#if they wanted me to bother trying to win contests at work

[administer-distractions]

.

[cinnbar-bun]

Popularity- Cross Guild's Day Off 2 (Cross Guild x Reader)

Summary: In which you work with the three Cross Guild officers and Buggy attempts to prove his popularity through a poll. Of course, it's never as simple as it really should be in Cross Guild.

Rating: SFW/Crack

Word Count: ~3k

Notes: No relationships are defined, so feel free to headcanon whatever you want. I know it says x Reader up there and I wrote it in mind that it's a weird ass polycule but I made sure to leave it ambiguous for your reading pleasure. Made in mind with part 1, but can be read as standalone. Features cameos from Alvida, Galdino, and Daz Bones.

A/n: I love these three goofballs so like feel free to request stuff with them or what scenarios you'd like to see them in please???

Read Part 1 here! Read this chapter on my AO3 here!

“It’s really not fair! It’s not fair at all!” Buggy screamed. Mihawk, Crocodile, and you sighed at whatever it was that seemed to be, well, bugging Buggy. 

“Will you stop your complaining? Some of us are actually trying to do work here,” Crocodile growled while his fingers continued clicking away on the calculator. “(Y/n), go and hand me the reports for-,” 

“Right here, Sir,” you said as you handed him the stack of papers he wanted. Crocodile smirked proudly while his eyes narrowed at Buggy. 

“See, why can’t you be like (Y/n)? They know how to get work done.” 

“Wha-! I get work done! Plenty of work!” 

“Juggling isn’t work.” 

“Is too!” Buggy stomped his foot. 

“Hardly,” Mihawk chimes in. 

“Grrr… you two are just jealous of me! Jealous of how I’m the Star Clown and you two will just be boring, old men!” 

Mihawk and Crocodile glanced at each other knowingly and rolled their eyes. 

“You’re still bothered by the fact you were not important enough to have any good cards in the deck, aren't you?” Mihawk states bluntly, not bothering to be gentle with Buggy’s fragile ego. 

“SHUT UP!!! SHUT UP!!!!” Buggy shouted, gaining the attention from his subordinates outside the office. 

“Aw… someone’s upset,” Crocodile teased. You huffed at the two stoic ex-warlords and tried to soothe Buggy. 

“Buggy, it’s alright. They’re just silly cards. Look around you, you have so many employees happy to work for you because they really admire you as captain,” you say genuinely while patting his head. Buggy sniffles and nods. 

“You’re right, (Y/n), you’re right,” Buggy agrees. He wipes his eyes and nose with his hand before he bounces back to life, clenching his fists. “That’s very true! All these people love me and would die for me! So those card makers don’t know anything! I’m the most popular one here!” 

“Wait, what…” you wince, while Crocodile and Mihawk groan. 

“Thanks, (Y/n), now he’s gonna do something stupid again,” Crocodile sighed. 

“Buggy, all I’m saying is-” you try to fix your error, but Buggy shakes his head. 

“Nope! You just gave me an amazing idea!” 

“Here we go again,” Mihawk mumbles. 

“W-what’s the idea?” You ask Buggy. 

“Obviously, to really settle the matter, we need to hold a popularity contest!” Buggy proclaims. 

“We really don’t have to. No one cares about this except you,” Crocodile says blandly while he opens the folder you gave him. 

“Haha! You’re just saying that because you know deep down that I will win when it comes to Cross Guild!” Buggy eggs Crocodile on. “They love me here!” 

“I really don’t care-” 

“So, to finally gather once and for all who the most popular is-” 

“God damn it.” 

“I’m going to poll the others!” Buggy announces, grabbing a random clipboard from your desk. 

“Isn’t that rather biased?” Mihawk asked. 

“Biased? What are you talking about?” Buggy raises his brow. “You think Imma lie about this?” 

“Yes,” all of you respond. Buggy lets out an offended gasp and frowns. 

“Well then, what do you suggest, smart guy?” Buggy yells at Mihawk. 

“Having only you go around and then return with results will obviously not be the most accurate. We need to send a third party that won’t lie,” Mihawk explains. 

The three men turn to look at you. 

“Why do I have to do it?” You fold your arms. “I have work to do!” 

“I’ll pay you extra for this week in order to have Buggy shut up,” Crocodile states. 

“Do you think I can be swayed so easily with money?” 

“Yes,” the three men respond. You swipe the clipboard from Buggy. 

“Damn right I am,” you state as you pick up your favorite pen from your desk. 

“Now then, since you’re going to be polling, I expect truthful and honest answers,” Mihawk demands. “No one can lie or cheat this.” 

“Before we do this, none of you are allowed to know who voted for who,” you add. “I’m not having you fire or hunt down some poor employee because they voted for Mihawk or something.” “Well that won’t happen,” Buggy comments. “No one is gonna vote for Mihawk to begin with.” 

Now it’s Mihawk’s turn to be offended. “What do you mean by that, Buggy? Do I need to silence you for good?” 

“Eek! All I’m saying is, you hardly ever step out of the office or interact with anyone!” 

Mihawk stays silent then mumbles, “I interact with others…” 

“Oh really? Name one person you’ve interacted with,” Crocodile demands. 

“You can’t do that, either,” Mihawk counters. 

“That’s just because I don’t give a shit about these people’s names. I still talk to them, though,” Crocodile corrects. 

“Fine, (Y/n)!” Mihawk huffs. 

“They don’t count.” 

“Why don’t they?” Mihawk crosses his arms. 

“Because we all see them every day in this office,” Crocodile chides Mihawk. “Name someone.” 

“Okay, I guess I cannot name anyone,” Mihawk relents. “Not that it matters in the slightest, by the way. This is a silly and pointless little game.” 

“See? No one is gonna vote for you!” Buggy laughs. 

“I guess I should kill you now, Buggy,” Mihawk says as he draws Yoru. 

“Gaaaahhh! No! Please don’t!” Buggy cries, latching onto you for safety. 

“Buggy, please let go,” you sigh. The clown does so shakily and you begin to write on the paper in your clipboard. “Okay… Buggy, Crocodile, Mihawk. There we go. I’ll go around and ask, then. See you guys later.” 

“Before you go,” Crocodile begins. You turn to hear him out while he has a big shit-eating grin on his face. “If you’re going to talk to Mr. 3… knock before you enter.” 

Your eyes practically bulge out of their sockets from what this could mean as you nod and exit the office. 

“Why the hell did you say that?” Buggy questions. Crocodile chuckles, taking a puff from his cigar as he shakes his head. 

“Oh, they’ll see soon enough.” 

-

“Favorite head of Cross Guild?” An employee scratches his head. His coworker beside him does the same. 

“Wait, uh, they’re not gonna kill us for answering this, are they?” The other one asks. 

“Crap, you’re right. Is this some way to weed us out or something?” 

You shake your head. “No, no, not at all! This is just a… uh… thing they’re testing for some new merchandise,” you lie. 

“Ah,” the two men nod along. “That makes so much sense.” 

“Buggy,” the first man states. 

“Mmm… yeah, Buggy,” the second adds. “He never harps on us like Sir Crocodile.” 

You thank them for the response and tally it to the votes. 

“I guess Buggy was right,” you mumble to yourself, seeing as he currently had seven votes out of the seven people you asked. “Maybe we could send these results in to those cardmakers and get a cut of the merchandising.” 

Just as you’re about to walk away, Alvida strolls into the room. 

“Oh, Alvida! Good morning,” you smile at her. “Can I have a moment of your time?” “(Y/n), dear,” Alvida runs a hand through her hair. “What do you need from the most beautiful woman of the sea?” 

“Well, the higher-ups wanted to run a poll,” you show her the paper. “Please vote for your favorite head of Cross Guild.” 

She studies the paper for a moment and purses her lips. “Hmm… you know what, I vote for you.” 

“What?” 

“What? Just put a tally for you,” Alvida suggests nonchalantly. 

“But, um, I’m not a head of Cross Guild,” you argue. 

“So? You practically are their fourth one. I’m sure they won’t mind. And if they do, they can take it up with me,” Alvida brushes your concerns aside and takes the pen from you. She writes your name down and adds a tally. 

“Can I ask why you want to add me?” 

“Simple, dear.” Alvida chuckles. “You’re not like those brutes upstairs. You get worked to the bone by them yet still retain your own sense of self. Do you know what that is?” 

“No, I don’t think I know what that is-” 

“Passion!” Alvida throws her arms in the air. “You are passionate, clean, stylish, and most of all, you are quiet! If anyone is worthy of my vote and attention- it is you!” 

“Wow, thank you,” you comment, impressed that Alvida actually gave you a nice compliment. 

“Yes, yes, well, what do you think about becoming my assistant instead of working for them?” Alvida winks. 

“Ah sorry, I’m pretty happy where I am right now,” you quickly shut down. Alvida clicks her tongue. 

“Hm… perhaps you’d prefer to be my partner instead? You would be a good match by my side.” 

“Would you look at the time!” You awkwardly laugh. “Bye, Alvida!” 

“Bye, darling. Don’t worry though, we’ll pick this conversation up another time~,” she waves. You sigh in relief as you walk away that she didn’t mace you immediately. Still, there’s work to be done. 

You walk into the staff lounge and greet the other members there, who cheerfully greet you back. 

“Sorry to bother you guys, but if you could just fill out this poll, that would be great. And don’t worry, no one will know of the results, so please be as honest as you can!” 

The clipboard gets passed along by the staff members, who quickly add a tally mark to the poll. In less than a minute, all twenty people in the lounge have responded. 

“Wow, thank you guys. You guys are quick,” you joke, taking back the clipboard. 

“The choice was obvious,” one of the employees answers, and the others nod. You wonder who they voted for when you look at the paper, only to see your name has now over twenty marks attached to it. Your eyes widen and you politely thank the others as you step out of the room. 

It was one thing when Alvida did as she pleased, but now the others were voting for you in droves. You took a deep breath. Crocodile, Mihawk, and Buggy surely wouldn’t kill you for this, would they? After all, Alvida herself said they could bring it up with her. Yeah, that was okay. This was just a silly joke anyways. 

You continue to collect polls, feeling touched yet also nervous when you found that every employee had checked you off as their favorite. It got so bad that you had to use a second page to collect all the tallies that the employees were adding to your name. 

As the number of employees left to ask dwindled, you remembered to get Daz Bones and Galdino’s polls. You figured the choice would be clear for them- Crocodile. After all, they were very loyal to him and even continued their work relationship into Cross Guild. It would also allow for Crocodile to at least get some vote from his current tally at zero. 

You had scoured for them all around the base, but didn’t find any sign of their presence. Just as you were about to give up, you found Daz Bones peacefully sitting, probably waiting for his next assignment. 

“Daz! Can I-” 

“(Y/n), I have no interest,” he cut you off. 

“It’s for Crocodile,” you add, knowing he wouldn’t participate otherwise. Daz nods and then urges you to step closer. You show him the clipboard and he raises a brow. 

“Crocodile really cares about this sort of thing?” 

“It’s mostly because of Buggy,” you explain, and Daz nods, connecting the dots. He quickly tallies a mark to Crocodile’s name. “Thank you, Daz!” 

“You’re welcome,” he gruffly responds. 

“Oh, and do you know where Galdino is?” 

“Why should I know? Perhaps he’s in his room,” Daz shrugs. You should’ve guessed that but wave goodbye and walk to Galdino’s room. You’re about to knock when you remember Crocodile’s ominous warning echoing in your head again. 

“Knock before you enter…” 

You were going to do that anyways, but the weird way Crocodile said it made you grimace. You nervously rapped your knuckles against Galdino’s door. You heard a huff and a lot of grumbling as Galdino swung open the door. 

“What do you w-,” he angrily yells until he gasps when he sees it’s you. “(Y/n)! Ah! Uh! Please excuse me!” 

You briefly notice a large wax statue on the table before Galdino slams the door on your face. You jump when you hear Galdino freaking out and throwing things around his studio. Something metal is grating against the floor as you hear Galdino struggle to move the obviously heavy object. 

“G-Galdino? Is this a bad time?” You call out. 

“No, no, no! It’s fine! Perfectly fine! Hahaha there’s nothing weird going on here!” Galdino answers from inside his room as something crashes to the floor and Galdino swears. 

It’s silent for a moment until Galdino opens the door, leaning against the frame and trying to give you a charming smile while some wax is now splattered against his pants and shirt. 

“So, (Y/n), what brings you to my studio?” He asks while forcing his voice to sound lower, pushing up his glasses. 

“Ah, the heads wanted to take a little poll. Mind answering?” 

“Anything for- I mean-,” Galdino coughs and lowers his voice again. “Anything for you, (Y/n).” 

He takes the clipboard from you and begins to notice the options, quickly marking a tally next to your name. 

“There you go- wait a minute!” He looks horrified as realization sets in that there’s only one tally next to Crocodile- most likely Daz, he thinks. Crocodile would absolutely know right away that Galdino didn’t choose him, and the thought makes Galdino nearly pass out. “I-I need to change my vote!” 

“Sure,” you give the clipboard back to him and Galdino scribbles over the one he gave you to mark one next to Crocodile. 

“Kh... but we’re supposed to be honest…” Galdino mutters. He glances at you, and seeing you patiently waiting and smiling at him makes his heart tighten. 

Gah! Who am I supposed to choose?! My muse or my boss?!

“Are you alright, Galdino?” You asked, making Galdino struggle to form words. Instead, he scribbled over the mark he put next to Crocodile and re-marked a tally next to your name. 

He hands the clipboard back to you and you smile and wave to him. “Thank you, Galdino!” 

“Y-you’re very welcome!” Galdino shouts, unable to control his voice properly around you. You turn around and head back to the office while Galdino lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. 

He was most likely going to die after this, but seeing your smile was all worth it. He could die happy, even knowing that Crocodile would probably drain him of life later. 

You, however, didn’t notice the longing look Galdino gave you as you open the door to the office. 

“Well, I got all the votes!” 

“Well, who won?” Buggy immediately jumps forward and steals the clipboard from you. He notices that Crocodile and Mihawk hardly have any, with only Crocodile have a mark. “See I wo…” 

His face darkened as he noticed he had only seven votes. 

“What’s the matter, Buggy?” Crocodile smirked. “Can’t handle the fact you lost?” 

“I… wha…” Buggy grips the clipboard roughly, nearly snapping it in half. “How the hell did (Y/n) get all the votes!?” 

Crocodile and Mihawk are caught off guard. 

“Wait, what? (Y/n) won?” Crocodile repeated. 

“I thought I told you to be fair and not cheat!” Mihawk accused you, his golden hawk eyes glaring into yours. 

“I-it wasn’t my fault! Alvida was the one who put my name on the list!” You try to defend yourself. 

“Give me that-” Crocodile snaps as he swipes the poll from Buggy’s hand. Crocodile grunts as he notices page after page marked with tallies from the employees choosing you. He sees Mihawk has none, but that his name has one mark (Daz, of course), and one crossed off (that bastard, Galdino-). Given Crocodile’s attentiveness, he does recognize that yours and Alvida’s handwriting is different, so your story is credible. He huffs and tosses the clipboard, making Mihawk lean over curiously. 

“Not even one vote…” he murmurs. 

Buggy, meanwhile, is distraught, crying on the floor and banging it repeatedly. 

“It’s not fair! Not fair at all! I hate this! I’m the star!” Buggy wails out loud. 

At first, Crocodile did this as a joke to satiate Buggy, but even his own ego is hurt by this new poll. 

“I take it back, you’re getting docked again,” Crocodile threatens, pointing his cigar at you. 

“What?! But I spent all day getting this with the promise of money!” 

“I changed my mind! I wanted a good poll, not whatever the hell this was!” Crocodile yells back. 

“Recount! Recount this!” Buggy shouts. 

“I refuse to lose this competition. Give me an hour, I will win this,” Mihawk says, pushing himself off his couch as he walks out the door to do who knows what. 

The ensuing commotion causes some of the Cross Guild members to peek through the door and watch Buggy screaming in agony at losing while you’re sobbing at the fact you’re losing money due to this dumb poll. 

Alvida rolls her eyes and crosses her arms. 

“Would you guys cut this noise out? It’s driving me mad!” 

“Alvida! This is all your fault!” Buggy yells at Alvida in tears. “I was supposed to win, not (Y/n)!” 

Alvida frowns at Buggy and twirls her mace in her hands. “Are you questioning my decisions?” 

Buggy gulps as he sees the mace casting a shadow over him. 

“N-no, not at all!” He quickly corrects himself, praying Alvida will not maim him to death. 

“That’s what I thought.” 

[hoesplay]

First of all, your drawings are so cuute☆ second of all, i know that you have like two sae requests, but if it isn't a bother or anything could i request another sae one wherein his s/o flinches when he raises his hand (to fix his hair or sum) during an argument of theirs? If you don't want to do this request then it's alright with me! Thank you and may you have a pleasant day ahead ♡♡♡

𝔽𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕕𝕦𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟 𝕒𝕣𝕘𝕦𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕊𝕒𝕖 𝕀𝕥𝕠𝕤𝕙𝕚

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 (𝘐'𝘮 𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨) 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵𝘺 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵

𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁: 𝟭𝟬𝟲𝟵 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: 𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗳𝗳 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝘄: 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀, 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘅𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆, 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗼𝗰, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝘅 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗜 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 (���𝗺𝘂 𝗶𝗳 𝗜 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴)

All relationships have ups and downs. It’s nothing unusual for a couple to find discord occasionally. Of course, you had your fair share of arguments with Sae, but sooner or later you were bound to have one of those big fights. You didn’t give it much thought before, you always believed you were blessed when your friends ran up to you teary-eyed in need of comfort after having a scandal with their significant other. Sometimes you wondered if you would be in that position, too. You were curious how your boyfriend would settle things in such a situation, but at the same time, you weren’t. You know best how insensitive he can be, even though it holds no ill intention towards you.

Lately, your job became stressful, and after long days at work, you started progressively complaining more, picking up arguments over small stuff and the whole package. “If you don’t like it, then just quit. I earn enough for both of us anyway.”, he snapped back at you once. You were aching to rebut by mocking his job, but you couldn’t complain. You had a lavish life, despite being in your early 20s, that most of the people would die for. You kept your job for your own sense of security, you would feel bad if you had to rely on Sae for all financial reason.

Your shitty week became a shitty month and it started to take a toll on your house chores and your sexual life. Your stress was contagious and it started to irritate your significant other as well. At first, he started shushing you so you can avoid conflict, then he started to complain himself, and there you were, having your worst conflict yet. You don’t remember how it started, but it grew into a yelling contest. Your throat was burning, you felt tired and very anxious. Your heart has beating faster and faster in your chest, but you couldn’t stop arguing. It pained you a lot and his bluntness was adding fuel to the fire. As your lungs fought for some air, he stood silent, clearly pissed off. The quite was unnerving and you became aware of how hard you were panting, as if you just ran an entire marathon. You were avoiding eye contact, trying to focus on your surroundings, like trying to escape, but you had nowhere to run.

In a spare second of peace, you realized you should give it a rest, call it a night, and talk with a clear mind tomorrow. Sae seemed to take the hint, seeing how exhausted you were, eyes glossy and shoulders slightly shaking. He wasn’t pleased that he didn’t win the argument, but for you he was willing to compromise. You took a step towards him in your wish to initiate a hug, but at the same time, your boyfriend brought his hand up to fix his hair backwards with a loud “tsk”. The sudden raise of his hand caught you off guard as you flinched, a small yelp escaping your throat. At this gesture, Sae was confused, as he tried to look at your face hidden behind your hands. Your form was shivering, back slumped and hair covering your features. He tried to approach you, but you were quick to take steps backwards. “What the fuck, (Y/N).”, he felt more betrayed than ever. You didn’t like his choice of words, so you went straight to your bedroom, without looking back.

You laid in bed, finally letting all the tears fall free along with hiccups and heavy breaths. Your mind was playing tricks on you, repeating the incident over and over. You know he wouldn’t hurt you, your body reacted before you could process. You are aware that you should apologize for reacting this way, but a part of you is hoping he would come after a few minutes to comfort you. Your mind blanked and soon you passed out. When you woke up, your throat was sore, the pillow below you was wet and your whole body was aching. In your daze, you moved your hand to feel for Sae, but he wasn’t in his usual spot. You got up to check the time; it was 1 a.m. Then it hit you. He won’t come to console you. The sting in your heart brought fresh tears in your eyes and discomfort in your veins. You could almost hear how it shattered in half.

You jumped out of the bed and made your way to the living room in search of him. Of course, he was sleeping on the couch, with his head on the decorative pillow and covered by the light blanket you two use during movie nights. Taking a closer look, you noticed his eyebags and how disheveled his hair appeared to be. His lips were chapped and bitten raw and he was hugging himself, probably in an attempt to give himself more warmth. At this sight, you fell on your knees, hand clutching at his back, mumbling apologies over and over. “That was the biggest insult you could have told me as your boyfriend.”, he started, voice ragged and slightly shaky. He was still facing the couch as he continued. “I know I’m not the nicest and I’m far from being the kindest, but I was never aggressive towards you.”

Oh, how you knew. Coherent sentences left you, all that remained were apologies and your hard attempts to breathe through the sobs. He turned around facing you, arm extended and making room for you to fit on the couch. You took the invitation without hesitation, burying your face in his chest and letting it all out. He caged you in his arms, swinging his leg on top of yours. You moved your hands under his shirt, wrapping them around his slim waist. You giggled softly as his messy hair tickled you. The steady rhythm of his heart soothed yours; here is where you found your anchor, your ground to lean on when you’re tired.

Everything was a mess, but you make a mental note to apologize properly once you cleared your head. He wanted to ask you what triggered that reaction, but, taking a social cue for once, he realized it was not the moment. All that mattered in that second was that, despite everything, you still had each other. You will solve the rest tomorrow. Together.

ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ꜰᴏʀ ʀᴇᴀᴅɪɴɢ! :)

[pandorasprongs]

JAMIE TARTT | and i don't even like you that much. wait, i do. f*ck.

PAIRING: jamie tartt x fem!reader

WORD COUNT: 5.8k

SUMMARY: jamie is actually a board game nerd and starts spending more time with one of the employees of a local shop.

WARNINGS: language

A/N: this idea came to me as someone asked me if i wanted to buy another volume of a board game we had HAHA if you can figure out what game i'm referring to in this story, hmu! alsooo i want to apologize for the length i swear i didn't mean for it to get that long, but still, i hope you all enjoy! title is from the song 'apple cider' by beabadoobee!

It was another slow morning in the store, given that most of your frequent customers were forced to be in school at this time. You ended up continuing one of the readings for your class during your shift. Despite a wave of drowsiness hitting you the moment you opened the book, it was still better having free time to be tired than the afternoon rush when 13-year-old boys came in to get another booster pack of Magic: The Gathering cards.

You were practically setting all these children up for a gambling addiction the way they'd spend 20 pounds trying to get one of those shiny ones in their deck. You never bothered to learn the names really, because that wasn't part of your job description. When it came to those kinds of things, those boys probably knew more than you did.

When it came to board games though, that was your area of expertise. It was partly one of the reasons you applied to work here while you were finishing up your Master's, — and also because of how generous the owner was with your salary, — so you always loved helping people out for their board game nights. You didn't have regulars that would come in often, but here and there, there would be a person you recognize from before asking about another game.

You don't know how much time had passed, but after deciding that your brain could no longer take reading the word cognitive multiple times in a sentence, you end up shutting the book and resting your head on the counter.

Soon after though, you hear the bell at the top of the door ring, causing you to jolt up. You only catch a glimpse of the guy walking towards you before he drops his head, his cap completely blocking his face, and a loose black hoodie covering his frame.

For a second, you get worried that the store was about to get robbed but the man finally stops in front of you and speaks, in a thick Mancunian accent. "Do you have any suggestions for board games? Like for family and stuff,"

You swear you've heard his voice before. Maybe from school? Or a former customer? You decide to shake it off before replying. "Well, this is a board game store, so there's quite a lot to pick from. Do you have any specific theme in mind? How many players?"

"There'll be 3 of us, but I'm not really picky with the game. Not any of those monopoly type shit though, cause I'm sick of never winning."

You chuckle at the revelation and that's what gets the man to look up at you. It definitely wasn't his appearance he was worried about. His chiseled jaw and striking blue eyes almost draw you in, not to mention his hairstyle looks eerily like the one David Beckham had in the 90s, who you had to admit was a crush of yours as a kid. He could even pass as a contestant on one of those dating reality shows.

And then it hits you where you've heard his voice before. This guy was on Lust Conquers All and was immediately voted off. You remember it well because your sister was so pissed at him for joining the show since the football season had just started. Jamie something, but the show never mentioned his last name. You try to hide your realization by turning to the shelf behind you.

"Alright uh, I’d recommend this one." You turn back around and slide it across the counter as Jamie (?) starts looking at the box from all angles.

"Looks cool," is all he says in reply and he looks back at you, presumably for you to explain the game. You tuck a piece of hair behind your ear before going on your usual introduction to the game.

"Basically in the game, there are 4 characters you can choose to be your 'heroes.' Your main objective is to get your opponent's health to 0 using the different cards in your set. All the characters have different decks and skills you can use throughout the game, and some of them even have side kicks." You look back up for a second to see his expression and you can tell that you're still holding his interest.

"So for example in the one I gave you, you can battle Sinbad, Medusa, King Arthur, and Alice, who's fucking amazing, by the way."

"Alice? From fucking Wonderland?" You laugh at his surprise before nodding to affirm it. "She's your favorite then?"

"How'd you know?" You ask sarcastically. "But yeah, she's just really versatile and it's just really fun to shrink and grow every turn just to piss off the other players. I'm practically unbeatable using her." You admit though you're not really sure why.

Most of the time when customers come in here for a game, they don't ask questions and just buy the first one you suggest. That’s probably why you answered Jamie's question so earnestly. Cause he's the first one to ever ask you what you liked about the game.

You quickly run through the rest of the rules and mechanics of the game with Jamie chiming in occasionally. You describe the other editions as well and Jamie is tempted to buy the other one — "How is anyone supposed to beat fucking Dracula?" — before he ultimately decides to take home the one you offered.

"If I end up losing using Alice, you owe me a refund." He states as you ring up the game. You playfully roll your eyes as you scan the barcode on the box.

"Oh yeah, since you're the first customer of the day, you get a 7% discount on your purchase," you quickly inform him when you glance at the post-it note on the register screen reminding you about it in bold letters.

Instead of the usual gratefulness or blip of happiness from hearing that news, Jamie instead asks, "Is that really a thing or are you doing it because you know who I am?"

You look at him to check if he's serious and given his blank look, you assume he is. You don't know how to respond to that, so instead you just slowly shake your head.

"Wait, do you not know who I am?" His question itself comes off as arrogant, but given the genuine surprise in your voice, you're not sure how to feel about the guy after he says it.

You decide to answer him honestly. "I do, but given that you walked in here in clothes that make you look like a stalker who's about to rob the place, I didn't think you'd want me to make a big fuss about it, Jamie."

His shoulders seem to relax at your statement and once he goes quiet, he finally pulls out his wallet. You quickly place the game in a paper bag and hand it over to him.

He whispers a quick thanks and turns to leave, before pausing. He turns back to you, "Look, it's not like I'm dressed this way because I'm embarrassed to be in a store like this—"

"I didn't think you were," you answer blankly with a hint of sarcasm. You decide to mess with the guy a little bit because hey, when's the next time a famous footballer comes into your store again? "Why, is there something I should be embarrassed about?"

Jamie quickly shakes his head. "No, fuck no! I think it's cool, really. You know, being surrounded by all these games and cards and knowing so much about them. Especially someone like you,"

You tilt your head in amusement. "What do you mean someone like me?" Jamie's embarrassment only seems to deepen at that.

"Fuck I didn't mean it like that. Honestly, when I came in here, I was expecting some teenage boy to be at the counter. Wait no— I mean, girls can like all this stuff too! I just didn't expect someone attr—," he stops himself and shakes his head. "Shit, wait,"

You watch Jamie scramble for words and you decide to just put an end to his misery. "Look, look, I was just joking around. I don't give that much of a shit about what you said." The football player visibly relaxes and you hold in a laugh at that reaction. "And you're basically right about the kind of people who work here. Most of my co-workers can't work these hours right now 'cause they're off studying for their A-Levels."

"Yeah, well thank you for this," Jamie lifts the bag slightly and you give him a genuine smile.

"No problem. Hope you enjoy the game! And if you ever feel compelled to dress like a shitty robber again, you can come back and tell me what you think." Your sarcasm no longer throws Jamie off who instead, just playfully rolls his eyes and leaves the store.

You go back to your reading for your behavioral science class, putting your interaction with the football player in the back of your mind.

—

The next time you see Jamie is two weeks later, although this time, he comes in right before closing. Technically, you weren't the only one assigned for this shift, but you decided to let your co-worker go home early since he said he had an English exam the next day and still hadn't studied.

So, you were counting down the minutes to 8 pm when you hear someone come inside. Fucking hell. You force a smile, "Hi, welcome! We'll be closing in a few minutes, but please approach me if you need anything so you can have a speedier process."

"Are you really that desperate to get rid of me?" The person moves away from the shelves and turns out to be Jamie Tartt, you learn his last name is. He's wearing another grey hoodie but seems to have decided to ditch his hat. Good, because you weren't sure how much longer you could stare at the ICON written on it and not judge him. "I wanna know, did you think offering to help the customer would get them out of here quicker?"

"I had to try something," you defend yourself, shrugging. You notice Jamie carrying the bag you used to wrap the board game and slightly frown. "Didn't like the game?"

He follows your eyes and is quick to correct you. "I loved it, actually. First time playing a board game that Simon didn't win during the first round." You aren't sure who Simon is, but you laugh nonetheless. "And you're right, Alice is fucking unbeatable."

"I'm glad you liked it, and Alice," you start, but then glance at the time on your phone. "But, is that the only reason you came here?"

"Well no, I was wondering if you wanted to play. That's why I came so late, in case there would be too many people if I came at the usual time."

"Yeah, there was a fuck ton, actually, as you can tell from the fully stocked store." You say, pretending to look around the room. "But sure, if you want. I don't have anything going on tomorrow anyway," Now you're really glad that you didn't procrastinate that paper due tonight.

Jamie smiles as he starts to unbox the set and you grab one of the chairs behind the counter and push it to the other side for the footballer.

Never did you imagine you would spend a Saturday night with a hot football player playing one of your favorite board games, but here you were. In between one of the rounds, the topic of football is brought up and you admit that you don't know all that much about it despite your family being made up of fanatics.

"Everyone has their team they support. My dad loves Arsenal, my mum loves Chelsea, and my sister bounces between West Ham and Crystal Palace. Though, she fucking hates Rupert Mannion, so maybe this is the end of her West Ham support." You answer as you shuffle Jamie's deck.

"Shit, the season must be fun for you guys," Jamie remarks and you snort, though instantly regretting letting that sound out. The football player looks unfazed, so you decide not to apologize for it and answer his question instead.

"Yeah, I basically end up being their messenger till the finals, which ends up becoming World War 3 if their teams are competing," you hand him his deck back and start the round, but your conversation doesn't end there.

"What team would you support then, if you got into football?" He looks hopefully at you.

"Yours, probably." You confirm as you look through your first hand of cards. "I mean, I'm about to destroy one of their players at this game. It's the least I can do."

"We'll see about that," Jamie replies and you roll your eyes playfully, but you smile.

Working at the store meant you were surrounded by board game fans every day, but not even your regulars would come in here after your shift to play. You couldn't help but feel warm at how Jamie matched your enthusiasm about the game, something, you admit, you didn't expect from the player. You knew nothing would probably come from this harmless happy crush of yours, but if he decided to start coming in often to play, you wouldn't be opposed to it.

Your attention turns back to the game once Jamie picks his next move. He smirks at his decision until his expression suddenly shifts. "Wait, if you're not into football, how'd you know who I was the other day?"

You move your piece before looking directly into Jamie's eyes and respond, "I just really love trashy reality shows." Jamie playfully groans at the reminder and you burst into laughter before you continue the game.

True to form, whichever of the two of you uses Alice is the one to win that round. You finally decide on a tie-breaker with your favorite being banned from usage.

"Christ, if this is how you maneuver in a board game, I wonder how good you are at football." You tease, as you glance at his character being at only 4HP.

"I'm fucking amazing, actually. Ask your family, they'll tell you." Jamie moves a few spaces on the board, hoping to escape your Medusa, but instead, he falls into one of your traps.

You corner him and finally reduce his King Arthur's health. "And there you go, 3-2."

It takes Jamie a second to absorb everything before he slouches. "Fucking hell." You laugh before getting up from your chair and helping him keep all the pieces and cards.

"Better luck next time, Tartt."

Jamie, whose competitive side seems to be shining in this game, doesn't let it end there.

Almost every week, he would come into the store at night asking to play. He was definitely getting better, but after making a deal where the loser has to tell an embarrassing story after the round, you realize you know more about him than he probably does about you.

"God Jamie, how are you alive?" You ask as he shares a story from when he first started the league.

"How was I supposed to know doing multiple headers in one match could lead to a bloody concussion?" He retorts, only making your eyes widen even more.

"I'm pretty sure that's common knowledge to about 80% of the population," you say through your laughter.

It's almost 10 when you finish playing, so you grab your jacket and start heading to the door with Jamie. You lock the store up and notice that Jamie's still hanging around you.

It's dark outside, but it seems like his features were even more enhanced by the moonlight. The light hit his eyes just the right way that it made the blue more evident. You notice just then how his hair is neater today, mainly because of his sports headband. The front strands of his hair had fallen out it though, falling on his face in just the right way that it gave you butterflies. Did all footballers look this attractive?

You realize that you may have been starting a bit too long and as you tuck the keys in your jacket pocket, you decide to ask, "Need anything else?"

Jamie opens his mouth to say something, but instead, he just shakes his head. "Nothing actually, just good night," he waves and starts walking in the opposite direction, but you swear you hear him muttering something under his breath.

—

It had been a week since then and you had to start telling yourself to not be so excited when you hear the bell ring. Every time it did, you'd look expectantly at the door expecting to see Jamie again, asking for another or a new volume or even just game tips. Each time, you'd end up disappointed and would have to fake a smile to the customer approaching you.

This time you hear it ring, and you do your best to not look up. If it was Jamie, you knew that your boss George probably would be sounding an alarm. You only learned the Monday after that he was a major AFC Richmond fan when you mentioned that a football player had visited the store multiple times to play board games.

"Do you think we can get him to sign a picture and put it on the wall? Can you ask?" You quickly have to explain how those interactions were the only times you ever spoke to Jamie and had no actual way of contacting him.

As you close your laptop, — one more paragraph and that essay is done! — you look up to find two guys standing in front of you.

"Hi, do you have any board game recommendations?" the one on the right greeted, his accent quickly revealing him to be Welsh.

You don't have a chance to answer because the left one lightly elbows his friend before whispering (though loud enough for you to hear), "He already told us what to get, bruv."

You may not know who this 'he' is, but the guy pulls out his phone and shows you a picture of a board game, the same one you recommended to Jamie. Wishful thinking gets you to believe that they were friends of his and he liked it so much that he told them about it. And maybe about you, too.

You've never been so happy to be right.

You nod your head and as he kept his phone, you started pulling the same edition from the shelf behind you when you hear a screeching sound that almost made you drop the box.

"Oh my God, Colin Hughes, and Isaac McAdoo!" George exclaims and you wonder where you've heard those names before.

The owner joins you at the counter as you place the board game in front of you. Maybe you weren't pretending to be as peppy as you usually do, because George decides to ask, "How are you so calm? Do you know who these guys are? They're Colin Hughes and Isaac McAdoo!"

"I heard you the first time," you turn to the two guys once again, embarrassed on behalf of your boss.

"They're part of the starting team of AFC Richmond!" And that's when it clicks. On one of your all-nighters, you decided to take a break and search up Jamie Tartt just to see what you could find. You ended up at his club's website and saw the rest of the players as well. You didn't pay them much attention given that you were so focused on player number 9, but you saw enough pictures to recognize them, at least.

"So you guys do know Jamie," you think out loud and the two players turn to each other, before sharing looks of realization.

"Oh, you're the girl!" Colin exclaims and you can't help but feel butterflies in your stomach.

"Yeah, I guess so," you try and act as nonchalantly as possible, so neither of them picks up on anything. You turn back to the game and ask, "Is this the one you wanted?"

"Jamie said there were other versions?" Isaac asks and you nod your head to confirm it, which he smiles at. "We want the Sherlock one."

"Okay," you reach for that one on the shelf as George starts offering them discounts on the game.

When he almost offers to give it to them for free along with another set, you stop him by slamming the box on the counter. Why were you the one trying to keep his business alive? "Here it is, hope you enjoy it!"

You ring up their purchase, still trying to hold your boss back from scaring these footballers away before they can pay. You finally bag the whole thing and hand it to them. "Thank you!" you shout as they exit the store.

"Yeah, see you soon!" George says afterward and you look at him in confusion.

"What the fuck was that, George?" He only sighs, most likely the embarrassment only hitting him at that exact moment.

Once he goes back to doing inventory, you can't help but replay what Colin said. Oh, you're the girl! Why was such a simple phrase like that affecting you so much? For all you know, he might've mentioned you being a sore winner, which wouldn't be the first time you've been called that.

But you still hope he said good things about you and maybe even kept better things he thought to himself.

—

"Okay, time's up. Please pass your papers." You write one last word as you get up to give your exam to the proctor, sighing in relief that the semester is finally over.

You had asked for leave for the past few days and didn't have a shift until tomorrow, so you decide to treat yourself to some coffee and pasta for lunch at the campus cafe.

As you settle down at one of the tables, you get a phone call from George. He was more than happy to let you take the time off, so you wonder what emergency had to happen for him to contact you.

As soon as you pick up, George screams your name into the phone. You pull it away from your ear for a second, and respond, "What? What do you need?"

"Look, I'm sorry to disturb you on your day off, but you said that your test ended at 2:30, so I decided to hold off calling you till then. Anyway, someone came in a few days ago asking if we host board game nights."

"And we do," you answer for him as you chew your sandwich.

"Right, and then he said that he was from AFC Richmond." You flinch after imagining how your boss could've reacted at that revelation. "They wanted to hold it a few days ago," George pauses.

"Why didn't you say yes? You could've been game master."

"Yeah well, I wanted to, but they specifically asked for you to go." You put down your sandwich and straighten up. George continues, "I told them you were on leave, but they said they could wait till you were back at work. I said that your test was this morning and I would ask if you'd be willing to end your leave early."

"Okay, sure." You answer, a little faster than you intended. You couldn't believe that the team — and maybe even Jamie personally, — was willing to postpone their game night just so you would be the one to facilitate it.

The surprise was evident in George's voice. Normally, you would reject his idea the moment he mentioned board game nights, but something about this was different for you. "Oh okay, well, I'll send you the address. I'll be bringing the boards there since you don't have a car and I'll meet you there at 4 pm. It's a restaurant, so maybe you can get something to eat before 'cause shit can get crazy at those things and it's best to load up."

You don't know how a board game night could get crazy, but you decide not to comment on it. He sends you the details through text before you end the call and continues eating your sandwich. The place wasn't too far from campus, so you didn't have to rush to get there. But after 10 minutes, you consumed your sandwich and were out the door with your coffee in hand.

While walking, you decided to familiarize yourself more with the players trying to put names to face before you had to interact with all of them at once. You started to get the hang of it, — even looking at team photos and naming them one by one as a test — as you get to the venue at around half past 3.

You arrive at a restaurant called Ola's, and you remember seeing one of the Richmond players post about it. Your dad wanted to have dinner here once, but they were always fully booked so the four of you gave up trying to get a table there.

Because of that, you expected the place to be swamped with customers, but instead find an almost empty restaurant. You notice one guy standing in the middle of it and approach him.

"Hi," He turns around and you recognize him as Sam Obisanya, meaning he must be the owner. You introduce yourself quickly before asking, "Am I at the right place? I'm here to help host a board game tournament."

Sam's eyes widen as he seems to recognize you. "Oh yes, this is the place. Sorry, I didn't expect you to be so early. We already fixed up the tables, but I can also help in setting up the boards if you like."

"Ah no, it's alright. My boss is the one who’s bringing them. I came from my university, so I don't have any of them on me right now." You quickly explain and Sam nods as he leads you to one of the tables to relax, while he grabs some appetizers from the kitchen.

He makes his way back to the table, though he can't seem to stop looking at you. You subconsciously start fixing your hair, wondering if you should've gone to the bathroom before going in here.

He seems to pick up on this and is quick to reassure you, "Oh, I'm sorry for staring. It's just Jamie has mentioned you so many times, so it's nice to finally put a face to the name."

Your heart skips a beat at the mention of the football player. You grab some of the food he offered as you reply as calmly as you can, "Oh yeah, did he tell you how he is nowhere close to beating my number of wins?"

Sam lets out a short chuckle. "No, but I'm not surprised. He did say you're very good at it." You smile and decide to ask why they decided to do a board game night.

It takes a second before Sam replies, "Oh well, Coach always says to do team-building activities every once in a while, and seeing as Jamie has asked almost everyone on the team to play the game at least once, we thought it would be a good idea. I think Isaac and Colin got their own board too and they started bringing it to the clubhouse."

"Shit, I didn't realize that football players loved board games so much," you remarked as you hear the door to the restaurant open.

Both of you look up to see George, who is trying to carry 12 boxes of board game sets. You rush out of your seat to help him out and so does Sam. The sight of the player almost makes your boss drop all of them from his arms, but you quickly scoop four of them and Same takes another four.

"Sam Obisanya," George exhales, once some of the weight is literally lifted off him.

The player simply says, "Hello," and states that he'll start setting up the four boards on the tables near the back.

You snap your fingers to get George out of the trance and the two of your start setting up on the rest of your tables, dropping the character figurines at the bar table and putting the sign-up sheet next to it. Slowly, the restaurant starts filling up with players with George gradually losing his mind at the number of footballers from his favorite team.

You finally get him to leave, but only by promising to convince the team to take a picture with him when he came back to pick up the boards. You're pretty sure he's already making plans to put it on a canvas and hang it on his bed.

You settle yourself behind the bar table to be in charge of the players setting up, each time expecting it to be Jamie standing in front of you. You try and keep your focus on the task at hand every time you hear the boys greet someone new.

Isaac and Colin are the next to write their names and they give you a look that you can't quite decipher. Soon enough, Jamie finally gets here and you straighten up in your seat. He greets some of the players till his eyes land on you.

He approached the bench and once he looked up, he observed out loud. "You're here,”

"Aw, did you want to get rid of me that badly?" You mimic him before explaining that you finished your leave earlier, "just to see you, of course." — with some truth behind that statement. Jamie laughs — albeit, a little awkwardly, — and takes the clipboard. As he signs up, you decide to take the chance to tease him. "Heard you were talking about me to your teammates."

Jamie's eyes widen and he stops writing to shoot glares at the rest of AFC Richmond, not sure who told you. Jamie turns back to you and you laugh. "Don't worry, Tartt. I'm sure you just told them how I'm an absolute god at the game and you're glad I'm not playing tonight." The football player simply rolls his eyes as he joins his teammates.

Once the whole team is complete along with their kit-man Will, you decide to start the tournament. "Okay, hi everyone! Welcome to your board game night." The crowd cheers and you're startled by their enthusiasm. You quickly explain the rules of the night, — though they seem to already know most of it, — and the order of players. It's a draw lots method, so the players will be randomly given a character and an opponent.

Once everyone gets their characters and settles in, you start making rounds in case anyone had any questions. After a while, you start heading back to the bar when someone taps you on the shoulder. You find Jamie already done with his round.

"How'd you win that quickly?" You don't try to hide the surprise in your voice. "Even I take like 20 minutes minimum to win."

"Oh I didn't," Jamie clarifies, and you widen your eyes. "I just couldn't attack Dani. I mean, look at that face." You turn to their table and find Dani smiling at you — "This is fun!" — and waving using his Dracula figurine.

You laugh at his reasoning. "Alright then, guess you're done for the night." You walk back to the bar and Jamie stops on the opposite side of it.

"You hungry? Sam said there's prepped meals in the back and since none of the games are ending soon…" Jamie offers and you obliged, seeing as this might be the only time you might ever get to eat in this restaurant. He grabs two plates from there and settles down next to you. Surprisingly, he managed to grab one of your favorite dishes. You remember mentioning to him that you had tried it at another restaurant in the past and loved it, but you doubt he even remembers it and dubbed it a coincidence.

You decide to keep the topic off board games and instead let him talk about what he's doing since he last saw you. Turns out they had multiple back-to-back matches, so practice was tight and he didn't have time to visit you. He also said the next time he did, it was one of your teenage co-workers manning the counter.

"Oh, Chuck! Yeah, he's pretty shit at board games." You say blankly while you shove another spoonful of food into your mouth.

"I ended up just buying a card game and leaving." Jamie continues and you laugh.

"Sorry, you went all the way there for just that. I go to class on Wednesdays, so I don't have a shift then." The conversation then shifts to your degree and you explain that you plan on becoming a psychologist.

"There is another upside to getting that degree too," Jamie chimes in, and you tilt your head. "You can fuck with someone's head while playing."

"Okay, psychology isn't mind control." Though, you think about it for a second. "But it is pretty close. You’ll be my first victim.” You make your sound more ghostly in that last sentence and Jamie pretends to act terrified and faint.

There is a short silence between the two of you when you realize that most of the rounds are done. You start organizing the next round and once the games start, the other players start going around and rooting for their teammates.

It leaves the area near the bar much more isolated and Jamie lowers his voice. "About that card game I got, it's pretty fun, too."

"Yeah?" You ask as you bring your plate back to the kitchen.

"Yeah. I'd love to take you out and talk about it," you stop in your tracks before turning back to the footballer who adds, “If you want."

You turn around to see Jamie is much closer to you now. It's only then you realize how much taller he was than you, but despite that, you’re not intimidated, especially with him looking so expectantly at you.

It takes a second before your mouth turns into a smile. "I think I'd like that."

Jamie does this small bounce thing on his heels, before trying to tone it down. You only laugh and kiss him on the cheek before heading to the crowd of players. He follows suit and rests his arm on your shoulders.

Some of his teammates notice and start cheering. You look at them confused before deciding to ask Jamie, "Was this all an elaborate scheme to ask me out?"

He shakes his head, "No, 'course not. Was there a deal made after I lost a game to Jan? Possibly," The both of you laugh as you playfully push his head away. You start to accept that this unfairly attractive football player — whom you'll be going on a date soon — can be as much of a nerd as you.

If this is what George meant when he said game nights could get crazy, well, maybe you should’ve given them a chance earlier.

[azaleaniath]

lo’ak x reader request!

do you think you can do a lo’ak x reader smut like the “little secret” one you did with aonung?

reader liking to teasingly insult/hit lo’ak but then noticing he got a little.. excited yk? 😭, maybe with a bit of hair pulling too🫢🤭 (lo’aks hair)

anyways i hope all is well! love your work <3

~ LOAK X FEM! OMATICAYA! READER ~

Our game

includes: nudity, sex, kinda roleplay?, spicy content, degradation, hair pulling, explicit smut, punching, orgasm, teasing, kinks, friends with benefits ig, dominance play, aged up for legal reasons

NSFW, MINORS DNI, 18+ | 1.6k words

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Come on, skxawng~" you laughed, pinching his upper arm, "Or are you scared you might lose?"

Lo'ak simply grunted, trying to ignore you as you circled him, pushing both your hands against his chest. He noticed the glimmer in your eyes as you tried to tease him. That wide grin on your face did not lessen as he slapped your hands away and turned his back to you.

"I'm just not in the mood, y/n."

"You're scared aren't you? Now that we're older, you can't beat me that easily anymore and you know it~"

It had started out as a game. Nothing more than innocent childs play where you chased each other. It turned into a personal contest about strength when you were teenagers and ended up being all about dominance. This game had always been great for just letting out anger too. Fists were flying while you insulted each other, relieving stress consentually. But lately, Lo'ak did not want to play with you anymore.

"Can't you piss off?" he growled as his eyes rolled back, still tense from your actions.

"Having a bad day? What happened this time, your father called you a disappointment again?" you smirked, flashing your teeth. Once more you re-engaged and pulled his queue. With wide eyes Lo'ak turned back to you and tried to grab your wrists, but you quickly pulled back.

"Seriously, what's your problem?!" His voice was louder this time. It didn't keep you from bothering him some more, punching against his chest.

"Damn, you fell out of your hammock this morning? Come on, try to hit me! You're getting so slow, no wonder your the family's disappointment~"

The anger boiled up deep inside of him, but so did something else. This had to stop now, he decided, before it would escalate.

"Fuck off, bitch!" he spat, trying to push you away but in response you only balled your fists, punching them into his stomach, trying to force him onto the ground.

"That means I win? Lo'ak the loser, the family's disappointment, sound fitting for a pussy like you~"

That was the last bit that was needed to make him explode. In no time the man forcefully packed your wrists until you squealed and pushed you onto the ground, kneeling over you. He held your hands next to your head, teeth clenched as you tried to free yourself.

"Is that what you wanted?! Will you leave me alone now you little attention whore?!"

You bucked underneath him and mewled in frustration as his grip only tightened. Something hard pressed against your abdomen so you looked down on yourself. As your eyes found the source of the pressure they widened in surprise. "I'm not the one having a boner right now!"

Lo'ak couldn't help but blush as you mentioned his bulge beneath the bit of fabric that covered him. He pursed his lips, tail whipping loudly through the air.

"Wait, does that actually turn you on when I pick on you?" Somehow, it felt like an even greater victory than usual. Loak only growled as your surprised face turned back into a smirk. His blush intensified as you spoke.

"It does turn you on. You little slut..." you snickered, finding yourself growing more curious about his erection. His deadly gaze was still locked with your eyes. He couldn't look away now. It would definitely only underline your statements of him being a loser.

"Shut up bitch! I told you to leave me alone but you really just can't listen can you?!" he hissed, baring his fangs.

Seeing him so turned on was... fun. Exciting almost.

You felt your own core pulsing and throbbing the more you stared at his cock which only seemed to grow.

"You think you won, pussy?" you mumbled, ripping yourself from his grip, tossing him over and switching places with the male so you sat on top of him as he wasn't paying full attention.

Lo'aks breath hitched as you started out grinding your hips against his.

"Say that you're a fucking disappointment, loser."

"Never." he growled in embarrassment, but his face got only hotter as your hands traveled down his body. As much as he wanted to leave, he couldn't. There was no way he would let you win, no matter how much he had to suffer. His cock only stiffened even more as his nose filled with the scent of your arousal as you kept grinding on his shaft through your clothes.

"Hmm, we'll see about that, halfblood. On another thought, maybe you're more human than na'vi... they break so easily."

Lo'aks nails dug into your thighs while you moved up and down on him, not responding. Yet he couldn't suppress a few low whimpers which he tried to cover with some coughs.

"Got something stuck in your big mouth?" you teased, yanking at his hair to which he only mewled some more. His cock twitched as you pulled his braids harshly, not breaking the intense eye contact.

"Ooh, you like that too? You just really have to get used like the needy slut you are, huh?"

He couldn't help but whine at your words, catching himself humping against your clothed core. "Fuck you..."

"Want me to touch your needy cock? Make you cum like a little whore?" You snickered playfully.

"As if a bitch like you could make me cum!"

His reversed psychology made you narrow your eyes. He did not want to beg you, but he needed you to make him cum. He needed your touch, so he tried to challenge you.

The challenge was accepted.

As soon as you eagerly tore both of your loincloths off, you seated yourself on his curved cock and coated him with your own juices. The drops of precum at his tip also made it easier to slide his length back and forth between your sticky folds. Both of you tried to be as unimpressed as possible by each other, even more when his head threatened to enter you.

"I'll make you cum so hard you'll be begging for more." you grinned, so he simply pushed into your wet pussy with one swift motion, trying not to moan. "Try it, slut."

You clenched your jaw as he stretched you open, still giving your best not to let him win.

"I thought you'd be bigger."

"I thought you'd be tighter."

You dropped yourself onto his cock entirely, causing him to gasp in surprise.

"Go ask your brother why~"

His eyes widened in shock, just like his lips. Even if he knew you were lying, or at least he was hoping, it made him mad and somewhat jealous. You belonged him.

"He fucks me so much better than you, he stretches me so damn wide. Your brother is a fucking dream, you're just a disappointment."

Lo'ak furrowed his brows and bucked his hips up harshly to put you in your place and you couldn't help but moan. "You're bluffing."

Of course this was only to tease him. He filled your wet cunt pretty well, his thick shaft stimulated every inch of your clenching walls just perfectly.

"Are you sure?"

You rolled your hips against his pelvis every time you lowered yourself on his cock until he unconsciously kept on moaning and panting but so did you. The slapping noises filled the forest around you. Knowing that at any moment someone could walk up on you bounching up and down his hard cock only made this new part of your game more exciting.

Lo'ak kept on hitting your cervix just right as he pounded into you, hoping to win the game by making you cum first. In order to do the same you got yourself a good grip on his braids, tearing them down backwards to his shoulders. He couldn't help but continue to moan as your soaked pussy squeezed his thick shaft, leaving you both shaking ever so slightly.

You scratched over the back of his neck as you felt your orgasm nearing so you quickly rose off of him and got your hands onto his pulsing cock instead.

"Who's afraid to lose now, huh?!" he panted before biting down on his lip. He quickly pushed you onto your back, kneeling between your shaky legs. You couldn't help but yelp as he did so, quickly reaching out to his manhood before he was able to enter you again, pumping up and down his hard, twitching cock.

He tried to protest but he couldn't hold back much longer. His plump balls tightened as you worked your hand up and down and before he could even get his hands on you he threw his head back and spilled his semen onto your entire body, moaning your name out like a prayer even if he thought it to be unfair.

A victorious smirk appeared on your lewd face before he collapsed on top of you in defeat.

"That was not fair! You wanted to-"

"I got what I wanted. I won, skxawng. You're a loser."

You quickly gathered yourself and your clothes, leaving him behind panting.

"Wait, y/n! You little shit, come back!" He yelled after you as you stumbled out of his sight on unstable legs giggling before he could come after you for revenge.

And he swore by eywa, he was going to do that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: alright here goes my first Lo'ak work! I hope it turned out nicely, I'm way too tired rn to actually think ngl but yeah, lemme know what you think! Thanks for the request 💙

🏷️-list: @luvlykrispy @zatarias-pandora @vviolaswrld @yeosxxx @lilgurlbeoncrack @philiasoul @itszzmoon @simp4ff @itsnotme02 @et-j-art @lovekeeho @mayhemories @cavvedinn

[miniscrew-anon]

Miniscrews Masterlist

Yup, I finally got off my ass and put together a list of all my writing so that you guys can find things easier! Yay for lists and learning how to hyperlink! Now you guys can actually find all my stuff if you want (and I have an easy way of finding my old works too lol) The downside of being anon.

AO3 Stories:

You, Me and a Couple Loose Screws - Four is trying to work but Shadow just wants to be a bother, HSH

The Ace Space (is being invaded) - Four manually fixes everyones sex lives, LMTCOY

First Contact - Twilight calls up his uncle to see if he can move in, HSH

What I see my Shadow Sees - Shadow's point of view of HSH1, HSH

Like a House on Fire - Oops the house is burning down and everyone responsible is away, HSH

HSH: The Cold War - The house fights for control of the thermostat, HSH

It’s Something - A FourShadow exploration of their sex lives with an asexual, LMTCOY

180 Rupees Well Spent - The smutty Wartime sex swing fic by popular demand, LMTCOY

Old Car, New Roads - Four and Shadow talk shop, cars and future plans, HSH

Home Sweet Home: Oofs and Ouchies - My Febuwhump 2023 Collection, St0rmyverse

On Display, After Hours - Filthy Twark Smut taking place in an IKEA after hours, LMTCOY

What do you mean love is real? - Four realizes he's AroAce. While dating a bunch of people, HSH

He's Venting (seems kinda sus) - Time discovers Four's artistic hobby and has a bit of a problem with it, HSH

Add to Cart - The boys go furniture shopping and Four is forced to own his own room, HSH

Dear Sir Landlord - Warriors tries to abuse renters laws via email, HSH

Snippets and Other Things:

Perspective Flip on “You, Me and a Couple Loose Screws”

Ceiling Spider - Who wins: Shadow or a garage spider?

Dead on Revival - Shadow and Dark have a talk over Fours dead body, Count Darkula verse

Daddy Bram Stoker - Shadow and Dark discuss the father of modern vampires, Count Darkula verse

Silly Straws - Four and Shadow having a snack, Count Darkula Verse

A Dark and Shadowy Night - A typical night out for the skrunkly duo

Boys will be Boys - Just dudes being dudes

Ghost Kitchen - Four gets revenge on Wild, Funeral Derangements verse

Sex-Ed (or lack thereof) - A small collection of Hyrule and Four lamenting over the complete lack of safe sex and common sense the other links seem to have, LMTCOY verse

Measuring Stick - The boys have a literal dick measuring contest. As usual, Hyrule and Four suffer

What you find in the Dark - Time has a nightmare and Warriors is there, LMTCOY verse

Like and Subscribe - Yes Dark does and yes he will, LMTCOY Verse

Other Stuff:

HSH Castle Town House Layout - Not a story but a badly drawn house plan that I use when I write my stories.

A Small Exploration of my Blorbo (Four) - A small character analysis based on what I know about him.

These are in no order. I should have put them together based on which verse but I forgot and now I cant move them because hyperlink. oops lol. My life is in shambles.

[strawberrystepmom]

There’s a pool party at the meow meow mansion!!! What are all the residents up to? ☀️🌈

NANA!!!! <333 thank u so much for asking. i can in fact tell you what each of these menace men is doing:

satoru: clinging. likely on a float in the pool with me holding my hand or trying to climb into mine and sinking us both in the process. if not this he is forcing me to share a lounge chair with him despite there being literally 1 cm of room left for me. my trophy wife <3

narumi: fighting with gojo for that 1 cm of room left for me. usually it's just the three of us huddled up, i had to invest in like a lounge loveseat to fit all three of us. doesn't like to swim and isn't interested unless there's a game to play (do not play him in chicken) so he mostly just sits and plays his game and observes.

yami: sitting by the pool drinking beer and reading. once satoru and gen start arguing (this will happen. this always happens.) and have to stand up to yell and gesture at each other i will go sneak over to sit with him and he'll just read whatever i've been reading or he'll be like "check this shit out" about whatever he is reading. it's very chill. he is also the most intense about sunscreen - he's like "get over here kendy" and im like oop g2g it's sunscreen o'clock

kakashi: reading and/or lounging and trying not to get splashed by the participants in the cannonball contest and/or trying to put life vests on his dogs so they can swim but they just sit there in their swim vests looking disgusted he'd even do this to them.

umemiya: the leader of the cannonball contest. can you beat him? do you wanna try? he's also telling you exactly what snacks to try and getting out of the pool by just launching himself off of the side and now walking with you to SHOW you the best snacks and make you a plate and get your opinion. bless his heart.

obi: also participating in the cannonball contest but first, throwing down on the grill. he is so father coded and this is no exception - my man is grilling, he is doing it impressively well.

sanemi: sitting in the deep end of the pool watching everyone. critiquing the cannonball techniques with grimmjow. arguing with said grimmjow who will not get in the pool and only argues with everyone from outside of it. they also somehow both keep getting drinks, i'm assuming they're stealing each other's. i don't question it anymore.

grimmjow: once again, arguing. stealing food off of everyone's plates. occasionally coming over to bother me when i'm sitting with yami because he wants me to give him attention. mostly just being a nuisance i love him so much.

hyoga: organizing games! volleyball, chicken, marco polo, anything just to be competitive and to win. he's very serious about this and just likes to have an endless amount of people to dominate.

neuvillette: simply enjoying the oneness of everyone being together. also observing - very very very much observing - fully dressed from the balcony of his room. he's far too busy to come down and join us but he will once the work is done.

[kissorkill16]

Another Dork: A Hello Neighbor Fanfic

By JJ

Summary: Nicky meets the Inventor's Club.

Enzo, Maritza, and Ivan sat together at lunch, and Ivan was going on and on about how he thinks he's discovered a new element during Science Class.

"Ivan, I don't think there's anymore elements left to be discovered.", said Enzo, but Ivan shook his head. "But how will you know if you never experiment?!", he kept saying in his friend's face.

Meanwhile, Maritza was trying to drown them out. Her attention went to a boy sitting under a tree, eating a sandwich and something that looked like homemade granola.

"Who's that?", asked her brother, sounding desperate to change the subject so Ivan would stop talking about his new discovery. Maritza shrugged.

"How the hell am I supposed to know? I've known him just as long as you have, which is like a nanosecond.", said Maritza.

In the blink of an eye, Ivan was already on his way to greet the boy. The boy was just about to throw away his paper bag when Ivan jumped to him, making him yelp and fall backwards.

Ivan nervously giggled.

He lent his hand to help the boy up.

"Sorry, I got a little excited.", said Ivan. "How come I don't know you?"

The boy crumbled his paper bag and threw it in the trash, "I'm new here.", he said.

"Oh! New student! Awesome!", said Ivan, jumping up and down. It was at that moment that Enzo and Maritza finally caught up to him. Enzo put a hand on his shoulder.

"I apologize for my friend. He likes meeting new people, because he thinks they're human experiments.", he said. "I mean, you are a human, but not an experiment."

The boy's eyes widened, and he smiled nervously and nodded, trying not to look bothered. "Yay...", he said.

Maritza put her arm around the boy's shoulder, leading him back to their table. "You want to sit with us? I promise it's more comfortable than sitting under a tree."

The four kids went back to their table, and Ivan didn't take his eyes off the new kid for a second.

"So what's your name?", he asked the boy.

"Nicky.", said the boy.

"Is that short for something?", asked Enzo.

"Yeah...", replied Nicky. "Nicholas. I don't really like that name, so you guys can just call me Nicky...Nick works too."

Maritza rolled her eyes, "Well Nicky, before we go any further, I have to ask you...are you a nerd?"

Nicky was confused. "What?"

"I've been sitting with these eggheads ever since the beginning of school.", she said, pointing to Enzo and Ivan. "These guys bore the hell out of me and I just want to know whether or not you're a nerd like them."

Enzo put his hand up, stopping Maritza from talking. "What my sister means is...", he started, "What're you interested in? Do you have any hobbies or favorite things to do? Regardless if you're a nerd or not.", he said, saying the last bit while staring at Maritza.

Nicky looked down at his lap, trying to contain himself. He was just so excited. This is the first time anyone has ever tried to get to know him, mostly because he's never had friends before. Maybe these guys would be his first real friends.

"Well...", he started off with, "I'm really interested in locks. Specifically, lockpicking. It's become a hobby of mine ever since I moved here. I bought it off some kid with my allowance last summer and I've been trying to see how each one works. It's really easy! My personal favorite is..."

As Nicky droned on, the kids tried their best to listen to what he was saying, but they couldn't help but think that he was just a little too...boring.

Sure, Enzo and Ivan were the biggest nerds in the school, and anything they talked about could put even the teachers to sleep. But they felt like Nicky would definitely win in a boring contest.

"But I'm also really fascinated by aliens! No one else believes they're real, but I promise you, I swear I saw one last night. It could've been a dream, but I'm convinced that it wasn't. I plan to become a secret alien double agent as soon as I graduate high school just so I can prove they're in fact, real.", he said. Then his eyes lit up, "Or maybe I'll be an engineer!"

Maritza was really regretting inviting him to sit with them.

"Great. Another nerd.", she thought.

Ivan immediately jumped up in excitement when Nicky said that. "You're into engineering?", he asked. Nicky nodded, thinking that Ivan was kind of cute when he got excited like that.

"ME TOO!", he squealed. "Oh I can tell you and I are going to get along just great!"

Nicky turned to look at Maritza, "So what do you think? Am I a nerd to you?", he asked.

Maritza tapped her chin, "Well...kind of. When you said you were into engineering, my mind immediately thought you were a nerd. But you do like aliens and lockpicking, despite it being a weird ass hobby."

Nicky shamefully looked down at his lap.

"But I wouldn't call you a nerd.", said Maritza. "I'd say you're more of a dork."

The boy looked up at Maritza and smiled, "I'll take it.", he said. "By the way, I didn't get any of your names."

Ivan's eyes widened, "Oh! Where are my manners? I forgot to introduce myself.", he said. He took Nicky's hand and shook it with a little too much force. "I'm Ivan Torre, greetings and salutations."

Enzo rolled his eyes, but he shook Nicky's hand with a little less force. "Enzo Esposito."

Maritza didn't even bother shaking Nicky's hand, she just looked at Nicky and said "Maritza Esposito. Enzo's sister, not by choice."

Enzo rolled his eyes.

"What're you guys into?"

Enzo began, "Well, I really like -"

"Me first!", said Maritza. "I enjoy sports. Specifically, soccer. I originally wanted to play baseball, but my parents said soccer seemed like the cheapest sport."

"And as you already know, I'm into engineering. I spend my time building machines and trying to convince Enzo that it's possible that there are still more things in the world to be discovered.", said Ivan.

Enzo rolled his eyes once more, "Yeah. Well, I'm into video games and reading books. I tried basketball for a while, but it wasn't really my style. I do enjoy engineering sometimes though."

Nicky smiled as they all shared their interests. He was a little bit embarrassed that not all of them had something in common with him, except for Ivan who loved engineering, but he was glad he was trying to start a conversation with people his age.

However, he accidentally caught a glimpse of the boy who'd been staring at him the entire time he ate his lunch. He was still staring at him.

Nicky wondered why. But even if he wanted to know why, he wished he'd stop.

"Don't mind him.", said Enzo, putting a hand on Nicky's shoulder. "He just has a staring problem, nothing to worry about. Either try not to make eye contact with him, or just pretend he's not there."

"Who is he anyway?", asked Nicky.

"One of the Peterson kids.", said Maritza. "His name's Aaron, and he's the brother and son of Mya, Diane, and Theodore Peterson. Mr. Peterson is a world renowned theme park designer who moved here last year along with his wife and kids. His kids being Mya and...", Maritza finished her sentence by pointing at Aaron.

"Just try to stay out of his way.", said Ivan.

Nicky nodded.

After the bell, Nicky was just walking out of the school when he caught a glimpse of Ivan talking to someone. He saw the same rude girl scout who tried to sell him cookies at lunch in front of him.

They were talking to each other like they were friends or something.

Maybe they were friends.

Maybe Ivan was talking about him with this girl scout, and she was regretting being such a mean girl to him. But as he looked closer, he noticed that as Ivan talked to her, she was laughing. Matter of fact, they were both laughing.

"Seriously?!", said the girl scout, laughing in between sentences. "Oh my God! What a dork!"

Ivan was still trying to catch his breath, "Finch, don't say that! He might hear you!", he said, putting a hand on her shoulder and clutching his chest.

Nicky stared at him in shock. Was the one person he actually shared an interest with seriously gossiping about him to the same girl who was a total bitch to him?

Ivan turned around to see Nicky staring at them, he waved to him looking all innocent. "Hey, Nicky!", he said.

But Nicky was already turned around and he walked away. He decided not to interact with him or the rest of his friends for a while, he figured they were probably gossiping about him too.

Instead, he hid behind a tree to stare at the same kid who'd been staring at him all day.

[hcsfff]

Hmmm for the requests, maybe something including soft grumbo with the title ‘so kiss me in the doorway’ (taken from julia nunes’ song make out, which has such grumbo vibes lol)

Yes, good. I made this part of my vampire Mumbo AU. The AU that exists only in my head

---

There weren't many upsides to becoming a vampire. Mumbo had been functionally immortal prior to becoming one, so even that wasn't a plus. Everything else was a minus in his eyes. He couldn't go out in the sun, garlic was off limits, mirrors no longer worked. It was all a right pain! 

If there was any positive to this situation, it was that Grian had taken up the mantle of being Mumbo's food. Which was a strange way to put it, but Mumbo had to eat and Grian had extremely powerful blood, so he was the best choice. His blood was delicious, honestly. Brimming with a vitality that tasted electric, magical even. One feeding from Grian could easily last Mumbo an entire month. Mumbo hated to refer to Grian as food, but Grian thought it was rather funny and kept teasing him about it. He even wore low necklines after Mumbo bit him, almost like he wanted everyone to see the bite marks. Mumbo didn't understand, but Grian seemed to be in a competition with no one at all to be Mumbo's best friend. He was obviously winning that contest, with the bite marks to prove it. 

Probably the best part of the feedings was that Grian spent the night afterwards. He said he felt weak, but he literally lived five steps away from Mumbo. Half his base was under Mumbo's base. It was really just an excuse, or so Mumbo thought. He didn't mind at all. Grian was so cuddly and affectionate after Mumbo bit him. He wondered if some of his vampire magic was at play, but no one else he ever bit reacted that way. Must be a Grian thing. 

The saddest part was watching Grian leave in the morning. Mumbo had just woken up, Grian was already up and getting dressed. He smiled at Mumbo. "Good morning sleepy head."

"Morning." Mumbo yawned. "Leaving already?"

"Yeah. I have a busy day. Of course every day is busy when you always get distracted and procrastinate." Grian chuckled to himself.

Mumbo nodded, standing up and rubbing his eyes. He would probably go back to sleep after Grian left, he was more nocturnal now, but it was only polite to walk him to the door, right? Mumbo followed Grian across his vault, his eyes wandering towards his neck, where the bite mark was still very visible against his pale skin. 

Grian rubbed his neck, chuckling to himself. "Still hungry, Mumbo?"

Oh. Mumbo had been staring. He shook his head. He wasn't hungry, but in a way he enjoyed looking at that mark. Was that a side effect of being a vampire? He couldn't deny that he enjoyed biting Grian. It was satisfying in a way that was hard to explain. Like finally itching a scratch that had been bothering him all day. Seeing his handiwork just made him proud? Maybe.

"Sorry. I guess I'm not quite awake yet." Mumbo awkwardly rubbed his own neck. He had no idea what he was even thinking about now. 

"Get some more rest. I'll talk to you later." Grian hit the button on the wall that opened the vault door.

The sounds of pistons nearly drowned out Mumbo's voice. "Wait!"

"Hmm?" Grian looked back at him, the sunlight from outside bathing him in light. 

Maybe Mumbo was still hungry. No. That wasn't right. There was something else he wanted though. Some other desire that needed to be fulfilled. He pushed his index fingers together, trying to put this desire into words. "I uh. I was wondering. Before you go."

"Yeah?" Grian grinned at him. 

"Can I have a kiss?" If Mumbo had the blood to blush, he would probably be bright red. Maybe he was, he did have Grian's blood! That was too strange to think about. No, the only thing he wanted to think of was kissing Grian. That's what he really wanted, wasn't it? Oh no, he was being far too forward. Grian must think he was such a fool. He might never come back to feed Mumbo ever again.

Except at those words, Grian stepped back into the vault. He grabbed Mumbo's tie and pulled him down. With no warning, his lips were suddenly upon Mumbo's, kissing him like there was nothing else he rather be doing. It had that same light, tingling feeling, only this felt even better than drinking his blood. Mumbo kissed him back, for once grateful he didn't have to breathe, because he was certain his very breath had been stolen away.

Grian broke the kiss, looking up at Mumbo with a bright red face. He opened his mouth, barely whispering, "You can have my kisses whenever you want."

Then he rushed out the door, holding his face in his hands. Mumbo sat down on the stairs, feeling like everything was spinning. Had that really just happened? He was so happy and embarrassed at the same time. He had a feeling that the next time Grian came over it would be a lot more than just for Mumbo to eat.

[fizzytaste]

You think you know someone - KINK CONTENT

An idea that I've had for a while. The other skaters finding out how good Cherry is at burping.

The restaurant was empty except for Cherry and the other skaters, but Joe would hardly call them clients. The teenagers and Shadow had been engaged in light conversation for some time now and both Cherry and Joe were barely listening, Cherry because he found it uninteresting and Joe because he was too busy closing the restaurant, but he came to them when he was done, to kick them out and also see what they were talking about that was keeping them so entertained.

“That's gross, Slime” Miya wrinkled his nose in disgust.

“But It's cool, isn't it?”

“Maybe, if you knew how to do it” Shadow said.

“Do you, old man?” Reki challenged.

“Don't call me that! And knowing how to burp the alphabet isn't exactly a top priority at my age”

“He says, like an old man”

“I know how to burp the alphabet” Joe said suddenly, surprising everyone, they haven't even notice him. “It's not so hard. I'm done closing the store, so” he made a gestured like he was shooing a dog.

“Wait, you do? Can you teach me?” Reki looked at him full of expectation.

“Only if you guys leave after that”

“That's fine by me!”

“Ok then.” Joe sat down. He saw from the corner of his vision Cherry rolling his eyes. “It really helps if you know how to do it on command. Do you?”

“I'm working on that”

“That's fine, I can show you, it's simple, you just have to swallow some air until you feel an air bubble form in yout throat…” Joe did as described and Reki followed. After some effort, Joe let out a pretty average burp, not bad, but not too long or deep. “And then you just let it out.”

Reki tried to copy, releasing a burp so small it wasn't much better than a hiccup, but that enough for him, at least for his first time.

“Cool!”

“You’ll get better at it with some practice”

“You're as disgusting as you're pathetic. Don't go around teaching others when you don't even know what you're doing” Cherry snickered from where he was drinking his tea.

Everyone turned to Cherry, they also forgot that he was there. Joe raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

“Feel free to show how it's done if it bothers you so much”

Cherry scoffed.

“No, thank you, unlike you I'm not a savage.” If they were alone he would not hesitate to put that man in his place, but here, in front of everyone, he had an image to uphold. Joe would need much more than some childish provocation to get to him.

“Then don't go around complaining when you can't do better.”

“I don't have to know how to do it to criticize you, just like I don't have to know how to cook to say that your cooking sucks.”

“You can criticize, yeah, but you can't win the argument.”

“Sure I can”

“I think you’re just making excuses cause you'll never be better at burping than me. And a bunch of other things.”

Fuck the image he had to uphold.

Cherry turned silent and it took Joe a little too long to realize he was swallowing air. Then, Cherry opened his mouth and released a deep belch that did not look like it came from someone as delicate and dignified as him.

“That's how you do it” he said at the end of it, keeping direct eye contact with Joe “So I guess I win the argument”

“Yeah, but I win the war” Joe said with a satisfied smirk and that's when Cherry understood that he fell for his trap.

“Good one, Cherry!” Reki complimented, very impressed.

“I didn't expect that from you” Miya, on the other hand, was utterly shocked.

“That was loud.” Langa stated and it was hard to tell how he felt about it from his neutral tone and expression.

“You think you know people…” Shadow said more to himself in a mix of awe and shock.

“You wanted that, didn't you? Satisfied?” Cherry turned to Joe, trying to keep his composture after being defeated.

“What's wrong, don't you wanna show off your talents? Lemme tell you guys, our delicate flower here never lost a single burping contest he was on.” Joe turned to the others and pointed to Cherry, covering his mouth with his hand like he was telling a secret.

“That's so freaking awesome!” Cherry liked Reki, he did, he was a good kid, but he didn't want his approval with something like this.

“How did you learn it?” Langa asked the question his boyfriend was too excited to ask.

“I didn't really learn it, I just always knew how to do it.”

“He's a natural!” Joe raised his arms in celebration

“Shut up, you idiot. This is all your fault.”

“Oh, I'm sorry, am I supposed to cover for the guy whose idea of fun is burping in my ear?”

“I don't do that anymore!” at least not very often.

“Cherry, teach me, please, please!” Reki begged, giving the older skater one of those abandoned puppy eyes.

“No, that's beneath me. Why don't you ask Joe? I'm sure a savage like him would be glad to help you with that.”

“But you're so good, I don't think I've seen anyone as good as you! Please” Cherry wasn't sure if the boy's flattery was on purpose, but it was working.

“I can think about it”

[jamies001fan]

You Weren't There

pairing: Jamie x fem!reader summary: Jamie messed up, big time. Once he realizes what he's done, can he make it up to you? requested: yes! warnings: tears (a lot of them), mentions of anxiety but not any attacks, Jamie being a sweetheart & knowing he needs to make it better, a brief make out + 1 hickey, mention of Harry Styles bc he always cheers me up but y'all can picture whatever song you want wc: 8,474

“Love, I promise, once filming gets done, I’ll be at the showing! You know I’d never miss your beautiful work, angel.” He sounded serious because, well, he was. You had been over the moon with excitement for the past 3 months ever since you found out that you’d won a local art contest. The winners had their works shown in the largest gallery in the area, and it was a true dream for you to have others see the hard work you put into your paintings. Sure, the gallery wasn’t as large as MoMA or the MET, but thousands of people went daily to view the incredible art that was already there. Painting was a passion you had, and you didn’t bother trying to hide it. Everyone you knew either found out from you, from Jamie, or from the numerous photos you always shared. And thanks to the constant support and encouragement, you always felt confident with what you created.

“Filming gets over at 8pm, and it’s a 45 minute drive here, please be careful, Jamie!” You speak fast into the direction of your phone that’s currently on speaker as you finish putting your shoes on. Your eyes glance to your watch and see the bold numbers say ‘6:30pm’, and your heart skips a beat. “The showing starts in 30 minutes, baby. Even if you aren’t gonna be there until around 9, I know people are going to want to see you as well!” The words are spoken with an obvious tone of anxiousness as you picked up your purse and headed towards the door, your uber just pulling up as you walked outside.

“Like I said, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. But the real art is you, and you need to get going! I’ll text you when I’m on my way, baby. I love you!” The words made you feel less anxious as you said your goodbyes to each other and got in the uber. Your heart was beating fast from both nervousness and excitement the closer you got to the gallery. You were still trying to process how you managed to win, despite so many other talented individuals being in the contest with you. Countless nights where Jamie had to nearly carry you away from your computer because you were refreshing your emails every 5 minutes to see if you’d been chosen as the winner. Suspense was never your friend, but the 2 weeks where you didn’t hear anything back from anyone? It was surprising that you hadn’t lost your mind at least once. 

The uber finally reached the gallery and you took several deep breaths after getting out of the car. Your thoughts were scattered, ‘what if no one actually likes my work?’, ‘no one's gonna know who I am.’, ‘is this really happening?’. But the one that was in the front of your mind, ‘I can’t wait for Jamie to see this, he’s been so excited for me.’. Before you started walking, you glanced at your watch and saw the numbers read ‘6:28pm’. It took a moment to hype yourself up before you made your way up the small staircase and pulled the door open, familiar faces already coming into view. Within seconds of walking inside, your close friends made their way towards you, congratulating you on your work. It was obvious that you were nervous, if Jamie were with you, you would be attached to him at the hip. He knew that you sometimes got nervous with crowds, and he didn’t mind speaking for you if he knew you weren’t up to it. 

You gradually made your way over to where your painting was, the golden frame around it making your heart skip a beat. A smile spread across your face as you noticed more people looking at it, a small crowd forming in front of you. Your eyes kept glancing at your phone, keeping an eye out for a text from Jamie. Every now and then you’d have people ask you questions about your work, which you gladly answered with more passion each time. Hearing others tell you how they interpret your work was also interesting, as there was obviously no right or wrong answer. The way that art makes everyone feel a different way, whether it be paintings, music, photography, or writing, it all makes everyone feel something, and you love it. 

You didn’t realize how late it had gotten until you checked your watch and the numbers read ‘9:30pm’. In a moment of panic, you check your phone thinking you missed a text from Jamie, and you felt your heart drop when there was nothing there. Just as you were about to text him to see if he was okay, one of your friends walked over and pulled you into a short hug, making your sudden anxiety go down a little. Another 30 minutes had passed without a word from him, and you felt like you could cry. The showing was over, and he hadn’t showed up, or even facetimed. Luckily, one of your friends drove you home, but the silence was deafening as you finally pulled into your driveway. Exchanging goodbyes and goodnights, you made your way inside, locking the door and leaning on it as you felt tears roll down your cheeks. 

Noise from inside your bedroom only made the small anger inside you grow as you slowly moved to the door. It was ajar, and you could see Jamie on the bed watching tv, not a care in the world as to where you were. You push the door open and his eyes meet yours for not even a second, making you step in front of the tv. He had the audacity to ask you to move, and you only scoffed, turning the tv off. The silence filled the room for what seemed like hours, and the single illuminated lamp that was next to him made his features more prominent, as much as you hated to admit in the moment. As much as you didn’t want him to say anything to you that might piss you off, you knew it was going to happen, and you wanted to see how deep of a hole he would dig himself.

“Love, why did you do that? The show was almost finished.” He sounded annoyed. As if you had interrupted something important to him. You could tell he didn’t know about the showing, and that he forgot to text you, but you couldn’t bring yourself to say anything. “Don’t just stand there, either move or turn the tv back on. Can’t just turn it off when you want attention, I gave you attention earlier.” His hand moved to the remote, but yours blocked the sensor so it wouldn’t work, resulting in an eye roll from him. “What’s the matter, broke a nail?” The question was complete sarcasm, and you hated it.

“What’s the matter?” You asked in a low voice, an angry voice. “Maybe the fact that I was at my art showing for 4 hours without you texting or calling once. Or the fact that you weren’t there to drive me home? I knew you had filming to do, but you promised you’d show up, and you didn’t. My friends were asking where you were, and I said you were busy, preoccupied. I had strangers keep me company because you weren’t there. So I'm mad, Jamie. Actually, that’s an understatement. I’m livid right now. I wanted my other half, my better half, my partner of 3 years to be by my side, and he wasn’t. Don’t you dare act like I’m the bad guy for turning off your show, when you didn’t show up for me like you promised. Or do you not remember our conversation from earlier? Because I do, and that only makes it hurt more.” Tears were streaming down your face as you spoke, and his eyes went more wide than you’d ever seen.

“Shit. Baby, I’m so, so, so sorry.” He jumped off the bed and ran to hug you, slightly picking you up off the floor as he held you close to him. “After filming the guys wanted to get drinks and-”

“Drinks?” You cut him off as you pushed him away from you, fire in your eyes. “You got drinks with the guys instead of being there for your own partner? How long were you out for?” Your brief interrogation caught him off guard, but by the look in his eyes, you didn’t want to know the answer. His mouth opened to speak but you put your hand up, immediately silencing him. “You went out and had a few too many drinks as I was trying to not get overwhelmed with the amount of people around me. You know how I am with crowds, Jamie, and you just didn’t bother showing up? Your buddies were more important than me? I can’t fucking believe this.” Your throat had that pain in it, the feeling when you’re about to start sobbing but feel the need to hold back until you’re alone.

“I promise I had every intention of going to your showing, my love. Time just sort of.. got away from me.” His hand cautiously reached up the side of your face, brushing a stray hair behind your ear. More than anything, you wanted to lean into his simple touch, to pull him into you and feel him mold against you like the two pieces of a puzzle you both were. But your anger was too strong, not even the warmth of his hand on your cheek was enough to settle the fire inside of you. You could tell he thought he was in the clear from how he was leaning closer to kiss you, and you let him believe he was allowed for a second before you placed a firm hand on his chest, effectively keeping him at arm's length.

“Time got away from you, huh?” You asked calmly, rubbing your thumb against the soft material of his shirt, before pressing your pointer finger to his chest. He nods his head with a smile so small you’d have to squint to see it. “Lost track of it for so long that you didn’t think to check the watch you still have on? Or any of the numerous clocks on the wall of the bar, or even have a friend tell you? I doubt that the guys were holding you hostage, keeping you away from me. In fact, you told me that they were happy for me and that they wanted photos from the showing. You think saying sorry is gonna fix this? That it’ll be forgiven after you kiss me longer than 5 seconds? No, Jamie, you messed up. I don’t know how you can fix this, but it’s your own mistake, you find a way.” He let out a groan as you had fully backed him into a wall, tears again streaming down your face.

This was the first time you had ever seen Jamie really speechless. Sure, there were a few times you kissed him that left him mesmerized, but you could tell he was genuinely upset at how badly he messed up. He let you walk away from him and into the bathroom, locking the door behind you. Nearly the second the lock clicked, you were sliding down the door as tears continued to roll down your now very flushed cheeks. You sloppily pried off your shoes, shoving them away as a throaty groan left you, a sudden burst of air flooding your lungs after not breathing for an unknown time. The choked sobs from the other side of the door made Jamie’s heart ache, especially since he knew he was the cause. He walked over to the door slowly, hoping that some way you might sense him and know how ashamed he felt.

There were no other thoughts in his mind other than how badly he wanted to wrap his arms around you. When you have your moments, the moments where you can’t stop yourself from crying, he’s always right next to you. Holding you contently, listening to you ramble about whatever has you upset, wiping your tears with his thumb, playing whatever show or movie you wanted to watch to try and keep your mind off whatever hell your day had been. After consoling you many times, he knew how long it sometimes took you to cool down, whether he was helping or not. Even if he was the cause, even if he couldn’t hold your shaking body while you sobbed, he’d kick himself if he didn’t wait for you to be okay. 

After not hearing anything for about 5 minutes, he thought it would make your night a tad bit easier if you had food to eat. You almost always asked him for a snack after a particularly emotional time, and he was never one to say no. It was always something simple; some crackers, half of a sandwich, fruit slices, he knew that something too heavy made your stomach hurt more after the tears. Sadly for you, a snack was the last thing on your mind. Your audible sobs had turned into silent cries, still very much happening and making your heart hurt more with each second. Did you want to forgive and forget this whole situation? More than anything. But you couldn’t bring yourself to forgive him so easily with this, considering he knew how important this was for you.

Your eyes were puffy, nose bright red, and throat sore. Still, you knew your barely there hunger was more important than you sitting on the ground. With slight hesitation, you opened the door and nearly fell forward from sitting down, not that it would’ve made the situation much worse. It would take time for the dizziness and pressure on your head to fully go away, so you weren’t planning to move fast. No sounds were anywhere within range, and you almost wanted to start crying again. Jamie always stuck around to make sure you were okay, so why didn’t he this time? ‘Was he that annoyed with you?’ ‘Or did he go out to the bar again, wanting to get drunk over seeing you like this?’ The thoughts invaded your mind as you slowly made your way to your feet, leaning on your bed frame as you tried to steady yourself. 

Gradually making your way out of your room, you can’t ignore how your heart skips a beat when you see Jamie sitting on the couch. He doesn’t see you at first, only looking up from his phone when he notices movement from the corner of his eye. His heart breaks more when he sees your face, the faded makeup around your eyes from you wiping away tears, your lips dry from having to breathe through your mouth due to your nose being stuffy. Emotions were out of the question as he stood up from the couch and stepped over to you, pulling you into him. That caused more tears to come from you, these being more out of defeat than sadness.  A weak yelp came from you as you felt yourself being picked up and carried into the kitchen. Jamie sat you on the counter before going to the fridge and taking out the fruit slices he’d cut up earlier. You kept your face down so he wouldn’t see how bad you looked, even though you knew he didn’t care. Regardless how bad you thought you looked, he always thought you were the most angelic looking human to ever exist. His finger gently hooked under your chin, tilting your face up to meet his eyes. There wasn’t an ounce of judgment or annoyance that you could see, and it made your heart flutter. He gave you a small smile before reaching to get a fruit slice, holding it out for you to take.

You didn’t realize how much you really needed something in your stomach until you tasted the sweetness of the fruit in your mouth. It wasn’t a big slice, just enough to make you want more. After having about 5 more slices, you nodded to Jamie, signaling you weren’t wanting anymore. He turned around to put the rest of it away, mumbling under his breath how proud he was of you for eating something despite maybe not wanting to. Not 5 seconds passed before he was back in front of you, rubbing a hand on your back to try and calm you more. There was barely any space between you both as he wrapped your legs around his waist and pulled you closer to him again. The faded scent of his cologne made you lean into him more, burying your face in his neck.

“Let’s get you out of these clothes, huh? It’s getting late, don’t want you sleeping in your fancy stuff.” He whispers, and you nod. You’d forgotten that you were still in your outfit, being preoccupied with your emotions for the past few hours. As Jamie picked you up again, you glanced at the clock on the stove and sighed to yourself when you saw the numbers flash ‘11:25’. Had you really spent that much time crying? Sure, you had a completely valid reason, but you hadn’t seen the time at all since you had been home. You’re sat on the bed and Jamie helps you change clothes, saying loving words to you the whole time. 

Too tired to argue with him, you let him lay next to you and wrap his arms around you. You missed the feeling of him holding you, even if you were still mad at him. The more you cuddled with him, the more relaxed you were, and you knew this was what you needed after being a wreck earlier. Time seems to freeze as you focus on the sound of his heartbeat, curling up more into his side as your tired eyes shut. His lips gently kissing the top of your head and his hand softly rubbing your back were the last things you felt before falling asleep, along with a barely audible “I love you, my angel.”

-

The distant scent of vanilla slowly pulled you from your sleeping state, and you smiled to yourself when you still saw Jamie lying next to you. He was awake and on his computer, probably typing an email for work, but you didn’t care enough to ask. One of his hands was on the blanket that was covering you, just so you’d feel him close to you. You notice how dark your room is, the only lights being Jamie's laptop, a candle on his bedside table, and the hallway light that was visible under your bedroom door. Your hand came from under the blanket and grabbed his, squeezing it lightly to say you were awake. Instinctively, he brings your hand to his lips, pressing a tender kiss right above your knuckles. “Did you sleep well? Lit your favorite candle and turned the lights off, I know how sensitive you are to them after nights like the last one.” His voice was quiet as he turned his attention from his computer to you, not wanting to say the wrong thing but also not wanting to have too much noise right when you woke up. Your eyes meet his and the sapphire sparkles in the dim lighting, no doubt making you fall in love with him even more. A small grin comes on your face as you nod at his question, cuddling into his side more and resting your head on his chest again. “I really do want to apologize for last night, angel. You shouldn’t have gone through that, and I know it’s entirely my fault. My dumbass drank too much, not that it’s an excuse. Is there any possible way I can make this up to you?” He nearly stuttered over his words, and it made your heart ache.

“I’m not gonna lie and say it’s okay, because it isn’t. I was heartbroken when I didn’t see you, Jamie. Then to see you just lounging around and hear that you went out drinking instead? You knew about this for months, I watched you write it on the calendar, and you still made other plans. I don’t know how you’re gonna get back from this one, but I’m hoping you put in more effort than you did last night.” You roll out of bed, grabbing clothes before going inside the bathroom to change. Several deep breaths escape from you as you try to not think about how you were curled against the door just last night. Not needing to go anywhere, you put on the sweatpants and hoodie you grabbed, both smelling faintly of Jamie’s cologne. Your mind drifts off, thinking about how tightly he hugged you last night. His hugs made you feel so safe and protected. He made you feel whole, like you could do anything. When you first met him, you’d just recently come out of a somewhat long relationship. Sure, your now 3 years with Jamie wasn’t anything compared to your previous year and a half with your ex, but Jamie was the first partner you had that actually gave a shit. You knew this relationship would be different from the first week, after he surprised you with flowers just because he wanted to see you smile, or when he took the both of you on a much needed vacation and practically worshiped you the whole time. The first kiss you shared with him took your breath away, and you knew you were addicted to him. It felt like a drug, the way your love for him took over, and vice versa. Within 3 months of dating him, you couldn’t imagine being with anyone else. Pure magic is what it felt like on a daily basis, and your heart was full. Shuffling from your room pulls you from your thoughts as you open the bathroom door to see Jamie gone. A sigh leaves you while you walk into the kitchen and see a note on the countertop. “Making it up to you. I promise I’ll be back soon, don’t worry that pretty little head of yours. I love you, my angel. - Jamie”. Even the simple gesture of the note was enough to make your heartbeat a little quicker. There wasn’t a second that went by where Jamie didn’t love you and care about you. You both had your weak times like every other relationship on the planet, but there was never any bad blood between you both. He made sure you knew how much he loved you, whether it was with the actual words or gestures, he wanted you to feel appreciated and loved the second you woke up and the second you went to bed. Time went slowly the whole day, and very few messages from Jamie came your way. The occasional ‘Be back soon’, ‘Missing your beautiful face’, ‘I love you so much, darling’, all to which you responded with ‘please be careful, miss and love you’. It wasn’t a busy day, chores were done and you didn’t have anything urgent to respond to. While you didn’t want to spend the day wondering what he was doing, there was nothing else grabbing your attention. TV was crap and you didn’t feel like going out, not that you would on a weekday. Every bar/outing area was probably full to capacity and you really weren’t in the mood to be squeezed like a sardine in between people that were too drunk or high (or both) to care about your well being. All you felt like doing was having a quiet time to yourself, and that’s exactly what you did.

You don’t remember dozing off, but suddenly you were being woken up by Jamie’s lips on your cheek and his hand on your side. His eyes meet yours as they open, that golden smile making your cheeks turn the slightest shade of red. The silence between you was comfortable as he helped you up from where you laid on the couch. He led you into the kitchen and lifted you onto the countertop, standing in front of you until there was no room left between the two of you. Once his hands found a home on your thighs, a passionate kiss was pressed to your lips. It was the kind of kiss that took your breath away, like how he kissed you for the first time. There was no hesitation as you deepened the kiss, combing your hands through his hair and tugging lightly, earning a groan from him.

The kiss never broke as he carried you from the kitchen to your bedroom, laying you down as he got on top of you. Your legs wrap around his waist to keep him where he is, and his focus changes from your lips to your neck. He finds your sweet spot within seconds and sucks a faint mark onto your skin. You let out a quiet gasp as he presses another kiss onto the sensitive skin of your neck before pulling away. There’s no time to mutter out a word before he gives one more deep kiss to your lips, making you want more. To your dismay, he moves from you completely, freeing himself from your legs and rolling over to your side. A quiet laugh escapes him when he sees your face form a pout, and he places a delicate kiss on the tip of your nose.

“That was a treat for both of us, I could tell you needed a little pick-me-up recently. It’s luckily still early in the day, so what do you say we spend some much needed time together? We can do whatever you want, and we’ll stay out until you want to come home.” He crossed his arms and you rolled your eyes. You weren’t badly annoyed, just upset at yourself for letting him affect you this much. To say you wanted him to kiss you again and make you feel like you were on cloud 9 was an understatement, but the reminder in the back of your head that he wasn’t there for you kept poking through. It was easy for you to forgive and forget when the time was right, he knew this from all the times your friends pissed you off as a joke. However, he also knew that the bigger the fuck up, the longer it took you to find the heart to forgive a person, and he was determined to wait for as long as he needed to.

“As lovely as that sounds, could it wait until tomorrow? I’d like to mentally prepare myself for whatever it is we do.” You don’t mean for the words to come out as quietly as they did, but you felt shy for some reason. The both of you were normally touchy feely with each other, hugs and kisses were a part of your daily language. Even though you were still rightfully pissed at him, you did want to spend a day with Jamie. Just the two of you enjoying each other's company, maybe having a few too many drinks, or just doing whatever Jamie had planned; if anything. Your last date night was so long ago, the only thing you remembered was how it ended, it made you blush every time you thought about it.

“Of course my love, there’s not much to prepare for, but take all the time you need.” His words eased some anxieties you had as you looked over at him and met his eyes, making you blush and bite your lip from feeling bashful. He traces a finger across your cheek before tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear and gently rubbing your cheek with his thumb. You automatically lean into his touch and it makes both of you let out sighs of contentment. The moments where you could just be with each other, holding each other, whether you were talking or not, those were your favorite moments. Trying to find the space inside your heart to forgive him would eventually happen, but it wouldn’t happen so soon. Turning onto your side so your back was facing him, he knew he wasn’t in the clear, he only hoped that what he had planned would fix some of what he caused.

The rest of the day went as well as it could’ve gone, eating dinner with each other, the love never fading from the space. Jamie was being more flirty than normal, not that it was an issue. He tried following you into the bathroom for your shower, you only chuckled and kissed his cheek before closing the door in front of him. Certain phrases that he knew made you flustered were whispered in your ear when you were getting water, his arms wrapping around you from behind as you blushed from his words. Before you both fell asleep, Jamie pulled you closer to him and held you in place with his tattooed arm. You felt safe, protected from the outside world, you felt at home.

-

Your eyes fluttered open to a somewhat dark room, the sunlight peeking through the blinds and birds faintly chirping in the distance. Jamie’s arm was still draped over you, less tight than when you fell asleep, but still firmly keeping you in place. You lightly run your fingers across some of his tattoos, just admiring the beauty of the art on the human you were lucky enough to call yours. Gradually, your feather light touches pulled Jamie from his sleep, his own hand gently grabbing yours as he fully woke up. He ran his thumb over your knuckles, craning his head up just to the point where he’s able to press kisses from your wrist to your fingertips. 

“You ready to start the day, love? Can’t wait to see that beautiful face out and about. Check the closet, one of your friends sent their help picking your outfit when you were napping yesterday.” He presses a long kiss to your cheek before rolling out of bed, his morning voice echoing in your ears. Curiosity takes over as you kick the covers off and walk over to the doors, you didn’t know which friend came over, but they all definitely knew what your style was. The glance you gave to the mirror lasted longer than you thought it would after you changed clothes. Your hands gently went over the fabric and smoothed some of the wrinkles down to add the cherry on top. 

“Are you gonna be my date for the day? You know how much I love my arm candy.” His arms wrap around your waist from behind and you see his face appear beside yours, and you couldn’t even try to hide the smile on your face. A sweet kiss is pressed to the side of your neck as he squeezes you a little tighter. The warmth from his hands could be felt through your clothes as he gently rubbed circles on your sides, his small smile lighting up the room like it always did. Your hands rested on top of his as you fully leaned into him, his cologne invading your senses, almost making your brain fuzzy. Again, the silence between the two of you was comfortable, you could stay in this same position all day and you wouldn’t be upset, but you knew Jamie had plans for the both of you.

“Always love being your date, my angel. I’ll never get tired of it. But we have things to do today, let’s get going.” He spoke playfully in your ear as he lightly smacked your ass after the last sentence. It wasn’t in a sexual way, more like in a ‘we gotta go, i’ll follow you out’ way. The car ride to the downtown area was mostly quiet, the radio was turned down almost all the way, but the view outside the car was better than any music could’ve been. It was the time of year where the seasons were changing, and luckily the leaves hadn’t fallen off the trees yet. Different vibrant shades of orange, red, and yellow were everywhere, and the air was so crisp and just chilly enough to where you didn’t need a jacket on. 

Jamie’s glances over to you were missed as you looked out the window, but he didn’t care. As long as you had that smile on your face, the one that made his heart skip a beat when he saw it, the one where he knew you were genuinely happy, he was fine with seeing your side profile, he loved all angles of you the same. One of his hands moved from the steering wheel to your thigh out of instinct, lightly squeezing as his thumb caressed your clothes skin. You put your hand on top of his again and gave him a smile when he quickly looked over at you, your heart full already from the simple gesture. 

“Do I wanna ask why we’re driving down a dirt road?” You giggle lightly as you ask and you can see his face light up at the sound. He parks the car behind a rather large bush before turning to you, his eyes having a different look in them. Your eyebrow raises as he reaches to the backseat and reveals a silk blindfold. “Don’t tell me we’re about to do something, baby. I’m all for spicing things up, but we’re in a public place, in a car, and in the middle of nowhere. This is testing the limits even for you.” His chuckle is lighthearted as he puts the blindfold on your lap, looking at you with pure adoration. 

“If I say where we are, it’ll ruin the surprise. Put this on and I’ll help you out darling, nothing to be nervous about.” He presses a sweet kiss to your cheek and smiles when he sees your cheeks flush to a light shade of pink. No matter how many times he kisses you, he’ll never get tired of seeing you get flustered from it. You take a deep breath before you tie the blindfold over your eyes, careful to not get your hair tangled in it. Once it was fully covering your eyes, you searched for Jamie's hands in front of you. The familiar smoothness of his palm welcomed your hands as he squeezed them briefly before getting out of the car and rushing to your side.

“If you brought me to some weird ass place, I don’t even know an example, but if it’s something weird-” You cut yourself off with a laugh as you nearly trip over what you think is a tree branch. Jamie catches you, his ringed hands holding you a little more firmly as he guides you to wherever the hell you’re going. The ground beneath you turned from hard to soft, and you pictured it turning from dirt to grass. A slight whistle of wind makes goosebumps form and Jamie lovingly rubs your arms while giving you a sweet kiss on your lips. He stops suddenly, holding you in place as your heartbeat quickens with anticipation of what’s to come.

The blindfold is removed and your eyes take in the sight around you. Jamie brought you to a flower field, one that went as far as the eye could see. Sunflowers, daisies, peonies, and tulips were everywhere you looked in all directions. Even though the air was starting to get cooler, the flowers hadn’t started to wilt. It was like they were waiting for you to be there and appreciate the beauty that nature had to give before they went away for the winter. Apparently it looked like Jamie had been there earlier, the picnic setup on the ground in front of you looking like a dream you might’ve had at one point. You turn to him and he has his golden smile again, the one that makes you forget your troubles.

“I didn’t bring you to a weird ass place, I brought you to a cute ass place. You’ve always wanted a flower field picnic, so I figured why not have one now?” You both sat down on the blanket, the flowers consuming the both of you in the best way. All you saw were bright colors and Jamie, and that’s really all you cared for at the moment. The picnic was sweet, cheesy moments of you feeding each other strawberries, and loving moments where Jamie talked about the future he saw with you. Birds chirping in the trees caught your attention for a split second, leading to Jamie gently turning your attention back to him with a passionate kiss. It catches you off guard the slightest bit, but you don’t care. 

“I didn’t know how badly I needed this. Just an us day. I love how thoughtful your mind is, baby. Really means a lot to me.” You put your palm on his cheek and he leans into your touch. He pulls something from his pocket and holds it in his hand. Your hand moves to grab your cup, taking a sip of the juice Jamie poured for you. A flash of light from the corner of your eye makes you look back to Jamie, and you see he’s holding the necklace you found at the jewelry store the other week. Something about the design made your heart happy, and it wasn’t just the gems. Each of them had their own unique sparkle in the sunlight, the colors being as vibrant as the flowers you were surrounded by. 

“For the record, you look more gorgeous than this necklace ever will. But I knew it would make you smile, and that makes you look even more gorgeous.” Your heart swells at his words while you turn your body so he can put the necklace on you. It sits perfectly on your collarbone, and you swear that you can’t feel happier than that moment. “We’d better go if we want to have time for everything else.” He says after looking at the time. By looking around you, you could tell it wasn’t late in the day, which meant he had more planned. You were nervous, but more excited than anything else. 

You make your way back to his car and put everything away before hopping back in, wondering where Jamie would be taking you next. It was another quiet ride, occasionally making eye contact which made you smile, and made him squeeze your hand gently. The dirt road turned back to gravel, and you saw the familiar shops that you’d pretty much grown up with. A few more turns came, and then the name of your favorite café came into view and you turned to look at Jamie again, your hand holding his a little tighter. 

“How cliché, the place we had our first date. I love it.” You said it teasingly, but the love in your voice was unmistakable. He parked and got out, almost running to open your door so you didn’t have to, the natural gentleman in him jumping out. His hand took yours again, intertwining your fingers as you walked over to the door. The familiar scent of freshly baked sweets, amongst other things, filling the space around you. Jamie walked in behind you and got the attention of one of the employees who quickly made their way over to you. “We have your reserved spot right outside!” Your face turns to look at Jamie and you mouth ‘You reserved a spot?’ His hand on your back gently guiding you to the table was your answer, and the view made you stop in your tracks.

You were a local to the area, grown up not too far away from the main tourist attraction. Still, every time you came over, especially during the fall/winter times, you were mesmerized. The area looked like it could be right out of a tv show, all the café’s, arcades, even mini golf courses. All leading to a boardwalk that went out quite a bit over the crystal clear waters. During the summer it was always hot and even though it wasn’t a beach, the sea was still very populated during those months. Luckily you lived in a place that had actual cold seasons, not that 75℉/23℃ in December B.S., so it was like a winter wonderland in the cold. The sea hadn’t frozen over yet since the temperature hadn’t dropped that much, but the 65℉/18℃ was comfortable. Sounds of children laughing with their families flooded your ears while views of the sun just starting to set captivated your eyes. It almost looked like a rainbow in the sky, various purples, light blues, pinks, and gold colors painted across the cloudless canvas. 

Jamie snapped you out of your thoughts, pulling out your chair and pressing a kiss to your forehead. You sat down to look at the menu while Jamie went back inside. The slight breeze made you shiver, but you weren’t fully cold, it was nothing a hot chocolate couldn’t help. If the whole location wasn’t ‘movie-esque’ enough, a butterfly landed on the menu right in front of you. Its wings almost glimmering with the different colors above shining down on it. As quickly as it appeared, it flew away, right as Jamie came back with his hands full. 2 hot chocolates, cookies, mini doughnuts, and 2 slices of pumpkin pie were on the tray he held. 

“You weren’t looking at the menu, were you? My love, you know I already have your order memorized! We come here every year around this time, just wanted to spoil you a bit more tonight.” He kissed the top of your head before sitting down. Your hand came up to gently run over your necklace, feeling the detail of how everything fit together. Jamie held your other hand as he took a sip of his hot chocolate, the steam making his glasses slightly fog up. He didn’t want to overwhelm you with the food choices, he knew that if there was too much in front of you, you’d only pick at it and not have any. That was just one of the many reasons why you loved him, he always kept your feelings in mind, no matter what he did. Always making sure you were comfortable, and he always tried his best to make up for when he made mistakes.

“You’d think I know that by now, I mostly just check to see if anything new is added. It means a lot that you know what I get, I love that you pay attention to the small stuff.” You smile as you sip your hot chocolate before having a mini doughnut. It was as if time just stopped at that moment. Not only was the love of your life sitting across from you and looking at you like the goddess you were, but the sky continued to take your breath away. Nothing could’ve made this moment better, and you were happy that you got to spend it with the man who made your heart feel complete. “I really can’t believe you did this, Jamie. It’s all so stunning.” Your hands motion to the food in front of you and to the view around you. There were really no words to describe it other than beautiful. 

“Says the one who looks like that, you’re the stunning one, baby.” He looks you up and down while giving you that look, and you can’t help the redness that appears on your cheeks. You both continue to eat away at what he brought out, taking your time with the pie since it was your favorite. Eventually you finished everything, including the hot chocolate, and then made your way onto the boardwalk, your finger intertwined with Jamie’s. “We still have one more place to go, and I think you’ll appreciate this one. Even though the light is hitting you just right, we have to get going again.” His hand traced the side of your face as he spoke, and the way he looked at you made your heart flutter.

“You’ve outdone yourself, Jamie. I don’t know what else there could be to do!” You pull him in for a hug just as a strong gust of wind hits you. He holds you close to him in such a secure way, it felt like nothing could tear you two apart. Your face buried in his neck and his hands rubbing your back, the now prominent scent of his cologne, it was all overwhelming your senses in the best way. The look in his eye when he pulled away didn’t leave any room for guessing, you knew what thought he was having and you nodded your head. There was no hesitation as he pressed his lips to yours, and you only deepened the kiss as he pulled you closer to him. Sadly, it was over sooner than you wanted it to be, his hands finding a home on your hips.

“My love, we still have to go somewhere else. Come on, it’ll be the finishing touch for tonight.” Laughter follows his words as he sees your faux pouting face. His hand grabs yours again while you walk back to his car for the 2nd time that night. You didn’t ask where he was taking you, but you trusted him with your life and knew that he wouldn’t make you uncomfortable. The radio was slightly turned up for the first time that night and you saw that Jamie connected his aux. He started typing in a song and you were curious, your eyes softening as you heard the opening piano playing. “Is it a sad song? Technically yes. But I know Harry makes you happy, so I’m happy to play it for you.” A quick kiss landed on your cheek before he started driving, humming along to the song playing.

You kept looking at the areas out the window, trying to figure out where Jamie was taking you. It wasn’t until you saw the steps that you put the pieces together. Your eyes landed on Jamie as he parked the car, you could tell he was trying not to make eye contact because he didn’t want you to be upset. A quiet sigh escaped from you, and it made Jamie nearly flinch when he couldn’t figure out the meaning of it. When your hand reached over to gently turn his face in your direction, you couldn’t decipher the emotion his eyes showed. There was a mix of worry, dread, sympathy, panic, and love, and you could almost cry from seeing how nervous he was. 

“I’m not mad, baby. Not at all. I guess confused is a better term? Just didn’t think you’d want to be here.” You muttered the words more quietly than you intended, but he heard them loud and clear. He didn’t say anything back, instead getting out of the car and walking to your side as you unbuckled your seatbelt just as he made it over to you. Like earlier, he helped you out and intertwined your fingers as you made your way to the gallery entrance. Jamie pulled the key from his pocket and ignored your confused face for a second, unlocking the door and letting you in before him.

“I pulled a few strings, I had to see my beautiful girl's outstanding work.” Your heart beamed at his words for the hundredth time that night, walking behind him as he slowly approached the gold frame that still hung on the wall. “It’s absolutely magnificent, darling. There isn’t anything you can’t do.” He put an arm around your waist as you made your way over to him. You sadly couldn’t give him a more genuine smile as you remembered how you felt that night when he didn’t show up for you. The tears that spilled from you didn’t catch his attention, but the whimper that you tried to hold back did. The opportunity to turn your face away from him wasn’t an option as he turned you to fully face him.

“To say that I’m sorry is an understatement. There’s no excuse for how much of a dumbass i was. I knew this was happening, I made the plan to be here, and then it didn’t happen. I got too drunk and got a ride home, sobered up and just did my thing. Knowing that you were having a hard time, that you could’ve been having anxiety because I wasn’t there makes my heart break more every time I think about it. There will never be words to tell you how sorry I am, and I know that. Tonight wasn’t about you forgiving me, it was about me showing you how awful I felt, and still feel, about missing something that was so important and special to you. You always have been, and always will be the most important person in my life, and hearing you break down that night was one of the worst things I’ve ever heard, especially knowing I was the cause. You didn’t deserve that to happen, you only deserve the best, and I’m always going to be sorry that I caused you so much pain. The love of my life should never feel this way, my angel.” 

More tears came from you at his words, and you could see them forming in his eyes as well. His thumbs wiped away your tears gently, while one fell down his cheek. You don’t know how long you just stood in the silence, but when he pulled you in for another hug, you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. It was like all the stress and worry and anxiety from inside just came out at once. He didn’t stop comforting you, holding you while you shook like a leaf from crying so much. Your arms gripped him tighter, not wanting him to leave, even though you knew he wouldn’t. 

A shallow wave of relief came over him, he knew he was your safe place, and you were his. Though he couldn’t tell clearly if the tears were from how happy you were today, or if they were from you remembering how shitty you felt from the other night, he could tell the sigh you let out was from relief. Him letting you go wasn't a thought in his head at all when you hugged him even tighter, he just wanted to hold you until you felt better, until you felt whole again. If it took forever, he’d be there, after all, you were the love of his life, and he wanted to make sure you knew it.

-

a/n- again, i'm so, so very sorry for how long this took me to write. i wanted to make sure it was good since it's my first ever angst/fluff fic, and taking over 2 months was never what i planned on. i hope you all enjoy it, apologies once more 🤍

taglist: @hellfire-isnt-it, @hellfirebabes, @Ima1986 (wouldn't let me tag you) if you wanna be tagged in future fics, send me your user!

[empressyu123]

The love you give

it’s you… (part 2)

Chouji: Hello you unpolished gem

Speechless, Ego continues to stare blankly in shock

Ego: it’s you… it’s really you, Ai.

Chouji: also! *Smiling with his eyes closed* i’d rather you called me Chouji instead. at least for now~

as Chouji talked Isagi stood on the sidelines, as he watched which he couldn’t help but think-

Isagi: ? (what is this kdrama moment i’m seeing?)

Anri: *whispering* hey isagi?

Isagi turns to meet Anri’s eyes

Anri: Is your brother really the Ai Chouji?

Isagi: yea?

Anri: as in the man who single handily took down teams of skilled players using minimum effort? the legendary Prideful Empress?!

Isagi: *smiles confidently* yep that’s the one

 

Ego: I-

Chouji: so?~

there was a pause, Ego then turned his head to look at the two bystanders who flinched at the jester.

Ego: Anri, Isagi get out for a bit.

Anri: Wait-

Ego: i’ll forgive you both just get out.

Anri: we’ll be in the staff lounge.

Without question Anri escorts the young striker out but before they could leave, Isagi looks to Chouji and Ego which is when he met his brother’s gaze.

Isagi: …

then receiving all the information he needed, he then proceeds to walk out the door, the door then closed behind them.

after they were out of the room Chouji turns to Ego smiling but now with change in his attitude,

Chouji: well then,

Ego breaths in

Chouji: shall we start discussing then?

 

 Once Isagi and Anri were outside they both let out a breath which they’ve held for too long.

Trying to lighten the mood Anri speaks up,

Anri: shall we go then?

as they walked in silence Isagi asked Anri

Isagi you think my brother is going to be okay?

Anri: considering how Ego acted… maybe…

Anri then decided to start asking about his brother since this still was all new to her,

Anri: so your brother… seemed to know Ego quite well,

Isagi: yea, he does… didn’t expect him to actually know him at all…

Anri: he never told you?

Isagi: i don’t think he even knew he was here

Anri: oh really, you never told him?

Isagi: welllll- i did, like half an hour ago…

Anri: …?

Isagi: I didn’t want to bother him with all the details, besides he’s quite busy most of the time, do get me wrong he’s an amazing brother, he makes the time to talk and spend time with me and everything it’s just my fault for never telling him about it but i also guess we ever got to a right moment to discuss about it?

Anri: if you don’t mind me asking, what does he work as?

Isagi: he, works at as a teacher,

Anri: oh? what subject?

As they continued to discuss a thought popped in. Anri decides to be brave and shoots the question that had been running in her mind

Anri: so, Isagi, i was just wondering…

Isagi: ?

Anri: You told us that Chouji was your eldest brother, if you don’t mind me asking how many siblings do you have?

Isagi: 3 brothers 3 sisters,

Anri: SIX SIBLINGS?!

isagi laughs slightly yea, crazy huh?

Anri: why does it not say on your data base, why isn’t there anything about your siblings?

Isagi: oh, that’s because we don’t live together and we weren’t all adopted by the same people,

Anri: ah, (wait. Adopted?)… you’re adopted?

Isagi: yea?

Anri: …(how do you say this so casually?!)

as they continued to walk and chat about his family they finally had reached the room and then proceeded to open the door and out flung a person

“Isagi!”

Isagi heard the voices of 2 and was soon jumped on by a familiar figure.

Isagi: Bachira, Otoya!? what are you doing here?-

Bachira: Iiiisaaagiiii! that roach won’t leave us alone!!!

the bee haired boy pointed at the tanned blonde with pink tips who was smiling sinisterly at them

Shidou: you’re really hurting my feelings there wasp… hi blueberry!

Isgai: … Shidou?

Otoya: Isagi please do something!!!

Anri: ummm?

Isagi: hahaha… (Aniki, please hurry the fuck up)

 

with Ego and Chouji, they were having a staring contest, so far Ego was winning.

It went on for at least 10 more minutes before Chouji spoke up and broke the silence,

Chouji: well then, what should we start with?

Ego could only stare at his old friend as he continued on

Chouji: my relations to our dearest hero isagi yoichi, where i’ve been all these years, or could it be?

he walks up to him and stroked his chin, staring at him with his heterochromia eyes, smiling

Chouji: the reason i left you?

Ego remained silent, which causes Chouji to tilt his head to the side and hums

Ego: would, you want tea or water?

Chouji: … eh?

 

next thing Chouji knew he was sitting facing Ego having tea,

Ego: have you been doing okay lately?

Chouji: i’ve… been better?

Ego: oh good… I was worried, are you and Isagi Yoichi going anywhere after this?

Chouji: well we’re going to go to my place for a bit, you know the little house further down the mountain?

Ego: yea i haven’t forgotten (how could I?)

Chouji took a sip of his tea, buying time for a minute to say something,

Chouji: …it’s amazing how much you’ve changed,

Ego: yea well i have you to thank for that,

Chouji brows raised in confusion as

Ego had flashbacks to when they were 17 again, how even though Chouji was a maniac on the field, off the field he was like a completely different person, a person who was kind, thoughtful and patient, almost saintly, Ego would say that Isagi Yoichi, if not for his left eye, was the spitting image of him when he was younger.

When Ego bullied in front of Chouji for the first time, after someone insulted Ego for being a loner (not knowing he was friends with Chouji).

Well… let’s just say he never came to harm him again in any shape or form,

it didn’t stop there, like the times when some got his order wrong on purpose, Chouji would walk up to the counter then slammed the table, smiling menacingly saying

“he said no fucking pickles.”

or

“you got his order wrong”

because he was to scared to do so,

the proudest moments he remembered were when he finally got the courage to stand up and actually insult his bully after he made fun of Chouji behind his back and then the next day-

Ego: do you remember that guy that would make fun of me during first period?

Chouji: hmm? oh! i remember, yea how that guy asked you to just jump off a bridge, then you said-

Ego: “better idea, how about i climb up your ego and jump to your IQ?”

Chouji: *smiling happily* i was so proud of you,

they both chuckled,

Ego: I remember how we accidentally set fire to the teachers desk, you asked if i was sure this is a good idea? and i said

Chouji: *smiling* “Don’t worry it’ll be fine”it was not fine, we had to face so much lecturing and had pay for the desk, that desk was not cheap remember,

Ego: I know, I know,

they bursted out laughing,

they both remembered it all like it was just yesterday…

on or off the field, it was no different. It was Jinpachi and Chouji against anyone who stood in their way.

They hung out so much that people had called them “the JiJi’s”the guys who laughed at the opposite team and makes fun of their tactics.

Being the biggest threat to the opposing teams and the biggest troublemakers in college, but also being the most respected people in both worlds

It was most would consider perfect, 

but then again

“perfection doesn’t last forever”

Ego: *tired smile* i even took after your terrible habit of cussing at people

Chouji: hey! I told you i wasn’t going to be here every moment of your life and if you were gonna my friend, you were gonna have to learn to cuss a little.

paused.

Ego: (“I’m not going to be here every moment of your life…” that’s right he did say that…)

Then Ego thought to himself for a bit as if he was trying to find the right way to say it to him and it seemed that Chouji caught on as he had quirked his brow,

Chouji: (oh?) spit it out.

Ego: ?

Chouji: I know there’s something you wanna say so just say it dear,

Ego: … would you like to come tomorrow again?

Chouji: *his smile froze and his eyes widen* ?

Ego: well… it’s been a while and i would like us to catch up and it’s almost the end of the day so, would you come tomorrow again?

Chouji: … this was far from the reaction that i expected from you,

Ego: really?

Chouji: i was really expecting rage, bargaining, cries and even the silent treatment… I didn’t think you would still look at me, let alone speak to me again,

Ego: sorry to disappoint your expectations then, *sips his beverage*

Chouji: *muttering* you really have matured a lot,

Ego: *mood brightens* well- it’s all thanks to your let-

Chouji: *turns his gaze quickly towards the door* there’s someone coming,

there was a knock on the door and then suddenly a large figure walked in and then followed another, Ego quickly changed back to his usual stoic manner

Ego: Lavinho, Loki what do you want?

Loki hands over a tablet to Ego and then explains

Loki: just an update on the player’s data-

Lavinho: yooo do you have any alcohol here?

Loki could only sigh apologetically for Ego as the loud tanned man talked.

Ego: *annoyed* no. if that’s all you wanted then you could’ve gone to the staff lounge.

Lavinho: *now whining* but your area is closer, besides~ you have plenty of booze here!

Ego: get out. i have a guest here.

Ego gestures towards Chouji who smiles sweetly at them. The both couldn’t help but stare

Lavinho: (who is this beauty i see…?)

Loki: (he really does look unique… in a good way,)

Just as Ego was about to tell them to go again, Lavinho walks towards Chouji takes his hand he brings his it up to his face then drops a kiss on the back of it.

Lavinho: Oye, señor perfecto, ¿qué es algo bueno como tú en un lugar como este?

translation- hey mister perfect, what’s a fine thing like you doing in a place like this?

Ego slapped the had away then clicked his tough

Ego: don’t be so disrespectful of our guest here.

Lavinho: oh? *smirks* i thought i was!

Loki: not to be rude and interrupt but we can argue right now.

he takes out a case of translators, 

Loki: why are you talking to him when he doesn’t have the ear piece, he can’t understand you

Loki hands the translators to Chouji, which he takes politely but before he puts them in he turns to Lavinho,

Chouji: … *he’s eyes narrow and then smirks* I’m here for my brother, thanks for asking handsome

Ego, Loki & Lavinho: !

Lavinho: (oh? oh! it’s that guy from earlier!) h-

Ego: Chouji. you can’t just say stuff like that to strangers!

Loki: Oh, c'est toi ! Alors Isagi Yoichi, c'est ton frère? (oops i spoke in French)

translation- oh it’s you! so Isagi Yoichi’s you’re brother?

Chouji: that’s right, you saw me earlier in the monitors? my~ the security here is impressive!

Loki & Lavinho: !

Chouji: *laughs, then puts in the ear pieces* now then i think i’ve kept my dear brother waiting long enough, the young lady said that they’d be in the staff lounge right? *turns to Ego* if you don’t mind, where is that exactly?

Loki: we’re going there actually, I can take you there if you want,

Chouji: *smiling fondly* thank you dear, that’s very kind of you! no wonder Yoichi speaks so highly of you,

Loki: (oh? he talks about me…) he does?

Chouji: definitely~ … wanna hear the stories?

Loki: well… *smiles* if you’re offering,

Chouji: *laughs* well, for starters, he thinks you’re handsome,

Loki: *blushes and raises his brow* he thinks i’m handsome?

Chouji: particularly your eyes, he finds them pretty~

Loki: *a small smile forms on his face* … i see,

Lavinho: hey don’t leave me out of it! wait up, señor perfecto!

as soon as they walked off Ego took a moment to sigh tiredly and to twiddle with his neck tie when he immediately realised.

 

Ego: Fuck he didn’t answer my question!

 

back with Isagi,

Bachira and Otoya were hugging his arms hiding behind him like baby koalas.

Of course once they had calmed down a bit Isagi asked.

Isagi: so are you going to tell me why you’re here?

Shidou: I came cuz of Loki but got lost~

Anri: okay that Shidou… but what about you two?

Bachira: Well~ Lavinho was helping out with the party and wanted some help so we came and tagged along!

Lavinho: that’s a damn lie

Otoya & Bachira: !?

like magic, Lavinho walked in with Ego who looked far from pleased, a face that could kill anyone if it could.

Lavinho: I wanted to grab a beer and it just so happens that the way to the drinks area was near here, but since Ego’s office was closer i went there, these two voluntarily decided to come with me for some reason.

…

Anri: -so, why are you here?

Bachira: well! we, um well…

Otoya: Bachira wanted to see if Isagi had a girlfriend so we went to go see if it was true.

everyone: (… ah.)

Shidou ohhh~?

Bachira: *betrayed gasps as he lets go of isagi* NOT ONLY ARE YOU A SNITCH, YOU’RE A BITCH!

Otoya: *processes to rap his arms around Isagi and sticks his tough out* every man for himself.

as Bachira was about to make witty comeback when Ego cuts in

Ego: and you never thought to ask him instead?

there was quiet

Bachira & Otoya: … oh, ye-ah, (oops)

Ego: you’re here because you got impatient. isn’t it?

guilty~

Shidou: *laughs* wow! jealously doesn’t look good on you two!~

Bachira & Otoya *glares at Shidou*

Anri patted Isagi’s back empathetically as Isagi’s eye twitched when looking at the two, so done,

he just wanting to go spend time with his brother, was that really so hard?

Isagi: (will this crush phase end?)

me: not anytime soon,

Isagi: (feels like Gods doing this for his own entertainment…)

Me: oop! yea i did do that, teehee~

 

little did he realise that his beloved brother was standing at the sidelines with Loki having just arrived but managed to hear from “you we’re impatient” part.

Chouji: pfft-

muffling a giggle but failing miserably. Chouji quickly turned his head and covered his mouth and to turn away from this funny site.

Unfortunately, thanks to Isagi’s hearing, he notices and then turns to glare at him, ignoring Loki who was standing beside him.

Isagi: (don’t just laugh help me!)

Chouji: *coughs then regains his composure*

everyone turns to face the man

Chouji: nice to meet you! you must be Yoichi’s friends, my name is Chouji i’ve heard a lot about you guys~

Lavinho: Chouji? *he grins boyishly* quite fitting, you really live up to your name mariposa~

Ego: *grits* shut up Lavinho stop flirting with the guest.

Chouji who’s still looking at the two japanese players not noticing the bickering behind him

Chouji: are you alright?

The 3 looked at Chouji, not looking away and blinked twice.

Bachira: you’re not a girl.

Chouji smiled at him with wide eyes there was silence.

Chouji: eh?

Isagi: Bachira!

Otoya: still very pretty though, friend, boyfriend?

Isagi: brother.

even longer silence

Bachira, Shidou, Otoya: ! *panics except Shidou* sorry future brother in law/ no way!/ sir…

everyone except the brothers look at Bachira and Shidou with strange expressions.

Shidou of course who ignores the stares walks up to isagi and raps an arm around his shoulder and says

Shidou: brother huh? you look a copy of him, he looks like you but in the future!

Isagi: wait really?

Shidou: yea! *he then gets real close to his ear* you look just as beautiful, but with a more adorable features~

Isagi: *rolls his eyes then pushes his face away from him*

Shidou: haha! just like a cat! so cute~

Isagi: thanks for the compliment Shidou but please refrain my personal space-

Shidou held his hands up and backs away but not before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek,

Chouji: oh?

Isagi: *face reddens* hey!

before immediately getting swatted away by Bachira’s kick.

Otoya protectively shields Isagi with his body as he also wiped his cheek with his sleeve,

Bachira: that’s sexual harassment!

Shidou: Oh, YOU WANNA FIGHT, WASP?

Bachira: bring it cockroach!

 

As the players start bickering leaving the poor Anri, to stop what could only be called an insect war, well try to. the older bluenette turns to the younger one

Chouji: i have to say Yoi, the type range of guys you attract is amazing,

Isagi: *muttering so his brother could only hear* look. i love you Aniki, but please.shut up and help.

Chouji shrugs, he then goes towards the two boys.

Chouji: you two should probably stop now,

Bachira obeyed and immediately stops, Chouji then turns to Shidou and spoke to him gently,

Everyone watched how Chouji managed to stop them (even watch when Chouji scolded them), Anri turns to Isagi and whispers

Anri: i’ve never seen anyone be able to calm Shidou down like that! well other than you and… Ego 

(if the electrician counts.)

Isagi: my brother has that sort of charm to do so, the whole reason how i can do it is because he taught me everything,

Loki: so in other words

Isagi: he’s like a “crazy person whisperer,”

Anri: … is your brother looking for a job?

Isagi: *chuckles* no, but i’ll tell him that ask that, it’ll make him happy to hear.

the french striker, couldn’t help but be taken in by his sweet smile,

then is quiet for a while as he glances at Blue Lock’s poster boy as he contemplates on whether he should tease him about the stories he’s been told.

Loki: (why not?)

in the end he made his decision, might as well give it a go, what’s the harm of trying?

Loki: so, i’ve heard a few stories from Chouji about you

Isagi: *too tired to care at this point to look at his direction* yea?

Loki: …you think my eyes are pretty?

Isagi: *nostalgically answers* yea they look like stars, shine so beautiful the city lights can’t compete.

Loki: *blushes at his blunt answer from the pretty bluenette* o-oh… *coughs* i see(AHHHHH!)

he looked so composed but unfortunately he brain couldn’t do the same as he was screaming fireworks in the inside.

Isagi: ! *fully processed what he said and is now as red as a tomato* (shit!) i am so sorry-

Chouji: *who was still listening in laughs softly, without anyone noticing, except for Isagi*

 

Isagi: *still bright red he decides to take matters in his own hands* Let’s go now!

Chouji: Oh, but couldn’t we just stay a little longer?~

Isagi: let’s go. NOW!

Chouji: yes, yes,- whow!

Isagi then started pulling him out of the entrance,

Isagi: Ego, i’m going to lead my brother out now, bye!

that caught everyone’s attention

Lavinho & Bachira: Wait!-

Isagi: nope!

And just like that they were off,

 

As the two brothers rush out into the hallway Ego who catches up to them grasp Chouji’s hand.

Chouji & Isagi: !

Ego: don’t forget, *pants* my offer is still available.

Whilst smiling, he turns his head away

Chouji: sure, why not?

then drags isagi with him out,

Ego and Isagi: Wait really?/ huh?

from a far, a person watched them as they exited out the door and a voice so tiny could be heard from his lips

 

“Cho?”

[alexanderlightweight]

Alec, as the heir to a throne, must be married. Let’s say there’s no homophobia in this world. Cue a tournament for his hand. He’s absolutely beside himself with rage.

Tournament happens, Jace is trying to win, not for Alec’s hand per se, but kinda as a “I got your back bro” thing. So last 3 are Magnus, Jace, and a stranger. Magnus takes out Jace. And after a long battle and stilted convo of Magnus having to prove he’s been in love with Alec the whole time, Alec removes the mask he’d been wearing/drops his glamour.

I really just want that win the hand/dramatic reveal trope where Alec wins his own fate and the love at the same time.

I am finally finished and Anon, I asssure you it was circumstances that led this to be answered so late. I absolutely loved the concept but I got mad that I didn’t have my laptop and refused to work on it because of that. which is ironic because I ran out of spoons after I finally slept and I finished writing this on my phone after all.

—

Alec watches with detached interest as Magnus defeats Jace.

His brother in arms is furious and seething and spitting blood; but Alec never once asked him to.

Alec finds he has no pity for Jace, not when he’s drawing his visor down and stepping out of the cool halls where each contestant stays.

And then Magnus is finally matching blades against him, brown eyes flaring gold as he tries to keep his magic constrained.

After all, this is a moderated duel.

And Alec snarls as he digs in his heels and takes blows he could redirect because he never wants to risk hurting Magnus.

This isn’t about hurting Magnus, even if Alec refuses to surrender.

They trade blows until Alec lets a hit get him, just so he can trip Magnus without hurting him, and the blow strikes true.

“Alexander?” Magnus asks, softly and almost unsure in the sudden and eerie silence. And Alec coughs out what feels like a lung full of blood as he recenters.

“So what if I am?” He asks Magnus, exhausted and furious with the position he finds himself in. “No one’s bothered asking me what I want. So what does it matter if I’m deciding who I want as well?”

And Magnus, his eyes flare brighter but he stands down. His sword point digs into the sand and he kneels, hand on the pommel as he stares at Alec.

“I never sought to coerce or claim what wasn’t mine. If you decide to pick me, if I am worthy in your eyes, then I am here. And I will fight for you; for whatever choice you make. Even if it isn’t me.”

And Alec can feel the sincerity and he knows that Magnus means what he says. It’s a heady thrill and Alec nearly stumbles as he discards his own sword. It’s a heavy and distracting weight that he doesn’t need as he falls to his own knees and reaches out, cupping Magnus’ face.

“You’re the only one I would choose. The only being that I could pick and be true to myself, but I never wanted to be fought for.” Alec tells him softly, “I will always be willing to surrender myself, for you. As long as it is a choice I’m allowed to make.”

And Magnus pulls him even closer and Alec inhales the sweat and dust and blood and relaxes further.

“I will endeavor to always be your safe haven.” Magnus promises him, and his arms are strong bands that protect Alec, rather than entrap him.

[jamietarttsnorthernattitude]

i'm so tempted to send you like twenty of these things so i can better pick through your beautiful brain BUT i have managed to whittle it down to a semi-sane number!

as many or as little as you feel like answering!

2, 4, 13, 19, 31, 35, 49, 73

💚💚💚

Thank you, you amazing human you <3

2. talk about a notable time a narrative or character has looked you dead in the eyes and said “fuck your plan, here’s what we’re actually doing.”

So I try to write happy endings, or at least ending on an upbeat note with things heading in the right direction, and that was the plan for the honesty of pain. I wrote a scene with Paddy O'Gara picking Jamie up the morning after his confrontation with his father and bringing him to Ethihad for treatment. And it was going to end with Jamie showing up at his Mum's (where they would rebuild their relationship in another story). But, it felt too easy, ending on an upbeat note, so I ended it on a depressing note which aligned more with where Jamie is between seasons 1 and 2.

4. answered here.

13. talk about a writing experience that has pleasantly surprised you.

I think just this lovely community here. I've loved becoming friends with so many wonderful people and amazingly talented writers. People like you my friend who are so supportive and kind and just lovely, lovely people. I don't tell any of my IRL friends about my writing. I don't know if I would find it as rewarding without all of you to share the process with and have a front row seat to watching all of you go through the same process. Love to all of you!

19. what are some books or authors that influenced your style the most?

So what I read is definitely not like what I write. I love reading thriller type books.

31. tell us about one of your characters who’s an absolute joy to write

Roy’s sister. We only see her in two scenes but those are her at work and then her interacting with her daughter and brother and I feel like we got a lot out of those two scenes but at the same time I don’t worry too much about it being OOC because we know so little about her. And as a little sister who delights in bothering my brother, I love to write that for her and Roy as well. Plus since I write so much whump it’s such a cheat code to have her involved in all that.

35. tell us about a character who’s very different than you who you love a whole lot

Oh gosh, I guess my beloved, Jamie. He’s so confident and secure in himself for the most part, and outgoing, wants to be the center etc etc. And that’s just not me, I’m very quiet until I get to know you (then I’m a sarcastic bitch).

49. do you want to be published some day?

I’ve had dreams of writing for years, but I’ve never actually attempted to write something original. I’m not sure I have the creativity to write a full novel or the discipline or intelligence to write one. Technically I did win a poetry contest in 4th grade and my poem was published in a poetry book but alas that is lost to time.

73. how do you visualize scenes? do you see it like a movie in your head, or do the words just flow?

I visualize it like it’s the show, but sometimes the words just flow. Some scenes I have a general idea and others I’ve visualized in full detail by the time I start typing.

[pickalilywrites]

We've seen the baking contest fics, how about a swimsuit competition for both male and female. Prize is an summer worth of a free stay at a 5 star island resort

(This is Levi seeing Zeke on stage in a speedo: 🙄)

i would have put my vote in for speedo!zeke tbh

a show with a view

snk ensemble. modern au. 2129 words.

The beach is abuzz with visitors that are here for the view but not of the ocean. Today is a swimsuit competition held at the nearby beach in Shiganshina. Like the previous competitions, this competition is also being sponsored by the Paradis Mall with the hopes that it would boost sales for the newest swimwear lines for their luxury stores Reiss and Warhammer. This time the prize is a much coveted all-expenses paid stay at any Fritz island resort, good for the entire summer. 

Erwin Smith is the only returning judge from the cooking competitions, but he has a sheepish smile on his face as he walks around with his clipboard. He’s greeted eagerly by many female participants as well as audience members, but he’s shyer than usual. “I didn’t read the invitation correctly and had assumed this would be another cooking competition. I agreed to it and only realized recently this was a swimsuit competition,” he says with a laugh. 

“What a shame,” Sasha sighs. She wears a leaf-patterned one piece bathing suit that she had fished out of her closet. She was the one that had dragged her friends to participate in this competition with the hopes that one of them would be able to win the all-expenses paid resort package, although she’s also content with just feasting at the barbeque taking place after the contest. “He would have won for sure if he were a participant instead of a judge.”  

“Well, I’m glad he’s just a judge. We have enough competition as it is,” Jean says. He glances around at the competition — many of the other male contestants are wearing normal swim trunks but there are a few in speedos — and does his best to assume a pose that will accentuate his abdominal muscles without looking like he’s trying too hard. 

“I say they should bring on as many people as they want. There’s no way we’ll lose!” Connie says with a wide grin. He’s far from being a bodybuilder — Connie’s body is more leaned and toned like a runner’s — but it’s not stopping him from having fun and striking a few classic bodybuilder poses. He winks cheekily when a group of girls squeals when he strikes a particularly dramatic pose.  

Reiner leans over as he observes the crowd that Connie is drawing. “Now there’s a strategy. Do you think I should try that out? Maybe it’ll get me more votes.”  

“Isn’t it enough that you oiled yourself up with that body oil? You practically drenched yourself in it,” Annie says with a slightly disgusted expression on her face. “It’s a good thing that I talked you out of getting a spray tan.” 

“I would have looked amazing in a spray tan,” Reiner pouts. He stands with his feet shoulder-width apart, his hands on his hips as he flexes his biceps. He speaks through gritted teeth, his lips spread in overexaggerated smile, as he adds, “I bet I’d have more people looking over at me at least.” 

“For all the wrong reasons,” Annie replies with a roll of her eyes. She doesn’t bother posing or even standing up straight. Her arms are folded over her chest so that they cover the top of her blue two-piece bathing suit. She had been enticed by the talk of a luxury resort, but she’s beginning to think that a bathing suit competition isn’t worth it. She sees Bertholdt beside her assuming a similar position, but his expression is completely miserable. To Reiner, she says, “Look at Bertholdt. He looks like he’d rather be anywhere else. We shouldn’t have competed in this competition in the first place.”  

“I’m fine,” Bertholdt says. He’s still hunched over and doing his best to cover his torso but failing horribly because of his large stature. He smiles weakly at Annie. “I’m just ... a little embarrassed.”  

“What’s so embarrassing about wearing a swimsuit to a swimsuit competition? We’re on a beach anyway, so it should be even less embarrassing,” Reiner points out. He adjusts his pose so that he’s standing with his torso angled, giving the audience a flattering view of his abs. They’re perfectly toned from years of going to the gym.  

Bertholdt winces when the sunlight bounces from one of Reiner’s perfect pecs and into his eye. “It’s still embarrassing,” he mumbles. 

“Look at poor Bertholdt,” Ymir snickers. While the other female competitors are in swimsuits that reveal much of their skin, Ymir is in bikini bottoms and a wetsuit jacket that completely covers her top half. “If he’s so shy, he shouldn’t have competed in the first place. Not that I’m complaining. It makes it easier for me to win.”  

“Are you even trying to win? No offense, but your swimsuit isn’t exactly flattering,” Historia grumbles. She’s only an audience member this time, having chosen to step down from competing after her sister Frieda had been selected as a judge. While she does wear a swimsuit, she’s covered it up with a white sundress.  

“Do you want me to take a competition seriously? I didn’t want you to get jealous. I’m wearing a string bikini underneath,” Ymir says. She reaches up for her zipper and begins to pull it down slowly, a mischievous grin on her face.  

Historia stops Ymir midway, her face beginning to flush despite the wide brimmed sunhat she wears. “You can show me later. I can book us a stay at the resort. We should leave the prize to someone who can’t actually afford to book it themselves.” 

Ymir laughs and pulls Historia in for a hug. “As long as you’re the one paying.” 

“Must be nice to be rich,” Mikasa muses as she observes Ymir and Historia. She had opted for a sleek, black one piece. It’s cut deep in the back to show off her finely toned muscles, but she doesn’t bother flaunting them to the crowd. Even though she’s entered the swimsuit competition with the rest of her friends, she’ll still as modest as ever.  

“At least Historia’s not competing. I think I finally have a chance this time. Baking’s not really my forte, but I can stand in a swimsuit and look good,” Eren says. He strikes a power pose, his chest puffed out proudly, but it’s his loud, garish swim trunks that are catching everyone’s eyes. He glances over at Armin who’s standing awkwardly beside him. “You should have worn something more noticeable, Armin. You’re just going to blend in with everyone else like that.”  

“I think I’m okay with that,” Armin mumbles. He looks down at his feet, wiggling his sand-covered toes. He thought he would be fine participating if Eren and Mikasa were there with him, but he’s finding it more embarrassing than he had anticipated.  

Some participants, like Eld, are enjoying themselves. Eld assumes the pose of classical statues — Discobolus just about to throw a discus, Michaelangelo’s David, the pensive Thinker — and grins as he draws laughs from the crowd as well as his friends. Levi, however, is much less amused. 

“You look like you’re taking a shit,” Levi tells Eld, who hurriedly gets out of the Thinker pose and tries to think of another pose to assume. Unlike the rest of his friends, Levi is much less enthusiastic about the whole swimsuit competition. Although he’s wearing swim trunks, he’s covered up with an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt and a straw hat to protect his skin from the sun.  

Petra leans over and tugs Levi’s sleeve gently. “Come on, Levi. Aren’t you having a little bit of fun?”  

Levi looks over at Petra and takes in her outfit — a crocheted cover up made by Gunther thrown over a white bikini. Finally, he concedes, “It’s not the worst.”  

“It’s going to get even better because I’m going to win.” Auruo stands beside Petra confidently. He’s flexing his muscles so hard that he has to speak through gritted teeth. Sweat rolls down his forehead under the bright sunlight and the strain of flexing his muscles, but his smile doesn’t break. “Don’t be too disappointed when you lose, Petra.”  

“Just because you’re wearing a speedo doesn’t mean you’re going to win,” Petra says with a roll of her eyes. 

“Why not?” Auruo says with an indignant huff. He forgets posing for a moment, not bothering to make sure the light is hitting his abs at the right angle. “Zeke is getting a lot of attention. I’d say we’re about the same in terms of popularity.” 

Petra scoffs at the comparison. “You’re nowhere near the same level.”  

“I should hope not,” Levi says dryly as he watches Zeke flirts with Frieda Reiss as she comes around to judge. He rolls his eyes when Zeke offers a bicep out for Frieda to touch, which she does with a bashful giggle.  

Gunther runs up to his friends. His arms are filled with water bottles fresh from the ice cooler while his hands clutch electric fans that he passes out. While his friends are drinking water and fanning themselves, he’s fussing over them and pulling out a bottle of sunscreen from his fanny pack. 

“You guys need to stay hydrated. Didn’t I tell you it was going to be sunny today? The temperature’s up from yesterday, too. They should have held the competition on a different day,” Gunther grumbles as he slathers sunscreen on Auruo’s arm. He ignores Auruo’s complaints about sunscreen not being cool and scolds his friend saying, “Do you know what else isn’t cool? Sunburn and skin cancer.”  

Hanji isn’t participating this time, instead observing from a lounge chair under an umbrella that Moblit had set up. Moblit is seated beside them on a beach towel with an electric fan in his hand that he points towards Hanji. 

“What an excellent competition,” Hanji comments before taking a sip of coconut water. They pass it over to Moblit to take a sip. “Who do you think will win this time?” 

“Hm? I don’t really know. I haven’t been paying much attention,” Moblit says, which is true. He’s spent much of this time just making sure Hanji was in the shade and staying hydrated. “Maybe we should have participated, though. You could use a vacation. You’re always working.” 

“Aw, you really think I’d have a chance at winning?” Hanji laughs. They look over at their companion affectionately. “I suppose I have been working a lot. Maybe we could book a vacation soon.”  

Moblit beams. “I can pack.”  

Pieck is also watching as Gunther applies sunblock to Eld’s back despite Eld’s complaints. She turns to Porco with a sleepy smile. “That looks fun. Should we do that, too? It’s important to take care of your skin.”  

“You were very generous when you gave me sunblock before we left the house this morning,” Porco reminds her. He tries to act nonchalant, but his cheeks are flushed pink as he remembers just how eager Pieck had been to apply his sunscreen.  

“As you were with me,” Pieck nods, not embarrassed at all, “but it’s important to reapply every few hours.”  

Porco is a weak man. If they weren’t in public, he would have fallen on his knees already and agreed. “Let’s wait until the competition is over.”  

“Wonderful!” Pieck smiles.  

The air is filled with the sound of a bell and the judges wait for the crowd to quiet down before they take their place in front of the contestants. Frieda Reiss stands front and center with Willy Warhammer and Erwin Smith on either side of her. She looks absolutely stunning in her white sundress and wide-brimmed straw hat. When the wind blows, her skirt billows behind her, making her look like a goddess.  

“Hello, all. Thank you for everyone who participated in this year’s swimsuit competition. We had many stunning entries, some even wearing suits from our Reiss and Warhammer stores,” Frieda says, nodding towards Zeke who gives the crowd a wave. Frieda pauses to let the crowd swoon before continuing. “We hope you’ll be able to join us for our barbeque after the winner is announced.”  

The crowd cheers at the mention of free food. Sasha and Connie are particularly loud, and it elicits a smile from Erwin.  

“It is with great pleasure that I announce the winner of the all-expenses paid trip to one of the Fritz 5-star island resorts ...” Willy announces with great gusto. He pauses for dramatic affect, smiling as the crowd waits in suspense. “... Bertholdt Hoover!”  

Reiner is ecstatic. As soon as Bertholdt’s name was called, he swept his friend up in a hug and lifted him off his feet. “You won! Isn't this great?” 

“Just wonderful,” he lies. Bertholdt grits his teeth and smiles for the cameras that are already snapping away. He wants to sink into the sand and never come out. 

[natalieironside]

Introducing the Writer Tag Game

Ty @iloveyou-writers for making this and to @thewriteflame for tagging me <3

Rules: fill in the blanks with as much or little detail as you would like and tag some writer friends to play too. (blank version)

Hello, there. My name is award-winning speculative fiction author Natalie H. Ironside and I won a writing contest in high school one time that I'm gonna milk harder than Pabst milks their one blue ribbon. I'm a writer of the dark sci-fi and dark fantasy genre(s) and I love to write about sad gay ppl in horrible situations. Also, hope. The hope is very important, and my stories can get pretty dark but they always have happy endings.

I cover a broad enough range that I think I can just reject the dichotomy of SFW/NSFW (everything is adequately tagged and described so the rest is in God's hands). I write about some pretty dark themes and a lot of my work deals with the aftermath of stuff like sexual violence and child abuse, so just be aware of that, as well as the "entrails, lovingly described" throughout. Tropes you will never find in my writing include any salacious depictions of sexual violence (the word "aftermath" in the above is an important one) or...Well, I'm not sure how to put this. Most of my protags are racial, religious, sexual, or some other sort of minority, and obviously there's some darkness in the world et cetera, but there's a certain way of framing bigotry in fiction as though it's cinematic action violence which I find uniquely distasteful and I will not be doing any of that. I'm not sure if I'm explaining this in a way that makes any sense at all but I promise to never try to be the Kojima of sexism.

In my humble opinion, my best work I've posted is The Scruggsdale Organizer #4: Local Woman About Tired of All This Mess because I think it's very funny. Maybe I'm just being precious, but comedy is really really hard and I very rarely even bother trying at it but I'm pretty proud of The Scruggsdale Organizer and this installment in particular. For y'all who don't know, which I'm sure is a lot of y'all since I haven't posted about it in forever, The Scruggsdale Organizer is an epistolary horror-comedy serial about a little town in rural Mississippi where strange supernatural things happen, but instead of blog posts or letters the story is being told through articles in a weekly anarchist zine. Yeah, I guess I've written some "novels" and some "short stories" and some "poetry" or whatever, but I look at Scruggsdale Organizer #4 as a time I set out to do a specific thing and just really nailed it; it's the literary equivalent of parking the car in the spot just right.

My all-time favorite character I've made is Freydis Gothi Thorkilsdottir, daughter of Thorkil Gothi Swordbreaker, Matron of War Witches, Matron of War Matrons, High Field Marshal, Eater of Cities, Mother of Abominations, and Chief Royal Consort. She's a recurring protagonist in my Nameless Queen dark fantasy universe and I am love her very much. Freydis is an enormous ginger transsexual, a sword-and-board fighter who can cast wicked spells, and a rough-and-tumble freebooting adventurer type who suddenly found herself part of the royal court and fast-tracked into becoming a monstrous demigod. It's super weird for her and she's dealing with a whole "to become a god is to lose everything that made life worth living" situation but she's also having a rip-roaring good time while she does it.

Something I'd love for you to know about my writing that isn't listed in this game is, well, I feel like we got kinda dark in the middle there, so I wanted to end back where we began and talk about hope. What really does it for me when it comes to the dark stuff is recovery; I like telling stories about recovery. My characters sometimes have very very bad days, but tomorrow can always be better than yesterday and there's always a reason to keep trying.

Thank you for reading and now I challenge the following people to fill this out: I seem to have misplaced my list of people who said they liked participating in tag games so I'm leaving this one open. I tag each and every one of you.