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

[casiavium]

I wrote a fanfic based on the twitter/tiktok takeover instead of working on my master's thesis, which is due in two weeks. lol.

Title: Chaos Theory

Rating: G

Pairing: Sonic the Hedgehog/Shadow the Hedgehog

Tags: Sonic, Shadow, Cream, Cheese, Slice of Life, Rivals to Lovers, Babysitting, Amusement Parks, Awkward Dates

Summary: Everything's a contest with Sonic and Shadow, even babysitting... learn to expect the unexpected.

Sonic watched the small rabbit bounce down the path, jabbering away to her friend as it floated alongside her head trying to keep up. Carnival music filled his ears, bright lights flashed from every corner, and even the threat of water rides didn't mess up his good mood.

Beside him someone who was decidedly not having as great a time finally broke his silence to complain, his rough whisper just barely heard above the roar of rollercoasters in the distance.

"So we're really doing this?"

"Well, yeah, I wasn't joking when I said I'd be great at this, and Vanilla seemed pretty happy when I offered to take her to the park. The new kiddie ride opened last week and she hasn't stopped talking about it."

"Your first instinct was that we'd be protecting milk."

"... like you've never misunderstood someone." Pouting, Sonic ignored Shadow's further jabs as they caught up with Cream at the entrance to the park. A bored teenager sat at the ticket desk, typing aimlessly on a computer as he glanced at the group.

"Entrance is free for cute couples, but the kid and the chao are going to have to pay."

"Cute couple? We're not—"

"Opposed to that!" Pushing Shadow out of the way, Sonic forked over the cash and smiled wide. Through clenched teeth he hissed, "Shut up and take the discount, tickets are expensive."

Four tickets were pushed into his hand, and the worker mumbled something he didn't quite hear. It didn't matter enough to bother him, and soon enough they were all inside the park. Spread out before them was a sticky wonderland of possibilities, kids running around screaming while tired parents followed behind. Paradise.

"Okay, Cream, what do you want to do first? Games? Rides? Ice cream? Chili dogs?"

"Can she even eat those?"

"Shadow, she's six. Of course she can eat chili dogs."

Cream thought for a moment, looking towards her chao for support. "What do you think, Cheese?"

Cheese just bobbed around saying 'chao chao', but somehow that was enough of an answer for her. "Games!"

"No problem-o, just point me to which one you want." Her tiny paw shot out towards the nearest stand, covered in stuffed animals from wall to ceiling. "Basketball? You sure? You're so..."

Short, he meant to say, but Shadow interrupted him. "Let her play the game, Sonic, what harm can it do."

"Okay, but..."

Cream had already darted off, Cheese floating after her. "Oh, that prize looks just like Cheese!"

At the basketball stand, Cream had been unsuccessful and missed each goal she needed to win a prize. The counter at the top sat at a big fat 'zero'. Her ears were dropping, and she looked very upset as she longingly stared at the largest stuffed chao Sonic had ever laid eyes on.

The guy behind the counter shrugged, tucking the money Sonic had paid for her to play into his apron. "Aw, tough luck kid. Try again next time!"

"One more game!" He had a crazy idea, but it would stop tears and save his reputation as best babysitter this side of the islands. "Shadow, distract the guard while I win this for her."

"Not very heroic of you to cheat, Sonic."

"And not very heroic to let Cream leave without a prize she really wants!" Lowering his voice, Sonic muttered, "Do this for me and I'll win you one of the keyring black and red ones."

Shadow rolled his eyes, but grabbed the nearest stuffed animal and tugged it off the wall anyway. "Hey! You! You call this a fox? I've seen roadkill that looked better than these things?"

While Shadow argued with the attendant, Sonic spin-dashed to the top and slid through the hoop. The game counted it as a score, and as Shadow kept up his distraction, Sonic racked up the points.

The timer went ding-ding-ding! again, and this time, the score was almost as high as it could go. Both feet on the ground, Sonic stood proudly as Cream jumped up and down in delight.

"What? When did you...?" The attendant looked from Sonic to Shadow to Cream with narrowed eyes, but his shoulders fell with a sigh. "I don't get paid enough to deal with this. Fine, I guess you win."

One ultra-large chao and one smaller keychain in hand, Sonic and company wandered away from the game stand with smiles on their faces (save a certain member of the group), laughing about how the rules never explicated stated you couldn't use yourself as a basketball.

"Mr. Sonic, can we go to the new merry-go-round now?"

"Sounds good! You lead the way!"

Cream had already started to run off, her outline disappearing into the crowd, when Shadow grabbed Sonic's arm and pulled him back. Holding a paper map in open in one hand, he was eyeing the park diagram with his characteristic fun-killing skepticism. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Sonic scoffed, shoving him away. Already revving up to race him after the rabbit, he shrugged, "C'mon, it's just a merry-go-round, how bad can it be?

--

"I'm not getting on that."

"Oh yes you are." Shadow grinned, swatting him in the head with his map. One long line later they had finally reached the gate keeping them from getting on the ride, and it was like walking into a nightmare. A dozen carriages lazily spun around a beautiful fountain, some shaped like swans, some cute colorful ducklings. Though they each followed along the track, nothing was connecting the carts to each other or to the ride. Instead, they were floating about two feet off the ground. And what was between the ducks and the ground?

Water.

It was a water ride.

The ride attendant pushed Cream, Cheese, and her large stuffed chao forward into a pastel pink duckling, giving the car a push.

"Hey, wait! You can't make her go by herself!"

"Two to a car." The gruff man ordered, pointing at the duckling as it drift away. "Stuffed chao counts."

Cream squealed as the duck meandered ahead, cooing at the flowered arches and hanging vines dangling over her head.

"Next."

"I'm not getting on that—!" Shadow's hand covered his mouth as he wrapped an arm around him, pushing him into a large swan.

"You're embarrassing me."

The boat rocked as he nearly fell out of it, crystal blue water on either side of snow white wings. When they lurched forward along the lazy river, he tightened his arms around the figure he was holding onto (probably the swan's neck), and squeezed his eyes shut. If he let out a terrified squeak, no one but him would know.

"Sonic, you can let go now."

"What? Oh, uh, yeah..." His arms didn't seem to work anymore, so unlatching his grip wasn't going to happen. "Hmm, I don't think so."

"Can you at least open your eyes? What's the point of babysitting if you're not even going to watch the kid."

Sonic peeked open one lid, colorful scenes of flowers and marble statues around him. The ride would have been gorgeous had it not been on a rotating river. Something Amy would have drug him on, to be honest, not something he'd have chosen, but he could understand the artistry of it all the same. Cream was laughing from the pink duckling in front of them, her ears popping into his vision from either side of the swan's neck. Which meant that...

"Crazy blue hedgehog." Shadow murmured, leaning away but not removing Sonic's arms from his person. "It's two feet of water, you're not going to drown."

"You can drown in two inches! I'm not taking any chances."

He felt the rumble in Shadow's chest as he groaned, but wasn't pushed away. Surprisingly, the steady rise and fall of his breath was calming him, and Sonic could take a moment to really appreciate the design. There were enough flowers to fill Tails' workshop, and that was only in the area he could see. Tiny statues of chaos with wings aimed bows and arrows at the riders, their smiling faces surrounded by roses and lilies in every color imaginable. Not a ride he'd have chosen by a long shot, but maybe it wasn't that bad.

The entrance gate came into view again, barely three minutes since they got on.

"Half an hour of waiting for this?"

"Too long, in my opinion," Sonic grumbled, jumping when the boat rocked in the water, "and I wouldn't call this a 'merry'-go-round."

The final archway was upon them, enough vines crossing overhead to block out the sun. The scent of the flowers was nauseatingly strong, but Shadow took in a deep breath.

"Lavender..." Reaching a hand out, he brushed against the delicate purple flowers as they passed. "Hm. Maybe it wasn't all that bad."

"And maybe the moon's made of cheese, let's get the heck off this thing." Clambering over top of him, Sonic fought his way out of the ride tooth and nail. He'd go down screaming if he had to, ready to be back on solid, dry land, and—

"Relax, you're away from the water. Can we accomplish what we came here to do and get the hell out of here?" Shadow's sudden hostility shocked him back to reality, his senses returning to him from the total shut down the water had caused.

"What?"

"Ice cream, seagulls, something about handling oddly specific situations. I'm done babysitting."

Sonic looked from Shadow to Cream, who was staring at them with her wide brown eyes. Even Cheese looked like they knew something Sonic didn't, a trickster's smile on its round blue face.

"Let's just get our ice cream and go."

"Fine, I guess?" Taking Cream's stuffed chao for her, Sonic watched as Shadow stormed ahead towards the nearest ice cream stand. Cream was halfway between the two when a group of older kids ran in front of her, not noticing the smaller kid as she was pushed out of the way. Her shout as she fell to the ground alerted Shadow, who turned around quickly enough to watch her fall.

"Chaos cont—!"

But at the same time that Shadow raised his hand to dramatically yell, Sonic had already spun forward, trying to catch Cream before she hit the ground.

"I got it!"

He did not, in fact, have it. He crashed headfirst into Shadow, who had appeared out of nowhere. Both rolled to the ground as Cream landed on her knees, crying out.

From on top of Shadow, Sonic mumbled, "Okay Mr. I-can-keep-control-of-any-situation, didn't see that one coming, did you?"

"Shut up and take care of the kid."

"Right. Uh, Cream? Are you okay?"

It was clear she wasn't, her lip trembling like she was going to cry, but she was hugging her chao as it cowered in her arms. "I'm okay, Mr. Sonic, but Cheese is scared. Can you carry them please?"

"I'm already carrying the other Cheese. Shadow, you do it."

Shoving him, Shadow tried and failed to get Sonic off him. "I didn't sign up to babysit chao. Get off me."

Sonic dug his elbow in, squirming as Shadow tried to kick him away. "Well what did you sign up for if you were just gonna be sour about it all day?"

"Not this! Now get away from—" Their positions flipped, Sonic slammed to the ground as Shadow pulled his fist back. They were at each other's throats when they heard a faint sob, twisting to see Cream wiping off her cheeks.

"Shadow, you made her cry!"

"And?"

"Shadow!"

"Stop fighting!" Tears in her eyes, Cream stomped her foot, unable to keep silent anymore. "Mr. Sonic, I wish you had taken Amy on this date!"

They immediately stopped fighting, Shadow's fist inches away from Sonic's face.

"Date!? This isn't a—"

"Oh, no, no no, Cream, we didn't mean to—"

The rabbit ran off before he could get another word in, unable to chase after her as Shadow still held him down by the throat. When he finally released him, Sonic could see Cream sitting by herself on a park bench as she rocked Cheese in her arms.

"Ugh. We screwed up."

"Yeah. We did."

The irony of the situation made him snort. "Well, guess we agree on something."

Shadow made a noncommittal grunt, but didn't argue. "We should make it up to her."

"Any ideas?"

"Do what we came here to do." Glancing at the ice cream stand, Shadow sighed again. "I don't know what she likes."

"Twelve scoop ice cream with one scoop strawberry, two scoops chocolate, one blueberry—"

"You seem to know her well." His eyes darted from the ice cream stand to the girl on the bench. "You should get the ice cream, I'll... go talk to her."

"Sounds like a plan." Sonic started to head towards the ice cream stand, but he noticed Shadow wasn't moving. "You good, man?"

No answer. Shadow squeezed the chao Sonic had given him, pretending to inspect the keychain to buy himself time. "I don't know what to say. What if... what if I make it worse?"

Jokingly, Sonic shoved Shadow with his elbow. "I would never have guessed the 'Ultimate Lifeform' would be too scared to talk to a child."

A hint of a smile ghosted his lips, barely a twitch. But Sonic saw it.

"Fine. I'll go talk to her." Yanking the stuffed animal out of his arms, Shadow shook his head. "And I'm taking the chao."

--

Sonic balanced three ice cream cones between his hands, one precariously teetering tower of flavors and two smaller ones to hold it in place. He slowly, for once, approached the bench that Cream and Shadow were sitting on, the smaller Cheese sitting on the lap of the big Cheese between them.

"So... how's it going?" He asked hopefully, not wanting to cause an already shaky situation to explode again. "Cream, I wanted to say that Shadow and I are really sorry for the way we were acting. It's never nice to fight with your friends."

"'Friends'." Shadow huffed, but Sonic glared at him before it got out of hand. He leaned down to give Cream her cone, who was still sniffly but not full-out crying anymore.

"Thank you, Mr. Sonic. Mr. Shadow was telling me how sometimes people get into fights because they don't understand how to use their words, and that it's not okay to use their fists instead."

"Oh, he was, was he?"

Shadow rolled his eyes, but Sonic could swear there was a hint of blush under his fur.

"Mhm. He said that he..." She glanced to the side, continuing at Shadow's slight nod, "he said that even though you fought, he was happy to be invited to our play-date."

"Really?"

Giggling quietly, she added, "And he was happy to be the one to go on the merry-go-round with you."

"I didn't say that." Shadow quickly interrupted, but Cream kept on giggling like she knew something they didn't.

"Thank you for the ice cream, Mr. Sonic!"

"Yeah, of course. Move over, Cheese II, let me have a seat." Shoving the stuffed animal aside, Sonic plopped down next to Shadow, grinning as he offered him the ice cream cone.

"What was that about the merry-go-round you were saying?"

"It doesn't mean anything." Swiping it from his hand, Shadow took a small lick before his face scrunched up. "Coffee... with extra beans."

"Yeah, well." Sonic shrugged, his own cone melting down his palm. "Thought I'd say thanks for helping me through the water ride. Not really a merry-go-round, but, hey, I'm all for innovation on classic designs. If there's no water involved."

"Tunnel of love."

"What?"

"It wasn't a merry-go-round." Shadow spit through gritted teeth, a crumpled up map in one hand. "Its technical name is a 'tunnel of love'."

"Oh." Cream's quiet giggle cut through the silence again, and Sonic's eyes widened. "OH. Okay, well. Yeah."

Everything from the ice cream to the chao keychain to the free tickets felt a little suffocating. Sonic looked to Shadow, who wouldn't meet his eyes, and for the first time, felt his behavior was making a lot of sense. Not necessarily in a bad way, though. If the flutter in his stomach wasn't from the fear of being clobbered if he admitted it out loud, then maybe... maybe his own behavior was making a lot of sense, too.

"Maybe this was a date."

Shadow pushed his face into his hand, and Cream couldn't hold back her laughter any longer.

"Just shut up and eat your ice cream before a rogue seagull gets it."

[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 (𝗵𝗺𝘂 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.

[anarchictemptation]

So, I've had a bit of an emotional journey when it came down to getting these trolls uploaded and, uh.I'm sort of in a venty mode, so I'm doing a read more cut just so I don't bother people (TW for Drug Abuse and Suicidal Thoughts mentioned)

It became less of "lol, look at all these trolls I've had over the years, let's sell them" to a bit of a crippling "I did this to cope with what was happening to me and this is the financial repercussions of that"

When I joined the Homestuck fandom, I was 16. A long ago ex-friend had gotten me into it because he was an obsessive fan and I REALLY liked astrology at the time, so obviously what was gonna stop me from getting into this silly little webcomic? (Nepeta my BELOVED! Leo's for life!!!)

I've never really shared this with anyone outside of my CLOSEST of close friends, but I was in a really nasty situation. My parents were on drugs, deeply into it at the time of me joining Homestuck, and were basically nonexistent at that point of my life. They'd disappear for days at a time with no sign of them coming back anytime soon, so, while looking after my little brother, I'd get lost in this fandom and obtaining fantrolls was my own sick little kick

I wasn't creative at the time to really make my own, I'd just use sprite bases and all my own guys were basic as hell, but, when I found out troll adopts were a thing, I was OBSESSED

Some oldies might remember me being EVERYWHERE back in the day on DA under the unusualKitten alias. I was on every single page I could find trying to get at least ONE fantroll that someone had posted newly in the groups. It was amazing! I could drown myself in these guys I was getting and bury myself in art of them so that I could avoid the world that I was stuck in

Honestly, without that "distraction", I probably would've killed myself years ago

It was all I had in a shit world, it even led me making a short-time friend in my final year of high school, but it was fun

And then I grew up

Some things happened that involved me being the fucking savior of my family by dragging them out of that hell with my own two broken hands only for the sake of my brother. My mom got clean, my dad died because he couldn't get clean, I had been working a job in which case they'd have stolen my money almost every time I got it (like THAT was anything new), and we were just sort of stuck in limbo for a long time after that

I was still a part of Homestuck, but I wasn't A part of it anymore, if that makes any sense. Most I done was win a spot in the For Fans By Fans design contest with my Heir's Tears submission (Only 1 or 2 people bought the shirt and, two those people, I FUCKING LOVE YOUUUU, y'all are so cool), but I was pretty much dead in the water

Until I reconnected with my bestest friend

She helped me to regain the love again, as we'd rp a lot with all our different versions of canon characters bc we're maniacs (Which will ALL be featured in MSCOTT once I get back on the ball for writing it!)

And, as I sit here today, looking back on everything that happened 11 years ago, I've realized that things are a lot different now. I'm no longer the heavily traumatized kid I was back then, I have a life outside of the fantrolls I've hoarded over the years

And, yeah, it hurts seeing a lot of these guys go, it feels like a bit of myself is leaving with them, but that's not a part of my life anymore, that was a part of HER life

Don't get me wrong, I STILL love fantrolls and still have a handful of my own that I'll fight ANYONE over, but. I think it's time to let go of a past that I don't really want to be haunted by anymore

(But I hope this explains why I generate a LOT of fantrolls and then suddenly they're being given up as soon as something's done with them, hha, old habits die hard)

Thanks for readingggg, time to go cry a bittt!

[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”

[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.

[kiwikarpart]

TPOT 14 Mini Review

So this episode was...fine. The best parts are on par with TPOT 13, but most of it reminded me of TPOT 12, the worst parts of TPOT 12.

Best part of the episode, the elimination scenes. Using the failed debuters for this part was great for a reason I'll get into later, but the emotional parts are what really made it shine. Pin getting emotional over Gaty's elimination, making you think that's the worst it could get, only for Two to show up and have a reaction that hits even harder, Pen getting emotional about his last friend in the game, while Eraser takes it in stride even though he was upset, it was all so good! (not the scene with Eraser and Bottle though. That dynamic was boring and didn't go anywhere)

Another thing I liked was how many characters they ultilized. Like the focus is still on the TPOT constestants, as it should be. But they also gave small moments to characters outside the game. Failed debuters with the elimination, the scene with some of the eliminated TPOT characters(shoutout to Foldy for finally getting some lines after being irrelevant for like two years!), and the scene with Match seeing Ruby and Bubble again was such a nice way to end the episode. No jokes, no words even, they just let the scene speak for itself. Also shoutout to Firey Jr. for taking residence in the most flammable house ever and NOT burning it down, only for the contestants to show up and ruin it anyway. Definitely the funniest part of this episode.

I haven't said this before, but I think the reason some people get really heated when their favorite character gets out is because after they leave, it's like they don't exist. That probably bothers them more than their fav not winning, because it means they'll be irrelevant for a long time. But between this and what BFDIA's been doing with the hosts, it seems like the writers are finding ways to give characters outside the game moments to shine. Which I really like because it allieviates the sting that comes from their elimination.

As for the worst part...it's the pacing. Not just with the challenge, but also with the arcs. TPOT 13 did a good job of setting up some character arcs/conflicts. We saw Pencil try and fail to reconnect with Book and Ice Cube, Golf Ball and Donut argue about what's best for their team, and Liy try to form a friendship with Pen. Now, I didn't expect all of these arcs to conclude in one episode, they need to take some time to feel genuine. But in TPOT 14, it felt like they didn't progress at ALL. Pencil just doubled down on her approach with Book and Icy, which obviously didn't work, while Book and Icy didn't have any strong scenes together. Golf Ball's dynamic with the rest of Cloudyay barely changed. They immediately dismiss her plan and she works on it by herself anyway. There's a bit of progression here because they eventually work with her, but then her and Donut argue and the plan fails and the dynamics reset and it's like they never worked together in the first place. And Liy's desire to be friends with Pen is shown once before never being relevant for the rest of the episode. The scene itself is great, but until they follow it up with something it doesn't do much for that relationship. The most "development" it gets here is Pen calling her his teammate in a throwaway line. It's good that these arcs weren't forgotten, but they shouldn't be paced THIS slowly.

Some smaller problems before I go: why was Cloudyay so stupid? TPOT 13 proved that they could work together efficiently while contributing in different ways...but in this episode they make a ton of avoidable mistakes while, at times, acting like the same character. I get that they wanted the other teams to have a chance at winning after Team 2 gets the Ice flag, but did they need to do it like this? If the writers weren't going to use that time to properly develop the team, they should've had a second team go after the Volcano flag at the start.

This episode wasn't that funny to me. Most of the newer episodes aren't, their style of humor is just too loud for my taste.

And finally, the action. I am no expert on what makes a good action scene, but the ones in this episode felt kinda slow and floaty? It's hard to explain but good action usually has some weight to it. It can be fast and snappy or slow and heavy, but what really makes it work is the impact each hit has. In TPOT 14 though, most of the hits in each fight felt so meaningless. I don't know if it's because everyone got recovered so quickly or something else, but the action here was just mid. Which wouldn't be a problem if there wasn't much of it, but that wasn't the case. I'll give them points for being creative with some of the objects though, that was nice.

In conclusion, this episode was...fine. I want to say it's good because of its best parts, but the content surrounding it is too lackluster for that rating. So I'll give it aaaaaah 6.5/10 no, a 6.8/10 because I'm very clever and funny.

[bejoomi]

belated event + general plot call!

hi everyone! now that i'm officially off hiatus it's time to make my Official Plot Call and get back into the swing of things. i'll need threads of all kinds, both regular and event threads for all three of my muses. i'll do what i usually do and write a bit about their current states, as well as what they'll be doing and how they're feeling regarding the halloween event under the cut! and also an event tracker. but please like this post to plot and i will message you soon 💗

JOOMI

GENERAL UPDATE

with dohyun leaving delta, his songwriting trio (dorenmi) with ren and dohyun is broken. he is very sad about it because they had dreams of being The songwriting trio of delta's next bg and potentially the next generation of bgs in general. he is still movin forward though and doing his best to not be Crushed by it. he is feeling a bit aimless though, and he got so used to writing with ren and dohyun that his creative process is all out of whack now, which is p much just as frustrating for him as dohyun leaving. i think he's been trying to do more things on his own lately, both falling into his old habit of shutting down and closing in on himself when he's hurt by Other people, and because he just like...wants to make sure he's still comfortable functioning by himself, because maybe he's Not and if he Is other people leaving his life won't hurt so much. but i think he's also trying to like...do it in a healthy way, and not shut down, and he's also trying to hang out with people that aren't his closest friends because he thinks it would be good to expand his social circle a little. also out of hopes that if someone leaves again he won't feel it as much. this means there's a lot of room for plotting with new people, yay! or reconnecting with people he hasn't spoken to in a while. but he is still pretty sad and is an introvert so he will not be doing anything that requires intricate planning or orchestration on his part slkdfjglsflkf ALSO NEW DELTA PEOPLE!! PLOT W HIM! he will still do his best to be welcoming and be a good sunbae, not an emo ass bitch for them .

HALLOWEEN

joomi is in a Creative Block rn to some degree and this unfortunately is extending to halloween costumes. he would be happy to go out and do halloween stuff with people though....he just probably will not be making the plans. he might honestly go and do some stuff by himself though, like the ghost tour...so there's an opportunity for him to run into pretty much anyone there! or maybe catch him shopping for a halloween costume just Staring at them with nothing calling to him. he could probably use some help in the costume department, especially for the trainee costume contest. he does not feel the need to win it but he does want to do a decent job, if only because delta is running the contest and he doesn't want to disappoint them LMAO he also might go to lotte world and check out the discounts by himself. he used to work there and hated it but it's been a year now and he's kinda interested to see how it feels now. he will probably be weirdly introspective if u run into him there. LJKSDFKLSKLD (also update as i was typing this post: joomi decided he wants to be dead aka a skeleton for halloween. so he will be in one of those goofy ass skeleton body suits for the axis party and probably a mask too that he doesn't wear for more than 5 mins because it gets hot)

EVENT TRACKER

GENERAL HALLOWEEN EVENT: thread 1: @bexstevie (1/4) thread 2: open thread 3: open AXIS HALLOWEEN EVENT: party thread 1: @beseojun (3/4) ✓ party thread 2: @bejiayi (4/4) ✓ trick or treating thread/solo: @beyeseul (4/4) ✓

NAYOUNG

GENERAL UPDATE

nayoung's Situationship (cam) has now left sr media and she is Just A Bit sad. but she's also like wow i can finally focus without him bothering me god bless. LKJSDLKFSLKDF but she's still being pretty antisocial...though she is at least Aware now that she Should interact with people more. there are just not many people in her life she does actively want to spend time with. but she is more willing to do things with others now, though chances are she won't initiate anything unless it is with her Palz, of which there are like, two off the top of my head. KLJSDLKFS so she may need some encouragement from others to not just Work all the time. she is still gaming and working at the convenience store in her minimal free time tho so plots around that are always possible!

HALLOWEEN

she will not go out of her way to participate in anything but if the right person/people ask her to do something she will! HOWEVER she is very determined to win the axis costume contest. she is just way too competitive. she has decided she's going to be medusa and she is going all out. makeup, gray contacts, curled hair, snake staff and snake headpiece – the works. costume is something in this zone. she will probably look very unsettling and will enjoy unnerving people all night! it would be nice if she had someone to get ready with and/or help her do her makeup too so that plot is open if we can get nayoung to like someone enough for that LMAO 😭 but she will also 100% be sucking up to their seniors and getting as much candy and such from them as she can

EVENT TRACKER

GENERAL HALLOWEEN EVENT: thread 1: @beyuji (2/4) thread 2: @bejaeyoung (2/4) thread 3: open AXIS HALLOWEEN EVENT: party thread 1: @beclaudine (2/4) party thread 2: @beseira (2/4) trick or treating thread/solo: open

RIHA

GENERAL UPDATE

riha got a dreamwave audition callback for lime BUT she did not actually go and audition. she chickened out and decided to pretend to be sick 😭 she just felt very unprepared for everything and even though she knows auditioning could only possibly be a good experience. she scawed. it made her think about if she Really wants to become an idol or not because she's really only doing it for her late mom and she's very intimidated by it. she thinks she does tho! so she's going to try to focus up so next time an audition opportunity comes around she feels ready for it. it's all made her think of her mom more though, and if riha is good at anything it's Running From Feelings, so you bet she's been trying to fill her life with Activities so she doesn't have time to be sad! unlike the others riha Will initiate and plan things with just about anyone. she's also vaguely looking into vocal lessons on top of the dance lessons she's already taking so she can Actually Improve, so more music-related plots would be nice now! but rly anything goes with her, she's always down for something new. most of the time anyway

HALLOWEEN

riha will be very happy to do halloween related stuff with anyone! she thinks halloween is very fun even though she gets easily scared. she loves seeing everyone's costumes, especially pretty girls LMAOOO that being said she is so facking indecisive she has no idea what she wants to be. so let her tag along with your group costume(s). she is down to go do fun things multiple days in different costumes and she would honestly like to try everything that's going on in the city for halloween! she will be very good at the zombie run honestly bc she's so active. i think she will have a lot of fun w that even though she will also be Screaming. if ur muse gets scared she can probably still run with them on her back bc she is a big strong girl. LKSDJFSFLSFD but she's open for a lot and is once again down for anything most of the time

EVENT TRACKER

GENERAL HALLOWEEN EVENT: thread 1: @beclaudine (2/4) thread 2: @beyuji (2/4) thread 3: @beseira (1/4)