#if things do not change soon I'm quitting I'll run away and i will never come back

[im2tired4usernames]

Every single time I defend someone shitty who has done nothing but be a cunt to me because they did 1 (ONE ) decent thing THEY ALWAYS TURN AROUND AND DO SOMETHING SO MUCH WORSE TO ME

[awearywritersworld]

"took you long enough"

gojo satoru x reader summary: when you ask your best friend to meet the guy you've been seeing, things don't go quite as planned. w/c: 3.2k tags/warnings: angst to smut with a fluffy ending. 18+. friends to lovers. jealous gojo. curse words. drinking. gojo shoves ur love interest. he's just kind of an ass to him in general. fem!reader. no use of y/n. a/n: i don't often write smut, but i kinda got carried away.. carpe diem, i say masterlist

gojo is tired of hearing you ramble on about the new guy you've been seeing. he barely even glances at your phone screen when you try to show him a picture you took together.

"you're way out of his league," he states dryly.

"hardly," you scoff. "men don't exactly line up for me like women do for you."

it'd be a lie to claim you didn't have a thing for gojo at one point, but you learned a long time ago that he isn't interested in you that way. it wasn't hard to tell, given his parade of hookups and the occasional two week relationship. you've gotten over it though... for the most part, anyway.

he rolls his eyes. "i assure you that's only because you're shy, princess."

"okay, so you should be rejoicing that your best friend finally landed herself a boyfriend—"

"boyfriend?"

"well.. it's not official yet, but i think he's going to ask me soon!"

your apparent enthusiasm at the prospect leaves a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. of course, it's only because he wants the best for you and this guy certainly isn't it. "you've gone on like two dates."

"'toru, i've been seeing him for almost a month!" when he doesn't respond, you continue speaking. "so... that's why i was sort of hoping you'd come out with us tonight."

he looks at you increduously, "i am not third wheeling."

"you won't be!" you assure. "shoko and kento said they'd come. i just want you to meet him because you're really important to me and i actually think this could go somewhere—"

"alright, alright," he acquiesces, albeit begrudgingly. he's never been able to say no to you.

you squeal with excitement, throwing your arms around his neck in a brief hug. "i can't wait! we're all meeting at seven, i'll text you the address."

after a quick kiss to his cheek, you gather your things, all but running out the door. you weren't going to give him a chance to change his mind.

he stares after you wordlessly, running a hand through his hair while an unfamiliar tightness overcomes his chest.

when gojo enters the bar, he spots you right away despite the sizable crowd. as he makes his way toward your group, he can't help but notice how pretty you look in your little dress. in fact, you'd look absolutely perfect if it weren't for the fact you have another man's arm around your waist.

wait, what?

your laugh rings out across the room and judging by the smirk on shoko's face, he can tell she's said something you find unreasonably funny. once you spot him, your face lights up and you pull away from your almost boyfriend to give gojo a hug, something that brings him a sense of satisfaction.

"hey, sweetheart," he greets loud enough that the other man can hear. "who's this?"

"satoru, this is shinya!" you're beaming at him expectantly, so gojo has no choice but to extend his hand.

"hey, man." shinya shakes it firmly. "it's great to meet you. my girl's told me a lot about you."

gojo's eye twitches and he decides almost immediately that he finds shinya utterly insufferable. his voice is grating and he's too short and didn't you say you prefer guys with lighter hair—

"nice to meet you, too," gojo responds cooly. "i'm always happy to meet one of her friends."

nanami and shoko share a knowing look, more than prepared to break out their hypothetical popcorn. and boy, is this as good an occasion as any.

the strongest sorcerer isn't one to indulge in liquor, but how can he refrain when he has to be in the same room as shinya? each time he touches you, looks in your direction, calls you some sickening pet name— whenever he breathes in your general vicinity, really— gojo brings his drink up to his lips.

everyone else seems to be getting along, but unfortunately, he grows increasingly snarky with each glass he empties.

shinya asks what you'd like when he goes up for another round and it's 'oh, you don't know her favorite drink? well, i guess you're not as close as we are.'

shinya pulls your chair out for you and it's 'wow, you really got yourself a gentleman, princess.'

shinya mentions that he's fairly well versed in martial arts and it's 'really? maybe we should go out back and spar. i think it'd be fun.'

nanami steps in then, not entirely convinced gojo would hesitate before laying him out. "you can put the measuring tape away, idiot."

shinya is being an impressively good sport, but your anxiety has you emptying glasses in a hasty manner, too. you have no idea what's going on with gojo. you understand that he can be abrasive at times and that communication definitely isn't his strong suit, but his behavior is just absurd. you force an awkward laugh at nanami's comment.

"not that i'm not having, um, a great time and all!" you hiccup before continuing. "but i'd really like to dance. c'mon shinya!"

nanami and shoko wind up joining you both, which comes as a surprise. neither of them are exactly the partying type (not that you are either), but you're happy to see them having fun. honestly, you can't remember the last time either of them let loose.

you wonder if they also just wanted to escape gojo's snide remarks. now that they aren't ringing in your ear every other minute, your nerves have certainly calmed down a bit. well, until—

"so you do know that he's totally in love with you, right?"

"who?" you question, looking around as if it'd be obvious.

and it is, just not to you.

shinya chuckles. "gojo."

"what?" you bellow, completely dumfounded. "no way! i mean he's not— and i'm not— we're just friends."

"yeah?" he still sounds amused, nodding in gojo's direction. "is that why he looks like that?"

turning toward your table, even you have to admit he looks completely miserable. unbeknownst to you, he's spent the last half hour sending away every woman that approaches him asking to dance. he just isn't in the mood right now. at least, that's what he tells himself.

"er.. he just doesn't get out that much," you try your best to brush it off.

"whatever you say, baby."

you're relieved he doesn't seem terribly bothered by the idea, even if you find it completely implausible. it's true you spend a lot of time together and that you know one another like the back of your hands, but you'd given up any hope of it being more than friendship a long time ago. you'd moved on.

but if that's the case, why did shinya calling you baby suddenly feel so wrong? you convince yourself it must just be the alcohol.

when the four of you finally stumble back to the table, you realize you've missed last call. though it's probably for the best, as the five of you are certainly in for a nasty hangover the following morning.

it's near closing time, but the crowd has hardly thinned out and the music is still beating loudly in your ears. you're going back to jujutsu tech with your friends rather than home with shinya, so you loudly exchange goodbyes over the music as he gets ready to leave.

"i had a really great time tonight," he tells you. "maybe we could go for dinner tomorrow? there's something i've been wanting to ask you."

"okay!" you agree eagerly, eyes shining. "i'll call you in the morning."

gojo feels his stomach drop, his jaw clenching bitterly. he tries to tell himself to relax because this is what you want, but he just can't seem to get his thoughts straight.

shinya leans down, his lips meeting yours sweetly, and it causes white hot anger to flood gojo's body. it all happens so fast, shinya's ripped away from you with astounding force and he staggers backward. you've been struggling to hear over the noise all night, though you make out each word that follows with striking clarity.

"get the fuck away from her!"

gojo stalks off before anyone has time to process what just happened. he's already half way across the room when you come to your senses.

"'toru!" you call out, taking a step in his direction when he doesn't respond. "satoru!"

you take another step but you're stopped when something pulls you back. you look down to find shinya's hand wrapped around your wrist before your gaze turns up to meet his eye. "look, i really like you, but if you go after him, don't bother calling tomorrow."

the ultimatum is simple, but so is your decision. "i'm sorry."

you run off before he can say anything else, shoving your way through the bar patrons, and follow gojo out the door into the cold air of night.

"satoru!" you shout once more, thankful that his pace is slow enough for you to catch up. he turns to face you when you tug on his sleeve.

you nearly shy away from him, his expression something fierce, but the liquor in your system gives you courage. "what the hell was that? you embarrassed me—"

"i don't fucking care," he spits.

he's never taken such a tone with you, so you throw your hands in the air and exhale impatiently. "what do you mean? you should care! you're my friend, aren't you?"

"that's exactly what i mean. you're supposed to be mine," he growls.

you're not sure how it happens, but the next thing you know, his lips are crashing into yours, your teeth knocking together with the force. his hands paw at your hips, pulling your body against his greedily.

"i can't believe," he mumbles against your lips, "you wasted your time," his hands find your hair, tugging your head back and revealing your neck, "with that fucking loser."

once he's finished speaking, his lips trail across your jaw, landing just below your ear. your eyes flutter open and you're suddenly very aware that you're standing in the middle of a public sidewalk.

"'toru," your voice is breathy, even though you're trying desperately to keep it together. "there are people—"

he pulls away heatedly, his eyes narrowed. "you didn't care when he kissed you in front of everyone."

"yeah, but that was just a peck," you reason, though if he keeps this up, you're worried you might lose your resolve.

"tch, i guess you're right." the familiar sensation of warping through space and time sweeps through your body for a few seconds before your feet meet solid ground again. you don't need to look around to know you're in his bedroom. "we're going to do a lot more than that tonight."

your stomach flips at his words, heat rushing to your core. his lips find your neck once more, leaving sloppy kisses along your skin. "that's what you want right? for me to show you who you belong to?"

you nod weakly, feeling as if you're in a daze.

"ah, ah. use your words, sweetheart."

"yes— ah—" he sucks on the spot just above your collarbone before nipping the delicate skin there. "yes, 'toru."

"then get on the bed," he orders lowly.

and who are you to disobey? you can't honestly say you haven't been dreaming of this for years. his blanket feels cool to the touch, making you realize suddenly how much your skin is already burning with desire.

he kneels beside the bed, wasting no time before pushing up your dress and pulling your legs apart. you see his shoulders fall as he exhales harshly at the sight. his eyes flutter shut when he presses a kiss to your core over the tiny cotton panties you decided to wear.

he's rudely reminded of the possibility that you may have put them on with another man in mind.

"did you let him fuck you?" he interrogates. his eyes don't leave yours as he begins placing open mouthed kisses on the inside of your thigh.

"n-no!" it's almost embarrassing how vehemently you deny it, but the man between your legs takes great pleasure in your response.

"mm, knew you were a good girl."

he hooks a finger beneath your panties, pulling them down excruciatingly slow. you buck your hips up once he throws them off to the side.

"feeling eager, princess?" he taunts, his breath fanning across your center.

you nod, your legs shaking with anticipation, before remembering what he said about using your words. "please, 'toru. need you so bad."

he can't possibly deny you, not when you beg for him so sweetly. he presses a soft kiss to your swollen bud before flattening his tongue against it, drawing circles there. he groans when your slickness coat his chin.

you whine when his eyes shift up to meet yours and push yourself against him even further. he chuckles against your skin, but truth be told, he's just as eager as you are. he slips one long finger inside of you, relishing in how easily you take it.

"oh—" you cry out as he adds another finger, his tongue pressing against you just a little harder.

his other hand is gripping your thigh roughly, the flesh spilling between his fingers. one of your arms is supporting your weight, but the other reaches out, your fingers threading through his hair.

you're panting now, tugging on his white locks in pleasure. he moans in response and the way your walls are clenching around him lets him know you're close. "c'mon baby, cum for me."

that's all it takes for you to unravel, his name falling from your lips over and over. he doesn't stop until he's sure you've come down from your high.

"you tasted so perfect," he tells you, unbuckling his pants in a hurry and shoving them down his legs.

his shirt and boxers follow quickly thereafter, so you pull your dress over your head. you can't tear your eyes away from his cock, it's long and thick and pretty.

he pushes you back against the bed and crawls on top of you, but then he just stares down at your face. just as you begin to wonder if something is wrong—

"you're so fucking beautiful. have i ever told you that?"

your mind reels for an answer, but you don't have to worry about it for long, as his lips capture yours. you can taste yourself on his tongue

"tell me what you want," he murmurs against your lips as he moves his cock along your slit, coating himself in your wetness.

"need you, 'toru. p-please, i need you to fuck me."

he smiles against your lips as he lines himself up with your entrance, pushing inside slowly. he leans back to find that your eyes are screwed shut and your lips are parted in bliss. he's determine to seer the image into his mind forever.

splitting you open is absolute ecstasy, the noises he's making are proof enough of that. "fuck, princess. fuck."

he nearly whimpers when he bottoms out. "god, you feel so perfect. i could stay in this pussy forever."

your legs wrap around his waist once he begins to pump in and out. "never felt so full, 'toru. it feels s'good."

he shudders at your words and laces his fingers with yours, sweat beading on his forehead as he picks up his pace. his head dips down, his teeth nipping the skin of your neck aggressively.

"p-people are gonna see—"

"i want them to," he rumbles. "want everyone to know how good i made this tight little pussy feel."

you can't argue with him, not when this is the best anyone's ever made you feel. his head shifts even lower, his tongue moving along your nipples in a way that has your back arching off the bed.

he uses the opportunity to snake an arm beneath your lower back, holding your body against himself firmly. the new angle has you mewling his name in the most sinful way.

"you're takin' me so well. like you were made for this cock."

your head's lolling to the side as you fall to pieces beneath him and he can feel himself getting close. "look at me when i fuck you, baby."

you do as he asks, his hips stuttering when he sees the tears of pleasure swimming in your eyes. "you're mine, aren't you? tell me you're mine."

your pussy clenches around his cock so tight it's almost painful. "i'm yours, 'toru. all yours."

"fuck, that's my good girl. gonna cum for me again, hm?"

you nod up at him meekly, too far gone for words, but he doesn't seem to mind this time.

"'i'm close too, sweetheart." his fingers reach down to rub circles on your clit, eliciting a throaty moan from you.

you feel your stomach tighten and you're nearly there, but you don't go over the edge until he begs, "can i fill you up? want to so bad."

you can't find the strength to respond, so you hope the way you tighten your legs around his waist and claw at his back is answer enough.

your head rolls to the side once more, your vision going fuzzy around the edges. he grips your chin between his thumb and forefinger, turning you to face him. "please, baby. wanna see you when i cum—"

he hums your name through a choked moan, his thrusts becoming sloppy as he reaches his own high. he collapses on top of you, laying there for a moment before pulling out and rolling onto his back beside you.

no words are shared, both of you trying to catch your breath and slow your heart rate. the silence gives your mind a chance to wander, which is never a good thing.

you consider the fact that gojo's never kept a girl around for more than a week or two— that this probably meant way more to you than it did to him. you sit up feeling stupid and wrap your arms around your chest.

you look around the room in search of your panties, his cum running down your thighs when you stand up to grab them. it's not until you pull them up your legs that he opens his eyes. he props himself up on his elbow, furrowing his eyebrows when you pick up your dress.

"what are you doing?" he asks curiously.

"well, i figured i should go back to my room—"

"what, are you crazy?" he gawks at you. "get your ass back in this bed."

you approach him shyly, your apprehension clear to him. "i mean, you can if you want, but why would you go back to your room?"

"i just didn't know if you... you know.."

"no, i don't know." if you knew him any less, you might think he was intent on torturing you, but it's clear to you that he's genuinely confused.

you sigh. "i just didn't know what this meant for us."

"baby, i didn't think i could make it any more clear." he sits up to grab you by the wrist, tugging you onto his lap and wrapping his arms around your waist. "i'm all yours, so you're stuck with me." he tries to mask the nervousness in his voice when he asks, "is that okay with you?"

you nod, hiding your face in his neck. "took you long enough."

[chigirizzz]

first kiss

characters: isagi, bachira, sae

gn! reader, not proofread so there might be some mistakes, anxiety attack (bachira's)

— ISAGI YOICHI

"stop," you told isagi when he approaches you in front of the school.

his smile disappears and he stops beside you, his body turned towards you. you continued to stare straight ahead, focused on the rain that showed no sign of letting up. "huh? what did i do?"

“you’re sick. stay away from me." your behavior didn't change, in fact, you were quite afraid that you were too rude or anything, but any remorse vanished when you heard your boyfriend's laugh. "why are you laughing?!"

"you're funny."

"and you're sick. stay away at least four meters. you know i get sick easily."

"i'll take care of you if that happens."

surprise took over you at his words; isagi yoichi always has been and always will be a pretty awkward guy—something that you didn't mind and in some occasions you found it cute—, which meant he wasn't the best at words, whether he was the one saying them or receiving them. he was more of actions and thoughts, not words.

there were times, however, when isagi yoichi pulled a special card and made your heart feel warm with simple actions or sentences and with absolutely no shyness.

this was one of those times. and as you stare—no, admire him with stars and hearts in your eyes, you feel guilty with how you kept a distance that school day just because he was sick, thinking that he wouldn't be offended. not exactly offended, but he wasn't happy either.

"yoichi…" you said. "i'm sorry. why are you such a good partner…"

he smiled and gave your head a few pats. "you're so silly."

"if i do get sick, make me a chicken soup."

it was an innocent joke, so you didn't expect him to suddenly kiss you. lips on lips for the first time, a moment that you never thought it would be like that. you responded to the kiss. it was a bit awkward since it was both of your first kisses, but it felt good.

afraid that he needed to stop to breathe some air (due to his stuffy nose), you tried to step away, with no vail because his hand landed on your lower back and pulled you closer to him gently, his lips now more hungry for yours.

he just pulled away when your hand touched his cheek—even if it was a gentle touch, the temperature difference between your warm hand and his cold cheek gave him a little thermal shock.

"now you'll get sick for sure," he says with a smile and pink cheeks.

"idiot. i love you."

— BACHIRA MEGURU

your legs started running to the boys' restroom as soon as you finished reading the message on your phone; your head filled with worry for your friend who was apparently hiding in one of the stalls having an anxiety attack.

these moments of his fragility were relatively common for you. bachira meguru had you as his best and only friend, so it was normal to notice when his insecurities and his loneliness got the best of him — and the times he got into unnecessary fights.

these were moments you were used to, but they still worried you a lot.

the restroom was quiet and empty, only one of the stalls had its door closed so you figured it was your best friend.

you knocked on the stall door. "bachira? are you here?"

...

"bachi-"

"come in."

you entered the stall as soon as he opened the door. the space was cramped and not very hygienic, which made the boy more suffocated, anxious, but he knew that your presence, although it contributed to a more enclosed space, made him feel safe.

"it's okay, bachira. i'm here, you're safe," you reassured him, your thumb caressing his hand, kneeling in front of him while he sat on the floor with his back against the wall.

"they made fun of me again." his hand now held yours, squeezing it from time to time. a bitter smile took over his lips. "i feel so alone..."

"you're not alone, bachira, you have me and your mother. the others are stupid people who aren't worth it," you said. "remember the exercise we've already done. let's start—five things you can see."

“eh…” he looked around; there wasn’t much inside a school bathroom but you could make it work. “my shoes.”

“and what are your shoes like? analyze them," you told him with a soft tone of voice to help him calm down.

minutes passed. you didn't know how long you and bachira stayed in the restroom but the absence of noise from other students confirmed that you were currently skipping a period. who cares.

you helped the boy with the exercise, occasionally having to imagine objects for him to detect because again, there wasn't much inside a school bathroom…

he was slowly feeling better, and you knew this for sure because when you asked him for the second thing he could smell, he answered piss.

"it's true though~," he teased you and his nose sniffed. his eyes were getting less red.

"yeah but i don't want to think about urine right now, meg." a sight escaped your lips; nevertheless, his answer didn't actually bother you, you enjoyed his jokes even if sometimes made you question his sanity. "let's just move on."

"ok~ what's next?"

"one thing you can taste."

"watch me lick the toilet!"

"no!" you flicked his forehead to which he just giggled. "there must be something in here you can try. let me check my backpack."

"no need, y/n."

you faced him confused, hands inside your backpack trying to find a snack. "why not? we're almost done—"

you felt a pair of hands grabbing your shoulders and being pulled forward—face to face to bachira, to be precise.

"because i think i know what i want to taste. it's in front of me right now." his low voice and vibrant yellow colored eyes made you at a loss for words. he was so close to you, closer than he has already been, that you could feel your skin tingle, legs slightly weak and your chest moving up and down slowly. what… "do i have the permission to kiss you, y/n?" he asked, thumb brushing your lower lip.

"i…" oh god. "yeah." you nodded.

and so he did.

despite his confession and gaze being gentle, the kiss was the complete opposite. his lips literally crushed into yours, the sudden force of his body making your back slamming into the stall door—and his reaction? he smirked.

you weren't sure if it was his first kiss, but since he never told you about his romantic life, you assumed it was. in fact, something tells you that the boy practiced his kissing skills on a mirror to try on you later on.

it was also your first kiss, so you couldn't judge.

your hand is now between the back of his neck and the back of his head, lightly pulling and playing with his hair.

everything was going well, so well it took you a few seconds to notice the hot tears falling down his cheeks.

"meguru, what's wrong?" your hand caressed his cheek. "are you ok? is something wrong?"

"i love you. i love you so much," he cries and rests his head on top of your chest. "thank you for being there for me."

"awn, i love you too." you played with his hair gently, fingers fixing the knots on his hair. "and i'll always be there to protect you."

"promise?"

"promise."

— ITOSHI SAE

itoshi sae wasn't the easiest person to put up with, which is why you were extremely confused when he first confessed to you and asked you on a date like it was nothing. still, in your five months of dating, you didn't regret anything. you loved him, he loved you.

however, there was something bothering you: you never kissed each other. but calm down, the issue wasn't exactly "he never kissed me"— the issue was that itoshi sae once told you he wanted your first kiss as a couple to be magnificent, magical and capable of leaving everyone's jaws on the floor. 

it made you wonder for weeks how the kiss would be. it made you wonder so much for so long you eventually thought he forgot about it.

boy were you wrong.

sae didn't lie when he said he wanted it to be magical and leave everyone's jaw on the floor. 

it happened at the end of one of his games, he scored the final goal and as soon the end of the match was announced, he ran towards you—you who were watching the whole time wearing his jersey, shouting his name—and kissed you slowly but passionately in front of everyone—his team, the opposite team, the fans, the cameras, everyone.

although your boyfriend always preferred a private relationship, he also wanted to show the world how much he could love someone. there was a bit of possessiveness on him.

there was a bit of possessiveness on him, as his lips left yours so they could kiss your neck, not caring how much it tickled you. 

he then kissed your cheek and left without saying anything; there wasn't anything to be said, but the media for sure will say a lot of things.

[stevesbipanic]

Steve's only 25 when it all catches up to him.

It starts off small, things people wouldn't even be able to tell is an early sign of something wrong. Misplacing keys, forgetting which day he has his shifts, what time he's supposed to get Robin. Robin notices though.

Robin knows Steve always keeps his keys on the hook next to Eddie's by the front door, that's where he always finds them, he's not misplacing the keys, he's forgetting the hook exists.

Robin knows Steve has the same shifts every week, they never change because they line up with Eddie's at the record store nearby. Robin knows Steve isn't forgetting what time he's supposed to pick Robin up, he's forgetting Robin moved away a few months ago after she graduated college.

Robin keeps noticing when the kids start calling her because the little things are becoming big things.

Robin notices when Dustin calls and tells her Steve thought he and Suzie were back together, "Like how crazy is that we broke up two years ago, I don't think I've even mentioned her lately."

Robin notices when Lucas calls and tells her Steve asked when his next game was, "The season ended months ago, he came to the finals."

Robin notices when Max calls and whispers softly, "He asked to take me to the skatepark, Robin, I told him I had to help mum. He's forgotten I'm blind Robin."

Robin wished she'd noticed sooner, maybe years ago when Steve was getting knocked around a lot. She wished she'd screamed in the face of those Russians to take her instead. She wished a lot of things when Eddie called her.

"He's in hospital, Birdie, he collapsed at work."

Robin is back in Chicago for the first time since she graduated. She wished she'd visited sooner.

"Do you think the feds are gonna let me go soon, Robbie? I mean it usually doesn't take this long for them to bring me the NDAs."

Robin hopes Steve doesn't notice her eyes going glossy as she runs her fingers through his hair, "Don't worry Stevie, I'm sure they'll be in soon, Dusty is probs just arguing over something in his."

"At least he isn't having to explain he raised a demodog. Did I ever tell you about that Robbie?"

Robin smiles softly, "Yeah but tell me again, don't want to forget any of it."

Eddie gives Robin the gist of what the doctors said, Eddie didn't understand much, a lot of technical words and shit. Too many concussions, more than they knew about most likely. They say it'll probably get worse with no timeframe of how quickly it'll happen, there might be good days, there will be a lot of bad days.

The first bad day comes a week later. Steve barely remembers Eddie, trapped in a time when Eddie was just the kids DM. Eddie sobs in the corridor in Robin's arms. The next day it's like nothing happened and Steve gets discharged. They tell Steve, this time Eddie is the one to comfort him.

"I don't want to forget you Eds."

"It's okay if you do, sweetheart, I'll still be here."

It's Robins idea to start writing everything down. Eddie, Nancy and the kids all help. Filling journals upon journals of stories and pictures of Steve's life to help on the bad days. Steve has to quit his job, Robin moves back to Chicago, they make it work.

On bad days depending on how far back Steve is Dustin or Robin or Eddie will read through the books with him, filling in the gaps of what he needs. On the worst days, Eddie leaves the pile of journals on the bed with a note and waits downstairs to see if Steve will join him later.

They make it work for a few years. Steve celebrates his 30th birthday with perfect clarity. He writes himself an entry in the journal next to a big group picture with Steve and Eddie's matching rings showing.

That July, over a decade since Starcourt, Steve is in hospital again. He'd collapsed at breakfast. Eddie had thought it was going to be one of their good days, Steve had woken up fine, all his memories in tact if a little fuzzy. He'd made them coffee and giggled at Eddie's singing while he made them eggs and just like that it all came crashing down.

Steve's brain is shutting down. They don't know if he'll make it past Christmas. There's more bad days after that. More days with books left on the bed. Most days Steve doesn't even come downstairs. On the good days, Eddie always calls off work. He'd rather be fired than miss a single second of Steve smiling at him like he does, so full of love.

They have Christmas, the whole family comes, they have to bring every chair from around the house and squish in around the table just to fit but it's perfect. Steve sits between Robin and Eddie, face bright and full of love and life. Everyone gives him the tightest hug as the night closes, all lingering, afraid of letting go.

"I love you, dingus."

"I love you too, Robbie."

Later, upstairs in their room, Steve and Eddie go through all the journals, laughing softly at each little note the kids have left. Steve writes his little journal entry, a tradition of good days, and curls into Eddie's arm whispering soft loving words to each other before falling asleep.

Steve never wakes up.

The funeral happens shortly after, all of the family is still in town. Robin holds Eddie afterwards as they go through the journals together. When they get to the last page, they struggle not to smudge the ink with their tears.

Dear Eds and Robbie,

I don't know how many more good days I'm going to get so I'm leaving this here for you now. I love you both so much, you're equally my soulmates and I want you two to look after each other while I'm gone.

Robs, go travelling with Nancy, ok? Thank you for looking after me all these years but it's time for you to go look after yourself. Go see the world for me, tell me all about it wherever I am when you get back.

Eddie, I'm sorry we didn't get as much time as we hoped, I hope you know that even just a day with you has been worth a lifetime with anyone else. Go follow your dreams, write music, perform, show the world how amazing I know you are. I give you full permission to fall in love with whoever you meet along the way, I don't want either of you guys to be alone.

Thank you for giving me a life worth remembering.

Your Dingus,

Stevie

[slightly-knot-insane]

Hi! Are you still taking orders or something? If so, I have an idea for you~ For example, a werewolf × a Fox!the reader is like enemies-lovers. Where we tease him all the time, and it really annoys him, ho-ho~

I was listening to a song when I got the inspo for this. It's in Croatian, by a band called Tutti Frutti, and the lyrics go like this (my translation):

Kao srna gonjena preko snijega duboka (Like a pursued doe in the deep snow) Iza moga ramena skloni se od lovaca (Hide from hunters behind my shoulder) S oba oka sklopljena (With both of your eyes closed)

Thank you for the ask! This fic got a bit long so I'll split it in two, I apologize ^^'

Don't You Dare! (part 1)

Monstertober 2024 - day 13 [ Mating / Hunting season ] by @/ozzgin

[ m!werewolf x fox hybrid fem!reader ]

You two grew up together. Since your clans have lived next to each other peacefully sharing a vast forest for many years, that wasn't so unusual. You and Ash were friends when you were kids, but he was too shy and aloof for your teen tastes, and you slowly grew distant.

Today, for the first time, you were tasked of guarding the eastern part of the forest. The hunting season began just a few days ago.

"Ugh, you're so booooring," you complain. "Let's at least play a game."

"We're supposed to be watchful," he retorts.

"You know hunters never come this far so early. It will be a peaceful evening, I just know it. Come on, Ash, truth or dare?" The werewolf huffs and keeps walking in front of you. How dares he ignore you! You take your staff and smack his ass.

Ash jumps from shock and swings his strong arm, ready to strike. With a swift leap backward, you escape him, giggling. When he realizes it was only you teasing him, he growls. He is kinda cute when he's angry. "Don't do that! I could've..."

"What? You're too big and slow for me. Truth or dare, Ash? I'll slap your cute ass until you accept."

His werewolf ears fall behind and he awkwardly rubs the back of his head. With another huff, he continues walking. "Uhh... Truth?"

"Have you ever orally pleased someone?"

He trips and turns toward you in shock. "That's a really private question!"

"That's the game, pup, you know the rules." You loved calling him pup because he was three years younger than you and everyone knows werewolves mature slower than fox hybrids.

He scowls at you but answers, as quietly as he could: "Yes..."

"Oh you're a big man now! Good job, pup, I'm glad you know how to please your partners." He shakes his head and continues walking, faster than before. You run after him. "I choose dare!" You're sure he heard you, but he was quiet for quite a while before asking his question.

"I dare you to—" but he suddenly stops and sniffs the wind. He looks at you and and swallows hard. "D-do you know you're... you're about to..."

Why is he so uncomfortable all of a sudden? "Ash, speak up, I can't hear you!" you shout, impatiently dragging your fox tail across the ground. But the silly big pup in front of you continues being awkward. You can sense he is blushing, even though you can't see that on his canine face. "ASH!"

A rifle blast shuts you up, and a bullet flies dangerously near Ash's face. Hunters!

Instinct immediately kicks in and you start running. You are faster than Ash, but you would never leave him behind. Hunters are apparently too far away because they don't shoot again. Still, your heart is racing, fear and excitement electrifying your blood and also... also...

Oh no.

Your cycle. You're in heat! It's still early and you can focus on other things, but... You need to get to a safe place, quickly.

"Ash, I'm—"

"I know," he immediately replies, checking your surroundings. "There is a waterfall not far from here. The water will hide us and our tracks."

You change direction and very soon you hear the rushing in the bottom of a ravine. Of course, you and Ash have no problem getting down safely and you jump into the shallow stream. It is cold and fast, but walking upstream will confuse your pursuers. Also, you need to warn your clans as soon as possible. Yes, you need to focus on that. Only that. Not on how tall Ash is or how good he smells. Or how you always thought he was smart and sweet. And how you saw him swimming once. Or how you wanted to push your finger into his sheath and see what's inside. Or how... shit.

Your pussy started aching, itching, pulsating from need. You had to press it, rub it, stimulate it somehow or you'll go mad. You squeeze your thighs together, pushing your fist against your entrance, with a weak whimper - and you trip, almost dropping your staff. "Fuck, Ash. I can't hold it."

Ash stops but doesn't help you - he hasn't said a single word the entire time or looked at you. And he was constantly trying to walk upwind from you. "Do it quickly and we'll continue. I'll... keep watch."

That idiot pup. "Ash..." Your voice got a note of urgency. "Don't make me beg."

His ears perk up and he stares at you all big eyed, looking like a virgin doe-eyed buck. You roll your eyes, irritated. "Just my luck - I'm horny as a rabbit, and stuck between rifles and a cherry boy. Maybe rifles will give me..."

You are interrupted by a hand grabbing your throat. The other palm is on your ass squeezing it like a sponge. Ash is in your face, snout almost touching your nose. He is quietly growling, but you feel that tremble in your core.

"You chose dare, didn't you?" he asks you. His palm slides from your ass, follows the roundness of your hips and cups your mound. The tip of his finger immediately finds your aching clit. You gasp. "I dare you not to scream when you cum with my knot inside you."

[ part 2 ]

[yunniestars]

"maybe this time, love won't end."

. . . ACT I. "Logged Out" ʚɞ pairing: kinich x gn!reader

oh archons, the nerves have never been wrecking so much before.

he was in front of your residence, and the place feels all too familiar. it was definitely a different location, but the taste in decoration screamed you. ah, this felt so surreal, he thought.

taking in deep breaths, he knocked on the wooden door. the doorknob starts to unlock, opening the door and...

"hello, how can i help you?"

oh. that sweet, velvety voice. the one he missed so much.

he couldn't believe his eyes, it really was you. the same person who changed the trajectory of his life and gave it meaning. his star, moon, sun, and everything. the one who made him feel like a lovesick fool, but he'll never regret being one. the jewel that no mora he earns will ever buy. his-

"um, if you're just going to gape at me, then i'm shutting the door." you say with an annoyed look on your face.

"i'm sorry?" he blurts out. okay, that was a mistake, but he's genuinely confused -- were you joking at him?

"uh, excuse me? do you expect me to just let you in? i'm not expecting visitors at the moment, so go leave or else i call someone-"

"ah wait! i'm..." he tries finding a good excuse to stay. suddenly, he remembers the other reason why he's here. "i'm the one for your commission. yeah."

your face then lights up, demeanor going from irritated to overjoyed. "oh then why didn't you say so! gosh, and here i was thinking on methods to get rid of you as soon as possible!"

he then gets hugged by you, the same warmth he used to bask himself in, but right now, it felt... strange. the warmth wasn't the same as before.

you then let go of him, with a cheery grin. "i'm y/n l/n. your name?"

what?

"...kinich. 'malipo' kinich." he responds, a wave of disappointment washing him over.

"great! so, the last time i saw my yumkasaur..." your voice suddenly starts to slowly disperse, words breaking down into inaudible mumbles as if he shut down every sound around him.

you didn't remember him.

୨୧

"my baby!"

you run up to your yumkasaur who ziplines to you, happy to see you after such a long time. kinich watches the scene unfold at him, unsure on how to feel.

the entire time, you were behaved like the same person he loved so much before. the same old yapper who pulled his heartstrings like their life was on the line. except... you acted as if you didn't know him.

"how have you been?" kinich breaks the ice as you two head over the place you say your yumkasaur was last seen.

"that's quite the question for someone you just met... but i guess i've been pretty lonely? after all, pipo has been away from me for so long."

and since then, you continued talking about pipo and the conversation longed on as if you were just getting to know each other.

perhaps for you it was like that, even if he couldn't believe it, but to him, he knew every single thing about you.

however, for some reason, it feels as if his knowledge of you was just useless now.

"thank you for finding pipo for me, i don't know what i would've done," you cry while hugging kinich, who didn't know if he wanted to hug back or just distance himself. "um, as for the compensation..."

"nevermind that," he cuts you off.

your eyes widen in shock. "what? no! i need to pay you. i'll feel guilty my entire life if i just take this for free -- take it!" you hand him a bag of mora, but he shakes his head.

"just... compensate me by being with me. i'll never ask for anything more again," he says in a low whisper, but loud enough for you to hear.

you tilt your head, but nod. "okay then, let's be friends!"

oh, that took a deep cut. you've really forgotten about him.

he took a deep sigh, and nodded back. "friends, then."

well, it's better than being nothing with you.

୨୧ prologue | act ii ୨୧ masterlist

♡ tags: @lvvcian @sunsethw4

a/n: thank you for reading the first chapter! i'm sorry it's really short haha, but i hope it was enjoyable nevertheless. idk when i can update again, but i have a lot of ideas in my mind right now, so probably 2-3 days from now. also, thank u to the nice comments that were left at my work! it's been motivating me to continue so it means a lot haha. love u all

[otomehoneyybearr]

3rd Birthday Story Sale

Kagari Amagase: A Heart-Throbbing Moment (Gift) For You

Taglist: @candied-boys

On the morning of my birthday—

The first thing I saw upon waking wasn't Kagari's sleeping face or his green eyes, but a single cherry blossom and a letter.

.....

Kagari: "You arrived early, Princess. Were you that eager to see me?"

Emma: "Of course, I wanted to see you as soon as possible, but..."

Kagari: "Why are you looking at me like I'm some bizarre creature?"

Emma: "Because you're tied up, Kagari."

(And cutely tied up with a ribbon, at that.)

The location mentioned in the letter was Kagari’s secret hideout, known only to a select few.

There I found, for some reason, Kagari with his wrists bound together, filling my mind with all sorts of questions.

Kagari: "Gifts come with ribbons, don't they?"

Emma: "So, does that mean...?"

Kagari: "Rejoice. Your first birthday present is me."

(I’d imagined doing something like this with Kagari, but I never thought it would actually happen!)

I was so surprised that I was speechless.

But my gradually warming cheeks were proof of how genuinely happy I was.

(If he's the present, that means I get to spend the whole day with him.)

The thought of having the person I love by my side on my birthday—Well, there’s no way I wouldn’t be overjoyed.

Emma: "Thank you. I'm really, truly happy!"

Kagari: "Then untie the ribbon quickly. Otherwise, this gift might run away, it has legs, you know."

Emma: "I'll untie it right away, so please don't run away."

I hurriedly grabbed the end of the ribbon and pulled, and it easily came undone.

As soon as he was freed, he hugged me tightly, burying his face in my neck.

(This is the first time I've received such a cuddly gift.)

It was ticklish and endearing, so I hugged him back.

Kagari: "Princess, are you satisfied already? There are more presents. In fact, the next one is the main gift."

(Can there even be a present better than Kagari in this world?)

Kagari: "Take this."

(A notebook...?)

It was a small, palm-sized rectangular notebook with a picture of a sleeping cat on the cover.

(It’s a drawing made by Kagari. Haha, how cute.)

(If this is the main present, maybe there's something written inside.)

With growing anticipation, I opened the cover. Inside was...

Emma: "A coupon to eat dorayaki together?"

Kagari: "If you give me any of those coupons, I'll grant the wish written on it."

Emma: "What a tempting present. Are you sure I can really have this?"

Kagari: "I made it for you. If you don't take it, it'll just turn to ashes."

Emma: "Thank you, I'll take it!"

I carefully turned each page to see what other coupons were there.

A date while holding hands coupon, a dressing-up coupon, a birthday cake coupon, a birthday song coupon, a kiss coupon, a hug coupon...

Seeing the cuteness of the contents written in Kagari’s slightly scrawled handwriting made me smile.

(A hug while kissing, kissing on his lap, a hug from the front, a hug from the back, a hug from the side... So many variations.)

(It's so like him to have so many kiss and hug coupons. His desires are quite clear.)

I tried giving Kagari a kiss coupon.

Emma: "Mm..."

Kagari: "You really like kisses, don’t you, Princess? So do I."

His kiss was swift and took my breath away, making my cheeks hot as he slightly lifted the corner of his mouth.

(Giving him a coupon is basically saying, "I want this"...)

(This might be a present that tests my heart as well.)

Still, it didn't change how happy I was.

(Which coupon should I use next... Oh, this one looks good.)

Kagari: "The dressing-up coupon, huh."

Emma: "I thought it would be best to use this one first. I can't imagine what it entails, so I'm looking forward to it."

(Will it be a birthday sash, a hat shaped like a cake, or maybe glasses?)

As I eagerly anticipated, Kagari suddenly wrapped his arms around my back, hugging me.

Emma: "Waaah! Why am I being undressed!?"

Kagari: "Because I'm going to dress you up."

Without any room for argument, he quickly stripped off my clothes, leaving me in my underwear.

Embarrassed, I moved behind Kagari to escape his gaze.

Emma: "I can put on clothes by myself, you know?"

Kagari: "If you refuse, you'll spend your birthday in your underwear. Not that I'd mind."

Kagari: "Besides, I’m better at dressing you than you are."

Emma: "Dressing me… Oh."

Kagari took something wrapped in a cloth from the closet and placed it on the floor

When he untied it, an elegant kimono in a soft gray plum color appeared.

(Wow… It’s beautiful.)

The various flower patterns primarily in shades of red were both vibrant and softly understated, exuding a subtle sweetness.

Kagari: "A birthday comes only once a year. I wanted your outfit to feel special too."

Kagari: "You always cherish things tied to memories, after all."

(Kagari thought this through so much.)

Emma: "...It’s so beautiful, it makes me hesitate to wear it. It captivated me instantly.”

Kagari: "I'm well aware of your tastes, so this reaction was expected."

Kagari: "But seeing you actually happy makes me even more pleased than I anticipated."

Though his expression was hard to read, the air around him seemed a bit gentler.

Suppressing my embarrassment, I moved into Kagari's line of sight.

Emma: "Could you please help me dress?"

Kagari: "Of course, I'll make you look adorable. Just wait and see."

True to his word, Kagari tied the obi in a rose knot and braided my hair to match.

I couldn't stop looking in the mirror, so delighted by how cute he made me look.

(Even though I’m already overwhelmed with joy, I still have many coupons left...)

Emma: “Eek!”

Kagari gave a playful bite to my neck and looked at me with a slightly sulky expression.

Kagari: "Hurry up and give me the next coupon. Let me celebrate you more."

Emma: "Sorry, I was just so happy with how you dressed me."

Emma: "Then, next... I'll use this coupon!"

Kagari: "A birthday cake coupon and a birthday song coupon. Wait here."

Emma: "Okay."

(Since it's Kagari, it might be a gigantic dorayaki or a stack of them reaching the ceiling.)

However, when Kagari returned to the room, what he was holding was undeniably a birthday cake.

Emma: "A rose cake! I love it."

It's the classic birthday cake in Rhodolite, topped with fruit and rose-shaped sugar decorations. The difference was the little cherry blossom sugar decoration placed next to the rose.

Setting the birthday cake down on the table, Kagari and I sat on the floor facing each other.

Emma: "The rose and cherry blossom are so cute together. Well, let’s dig in..."

Kagari: "Wait, little glutton. We haven't sung the song yet."

Emma: "Oh, right. It looked so delicious that I almost forgot..."

I quickly pulled my hand back from reaching for the cake and placed it on my lap.

After subtly clearing his throat, Kagari began to sing the birthday song I knew so well from childhood.

He slightly nodded his head to the rhythm, and I clapped my hands in time with him.

(His pitch is off, but he probably practiced a lot for today.)

This was evident from the song and his serious expression, and it was so endearing that I couldn't help but smile.

Kagari: "Happy birthday, Princess. Now, open your mouth."

Emma: "Aah... mmm, it's delicious. And it tastes nostalgic."

Kagari: "What a lovely smile. You're so cute I want to shower you with affection right now."

Kagari: "Ready for the second bite?"

Emma: "Yes, I am."

I took a larger bite of the cake than before, and the sweetness of the rose and cream spread throughout my mouth, soothing me.

After that, I kept eating each piece he offered, and fed him in return, and the cake quickly disappeared.

(Ah, that was delicious...)

Kagari: "..."

(Kagari's gaze hasn't left me for a while now. Is he waiting for the next coupon or something...?)

(Now that I think about it, he usually takes every opportunity to kiss or lean on my shoulder, but today he hasn't.)

I suddenly noticed the coupons placed beside me.

(Oh, that's why...)

Kagari: “….!”

I picked up the "Kissing on His Lap" coupon and handed it to him.

Kagari approached me happily, like a cat with its tail raised, and lifted me onto his lap.

A soft kiss landed on my lips, and he narrowed his eyes at a distance close enough to feel each other’s breath.

Then, he nuzzled my neck playfully with his nose, making me unconsciously let out a soft sigh.

(Seeing Kagari so happy makes me want to use these coupons more often, even though I'll be sad when they run out.)

After that, I used the coupons as I pleased.

We held hands and went out to the town, he fed me dorayaki, we stole kisses away from prying eyes, and spent an incredibly sweet time together that could only be described as over-the-top romantic...

Before I knew it, the sky had turned a deep blue.

(There was a mysterious special coupon that turned out to be for viewing the night cherry blossoms.)

Sitting side by side on our usual spot on the tree branch, Kagari and I gazed at the enchanting, almost otherworldly cherry blossoms, which looked different from how they did during the day.

(Ah...)

As I instinctively reached out to catch a falling petal, Kagari's hand extended from the side and caught it first.

Kagari: "You really like this game, don't you?"

Emma: "I just can't help it."

I carefully took the offered petal and pressed it between my handkerchief.

Emma: "This is the first time I've received so many presents on my birthday."

Kagari: "Hearing that makes me happy too. I want to be your first in everything."

Kagari: "But look forward to next year's birthday as well. I promise to prepare an even grander celebration than this year."

Emma: "What..."

Kagari: "What's with that reaction? Ah, I see. This year alone was enough for you."

Emma: "That's not true! I'm looking forward to next year too."

Kagari: "That's right, be greedy, Princess."

Kagari: "Next time, I'll make the birthday cake all by myself... I swear it."

(Does that mean he had intended to make it by himself this this time?)

(…Next year, huh.)

(Before we became lovers, he’d never say anything like ‘See you next time’, no matter how many times we met.)

(But things are different now. He’s promised a future.)

(…It feels like I've received another present.)

I put the handkerchief in my pocket and took out the remaining coupons.

There were only a few left, most of them being kiss and hug coupons.

(It’s okay to be a bit greedier, right...?)

Emma: "Kagari, could you fulfill all the remaining tickets?"

Kagari: "I'll grant any wish of yours."

Kagari: "Besides, I haven't had enough of you yet."

Our lips met, and we passionately conveyed our happiness to each other with intertwined tongues. With every kiss, his emerald eyes gleamed with a fierce heat, and just being stared at made my core tingle with a sweet ache.

Kagari: “Did I get a perfect score for celebrating your birthday?”

Emma: “Yes. It was worth 100 perfect scores.”

Emma: “Thank you for such a wonderful birthday, Kagari.”

Kagari: “Then let me say this too.”

Kagari: “Thank you for letting me have you all to myself on your birthday.”

(At first, I thought he was happy just because I used the coupons...)

(But perhaps even more than that, he was happy to be wanted and given attention.)

Thinking that only made my love for him grow…

(For me, Kagari’s happiness is the greatest gift of all.)

This time, I initiated the kiss, and we spent a blissful time together until the date changed.

▼・ᴥ・▼

[moviecritc]

dreamer ⋆ carlos sainz

pairing: carlos sainz x old friend!reader

summary: you leave the city searching a meaning to your life, founding an old friends instead

word count: 2K

warnings: carlos isn't a driver, just a really rich guy with hobbies

a/n: here's the first track of my bewitched department <33 i love reader and carlos so so much tbh

masterlist | wattpad | letterboxd

"I'm sick of all this, Natalie," Y/N declared, throwing her phone on the sofa. Her roommate diverted her gaze from the TV to her. "It's the fourth guy that ghosted me after I ask him out."

"Become a lesbian," said Natalie, turning her attention back to the movie.

Y/N let out a sigh. "I should. I'm tired of all men being assholes and manipulators."

She grimaced, thinking that maybe the problem wasn't men but her. She had studied Art History and had been the best in her class. Now, at 28, she was sharing an apartment and teaching preteens who called her 'ma'am.' Was she wasting her life?

"I need a change," she said to herself.

"The smell goes away with a shower, don't worry." Natalie looked at her, wrinkling her nose.

"No, damn it. A change in my routine," she explained. Nevertheless, she took a sniff at her armpit, regretting it. She'd shower later. "I need to get out of here."

She stood up, grabbed her phone, and headed to her room.

"Hey? And where are you going, if I may ask?" said Natalie, following her.

"Anywhere!" Y/N shrugged. She drank a glass of water and took out a couple of pieces of clothing. "I need to change the scenery as soon as possible, I'm stuck."

She pulled a small suitcase from her closet while her roommate rolled her eyes.

"Y/N, you can't just leave suddenly. Don't you have classes tomorrow?"

Y/N paused for a moment and then shrugged again. "I'll ask for the day off. The week, actually."

"The week!" exclaimed Natalie. Y/N was already looking at flights on her phone when Natalie covered her screen. "Y/N, you don't have the financial or mental stability for this!"

Y/N swatted Natalie's hand away to see her phone screen.

"Madrid is very cheap this time of year," she said, with a small smile.

"But you don't even speak Spanish!"

Y/N boarded a plane to Madrid with the idea of not talking to any men that week. This trip was for her, to reconnect with herself, the Y/N she had lost over the years.

She still didn't have a place to stay, but she would resolve that on the go. The journey from the airport to central Madrid was tedious; she didn't know how the metro worked and people ignored her like she was nothing. Frustrated, she sat in a café. She looked up things to do in Madrid on her phone, but soon the battery died, and she was sure she had forgotten her charger at the apartment.

She let out a long sigh and ran her hands over her face. As she opened her eyes, she heard a voice.

"Y/N?"

She looked up immediately, surprised that someone knew who she was in Madrid. When she met the gaze of the individual, she recognized him instantly.

"Carlos?"

She stood up immediately, greeting him. Was he a man? Yes but Carlos and she had gone to university together; they had been friends for several years. Probably best friends, though they never talked about it. He hadn't changed much; he looked older but in a positive way, with a more flattering haircut and surprisingly stronger.

"What are you doing here?" Carlos asked, leaning in for a short hug.

"On vacation," Y/N nodded. Running into him had instantly lifted her spirits.

"Damn, I haven't seen you in… six years?" Carlos tilted his head a bit.

"Since graduation, right?"

They both nodded; it had been quite a while. Long enough to realize they had lost contact too soon.

"I didn't expect to see you in Madrid," commented Carlos, with a smile.

"It was a last-minute decision," explained Y/N, wrinkling her nose a bit. She formed a smile. "I'm glad to see you, really. Do you want to sit for a bit?" she suggested, pointing to the empty chair.

"I'd love to," Carlos accepted the invitation immediately, sitting down.

A waiter approached, and Carlos ordered a coffee to accompany Y/N's.

"Well, tell me, what have you been up to all these years?" Carlos asked, crossing one leg.

Y/N told him a bit of everything, very sweetened. That she was teaching Geography and History at a public school, that her family was fine, and they reminisced about the time Carlos practically crashed her Christmas party because Carlos Sainz Senior was mad at him for his grades and that she was happy living in her city.

Carlos told her that he now worked at his father's company as an executive.

"Oh, I thought you’d be doing something related to what we studied," Y/N pressed her lips a bit, somewhat disappointed that Carlos hadn't continued doing what they both loved.

"I would have loved to… but there were very few job opportunities. And I didn't want to be a teacher, so I played it safe," admitted Carlos, shrugging a bit. For a moment, he thought Y/N would judge him for it, but her sweet and calm expression told him otherwise.

"Understandable not wanting to be a teacher," agreed Y/N, before sipping her coffee.

"Is it tough?" Carlos mimicked her, lifting his cup too.

Y/N shook her head a bit. "I'm sure there are worse things. But having a twelve-year-old try to cut your hair because his dad is bald is rather curious."

Carlos almost choked on his coffee from the sudden laughter. "Really?" He tried to stifle the laughter as best as he could, but Y/N was already glaring at him.

"No, no. It's not funny, it happens every damn day," she nodded vigorously. Carlos let out a laugh that ended up being contagious for Y/N too.

The conversation continued for the rest of the afternoon. It was like going back to university for a few hours, a time she missed a lot. When they decided to get up from the table, they had finished four coffees and at least one glass of wine. It was even starting to get cold outside.

"Shall I walk you to your hotel?" Carlos asked with a smirk.

Y/N grimaced, remembering she still hadn't sorted that out. She bit the inside of her cheek, embarrassed. "I haven't booked a hotel room yet."

"Oh," he pursed his lips and quickly said, "You can stay at my place, I have a spare room."

Y/N, hearing him speak, was already shaking her head. "No, no, no. I don't want to bother you."

Carlos clicked his tongue, looking away for a moment.

"How are you going to bother me? Come on, bring your suitcase. My car is parked nearby."

Y/N was intrigued by Carlos's initiative but kept shaking her head.

"Really, it's not necessary, Carlos," Y/N extended her arms a bit for Carlos to return her suitcase, but he even moved it away from her hands. "I'll manage."

She said that last part to ease him a bit, but it only sounded like she needed more help.

"Y/N, I'm not going to leave you out on the street," Carlos put his hands on his hips and she let out a sigh. "That's not very gentlemanly of me."

"You were never a gentleman, you idiot," noted Y/N. Carlos smiled, knowing that if Y/N started to insult you, she was about to agree with you. "Alright, but just for one night. Then I'll find a hotel."

"Whatever you say, cariño," Carlos smiled triumphantly, and Y/N tried to hide her smile while he put her suitcase in the trunk.

His apartment was huge, truly huge. A dream kitchen, a large living room, and definitely more than one spare room. As they entered, a beautiful brown and white dog greeted them, heading straight for Carlos's legs.

"And who is this?" said Y/N, petting his head a bit, enough for the animal to focus all its attention on her. He sniffed Y/N's shoes and licked the hems of her pants.

"His name is Piñón," said Carlos with a smile, surprised that Piñón hadn't started barking because of a stranger's presence. "I adopted him almost after we graduated."

Y/N crouched, petting Piñón's neck and behind his ears. "Hi, Piñón. You're so pretty."

"I'll show you the room," Carlos said.

Y/N got up, giving Piñon one last pet. "Thank you, really. I feel like an abandoned cat, but thank you."

They both chuckled softly.

"It's nothing," Carlos said as they went to the room.

Y/N left her suitcase in a corner and turned to Carlos. "Do you have a charger?"

She felt like she was taking advantage of him too much, even if it was just for a charger, she felt bad.

"Of course, here," Carlos handed her the charger, their hands touched for a millisecond. She tried so hard not to feel anything. He kept a flirty smile. "Are you hungry?"

"Well, yes," Y/N nodded. "But give me a few minutes and I'll help you cook."

Y/N took a couple of things out of her suitcase and went back to the kitchen to help Carlos. They quickly cooked some pasta with burrata. Y/N noticed how Carlos would get close to her or brush his hands against hers casually.

While cutting some tomatoes, the knife slipped from Carlos’s hand. "Shit!" Carlos looked at the cut and put his finger in his mouth, letting out several whimpers.

"Did you cut yourself?" Y/N went over to him, Carlos took his finger out of his mouth, showing her a small cut. Y/N pursed her lips, remembering how dramatic he could be. "It's nothing, Carlos. It's barely bleeding."

Y/N cradled his hand, gently caressing his fingers almost unconsciously. The room went silent, Carlos looked into her eyes, he adored that look. Y/N lifted her eyes, connecting them with Carlos’s. He leaned toward her, listening to her breathing and matching his to it.

"Can I kiss you?"

The question hung in the air. Y/N held her breath. This was the opposite of what she wanted. She blinked and slightly opened her mouth. To Carlos, it felt like an eternity.

"I'm sorry," Y/N said in a faint voice. She looked at him with pity and Carlos stepped back, feeling more embarrassed than ever. "It's just… it's not the right time. I'm in a bit of a strange phase and things aren't going well for me, I don't want to mess things up for you." Y/N fidgeted with her rings as she said it.

"I understand," Carlos said, nodding slowly. "I shouldn't have asked you that, it was out of place."

"No, I should have told you before," she contradicted, with a grimace.

"Don't worry," he said. "It's just that…," Carlos hesitated a bit. "In college I had a huge crush on you and seeing you again brought everything back."

Y/N blinked, absorbing those words. She had always wondered why Carlos barely dated any girls during their time in college, it never crossed her mind it could be because of her.

"You had a crush on me?"

"You didn't know?"

"No…"

"Damn, we spent so much time together,"

"Because we were friends! That's what friends do!"

They both laughed and Carlos leaned against the counter, crossing his arms.

"So, you're not having a good time?" he inquired, with a calm look.

Y/N lowered her gaze. "I'm trying to sort out my life."

"I understand," he bit the inside of his cheek. "Anyway, if once you sort out your life you feel like going on a date, I haven't changed my number."

That felt so good in Y/N's chest, as if her heart expanded a little. She laughed like a fool, taking a few steps back.

"I'm going to go to sleep,"

"You're not having dinner with me?" Carlos extended his arms, with a sad look.

"Maybe tomorrow," Y/N turned around and smiled over her shoulder before disappearing down the hallway.

taglist; @theseerbetweenus

[hart269]

Slithering Hearts

Chapter 1

Pairing : Regulus Black x Fem! Reader

Synopsis : You begin an unlikely friendship with the little Black. And soon your whole life seems to have become a tumultuous pathway. The catch, James Potter is your brother.

Masterlist / Series Masterlist

You never know how much you're gonna miss a person until they are going away, even for a small period of time. Less to say you were feelling a little bummed watching your dear brother James standing in the platform waiting for the Hogwarts train. It was gonna be his first year, and even though you were gonna join him next year, it still didn't change the fact that he was going away, that too for a year.

While he busy getting being fussed over by mum and dad, you glanced up at the sound of the train coming. James turned excitedly, hugging mom and dad, before he could fully turn to you, you jumped on him cluthching him, "Aww, little zouwu, are you going to miss me"

"No", came your muffled sound, James patted your back, "I know I am special but don't cry over me now". He grinned at your glare.

"I'm not crying" you huffed.

"Whatever you say" James smirked.

"Write me letters" you mumbled.

"I will" He smiled, he probably will, if he didn't you had plans to *ahem* renovate his room.

And thus he walked towards the train, you looked around the station to see similar scenarios, your eyes met another kid's, your age probably considering he was still with his parents, his mom seemed to be scolding the older brother probably who looked physically pained to stand there. You waved at the boy, causing him to stare confusingly. That's when the train signalled, causing the older one to run towards the train. And soon you saw the train took off while clinging onto your dad's hand. "Let's go now", your mum muttered. As you turned to leave, you once again turned towards the boy you saw, just to find him already looking at you.

After that the whole year went in a blur, you learned about James's new adventures every week from his letters, there were ramblings of the new friends he had made, the annoying and the good teachers, journeys to hagrid's hut, about pranks that even your parents didn't know of and of the many adventures he had. All that only went into details when he came back for christmas and summer break.

The whole of summer break you pestered James to tell you everything you should know. You sat on the couch, legs resting on his stomach as he remain sprawled on the couch.

"Jamie, what house do you think I'll go to?"

"Hufflepuff, obviously" James smirked.

"What, why" you huffed, crosing your arms.

"I mean, you're not smart, not brave, not ambitious and that leaves you in- James voice craclked as his face was hit by the force of the couch pillow. He removed it, getting up staring at you with a malicious glint, causing you to run yelling "Dad, help me, James is hitting me"

"I didn't even -she did it first"

The Diagon alley was always a wonderful place to be, they always had some new and exciting things, you got your wand, a sleek yew wood with white river monster spine at its core.

Mr.Ollivander had glanced at her strangely, "Treat it poorly and you won't access its power, treat it right, it will be loyal to no other". You had nodded, deciding later to brew upon it. For the most part, you were happy to get your own, cause when James got it last year, he didn't even let you touch his, no matter how much you begged him.

You were currently left by your parents at the pet shop, you were searching for a good owl, when a small hustle caught your eye, a snow great horned owl, fighting with another brown one. As you came close, he stood up and stood in the front, fluffing his feathers as if it had done no wrong, cute, you thought.

Taking the owl in your hand, you had turned swiftly, almost colliding with the boy who was standing behind you, the owl screeched, catching him, you exclaimed a loud "Merlin". Staring wide eyed at him you seem to find his face quite familiar, but you couldn't pinpoint, why. Regulus hadn't meant to stand there but he too had found the owl's commotioninteresting. And before he could move, you collided into him, he kept looking at you before realizing he was blocking the way, "Oh, sorry" he muttered moved sideways, You smiled moving past him.

He stared back at the owl on the rack, he lifted his finger, the barn owl moved towards him, nuzlzling in his fingers, he smiled "She's sweet', taking the owl to the counter, he again glaced at the same girl, the shopowner smiled, "Oh, the lovebirds", Regulus head snapped towards the cashier, "What". The shopowner chuckled, "I meant the owls, they are quite in love with each other". You glanced at her curiously "But they were fighting". The shopkeeper smiled looking at them, "Oh, they haven't realised it yet".

Author's Note : The writer means no Hufflepuff slander, it is meant to taken as just a jest. The writer fully supports Hufflepufs like the other houses.

[ouiouimochi]

hi I noticed that u were pipino hehe... since it's her months already, can I req how the characters react to f!reader basically celebrating Christmas literally MONTHS early

thankyou for requesting anon! I'm guessing you meant ber months? funny thing is I've gotten started on writing something for that prompt already but you requesting it also urged me to finish lmao… it's kind of rushed? but I do hope you enjoy it!

Never too early to celebrate the holidays!

context: so here in the Philippines, we actually start preparing for Christmas(heck even celebrating it) in September or the start of the ber months. now imagine how the defense force reacts to you practicing this

pairing/s: various kn8 x reader

genre/s: scenario type, slice of life, romance if you squint well, comedy, crack

wc: 2k

warnings: some characters may be ooc, not exactly canon compliant, grammatical errors, no beta we die like cattle, character studies just went out the window in this crackfic, careful for whiplash sweeties! huge mood changes

⁠༚˳•⁠⁠°. ☆ﾟ⁠˖⁠*⁠･⁠｡⁠ᴥ⁠༚˳•⁠⁠°. ☆ﾟ⁠˖⁠*⁠･⁠｡⁠ᴥ⁠༚˳•⁠⁠°. ☆ﾟ⁠˖⁠*⁠･⁠｡⁠ᴥ⁠༚˳•⁠⁠°. ☆ﾟ⁠˖⁠*

It was an unusually relaxed day in the Defense Force, free from the hectic stress of kaiju threats and the like. The day was spent training as usual, but everyone can tell that the atmosphere wasn't heavy with the burden of protecting Japan. They just knew, despite their doubts, that it wasn't the calm before a storm— the worry that their respite would soon be ruined by the stupid beasts that had been haunting them since time immemorial.

There was a distinct chill in the air, signaling the start of the crisp season of autumn. The officers of the Defense Force were already used to the drop in temperature, however some were not completely immune.

You were currently surrounded by your fellow recruits, talking about the sudden cold.

“It feels quite colder than last year,” Kikoru mentions, a small shiver running down her body. She rubs her hands together to gain warmth.

“Yeah, it wasn't this bad then.” Haruichi agreed while burying his hands deep into his parka jacket.

The group continued walking through the streets of the city, their batch having been approved for a day off after training.

“Reno, how in the damned hell are you unaffected?” reno my ice ice baby girl- Iharu hounded the mint haired male as he picked at the other male’s choice of outdoor clothes, the latter responding with a raise of an eyebrow and a shrug.

“We should get warm drinks,” you piped up as everyone expressed their agreement at your suggestion.

“I know just the place.” Haruichi pulled out his phone to show the group a cafe located not too far away. Before long, everyone arrived at the establishment with the ring of the bell above the door.

“Hot chocolate would be perfect,” Kafka sighed out, everyone else thinking of what warm drink to get as their eyes scoured through the menu.

“I'll probably have my usual coffee.”

“Maybe matcha tea?”

“Hot milk tea for me.”

“Macchiato.”

“There's no eggnog?” imsosorryidkwhatchristmasdrinktoputlmao a hum followed as the whole group stared at you with varying emotions.

You had a finger to your lip in thought while scanning the menu. You had your eyebrows slightly scrunched in concentration, debating what to get. A few gazes lingered on your face for a bit too long.

Noticing the silence, you looked at your friends and tilted your head. Realization creeps on your face and you cover your mouth with one palm, bowing apologetically.

“My bad, I didn't mean for everyone to wait for my order… I'll get the same as Reno then,” you sheepishly said.

⁠༚˳•⁠⁠°. ☆ﾟ⁠˖⁠*⁠･⁠｡⁠ᴥ

“Hold on, I think I have to go get my package.”

“Again? That's like the 6th one this month, (Y/n).” Kikoru stopped walking before turning to you to raise an eyebrow while resting her hands on her waist.

You shrugged your shoulders, seeing no problem in buying stuff with your own money coughcoughnarumicanneverjkcough.

“What's wrong with it? It's not like I'm broke from buying stuff from Yamazon, no? Unlike…” you trailed off, letting your blonde friend finish for you.

She sighs in response, dropping her arms to her sides as you two resume walking.

“As much as I want to say a comeback, you're right about my moronic teacher… I swear, he always asks me for money.”

“Oh, Kikoru…” you pat her back, laughing lightheartedly, “but I do gotta wonder how he does that when his paycheck is more loaded than mine…”

Your younger friend shook her head, already done with the conversation. She waved you goodbye when you two had to separate ways.

You hummed on your way to the office where one receives any delivered goods from outside the base. You waved and smiled at the nice lady at the desk you managed to get acquainted with from your recent visits.

She pulled up a few boxes from under her desk, creating quite the stack. The lady sweat dropped when her eyes trailed from the piled parcels to you— realizing that it'd be quite troublesome for you to carry alone.

Meeting her gaze and knowing what she was thinking, you shook your head and pulled a thumbs up.

“Don't worry, I can handle this. I just have to sign here as usual right?”

She only nodded, still a little worried as you started stacking each box carefully in your arms. Her concern only raised when your head was barely peeking out from the topmost package.

“Thank you again!” and you somehow safely maneuvered yourself out the doorway without hitting anything.

You were doing pretty well despite having most of your eyesight blocked, having to rely on your other senses. You gotta be thankful that all that training paid off, but perhaps you may have overestimated your capabilities.

Although, you could've sworn nobody was in the vicinity as you felt no other presence— heard no other footsteps, rustling of clothes, or even breathing—, you still failed to react fast enough when you collided with someone at the next turn.

Your eyes widened in surprise while some of your packages flew upwards. Everything was in slow motion but you felt a faint warmth wrap around your back and waist to catch you from falling.

You focused more on the packages that were about to fall— afraid that some of the items would break— and caught them… except for one that soared a bit too far from your reach.

Thankfully, the person who you collided with managed to grab ahold of the last box. You closed your eyes and sighed in relief.

A deep playful chuckle reverberated in the air. Your eyes opened to be met with the cheeky grin of Vice Captain Hoshina. implayingfavoritesperhaps

You blinked at him before standing up straight and off his arm.

“Vice Captain Hoshina, sir! I apologize for the disrespect, but I am unable to currently salute you, sir…”

The man only laughs and waves it off with a friendly smile, a hint of one of his canines poking out.

“At ease,” he scanned you from head to toe, “quite a hazard to walk around with ‘ya vision blocked, no?” still in his hand was the package he caught for you.

“I was holding up quite well due to your training…” you stared up at him before narrowing your eyes jokingly, “But your movements had no sound at all, not even a rustle of your clothes.”

He hummed before taking half the pile of boxes in your arms.

“Where to?”

You tilted your head curiously at his gesture. Alhough it was not unusual for the vice captain to be kind, he usually didn’t show it in such a straightforward way. Nonetheless, you appreciated how he still left some for you to carry on your own.

You smiled and answered him, both of you falling in step towards your destination.

“So what're these for? Noticed you've had deliveries the past month as well.” The purple haired man queried.

You had a slight skip in your step, quite excited to open up the packages that you received. In response to his inquiry, you smiled up at him with a glint in your eyes, “Just some early gift buying for the holidays, sir.” before turning your head away to hum a tune in your head.

‘Christmas shopping in September?’

Hoshina’s eyes remain trained on your form, processing what you just said, before he shook his head and just let you be. Everyone else had learned to not to question you much no matter how… eccentric you were at times. Your eccentricity was one of your charms anyways.

“Careful with what you buy, don't want ‘ya ending up like a certain captain of the First Division…” He advised, finding the opportunity to poke fun at said person despite their current absence.

You rolled your eyes, finding it funny that this is the nth time today Captain Narumi was slandered. “I'm more responsible with my money than you all think, sir.”

Far away in the Ariake Maritime Base of the JAKDF, a certain two-toned haired male let out a sneeze while he was busy playing on his gaming console.

Hasegawa shook his head, “that's what gaming all night gets you,” the older man chided his captain as the said person only covered his ears, unwilling to listen to another lecture.

⁠༚˳•⁠⁠°. ☆ﾟ⁠˖⁠*⁠･⁠｡⁠ᴥ

Another yoju drops dead on the concrete ground, everyone’s comms crackling to life.

“Immeasurable amount of yoju bounding to Zone Beta, honju’s whereabouts are unknown,” the familiar voice of Operations Manager Okonogi made itself through the earpiece.

“There's just no end to this!” an officer grumbled as everyone else started bounding to the designated zone.

“Kaiju horde spotted, permission to engage?” You announced into your device while readying your gun, being the first in position. The horde had an average of only 3.6 fortitude level— however, their numbers were what made them problematic. The operations room gave you the signal, indicating that it was something you could handle with your capabilities despite only being a recruit.

You wasted not another moment, immediately pulling the trigger of your pre-aimed gun. A yoju drops as its fellow species trampled over its fallen corpse.

The ground was rumbling with the beasts’ stampede through the open road. Yet again, another shot, another corpse. They were still far from your position, so you continued to efficiently gun down kaiju after kaiju.

You get into a steady beat, unconsciously following a certain rhythm from the back of your mind. You remain locked in, completely washing out most of your surroundings— well of course you are still aware of what's going on around you, just more hyperaware than ever.

“First Division backup has arrived at Zone Beta”

You continued firing away, by now the horde was noticeably dwindling away already. A pair of red glaring lenses watched on, having the pleasure of watching your work first hand as the owner was fastest to arrive.

Captain Narumi only wanted to quickly clear the largest wave of kaiju emergence of the year by far— cursing already how his division had to do a joint operation with the Third. Color him impressed as he just observed how you could clear the horde pretty much on your own. He was mesmerized by the timing and pattern of which you fired your gun—

He narrows his eyes when he realizes something, noticing that it was like you were casually playing a rhythm game with the monsters. Well, that wasn't exactly what made him pause…

‘She isn't shooting them down in the beat of a Christmas song, is she?'

⁠༚˳•⁠⁠°. ☆ﾟ⁠˖⁠*⁠･⁠｡⁠ᴥ

“Do any of you think that maybe—just maybee—(Y/n) is actually insane?” Iharu randomly blurted out as the usual group of recruits gathered around. You weren't present at the moment since you were called to the captain's office for something.

“You’re the madman here for being brave enough to even question it.” Kikoru stated matter-of-factly.

“We're literally surrounded by unique people, why are you only pointing fingers at her?” Reno raised an eyebrow, ready to defend you anytime.

“I mean… it's only September… and she's already making holiday preparations!” The pink-haired male tried to explain.

“...He does make quite the point.” Kafka nodded along.

“Eh, how are you all sure she's been doing so?” Reno challenged.

The eldest of the group mentioned what he noticed, “Hasn’t (Y/n) been craving and looking for Christmas season food—”

“You've no right to judge a woman's sudden urge to eat something.” Hakua interjected, the tall female always so passionate when it comes to cuisine.

“Come to think of it… Her part of the room’s been unusually cramped with some packages...” Akari’s mellow voice echoed out.

“It's not really our business to pry into how she uses her paychecks though…”

and so the group bickered back and forth— one half providing ‘evidence’ of your weird behavior, the second half making up possible reasons behind them.

“She’s been humming ‘All I want for Christmas is You‘ by Mariah Carey the past 2 weeks for fuck's sake!”

⁠༚˳•⁠⁠°. ☆ﾟ⁠˖⁠*⁠･⁠｡⁠ᴥ⁠༚˳•⁠⁠°. ☆ﾟ⁠˖⁠*⁠･⁠｡⁠ᴥ⁠༚˳•⁠⁠°. ☆ﾟ⁠˖⁠*⁠･⁠｡⁠ᴥ⁠༚˳•⁠⁠°. ☆ﾟ⁠˖⁠*

notes: CRYING SCREAMING HOW DO I WRITE HOSHINA TALKING I FORGOT HOW TO WRITE HIM HHHHHHH (too lazy to edit his parts, this has been in the drafts since the start of september… kinda wanna get it over and done with-)

this was hella rushed, isn't it obvious I made different parts at different days? its a mess just like me :P

[loganwritesprobably]

First Meeting With.. P3 (One Piece Edition)

Part one with Ace, Law and Sanji Part two with Zoro, Robin and Luffy Part four with Benn, Shanks and Smoker

Requests are open for x reader things! I will write basically ANY kind of reader - male, female, non-binary, gender neutral, trans, disabled, black, white, latino, asian, neurodivergent, etc

Here is another three lovely characters for you to meet: Crocodile, Mihawk and Buggy! All readers are gender neutral, so everyone is welcome to enjoy. No Y/N is used!

Buggy's section is a little short, but honestly I think it's just fine as it is, it made me laugh at least

CW: In Mihawk's section, the reader experiences a massive loss, and expresses some passive desire for death, take care with that

The casino was a little overwhelming when you first walked in, between the bright and sometimes flashing lights, and the various noises coming from patrons and machines alike, but you seemed to thrive here. You'd always liked card games, so that was what you gravitated toward when you'd first arrived. This, however, was far from your first time here, and you'd found a way to play the system. You'd play a few games, and lose intentionally with small bets, then you'd slip away to play another game and lose just once with another small bet, before retreating to the bar for something to drink and maybe something to eat depending on the time of day. You'd chat with other frequent patrons, and some of the staff. Finally, to end your night, you'd pick out whichever game you were most inclined to that night and place a large bet, and win. Your secret? You could count cards.

You didn't come too often, it was a delicate balance that you were striking to not be caught in your actions, but when you did come you always won big. The house couldn't always win, after all. Your wins were spread far enough apart, with enough losses in between, that you hadn't been flagged yet. It was a win, for you at least.

Tonight, you'd already done all your losses, and you were sitting at the bar. The woman behind the bar, Alisa, was lovely and you had gotten to know her in a fairly casual way, at the sort of level that you usually knew a co-worker. You knew very little about her, but you got along enough to happily chat whenever you were both at the bar. As you were happily chatting, you watched Alisa's face change, eyes widening and smile falling. That couldn't be anything good, but you didn't look up, you didn't want them to realise you knew someone was approaching.

A very large man sat on the stool beside you, dressed in fine fabrics and more fur than anyone had any right to be wearing in the desert. He was handsome. "Sir Crocodile, what can I get for you?" Alisa asked, and that told you just who you were dealing with - the damn owner, and one of the seven warlords of the sea. You took a deep, steadying breath, and sipped your drink casually. Crocodile ordered himself a drink, and you didn't look at him. There was a long, silent minute, where even the sound of the slot machines faded into the background and there was only you and Crocodile. Alisa returned with his drink, and he took a first sip, before he turned to you. "You're good, I'll give you that." He said, and you glanced at him as if seeing him for the first time. "What can I say? I make sure I dress nice for the casino." You replied, hoping to ease some of the tension. "You know what I'm talking about, though I'll admit, you do clean up well." You'd take a compliment where you could get it. "So I'm busted?" "You had a good run, but you can either leave and never come back.. or I'm willing to offer you a deal."

You were a powerhouse pirate in your own right. Your crew wasn't quite at your level, but every day they worked harder to match you in strength and ability - and they were getting there. Hell, you were sure they'd start to surpass you soon, and then maybe you'd have to start trying. You didn't mind. It felt good to see a group of people you'd been nurturing grow into something more. Your bounty was no Straw Hat level, but it was nothing to sneeze at in your humble opinion. A couple million berri - what you wouldn't give to have that much berri at your disposal.

You'd crossed paths with Mihawk only once, very early in your career, and you'd had the sense to stay out of his damn way. It was a good thing you did, he killed a man not ten minutes later, not that you stuck around long enough to find out why. You chased your crew from bars and away from market stalls, back onto your boat, and took off sailing again. He hadn't seen you, you were sure, and that was a good thing, but you'd seen him.

Never had you anticipated getting into a situation where you were crossing paths with him again - certainly not voluntarily.

Karai Bari was a damn hot island, not quite something you were used to, and well swimming several miles didn't help with how hot and out of breath you were. A dozen men approached you with swords and guns, and you could only hold up your arms in surrender. "I'm not.. here to fight!" You panted out, desperately searching the crowd for a sympathetic face. You found the least sympathetic amongst them in Dracule Mihawk. "My ship was shot down by marines sailing away from here, my crew.. I don't know where they are or if they survived. Please, I just want to live." You asked, hands beginning to tremble as reality set in. They were good people, and now you had no idea what had become of them. You'd demanded some of the younger members take to paddle boats to get to safety, but you didn't know if they'd made it. There'd been devil fruit users amongst them, and they were certainly dead by now. The knowledge of it weighed heavy on your shoulders - you were meant to protect them. You collapsed down to your knees in tears, sobs wracking your chest. You were meant to keep them safe. "I take it back," you whispered, voice thick with tears, "I can't do it without them. Do what you want to me."

It was the last hand you'd expected that came to rest on your shoulder and gently squeeze. "Get up." Came the voice of the world's greatest swordsman. "A Captain's grief should not be witnessed here. I'll take you somewhere private, where you can grieve properly, and I'll organise a rescue mission for any survivors."

He was a little odd looking, and that was putting it nicely. He was some sort of clown, judging from his large red nose, and he was.. well, all head. He was a head, directly attached to feet, and you couldn't quite understand how his hands were also attached to him. It was unnatural, and more than a little unsettling. He was yelling at you, bouncing up and down, and all you could do is stare. "It's flashily rude to stare ya know!" The guy yelled, which finally forced you to blink yourself back into full awareness. "What the fuck?" You managed, finally crouching down to look at him properly. "I'm Buggy! Genius Jester! Star Clown!" He yelled, and you shoved a finger in your ear to rub it. "You're also fucking loud." You muttered, running a hand over your face. "Hey! I'm looking for.. well.. the rest of me." You told you, realising that maybe yelling at you wasn't the best way to get your help. "For what?" You asked dumbly, blinking at him owlishly. The rest of himself? Was he some sort of hippie, what did that even mean? "I'm a chop chop man! My body comes apart." He explained, splitting his hand from the rest of his body as your face contorted in disgust. "I'm going to be sick." "You get used to it. Now stop being useless, and help me out! My leg is around here somewhere, I can feel it."

[plutoleah]

Rockstar Revelation

Chapter 1

[Male reader-insert, amab, reader is mistaken as a woman but doesn't correct anyone. Andrew x Male reader.]

She always looks so peaceful on stage. Even though she’s shouting and saying wild things, she remains surprisingly calm.

Ashley always forbids me from going to (stage name's) shows, but I still go. (Stage name) is captivating when she sings. However, the current lyrics she’s performing are rather unconventional: "I bleed for you, and now I’m gushin. I bleed for you, but you never cared." Although it is quite a strange lyric to be singing, everyone has appreciated her songs very much.

At the end of the show, Y/N walks to the center of the stage. "Thank you everyone for coming out," she waves as she walks off the stage with her bodyguards. Everyone runs up to her, trying to get any type of attention from her. Which she happily turns around and agrees to sign autographs.

Whenever Andrew gets to the front of the line, he has a plushie of her, and she smiles as he nonchalantly hands her the plushie, not wanting to seem too eager. She takes the plushie and signs the tag, then lifts it up and smiles. "I hope you had a nice time at the show. This is the second-to-last show." Y/N smiles as she hands him the plushie back.

"I'll let you in on a little secret." Y/N leans into his ear to whisper, "My next album is going to be pop rock." She then backs away, smiling, "I've already written a song for the album. Wanna hear it?" she says, putting her hands behind her back. "Yeah, sure," Andrew says, trying to act cool and collected even though his favorite singer is whispering in his ear. He almost lost his balance there.

"Oh, I think you're standing on my left foot; it's hurting, but that's ok cause I'm in your way. You'll break that foot that you're standing on; I'll walk with the other one." Andrew was mesmerized by her singing and how she was composing and sharing a lyric with a fan she just met. "That was amazing," Andrew responds after he sees Y/n waiting for his feedback. "Thanks; also, do you want a picture?" Y/n gets up from her chair to take a picture.

Andrew takes out his phone to take a picture in a slight hurry as she leans on him and throws a peace sign as Andrew takes the photo. Y/n smiles as she gets off him. She waves goodbye as she walks off with her bodyguards. Andrew looks at the photo as he also walks away to his car. He can't let Ashley ever know about this.

|A few weeks later|

When Andrew gets home from grocery shopping, he sees Ashley sitting on the couch on her phone, waiting for him. "I didn't want you to go out by yourself; some girl could have hit on you." She watches him put the groceries away, gets up, and heads to the kitchen, crossing her arms as soon as she gets in there. "What do you care if a girl hits on me? We needed food anyway." Andrew takes out some premade chicken wings and pops them in the oven as Ashley walks close behind him as he walks to the couch, turning on the TV. On TV, it shows Y/n and some interviewees talking about her new album.

"So, (stage name), what is your plan for the new album?" The interviewer sips his coffee, not really all that interested in what the artist has to say. "On my new album, it's going to be a pop rock genre, and I wanted to do something new and exciting," Y/n said with fake laughs, knowing nobody the interviewer didn't really care. "Oh, my (stage name), what made you want to change the genre? I can also see it in your outfit that you're making a big change," he laughs if you dissect his words. He's making fun of her outfit, thinking it's tacky.

"Thank you," Y/n fake smiles, trying not to acknowledge his jab at her outfit. "What made me want to make a change was this amazing fan of mine that I met after my last show." She smiled as she asked one of the people offstage to put up a picture she told them to put up before the show started. The picture was of her and Andrew. The picture she had her photographers take was taken in secret.

"If the person for whom I took this picture is currently watching this show, I would love it if you came to my last show and sat in the front row because I really want you to be on this next album with me." y/n laughs and then starts talking again, but it's very muffled to Andrew because of the shock. Ashley is staring at the woman on the TV angrily.

"You went to her fucking show when I told you fucking not to," Ashley screams as she jumps on her brother to fight him. "Ashley, did you not hear her? I'm going to be on her next album." Andrew still looks bewildered. "No, you're fucking not; she only wants to exploit you for money, or maybe she found you hot and wants to have your babies." Ashley punches his chest. Andrew just blushes at the thought. "You fucking dick," Ashley screams as she beats him up.

|At the show|

"Before the show starts in my latest interview, I talked about a certain fan, and if that fan is on stage, can you please come on stage or my bodyguards please let him on stage?" Y/N shouts out into her mic. Andrew then pushes himself to the front, being pushed by people also trying to get to the front. Once Andrew gets to the front, he taps on one of the bodyguards, and the guard recognizes him from whenever he took a picture with Y/N. The guard excorts him to the stage.

As Andrew walks on stage, Y/N sets her mic down and goes over to him. "Hey, so glad to see you. I'm glad you were watching my interview." Y/N smiles as she talks to him. Andrew can only think this is a dream. "So here is my contact information so we can talk about the album and so I can get to know you." Y/N hands him a paper from her cargo pants. "Alright, I hope you enjoy the show," Y/N yells so everyone can hear as she runs back to her mic on stage.

Andrew walks off stage surrounded by bodyguards, so he doesn't get jumped by jealous fans. As he looked at her number on the paper, he blushed slightly. He enjoyed her last show, not just because he got her number but because she kept glancing and smiling at him during the show. Man, was he lucky?

[artxstic-scr1bbles]

I... think I went a little overboard with their hair-

Ramble UTC:

HOUSE OF CARDS

[Or H.O.C]

—-—-—-——-—-—-—-——-—-—-—-——-—-—-

Have you ever wondered what lay beyond the pages of your favourite novel? Could there be a world different than ours, just a few words away?

—-—-—-—-——-—-—-—-——-—-—-—-——-—-

The story revolves around three teenagers—

Akui Yūrei, Celine Hashimoto and Akarui Kurosawa (left to right).

Two of them close friends, one... not quite. Akui's existence is debatable, to put it simply. He's not quite 'human'.

Currently residing in Wonderland, the three of them try to get by without getting into trouble with the locals. The company is not very pleasant if you need to run for your lives every other second, is it?

Celine and Akarui had been waiting impatiently for a new novel anticipated for in the market— a retelling of the famous Alice in Wonderland, written by Louise Benetton. Advertisements looked promising, and promotional merch was already running out from high demand. The two teens had pre-ordered one right before it had sold out, of course they were excited. Their money was on the line. A month later, and, they recieved their money's worth in the mail—

House Of Cards.

—-—-—-—-——-—-—-—-——-—-—-—-——-—-

There's a lot more— but that will make this post too long... I'll post another one elaborating on this soon. Basically, the trio got sucked into the book when they had fallen asleep reading it. The locals are mainly divided, but not limited, to two categories-

-> Decks -> Cards

You see, in Wonderland (the book realm) the power (based on magic) hierarchy depends on how many souls you have collected, either dead or alive. Living ones have more value in magic, but are riskier to keep, considering they can topple you over with the right strategy.

Decks are those who have collected one or more living souls. Cards are the ones who live independently— those who have not yet collected any souls.

»» A Deck can become a Card if they lose all their souls.

»» A Card can become a Deck by collecting souls.

Where these souls reside are all variations of different pocket dimensions all Cards and Decks have. One is there by default, forever changing to reflect your life. It is possible to create others, and it is the favoured option. Locals have named them 'Weeping Lands', for the eternal somber melody they can hear from there. Some say it sounds like a forbidden lullaby, pulling them to a deep slumber, while others say it sounds of their lost loved ones, calling out to them in the distance.

Another thing special to Wonderland is a phenomenon observed as 'Carding'. This is something that takes place with very soul not native to Wonderland— an attempt by the world to adapt to you, and for you to adapt to it. Symptoms vary. The first one is memory loss and inability to recall certain events, in this case memory of the life before Wonderland. Then follows delusion that you truly do belong in Wonderland, have always lived here, and never had a life outside of it. Individuals having passed this stage never make it out of Wonderland. Because once the Carding process is completed, it is near impossible to escape, the world simply won't let you. After all, you belong here, don't you?

Then follows alteration of physical features... though what exactly and the extent varies from individual to individual. And, how long the Carding process takes also varies. Younger individuals are most vulnerable to it, however, given that they are naive enough to give in rather easily.

Story's mainly about the trio's shenanigans and their attempts to escape, thwarted time and time again by a certain someone and his right-hand man who will cameo soon.

—-—-—-—-——-—-—-—-——-—-—-—-——-—-

This is basically what I have for now! I have a list of characters ready for the main cast— but only five of them are fully completed.... Gosh this one has a LOT of world building. Plus so many characters. I'm positively both excited and overwhelmed. Suggestions are, as always, welcome! This story has been on my backburner for far too long, I'll be posting about my other one too very soon.

That one has a more original plot line lmaooo

@liliallowed @salzab my writing moots, look at what I have conjured up this fine midnight.

[dollish-shard]

Demon Queen

As you stood in the demon queen's throne room, gripping your sword and panting heavily, you bitterly reflected on how much better things could be going. You'd gathered a party of the finest heroes in the realm, rallying behind you to drive the evil from the land once and for all.

And yet, you stood back to back with your closest ally, surrounded on all sides by her phantom demons. And she sat in her throne above, having nary lifted a finger. She grinned, clearly enjoying the show. Beside her stood your party's healer, blank and glassy eyed.

That had been the turning point. You'd all been so confident in your tactics, and yet, once the battle began, the demon queen snapped her clawed fingers, and your healer froze, will vacating her body, and cast a sleeping spell. Half your party fell there to the surprise attack.

You'd seen the queen's propensity for mental magic, but exactly how she got to your healer you weren't quite sure. You'd been so careful...

"Look out!" Your friend pushes you aside, skewering a demon on her spear. You'd been so distracted... you grip your sword tighter.

The demon queen laughs. It's light and airy, not at all what you'd expected, and yet sinister all the same. "I must say, I'm having a wonderful time." she says, running a finger across the armrest of her throne. "Thank you so much for this gift, dearest."

You scowl, turning to her and brandishing your sword. "Have fun while you can. Your reign ends here, foul witch!"

She laughs again, and grins. "You're so cute when you're like this, dear. So convinced of yourself..."

You let out a growl. "What are you talking about?"

She sighs. "But, I think it's time to draw the curtain." She leans forward, grin widening to show pointed teeth.

"Playtime's over, dear."

As soon as those words leave her lips, you freeze. Your mind pulses, thoughts and feelings rushing through you like a dam has been broken.

You feel memories, emotions... it feels like what makes you you is being washed away. Or... no. It's like you're finally coming out of a haze. Everything slots into place, suddenly making sense for seemingly the first time.

Your friend looks at you in concern. "Are you okay?" she asks. She takes a stance, half expecting you to turn on her like your healer did.

You ignore her, and look up at your Queen. "That," you say. "Was so fucking hot."

She smiles. "I do try, dear."

Your 'friend' takes a step back, raising her spear. "She's got you too?" She shakes her head. "No! You have to fight it!"

You laugh, and shake your head. You let go of your sword, letting it clatter against the floor, as you turn to face her. "Fight it?"

You begin to walk towards her. With each step, your body changes. Leathery wings erupt from your back, and curved horns spurt from your head. Your skin darkens back to it's natural purple, and your sclera blackens, as you drop the disguise you forgot you were wearing.

Her eyes go wide, fear and confusion on her face. "What... how..."

Your Queen laughs. "Aw, how cute. You must really have believed in her. Your 'hero'. I'll let you in on a little secret: There is no hero. There never was."

"My Queen is a master of the mind," You explain, sharp teeth glinting as you grin wickedly. "She made me believe I was a hero, and send me out to form a group to 'slay the evil blighting the realm'. All of that, to bring you here. A climatic show, all for her."

"And you all played your parts splendidly!" Your Queen says. With a gesture, she calls your healer to her, and she kneels, letting her Queen pat her on the head. "But, I'm afraid it was a battle you were destined to lose."

"No..." Your friend shakes her head, resolve in her eyes. "No! This isn't the end! I'll stop you, both of you-" You dart forward, faster than she can react, and cup her cheek. "So brave, so resilient..." You lean in, and steal a deep kiss. She can't resist your touch.

As you pull away, her eyes are clouded, resistance faltering. "And so utterly ours."

You remember now, the things you'd done while in deep cover, acting without even knowing. The slow conditioning you'd subjected your party to, brainwashing each and every one.

Putting in triggers for you and your Queen to exploit.

"You've been such a good girl," you coo, as her resolve melts away. "And you'll make such a wonderful demonic plaything, once your new Queen is done with you."

"I... no..." she mumbles. Her spear drops from her hands.

"Shush..." You pat her head. "It's time to sleep. When you wake, your new life will begin..." You gaze deeply into her eyes, and snap your fingers. The last of her free will shatters, and she drops to the floor like a stone.

You look up at your Queen, adoration in your eyes.

Adoration that you see reflected back at you.

You hover up to her throne, drinking in every inch of her body. It's been too long since you last worshiped her.

"Welcome home, dear..." she says. You kneel before her, and she takes your chin in hand. "I've missed you."

"And I you, love." You reply. You both lean forward, and meet with a deep kiss, your very souls entwining once more. You've missed this, missed it so much, even though you'd forgotten you'd ever experienced it.

"I brought gifts." You say, once your embrace reaches a reprieve.

"They're wonderful." She says, patting the healer's head again. "You've outdone yourself."

"500 years is a special milestone." You reply. "It was worth the effort. You always are."

You go in for another kiss, this one a prelude to something more.

"Happy anniversary, love."

[zsakuva]

if you didn’t have to worry about the algorithm/making an income, would you change some aspects of you works?

like, would create works without a listener? would you explore other genres/plots that don’t focus so heavily on romance (or even cut out romance completely and have listener be a friend or something)?

don’t get me wrong, i love pretty much everything on your channel! but i can’t help but wonder if things ever get repetitive for you as a writer… 

i obviously don’t have access to your demographics, but is it naive of me to think that if you do ever decide to branch out, it won’t effect your views too much? (i’ve spoken to a lot of female listeners on here who really enjoyed niall’s series even though it’s m4m)

i hope that wasn’t too many questions ^^;;

have a wonderful day and say to kimahri:))

I would change a lot of aspects about my work.

When it comes to creating online content, experimentation can be quite unforgiving if you've already established a set expectation for your audience. Although it's a way to learn and grow, sometimes, creators either can't afford to take that risk, or they're not comfortable with branching out.

For me, I love experimenting! There are many times when I'm writing a script and I say to myself, 'How the hell am I going to pull this off?' Writing narratives in 2nd POV has its challenges and obstacles, and there's a certain charm to it. The dialogue and action must be handled differently. So if I could, I likely wouldn't scrap Listeners entirely, but I would definitely explore other genres and make audio dramas with a voiced main character. I also don't like writing romance, so that wouldn't be at the forefront of any story but a thread alongside many others.

Writing in this kind of niche can get quite repetitive, especially when the audience expects something similar. This is the reason for me retiring seven (currently) of my characters: though they look different with different backgrounds and beliefs, at their core they're very similar. They are cookie cutter idealistic boyfriends with great morals who run to the Listener's aid to comfort, and tease, and lend an ear, and give advice, and love in their own ways.

As a writer, it gets stale very quickly. Sure, I could make different scenarios to spice it up, but the essence will be the same. The things they talk about will be the same.

I still have a lot of ideas on the backburner for other series that involve Listeners so I won't run out of that anytime soon, but I also have other outlandish ones stored away that I hope I'll have time to visit and execute down the road.

Experimenting comes with risk. Niall is by far the least liked and least watched series on my channel. But I don't consider it a failure; I expected as much because it was made for a small part of my demographic. And I've received comments about how Niall's story helped them which makes the whole thing worth it.

Unfortunately, as I must consider what I do as a business, I can't do those passion projects very often. I have so many ideas that I'd love to make, but they'll likely never come to fruition unless circumstances were different.

[mmmmmmmmmmmmsoup]

MAN HUNT

OC X READER

warning: violence, kidnapping, y'know... yandere stuff

this is a long ass post mind you, so get comfortable. also, this is super unedited, so bare with me.

word count: 5,323

it was 8am in the morning, you were sitting down on the couch, drinking a warm beverage, reading one of the many books within the small home library you were spending your morning in. thats when john came into the room, a man with broad shoulders, brown mid length hair and some stubble to adorn his face. if he ever chose to wear a cowboy hat and live in the south, he'd blend right in. He stood right in-front of you and dropped a big hiking backpack at your feet, it seemed to be full of stuff with small things like rope and a pocket knife clipped to the outside of it.

"whats this?" you ask, looking up at him.

"your ticket to freedom" john says with a smirk, resting his hands on his hips.

"what?"

"well for how many times you've tried to run away from our lovely home, why not make things more fun?"

you don't respond back, you just give him a blank stare waiting for him to continue.

"I'll give you a week."

"you take whatever is in this bag, and the clothes on your back, and lets really see if you can make it through these woods, without me catching you."

your shocked, not believing what you've just heard. John, for a year now has been your captor, and has dragged you to his little home deep in the woods. he says things like, he "loves you" and that you two are "meant to be together", but people who love each other don't kidnap one another and take them away from the life they were living. As stated by john, you had tried to escape before, but he was always a step ahead of you. But this could be your chance, he was giving you an opportunity, even if he rigged it, there was no way you were saying no to this.

"when do we start"

"as soon as you get dressed." john's smirk widened.

it wasn't too long until you were in your closet going through which clothes to wear. obviously you needed clothes that could handle the weather, it was that time of year when it wasn't quite fall yet, but the days started to get a bit more chilly and the leafs started their change of colour. you had found some cargo trousers and a green plaid shirt which you layered with a white tank top underneath. all items of clothing were bought by john, including the hiker shoes you were now putting on. he had bought most of the things you now own, he mainly tried to keep it within your own style, but every now and then he would buy something he wanted to see you in or thought would be good for an activity. I guess you now know why he bought this outfit.

as you got ready, you were trying to remember all the survival tips you had learned through out the years, but there wasn't much you remembered, as it never came up before.

"i'm not sure if I've ever seen you with such a pip in your step before." john says, standing in the corner of the room, leaning against the wall, watching you get ready.

you grab the backpack and go to open it up to see what john has given you and what else you may need, but thats when john grabs your hand to stop you.

"woah sugar, you can't see what I packed you until the game starts"

"but how do I know if even I need anything?", you argue.

"trust me, you have everything you'll need, right in that bag "

you let out a huff, zipping the backpack back up saying something under your breath about how the last time you trusted him, it ended with you being tied up and in the back seat of his car.

if john heard it, he didn't respond.

you throw on the backpack and clipping in the straps that went across your chest and hips for more security.

"ok. so what are the rules?"

john smiles, "its pretty simple, you get a 4 hour head start, you can't come back to the house at any moment unless you forfeit, and if you manage to get away without me catching you within the week, your free to go."

you nod your head, listening close to the rules. soon after john walks you outside to the front of the house. you take in the fresh air, the pine tree's giving of their piney smell, the sun shining through the tree's, and birds chirping their morning tune.

"ok, your next step forward is when the game starts, you sure you don't wanna give me a kiss before you leave, darlin?" john looks over at you, he was clearly joking but there was a small hint of hope in his eyes.

"Nope." you start to run in a random direction, not looking back. you weaved through the tree's and jumped over rocks, trying your best to not let yourself run out of breath.

As you ran, john stood where you left him, watching you disappear into the woods, once you were fully out of sight john headed back inside to make himself a coffee. he wasn't too worried about loosing you, he had far more experience dealing with the woods and backpacking in general. This should fun, you can finally feel a little bit more free, and he will still get his soon to be wife back by the end of the week. its like a little detox!

your running soon turned into a light jog, trying to figure out which way you should go. you couldn't see much from the forest floor as the tree's were too tall. figuring that you shouldn't just go straight and make it easy for john, you made a hard left. after a bit your jogging had turned into a fast walk and went that pace for about an hour and a half, so you think. truthfully you didn't quite know how long it had been, and you forgot to check the time before you left, a stupid mistake but nothing you could do about it now.

after what you think has been 2 hours you took a break and rested, but not without going through your back pack.

here is what john packed you:

sleeping bag

a thin sleeping matt

water bottle

water cleaning tablets

flashlight

pocket knife

rope

1 pair of clean clothes (but with 3 pairs of socks)

a light rain coat

first aid kit

tooth brush/paste

lighter

spork

small metal pot

binoculars

small bags of dried food/meal prep (but only enough for 3 days)

and a radio

what the hell? firstly, why for only three days? was he anticipating that how long you'd last? fucking prick, you'll show him, your gonna get the hell out of here and hope to the gods that you'll never have to see his face again.

but when you held the radio in your hands, you fought with your self if you should turn it on or not. what if it was tracking your location? was that something a radio could even do? you weren't sure.

despite your thoughts, you turned it on, it was on channel #1. before even thinking you held the button down and started speaking.

"hello, hello, this is Y/N L/N I'm lost in the woods and I need help"

you waited for a response... nothing.

you switched to channel #2 and did the same thing.

"HELLO, HELLO, THIS IS Y/N L/N I'M LOST IN THE WOODS AND I NEED HELP!"

still no response. you nearly went through all the channels saying the same thing and still nothing, no sign of another person.

that's until you got to the last channel, channel #25. you spewed your cry for help and waited, the next thing you know you hear the sounds of someone picking up the call.

"hey darlin, miss me already? it hasn't even been a full 2 hours yet" your stomach dropped, it was john on the other end. you could practically hear his sly smirk.

it took you a while to respond not sure what to say.

"oh? did you get all shy and bashful on me? don't forget, you called me, sugar." john chuckled through the radio

"are you tracking me with this? that doesn't seem fair." you ask

"no no, I'm not doing anything like that, would ruin the fun. the radio is just there incase you hurt yourself and you need help... or if you get lonely on these cold nights" john laughs

your quick to switch off the radio, and put everything back in your bag. you heard everything you needed to know, he had also mentioned that it hadn't even been 2 hours yet. the anxiety of time was getting to you, you didn't want to get caught on the first night. so you started moving, back into the pace of a light jog.

john on the other hand was delighted to hear from you, he didn't think you would actually use the radio, this soon too. he was taking his time getting ready, he gave himself four hours but was more likely to leave a little later then that. He wanted this to last a little longer then 2 days and also wanted you to squirm a little, make you feel uncomfortable, and who knows, maybe after this you won't want to leave his side.

-time skip-

it had been hours, definitely past the 4 hour mark. the sun was starting to go down, and you needed to figure out where you were gonna sleep. you looked around, there was a log near by. the log would be good place to rest your head on and had a little area that would be good for a fire, so thats where you unpacked your backpack and set up for the night. you went around grabbing bits of wood and sticks, really anything that could light on fire, you weren't new to making a campfire, but you also didn't practice very much, you knew what you needed its just putting it together was the problem. you grabbed the lighter from your bag and stood your sticks into a tipi shape, putting things like dried leafs and or moss in the middle.

half an hour later, you were just about to throw in the towel and go to bed early, but luckily your little tipi finally caught a flame and you had a little fire to warm you and your food.

you grabbed the little metal pot from your bag and one of the prepped meals. it was all dried food so you would have to add moisture by adding some water. you only added half of the food into the pot, thinking to save the rest for another night, grabbing your water bottle you add a rough estimate of 4 table spoons of water to the pot. your water bottle was already half empty from the day, thinking you'll have to find some form of water will be tomorrows goal. you took your spork, mix your ingredients, and heat it over the fire. it wasn't not long until you realize the mixture is porridge, plain but food non the less.

after you ate all of your food, you licked the pot clean, so it wouldn't attract animals or be harder to cook for the next time. you were just about to set up your bed when you had a thought.

'what if john finds me while I'm sleeping? what if the light of the fire is giving away my location at this very moment?'

with that thought you scramble to pack all of your things, despite that the sun is almost being gone. you throw you backpack on and starting kicking dirt onto your fire and stomping it to make it go out. after your sure the fire won't re-lit it's self you hurry to move from your location.

'I still have to sleep, I can't expect to win this with zero energy' you think to yourself as you frantically look for another place to rest. but as you look around each spot looks the same and equally just as easy to get caught in. you sling your head back facing the sky, huffing out in frustration, you can already feel the tears forming. if give the sky one more good look before the sun is fully gone, you just see tree's.

...that's it. the tree's.

you ripped you backpack off, digging for your flashlight and some rope. you sling the rope around your arm and hold the flashlight between your teeth, while putting the backpack back on. your gonna spend your night in a tree.

you find a tree your pretty confident climbing, you start grabbing branch after branch raising yourself higher from the forest floor. once you feel like your high enough, you grab your rope and tie it around the trunk of the tree and with the other end tie around your waist. just incase you fall while sleeping. slinging your bag so it's in your lap, you grab your sleeping bag and somehow shimmy yourself into it. not the most comfortable, but the branches of the pine tree hide you from the outside world and also help keep heat in. as you try to doze off you think about how you got in this situation.

you were just a normal person who had just moved to the big city, you were lonely and looking for people to be friends with. so when john came through the door of your work place talking you up, you were more then glad to chat back. and at some point john was no longer the regular at your work, he was your friend, and you two hung out with each on your days off. you went rock climbing together, restaurants and cafe's, a few hikes here and there, just whatever was available. and one day after dinner together, john had asked you if he could show you something, just out of town. of course you agreed, he was your friend and hadn't shown any red flags at the time. but once you two past the city and kept driving, you were starting to get cold feet. you had insisted john turn around, and it got to the point you were screaming "JOHN IM NOT KIDDING, TURN THE CAR AROUND, THIS IS TOO FAR OUT". He insisted he just wanted to show you something very important, but everything in your head was screaming at you to get out. you remember grabbing for the door handle, despite the car still in fast motion, thats when john yoinked your hand back and pulled over, slamming the breaks. before you know it, your tied up, sitting in the back seat, with your mouth tapped shut. what a horrid memory, and the idea that you may have to relive that again.... just foul.

-time skip-

at the crack of dawn when the birds started to sing was when you woke up, you were glad to find yourself in the same spot as to when you fell asleep, but man... you felt like shit. you got as much sleep as you would think you'd get, sleeping in a tree, which is very little.

you shimmy out of your sleeping bag, fold it back into your pack, along with putting away the flashlight and untying the rope and clipping it back to your bag. As you climbed back down to the forest floor, you tried to keep an eye out for signs of someone being near by, non to your knowledge.

todays goal was as yesterday's, get as far away from john and that dam prison he's been keeping you in. but also, to find some sort of body of water, as you were starting to run low. you headed in a direction opposite from where you came from, and as you walked, it actually was kind of nice. breathing in the fresh morning air, watching the sun slowly rise above your head, at one point you even saw some deer. you'd hate to say it, but you were enjoying it.

-time skip-

hours had passed, with you keeping a good pace of jogging and speed walking, you felt confident about the distance between you and john, but you did begin to worry about finding water, wondering if you were even heading in the right direction of finding any. 20 minutes later however, that worry melted away. you could hear the sounds of rushing water, and in the direction you were walking, the tree's started to part ways. once you walked up to the tree line you saw a river, rushing bright blue water straight from the mountains. you find a rocky beach area where you can sit and collect some water, dipping you water bottle into the ice cold river. you grab one of the tabs in your bag, supposedly your suppose to drop 1 tab in your bottle and it cleans any dirty water and makes it safe to drink. after the tab dissolves and you shake it real well, you take a drink.

you don't think you've ever had water quite so refreshing.

as you take this time to re-gain your energy, you grab a granola bar from your bag, and munch down on it. it's not along after a chipmunk starts making it's way to you, clearly smelling your food.

you argue with yourself, if you should share with the cute animal, or safe it for yourself. in the end, you decided it wouldn't hurt you if you gave the chipmunk one small peanut from your bar. you placed the peanut in your hand and reached out to the it. the chipmunk was obviously sceptical of your donation, but it only took a minute until he was eating right out of your hand. you couldn't help but smile and enjoy the moment.

... that was until you heard a snap from the right of you.

you didn't move, and you tried your best to keep smiling, but in the corner of your eye, you saw him.

it was a shadowy figure hiding within the tree's and bushes, definitely human shaped. it couldn't be anyone else but him.

he wasn't moving towards you though, just hunched down, watching.

you could hear your heart beat in your hears, you struggled to keep your breath steady.

you slowly started to pack your belongs and act as if you didn't know he was there, and as you did you grabbed the pocket knife that was clipped onto your backpack.

you clipped yourself into your backpack, so everything was secure, you took a deep breath...

you ran.

back into the tree line, and in the opposite direction of your captor. you didn't dare look back, and you didn't need to, you could hear shuffling from behind you, of something moving through the bushes caching up to you.

you weaved through tree's, hoping to loose him, at on point you were running along side the river. trying to find any means of escape you saw some rocks almost making a bridge across the river.

you went for it. jumping rock to rock, and as you almost make it across, something grabs your backpack from behind, it pushes you down, half of your body landing on the rocks, the other half of you landing in the freezing cold water. john also in the same position as you, but with a grip on your bag.

"hey honey, long time no see. you were looking real cute back there, acting like a Disney princess, princess" john tried to keep a cool expression, but being dipped in freezing cold water wasn't exactly the plan, and you could see him cringe at the temperature change.

you tried to yank his hand away from your bag, but it wouldn't budge. you could only move so much unless you wanted to fully submerged in the water and taken down stream.

and john just kept talking, "y'know, I didn't think you'd spot me, but I guess thats why I like you... just full of surprises!"

john starts moving, trying to reach you with his other hand, hoping to pull you back on land with him. that's when you open you pocket knife. swinging the knife towards him, you manage to cut the palm of his free hand. he hisses in pain and lets go of you to cup his now bleeding hand, that's when you kick him over the rocks and fully into the water, he tries to grab at you, but the current takes him away before he can. your quick to stand up, not bothering to watch him float away, you begin to run. your soaked and cold to the bone, but you don't care, running is the only thing on your mind.

-time skip-

it had been... maybe 2 hours now? 2 hours of you strictly running, the sun was starting to go down, and you could feel your body yearn for warmth. you found a spot surrounded by wild rose bushes, so if anyone was in the area, you would be able to hear them first before they saw you, plus the thorns would give you a little more protection against people or animals.

you sparked a fire, a little faster then the night before, and soon you began to strip, taking off your wet clothes and laying them near the fire to dry, you grabbed the clean pair in your backpack. you also snuggled into your sleeping to try to warm up faster, while making food. after eating the rest of your porridge, you snuffed out your fire just enough so no flame or light was giving away your location, but enough that the coals and ash were still warm and hopefully would keep you warm through the night.

it didn't take you long to fall asleep, exhausted from chaise.

mean while john had managed to swim himself to shore 20 minutes after being swept away by the river. his hand was still bleeding but the water and washed most of it away, luckily it wasn't too deep of a cut, but infection was still a possible outcome. he cut his losses for the day, figuring you had probably ran pretty far already, not to mention the how far the river took him down, away from you. he was quick to set up camp, make a fire and dry his clothes. just like you, he also had a backpack full of anything he needed. sadly most of his stuff was pretty soaked and he had to lay out all of it in hopes it would dry before he went to sleep. luckily the radio was water proof so, that was still able to work. and while he was waiting for his things to dry and his food to cook, he figured he'd see if your radio was on.

"hey sweetness" he sang "you there?"

he waited for a response, but got nothing.

"I guess even if her's was on, she might be pretty mad at me for what I just tried to pull" john chuckled to himself.

"that's ok though, let her be mad, then after she can come home with me and be my darlin little wife"

john starts twirling his finger in the dirt, as he's dreaming of the day you two are married, then have kid together, and maybe another one if it works out.

he just couldn't help it, you just so beautiful, with such a strong spirit too, willing to fight for what's yours. your just a little confused and don't realize this life he's set up for the two of you, is your life. your new one, better life.

but that's why he was doing all of this, to make you realize you belong to him are meant to be together.

-time skip-

you woke around the same time as the day before, but this time you had a way better sleep. most of your stuff was pretty dry, a few damp patches but nothing too bad. feeling rested you packed your things and started your journey, you were on day 3 and still had a good amount of food and a full water bottle. part of you wanted to head back to the river and follow it down to hopefully a town or something, so you would have consistent water supply, but that was the direction john was and you didn't want to run into him again...if he was still alive.

was he still alive?

I mean that last time you saw him, he got swept up by the river, plenty of people have died in similar situations. if he was dead, it would then be safe to head in whatever direction you wanted

"mmm" you let yourself think for a bit, wondering what you should do.

you end up digging for your radio in your bag, you didn't want to call out to him, but for the sake of directions, you needed to know if he was alive or not.

"hello? anyone there?", you wait for a response.

....

"well shoot, if I didn't know any better, I would think that your checking up on me, darlin. you worried about me?" you hear john speak through the radio.

and that's all you needed to hear, he was alive, which meant you were gonna go up stream, rather then down.

"sugar? don't leave me hanging, I-" before he could finish his sentence and probably call you another pet name, you turned the radio off and tucked it back into your bag"

-time skip-

today was well paced and didn't run into any issues. the only reason for that though is probably cause john is trying to catch up, you didn't know how far the river took him after all.

but still no sign of a town or another human, just woods and more woods. you flipped through the other radio channels seeing if it had picked up on any new radios, still none.

you set up for the night, next to a mossy log that had fallen over some time ago. you had dug into your second bag of rations, only eating half of it so you could eat the rest for tomorrow.

and while you started getting ready for bed john, was still making his way towards you. he spent all day trying to find your tracks and on some sort of luck, he did. unknown to either of you john still had a good while to go until he reached you, but he knew if he moved while you slept, it was more likely for him to catch up faster.

-time skip-

day 4, and the sun rises once more. you awake and just like the last few days, your quick to pack up and be on the move. except theres a chill in the air, you can see your breath, and once you take a closer look around you, theres a light layer of frost covering the forest ground. it was pretty to see, how the sun shined on the plants and made everything sparkle. but that was enough looking around, you had to remind yourself that a loved obsessed psycho was after you.

you continue walking for about an our now, watching all the frost slowly melt from the sun's gaze, but you should have been paying more attention, cause if you were, you would have seen the rope you were about to pull with your foot.

the second it happened, you looked down and felt your stomach drop. 'shit.'

your immediately wrestled to the ground, landing on your belly, your feet being the first thing to be tied up. you try kicking john off of you, and although you hit him a few times, he doesn't let go. you try to rip your backpack off, so you can grab your pocket knife, but after tying you feet john quickly pins your arms to your sides.

'it was stupid to put the knife away.'

with all your might you try to get him off of you, and you do! but with you feet tied together, you can only crawl away from him. its not long till john grabs you by the boots and drags you closer to him, your fingers digging into the dirt.

"NO! NO! GET OFF OF ME!" you scream in full panic.

john throws your backpack to the side and starts to tie your hands behind your back. you begin to cry.

"NO PLEASE! LET ME TRY AGAIN, I CAN DO IT! I WAS SO CLOSE!"

your reliving your nightmare once more, not able to stop screaming and the tears from falling.

the next thing you know john stabs something into your neck, a syringe. the world starts to become fuzzy and your body feels heavy.

"it's ok darlin, don't cry. you did your best, but now you get to come home with me and lay in a comfy bed, with warm food, and running water." john caresses your cheek as he speaks to you.

you try to deny his words, but it just comes out as mumbles and soft little no's. john can't help but chuckle at the state your in, so harmless and weak.

-time skip-

you wanna say you remember how john got you back to his house, but you can't. he probably drugged you the whole trip, so you wouldn't struggle. but the next time you woke up, not drugged out of your mind, you were in the familiar bed you dreaded.

you had failed, you had one shot, and you fucking failed. this was gonna be your life, trapped in the woods with a man that was utterly insane.

for the rest of the year, you were gloomy a shell of who you once were. if john wanted to cuddle, you did without a fight. which made john partly happy, but he also missed that spark you had, the very thing he fell in love with. it wasn't till the seasons started changing once more, just between summer and fall until john dropped the same backpack in front of your feet and game you the same opportunity.

he tells you that, "it was so fun last year, why not do it again?"

and so you did, every year, and every year he caught you, but every year you got better and closer to escaping. learning to skills, reading more books about things like wild berries or how to tell which way is north.

it was weird, cause it kept you in line for majority of the year, doing most of the things john asked of you, but you had your spark back, you had something to look forward to.

there was a year where you had ran into a bear, and john fought it off for you, or the year you figured out which direction you needed to head for the best out come. there was a year you had managed to last 6 days before john caught you, your personal best.

but as the years went past, john eventually fulfilled his wish of starting a family with you. the year you were pregnant john refused to let you leave the house, and doted on you like a butler would to royalty, which wasn't too different even when you weren't pregnant. but you had thought that, that was the end for you and your chance at freedom was gone. but once your child had turned 1 year old, john dropped the familiar backpack at your feet once more.

except this time you had to take the child with you, or not go at all.

risk the health of your child? or risk your freedom?

what an awful choice to make.

the end.

how was that ya'll? was it too long, did i string it out for too long in some parts? pls tell me