joking.

Ezra laughs a bit louder as his eyes light up at your words, and he can't help but smile as you speak. "Is that so?" He asks, taking an apple out from his pack and taking a big bite from it before he tosses you one. "That... actually sounds nice, don’t it? Me as your personal servant..." he says with playful sarcasm, enjoying every second of the teasing between you, even with this added tension from the last 24 hours still looming over your heads. "Just imagine all the fun things I could do for you. You could have me at your beck and call… completely at your mercy…" he suggests with a sly grin.

You can’t help it as you go red as red as the apple in your hands at that. Having him at your beck and call. You clear your throat after a moment, hiding your embarrassment as best you can as you take another sip of your water, suddenly feeling hot. Ezra notices your sudden blush as soon as he makes his joke, and he decides to play into it. 

"Does that sound nice to you?" he asks, and there’s almost a tinge of desperation in his voice, leaning in closer and playing along. He can't help but feel a bit of pride at the little red tinge that comes to your cheeks, and he's enjoying every moment of it. His teasing is obvious, but it's clear he's having a good time being able to be around you and be himself, even with this uncertainty.

You recover quickly with a light scoff, even as your blush deepens again. “Pfft, in your wildest dreams.” You say, pushing his chest playfully.

He leans back in his chair with an amused expression on his face, even as every ounce of his will wants to drop to his knees in front of you. "Well look at that, I almost had you there," he teases, his smile still bright. "I was beginnin’ to think you might enjoy that," he muses. "But, I do have to know... if you could have me at your beck and call, wouldya?" he asks, still playful but wanting to get a legitimate answer. He just needs to hear it from your own lips. He knows the answer already, but goddess above, he’s dying to hear you say it. All he needs is one confirmation and he can finally relax, finally breathe without feeling like he’s got Bakhroma spores in his lungs.

Your mind immediately fills with images that are not at all PG, but you clear your throat again, swallowing hard but you recover quickly, blinking a few times to dispel them from your mind before you answer. “Yeah totally… I could use the forced manual labor to help me carry those damn packs full of gems.” You try to joke but it doesn’t come across as easily as it did before. You’re still feeling very overheated as you tuck your hair behind your ear.

Ezra laughs at your words despite their sarcastic tone. His whole face lights up at your words and he enjoys this little game you're playing. The little slight nervous glance away just makes it all the better for him. 

"Well okay then, let's test it..." he continues, "Tell me somethin’... what do you need me to do right this moment for you? Just give me a task that you feel is worthy of having me at your disposal," he asks, the smirk returning to his face as his voice takes on a slightly playful tone. "Come on. Test me."

You see that he’s serious. He wants you to test him. “Alright, I’m game. If you really want me to ‘test you’,” you make sure to add air quotes to that. “You can um…” You glance around and spot your pack. ��Oh, you can count my earnings for yesterday.”

That was... not what Ezra had expected, and he can't help but grin as you speak and give him his task. "You know what? Sure, why not?" he says with a shrug and an approving nod. He reaches under your cot and grabs the pack, bringing it out between you two as he counts the four suitcases full of gems. "I'll count it all up and tell you the final tally," he says with a smile, "let's get this test underway. Ya got a notebook?” You crack a small smile and lay a notebook and pen out in front of him. He removes the button-up he’s wearing, leaving him in a sleeveless shirt, similar to the one from last night. He wants the most freedom available to him to work. 

He gets to counting the earnings, and he's actually quite the little perfectionist when it comes to these things. He takes it seriously, even just a test such as this. He wants to make sure you're impressed.

You 100% are as you watch him work. At first, that’s all it is, you feeling greatly impressed as he suddenly shifts his playful demeanor and hyper focuses on the task before him, his grin dropping into a neutral expression. Only a slight furrow of his dark brows reveals his concentration. It’s sort of endearing how earnestly he’s approaching this. And that makes you unable to tear your eyes away from him. But then… 

You can’t help it as your mind is suddenly elsewhere as you watch him with his head bowed over his task. The way he takes each case and carefully opens it up, counting each gem and making a rough estimate based on size and quality, then recounting them for good measure. Your focus goes from what he’s doing to the way he looks while he’s doing it. There’s that same furrow that creased his brow last night. And then, your eyes focus on the muscles of his arms as they flex and shift when he brings out each case. Reminding you of what those same muscles looked like half-hidden in shadow and moonlight. His long, thick fingers hold each gem he inspects like they’re the most precious material on terra firma. Those same fingers that maintained such a good rhythm that you fell apart faster than you ever have with your own touch. His dark hair hangs in his eyes as he slightly hunches over the cases of aurelac. The same hair you ached to tug on last night.

 Fuckssake. You’re pretty much gawking at him by the end of it.

Ezra's not even realizing that you're watching. He's so focused on his test - in his eyes, every single gem counts. He's very careful and thorough as he lays out all the gems and counts them, making sure to not make even a single mistake as he writes it all down in the notebook in front of him, the pen cap between his teeth. There's just something incredibly attractive about the way he's so focused and determined to do this task. And the fact that you see him this way is just... well, you've just become totally infatuated.

As he finishes, Ezra looks up at you and smiles, "Alright, well the final tally is 142 gems, with the most valuable one bein’ worth 400 hecaton grade. How does that compare to your initial estimate?" He asks, looking over at you with a smile. His eyes are still bright and his tone is warm, the playful nature of your previous interaction having now faded as you two had gotten deep into this little test. His expression is a little confused when you don’t answer right away. "Did I pass?"

You’re very impressed and also suddenly very aroused. He did it. He managed to impress the hell out of you. And Kevvasake, did it all while looking attractive as hell. You clear your throat as what he asks snaps you out of your reverie.

“You-You’re right on the money.” You say.

Ezra smiles and he chuckles as he stands, his eyes sparkling. "Well good," he says with a playful smile, still seemingly unaware of the effect he's having on you. "How's that for a first test?" he says with a wink, and he crosses his arms, giving a little chuckle as his whole face lights up in happiness. "And if you don't want me to be your personal servant... well, how about we just keep bein’ friends?" he suggests with a small smile, "Sound reasonable?"

You nod, your eyes still fixated on his arms and the way they move. Again some very not parent-friendly images come to your mind. You can’t even say anything, just watching the way his shoulders move with each breath he takes.

Ezra finally realizes the full effect that he's having on you, and he seems to just take it all in for a moment before he steps a little closer to you. He's right in front of you and he has what appears to be a gentle, caring expression on his face. He speaks in a whisper when he talks next, his head lowered so he's speaking down slightly towards you, right at eye level. "Hey... can ask you somethin’?" he asks softly, the playfulness completely faded.

You’re taken aback as he approaches and force yourself to focus on what he’s saying. You blink a few times, his dark eyes making you dizzy. “Y-Yeah, what’s uh, what’s up… buddy?” You internally slap yourself for saying that. It sounds so inorganic, just further revealing your nervousness. But he still smiles a little, understanding. You clear your throat, trying very hard to seem nonchalant and failing miserably.

Ezra's face turns soft as you refer to him as your ‘buddy,’ and his whole demeanor becomes more gentle the closer he is to you. He reaches out and brushes your hair away from your face. His eyes lock with yours as he looks down at you. "I really like you, and I want you to be honest with me, yeah?" he says with a soft smile, his voice quiet and gentle. You can see the serious, honest emotion in his eyes and he looks so... peaceful? It's hard to explain. The playful nature is gone from his voice, and you can tell what he's about to say is really important to him.

“I-I like you too, Ezra.” You say, your eyes briefly glancing at the movement of his fingers as he brushes your hair back before meeting his eyes again. You offer him a small smile, still visibly nervous. “Why?”

The sigh he releases sounds troubled and his brows furrow. Your own brow furrows too. “Ezra, tell me.” You add when he hesitates to say what’s on his mind.

“Last night was… fuckin’ incredible.” He breathes suddenly and your heart stutters at the intensity in his eyes. “I just want to make sure I didn’t bring up any bad memories for you. I want to make sure you don’t regret it.”

“Ezra, we-”

“I know what we agreed.” He says firmly, cutting off your attempt to deflect. “But, please… I need to know how you feel about it.” His voice is so desperate. You feel a lump in your throat as you feel frozen in place by his gaze. There’s an electric moment, tense and charged as you think.

“It was amazing.” You finally say, your voice barely above a whisper.

Ezra’s smile is like the suns breaking through dark storm clouds. His shoulders almost sag with relief and he holds your gaze for a moment before pulling you into his arms and hugging you. 

It's the most gentle embrace, and you can feel his momentary hesitation, but it's the first time he's actually hugged you. He lets out a content sigh as he holds you tight for a moment before he looks back at you with the same soft, almost... dreamy expression from before. His hands come up to the side of your face before his thumb brushes against your cheek. "You can tell me anythin’, no matter how big or small, and I will be there for you. You got me, rook?"

You’re taken aback by the sudden hug, realizing it is indeed the first time you’ve ever hugged each other. If you’re honest, you were expecting a completely different reaction but you’re not mad about it at all. You hug him back slowly, your arms wrapping around him as you lay your head against his shoulder for a short moment, breathing in the scent of his cigarettes. His sigh makes you melt a little and when he brushes his thumb along your cheekbone you almost want to lean into his touch as soft thrills run down your spine.

You nod, suddenly feeling overwhelmed at the shift at the moment. There’s a vulnerability, an intimacy here you weren’t expecting.

“I got you.” You respond, growing a little misty-eyed. “And I hope you know I feel the same way. You can count on me for anything, Ez.” You say softly, sincerely. “I know things between us are… weird right now but I do trust you.”

Ezra's smile grows as you speak, and he puts his forehead against yours for a moment as his other hand rests against your lower back. You never expected this moment to come, but this feeling - this... connection - you two have formed is something special. He can tell you mean what you say... he can see it in your eyes and feel it when he embraces you once again. 

There’s something else in his eyes too, something that wasn’t there moments ago. Something you only saw a glimpse of last night. But then it’s gone as he smiles and lets you go, giving you your space again.

"Well then, partner," he says softly once again, the playfulness returning to his voice, "I guess we're friends now. Official, official friends. How's that sound?"

“Official, official friends.” You say softly, nodding and laughing gently at his cute terminology. But then your mind once again fills with the image of his obsidian eyes as he made you come on his fingers and your chest feels hollow.

It seems he’s about to say something else when suddenly you both notice a commotion outside; there’s the sudden sound of gunfire outside and screaming from your fellow prospectors.

Your eyes flash to Ezra with concern as you both drop immediately to crouched positions, the sounds of combat now in your ears as your adrenaline spikes.

******

Finally after 5 months, here is Chapter 8! Yes it's a cliffhanger BUT I WILL BE UPDATING CHAPTER 9 NEXT WEEK!! Happy holidays AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! &lt;3

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Read Chapter 9: The Great War!

[totesnothere04]

The Bigger They Are

Colonel Quaritch x Fem!Reader

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the fanart, screenshots, or gifs used with my stories.

Warnings: Fluff, angst, mentions of violence, it has a happy ending because I said so.

The Harder They Fall Pt.2 to this one.

He ran his fingers over your sides and relished in the giggles that escaped you as you laid in his arms. Being the cause of your happiness is his favorite thing in the universe. Despite how he plays himself off to be he's a simple, southern man at heart.

"Miles." You said as you turned over to talk to him.

"Yes, baby?" He asks.

"I was thinking. If we are able to go back to Earth before I hit 40, we could start a family... Maybe?" You suggested shyly and he smiled at the thought of you having his children, but his mood quickly sours. The thought of your age difference hitting him.

"You sure you want to be tied down to someone like me?" He asks warily.

"If you're talking about your age again Miles, I swear I'll hit you. You should know by now that your age doesn't matter to me at all." You say as you settle your cheek on his bare chest.

"Then I think I'm happy to start a family with you back home. Take ya back to my hometown, buy a nice house, and have at least three kids. Maybe even adopt a dog." He says as he nuzzles into your hair. You hum but suddenly sit up and look down at him. You didn't care about your bare chest on display for him or your bedhead.

"Miles." You said with a serious tone and he becomes concerned. "You need to wake up." He looks at you confused.

"But I am awake baby." He says as he runs his hands over your thigh.

"Wake up." You say with a different voice and he becomes even more confused. "Colonel, can you hear me?" Your voice was now male and his eyebrows furrowed not understanding what was happening. You sat up on your knees and grabbed his shoulders. "Colonel, you with us?" Now he knew whose voice that was. That was Lyle, but you were talking. Suddenly you threw the blanket over his eyes, but when he opened them again it was a bright white room. A Na'vi male stood over him and he reacted by punching his face. It took three of them to hold him down, and the first one he punched showed him they didn't mean him any harm.

"Colonel, it's me. Corporal Wainfleet." Lyle says and Miles stops thrashing.

"Lyle?" He asks and he nods.

"And Z-Dog, Mansk, and Lopez." Lyle said as he motioned to all of the others. Miles slowly started to remember everything. Jake Sully, you siding with Sully to protect the Natives, and him shooting at your group as you escaped Hells Gate. He never knew if he got any of you, but now he started to feel guilty not knowing if he had harmed you or not. Thinking about your obvious early pregnancy symptoms, and him not blinking an eye when severing his tie to you. He wanted you back in his arms with your child in the safety he once provided, but he had to wake up. He put his hands up to show that he wasn't a threat and they released him. He looked at his reflection and couldn't help but think that even if you were still alive, you wouldn't be interested in him anymore.

-16 Years Earlier-

You grunted as you landed on the floor of the Samson that you had just thrown yourself into. Jake, Norm, and Trudy were laughing from the adrenaline high, but you and Grace were a little shell-shocked. Grace being in her mid 40's she didn't seem to think that was fun. You being in your early 30's you didn't think it was either. But as you sat up a stinging sensation ran through your shoulder. You hissed in pain but covered it by clearing your throat. You looked back at Grace since she had been staring at you, but she was in clear pain. You looked down and your face fell.

"Grace is hit." You announce to the inhabitants of the Samson, and everyone seemed to fall silent. Norm jumps into action by grabbing the trauma kit, and Jake looked at you. You raised your hands to show you didn't have any injuries, but his eyes widened in concern. "Jake what is it?"

"(Y/n)'s hit too." Jake says and you look down confused.

"Well I'll be damned." You say as you find the bullet hole on the left side of your chest.

"Norm. I need you to check (Y/n)'s back for me. Right now." Jake said in a panicked tone. He knew that the placement of your wound could be a death sentence if it had an exit wound. Grace could be dying a slow painful death for days, but you... They might lose you soon if you had an exit wound. Norm peeled off your jacket and looked down the back of the neck hole of your shirt. He leaned back on the balls of his feet.

"Jake... There's an exit hole." Norm told his friend, whose heart dropped into the pit of his stomach.

"No." Jake said in a whisper. When the Samson landed at site 36, Norm carried Grace inside and Jake made way to sit next to you. "I can't lie and say you'll be okay. (Y/n), your wound... It's-" He cut himself off as he applied pressure to both sides of your shoulder.

"It'll be okay Jake." You breathe as you look into his eyes. "You've got a bright future. Don't-" Your struggle with your words started to get worse, but you had to power through. "Don't let anyone stand in your way." You struggled significantly with the last part but finally got it past your drying lips.

"Yes, ma'am." He says struggling to keep his emotions at bay.

"Stop trying to act so strong all the time. Show some emotion... Jarhead." You finished off your sentence with a lighthearted joke and he chuckled airily. Your breathing slowed to a stop and Jake shook you.

"(Y/n)?" He said your name trying to get your attention, but your eyes had gone vacant. Looking at the opposite wall of the ship. Norm finally returned after he got Grace situated and he was linked to his avatar. He took one look at the state his two friends were in and his ears pinned back.

"(Y/n)." Norm called out but received no reaction. He reached out and shook you as Jake had previously, but still no response. He let go of you and helped move Jake and his wheelchair into the mobile link unit. "What, uh, what do you want me to do with her?" He asks but Jake seemed nearly catatonic tending to Grace. Norm sighed and left the building to help Trudy prepare for the move. When he got back to the beloved ship Trudy was staring at your still body.

"The same monster she wanted to start a family with killed her." Trudy stated with venom in her voice. "She thought of you two like little brothers you know?" She asked Norm as she finally tore her gaze away to look at him.

"I know. It still blows my mind that she was with someone like Quaritch." Norms says.

"She only saw the best in everyone. It was her best and worst quality." Trudy says as she straps your body down and turns back to her lover. "Let's get to work."

Your eyes shot open but you were floating. Floating in a vast void staring into nothing as you tried to collect your thoughts. Where were you? What happened?

"You are within my hold, child." A voice that could be described as feminine, but masculine at the same time.

"Who are you?" You asked.

"I am the Great Mother, Eywa." She says and colors started to slowly flow into your vision. "You died, but your destiny is not to end here." She tells you as the shape of a Na'vi came into view. Her skin was composed of all colors, but none at the same time, and her features continually shifted. Giving her a non-existent description, and never-ending existence.

"What do you mean?" You ask her and she reaches a hand out to lay on your abdomen.

"You carry life within you, but your human form has had its energy stolen too soon. Mo'at is currently preparing your body for me to transfer your energy to it." She says and you freeze.

"I'm... I'm pregnant?" You ask her.

"Yes, but fear not. Your child will follow you to your new body, but I must warn you. You and your child are to calm a beast that will threaten my other chosen child. Now. Wake, my child." She finishes off what she was saying by tapping your forehead. Suddenly you're free-falling, but instead of landing with an audible thud, you sit up inhaling deeply. Your queue is attached to the Tree of Souls and Mo'at is standing infront of you.

"The Great Mother has allowed the return of this gentle soul to her body!" Mo'at announces as she turns to the Omatikaya that are left. Many of the younger warriors get up cheering. Tsu'tey and Neytiri sit on their knees infront of you, and you bring your hand to your forehead.

"Oel ngati kameie, Olo'eyktan." You say and repeat the action for Neytiri and Mo'at. They return the gesture and the crowd disperses for the evening activities, leaving you with the three of them.

"Neytiri and Mo'at were tending to you and Grace when your body started to thrash. What happened?" Tsu'tey asked with authority, but you could hear the concern laced deep within.

"I died." You tell them and Neytiri falls to sitting down completely. "Grace was injured, Norm is okay and so are Jake and Trudy." You tell them and Neytiri visibly relaxes.

"You passed through her eye after your death, and she allowed you to inhabit your healthy body." Mo'at says slightly astonished.

"I saw her. Everything that she is and she... Tsahík, she told me that my human body was pregnant, and she moved my baby to this body." You told her. She seemed pained by your words and you deflated.

"From what JakeSulí told me, you were mated with the sky demon." She says and you looked away from her, feeling like you failed the people. "I reserve no hatred or dislike of you or your child. You hold a rare ability to See people for who they truly are deep within." She says and you look up at her with tears brimming. "But my judgment is not what you are afraid of." She states and looks at her daughter and the Olo'eyktan. You hadn't known them for very long, having only been on Pandora for two years, but getting to know them recently was a breath of fresh air. You finally pull the strength to look at the two people in question. Neither of them was angry. Tsu'tey seemed confused and Neytiri seemed to feel conflicted. She wanted to be angry. To hate you and your child, but you were a good friend and had shown true love and compassion for her and her people. Finally, her expression fell on understanding.

"I understand how it is to See someone when they are not like you." Neytiri says and you wipe your eyes of the tears that had gathered.

"Come. You must dress and eat." Tsu'tey said as he offered you a hand up. You became confused by what he said and looked down at yourself. You blushed when you realized you were completely and entirely bare. You covered your chest and accepted his help to stand.

"We will help you find your way with your child." Mo'at says and allows her daughter and Olo'eyktan to assist you.

The next day you were entertaining the younger children of the clan, while the older children and adults prayed for guidance. A large shadow passes overhead and your eyes fly to the sky to see Toruk. You become panicked but cover it up and turn back to the children.

"Come. We must return to the safety of the clan." You say as you lead the children into the safety of the crowd and allow them to split off and find their parents. The singing of the people has become silent and everyone is staring at someone.

"We need your help. We lost one of our own already, but Grace is still with us. Please." You hear Jake plead with Tsu'tey and Mo'at.

"Bring her to me." Mo'at says and Jake leaves. "How bad was she, when you last saw her?" Mo'at asks you.

"She had only just been injured the last time I saw her. She could be in any condition by now." You say and Mo'at nods.

"We must prepare for their return. Come." Mo'at says to you and you follow behind her. You stop next to Grace's avatar and wait for instructions. "She must be stripped of all clothing. The way you were." You blushed but set to work and helped move her body to the same area you were perched when you woke up. By the time Jake returned it was night and he was carrying Grace with Neytiri following behind him. Mo'at motions for you to sit off to the side and you do as she wishes. He doesn't notice you as he sets Grace down, but you assume that's what is needed. No distractions. The clan did everything they could, but in the end, Grace joined Eywa. Jake started to shake his head repeating the word 'no' and 'not another one'. Mo'at nodded for you to finally make your presence known to him. You walked up beside him and ran a hand through his hair to comfort him. You'd do this often as humans and it seemed to work then. He froze and looked up at you.

"Hey Jake. It's gonna be okay." You say and he stands up immediately. He looks to the others around him to make sure you were actually standing there.

"But you died the last time you said that." He said as he poked your arm. He exhaled and pulled you into his chest. "You were gone."

"She isn't done with me yet, tsmukan." You say and he squeezes you tighter. "Careful Jake. You might squeeze the life out of me." You warn and he pulls back and set his forehead against yours.

"Oel ngati kameie, ma tsmuke.(my sister)" Jake says.

"Oel ngati kameie, ma tsmukan.(my brother)" You tell him. "You have work to do." You whisper and he backs away and faces Tsu'tey.

"With your permission, I will speak now, and you would honor me by translating." Jake says and Tsu'tey nods and they face the people together.

-In the Present-

The weight of your son laying down on you woke you up.

"Spider (L/n) Miles'itan. Where have you been?" You asked him and he chuckled nervously.

"I was uh out with Lo'ak." He says and you scoffed.

"Lo'ak gets you into more trouble than you should be getting into. But you are a teenage boy so I'll start taking it easy on you. However, you are an adult in the eyes on the people. I expect to see slightly better behavior, ma itan." You say as you stroke your sons braids.

"I'll try my best mama, but we just want to have fun." He whines and you chuckle.

"I know. It's why I will be easy on you, but I need to see some restraint on your part. I don't want to lose you." You whisper gently as you cradle him in your arms.

"I know it's been rough for you Mom, but I'm not Dad. I'm not going to stick to some stupid ideology and die fighting for it." He sits up and looks down at you. "I promise to protect you the way Dad should have." He says and you sit up to hug him.

"Ma Spider, I am your mother. It is me who is to protect you." You say but he takes on a defiant look.

"It's like Jake says. I'm the man of the house, so it's my job to protect and provide." Spider says and you chuckle.

"Well, Jake is a skxawng and stuck in a time long past." You laugh and so does Spider. "Now, let's get some sleep." You both lay down and you take in Spider's features. He had some resemblance to his father, but the fact that he was Na'vi made all the difference. No human would know if they saw him, and neither would any RDA avatar.

[confessionsofa-roleplayer]

I'm sure a lot of people are going to gasp in outrage at this one, but after following the pattern for long enough it deserves to be said: 9 times out of 10, fandom-popular mainstream artists are GOD AWFUL roleplay partners, and it's because they refuse to adapt their approach to this hobby in any way whatsoever. A lot will parrot the old line of 'only create for yourself!!' because that's what they've been living by for the last 20 years, but that does NOT work in a fundamentally collaborative hobby where the recipients are a PART of the experience. Roleplay isn't just a creative hobby, and it's not a solo act. It is, first and foremost, a GAME you are PLAYING with OTHER PEOPLE. Your approach and expectations should reflect that. If they don't, the other party getting fed up with your selfishness isn't the problem. Your refusal to adapt accordingly is.

Being expected to care about your partners should not translate to 'how DARE you expect me to compromise my grand vision???' when your 'grand vision' clearly isn't as grand as you think it is. Cool ideas, cool plot, cool muses, good writing… Wrong medium. This applies to ANY kind of interactive artform; if your art is something that requires outside interaction to function, it CANNOT be an afterthought that gets tacked on at the end. Everyone will know it, and nobody will like the result. If you feel like you're playing tug-o-war with your partners over the cool plot you put together, maybe you should consider WHY that is happening instead of taking your control issues out on other people. The answer is generally that you didn't bother to create it with interactivity in mind, and now nobody knows what's expected of them because there WASN'T anything expected to begin with.

Your partners are not an 'audience' or 'consumers' or 'fans.' They are participants in the process, and should be treated as such. They don't exist to clap for you, they're here to contribute and build onto it.

This gets WORSE when so many insist on taking 'artistic liberties' with the rules of the hobby itself and openly cheat, godmodding and metagaming and the like in order to brute force the result they want, despite claiming to be against all of these things. THIS IS NOT AND NEVER WILL BE OKAY. And if you don't understand why, let me ask you this: if you were on the receiving end, would you be okay with THAT? If the answer is no, don't fucking do it. THIS is the stuff that I've seen kill community after community. Double-standards ruin the game for everyone involved, and it WILL wear people down over time.

So, now that I've focused on what you should NOT do, I'm going to give you a bit of advice: this does not mean you should create things you don't enjoy making, but that you need to look at it from multiple perspectives at once. Create a work that you enjoy making, definitely, but also ensure it's an experience you'd enjoy PLAYING. If you wouldn't have fun as a member of the plot you're running, that should clue you in pretty quick that something's wrong. You don't need to cater to everyone. That's absolutely impossible. But you should at least be catering to SOMEONE. If your target audience is (N/A) then yeah, that's a problem you should probably work on.

This phenomenon is the most glaringly obvious with videogames as an artform; an ambitious creator designs this whole big game with beautiful art and a story they enjoy writing, but the gameplay itself is a boring, frustrating, and/or glitchy slog that was never designed to be played, and thus completely overshadows the experience they thought they were creating. Nobody plays it all the way through, their story is left untold, and the creator just screams and bawls about how nobody appreciates their 'art.' No, people appreciated your art. That was what got you in the door. What they don't appreciate is that nothing else about the experience was worth their time-- because apparently it wasn't worth yours, either.

Roleplay has far more in common with a videogame than a fanfiction, despite what most of the RPC today would like to claim. Neither one can tell its story if the audience refuses to engage with it. You need partners no matter what, so do your best to ensure they enjoy being there. Otherwise they won't stick around long… And you'll have no one to blame for that but yourself.