#jade was not next sorry i lied

[calware]

no light in the darkroom please

[milcycyrus-archived]

miley's new tag dump please don't like if you are not apart of hollywood fame rp group

[coquettepascal]

texas sweet

summary: joel is your friendly neighborhood dad of the year, so why is his driveway empty on father's day? better yet, why do you feel the need to make up for everyone elses absence?

tags: 18+, smut, handjob, desc of joel mastubrating, a "massage", neighbor!joel x f!reader, massages, general cheesiness, soft!joel, pathetic!joel, almost(?) sub!joel, reader gets blueballed (sorry), biting, joel whimpering, joel being a proud girl dad, no-outbreak, ellie and sarah exist, tommy is mentioned(!!), joel is a southern gentleman, mention of reader having parents, no desc of reader but she can fit between joel and the couch, dilf!joel (yum)

-> part. ii here!

a/n: my first joel fic ever... i would like to thank every person who has written no-outbreak!joel or pre-outbreak!joel. i freaked it.

texas sweet masterlist and my masterlist

(4.9k, not beta read.)

Moving to Texas was not the plan, or even the “blessing” your mother claimed it would be. Being the one who took over your grandparents home after they moved to a seniors facility? Fantastic! Amazing, even. Leaving your job, friends, and boyfriend, back home? Horrible. Heart wrenching and annoying. 

Austin, for the most part, was lonely. Long distance didn’t end up working between you and your boyfriend, your friends just got busier with their jobs, and it wasn’t like your parents could just drive 14 hours to see you every weekend. Co-workers were nice, but honestly who really wants to hang out with people you already spend 40 hours a week with? Maybe you were jaded, or picky, which was what your mother also claimed, or maybe your whole life was uprooted for what felt like no reason.

What you weren’t picky about, was the view from your bedroom window. You’re not a peeping tom, or a perv, but it isn’t your fault that your dilf-y next door neighbor is so easy on the eyes.

No, moving to Austin was not a blessing, but Joel Miller was.

Joel was the neighborhood guy. Need an oil change? Joel. Need your fence fixed? Joel. Block party? Joel’s yard. It’s like he doesn’t know how to say no to anybody, that southern politeness deeper than the drawl that lies in his voice. When you had first moved here he had helped you move your couch through the door, all smiles and polite nods. He barely introduced himself before he was asking if you needed any help, and he had called you “young lady,” which made you giggle. Such a giving man, but of course he was. A single father to two daughters? “No” wasn't in his vocabulary.

Sometimes, you think if your dad was as good a father as Joel Miller was, maybe you wouldn’t be fiending after him with such ferocity. Watching him with his two girls, Sarah and Ellie, was something that tugged your heartstrings no matter what. Sarah wasn’t around a lot anymore, apparently she went away to a fancy college. You had helped her pack all her stuff into Joel’s truck, but quickly went inside when you saw him getting misty eyed, you didn't want to embarrass the poor guy. Ellie is younger than Sarah and still lives at home. Honestly, you didn’t know much about her apart from the fact that she was adopted and that she’s in high school. She’s always happy to chat, but she’s also always going somewhere, which leaves Joel lonely sometimes. 

Joel seems better suited for loneliness than you are though. His brother Tommy comes around pretty often, though they seem fairly opposite. Tommy truly is sweet, has always chatted with you during block parties (even if it may be for nefarious reasons when he’s had too many drinks,) but he looks like… a fuckboy. Without fail, every time he rolls up to Joel’s house, he’s blasting some shitty new country music and wearing Pit Viper sunglasses as he carefully parks his spotless truck. Despite their differences though, they get along just as well. Your summer evenings are often interrupted by the sound of their laughs and the crisp sound of the two cracking open some cold ones. 

So why is it that when Father’s day rolls around, Joel’s driveway is empty?

You aren’t watching on purpose, you just happen to glance over that way a lot. The only action you see from his house is Ellie leaving for her friend's house sometime after noon, like usual on a Sunday. No signs of Sarah or Tommy. Part of you figured that maybe Sarah would make the lengthy drive down from her school, or maybe that Tommy would show up at some point, but nobody does. 

‘Not creepy,’ you assure yourself as you go upstairs to peer through your bedroom window to see if anyone is there. You could totally look through the kitchen window that directly faces his backyard, but you fear the day he’s looking right back at you. 

Looking outside, you see nothing. Joel’s grey-blue truck sits unmoved in the driveway, his plants are watered though so you guess he came outside at some point. The thought makes you feel a bit sad, the image of Joel and his soft eyes watering the plants, whistling to himself and trying to tell himself it doesn’t matter that nobody came. He probably really doesn’t care at all, a lot of men aren’t very sentimental or emotional about days like this, but you care.

He’s a good man, a good father, and a good neighbor. Seeing him be underappreciated on what is basically his day is ticking you off for some stupid reason. When 3pm rolls around you decide that you have to do something for Joel, it feels wrong not to. 

Which is how you end up in line for the register at Home Depot. You sat in the parking lot for 10 minutes racking your brain, trying to think of things that guys like, but came up with nothing. Joel is a contractor, so he’ll probably find some use out of a 50 dollar Home Depot gift card, but it still feels too impersonal. Joel literally fixed your toilet when a date you took home broke the handle off the tank mid-vomit. He’s too nice to just hand a stupid gift card with “Happy Father’s day” scrawled across the mini paper envelope. He deserves something thoughtful, something gentler than a gift card for (probably) his job. 

…Which is how you end up waiting in line for the register at the supermarket. You have a bouquet of flowers in your hand, with a Home Depot gift card shoved in your jacket pocket. It feels utterly ridiculous to give Joel Miller flowers, to pick out which colours you think he’d like and get the florist to wrap them up neatly with a bow, but you have a good reason. At some point in the past week you had seen a post about how a lot of men never receive flowers. It resurfaced in your head as you picked your brain again, making you wonder if Joel had ever received flowers. You know that he was married once, but that was when Sarah was little, it’d probably been 10 or even 15 years since he had any gestures like that made for him.

Not that this was for romance reasons. It was for father’s-appreciation-day reasons. Of course.

Maybe you shouldn’t be so invested in your neighbors emotions and life, but it’s too late now. You carefully pack away the flowers in the back seat of your car, snuggling the gift card into the ribbon that holds the flowers together. 

—

And if you thought that standing in line at Home Depot, or at the supermarket was bad, it’s so much worse trying to work up the courage to knock on Joel’s front door. You can’t figure out how to hold this bouquet of flowers behind your back without dropping them, so you just awkwardly knock on his door with one hand, flowers in the other. At least the gift card is managing to stay in place where you tucked it, but you wish you told the florist not to write his name in cursive.

Your repeating thoughts of “Is this weird? Am I weird?” are interrupted when he opens the door.

Joel looks… normal. He doesn’t look sad like you thought he might, if anything he looks more confused at you being there. His brown hair is tousled slightly and he’s wearing pajama pants, even though he smells fresh. Joel’s eyes meet yours and he tilts his head quietly, as if waiting for you to go on, but what do you even say? Oh shit that’s right–

“Happy father’s day,” your voice comes out shyly. You shove the flowers at him a little abruptly and he blinks in surprise, accepting them. It’s awkward for a second, the way his eyebrows shoot up as he notices the cursive lettering of his name written on the envelope.

“These’re for me, darlin’?” He asks curiously, still looking over the flowers.

A stammering of “um” and “yeah” leave your mouth pretty quickly and he smiles. You’re pretty sure he says thank you, but you just kind of stare at him awkwardly. A beat passes between the two of you as he admires the gift. “You uh– You don’t think of me as your dad, do you?” Joel asks. Oh fuck. You hadn’t thought about the fact that maybe that was what he would take away from this. All of your thoughts had been consumed by worries that he’d think you were trying to hit on him, but here he was thinking that you thought of him as a father figure. Which you didn’t. Your dad is fine, no need to replace him, at least not at this point. 

“No, no. Oh my god– Sorry,” You choke out, half laughing. It’s a quiet moment on the porch for a second, just the two of you standing there. Maybe you should explain your thought process.

“It’s just that you’re a dad and like– not to sound like a weirdo freak but nobody’s been at your house all day and it made me sad for you. Not that I pity you but,” your voice trails off as you fear you’ve made this worse. Joel seems a bit surprised at this, mouth opening slightly but then transitioning to a soft smile.

“And what if I told you that I wanted everyone t’leave me alone today?” He asks you slyly. And oh god, that is so much worse than him mistaking this gesture for flirting or pity. You never would have thought that maybe the guy who does everything for everyone probably just wants to be left the hell alone for a gift. Your heart drops in your chest, taking all the blood in your face with it. Embarrassment floods you with a force you didn’t realize possible, stuttered apologies leaving your lips as fast as you can. Joel shakes his head, laughing quietly as you sputter “sorry” repeatedly, like a broken sprinkler.

“I’m jokin’, sweetheart. I appreciate this,” he says. The crows' feet by his eyes shouldn’t be as charming as they are, but combined with that rumbling laugh and smile… he could get away with anything. He plucks the Home Depot gift card from the ribbon and huffs a laugh, like he’s impressed.

Well that’s… something? It made him smile right? Maybe feeling bad for Joel was better than feeling stupid in front of him. You step back, towards the stairs of his porch, but he shakes his head. “You were really this worried?” He asks, admiring the flowers. That makes your heart bloom in your chest, seeing how much he really liked this. Joel didn’t seem much like a flower guy, but you saw the way he kept his yard neat, with tulips in the spring and his lawn trimmed squarely. Shyly, you nod in response to his question. It feels silly to worry for him like this, you don’t know if he considers you a friend the way he is in your head.

“S’awful sweet,” he tells you. Something about his presence is so big, a balance of hospitality and intimidation all at once. Maybe it’s his big stature, broad shoulders and thick arms, a body built for work. Or his voice, the strong timbre of it, humbled in southern twang. Joel is a force of warmth, a heat that can’t be contained. His heart shines through his golden skin, forcing whoever he looks at to have a spotlight. That’s where the intimidation lies, in how he makes you feel like there’s a halo over your head, all his attention right there. 

He’s so hot you don’t even want him to look at you.

But there he is anyways, smiling as he admires the gift again, dorkily leaning in to dramatically huff the flowers. His mouth is moving but you're deafened by the sensation of a blush on your face. You thought it was just a silly little crush, because who wouldn’t find Joel attractive. He’s handsome, hard working, and just an all around traditional man. But this attraction… It's like your crush on him has given you tinnitus. His lips are moving and you aren’t registering the words. Wait shit, he’s speaking–

“Darlin’?” Joel calls. He looks at you, head tilted, and still fucking smiling. The way his eyes glimmer, the crows feet that squeeze them into a smile… Why is it so hard to hear him?

“I asked if you wanted to come in,” he repeats. 

—

You’ve never been inside Joel’s house, but you’d never thought about it either. Being in it, now, it all makes sense. Photos of his daughters are framed everywhere, their achievements plastered on the walls in shines of silver and gold. It’s hard not to imagine Joel hunched over his kitchen counter, tediously cutting pictures out to place them in frames. He was only an idea before, an idea of a man, and now he has become one wordlessly. All it took was stepping inside his house, smelling him everywhere. Life dances in the jackets that are tossed over dining room chairs, the toolbelt dumped by the shoe rack at the door. The picture of Joel you held in your mind begins to come alive, the movements in the details of his life stealing your breath. He is more than a good man, he is a great one.

And now, you have to strike up a conversation with him.

Joel grunts as he sits down on the couch beside you, placing two glasses of water down. He places his glass in front of the can of beer sitting on a coaster, distorting the label to nothing but warped blue and red. Is he hiding that he was drinking? Why is that cute? 

A pause hushes both of you as Joel gets comfortable, sitting down. He’s paused a show, but it just looks like it was whatever movie was playing on the local TV channel. 

“You must be so proud of them,” you say, eyes glazing over the pictures of Sarah and Ellie. You can tell exactly which photos were taken with a camera and which were taken with his phone. One picture of Ellie, maybe when she was 13 or 14, is from her soccer tournament. She’s smiling, holding up a ribbon for MVP, and Joel’s thumb is in the bottom corner. It’s strange to realize that Joel has basically been a father twice over, but also admirable. 

He talks for a little while, rambling about Sarah and her time up at college, and also how Ellie has been doing better in school this year. You always had a feeling Ellie was a bit feistier than Sarah was, but to hear how proud Joel is of her anyways makes your heart flutter. His love for them was so unconditional, so why weren’t they here today? You ask him, a half smile crossing his lips as he hears your question.

“Sarah called me ‘round lunchtime, one of them video calls. Had lunch with my girl and got to catch up with her. She’s so damn busy, y’know that? Always studying and,” he catches his breath, realizing he’s blabbing again. A reddish tone creeps up his neck in embarrassment.

“Point is, she called. Was nice of her, I miss her lots,” He finishes quietly.

Your eyebrow raises. He didn’t mention Ellie. Joel huffs.

“I’m 99% sure she’s over at Dina’s making me a gift, but it’s fine that she forgot. I’ve been on her ass about homework, fair’s fair.”

He looks cute when he’s begrudging, one side of his mouth sliding to the side so part of his cheek puffs over it. You nod, making a comment in response. The conversation is so smooth you forget what you’re saying as soon as you’re laughing. 

This is easier than you thought it would be. Joel’s always been friendly, obviously, but you just assumed he would be more closed off than this. Even if it’s just rambling about his daughters, or Tommy, or the jobs he’s been managing and how annoying his clients are, it’s something more. Something more than the passing glances and small conversation you’ve had before.

You talk a bit about your own life, how tough the move to Texas was, how lonely it can be. Joel doesn’t seem as receptive to this, but there’s an understanding in his eyes that you can feel. He’s a tough clam to slide your knife into, and you doubt you’ll feel his tongue today. The eager blabber he has for his family and career doesn’t extend to himself, and it seems you’ve hit a wall with him. Or maybe you’ve hit too close to home. “Sorry,” you say, feeling a little weird. 

This whole day has felt like you’re pulling against a lead Joel wasn’t even holding in the first place, like you’re always doing too much. But just like the rest of the day, he isn’t holding the rope around your neck. He’s surging forward with reassurances blooming out of his mouth, Texas sweet to the bone. 

He shakes his head, telling you that it’s fine, he gets it. A joke about being a single father, a smile directed at you, consoling. Vaporub for your congested anxieties.

“I’m sorry darlin,” Joel starts, and fuck is he sending you home? Is that your cue to leave? You did too much, he was just being nice.

“-- I didn’t even offer you water when you came in. D’you need somethin’ to drink?” He asks.

God, doesn’t he get tired of being this nice? Your neighbors warned you that he was a grump when you first moved here, dirty liars. 

“Oh, sure, uh. Water would be good, thanks,” you reply.

You’re only half paying attention to the grunt he lets out when he gets up the first time, your eyes busying themselves with the way his cotton tee stretches across the muscled planes of his back. But, after he hands you the glass of water and groans when he sinks back into the couch, you notice. 

You down the glass like you’re parched, but really your mouth just needs to be full right now. The sound of his groans are bouncing in your ear canals as your neck flushes red with each gulp of water. If he notices, he doesn’t say anything.

“Bad back?” You ask after you catch your breath. 

He hums in response, talking about how it comes with the job he has. “All that lifting in my early years…” as if he’s a thousand years old. Joel mentions that he’s been to the chiropractor a few times, thanks to Sarah’s begging and pleading.

“I don’t know, I think it’s gimmicky. They get you on the table and the guy feelin’ you up acts like he’s Christ himself,” Joel says, rolling his eyes. 

The idea of Joel, shirtless and face down, grumbling as some guy works his hands over his skin. The idea of Joel groaning in relief as someone else works those knots out, God you wish you were a chiropractor, you wish you could put your hands all over him.

Greed hardens over your mind like a shell, and the words tumble out of your mouth before you can stop them.

“I could– I could help, maybe. My dad used to have a pretty bad back and I kinda figured out how to work knots out.”

Joel’s eyes widen, looking over to you with mild interest. For the first time today, around Joel, you don’t feel like you’ve overstepped. In fact he looks interested in this offer. A beat passes between the two of you, hesitation caught in his throat it seems.

It’s probably super fucked up in his head, his younger neighbor coming over and offering to rub him down. But your mind is still greedy, coated in thoughts of his skin under your palms, and that southern rumble that’s given you dilf earworms.

He looks like he’s about to say no when you speak again.

“You don’t even have to lay down, or take your shirt off. Could just lift it up,” you offer. 

Joel still looks like he’s going to say no, the left side of his mouth raising to make up some reason. You can’t let him, not when you’ve been this ballsy. Walking out of here now would make this infinitely more awkward.

“It’s your day, Joel,” you supply him with a reason to say yes. The reason might be silly, might be a last minute add-on to his father’s day, but who cares.

Apparently not Joel, since he pulls his shirt up to his shoulders, the fabric scrunching around his broad frame.

—

You feel a little stupid, slotted behind Joel on the couch. The two of you are basically shoved up against one another, Joel wriggling to give you access to his lower back. He hasn’t said anything yet, no reassurance that this backrub is any good. You think you’re doing well, you feel the knots loosening. It might be better this way, him not making noise. The groan you heard earlier was more than enough to push you into a frenzy.

Your hands work further down, where his waist begins to pull in. Looking closer you can see where the softness of his tummy is, a fatherly badge of honor. Continuing your movements, you gently press your thumbs into the flesh there, and earn yourself Joel’s first noise.

Not a grunt, groan, complaint, or cuss. A whimper.

Your voice clashes with his, both of you talking over each other accidentally.

“Are you okay–” you ask as his voice flounders again, a “Darlin--” leaving him out of his own volition.

Pulling your hands away you begin to pull his shirt back down his back, mortified. How could you claim you were good at this and then hurt his back more? Joel’s been through enough today.

“Please don’t stop,” Joel’s voice grabs your brain again, forcing your focus.

He’s sliding his shirt up again, just by rolling his shoulders as he hunches over, waiting for you to continue. His face is in his hands, and his ears are pink. It’s the first time he’s asked you for anything tonight, you can’t refuse him. 

Placing your hands back where they were, you begin to massage again. It seems like his lower back is the main problem, with the way he’s grunting into his palms. As your hands work away the aches he begins to swear to himself. 

“Fuck,” he grunts as your thumbs dig deep, soothing a pain he hasn’t felt eased in years. 

This is good. Pride spreads in your chest, knowing he feels better. Your hands work away, and you get laser focused on untangling these massive knots in his back. Eventually you break your focus, switching to softer rubs and small scratches up and down his back.

Tearing your eyes away from his skin, you realize the throw pillow that was beside you earlier is gone. The yellow corner of the cushion peeks at you from where you saw Joel’s belly earlier, over his lap. A thick forearm is crushing it into himself there, the veins in his neck pulsing. 

Flames lick up your face, onto the tips of your ears and down your neck, heating your spine. Is he aroused right now? “Joel?” You ask quietly. 

He shakes his head, voice tight.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with me. Just– it just feels nice,” he admits.

Your hands pause. Okay, so he’s admitted he’s hard. What do you do now? Keep rubbing his back and blueball the poor guy? On Father's day? That seems mean, and awkward. Everything about this is awkward though, so it couldn’t really get worse.

“I could… I could help it feel better,” you offer meekly.

You’re not scared of a dick. You aren’t. Your voice is quiet because it seems like he is horribly ashamed of this, probably feeling guilty.

Joel rubs a hand over his face.

“You don’t have to, you can just go,” he says, but his voice betrays him. Need is sewn in his tone, a desperation.

Part of you wonders how long it’s been since someone touched him like this as you reach around, palming the front of his jeans. The hiss he lets out tells you it’s been awhile. How wrong that is, an attractive man like Joel being forced to get his own rocks off.

Getting the button and fly of his jeans down is difficult when you can’t see, even worse when your brain is making up images of Joel masturbating. He’s so shy when he’s being touched, does he bite his sheets? Bite his other fist in the shower? Poor boy, he deserves this. 

His hips lift off the couch to help you shove his jeans and briefs down. Joel’s bare ass slides against you and he cringes. “Is it okay if you don’t look?” He asks. 

You hate that he seems so insecure, but you’re not going to push him. Nodding into his skin, you press your face to his back, resting your cheek near the blade of his shoulder. He’s heavy in your palm, warm skin with veins your fingers can trace over.

Telling him that he’s big feels redundant, you’re sure he knows that about himself. Neither of you seem very sure about what you’re doing, the shuddering breaths from his chest matching your hesitant grasp around his cock. 

“Are you okay?” You ask again.

Joel nods into his hand, asking you to please touch him. 

Admittedly, it’s a dry hand job, but Joel doesn’t seem to mind. The flick of your wrist is fluid, even if your arm is cramping from being wrapped around him. Joel lets out these little noises, grunts and whines. His hand is covering his eyes while the other one rests lightly on your forearm, like he wants to know that you’re still there.

Need is exuding from him, making his desperation take over his need to really give a shit about how submissive he might be appearing. He shudders particularly hard as you squeeze on the upstroke, voice choking.

“Shit– shit, please,” he gasps, “please can I spit in your hand?” 

It’s a little surprising, but again, you can’t refuse him. You say “yeah” into his skin, closing your eyes as you feel him spit into your hand. It’s filthy, his saliva on you as he guides your hand to jerk him off. Joel uses your palm to slick the head of his dick, teasing himself on your skin.

It’s the first time you’ve seen him be selfish all day. Part of you wants to call him a good boy, but part of you also knows this might not be normal for Joel. Hell, this isn’t normal for you either. 

Instead, you ask him if it’s good. A rasped “yes,” emanates from him between a low groan and a curse. Your head lifts from his back as he begins to shudder, his orgasm creeping closer. Listening to him is so good, you’re a mess between your legs, where your core nudges his ass.

Without a thought, you sink your teeth into the meat between his shoulder and his neck. Not enough pressure to bruise or hurt, just to let him know you’re there. There was no intention to push him over the edge, but your little bite does. A guttural groan is forced out of him as he comes into your hand, stringing sticky between your fingers. 

“Fuck– fuck I’m sorry, oh my god,” he pants, shivering. 

Your head is shaking again, reassuring him that it was okay, that he’s okay. 

“It’ll wash off,” you joke, feeling the stick of him on you. 

—

Joel does help you wash it off, once he’s done redressing. He’s clingy though, arms around your waist and chin hooked over your shoulder as you wash your hands in his kitchen sink. He’s definitely sleepy, eyes blinking slowly when you peek at him while you dry your hands.

You step close to him, your damp hands meeting his dry ones. The awkward spirit of the evening has been killed off, his shyness melted away.

“Usually I’d offer to return the favor but… I have to pick up Ellie from her friend’s house now. I’m really sorry, darlin’,” he admits.

Shaking your head, you push away the negative feeling that surfaces. How are you supposed to go back to being neighbors after that? But also, what did you really expect?

Joel leads you to the door, legs a bit shakey. A smug feeling joins the negative ones in your chest at that, but it’s not enough. 

“I really do apologize,” Joel says again, “but this just gives me an opportunity to see you again. If you’d like, obviously. I think I owe ya dinner.” 

And there he is, not holding your lead but reassuring your heart. He wants to see you again.

Your eyes meet his in the dim light of the hallway, catching those sweet eyes in your own. He looks so hopeful, so apologetic too.

“I’d like that, but you don’t owe me anything. It’s Father’s day,” you point out. 

Joel rolls his eyes. This Father’s day excuse is a little overused between the two of you now, but it’s still cute to him since you’re the one saying it. He opens the door for you, slipping his own boots on and grabbing his keys.

“Fine,” Joel says, “but when Pretty Neighbor day rolls around, you let me know.

[luveline]

Jade! I was re reading your zombie au steve fics and I just love our bestie eddie and jealous steve in tbem so much:’) I would love to see more of their relationship love you!!!

love u ♡ steve zombie au. fem!reader

“Would you mind fucking off?” Steve asks. 

Eddie tsks under his breath, “You know, this whole jealousy thing you have over me is kind of sexist.” 

Steve could melt metal with the way he's feeling. “It's not sexism, I'm not jealous, and if I were, it wouldn't be over you, it would be of you.” 

Eddie grins. “That's all you had to say, baby.” 

You laugh but quickly stop, eyes darting to Steve's as you push Eddie away from you. It honestly makes it worse, not because you aren't allowed to sit with your (Steve shudders) friend, and not because it doesn't feel good to see you so quick to remove Eddie from your side, but because by doing so, you've proven to Steve that you are, in fact, aware of his jealousy. 

“I'm not jealous!” Steve lies. 

“And I'm not interested,” you say quickly. “Sorry.” 

Eddie shrugs and sits right back next to you in the grass. He kind of has to, considering the knot he's trying to teach you to tie needs demonstration, but still. Steve hopes he ties the knot around one of his fingers and needs an emergency amputation. 

“Jealousy is a horrible thing,” Eddie says, almost like he can hear Steve's thoughts. “Have you considered finding a friend for Y/N to be jealous of?” 

“I already did that for a bit,” you say, squinting at the shoelace in your hand unhappily, “but then she made me cry and Steve bought me cherries and I didn't worry about it again.” Ah, Vanessa. Old camp, old friend, you told Steve she was making fun of you and he never looked her in the eye again. 

He'd quite like it if you followed his lead, but Vanessa was a bully, and Eddie, to Steve's dismay, is a good friend. 

“So what I'm hearing,” Eddie says, his grin audible, “is I get to make Steve cry.” 

“Are you gonna–?” Steve asks you. 

You sigh and shove Eddie away again. He actually pretends to fall onto his side in the grass. “This is really impeding my progress in becoming a knot tying expert, Stevie. Are you sure we can't kiss and have you get over it?” 

Steve is jealous, but lots of the outward symptoms he shows are either from a want to be immature or just to make you laugh. He trusts you completely and doesn't think for a moment you'd ever, ever cheat. He even knows —deep down— that Eddie's a good guy who'd never do that to him. But it still rubs Steve just the tiniest bit the wrong way when he sees Eddie's pinkie finger brush yours as he corrects you, or your stupid matching coats. 

You and Steve used to have matching coats until your sleeve tore on a branch. Steve decides he has a vendetta against trees, and then he takes a few calming breaths. 

“How would us kissing help Steve get over it?”

“Not you!” you laugh. 

Steve loves the sound so much he pretty much forgets what he's annoyed about. “Sound more disgusted,” he encourages cheerily. 

“I'd never kiss him,” you say, tying the string around your two fingers and pulling the aglet through the loop you've made. Your wrinkled nose smooths as you check your knot against Eddie's, and then, in one of your cutest moments to date, you gasp and turn straight to Steve. “I did it!” 

“What was I impeding again?” he asks. 

You push your foot out with your over complicatedly tied laces and turn onto your thigh. He's a genius (he knows you better than he knows anyone, past or present, knows you better than he knows himself), anticipating your movement with his arm already out to welcome you for a victory hug. “Our laces will never need tying again,” you say.

“Except when you need to change your socks,” Eddie says.

Steve puts his middle finger up behind your back, nosing at your forehead. “You're amazing.” 

You really want the hug. Your hands meet behind his back and your lips brush his throat as you press in close, his lovely girl; you don't know how lovely you are, how the exact details of your hug play out in his mind frame by frame. He's made a million mistakes and he still gets to have you. 

You hug him and it's like the end of the world didn't happen. 

Eddie scratches his scalp. “Harrington, not that I think you'd be into this, but I've been tying that knot for the last year, and nobody ever kissed me for it.” 

“He hasn't kissed me,” you say. 

“Don't stomp on a downed man,” Eddie says severely. Then, sweeter, “Just a quick one, Stevie.” 

“A whole camp of people,” Steve says to you. “Any best friend you want. Hell, I'll share Robin.” 

“You do share Robin,” you say, languishing in his hug much longer than he was expecting you to, your arms having curled tighter now around him with no signs of letting go. 

Eddie Munson might have a crush on you. He might have a crush on Steve, too, or neither of you. The boy’s too jovial to tell. Steve will sleep better at night if he believes the latter though, so he marks the hug for your achievement with a kiss pressed softly to your forehead and decides for the hundredth time since you came here that he won't be jealous anymore. He has nothing to be scared of and he knows that, so why give Eddie a hard time.

Eddie smirks and closes his eyes. “M'waiting.” 

Steve puts his arm over your shoulder. “And you'll wait more.” He turns to you, murmurs, “How about we go and find you something sweet?” 

Eddie's lips part in disgust. “What kind of dirty talk is that?” 

You stand and kick Eddie without force in the thigh. “Thank you for teaching me, Eddie. Same time tomorrow?” 

Eddie drops his theatrics. “Sure. Let's do the next one Risky Business style.” 

You pull Steve away by the hand. He thinks you sorta like that he's jealous, being the object of his attention and affection at all, so he says, “If you leave me for him I'm gonna let a bachelor take me out, and not for dinner.” 

“A bachelor couldn't get its teeth through all this muscle,” you say, squeezing his arm.

Doesn't make a lick of sense, geeks only have to break the skin to get you, but it doesn't matter. “I love you,” he says happily. 

You lean into his side heavily as you walk. “I love you, too. More, for sure.” 

“Not a chance.” 

[coralinnii]

It’s Him or Grim…and It’s Grim 

Ignoring him to take care of Grim feat: Sebek · Azul · Jade · Riddle genre: fluff note: gn!reader, no pronouns are used, relationships up to interpretation, some of the TWST boys basically taking the L or getting catblocked, 

piece of advice, never bring someone like me to an animal cafe for a date cuz I will ignore you. Also, don't question why I keep changing the banners. I just love messing with pictures of our handsome TWST boys <3

Sebek didn’t say it out loud but he was excited over you visiting him during his club activities. He’s proud to show off his skills on his steed and present his knightly appearance to you. 

Unfortunately, he’s not doing too well when he’s constantly getting into screaming contests with an uninvited guest…Grim 

He didn’t know why he was so surprised though. He should have predicted that wherever you intend to go, the cat-shaped menace will surely follow in curiosity and make a ruckus while he’s here. 

“Nyah, I can ride these crazy horses no problem!” 

“I will not allow it. Beginners need to learn the basics before even attempting to-“ 

Before Sebek could finish, Grim already went ahead and climbed on top of a nearby horse. But, your feline companion accidentally pressed his claws too deeply into the poor horse’s skin and spooked the large animal. 

“Grim!” You screamed when you saw your dormmate being pushed off the horse’s back and landing on his head. You ran to his side while Sebek did his best to calm the horse before it started to run amuck and cause more issues. 

Sebek wanted to scold the reckless cat monster for his actions but he bit his tongue and sighed in exasperation instead since it looked like the konk on the head left Grim feeling woozy. 

“I should bring Grim to the infirmary” you worriedly look at your companion as you cradle his body in your arms. “I’ll see you another time, Sebek. I’m so sorry for disturbing your club time” 

Sebek panicked over your departure, telling you that you could just come back after bringing Grim to the infirmary. He planned so many things today for you, to introduce you to his trusted steed, show off his horse riding skills, and maybe even let you ride with him. 

But you had to decline, wanting to stay by Grim’s side until he feels better. You gave an apologetic smile before you took off with Grim in your arms. You missed the look of utter defeat on the lime-haired freshman. You managed to get out of earshot as Sebek started shouting to himself, declaring to learn from his defeat against that cursed cat. His clubmates however did hear him loud and clear, Riddle looking over in confusion and Silver silently rooting for his fellow knight-in-training. 

“I admit my loss in this battle but I will prevail in our next encounter, Grim. I swear on my honor!”

Azul plans ahead in everything, be it his next business venture or a deal to be made…and definitely when meeting you. He wanted the most optimal results from this meeting he planned with you. He made sure he reserved the best spot in his restaurant that showcases him in the best lighting, the food is to your taste and the ambience sets the mood to his satisfaction. He took everything into consideration. But of course, things don't always go the way he wanted to.

Like Grim coming along with you to your engagement with him. 

“I’m sorry, Azul. Grim was bored in the dorms and Ace and Deuce had make-up classes today” you apologized, Grim in your lap as he gobbled the food Azul had picked out for you. “I hope it doesn’t inconvenience you too much” 

“Of course not,” He lied. “I’m more than generous enough to extend hospitality for even surprise visitors” 

“I gotta hand it to ya, Octavanilla guy! Your food is super delish!” Grim offers his compliments. “I can’t get enough of it!” 

Grim really couldn’t. He ordered seconds and thirds (RIP to your wallet) and didn’t stop himself from practically inhaling the food the moment it reached the table. It was a real mood killer for Azul. The silver-haired entrepreneur couldn’t find his opening and soon he’s left to watch you from the sidelines as your focus was solely on the fattened cat who is grumbling in your lap. 

“Nyahhhh…my tummy hurts~” Grim cried as his stomach ached. You let out a sigh as you did your best to soothe the monstrous feline. 

“I’m pretty sure it’s because you just ate your weight in food” you quipped which earned a weak whine from Grim. 

Azul just couldn’t believe his plan went to ruins by simply adding Grim into the equation. Any attempt for your attention is ripped away by Grim’s loud munching or simply you turning away from his gaze to reprimand the messy feline as you cleaned his dirty face. 

He needs a new plan, and a contingency plan should anything like today happen again. He needs back ups to distract him, perhaps Kalim- 

“Azul” your voice snapped him out from his thoughts. “I might need some money after how much Grim ate today. Do you think I could pick up some shifts in the lounge?” 

Oh, Azul could work with that. 

“Oh no, it seems that Grim has left you in quite a predicament. Come, vent your woes to me”

Jade was excited to show his treasured terrarium collection to you. It would be delightful if you were to grow to share his interest caring for these fascinating flora, something only you and he would share in this whole campus. Imagine…Just you and him alone together, standing close to each other as you admire his projects. 

Well, that’s what he imagined…but often fantasies do not match reality as he was not alone with you as he had hoped. 

“These are some funky lookin’ mushrooms ya got here” Grim narrowed his eyes on one of the colorful mushrooms that seems to have just fully matured. “Henchhuman, you think they’re edible?” 

“I personally don’t think so but you should ask Jade” you turned to Jade, the first time in a while he would add if he were the petty type. But of course he wasn’t. 

“I believe so but I have yet to test my theory on that” Jade smiled down at the small creature which sent shivers down his back. “Are you volunteering yourself for a taste test?”

“Nyah, as if!” Grim yelled out as he backed away from the menacing aura Jade was exuding. In his panic, the monster student accidentally ran his paw over a pair of scissors which snagged his fur and pulled from his skin painfully. Grim let out a painful yelp which made you rush over to your dormmate’s side, worriedly looking over your friend. “Grim, what happened?” 

“My beautiful fur! It got cut!” Grim made an inaccurate assumption but to his defense, it did sting really bad and you could see some of his fur on the pair of scissors. So, you proceeded to check over Grim’s paw for any wounds. 

Jade stood in the sidelines as he watched you handle the monster’s paw, gently sweeping the fur to check for any blood, even blowing on it to ease the poor creature’s pain. The eel merman slightly drooped his shoulders, this was his loss. 

Walking over, Jade picked up the offending scissors that caused all this fuss. His heterochromatic eyes inspected the tool as he admitted that it was getting dull and he should replace them soon or something like this may occur again… Oh? 

You heard something fall behind you which made you turn to know the source. You saw the pair of scissors that Jade picked up back on the floor and your ocean-haired senior was holding one of his hands in the other. “Jade?” 

“Oh dear, it seems that I have accidentally nicked myself as well” Jade looked at you with his best pleading eyes, holding his hand towards you. “Could you help me?” 

“…can’t you do it yourself?” 

“Ah, it hurts quite a bit I don’t think I could focus enough to check my wound” Jade sighed as he clutched his poor hand in his own. He looked to you with pleading eyes and despite your suspicions, you accepted to help your senior and carefully took Jade’s “injured” hand into your own. With your eyes focusing on searching for this supposed wound, Jade smiled as he shared a glance with Grim behind you which scared the poor creature. 

“It seems I have quite the challenge on my hands. How interesting” 

Riddle worked up the courage to invite you to spend the day with him alone and when you accepted, he made sure that everything was perfect. Only Trey was aware of your intimate outing since he offered to take up any non-urgent Housewarden work during Riddle’s day with you so no one else was aware that you and Heartslabyul's leader were meeting. 

Everything was going smoothly, albeit a little stiff in the beginning. Riddle was shocked by how nervous he was. The teacup in his hand was shaking in his grip as he sat just across from you from the small table. 

Eventually the atmosphere settled and soon the two of you relaxed and chatted over trivial topics, enjoying each other’s presence over anything. But alas, good things must come to an end, but not in the way Riddle had planned. Instead, your date was interrupted when the two of you heard a loud call of your name from a distance, from a very familiar voice

“Henchhuman, you went ahead and got grub without me?!” Grim accused you, immediately climbing onto your lap without your complaint. This was his natural seat after all. Then, more voices were heard coming close.

“Grim, there you are. Don’t run off like that- Ahh Housewarden!” Like a storm, Ace and Deuce walked into the once private space while running after Grim then froze in place when they noticed their senior, who seemed to be a really bad mood right now. “Sorry, Housewarden. Grim said he smelled something good and went running over” 

Apparently, Grim was getting hungry and since Ace and Deuce were short on money, the cat-like monster went on the hunt for any morsel of food and caught a whiff of the tarts Riddle had prepared. However, mere tidbits of sweets were not enough to satiate this monster’s blackhole of an appetite. 

“Let’s go to the shop, I want fancy tuna tonight!” Grim whined to you, lightly clawing at your shirt. 

Riddle wanted to scold the furry student for being shameless in his demands but you reassured the redheaded senior that this is a common occurrence, considering you were in charge of handling the allowance you receive from Crowley so Grim tends to ask you to buy things for him. 

“We can go see if Sam has any in stock” you smiled at your gluttonous dormmate then looking to Riddle “I’m sorry, Riddle. I had fun today but we should get going before Sam’s shop closes” 

Riddle, stunned in the sudden shift in his plans, could only offer a nod as you let Grim yank you away to walk faster towards the merchant’s store. He wanted to walk you home and perhaps invite you to another engagement with him. But in the end, he was left in your dust with his other Heartslabyul dormmates and very awkward silence. 

Though three students quickly turned to one as Ace and Deuce silently snuck away from the scene. After being in the Queen of Hearts-inspired house for a while, they can when to book it lest they want to be collared by their hot-tempered Housewarden. 

“I was caught off-guard by that surprise…I will take this as a learning experience for the future”    

[cherllyio]

A timeline of the Season 5 trailer

Are you ready? LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

This was a timeline i made with @lu-zijing in a youtube video we made together.

Video that helped me notice some details: "Lego monkie kid season 5 trailer breakdown" - Ash_Is_Bored

First scene:

I theorise this to be the first scene for 2 reasons:

Wukong isn't wearing a circlet yet

The Sky isnt destroyed yet, and it just looks like normal training between Wukong and MK.

But, after they finish training, MK goes to bed but wakes up somewhere... different:

The mystical monkeys got dragged to court in The Underworld, by The Underworld Kings, clearly by surprise since MK is in his PJ's. Also Wukong is still not wearing a circlet.

They are: "Do you three know of the crimes you have done", so its clearly the first time they are down there.

I imagine they are bassicaly told: "Everything is going wrong because of you three, so stop interfering with this, we will fix it".

This then followed by them getting sent back and being welcomend back to flower fruit mounatin... or what remains of it...

(notice the volcanos around flower fruit mountain from the pilot ep):

Wukong and Macaque are clearly pretty chocked and scared by this revalation, and even give eachother THAT LOOK.

Ep 1 ends here.

After this they probaly gather all the monkeys from the island, and try to find a shelter for the time being.

And after everything is secure, they send MK home with a little: "We will figure this out, Bud, go check on your friends, they are probaly worried sick for where you have been."

What happens after MK gets home, i have no idea, but we do have a couple of scenes that look to be the closest to what happens afterwards:

Pigsy has put up a noddle stand here, to celebrate some kind of "festival". Yet it is then intereupted by the sky suddenly breaking again.

And if that wasnt enough, Li Jing (and Nezha in his mech) shows up, (probaly thinking that the skyes are breaking because of MK, Wukong and Macaque, hence why they were in court earlier)

Li jing sucks MK in his magical pagado (notice how MK is the only one dragged forward)(As mentioned in that breakdown i linked to)

Li Jing(to MK); Don't even think about running!

We are then up in The Underworld again, where Li Jing is formely introduced and the monkeys are told that he is gonna be the next Jade Emperor:

This is also here we learn about the "Pillar of Creation", which is the thing currently on beaming on Flower Fruit Mountain, and is also currently breaking apart (therefore why the sky is breaking)

MK: Sorry what the is "The Pillar of Creation"?

This is also the same scene, where Wukong gets a new circlet on by Li Jing (because Li Jing and The Kings of the underworld think our mystical monkeys are the cause of the sky breaking)

This then followed by the monkeys getting teleported away(to what im guessing is going to be some kind of prison, since they probaly dont trust them out in the world).

The scenes become a bit more scattered after this, and probaly take place further from eachother from now on, but MK, Wukong and Macaque are clearly breaking out prison here:

They then join with the rest of the gang, and try to figure out how to prove that the mystical monkeys are innocent, while also trying to find out how to save the world.

In one of these scenes they stumble upon Li Jing, where Macaque stays behiend to give the others some time (but sadly gets trapped in the pagado in the process)

This was mentioned in the breakdown with the glow, Macaque has on him in this scene, which is the same that shows when Li Jing uses his Pagado:

Hence why Macaque isnt in the following scenes after this.

I can imagine Macaque gets trapped in The Underworld after this again (which would cause defintly some BAD MEMORIES to come back) (Shadowpeach backstoryyyyy????)

This though would also give us someone "on the inside", who can figure out why they are getting blamed for all of this (maybe he even meets the traitor king)

Anyway, back to the rest of the gang.

On their way, they found out about "four mystical creatures" that can save the world.

But as they go too seek them, where they atleast found two of them, they are dying as they are trying to protect two magical stones.

Therefore, right before they die, they give the stones to MK (notice how they are the same place, in both scenes)

Mei: It seems to have something to do with the stone.

They are though quickly interupted by our dear Li jing(who is honestly such an asshole at this point)

Hopefully, they manage to get away with the stones.

There is a lot of other scenes i could talk about(but since Tumblr wont let me put in any more pictures) i am just going to talk about the last scenes in the season (before the special atleast):

Wukong: Ok MK, there is something inside you that you cant control.

They have clearly gathered all the stones here (so its clearly near the end) , but something has gone wrong, and from what i could figure from others theories( @lunamikobrony2 ) its probaly that something happend to Wukong.

More specifically that (like the other magical creatures) he had to sacrifce himself, since Wukong is the LAST STONE. (again go check out @lunamikobrony2 theory)

So bassicaly this is going to be MK's "Apeshit scene". (and i dont know if that is going to be a good or a bad thing)

_____

And thats all from me folks! If you want me to analysis more scenes from the trailer and where they fit in the timeline just ask me in my inbox.

!Or! if you have any changes you would like to make to the timeline, be free to say so! I am open to changing my mind about this!

Translations used: 1 (here) - 2 (here)

[miss-may-i]

Miss May I: Season 5 Part 30

Farah: Good morning, Bella. I made coffee.

Isabella: Good morning. Where's Dad?

Farah: He left.

Isabella: Where'd he go? Is he coming back?

Farah: That doesn't matter.

Isabella: Is that why you're getting divorced?

Farah: I don't want this to make you think anything less of your father.

Isabella: Honestly, this makes me think less of both of you.

Farah: Why don't you sit down so we can talk?

Isabella: I guess I just don't get it. This makes me feel like everything I've always known about love and happiness is a lie.

Farah: We never lied to you. We've always loved you and your sister. This was a long time coming, Bella. We just didn't want to do it while you were little. Selling the house and having to split your time between your father and I. It's not good for a child.

Isabella: Wait, you and Dad are selling the house?

Farah: We have to. I can't afford this place on my own and your father and I won't be living together anymore.

Isabella: Then where does that leave me?

Farah: You're an adult now. You can come with me if you'd like, and I'm sure your father feels the same way. Or you could go off on your own. Have you ever thought about what you wanted to do with your life?

Isabella: I guess I just never thought this day would come. I always thought I'd stay here until Richie graduated then we'd go off to live our own happily ever after.

Farah: But what about beside that? Take it from me, you need to know who you are outside of being a wife and a mother. You never thought this day would come, and neither did I: The day my girls were grown and time to leave the nest.

Isabella: Just 'cause we're older doesn't mean you and Dad have to get divorced.

Farah: I already told you, we're not doing this because of you.

Isabella: Then at least tell me why. What could Dad have possibly done that's so horrible to ruin our family?

Farah: *Sigh*

Farah: There's another woman. And there has been for a while.

Isabella: Why does this keep happening? Does no one have a heart? Julie's dad cheated on Jade, Vivi's husband cheated on him, Noah cheated on Julie, Damian cheated on his girlfriend with Julie ... and now Dad? Why even marry someone and start a family with them if you don't even love them?

Farah: I'm sorry baby.

Isabella: How can I ever trust a man to love me when it seems all everyone does is cheat?

Farah: You find the right man.

Isabella: How do I find out if he's the right man before it's too late?

Farah: ...

Farah: I wish I knew too.

Previous | Beginning | Next

Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 4

Family Tree

*A few poses by @bmit04*

[gargoyleandgremlinpress]

The Tamed by defractum

It's the third and final post of my self-declared pamphlet bind week! This is another bind from summer before last. Fic by @defractum, cover illustration by @zelkams-art, used with permission. (Um, sorry to both of you for asking about this and then taking a literal eon to post it. I'm happy to send either of you a print or digital copy if you want!)

This fic embraces its crackfic smut premise and leans into it, and despite the claims in the tags of being a PWP, some plot definitely sneaks in around the edges. What can I say, I love fic that doesn't forget that WWX is dangerous.

If the Second Jade of Lan insists on bringing the Yiling Patriarch as his guest to the next Cultivation Conference, he must first demonstrate a control over the Yiling Patriarch and his unnatural abilities. The letter lies on their desk for days. - Post-canon, Wei Ying is invited, sort of, to a Discussion Conference.

Cardstock cover, public domain art for the inside of the cover. I've used WWX's red ribbon to tie into the red drop caps and text, copying a tiny portion of the cover art onto the title page, and using a flourish-y ribbon-esque font for the scene breaks. Sewn with red thread, of course.

No interesting household objects used for the background for this one, just a big sheet of Nepalese Lokta mulberry fibre paper that I hadn't yet cut down for endpapers. I think I used most of it on Wangxian fanbinds, unsurprisingly.

That's it for the pamphlet bound fic for now, but has me thinking about how very satisfying and practically instant-gratification they are to make, and eyeing my typeset WIP folder...

[thesparklingwriter]

just one drink

"...the night I met you, the stars were like, totally wonky."

tags: pet names, gn!reader, established relationship, reader is drunk, zhongli is doing his best not to laugh (another repost sorry guys)

content warning: alcohol

ao3 link | taglist | masterlist | next

It was just one drink. Or maybe it was two. In all honesty, you can’t really remember. You don’t drink very often, maybe once a year, once every two years if the situation so calls for it. But that also lends itself to a ridiculously low alcohol tolerance. So low, that in fact, one drink already has you stumbling around like a crazy person.

At first, Zhongli finds it amusing, the way you giggle so sweetly at everything he says, the way you run your hands through his hair with giddy laughter. You kiss his cheek, not caring about the fact that the rest of the dinner table-which consists of archons and adepti who have all had years to cultivate their alcohol tolerance-are watching you.

And then, the hyper giggling dissipates and you slump against him, resting your head against his shoulder as you think about the state of your life as it stands. Zhongli asks if you want to go home, but you shake your head fervently, not wanting to ruin his night. So he lets you rest your head in his lap and plant kisses on his hands if ever they linger too close to your face.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go home, my love?” He asks, looking down at you with an amused sparkle in his eyes.

“Li,” you sigh. “Why is the sky blue?”

Zhongli looks at you, chuckling softly. “Why is the jade yellow and the grass green?” He replies, the tenderness in his tone causing the rest of the table to watch with disinterested curiosity. It’s not every day that Morax, the god of war and contracts, can be find talking so sweetly to anyone on Teyvat or the realm above.

You sit up and scowl at him. “That doesn’t answer anything. I’m going home.” As you rise to your feet, you wobble, and Zhongli shoots up, ready to catch you if you should fall. He gives a sharp look at Venti, who told you the drink that has you plastered was basically water, and graciously says goodbye to everyone else as he helps you home.

By the time you’ve made it out of the door of the restaurant, you’ve gotten your footing again, and can happily skip around the streets of Liyue. The harbour is rarely ever empty, but today, it seems that most other people are at home, and you’re free to prance around as you wish.

“Do you think dragons can speak?” You ask Zhongli, returning back to him after spinning around for a few minutes. “I don’t think their vocal chords would be in the right place.”

“You’d be correct,” Zhongli says, smiling at you. He opens his mouth to explain how dragons communicate, but you’re off again, ooh-ing and ahh-ing at some silk flowers in someone’s courtyard. You crouch down to look at the flowers in more detail, lose your balance, and find yourself on the floor with no intention to get back up.

“They’re so pretty,” You say wistfully, tears bunching up in your eyes. “I wish I were a silk flower.”

“You wish to be a silk flower? I wouldn’t associate you with those–”

“Can you help me get up, please?” You look at Zhongli with round eyes, silently pleading for him to take pity on you. “It’s your fault I’m this drunk. You could, at the very least, help me.”

Zhongli sighs tenderly, lifting you up into his arms as if you were just wed, smiling as you wrap your arms around his neck. He’s more than happy to carry you home if that’s what’s going to get you there the fastest.

“Li,” you whisper against his chest.

“Yes, love?”

“Do you think people are destined to be with each other? Like, do you think that stars align and an eclipse happens and then boom! Soulmates.”

Zhongli chuckles. “I believe everything happens for a reason, yes. So, the stars must have aligned when I met you.”

“That’s a trick question. The night I met you, the stars were like, totally wonky.”

“Were they?” Zhongli enquires, laughing softly to himself. "How curious." But you’re fast asleep in his arms already, his laughter not registering to you. He carries you home, enjoying the fact that you’re allowing him to take care of you without complaint or physical antagonism. You smile in your sleep as he sets you down in bed, kissing your forehead lightly, gently grabbing his arm as he moves to step away.

“Where are you going?” You whine, attempting to sit up, but evidently being too sleepy to do so successfully. “Don’t go anywhere. Stay…here.” You point a finger at him accusingly, but the action is weak and makes him laugh. He shouldn’t laugh at you or your current turmoil, but how can he not when you just look so adorable? Every once in a while, it's nice to be reminded that you need him as much as he needs you, that he is just as valuable to you as you are to him.

“I’m not going anywhere, my love,” He says quietly. “Just changing.”

“Whose grand idea were clothes anyway?” You huff, rolling over in bed. “They’re uncomfortable and expensive and some are soooo ugly. They should be…illegal.”

“Yes, love, I agree.” Zhongli chuckles, stroking your hair as he sits in bed beside you. You move closer to him, nuzzling into his side.

“You’re such a yes-man sometimes, Li. Do you always say yes to everything everyone tells you to do?”

“No, only to you.”

You smile sleepily, throwing your arms around him unceremoniously. “You’re such a lap dog sometimes too.”

“And you can be incredibly bossy,” He smiles. “Seeing as I don’t wish to become seven inches shorter in my sleep, my only viable option is to be your lapdog until the day death calls my name.”

“That sounds nice.” You grin. "Do that."

© 2023, thesparklingwriter. please do not copy, edit, repost, or translate.

notes: okay so i had this idea cause my friends were talking about going out and getting wasted and i don't drink, but i have been told that when i drink monster (one time) i act like im drunk so this was inspired by that

taglist: removed as this is a repost

(coloured accounts couldn't be tagged)

[yuri-is-online]

idk if ur into more soft + toxic jadeyuu but if u aren't just ignore this plz 🙏😭 and sorry in advance this got out of hand (cw: jade purposely poisoning yuu, mentions of jade purposefully playing with yuu's feelings)

anyway, ur 'jade poisoning yuu' idea gave me thoouuuughhts and ive just been imaging jade who only ever saw yuu as like a pawn at first cuz he wanted someone to play with for a while-- and jade being jade constantly makes mushroom dishes but imagine his surprise when they actually accept his meal and eat it happily.

people usually find his mushroom obsession annoying and offputting so he's suprised but OBVIOUSLY his first thought to this yuu eating his dishes is 'now i finally have someone to test all these poisonous mushrooms on!! ^^' but his heart skips a beat when he thinks of them. jade merely brushes it off as his excitement of shrooms

so the next time he makes a mushroom dish for yuu, the mushroom is poisonous and they suffer the effects of it. he's not even trying to hide what he did and he's actually more curious to see how they'd react.

but they accept his invitation to eat dinner again for some reason??? and his heart does another weird fluttery thing when they say yes but jade takes the opportunity anyway and poisons yuu again

this continues for a while and anyone would think that jade would've gotten bored of them by now, but he's... hanging out with them even more? and taking them on even more dates that don't include mushrooms, poisonous or not?

and honestly, even jade himself is surprised because there isn't a coherent reason to why he's doing these things with them. sometimes (before all this happened) he'd hold their hand and give a kiss or 2 just to see their disappointment when he didn't act lovey-dovey the very next day>> but he's been doing these romantic actions every day as their "poison mushroom dates" increased.

he still smiles when he kisses yuu but it's a different kind of smile. his heart is fluttering more and more often, his cheeks are turning pink when they hold his hand and he's feeling all kinds of things he's never felt before.

he lays in his bed one night thinking about yuu and he realizes he's fallen in love. he never expected this to happen but he smiles and giggles and tells his mushrooms all about his newfound revelation.

now whenever mushroom dates happen (which are sometimes still poisonous ofc), he feeds them to yuu with his own hand.

You must be dreadfully lonely. That's the only reason Jade can think of for why you let him do this. Perhaps you truly think yourself to be alien, that the fleeting touches he grazes you with are all you deserve. Not that he will tell you otherwise, he's far too interested in finding out where your line lies.

But he finds his instead.

If I ever say no to more soft + toxic jadeyuu assume that is not me. they/them used for yuu, same CW from above, i don't think this is borderline anymore it's full yandere

It was supposed to be another test of your limits, a slight apology for paying some attention to a visiting student he'd previously only shown to you. Just one kiss to the back of their hand to seal a completely unnecessary deal, and you had refused to seek him out for a whole week. He was proud of you, truly he was, but not remorseful in his addition to this particular dish. Jade watches you roll the pasta around in your mouth and wince as you try to speak. The numbness spreads from your tongue to the back of your throat and you make no noise-

But eat the rest of the plate, not even rolling your eyes once. You cannot speak, but you still smile when he asks if the food his good. And for some reason now his words were stuck.

"You're a good cook, we should do this again sometime." You hoarsely say as he nods quickly, staring down at your cleaned plate. A wicked, giddy smile overwhelms him, he has a dedicated test subject now; oh how delightful you have proved to be, not at all as boring as he had first thought. ~~~~ The second attempt he has you make together and he wonders what it is laced more with, toxins or his joy at your strange willingness to let him drag you around. Up the mountains you had gone together to fetch a pail of mushrooms, and when you fell down after consuming the crown he found himself jumping after, your now flimsy body cradled in his arms.

"Oh dear, I think I added a bit too much." He has to look the very image of a devil, and though you don't really have the ability to escape anyway he still finds himself holding you quite close to his chest. "Do give me chance to make it up to you? This Saturday perhaps?"

"There's an unbirthday party that afternoon." You sound almost as disappointed as he feels angered. "Perhaps we could do Friday?"

Oh of course you could, he does hope you have your apologies prepared for Riddle; if you intend to return after this then you cannot be upset when you are much too sick to attend. Or perhaps he should try to control the dose and accompany you? The thought of you among the roses in a stylish outfit is doing odd things to his chest. ~~~~ "I don't know what it is you want but please stop." Azul is the only one who would ever be brave enough to scold him like this. "I never liked watching you tease the prefect, but since they were willing to work at a lesser rate I endured it but this is just painful."

"Oya, I take offense to that." Jade "sniffles" because truly he does not know what to do. Who would have thought a simple request for some time off would- well never mind of course it would spark a debate. But he hadn't listed the prefect at all in his note, just that his club would be going camping over the weekend and he was intending to be unavailable. Just because he has been addicted to your presence as of late does not mean anything. Sure, he has not poisoned you in a while (you almost seem disappointed, what a truly tempting little-) "I assure you everything I have done is with the prefect's consent." Has he truly been spending so much time with you that it is obvious you will be tagging along? And why does the idle thought that this could invite danger cause such a painful feeling- fear could it be fear that he is feeling? Over you?

Azul massages his temples as he lets out a truly painful sigh. "That's sort of the problem, have you even thought about what that means?" Jade increases the volume of his sobs. "Of course you haven't look, I will approve your request but please for the love of the sea do not do anything actionable?"

"I have no idea what you could possibly be implying." His cries magically dissipating as he happily goes to his room to look through his closet and prepare. ~~~~ Jade dreams of Yuu that night. He dreams of the plush of your lips and thighs, of the comforting grip of your hand as he walks down the hallway or along a trail, his mind is tortured with images of what he pictures your sleeping face to be like.

He awakes with the realization that he will soon know. Azul was right he had not thought about what any of this meant, of his actions, of yours. And if he must own the truth he still does not know what yours mean, and that scares him even if he laughs loud enough for Floyd to throw a pillow at his head.

"I love them." He whispers to the terrariums on his wall. "I love them." He vows to the mushrooms in his garden and the moon somewhere up in the sky over the seas. How unpredictable, how beautiful, how very much like him to not tell you why he insists on feeding you himself on your trip, or rests your head in his lap the next time you sleep off the poison. There is a process to these things, he thinks anyway, and Jade has been impolite enough to skip several steps. Perhaps, he idly thinks as he traces the size of your finger, you will let him skip several more? After all, there is so very much you deserve, and he is surprisingly willing to give.

[midnightsun-if]

the last scenario ask... really ruthless, but all it made is make me even more obsessed with the ros fr fr.

thinking about other classic asks, what about the ros' reactions if when they're on the verge of kissing mc, mc stopped them, blushes hard and tells them 'wait! i don't know how to kiss, i might be bad at it...'

Koda: He tilts his head, a gentle smile upturning his lips. “Why would that matter?” Strong arms flex around your body, tugging you impossibly closer. You could tell that he was confused— whether it be by what you had said or the fact that you felt like he cared about something that didn’t even seem to have crossed his mind— but the continuous support he always offered, overt or not, fills you with the warmth of a thousand suns. “You don’t have to worry about that. I’m sure you’ll be absolutely perfect.” His smile grows into a grin. “Just do what feels right and go from there.”

Scarlett: Emerald green eyes assess you with an inscrutable gaze, crimson painted lips allowing the ghost of a smirk to flicker across before it settles into something soft— no, not soft, as you take notice to the faint touches of darkness that lies just out of reach within the viridescent expanse of her eyes. Adoring. Adoring would be the better word. “Is that what you’re worried about, my heart?” Scarlett inclines her head, threading slender fingers through the locks of hair nearest to the base of your skull, the slightest of pressure maneuvering you in the direction that she wished. Pressing her body closer, allowing you to feel every elegant dip and curve, Scarlett’s lips ghost over yours, just out of reach; the earlier darkness returns, changing enchanting emerald to alluring jade. “I guess I’ll just have to teach you then.”

Cyrus/Cyra: Multicolored eyes, predominantly a shimmering gold at the moment, soften completely at your words. Their hand, that had previously been placed on your waist, rises to gently cup your cheek. “Don’t overthink anything, my flame.” They tap your cheek, a supportive smile on their lips. “Isn’t that what you always tell me? Don’t let your mind take over a matter of the heart. Let yourself be in the moment, with me, and we’ll worry about everything else as we always do.” They step impossibly closer, welcoming warmth encapsulating you completely, their forehead presses against yours, hand still steadily on your cheek, keeping you centered. “Together.”

Quinn: Their wolf almost shrieks at the insinuation that you could be anything less than exactly what they need— something that Quinn wholeheartedly agrees with. “That’s okay, sweetheart,” they murmur, offering you a gentle smile. “I don’t think you’ll be bad. Inexperience is just that inexperience, nothing else.” They pull you closer by your still connected hands, fondness tinged across their warm expression. “Though, and this is something I’ve always believed, practice does make perfect.” Quinn leans forward, their nose gently nuzzling your own. “Want to give it a try?”

Caden: “Oh?” Their brow furrows for a moment, confusion evident, and you can see the exact moment your words seemed to click in their head. Silver eyes widen, a red hue takes over their cheeks, and they cough out their next words. “Oh!” Caden rubs the back of their neck, an almost amused smile beginning to take over their shocked one. “I-I wasn’t expecting that, I admit.” Their shoulders hunch, suddenly shy, but they never move away from you, as if they were caught in your orbit. “I’m sorry if my reaction seemed off putting, I just couldn’t imagine someone being next to you, getting to know you, the real you, and not wanting to kiss you.” An argent gaze meets yours with a reverent fondness. “Would you give me that honor now?”

Sloane: Their hands, that had been firmly on your hips, slacken completely as your words register in their lust-addled brain. “Ah, shit!” They mutter, dropping their head to your shoulder, strands of messily tousled hair obscuring your view of their face. You don’t feel like panicking, although the thought did cross your mind, as their thumb gently runs across your hipbone in soothing circles— a gentle reminder that they were still there, still with you, they were just processing something that they needed a moment to get through. With one final huff, Sloane straightens, hazel eyes observing you with exasperated fondness. “I don’t think I deserve to be your first kiss, but I’m a selfish bastard—” They step closer, somehow in the already enclosed space, their breath whispering across your lips. “I don’t want anyone else to have it either. Will you let me?”

Blake: “I know that, angel.” Sliding their hands into your hair, Blake presses flush against your body. Violet eyes observing every minute expression that flickers across your face, keenly aware of what they all mean and how to react accordingly. “It makes this moment all the sweeter, don’t you think? It’ll be your first kiss and, in a way, it’ll be mine too.” A beaming smile curls their lips upward, no doubt in response to your own dubious expression in response to their words, but they don’t seem to take offense to it in the slightest. Instead, Blake huffs out another laugh and tugs your head closer to theirs, forehead to forehead. “I’ve kissed a lot of people, I know you’re aware of that, but I’ve never kissed anyone I’ve truly cared about. Not until now.”

Reginald/Regina: “Really?” Their eyes widen in surprise, clearly in shock, but it wasn’t an expression that caused you to bristle— as they did seem genuine in their amazement; like they couldn’t believe someone could ever resist your pull— but an apologetic look quickly follows regardless. “I didn’t mean it like that.” They rub the back of their neck, a rueful smile tugging at their lips. “I-I guess I’m just surprised that I have a bit more knowledge than you in something.” They tilt their head. “Granted it’s not a lot more, but it’s something.” Blue green eyes turn down to your still interlaced hands, shyness prominent by the growing redness across their cheeks. “Would you like me to share it?” They peer up at you through their lashes. “My knowledge I mean.”

[sleepytownez]

I really hope Nezha becomes the next Jade Emperor, I’m sorry I’m insane I’m sorry, I KNOW.

But like, the irony of Li Jing wanting to become the new Emperor, but then Nezha, who he probably fucking HATES, becomes it instead, and probably on accident as well. It would piss him off so bad and I neeeeed that in my life.

Also then he could really be free from his father’s influence if all the theories are true and the story is somewhat book-accurate.

[chaotic-super]

Joining The Superfriends - Chapter 27

AO3 link

Kara stares at the lifeless body slumped across the floor.

It’s an odd feeling that’s settled deep into her bones. She just killed a man. A man who murdered a crazy amount of people, but a man no less.  A man who has caused immeasurable pain in the lives of countless people, including the woman standing just behind her.

Her gaze falls to the gun where it lies on the floor, discarded not by choice but shock. She can’t believe she just killed Lex Luthor. Her sapphire blue eyes flinch up to look at Lex’s face. What she can see of it anyway. With a hole in his head, the blood and brain matter seeping out covers his face, a veil of a dark, natural kind. Despite that, a sneer is still fixed in place. He was a bitter, malicious monster until the very end.

Her legs are throbbing with pain, her veins still assaulted by kryptonite. It makes her feel awful that a man has just died because of her, but her focus is instead on herself because, to put it bluntly, it hurts like a bitch.

“Kara?” Lena calls out, her voice soft and delicate, like she’s speaking to a child that has tripped on the schoolyard and is two seconds away from crying because of their scraped knees.

An unwelcomed flinch ricochets through Kara’s body at Lena’s first touch. It’s a tender caress to the back of her head, her open palm taking the weight, solid and sturdy despite the barely perceptible quake in her fingertips.

Lena doesn’t retreat at her unconscious, harsh reaction. She just keeps the pressure there. Kara leans into it, happy to take her touch's comfort and the distraction it presents from the searing pain.

“Kara?” Lena tries again. “We have to go.”

This time, Kara responds. She tilts her head back to see that Lena is crouching behind her. She’s not looking at her now-deceased brother. She’s not sparing him so much as a quick glance. Green eyes remain pinned on Kara, worry and anxiety swirling in pools of jade.

“Come on, put your arms around me.” Lena urges, helping her by physically wrapping one of Kara’s arms around her shoulder.

Kara plants her feet on the floor, trying to help gain some leverage to assist Lena’s attempt at getting her standing up, but the soles of her boots slide in the rapidly growing pool of Lex’s blood. She grits her teeth, biting back a cry as she fights against the rapid increase in pain taking over her.

“Lena, I can’t.” Kara breathes heavily after spending far too long trying and failing in the task. “You should find a way to get to the others.”

“I’m not leaving you,” Lena continues, trying to get her up. Except with Kara not even trying, she’s got no chance of succeeding. “Come on. We’ve got to get out of here together. You’re not staying here next to my brother’s corpse.”

Kara’s eyes dart back to Lex’s body at the mention and she can’t help but feel a strange kind of peace at seeing him this way. She doesn't have a guilty bone in her body after all the pain he’s caused to not only herself but to her family, to Lena. That’s scarier than the prospect of waiting next to his body for a while as Lena goes to get help.

“I’ll be ok. Maybe go and see if you can find whatever is jamming out comms so we can get J’onn to get here.” Kara pants, the pain in her legs growing with each passing moment. They’ve begun to feel heavy like they’re made of lead, and it feels like even a passing breeze could take her out, any shift in them making every muscle in her body tense up.

“No,” Lena states firmly. Kara slips further onto the floor as Lena unhooks her arm from around her shoulders, but it’s short-lived as she takes up her earlier position and deftly squeezes her hands beneath her armpits to start dragging her down the hall and away from Lex.

Kara tries her very best to contain her cries and whimpers, but the waves of agony engulf her, the current much too strong to swim out of.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Lena mumbles out, her voice strained because of the effort she’s exerting. “I just want to get you away from him, ok?”

It’s phrased as a question, but based on how she’s being manhandled, Kara’s guessing she doesn’t actually get a say in anything. “Ok.”

Lena pulls her into a side room and it’s not until they’re fully inside that they see what it’s used for.

“Tools. That could be helpful.” Lena sets Kara down with her back to some shelves, giving her something to prop herself up against. She allows her shoulders to drop with Kara’s weight off her and Lex’s body out of her direct eye line. Just like that, the adrenaline keeping her going wanes.

She’s once again aware of the searing pain of her own injuries where the shrapnel sliced her where the armour doesn’t cover and winces, hissing between her teeth.

“Oh, fuck.” A trembling hand attempts to reach over her shoulder to smooth her hand over the painful spots, not that a single hand could cover them all; there are far too many for that.

Kara’s head shoots up at the sound of her pained curse. “Lena? Are you hurt?”

“Just a little. Please remind me never to set a bunch of robots to self-destruct beside us again. That wasn’t a great idea.” Lena’s attempt at humour falls flat, the pained edge to her voice making it impossible to jest.

“Will you still be ok to find a way to get out or at least get a message to the rest of the team?” Kara questions. She’s concerned about Lena, but her main focus is on getting them both out of here as soon as possible. When Lena set the Lexo-suits to self-destruct, the ones closest to them did so, but they have no confirmation that any outside of their direct radius did, and that needs to be a top priority.

“I'll be fine, I swear.” Lena closes her eyes and takes a few grounding breaths. “You just stay here and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Ok.” Kara lets her head loll back to rest against the sharp ridges of the metal shelves. “But, Lena?”

Lena pauses for a moment. “Hmm?”

“Please be careful.”

“I will.”

Kara doesn’t look convinced. “Promise me…please.”

Taking Kara’s face between her hands, Lena presses a lingering kiss to the centre of her forehead. “I promise I’m coming back, Kara. I’ll be just fine.”

With that confirmation, they part ways, Lena sealing the door behind her to keep Kara safe the only way she can.

-

Lena rests her head on the edge of Kara’s bed in the med bay. Her eyelids are heavy and her bones are tired but she just doesn’t have it in her to sleep. She’s been stitched up, and loaded up on pain meds, courtesy of Alex, but even without them, she’s half convinced she wouldn’t feel anything anyway. Everything just feels…blurry.

She got lucky. She had no clue what she was doing when she left Kara in that room, and with how frazzled her brain was and still is, she has no clue how she would have figured her way through that predicament.

With a few hours between her time on Lex’s ship and his death, Lena feels like she’s yet to come back to herself. Perhaps sleeping would fix that. She’s not about to test that theory. Sleep feels like it’s a mere step away and thousands of miles all at the same time. Not tonight.

If anything, seeing Kara lying there unconscious in front of her makes her push away her exhaustion even more, her desire to watch over her much too strong. She was only alone in that room for maybe three minutes. Four at a push. Still, it was enough for her to lose consciousness, and she’s yet to regain it.

Alex has meticulously extracted all of the shards of kryptonite from her skin and sewn up every last cut she could find. She’s sure she got it all, but Lena’s seen her recheck the kryptonite scanner more than a dozen times, not convinced even with the countless confirmations. Lena understands. Of course she does. With her hand in Kara’s, every once in a while, she lets her fingers trail up to her wrist to press into her pulse point there so she can feel the steady beating of her heart, the rhythmic beeping from the heart rate monitor not enough to soothe her nerves alone.

Looking up at Kara’s face now, she can scarcely believe what Kara did for her and she can’t believe she let her.

Kara killed her brother for her.

Kara killed Lex.

Lex is dead.

She’s free.

A hand on Lena’s shoulder startles her and makes her wince all at once, the pressure directly on her freshly sewn cuts.

“Oh, sorry. I forgot.” Nia says, her voice barely more than a whisper. “Here, you need to drink.”

A warm mug of coffee is pressed into her free hand. “Thank you, Nia.”

Without waiting, Lena takes a healthy sip from the mug. “I wouldn’t have thought you would be one to promote caffeine this late at night. Shouldn’t you advocate for everyone getting eight hours of rest per night?”

“It’s decaf.” Nia shrugs as she pulls up a chair beside her.

Glaring down at the mug, Lena sniffs harshly. “That’s smart but I’m also upset it won’t help keep me up.”

Nia leans back in her chair, her eyes dancing over Kara’s face. Seeing her look so hollow and worn is strange, a complete loss of her usual sunshiney demeanour that usually coats every aspect of her mind, body and soul. She sighs before looking back at Lena. “You can rest, you know. If you want me to watch her so you can do that, I will.”

“That’s not why I’m not resting,” Lena admits before she can think to stop herself.

“So you’re punishing yourself?”

“I didn’t say that,” Lena argues.

Despite the harsh tone she’s expecting to be subjected to, Nia’s voice remains soft. “Sometimes, you don’t have to say anything.”

Lena momentarily pulls her lips into her mouth, letting out a shaky breath as she releases them. “It was my brother that caused this, and when it came to it, I didn’t even do it myself. She did it. She was protecting me when I should have been the one protecting her. She couldn’t even stand and she shot him so that I wouldn’t have to and I should have insisted. I could have taken the gun off her physically if that’s what it came down to. She wouldn’t have been able to stop me. I let her kill my brother and now I don’t know what to do.”

“You move on.”

“That’s easier said than done.”

“But it’s right.”

Lena shakes her head. “How is that right? How am I meant to just move on from this like it never happened? Like he didn’t murder all of those people, destroy a city and try to kill us. How am I meant to move on when I feel less guilty about all those people who died than I do about Kara having to live with what she did for me because I was weak?”

Nia takes a deep breath. “A lot of those questions are out of my pay grade. I would suggest Kelly as the go-to woman for that kind of stuff, but just for the record, Kara wouldn’t have done what she did unless she truly felt that what she was doing was the right thing and as long as she knows that, I don’t think she’ll struggle as much as you think she will.”

“What do you mean? She’s Supergirl. The woman with the strongest morals known to man.”

“And she’s Kryptonian. She might not believe in killing, but she knows why it’s necessary, and if you talk to her about Kryptonian history and culture, you’ll see why I know she can handle what she did.”

The corners of Lena’s lips press down as she frowns, her head dropping down until her chin is to her chest in a motion that is usually much more synonymous with one Kara would do, a fleeting thought Lena has and has to push away to stop her frown from deepening even further.

“I have a lot to learn about Kara, don’t I?”

“You do, but that’s ok. I think she’s got a lot to learn about you too.” Nia nudges her shoulder with hers. “You have a lot to learn about yourself as well. You’ve lost the monster that’s always been lurking over your shoulder. You have to figure out who you are when you don’t have to watch your back every hour of every day; you might be surprised at what you’ll find.”

“I think the day of his death might be a bit too soon for the ‘find yourself’ speech.”

Nia hums half-heartedly. “Well, that’s all I’ve got. There aren’t exactly written instructions for how to make your friend feel better when she just watched her girlfriend shoot her brother.”

“I suppose not.” Lena barks out a laugh. It’s cold and harsh but there’s something else buried deep inside it—the tiniest speck of gratitude. “And just for the record, we’re not official.”

Nia rests her hand on Lena’s forearm, nodding down at her mug to remind her to drink it before it goes cold. “Not yet, but I’ll leave you to it for a while. You look like you need time to think.”

“I do, but you don’t have to leave.” Lena hesitates before asking her next question. “Would it be inappropriate to ask you to sit with me? I know I’m not technically alone in here, but I don’t want to be by myself.”

Nia keeps her tush firmly planted in her seat. “I’m right here.”

“Thank you.”

“We’re all here for you, Lena. You’re not alone anymore. Not like you were before you found us.”

“I’m glad I did.” Lena mumbles. “I wouldn’t have managed to get out from under my family’s thumb if it wasn’t for you guys.”

Nia shakes her head. “You would have. It would have looked a lot different, but you would have done it. You’re much stronger than you give yourself credit for, and we’re lucky to have you on our team.”

Lena scoffs. “My maniacal brother followed me here, destroyed the city and murdered people.”

“Yeah, that’s bad. We didn’t sign up for your brother, but we did sign up for you. Having a crazy family comes with being a Superfriend though. Just ask Kara about hers. She had family try to mind control the entire planet, so she understands better than most.”

“Why am I learning all these things from you and not her?” Lena’s eyebrows furrow. “Why wouldn’t she tell me?”

Nia shoots her an exasperated look. “Between missions, crises and calamities?”

“Good point.” Lena gives in. “I’ll ask her when she wakes up.”

Nia nods. “You do that.”

-

“This is the third day you’ve spent sitting in that chair. Don’t you want to go and stretch your legs?” Kelly squeezes her shoulder softly as she lowers herself down into the chair beside her. “You know we can take it in turns sitting with her. We’ve made that more than clear, so why are you taking on that burden alone?”

Lena’s eyes flick up to Kelly’s cold and sharp. “Kara’s not a burden.”

“I never said she was,” Kelly replies, her voice no less soft, her calming demeanour setting Lena’s raised shoulders back down. “However, sitting anywhere for a long period of time is a burden, so if you would like to go and stretch your legs or go home to shower, there are people here more than willing to sit here for a while so you can do that.”

“I stretch my legs when I go to the bathroom and J’onn has been letting me shower here. Alex gave me Kara’s spare clothes to change into.”

Kelly covers Lena’s hand with her own. “Why are you so insistent on being the one to sit with her all day? Even Alex, who has been spending hours here every day, goes home each night.”

Lena turns her head away from her for a moment, and Kelly braces herself, ready for whatever reaction may come her way.

Lena’s lips are quivering when she turns back around, her eyes straining to hold back her tears. “I don’t know. I guess I just don’t want to leave.”

“What do you mean by that? You’re scared to?”

Lena shrugs half-heartedly. “Kara just tossed away one of her greatest morals for me. The least I can do is sit with her while she recovers.”

“So you’re paying her back?” Kelly tries to pin down Lena’s thoughts.

With a heaving sigh, Lena shakes her head. “I don’t even know. I just know that I want to be here, and as nice as it would be to go home and rest in my own space, I can’t bear the thought of her being here and me being somewhere else. I just know I wouldn’t be able to relax, so instead, I’ll sit here and watch over her so if something happens, God forbid, I can get Alex here as quickly as possible.”

“And while you trust the rest of us to watch over her, that anxiety and restlessness won’t fully disappear.” Kelly finishes for her.

Lena nods solemnly.

“Ok then, we’ll see if we can find you a comfier chair. We were going to pull one of the better ones in here, but Alex thought you would be more likely to go home if you were uncomfortable here.”

“You guys let me sit here in this devil of a chair for three days before realizing I wouldn’t give in?”

Guilt coats Kelly’s face. “Sorry.”

Lena doesn’t have it in her to be mad. “No, I get it. I appreciate you guys trying to give me a kick in the right direction. It’s just one that isn’t going to work. I’m staying here. As soon as she’s awake and stable, I can get back to my life. I have all of the business stuff to deal with at Luthor Corp once she does. With Lex gone, the company goes to me. I’m sure my mother will try and take over it, but she always did love Lex the most, so she’ll probably go into a grieving period for a couple of months before she comes after me.”

“That’s awful, Lena.”

“That’s my mother, for you.” She brushes it off without much thought.

Kelly frowns, her eyes locking onto Kara’s slack hand that is cradled between both of Lena’s, her thumb brushing over the back of it as though she’s trying to bring comfort to her, even in her unconscious state.

Clicking her tongue, Kelly leans back in the chair, already annoyed at how uncomfortable it is and wincing at the thought of how much pain Lena must be in after three days. “Is there anything we can do to help with that part while you’re here? Alex and J’onn both used to run the DEO and are used to bureaucracy. I’m sure they can handle some stuff for you, and the rest of us can help too.”

Lena shakes her head. “No, no. It’s fine. Sam is covering a lot of that for me and Jack…well, I assume he’s attempting to help but really slowing Sam down.”

“That’s nice of them.”

“Yeah, they’re the best.” For the first time today, Kelly has seen a hint of a smile grace Lena’s lips.

Kelly’s glad to see it. She’s seen people completely shut down in situations like this, but Lena is pretty aware of herself and her emotions. It’s impressive. Usually, people end up acting out of character or making dumb decisions. “So, Lena. If you don’t mind me asking, do you see you and Kara dating long-term?”

Lena’s head flies to the side to look at Kelly, shock written over her face. “That’s the question you’re going with?”

Kelly shrugs.

“Do all therapists start out with those kinds of questions?”

Kelly eases off. “I’m not here as a therapist, Lena. I’m here as your friend. It was a question that has more to do with what I’ve been wondering about your budding relationship rather than me trying to psychoanalyze you.”

Lena takes a few beats to think over her answer, taking Kelly’s claims of simply being her friend at face value. She hasn’t even got the energy to let her self-doubt have a voice, so she will blindly believe her.

“I would like to see where my relationship with Kara goes,” Lena says with a firm nod. “I had a discussion with Nia the other day and realized that I don’t know as much about her as I initially thought, so that will be my first point of action when she’s well enough. I need to learn more about her. It’s not until we get to know each other better that we can fully commit to each other.”

Kelly tilts her head, her eyes pinned on the side of Lena’s face. “Interesting.”

“Don’t do that.” Lena recoils away from her, her cheeks flushing.

“Sorry. It’s just not the answer I was expecting. You guys have been all gung-ho about following your emotions that seeing you putting logic to your relationship is a little odd.”

“Well, I realized I don’t know much about her as a Kryptonian, and that’s a very large part of her life. I can’t be with someone if I don’t know everything about them.”

Eyebrows furrowed and lips tilting down, Kelly frowns. “You know, you don’t have to know everything about the person you’re with. In fact, I would recommend you don’t.”

“Doesn’t that take away from the whole spiel therapists usually drone on about, the one about open communication and talking at every opportunity?”

Shaking her head, Kelly replies. “Not at all. In fact, I think it’s good for couples to have privacy within the relationship. To have their own private space in the far back corner of their hearts.”

“Really?”

“If you don’t have that, where will you grow? Every person deserves to not only grow with their partner but to grow within themselves. We adapt, we overcome, we change. To do that, we need our own space, and it’s not wrong to have that. That private space is what gives us the space to become who we need to become so while, yes, you should know about all of the important parts of each other’s lives, it’s ok if you never fully learn every last thing about one another. Holding yourself to that standard would be as good as you walking away right now.”

Lena’s brain can barely wrap around the words. “What?”

“I’m saying that yes, there’s plenty for you to learn about each other, but if you add the caveat of you needing to know everything about each other into your relationship, you’re setting yourself up for failure.”

“Oh. Ok.” Lena nods, her brain too tired to fully follow exactly what Kelly is saying, but if there’s anyone who does know the healthiest thing for her relationship, it’s the therapist who is happily married with a gorgeous little girl at home. “I’ll think about that.”

“Good. Now, are you sure I can’t talk you into a nap on the couch in the other room?” Kelly asks, shifting her weight.

Lena shakes her head. “Bring the couch in here and you’ve got yourself a deal.”

“You know what? I’ll take it. I’m going to get J’onn and Alex to help me.”

-

It takes five days in total for Alex to determine that Kara has recovered enough from the kryptonite poisoning to come out of her coma and let the sunlamps finish the job of getting her to heal, and when she does wake, it’s with every member of the team crowding around her and two Legionnaires hovering about in the other room waiting for an update.

Upon being informed of what is happening by Brainy, they all hustled back to come and check on her. Mostly at the insistence of Winn, but Mon-El didn’t exactly put up a fight either.

Lena is right there beside her in the same place she’s spent the best part of the week but she’s in a much comfier chair than the one she started in.

Kara wakes slowly and it’s a lot less anticlimactic than the group was expecting, except for Alex, who knows how this stuff works – thank you, med school.

Lena’s hands are sweaty around Kara’s, but she can’t seem to force herself to let go, especially when her eyes start flickering open. She stands, leaning over the prone Kryptonian. “Hey, Kara.”

“Hi,” Kara mumbles out, her throat dry and scratchy.

Alex rushes to do her tests and checks. All the while, Lena is talking softly to her, easing her back to the land of the living. As soon as Alex clears her, Nia, Brainy and Kelly move over to wish her their best before leaving to give her some privacy and also give the others a chance to come in and see her.

Lena doesn’t move.

Winn and Mon-El make their way in once the others file out, both of them unsure of themselves, not only because Kara isn’t in the best of shape, but because there’s a woman they’ve never met before at her bedside looking at her like she’s just hung every star in the sky with stands of her own soul to declare her love for all the universe to see.

They round the bed to stand on the opposite side to Lena and end up beside Alex, who simply rolls her eyes at them and joins Lena on the other side.

 “How is she?” Winn asks, directing his question at Alex despite Kara being awake.

“She’s good,” Alex says. “She could have told you that.”

Chastised, Winn meets Kara’s eyes. “Hey, you. Long time no see, best friend.”

“You’ve been demoted.” Is the first thing out of Kara’s mouth, followed by a round of giggles that everyone has to suppress a smile at. “Lena’s taken your place, ex-best friend.”

Winn’s mouth drops open. “How? I’m the coolest person I know. I made your suit for you.”

“I made her a suit too. It has anti-kryptonite capabilities and doesn’t have a skirt that will accidentally flip up and give the enemy an eyeful mid-fight.” Lena raises a challenging brow at him, a deadly smirk in place that disappears when she turns back to Kara, her expression instantly softening.

Winn huffs a little, but a nudge from Mon-El has him refocusing. “That’s rude, but I’ll debate it with you when you’re not high on sunlight.”

Kara scoffs. “Whatever. Thanks for coming, guys, even if it’s not necessary. I’m fine.”

“You were just in a five-day induced coma. You don’t have a good sense of what ‘fine’ is,” Mon-El says with a boyish grin. “We wanted to see if you were ok with our own eyes. It’s not every day that you defeat your greatest rival. How do you feel?”

Kara and Lena share a look, and Lena does her best to sense what Kara is thinking, but it’s impossible, the cluster of emotions running wild and free behind those bright blue irises making it a task and a half even to try.

Kara swallows harshly. “A lot. I feel a lot.”

The mood dampens and Mon-El shies away from the group a little, realizing he just made a mistake. “Sorry, that was a poor question to ask. It’s just that we used to speak about the Luthors when we were dating, and there wasn’t much positivity around that. I thought you would be happy to have him gone.”

Lena freezes. Partly because she never realized that this is Kara’s ex and another because he said ‘Luthors’. They spoke about her entire family, probably including her. She understands why she would be lumped in with them; it is her surname after all, but it’s not information she would have liked to have learned in this situation, with Kara’s ex spilling the beans.

“Mon-El, shut up.” Alex hisses.

“What?” He asks.

Lena takes over, her face once again cold and unfeeling as she lets go of Kara’s hand with one of hers so she can offer it to the man. “Lena Luthor, pleasure to meet you.”

His eyes grow wide and his jaw practically drops to the floor.

Winn is the one who saves the day, jumping in to shake her hand in an overexaggerated manner in his excitement. “Oh my stars! You’re the Lena Luthor. I can’t believe I’m meeting you; this is insane! Your work with…I don’t know if you’ve done it yet, so I can’t say anything, but your work is the most impressive thing I’ve ever seen. It’s unbelievable! Can I pick your brain about your ongoing projects?”

Lena shakes her head. “Perhaps another time. I would like to spend some time with Kara. As you can imagine, I’m not in the best state of mind given that Kara is hurt and my brother just died.”

Mon-El seems to wake from his stupor at that. “You’re letting a Luthor be in here? You’re letting her touch Kara?” He briefly pins his eyes on Alex before they dart to glare at Kara and Lena’s joined hands.

“Stop, Mon-El. You’re acting like an asshole.” Kara jumps in, the words taking more effort than she has to give.

“I’m the asshole?” He asks, his voice coming out in a whine, his eyebrows practically meeting his hairline, which is quite the task.

“Stop. Just stop.” Kara pleads, her free hand coming up to cover her face, a headache sinking in. “Can I just please have some time to rest? I can’t deal with this.”

Alex jumps onto Kara’s request, using it to get everyone out. “Alright, you heard the lady, everyone out.”

Winn goes easily, looking pissed at Mon-El and grabbing him by his arm to pull him out of the room. Lena watches them go before she stands up too, leans down to press her lips to Kara’s forehead and then moves to leave.

“You don’t have to go, Lena,” Kara says, clinging to her hand.

“I won’t be too long. You rest. I’ve got a few things to handle, and then I’ll be back.”

“Promise?”

“I promise I’ll come back. Go to sleep.”

Check out the next couple of chapters on Patreon here!

[loveandleases]

<3 Other characters reaction to Jade's attempt is below. You can find Ardents version here. Cam's here. Our icicles (G) here.

💚 Kara - Jade twirled a piece of Kara's golden blonde hair around her figure, which then in turn made Kara grab her wrist. She isn't the one for fights, violence, or any of that.

But Jade not only being with Chris, but also coming on to her who is happily in a relationship with MC, just starts her blood to boil. "Jade, you can't possibly tell me you're tired of Chris already? Not after all the "thought" you put in to taking them for yourself."

If you didn't know Kara you would think her smile was sweet, innocent even. Those who do know her, know there is a bite to her words. Jade awkwardly laughs yanking her hand free before staring at the two of you.

"I don't possibly know what you mean." she lies, ensuring there is an air of stoicism on her face.

"Well, I'll be sure to let Chris know that you aren't happy with one Clarke sibling. I'm sure they'll be happy to learn you're coming on to their own sister. Not to mention the fact that I'm dating MC. "

You can tell that Jade wants to argue about this but Kara doesn't give her that satisfaction, pulling you along with her.

💛 M - If someone could die, be swallowed up by the very ground they're standing on never to exist again...they would probably look like M right now. The nervous laughter that bubbled out of their mouth when Jade flirted with them was so loud it nearly caused you a headache.

She tries to place an arm on their shoulder to which M swats away, all with a smile on their face, yet one that doesn't hide the crease of their brow. "You really must keep your hands to yourself," M mutters.

"Pardon?" Jade asks, her hand stilling in the air.

"Ah...well you see, I what I mean to say is.." M begins to stutter their words not coming to them as quickly as they need. Their face slightly dusted with a red haze from their blushing or annoyance.

You pull M's hand yanking them next to you, in doing so they gasp, kicking their legs out and tripping Jade.

It was an accident surely.

M mutters an apology and kisses the back of your hand. "Sorry I can be a bit clumsy." they laugh rubbing the back of their head with the opposite hand.

"ah no it's.."

Jade doesn't finish her sentence and as you look to see why, you quickly catch M glowering at them.

When they notice they laugh awkwardly, pretending the look was never there to begin with. "Come on, honey."

💜 Isaac - As you go to get inside Isaac's car you stop, you notice Jade rubbing their arm. Then yank it back suddenly "What the hell .."

"Babe!" Isaac announces turning to you, you know Isaac's a flirt but this again, you can't handle or deal with this. "Your sister here thought I looked hot today, isn't that nice?" While Isaac tries to make their voice sound calm, nice, even you can notice the strain in it.

Isaac crosses their arm leaning against the car, looking Jade over. Before you were dating you would think this is them checking someone out. Now you know better. Now you know Isaac is judging her, recognizing that she is so similar to the person who turned their own life upside down.

"I honestly can't believe you two share DNA. You couldn't be more different if you tried." Isaac scoffs walking over to open the car door for you. "Your mother should have swallowed." It's quick and to the point but when Isaac says it while looking at Jade you get a sense of satisfaction seeing her gasp.

Isaac kisses you on the cheek, before closing the door behind you, As they walk past Jade to get to their side you can't make out what they say, but you know Jade didn't like it.

Isaac slides in the car, leaning their head back against the seat and groaning. They look at you, playfully nudge your chin with their fist.

"You looked like you were going to tear her a new one." Isaac laughs, rubbing the back of their neck. That couldn't possibly be a blush on their face, could it? "Listen, don't worry alright. I'm not like Chris. There is only one spot for a little dysfunctional person in my life, it belongs all to you." they tease.

You aim to knock them on the shoulder before they take your hand and lovingly kiss your knuckle. Yeah, Isaac is nothing like Chris.

[ninnseo]

One Rosehearts’ enemy is another Rosehearts’ lover

Wherein Riddle’s younger sibling is dating Floyd, who is part of Riddle’s “students to avoid” list. As a solution, you try to hide you and Floyd’s relationship from him

This is part one!!

- Look, after Riddle's overbolt, he realized that it wasn't just him who was affected by his mother's manipulation, but you were affected by it too

-During your childhood, he sort of failed to be a good big brother in order to follow his mother’s rules, but now that he’s come to his senses, he’s gonna try to make up for the lost time

-He’s trying his best your honor

-Now, I don’t think he would be those overprotective brother at first, but have you seen the NRC students?? While some of them are nice, like Kalim, some of them well…really get on his nerves (Floyd)

-While Ace is from his dorm, he’s one of the students that Riddle can’t really stand sometimes. His list of students that he doesn’t particually like just had to include your so called lover, Floyd Leech

-When you first started dating Floyd, you didn’t want your relationship to be public because you were scared of how Riddle would react

-We know that Riddle is a changed man after his overbolt, so you didn’t really worry what he would do to you, but rather what he would do to Floyd

-Floyd was upset that he couldn't act like he was dating you in public, but he respected your decisions

-He did mention it to Jade and Azul; he just forgot to mention the part where it wasn’t supposed to be known to the public

•••

Props to you for keeping your relationship a secret from Riddle for 2 weeks. No, but you made sure to keep this hidden—you told a few friends(that weren’t from Heartslabyul)about it, you kept his contact name the same, and you even timed how long you could look at Floyd during lunch before it got too obvious.

On the other hand, Floyd did everything to try to make you flustered around your brother. Two days into your relationship, he tried to hug you after basketball practice, but you moved out of the way. The next day, when you ate lunch with the Heartslabyul group, he tried putting his arm around you, but you swatted his arm away and pretended as if he was shooing a bee. It was a long week.

Today, you were both eating lunch on the bench in the school's garden. You lied, saying you were going to eat lunch with your friends, while Floyd lied about having to help Azul again.

"Ne~ Angel fish, you know that goldfish has to know eventually," Floyd says.

"Mmm... I don't think so," you pout, "you've seen how he is whenever you 'play' with him. It doesn't make it any better that he absolutely loathes you."

"So you're never going to tell him?" he asks, feeding you some of his own lunch while pouting.

You take the time while chewing to think about when the appropriate time is to tell Riddle about it.

"I'm sorry, Floyd, we could be married with kids and I still wouldn't be able to tell them."

Floyd suddenly had a big grin on his face. "Marriage and kids, huh?" and you thwacked his forehead. "In your dreams," you said, laughing.

“what in the twisted wonderland is going on in here?!”

You and Floyd turn your heads to see an annoyed Riddle approaching the two of you. At that point all you could think about is how screwed you are.

The end~ hehehe

Dw like I said earlier there’ll be a part two!

Sorry that i’ve been inactive for a LONG time, but i’ll be trying to post more! If you have any request you can say it in the comments or just dm me 😅

Anywaysss ty for reading have a nice day<3

[yuurei20]

Translation from Twisted Wonderland the 2nd novel: Meeting Jade and Floyd (pt4/4)

"Yuuya finally understands why Riddle looked so displeased when they first arrived. Riddle’s stubbornness must not mix well with Floyd’s unpredictable moods."

His objection dismissed, Riddle is becoming increasingly frustrated. Floyd, meanwhile, may be provoking him on purpose.

He appears to be enjoying himself immensely, to the point that Yuuya suspects he may be actively pursuing a quarrel.

‘Lil' Goldfish, doesn’t it tire you out, getting all mad all the time?’

‘And whose fault do you believe it to be. It seems that I should do you both the favor of teaching you some common sense.’

‘Aha, you sure talk big. But taking on a Lil' Goldfish who’s gotten all weak wouldn’t be any fun.’

‘I have become weak, you say?’

In the blink of an eye, Riddle’s face is red with rage.

‘I see. That is how I appear to you. Then I shall just have to show you how blind you are!’

‘Riddle-senpai, please, wait!’

Before Yuuya can move to mediate, Jade steps in to block his way.

'Let us leave them be, shall we? They seem to be enjoying themselves.’

Watching the pair argue, Jade looks as though he is enjoying it more than anyone. Yuuya clenches his hands into fists—the two could break into a brawl at any moment.

As Riddle raises his voice in a particularly aggressive tone, Yuuya summons the courage to shout even louder in response.

‘I’m sorry! It was a misunderstanding!’

‘Hah? Misunderstanding? What.’

Yuuya forces a smile for the suspicious Floyd, bowing his head repeatedly to the amused Jade, in an attempt to deceive them both. He tugs at Riddle’s school uniform.

‘Riddle-senpai, let’s go. We don’t have much time.’

‘…you’re right. It is a waste of our time to loiter here any longer.’

The two are quick to leave the sports field. Though Yuuya had worried that they might be stopped, neither Jade nor Floyd seem to be following in pursuit.

But he can hear eerie laughter to their backs.

‘Aw. They left already? That’s boring.’

‘Fufu. It was a nice break.’

Somehow it feels like their voices are still coming from somewhere nearby, but Yuuya cannot bring himself to look around.

When they reach the Main Street, Yuuya breathes a sigh of relief. ‘I am so glad we got out of there safe.’

‘My apologies—thank you for stopping me. I may have gotten a little heated.’

Riddle scratches his head, looking displeased.

‘Those two have baffled me since our first year. Crossing paths with them never ends well.’

‘I see.’ Yuuya nods, but he feels all the more anxious about what lies head.

Cater said that Riddle is now kinder than he was before his overblot. A pleased-looking Trey had nodded in agreement, so there must be a clear difference between Riddle as he is now and how he was then. But if how he had acted with Floyd just now is a gentler Riddle than before, exactly how violent did he used to be?

Yuuya cannot even imagine it.

‘Our investigation into Jade and Floyd ends here. Let us move on to the next target.’

With Yuuya’s fear of the delicate man before him steadily increasing, he looks down at the next person on their list."