#like he rejects the ring point blank

[rosefires20]

The one thing that gets me about the Lord of the Rings movies is how much they fail Faramir's character but manage to really show Boromir's specifically in the extended cuts.

Faramir gets so little time in the movies compared to how much he gets in the books. He is genuinely such a good character in the books and I adore him so much. He has one of the best lines in the series as well that really captures some of the larger themes of the peace.

"I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend." - Faramir in The Two Towers

He is genuinely such a kind man, and in the books, you see that through his actions but also the actions and words of everyone around him. In the books, you get Beregond and Pippin's interactions and conversations where Beregond talks about how much he admires and loves Faramir as his captain and how much he trusts him. Beregond's love and dedication is part of the reason why Denethor's plan to burn him and Faramir alive gets delayed long enough for Pippin to go and get Gandalf and return with enough time to save Faramir at least.

The movie fails so hard because they have Faramir and his group take Frodo and Sam forcefully to Osgiliath and he has a moment with the ring. In the books, before even knowing for sure that Frodo had the ring, he said he would not take it. When it is revealed, he completely denies it and aids Frodo with food and shelter for a bit. The scene of him rejecting the ring especially with the knowledge that it got to his dearly beloved brother is so good and so core to Faramir's character which drives me nuts with how it went down in the movies.

In the books, you also get most of a chapter dedicated to Eowyn and Faramir and their healing journey. There, you also get to see how kind and loving Faramir is as a person with how he respects and interacts with Eowyn. Just god. He's such a good example of the series's gentle masculinity. He parallels Aragorn a lot in it especially since Aragorn is the one who is meant to be king while Faramir had the hearts of the people.

[wosobrainiac]

Shelter

Pairing: Alessia x Leah x Pet!reader

With most of Arsenal rescuing pets, Leah and Alessia get talked into saving a traumatized pet from a shelter.

Warnings: This work includes Pet!play, and has themes of trauma and trafficking though nothing is explicitly stated. There will also be no sexual activities between the pets and the non-pets. Theres also nothing sexual in this fic. Its kinda cute if i do say so myself.

The univese is based on the Widow au universe found here

This is a side blog because I'm too nervous to post this on my actual blog. Please enjoy and let me know if you have more requests for this universe.

Alessia and Leah had never really considered getting a pet (human or otherwise) until their teammates started rescuing them. 

First was Steph and her partner, who rescued a former pleasure kitten, Bella. She was surrendered when her CEO owner upgraded to one of the newer HFeline models with upgraded sexual proclivity when he lost interest in her. 

Now she got to spend her days in a far too expensive cat tree, sunning herself and eating exotic treats from around the world. 

Next were Viv and Beth who saved an adorable pup named Lady from being a bait dog in a dog fighting ring. Caitlin and Katie soon followed with a hulking retired HK9 named Jax, who begged for scraps at every meal and was a sucker for belly rubs. Kim rescued a bunny, Peaches, from a cosmetic company and Lotte had gotten a pup of her own, Brownie, who was also a pleasurehound for a major network, rejected when he no longer drew high ratings. 

Arsenal was slowly becoming a zoo, filled with barks and purrs. Their team group chat had turned into a pet helpline filled with adorable pictures of the shenanigans 

And while Leah and Alessia had come to love the new additions to their team, the pair still had… reservations. 

Sure, the practice was widespread, and hardly considered controversial. And yes, some people willingly signed up to be pets when they turned 18. But many were surrendered due to debt, chose it over jail or were kidnapped and forced. 

It didn’t sit right with them. 

Not until they saw how their friends' pets were thriving after being treated properly. Not until they saw that they could offer the ability for pets to choose. The ability to show preference and desires and to have them honored. 

Plus, Beth and Viv had made a fair point. Rescuing a pup was different than ordering one from one of the many Labs, Tech Companies or suppliers. It meant taking someone who had been in a crappy situation and offering them a new beginning. One that would be a vast improvement. 

They could show them love, and give them dignity, something that was blatantly lacking from the pet trade. 

That’s how they ended up at a pet shelter on one of their few Saturdays days of trailing after two attendants, Kara and Lexa, as they introduced them to each pet and gave them a short description of their personalities. 

It was a nice way to do it, she thought.

It made each of the pets seem like more than just… objects. It made sure that they found the pet that fit them best. One they would click with. 

She also realized it let Kara and Lexa make sure that her and Leah would be good owners. 

Kara’s questions were subtle, asking about their jobs, the amount of time they could devote to a pet, what kind of home they lived in and what traits they valued. Lexa was more direct, point blank questioning them about what their plans were, and making sure that both of them agreed that many of the practices in both the pleasure and security sectors were despicable and not to be replicated. 

“And who is this?” Alessia asked as they moved on to the next kennel, her fingers trailing along the tall black bars that made up the space. 

Kara smiled widely, flipping the lock on the cage door and easing it open. “This is Missy,” 

She reached up to scratch behind the kitten's dark hair, as Leah followed her. 

“Hello Missy,” The blonde defender said, also reaching to pet the kitten, even as Alessia hovered by the door. 

The kitten batted at her hand, trying to catch it, earning a fond smile from the defender. “You’re a spicy one, aren’t you?”

“Missy is quite playful, and absolutely loves attention,” Kara hummed, scratching the kitten under her chin. “And cooking shows, or anything with fish on the screen really,”

“She does prefer elevated spaces,” Lexa added, gesturing toward the tower of platforms the kitten was laying on. “And will get depressed if she has to stay at ground level,” 

Alessia made a low noise, as Leah scratched gently behind the kitten’s ear, her eyes wandering down the line of kennels. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the kitten or any of the other pets they had seen, but she hadn’t felt that connection yet. 

Still, there were so many kennels left. 

It was heartbreaking how many of them were full. How many had little faces pressing against the black bars, trying to attract a potential owner? 

All except one down at the very end of the hall. 

She tilted back, trying to get a better look at what lay behind the bars, but all she could make out was a blue lump in the corner. 

She couldn’t deny the pull she felt towards the cage. 

“What about the one down there?” She asked, already stepping towards the dark metal bars at the very end of the hallway. 

A pained look crossed Kara’s face as she followed Alessia’s gaze. “She’s one of our newer arrivals,”

“Why is she all alone?” Alessia asked as they passed empty kennels on either side of the ones leading up to the one at the end of the hallway. 

“She’s having a hard time adjusting,” Kara explained, as Lexa walked in front of them. Leah trailed after them, looking much less enthusiastic. 

The tattooed handler grimaced as they got closer to the cage. “Given her circumstances, she might not be the best fit for first-time owners,”

Leah silently agreed based on the giant orange sign taped to the black bars of your area that read: 

Possibly aggressive

Two handlers are required during feeding 

“Less, what about Missy? We don’t want-” Leah suggested, catching the forward's arm. Alessia glared over her shoulder, effectively killing any further protests on her tongue. 

“The sign is just precautionary,” Kara said as they got closer, pausing at the door of the kennel. “She hasn’t been very interactive since she arrived, and we don’t have a good idea of her temperament yet,”

 “And she hasn’t seemed interested in food, or treats, so we require two handlers in case there’s a trigger there we don’t know about yet,” Lexa continued, unhooking her keys from her waistband and with a jingle. 

You pressed yourself into the far corner of the kennel at the sound, curling into a tight ball against the white bricks, and hiding your face from the group under a small blue blanket. 

Alessia couldn’t stop the coo that left her lips at the sight of your nose just barely peeking out from underneath the small blanket. 

“What’s her name?” She asked, shifting closer to the now open door, keeping her voice very soft. 

“We don’t know. Her previous owner only identified her by a number, and she hasn’t responded to any that we’ve tried,” Kara explained, her voice going very soft. “The only thing she’s liked since she got here is the blanket,”

As if you understood that they were talking about the thin fabric covering you, your fingers wound tightly on the edge like you thought they would take it away. 

All the movement did was shift the blanket to reveal more of your skin, littered with thick lines and yellowing bruises. 

“We suspect she was training to be a fighting dog and failed during one of the final checks,” Kara explained softly at their collective intake of breath. “She was in rough shape when they brought her in,”

Leah made a low noise of agreement, her eyes trailing the thick line of gauze that peeked out from the small flannel blanket you had tucked around yourself. It spanned from your too-skinny side, across your ribs, and to your back, where Leah was sure she could count each of your vertebrae.

It made her sick that someone could do this to another creature. “Final checks?”

“They put them with a bait dog to test their prey drive,” Lexa explained, easing the door to your cage open. You made no move to greet them. “From their records and the amount of titanium modifications they made, they thought she would be very… lethal,”

Leah made a low sound in the back of her throat. 

She knew about… modifications that people made to pets. The inhumane surgeries were considered upgrades. 

It made her sick that not only had you been physically abused, but you had also been surgically altered for someone else’s purposes. 

“Viv and Beth’s pup was a bait dog. She's such a tiny thing,” She murmured, thinking of how your scars mirrored those Lady bore. 

“They’re purposefully kept weak so the fighting dogs can beat them and gain confidence,” Kara said, stepping just inside the kennel and to the side so they had a clear view of you. 

Leah’s nose scrunched, thinking about how sweet and tiny Lady was, always rubbing up against legs and asking for pets and scritches. “Nasty stuff,”

“Indeed,” Kara agreed, crouching and leaning against the bars. You just curled tighter into yourself, shifting the blanket to cover more of your back. It slipped higher, revealing the thick scars on your legs just above your ankles. 

The place where your tendons had been cut to prevent you from standing on 2 legs. 

Alessia frowned, crouching next to Kara in the kennel entrance. “But she didn’t pass?”

“No. Their notes said her prey drive was too low, and unfortunately, that’s all the information we have besides the condition she was in when their compound was raided,” Lexa sighed, rubbing her forehead. “It appears that they were trying to enhance her hunting instincts with bearings and starvation,” 

Alessia hummed, stepping into the cage beside Kara and squatting so she didn’t intimidate you. 

“Hey pretty girl,” She said gently. 

You peeked up at her, blinking slowly, most of your face still hidden, meeting her blue eyes. She could see the terror in them, masked only by the deepest sense of anguish. 

She made a cooing sound. “It must be scary in here, huh?” 

A low whimper left your lips, and you shifted towards the door, and Alessia, dragging the blanket with you. 

The three women behind Alessia froze, and Lexa and Kara shared a look. 

“I think that’s the most I’ve ever seen her move,” Kara murmured, reaching into the fanny pack around her waist and pulling a small slice of sausage out. At the same time, Lexa put one hand on the spray at her hip, and gestured for Leah to get low like Alessia and Kara were with the other. 

They didn’t think you would snap, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

She followed Lexa’s instructions, kneeling and placing a gentle hand on Alessia’s shoulder. 

“Try this,” The blonde kennel attendant kept her voice low as she passed the piece to Alessia, neither of their eyes leaving your timid form. “We haven’t had much luck getting her to eat, but maybe you can,” 

She held the sausage out to you with a flat palm, and all four women held their breath as you scooted forward, and stopped, watching them with wide, terrified eyes. 

“It’s ok, sweet one,” Alessia said, her voice soft, reassuring. “You can take it,” 

You glanced from the treat to Alessia’s face and back, your nostrils going wide as you sniffed in the new scents, sliding just a bit closer to them. 

You didn’t reach for the treat, instead you ducked your head and very gently raised it to touch the back of Alessia’s hand. 

She moved slowly, taking the treat with her free hand and flipping her palm over to gently scratch your head. 

You practically melted, pressing more of your head into her hand. Her nails ran over your scalp, and a sound that was cross between a purr and a growl fell from your lips. 

Leah couldn’t hold in her little awe.

“She’s adorable,” She mumbled, inching towards you and extending a hand to join Alessia’s. She picked a spot just behind your ear, gently stroking the place where your skin and hair met. 

You paused as you registered the new sensation, your body contorting like it didn’t know if it wanted to lean in closer or pull away. 

“It’s ok. It’s just Leah. She won’t hurt you,” Alessia murmured, though she could tell you didn’t quite believe her. 

She gently nudged Leah with her free arm, a silent order to say something that wouldn’t break the tenuous truce you had developed. 

“You’re ok,” Leah murmured, gently scratching behind your ear. “Less is right, you are quite cute,”

You made a groaning sound in the back of your throat that was a mix between a grumble and a purr. 

It pulled a smile from her lips. “You don’t like being called cute?”

You made the grumbling sound again, shrugging to displace Leah’s hand behind your ear. 

The defender chuckled. “I see how it is,” 

Alessia dragged her nails more deeply against your scalp, turning your grumble purr into a straight up purr, a wide smile pulled across her lips. “I want her,”

Leah hummed in agreement. 

You were clearly attached to Alessia, and she trusted that - despite the large orange sign on your door- that you wouldn’t hurt the forward. 

You were just scared and hurt, and you deserved a chance. 

“Kara can get you set up in a room so we can fill out some paperwork and go over some of our suggestions, and I’ll get this one set up with a nice new collar and a muzzle,” Lexa said, pushing herself to her feet. 

You flinched at the movement, causing the blanket to fall from your back. 

“Shh pretty girl,” Alessia soothed you gently. “You’re ok,” 

Leah frowned, gesturing towards where you were practically melting at Alessia’s touch. “Why does she need a muzzle? She hasn’t been aggressive,”

A pained expression crossed Kara’s features as she also pushed herself to her feet, more slowly than Lexa had. “The muzzle is just precautionary. We’ve had her isolated since she’s been here, and we don’t want an incident if she gets overwhelmed,” 

Leah sighed, she had to agree. 

The last thing she wanted was for you to lash out because you got frightened. 

“I don’t want to leave her,” Alessia murmured, and you nuzzled deeper into her hand. 

She took that as you saying you didn’t want her to leave either, but she knew she had to. 

“They’ll only be a few minutes,” Kara promised. 

“And I’ll take good care of your pretty girl,” Lexa added, smiling genuinely at them. 

Alessia’s fingers dragged through your hair one more time, as she released a long breath. 

“I’ll see you in a few minutes alright?” She said, giving your one last scratch before she pulled away.

You pouted as she stood, making a low, upset sound.

“I know,” She repeated. “Just a few minutes, and you get to come home with me and Lee,” 

You huffed, turning away from them, grabbing your blanket between your teeth and heading for your little corner.  

Alessia frowned, but didn’t stop you. 

She knew it would take a lot to earn your trust. 

“It’ll be alright,” Lexa said as she closed the door of the kennel. “We’ll come find you guys as soon as I got her all set up,”

OoOoOoO

“She’s had all of her shots, and her medical paperwork is in the file. The first issue we should discuss is her temperament,” Kara began, sliding a stack of papers across the table for them to read, pointing to the first page that listed dietary suggestions. “I would suggest hand feeding. It’ll help her learn to trust you,” 

“You said she hasn’t been interested in food,” Leah said, looking down at the page. 

Next to likes and dislikes almost nothing was checked. There were no notes. 

All except a little star next to the line that read Peanutbutter. 

“No,” Kara agreed quickly. “But that could all be down to stress. Variety will be your best friend in the beginning. Stick with finding foods she’ll enjoy first, and then we can worry about meeting her required macros later,”

Alessia nodded, her mind already working through the foods they had in the cabinet and the ones they would need to buy. 

The Arsenal meal team had done well to provide the growing zoo within the team with foods that fit their preferences. If they could grill Jax a T-bone steak for lunch every day, then surely they could grill whatever food you latched on to. 

It would just be at home they would need to worry about. 

“I’m also going to suggest obedience classes,” Kara continued, flipping the packet of papers to show them a flier. “We offer one three times a week that I think would help both of you and your new pup,” 

“This is the one Lotte takes Brownie to,” Alessia noted, taking the flier. 

Leah hummed. “Beth and Viv took Lady last week too,”

“Friends in class are good,” Kara nodded. “It will help her to be around the same pets, and she should feel more comfortable,” 

Alessia and Leah shared a look. 

Making you comfortable was their number one priority. 

“We’ll be there,” Alessia said, only looking away from her girlfriend when a light knock sounded G the door, and it slowly swung open. 

Lexa peeked her head in, before she looked behind her. “Alessia and Leah are in here, don’t you want to say hello?”

They waited another long second, before your face very hesitantly appeared beside Lexa’s leg in the doorway. 

“Hey pretty girl, you’re ok,” Alessia said, breaking into a smile. 

You perked up considerably at her voice, looking up at Lexa as though you were asking for permission to actually enter the room. 

“Go ahead,” Lexa smiled down at you, reaching down to unclip the leash from your collar. “I think they’re excited to see you too,”

You waited a long second before you eased your way into the room, your blue blanket tied around your collar so it fell around your back like a cape. 

“Come here sweetheart,” Alessia cooed, drawing your wary eyes away from Lexa and Kara towards her and Leah. 

It took you another long second to make your way over to her, gently nudging her leg with your head. 

She reached down to scratch the sensitive spot just behind your ear, over where the straps of the leather muzzle landed. 

“Are you sure she needs that?” Leah asked, watching you carefully paw the material that covered your mouth. 

“It’s just precautionary,” Lexa repeated, taking the seat beside Kara. “She’s not aggressive, but fear can provoke a reaction bite. I would suggest she wear it when you’re going to be around people and other pets, just until she’s socialized and loses that fear response,” 

Leah and Alessia shared a hum, though Alessia didn’t look thrilled with the suggestion. 

They understood, yes, but it felt… dehumanizing. You were a person after all, despite what you had been conditioned to believe. 

At the same time, they both knew they couldn’t risk you biting someone, even out of fear. 

“We just need a name for her to complete the paperwork,”  Kara said, flipping the packet to the last page. “You can use pretty girl if you like,”

Leah and Alessia shared another look. 

While pretty girl was a nice nickname for you, they had something different in mind for your actual name. 

“Let’s go with Y/n,” Leah said, looking back towards Kara and Lexa. 

You hummed contentedly at the name, leaning into Alessia’s fingers. 

“I think she likes that name,” Alessia cooed, digger her nails under the straps of the muzzle, making sure none of your hair tangled in it. 

You made another sound of contentment as Kara finished filling out the papers and slid them to Leah and Alessia. 

“Just sign on the dotted line, and she’s all yours,” 

It only took them a second to scrawl their signatures on the indicated lines, and then Alex’s was passing them your leash. 

“Enjoy your new super pup,” Lexa said, winking at you. “And treat her well,”

“We will,” Leah promised. 

They would take care of you, and fix the damage that had been done if it was the last thing they ever did. 

OoOoOoO

Getting you back to their apartment had been… interesting. 

You had not been thrilled about the chest harness they strapped you into, but you hadn’t minded the car ride, even enjoying it when Alessia opened the back window for you. 

It was fine until they pulled up alongside a car that also had a pup in the back. You had pulled away from the window immediately, nearly jumping into the boot of Leah’s jeep before he started barking.

By the time the light changed and Leah eased the car forward, you were shaking like a leaf. It struck both of them as slightly off considering you had been trained to be a fighting dog. 

You had been very hesitant as they got you out of the car, your eyes swiveling around as they led you into their apartment and showed you around. 

Since then you had been curled up on the soft pet bed they had stationed in the living room, not even letting them close enough to you to remove the muzzle. 

They knew it would take time for you to settle. Their friends had all warned them of that already, so they let you be, flipping through channels until they got to a shark documentary that seemed to catch your attention. 

Alessia was thankful that the kitchen was connected to the living room so she didn’t have to leave you as she made dinner. Not that she didn’t trust Leah to watch you, but she didn’t want you to think she had disappeared. 

The first step to building trust was to show you that they were there, and you were safe. 

She stuck with simple foods, chicken and rice, partially because Leah didn’t like anything remotely adventurous and partially because she didn’t know what you would enjoy. 

She and Leah ate first, sharing worried looks when you didn’t even patter over at the smell of food.

After their meal was cleaned up, they turned their attention to you. 

They started by sitting on the floor in front of their couch, a good distance from your pet bed, with your food bowl. 

“Hey pretty girl, are you hungry?” Alessia asked gently, holding the bowl out for you to sniff. “If you come a little closer I can take your muzzle off and you can eat,”

You didn’t lift your head off of hand, or make any move to approach them. 

Your nostrils didn’t even flare out to smell the bowl. 

It sent red flags spinning in their brains. 

They shared a look before Alessia passed the bowl to Leah and scooted closer to you, to the edge of your bed. “Ok pretty girl, will you let me take the muzzle off?”

Your eyes flickered away from shark show and towards the blonde briefly, before your head tilted minutely. 

She took that as the ok to reach for the buckle on the leather contraption attached to your face, carefully easing it open and sliding it off of your head. 

You yawned wide as soon as it was removed, scrunching your nose adorably. 

Alessia passed the leather contraption she never intended to use again back to Leah, and the defender passed her the bowl. 

She reached into the bowl and pulled out a piece of chicken, carefully holding it out to you with a flat palm. “Eat for me, pretty girl,”

You huffed. 

“Please,” Alessia said, her voice edging on pleading as she offered you the piece again. 

You sighed, clearly unhappy, but you leaned forward and took the piece of chicken from her gently, chewing and swallowing. 

“Good girl, Y/n,” The forward hummed, reaching into the bowl and pulling out another piece. 

You let her feed you a few more bites before you buried your face in your bed, clearly signaling that you were finished with your meal. 

Alessia sighed again, looking back at Leah who could only shrug. 

She turned back to you and slowly extended her hand, scratching behind your ear. “You can be done,”

You made a groaning noise that sounded like relief. 

Leah snorted, pushing herself to her feet and grabbing the half-filled bowl of food from Alessia. “I don’t think I ever per a pet who was happy dinner was over,”

“Y/n is one of a kind,” Alessia agreed, her nails dragging pleasantly against your scalp. 

OoOoOoO

Bedtime was relatively easy. 

Alessia and Leah went about their normal routines, only adding brushing your teeth and showing you where there was a second bed for you at the base of their bed. 

This one had a fluffy red blanket and a stuffed dragon. 

You had been… hesitant at first to get into it, looking at the door for the blue bed that existed in the living room. 

You chose to sit just in front of it, curling in a little ball that didn’t look comfortable, and draping your favorite blue blanket around you. (Alessia longed to fix it since it was bunched and only covered half of your body). 

Again, Leah and Alessia let you be. 

Lights were turned off as a stupid show played on the television as all three of you wound down, and before you knew it, a silence had settled over the room. It was broken only by the sounds of breathing and the occasional shift on the bed.

It was… uncomfortable. 

You weren’t used to it being so… quiet. 

You were used to the sounds of barks, and chain link shifting lulling you to sleep. You were used to a corner you could curl up in. 

You weren’t used to a bed, and you wanted to lay in it but you were sure it was a… trap. 

Just like you had thought the chicken Alessia tried to feed you was a trap. 

It had always been a trap before. 

You huffed, shifting next to the pet bed. 

Maybe if you slept in it, but woke up before the two women who had adopted you, you would be safe. 

It was soft, and you would be warm. 

You shifted again, freezing at the sound of someone moving from on the bed permeated the room. 

You had woken them up, and now the other shoe would finally fall. 

You curled tighter into yourself and waited for the pain that never came. 

Instead, there were only soft footsteps. 

“Trouble sleeping?” 

Your eyes blinked open at Leah’s soft question, meeting her blue eyes in the low light of the television. 

You nodded hesitantly. 

“Me neither,” Leah agreed. “Let’s go get a midnight snack,”

You padded after the defender as she headed towards the kitchen, stopping by the island near the stove as she headed for the cabinet by the fridge. 

She grabbed a brown jar with a teal lid, setting it on the counter before rummaging around in the drawer below. 

“Ah ha,” She cheered, holding up a spoon victoriously, grabbing the Jar, and turning to face you. 

Your head tilted to the side at the object. 

“I think you’ll like this,” She said, unscrewing the top and dipping in the spoon. 

When she pulled it out, the most delicious-smelling substance you had ever encountered coated it. 

You watched with rapt attention as the spoon disappeared into her mouth and came out clean.

Your mouth watered. 

“Peanut butter?” Leah asked, tilting the jar your way. 

Your head tilted, and you just barely leaned forward on your knuckles as your nose flared, trying to catch more of the scent. 

Leah’s lips tilted up at how adorable you looked, as she dipped the spoon back in the jar and then held it out for you. It was just out of your reach, closer to her than you had ventured yet. 

You had an immediate connection with Alessia but were still incredibly wary of her for some reason, she tried not to let it bother her.

You were hesitant to take the step forward. 

But it smelled so good. 

Your tummy rumbled, and your tongue darted across your lips. 

Leah stayed perfectly still, watching you with bated breath. She knew this was the only way to build trust with you. To show you that they wouldn’t hurt you. 

You very slowly took a step, tilting your head towards the offered treat, your eyes moving rapidly between her and the spoon. 

Your tongue carefully made its way between your lips and licked the spoon. 

Your eyes went very wide at the taste, and you quickly leaned closer to take the spoon into your mouth. 

“Good right?” Leah asked with a chuckle as the spoon came out of your mouth, completely free of peanut butter. 

You woofed softly, using your nose to nudge the now empty spoon back towards Leah, eyeing the jar on the counter.

She followed your eyes, shaking her head. “How about we try something else?” 

Alessia would kill her if she found out all you had eaten was Peanut Butter when you hadn’t been interested at all in dinner. She would point out that you needed carbs and protein to help you get to a healthy weight while being healthy. Neither of them liked how… skeletal you were, and any food was good really, but so was balance to give you the most sustainable energy they could. 

Leah searched the counter, looking for something to pair with the only food you seemed to like. 

“What about some banana?” She asked, grabbing for the fruit. 

She opened it and broke off a piece, offering it to you. 

You leaned forward to sniff it and pulled back in disgust. 

“What about if we add some Peanut butter?” She asked, digging the spoon back into the peanut butter and sticking the pale yellow slice on top. 

You stared at her skeptically, sure that the fruit would ruin the delicious brown treat underneath. 

“It’s good, trust me,” Leah promised when your eyes flickered back up to her. 

You huffed, scrunching your nose up at it, and then flinching away when you realized what you had done. 

“No pretty girl, you’re ok,” Leah said, dropping her voice and immediately sinking down so she was on the same level as you. She didn’t want to frighten you. “You’re allowed to not like things,” 

You curled into yourself, tucking your body as close as you could to the island. 

Leah wondered idly if Alessia would have elicited the same reaction from you. You seemed to trust the forward more for whatever reason. 

She gently pulled the banana bit off of the spoon, popping it into her mouth and offering the peanut butter to you once again. 

You sniffed, barely peeking out at her. 

She understood now why peanut butter was the only food on your list at the shelter. 

It was the only thing besides Alessia (and maybe your blue blanket) that you would risk coming out of your shell for. 

“You can have it,” Leah assured you, keeping her voice soothing and calm, ignoring the soft sound of padding feet coming down the hallway from their bedroom. “You’re ok,” 

You sniffed again, wishing you had brought your blanket with you on this excursion. Bad things always happened when you forgot it. 

You wanted to trust Leah, and the peanut butter did smell amazing. 

Very slowly, you leaned forward towards the spoon, making eye contact with Leah before you took it back into your mouth. 

She kept still as you licked it clean with a satisfied sigh, and pulled away. 

“Let’s go to bed,” She said, slowly pushing herself to stand, placing the spoon in the sink to be dealt with in the morning, and putting the jar of Skippy back into the cabinet. 

You woofed again softly, padding after her once she was done. 

Maybe things would be good here.

[mountttmase]

Damage Is Done

Note - a bit of Sunday evening pain for you all inspired by this TikTok. I really hope you enjoy this and I would really appreciate some feedback as I need some motivation 😭. Thank you my loves 🩷

Pairing - Mason Mount × Reader

Word count - 10K

Warnings - Angst and fluff

Here we go

Never had those words had so much meaning before. You felt sick to your stomach as soon as you’d seen them and the waves of uneasiness were rolling through you until you felt suffocated.

You knew it was a possibility but you also knew it wasn’t 100% what your boyfriend of 10 months wanted so you were holding out hope things would change. After every rejected offer a little bit of hope filled your heart that he would be sticking around but this had hit you like a truck as you knew what it meant for the pair of you.

Stupidly enough, you and Mason hadn’t spoken about the possible move. You wanted to be his safe place and whilst you knew what was going on, you kept that topic at the back of your minds but as the months had passed you were wondering if he was keeping you away on purpose. Maybe if once his life changed that meant you no longer were a part of it and the thought was eating you up inside.

There wasn’t much to do but you made sure to tidy the place up a little as a distraction. You knew this was about to be a hard conversation and before you had time to even think about it anymore your buzzer was ringing.

You opened the entrance for him without a word before going to open your door and he was rounding the corner into view. You couldn’t tell what expression he was wearing and you were hoping yours was neutral and when he wrapped you up in his arms on your doorstep and you held onto him as tightly as you could.

You both didn’t move for a while, just held each other and you could feel him relaxing in your arms as your eyes filled with tears. He smelt more like Mason than he ever had and you breathed in his delicious scent before he pulled back slightly so he could drop a kiss on your forehead.

It was clear to see how much lighter he looked, the dark clouds that had been following him around for the last few months had finally made way for the sunshine and you could see the relief sparking in his warm eyes.

‘I take it you’ve seen it’ he whispered, rubbing up and down your back soothingly as you nodded whilst trying to keep your face blank.

‘Let’s go sit’ you whispered, nodding over to your sofa and you let him wonder over so you could shut the door before joining him. He sat down with a thump, his hoodie thrown on the arm of the chair next to him before he opened his arms for you. You knew it wasn’t a good idea but you let yourself melt into him, tucking yourself into his body as you held each other again but his thumb that was slowly stroking across your cheek made you look up at him.

You let him kiss you, gripping onto his shoulders for dear life, trying to memorise the feel of his lips against yours as you weren’t sure how things were about to play out. You wanted the feel of them tattooed on your brain as he softly brushed his tongue against yours but the playful bite of your bottom lip made you smile. It didn’t feel like a goodbye kiss but in your mind all the signs seemed to be pointing that way.

‘How are you feeling?’ You asked him a few moments after, trying to change the subject as your hands rested on his chest whilst his circled around your waist and you could tell even though he was happy he was still a little conflicted

‘I’m not sure, a mix of stuff really. Exhausted but relived. Sad things are over but excited to start over somewhere new. What about you?’

You didn’t know how to answer, burying your head into his neck as he just held you. His words confused you as you weren’t sure why he wanted you to know he was excited to start over without you.

‘It’s okay bubs. You don’t have to worry about anything’ he whispered, kissing your temple lightly. ‘I know it’s a lot and I don’t expect you to drop everything just for me’

There it was, the moment you’d been waiting for. Mason confining had had no intentions of taking you with him or even asking you what you wanted. he was quite happy for you to stay here and be without him. It stung to hear the words finally coming from him though and you gulped down the upset feeling rising in your tummy at that fact he’d made his mind up for the both of you.

‘I should of known this was coming’ you laughed, pulling away from him

‘Wait what?’ He whispered, his brows furrowing as he cocked his head to the side. ‘What’s going on?’

‘I take it you only came to get your stuff? There’s no need for a big goodbye you can just go’ you told him, wanting him out so you could be in your own.

‘What the fuck are you talking about?’

‘You’re leaving, so go’

‘Why are you being like this? I thought-‘

‘Whatever you thought, you thought wrong. You haven’t spoken to me at all about this whole thing and now you’re just moving on. It’s fine I saw it coming a mile off’ you told him, standing up as you knew you were getting angry and upset. You knew you were being a little unreasonable but the fact he hadn’t involved you in any of his transfer or move hurt and you didn’t want to hear him out.

You’d been his distraction throughout all these hard months, but now you were wondering if that’s all you were to him. Now he was through it he was off to start his new life without you and it stung more than you ever thought it could.

‘I can’t believe you. After everything we’ve been through your just gonna chuck me out like this. Without even talking about it?’

‘What’s to talk about? You’ve made your mind up. You wanna leave so leave’

‘I don’t have a choice’ he shouted, standing up to face you but you refused to back down. You didn’t have a reply, unsure as to why he was so upset as he’d said himself he didn’t expect you to follow him so you continued watching him, wondering if you’d get anymore sense out but the small shake of his head made you realise you wouldn’t.

‘I’m going’ he suddenly snapped, walking towards the door without a second look back at you, flinching as you heard the door slam behind him.

This wasn’t how you were expecting things to go, unsure as to why Mason so upset as he’d gotten what he wanted but his reaction had left you feeling a little uneasy so you sat yourself back down in your sofa to take some breaths and clear your mind.

To say Mason was confused would be an understatement.

He’d arrived at your house for the comfort only you could give him but you’d been cold and dismissive as soon as he’d bought the move up and he couldn’t figure out why.

He was ready to reassure you that the pair of you would be fine. That he knew you couldn’t leave right away but he’d make sure the pair of you were looked after and he’d have things ready for you when you could join him but he hadn’t got the chance to tell you. You were too quick to jump in and blame him for something he wasn’t quite sure of right this second.

He didn’t waste any time getting out of the car park though and racing back home, his mind replaying the conversation to try and figure out what had changed. Had he missed something? Did he say something unintentionally? The last few weeks had been a blur and he’d only felt his mind stop racing when he was in your arms so the interaction you’d just had confused the hell out of him.

Thankfully Woody was the only one at his house when he got there, the rest of his family still on the way up, but Woody knew something was wrong immediately.

‘I think she’s just ended things with me, mate’ Mason told him, recounting the whole conversation as Woody listened and tried to see things from your side but he was just as confused as Mason was.

‘Maybe have a day to cool down and message her tomorrow or something?’ He reasoned and mason agreed. Hoping tomorrow he could clear the air slightly and maybe get to the bottom of everything.

The next morning after a fairly awful nights sleep he got to crafting a message for you. He was still hurt and angry and also feeling a little petty about the whole thing so against his better judgment he said somethings he didn’t mean. Hoping to grab your attention and make you want to talk things through but as soon as he hit sent he wondered if he should consulted Woody first.

You were just putting your washing up away when you felt your phone vibrate in your pocket, fishing it out to reveal Masons name and your heart thudded in your chest at what me might have to say to you. Hoping it would be an apology but you weren’t prepared for what was written.

Was he joking?

You couldn’t even think of a reply, anger filling your mind at how he was making himself out to be the victim, saying his love wasn’t enough for you and to have a nice life. You were still furious with him for leaving you here so you replied in the most childish way you knew before switching your phone off.

Was she joking?

‘Woody, remind me to never take your advice again’

‘What you on about’ he laughed, catching Masons phone that he threw at him so he could read over the message.

‘Not the thumbs up. Damn, that girls cold’

‘That’s one fucking word for it’

‘Look at it this way, at least you know what she’s like now yeah?’

‘Well it’s a bit late now, I wished you would of warned me what she was like before you introduced me to her’ he huffed.

‘She’s never been like this before I swear’

‘I can’t believe I wanted her to move away with me’ Mason mumbled, taking his phone back so he could quickly block your number before throwing it to to the side of him.

This was so unlike you, so unlike what he thought you were and it had him looking back over your whole relationship to try and figure out if he’s missed something in your personality or been blinded by love to overlook all your awful qualities but he couldn’t think of anything. He knew you inside out and this wasn’t you.

You were always so warm and caring, one look from you always made his whole day better and it was breaking his heart that everything seemed to be tainted. His heart felt heavy in his chest as he tried to hold his emotions in and for the most part he had but the realisation that the person he’d placed all his bets on wasn’t who he thought they were made his eyes fill with tears so he face planted the sofa in hopes Woody wouldn’t notice.

The next night he wondered if he’d been too hasty, quickly unblocking your number so if you wanted to reach out to him you could but it seemed as though there was no need for it.

Two months passed and he didn’t hear from you.

He’d settled in up north pretty quickly, moving into a new house after he’d made it back from pre season tour and whilst he tried to make it into a home, it didn’t feel that way without you in it. He felt like a stranger rattling around in a huge house with no one to share it with but you were still silent on your end and he didn’t have the heart to reach out to try and speak to you to be shot down again.

He had no idea you were craving the same thing as he was though. You just wanted to speak to him but you were hurt at the way he’d moved on so quickly and your pride was keeping you away from him.

You couldn’t help but look out for him and how he was doing now, the bright smile on his face breaking your heart as he seemed so much happier without you and even though you were angry with him for not including you in his new life, you were yearning to be back in his presence. The hoodie he left the night you sent him away a constant reminder of what you once had and even though you’d hidden it away in the beginning, you found yourself wearing it more often than not in hopes you could feel close to him and hopefully it would heal your broken heart.

Nothing worked though, even popping to the local cafe where you and Mason would get breakfast as often as you could made you feel awful. You sat in the booth you always liked to go in to make yourself feel a bit closer to him but you just felt sad and even more alone. You were so stuck in a daze though you didn’t feel anyone come up and stand in front of you until they let out a little cough to snap you out of your trance.

‘Woody? What are you doing here?’

‘Could ask you the same question’ he replied, sitting himself opposite you. ‘You’ve been avoiding me’

‘Is that a question or a statement?’

‘It’s a fact’

He was right, you had been avoiding him. You’d known Woody for a few years and he’d introduced to you Mason in the first place but you didn’t have the heart to see him right now. He’d been your biggest supporter and you felt like you’d let him down with the way everything had ended. You knew he’d tried reaching out a few times but you didn’t have the energy or heart speak to him as he was too close to Mason.

‘I probably shouldn’t say this, but you were cold as fuck with that whole thumbs up thing’ he laughed and you felt your face heat up as he recounted the last bit of contact you and Mason had. ‘Like it was shit of you but I was impressed’

‘Shit of me? He’s the one that wanted to start a new life without me, it’s not like I’m gonna be polite to him after that am I?’

‘What are you on about?’ He asked, brows furrowed as he looked at you like you were speaking another language but you were tired of Woody thinking you were the bad guy.

‘Dont play dumb Woody. He had the whole move figured out and I was never a part of it, he basically said so himself’

‘What did he say exactly?’

‘That he doesn’t expect me to go with him. That he’s fine with me staying here’ you told him, watching his face fall into his hands before looking up at you with a bewildered expression.

‘You really are stupid sometimes you know that?’

‘What the hell? I know you’ve known him longer but I thought you’d at least sympathise with me’

‘Not when you’ve got the complete wrong end of the stick you doughnut. Sure, he didn’t expect you to drop your whole life and move with him then and there but when you were ready to join him he was making sure you’d have everything you need’

‘What?’

‘He didn’t want you to worry about any of that stuff, he was taking care of it so he could make sure you weren’t stressed. He knew moving would be a big deal for but he wanted you there with him so that’s why tried to take it on himself. When they were asking what sort of things he needed for his new place he said the only two things would be somewhere with an office so that when you came up after you’d sorted yourself out you’d have a place to work and somewhere close to the station so you could get to the office on the days you needed to’

‘But he never said that’ you whispered, a sinking feeling rushing through you that maybe you’d jumped the gun too quick, your bottom lip wobbling seemingly on its own and you thought back to that last conversation with him.

‘He never said it or you never gave him a chance to?’ He questioned and your body felt cold. ‘I know he probably wasn’t very forthcoming with it but I think he liked that he could forget all that stuff around you. You were like his little safe island where none of that mattered and I think he just presumed you’d go with him’

‘Oh god’ you breathed, reality now hitting you that you’d messed up ‘oh fuck no’ you whispered, grabbing your phone and heading straight to his number so you could call him but it didn’t even ring or give you the chance to leave a message. ‘He’s blocked me’

‘Can you blame him? You kinda went in on him a bit’ he smiled before reaching for your forearm. ‘Look, I’ll try and speak to him yeah? Let him know you got confused’

‘No it doesn’t matter’ you told him, shaking your head. ‘Damage is done now. I uh, I need to head off’ you told him, scrambling up from your seat but he was quick to get up too and pull you into a hug. You managed to hold it together with him but as soon as you were home you broke down.

You felt awful, this whole thing could of been fixed if you would if you would of just listened to him for a little longer but you didn’t let him and blew everything you had into pieces.

Woodys words were playing on your mind and had been for a whole week. Looking back, you now understood why he was he was so angry with you that night, you didn’t give him a chance to say his piece and made your mind up for yourself that he didn’t want you there. The dust had settled but there was no way of talking to him and no way resolution right now but all you could think about what what you would say to him if you got the chance.

It was Friday, you’d just got in from work and you felt like curling up into a ball and crying. Nothing had gone right all day and you were craving one of those hug only Mason could give you.

He was always so warm and welcoming, his hugs like no one else’s as they seemed to warm you from the inside and it’s like you could still feel him wrapped around you as you thought about him. Everything about him was perfect and you’d let him slip through your fingers with no real way of getting in contact with him as your number was blocked. All you could think about was him and holding him to the point where you couldn’t take it anymore.

It was like something inside you snapped. You were in your room in a flash to quickly pull a bag of clothes together before making your way to the train station. You didn’t think about any of it, just booked yourself a ticket and got on a train. The only thought in your head was going to find Mason so you could apologise and make him see sense but you were 20 minutes in when you realised you had no idea where he lived or where he’d be.

You tried calling Woody but he didn’t answer, feeling hopeless that you’d dropped a load of money on a train ticket and a last minute hotel room for nothing when the perfect person sprung to mind.

To say Luke was surprised to hear from you would be an understatement, you’d met him a couple of times at games or when Mason played for England and he was initially a bit cautious but once you turned the waterworks on you felt his resolve crumble. He let you know there was a big party they were all going to tonight for a mutual friends birthday and to text him when you were there so he could come and get you and you couldn’t be more thankful. A sick, excited feeling in the pit of your tummy as you knew you’d finally be able to see him.

By the time you’d made it to your hotel and make yourself look semi presentable it was around 11pm and it was another half hour from there so you were hoping Mason was still in a relatively sensible state but you’d take him however he came at this point. You just needed to see him.

‘Where are you going?’ Mason called, watching Luke try to slip through the crowds but he held up his phone as if he was telling him he was off to take a call.

‘I won’t be long yeah? Just stay there’ like called before he was quickly out of sight. Where is he expecting me to go? He thought, eyes flittering around the group he was in and even though he was happy to be there, the sadness in his tummy was still dragging him down and times like this made it even worse.

‘Mason?’ he suddenly heard a voice say to his left and his head snapped round to meet it. Eyes lighting up at the sight in front of him as he held his arms out for the much smaller frame to fit into with a huge smile on his face.

As promised, Luke came and met you by the door and after a big hug of reassurance he lead you over to hopefully where Mason would be.

‘Mason’ you heard Luke call over the music, fighting your way through the bodies at the perimeter of the table until your eyes landed directly on his. You wished you could of looked away though as the sight in front of you made you feel sick.

There he stood, his arm around another girls waist as her lips trialed across his jaw. The smile on his face was the one that was usually reserved for you but you watched it drop at the sight of you and it was like you could feel your heart shatter in your chest.

‘What is she doing here?’ Mason growled, body swaying as he’d had more than enough to drink. His anger was directed towards Luke for now but his furious eyes were on you before he had a chance to reply. ‘I don’t fucking want you here’

You couldn’t handle another second even though you’d just got there but you were hurt and embarrassed enough so you turned on your heel and headed out the way you came. You could hear Luke’s voice booming over the music but you didn’t listen to what he was saying, just trying to get out as quickly as you could and as the cold air hit you, you felt your eyes finally start to sting.

You didn’t know what to do or where to go but you fished your phone out of your bag so you could call yourself a taxi through your tears whilst walking down the side of the building to get out of everyone’s way.

The sound of a door slamming behind you made you jump, looking round to see the last person you thought would of followed you out but Mason was looking back at you. Eyes hard and jaw set and he made his way over but he stopped before he got too close.

‘Why are you here, y/n?’

‘I don’t know’

‘Don’t give me that bullshit’ he snarled, his words slightly slurred as he balled his hands into fists. ‘Tell me why you’re here’

‘You blocked me and-‘

‘Are you joking?’ He laughed but you knew there was no humour in it. ‘Why the hell would I want to talk to you?’

‘Mase I-‘

‘Do you not remember the last bit of contact we had? I tried reaching out to leave things on good terms even though you’d been completely unreasonable and you send me fucking thumbs up? Ten months together and that’s all I deserve? a thumbs up?’

‘I didn’t-‘

‘No you fucking abandoned me’ he growled. ‘I needed you and you let me come here on my own’

‘But you said-‘

‘I know what I said but I didn’t fucking mean it like that’ he snapped.

‘I’m so sorry’ you breathed. ‘I didn’t even know if you want me to come with you’

‘Why would I not want you to come? You’re my everything. Were my everything sorry’

‘Mase please-‘

‘You wanna know what I’ve found most difficult about all of this? you never even let me speak, you made your mind up for the both of us and that’s not what I wanted. I wanted you to choose me and you didn’t’ he breathed. His eyes full of tears and you couldn’t help but feel like the worst person in the world as he swayed slightly before regaining his balance.

‘You told me you didn’t want me to come’

‘No I never. I said I didn’t expect you to join me right then and there cause you had your own shit to sort but I never for one second said I didn’t want you here. You just jumped down my throat and told me what you thought I meant before I had a chance to say anything. I really saw a future with you but you obviously didn’t see one with me’ he sniffed.

You wanted to tell him he was wrong. That the only future you saw was with him and life had been hell without him but you knew it probably wouldn’t make a difference at this point so you kept silent, the only sound you could hear were his ragged breathing as he tried to calm himself. You expected him to be surprised to see you but nothing could of prepared you for this and when he looked up to meet your eyes again you felt your insides shatter at how vulnerable he seemed.

‘Sometimes I wish you would of just done the honourable thing and cheated on me’ he confessed quietly. ‘like I wish you would of made me hate you but I can’t’ he whimpered and it took everything in you not to reach for him and comfort him. ‘I’ve painted you out to be the villain to everyone to try and make it easier on myself and I know you’re not but all of this is so fucking hard. I just wanna move on and I can’t and you showing up here doesn’t make it any easier’

‘It didn’t look like you were finding it difficult to move on in there’ you muttered under your breath and you hadn’t meant for the words to slip out but your ego was still bruised from seeing him with someone else.

‘Don’t you dare turn this around on me’ he growled, becoming furious again at what you’d said and you knew it was a low blow so you shook yourself off try and apologise and bring him back around.

‘Mase can we please just talk. I’ve come all this way, please just listen to me’ you pleaded, stepping towards him and even though he didn’t move away from you, keeping completely still, you felt your heart sink even further.

‘I don’t want to’

‘Please Mase. Come on, it’s me. You know me and you know how awful I feel about all of it’

‘Do I know you?’ He questioned. ‘My y/n would of never let me come here on my own. My y/n would of stuck by me like I always did for her’

‘I’m still yours Mase, please’ you cried, reaching for him so you could cup his jaw and your heart thudded in your chest as his head melted into your hands but he was snapped out of it almost instantly, his hands grabbing your wrists gently so he could pull you off and you couldn’t help but sob as he let go of you.

‘I need you to listen to me yeah?’ He swallowed, his eyes looking directly into yours and you could see how hard they were even in the dark. ‘You broke my heart, y/n’ he said tearfully, his voice raw like he’d been screaming for hours. He words hitting you like a tone of bricks and even though you knew it already, it hurt ten times worse to hear it coming from his lips. ‘Stamped all over it and I’ll never be able to forget how you made me feel’

‘I made a mistake, Mason. I’m here to fix it. To fix us’

‘You can’t’ he told you flatly and it was only then you let you first tears fall.

It may have been your blurred vision but you thought you saw his facade crack ever so slightly, wondering you were finally getting through to him but his stoney exterior was back in the blink of an eye and you knew there was no point talking to him in this state but you still desperately tried.

‘Mason please, I’ll do anything-‘

‘Look, I think you should go. I want you to go’ he gulped, reaching for his phone. ‘I’ll get you an Uber yeah, just put in where you’re staying’

‘You’re not giving me a chance’

‘You never gave us a chance in the first place’ he whimpered, ‘please I can’t do this right now y/n I just need you to go’ he told you, handing you his phone and you realised there was no point in arguing.

‘It’s fine I’ll get it myself’ you sighed, quickly opening the app but before you could confirm the booking you looked back up to him. If this was it and you were done then you couldn’t leave without a proper goodbye. Everything inside of you was telling you to stop but you didn’t listen, you let your heart speak for you even though you knew you’d be crushed. ‘I know I don’t really have a right to ask but please can I kiss you? Just one more time so I can say goodbye properly’ you asked and just as you were expecting, he shook his head to say no. ‘Okay. I’ll go’ you whispered, turning to walk back onto the street to find your taxi, the sinking feeling threatening to drown you but his hand on your wrist stopped you in your tracks.

His lips were on yours on a flash, snapping you out of your upset trance as you shivered at his touch. It wasn’t the soft goodbye kiss you were hoping for, he was rough and holding your waist in a tight grip as you tried to kiss him back with as much force but he was pulling away soon after.

‘Fuck, I shouldn’t of done that’ he whispered, turning around to walk back inside and you thought better than to reach for him again but your brain was still trying to fight for him.

‘Please, Mason. I can’t loose you’ you called, voice thick with tears as he stopped at the door. You watched as his turned ever so slightly, eyes downcast before sticking the final knife in.

‘You already have’

He didn’t turn back, slamming the door on the way inside and you let him go, biting your lip to keep your emotions at bay as you stumbled back onto the main Street. Your Uber was only a few moments away and you were soon heading off, eyes looking up as you passed the main entrance but you wished you would of looked away sooner.

He had his head down and his hood up, but you knew it was him. The girl who was draped over him inside now had her hand clasped in his as she followed behind him into a taxi and you felt like throwing up all over the back seat. You felt at blame for the whole misunderstanding and watching him take another girl home was the least you felt you deserved.

Woody eventually returned your call just as you got to your room. You managed to hold it together but you could tell he knew you were upset as you told him you’d come to speak to Mason and it didn’t end well. He tried convincing you to let him speak to Mason tomorrow before you left but you told him there was no point and you promised you’d give him a call when you were back home the next day.

That wasn’t the end of Woody’s calls that night though, with Mason calling him about an hour after to let him know he’d seen you and the huff that Woody let out let him know Woody wasn’t happy with him.

‘First of all mate, it’s 2am. I know you live a few hours away now but that doesn’t mean we’re living in different time zones like could this not of waited?’

‘Sorry mate, I just didn’t know who to talk to’ Mason said sadly and Woody felt bad instantly but between you and Mason crying on the phone to him about each other he wanted to bang your heads together.

‘Look I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but I saw y/n last week. She was in that cafe you used to go to for breakfast and she looked miserable as fuck like I’ve never seen her that sad. She tried calling you but you’ve blocked her number again haven’t you?’

‘She’s got no reason to be sad, she threw me out’ Mason replied, ignoring his comment about blocking your number as he’d only done it a few days ago and he still felt weird about it.

‘Cause she thought you were ending things mate. She got the wrong end of the stick and she jumped the gun’ he explained, stopping Mason in his tracks immediately. ‘I’ve just had her on the phone in tears cause you’ve basically done the same. Didn’t give her a chance to talk and apologise and then left with some girl’

‘How does she know that?’

‘She saw you get in the car with her, she’s in bits mate. Like nothing I said would calm her down or make her listen to me. What the fuck did you say to her man?’

It was true, you’d cried all night as the vision of him with someone else stung and all you could think about was what they might be doing together at this very second. You hadn’t been able to look at someone else let alone do what he was doing and no matter what you did the vision of the pair of them wouldn’t go.

You thought he would of been upset or shocked to see you but the anger rolling off of him had been a surprise and you knew now that there was no going back. He was done with you, trying his hardest to move on and you told yourself that when you got back home you’d do the same so you quickly went to his number in your phone and blocked it just like he’d done with you.

You woke up early the end morning, checking the train times to see the next one was in an hour so you quickly packed up and let reception know you needed a taxi to the station. It hurt knowing your trip here had been in vein but you told yourself at least you’d tried. He just hadn’t wanted to hear and that was fine.

As soon as the lift pinged open you could hear Masons voice and the sound of it shocked you. He sounded desperate and you followed it to the reception where he appeared to be arguing with the receptionist.

‘Look, I know she’s here, you know she’s here so just let me know what room she’s in-‘

‘Sir I’ve already explained I’m not allowed to do that’

‘Well then call her room’

‘Sir-‘

‘You’re not listening to me’

‘Mason?’ You questioned, coming to a stop a few meters behind him and you watched him whip round at the sound of you voice. A look of relief washing over him at the sight of you before he took a few frantic steps towards you.

‘Y/n thank god, I thought I’d missed you’

‘Why are you here?’ You asked but he was cut off from answering by the doorman.

‘Miss y/l/n, your taxi should be here in about five minutes’

‘No, don’t go. Please don’t go not yet’ he panicked, turning to the doorman so he could speak to him next. ‘It’s okay you can cancel that she doesn’t need it’

‘Mason, what’s going on?’

‘I don’t want you to leave like this. You came here for a reason and I know I’ve fucked it but please’ he whispered, holding your jaw as he looked into your eyes. ‘Please don’t go yet. Come back to mine and we’ll talk yeah? Properly talk and figure things out’

‘Mase-‘

‘Please. Please bubs I’ll do anything you want-‘

‘Okay it’s okay’ you interrupted, holding his wrists as he still cradled your face in his hands. His eyes switching from frantic to relieved in an instant at your words as he let out a breath. ‘Shhhh, it’s okay. I’m coming yeah?’ You told him, heart threatening to jump from your body at the old pet name he used to call you but this is what you came here for. To talk properly and even if things were over you wanted nothing unsaid.

‘Okay’ he nodded shyly, suddenly aware of the scene he’d caused in the hotel reception so he grabbed the handle of your case with one hand whilst the other lead you outside by the small of your back. ‘I’m just round here’ he mumbled when you were close and you let him pop your case in the boot as you got settled in the passenger seat.

The drive was silent, Mason focused on the road as you looked out onto the unfamiliar Manchester streets but you couldn’t take anything in. Too focused on what you were going to say to him when you got to his and you could still feel his hands on your jaw as he’d pleaded with you to stay.

You were shocked when he suddenly pulled into the drive of an impressive house, a similar style to his Cobham home but a little more cozy looking and you retuned his shy smile as he turned the engine off before you both got out. He lead you inside and into the living room where you took a seat on one of the sofas and he sat opposite you whilst he played with his fingers.

‘Can I get you anything?’

‘I’m okay thanks’

‘Do you have a train you need to get?’

‘The one I booked leaves in ten minutes but it’s fine I’ll get another one’

‘Sorry I didn’t even think’

‘No it’s fine, I’d rather us talk’ you reassured him and even thought he sent you a smile he still looked troubled as his eyes flickered over you but you were settled by the tiny smile that appeared.

‘Nice hoodie’ he commented, you face burning as you knew he’d recognised it as his own. The same one he’d left at yours that fateful night and the one you’d been wearing for comfort so you dipped your head out of embarrassment. ‘You wanna go first? I don’t even know where to start’ he chuckled.

‘I sort of do’ you murmured before gulping nervously. This was probably the last thing you should be saying but you had to know before you carried on as the thought had been eating you alive. ‘About last night, I know I don’t have a right to ask but, that girl? Did um-‘

‘Nothing happened’ he breathed, head falling into his hands. ‘We went back to hers but I didn’t even get out of the taxi. I only met her for the first time last night, we’ve been texting for a few days but nothing more. She was just a distraction from… well you know’ he told you, eyes never meeting yours but you knew he’d seen you nod. ‘And that’s the problem, all I’ve been doing is trying to distract myself cause it hurts too much to think about anything else but I realised last night I can’t carry on like this’

‘I’m so sorry, Mason’ you whispered tearfully, watching his head drop into his hands even further as he clearly didn’t want you to see how upset he was but all you could think about was comforting him so against your better judgement you stood up and made your way over to him. He hadn’t moved a muscle so you knelt down in between his knees and placed your hands on his thighs in hopes he would look at you but his eyes stayed stuck shut. You weren’t ready to give up yet though, squeezing his thighs gently as you tapped your head against his arm. ‘Mase? Look at me’ you whispered before he swallowed heavily, head moving ever so slightly and the sadness in his eyes broke you.

You didn’t say a word, just knelt up and snaked your arms around his shoulders so you could pull him into a hug and to your surprise he let you, his head finding home in your neck just like it used to as he held you to him and it was as if all the stress in his body left him as he melted into you.

‘I’ve missed you so much’ he confessed quietly into your neck, the feel of his lips on your skin sending shivers down your spine as your heart thudded in your chest. You couldn’t describe how it felt to be back in his arms but you wished it was under different circumstances.

‘I’ve missed you too’ you told him. ‘But that doesn’t make what I did okay. I know that’

‘I really needed you. This has all been so hard’

‘I’m so sorry’ you choked, squeezing him even harder as he did the same. ‘Will you let me explain?’

‘Okay’ he gulped, pulling back from you but helping you taking a seat next to him. You felt a little awkward and unsure of yourself but when he threaded his fingers through yours and kept them in his lap you relaxed ever so slightly. The feel of him giving you the strength to speak.

‘In all honesty, I wasn’t sure you wanted me to come here. I get the deal was up in the air and you weren’t even sure if it would happen but we didn’t talk about any possibility of me coming with you and I just assumed you wanted to go on your own at first. Or maybe it was your way of letting me know you didn’t want me there at all but when you said I didn’t have to worry about coming here I thought you were giving me an out and ending things. I only took it because I believed that’s what you wanted and I thought you were breaking up with me’

‘That’s not what I wanted at all, I just assumed you were coming’ he laughed, rubbing his eyes with the heal of his hand. ‘I know we didn’t speak about it but I had a million things on my mind and the possibility of you not coming with me wasn’t one of them’ he whispered ‘everything was changing you know? But you were the one certain thing I had, I didn’t even think I had to ask. Remember you told me, wherever I go, that��s where you’ll be’

‘I know and I’m so sorry’ you sobbed, head bowed as the tears fell from your eyes. ‘You had so much going on in those months and all I did was think about myself’

‘Come on love, you don’t have to beat yourself up about it’ he told you softly, pulling you into his grasp again so you could calm down to speak again properly but all you wanted was to hear his side. You’d spent the last two months being annoyed at him for no reason and you were desperate know how he was feeling.

‘I think it might be good if we just get things out in the open, you know? Let’s not leave anything unsaid’ you told him and he nodded lightly.

‘You sure?’ He asked and you nodded with a gulp.

‘I just wanna know how you were feeling’

‘Well I was pissed for a long time. I didn’t understand anything it’s like you’d just changed in a nano second. And then when I got here and I was settled I was more sad you know? just waiting for you to reach out to tell me you missed me too but the longer it took the more mad I got again. That’s why I went off on one last night like I think it’s just all built up. But I’m sorry for how I spoke to you and I’m sorry for kissing you and walking away that wasn’t fair of me no matter how drunk I was. Being close to you again just bought all these feelings up a I lost it a bit. I’m sorry you had to see me with that girl too but I’ve spoken to her this morning and said I don’t want to see her anymore’

‘Do you really wish I’d of cheated on you?’ You asked, voice barely above a whisper but you knew he’d heard as he shuffled over to you a touch.

‘A little bit’ he laughed. ‘I mean not now obviously but it would of made not wanting you a lot easier. Cause that’s never gone away you know? I’ve wanted you this whole time, loved you this whole time, no matter how mad I got’

You were overwhelmed by how nice he was being, a stark contrast from how he’d spoken to you yesterday but you were still unsure as to how things would end. Was this just a polite goodbye before you made your way home? Mason had never been that hard to read a whilst he was saying all the right things you knew you’d pushed him to the edge and getting him back wouldn’t be easy.

‘Hey come on’ he whispered, pulling you into his body before leaning back a bit. You felt like you didn’t have right to cry, you were the one who blew up first and wouldn’t listen to him but the fact you’d gotten it so wrong made your heart hurt and wished you could go back in time and hear him out.

His arms around you were more comforting than you ever thought they could be, his smell hitting you like a slap in the face as the soft skin of his neck was pressed up against your face but you felt your heart beat slow down as he grounded you. His hands rubbing over your back and arms to comfort you and even though everything was up in the air, you finally felt like you were home again.

‘I didn’t talk to you about that stuff because I just wanted one person who didn’t look at me like I was the worst person on the planet’ he explained, your mind thinking back to the awful way he’d been spoken about with only a few people in his corner. ‘Chelsea was all I knew, and to have them want to just toss me aside like that hurt more than I could ever tell you but with you I never felt bad. You were my little escape you know?’ He chuckled, kissing your temple lightly which made you squeeze him even harder. ‘I didn’t feel like I belonged anywhere for so long, but I always did with you’

‘I feel so dumb’ you laughed tearfully. ‘I think I was just being defensive like trying to hurt you before you hurt me’

‘I wasn’t trying to hurt you’ he told you gently. ‘In my head, I was gonna move up here, go on the tour and stuff whilst a house was being sorted and then when I was back you’d join me. Looking back I guess I should of said something sooner, you don’t live in my head so you’ve got not way of knowing what I’m thinking’

‘But I should of given you a chance to explain’ you mumbled, finally moving out of his neck so you could look at him properly and you were happy to see the sadness in his eyes had somewhat lifted but he was still looking to you concerned. ‘I was just butt hurt that you might be leaving and you hadn’t taken me into consideration but I should of let you explain. I’ve been so mad at you so that’s why I haven’t tried to reach out but it’s because I didn’t understand and now I do I just feel like the worst person in the world’ you cried, choking backs sobs at the end but his lips on your forehead settled you down again.

‘If I would of known then I would of stopped everything to follow you here. You were right, where you go I go and I’m so angry at myself for not thinking straight and being there for you when you needed me most. I can only imagine what you must of been going through leading up to it and for me to then just blow up at you like that wasn’t fair and I’m so sorry’

‘Come on sweetheart, don’t get upset’

‘I’ve ruined everything’ you sobbed, head in your hands agin before he pulled you even closer.

‘Shhhh baby no, you haven’t okay’ he reassured you. ‘You’re here now yeah? And we’re on the same page so there’s no need for all these tears’ he laughed, trying to make light of the situation so you forced yourself to calm down, wiping your eyes on the sleeves off his hoodie before looking up into his soft face.

‘Are you happy here?’

‘I am’ he told you sincerely. ‘Like yeah it’s been a bit weird just leaving everything behind but I’m really happy here’

You nodded, a weird feeling in your tummy at how settled he was and whilst you were anything but back home it eased your mind to know you didn’t have to worry about him being here.

‘I’d be happier if you were here with me’ he suddenly whispered, nose bumping yours before he pressed a kiss to the crease in between your brows.

‘What?’

‘Will you come with me?’ He asked, seeming ignoring your question but you nodded your head and let him lead you by the hand upstairs towards the back of the house, opening a door up to a random room but the sight inside took your breath away.

It was a light and airy room, a large desk set up against the wall with two monitors and your favourite chair from Masons Cobham home that you stole whenever you worked from there was perched under the desk. There were plants and cute pictures all over the walls and a little mini fridge off the other side but it was the patio doors that lead out to a balcony that overlooked the huge garden made you smile.

‘What’s this?’ You laughed, your heart racing as he settled his hands on your hips and popped his chin in your head.

‘Your home office. I had it set up for you just in case you came to your senses in the first few weeks but I haven’t been able to come back in here since’ he laughed. ‘Sorry about the dust’

‘Mase’ you breathed, turning to face him so you could wrap your arms around his body as he caged you against himself. You could feel the tears coming but for a whole different reason this time.

‘It’s still yours if you want it’

‘Really?’

‘You don’t think I made a fool out of myself in that hotel and made you come here just for the fun of it did you?’ He laughed, thumb stroking your cheek as you gazed up at him lovingly. ‘It’s up to you, but I know I’ve been miserable without you and all I’ve thought about is having you here. Not just in this house but everywhere. I’ve found places we can go eat that I know you’ll love, there’s a park not too far away with a big lake so we can go feed the ducks like we used to’

‘Got it all figured out huh?’ You laughed, your body filling with warmth with his words.

‘I’d like to think so’ he winked ‘We can take it slowly you know? I’m not asking you to move in with me straight away but when you’re ready maybe I can take you out on a date? You know like catch up a bit and if it’s something we both realise we still want we can go from there’

‘Even after everything I said to you?’

‘It was a misunderstanding bubs, It happens’ he whispered, kissing your cheeky gently ‘we both could of probably done better but we live and we learn’ he carried on, pressing delicate kisses across your cheek and over your nose before making his way down to your lips. ‘I think we’re both sorry and regret what happened right?

‘Yeah’

‘So the only thing to do is accept it and try to move forward’ he continued, his kisses getting closer to your lips and you felt like you were in some sort of trance.

‘Okay’

‘Y/n’ he whispered, pressing a final kiss to the corner of your mouth and the feel of it made you knees weak.

‘Yeah?’

‘Can I kiss you now?’

You couldn’t answer him with words, just nodding before his hands came up to cup your jaw so he couldn’t tilt your head back. You couldn’t stop looking at him, he was so beautiful up close and you’d missed looking at all the features that made him special. But you couldn’t look for too much longer, his eyes on your lips and face leaning closer to yours as he finally gave you what you both wanted.

You both sighed into each others mouths as you finally kissed, relief filling your body at finally feeling his lips on yours. Your body felt as light as air as the pain from the last few months disappeared from your body and he mended you back together with his lips. It was a stark contrast from the way he’d kissed you last night and you were desperately trying not to smile and ruin the moment but you couldn’t help yourself. You were happy and whole again and the feel of Masons smile on your lips made you chuckle.

The pair of you pulled back, eyes shining as you got lost in each other for a second. Feeling the joy radiate from him as he smiled down at you and you hoped your expression was telling the same to him.

‘If you want, we can sack that date off and I’ll just move in right now’ you winked, watching his eyes sparkle as he laughed. You’d meant it as a joke but after a few seconds you realised the thought of going back home right now was the last thing you wanted.

‘Oh yeah?’ He laughed. ‘What about all your stuff? And work?’

‘Stop being the voice of reason’ you laughed, pulling away every so slightly but he was quick to cage you back in.

‘You don’t have to move here now. It’s a lot to ask and I know that’

‘But I want to. I’ve wanted to this whole time and I don’t want to waste another second without you. I don’t need a date to realise if this is what I want cause it’s what I’ve wanted since you came here’ you told him, you face resting his hand as his soft eyes flickered over you. ‘But I suppose you’re right. I really should run stuff passed work and get stuff sorted at home’

‘We’ve got time’ he smiled before placing a light kiss to your forehead. ‘What do you think of the place? I haven’t been here that long and we can change whatever you like about it’

‘No i love it, it’s very you’ you laughed as he took your hand to lead you outside.

‘Well, soon it will be very us’ he winked, walking you back through so he could give you a tour and you were impressed by all of it. The kitchen was your favourite though and you let him sit you up on the counter as he stood between your legs. You fingers lost in the back of his hair as he smiled up at you and all you wanted to to lean down and kiss him.

‘Why the change of heart Mase?’ You asked quietly, watching the blush take over his cheeks. ‘Last night you couldn’t stand the sight of me’

‘I may of called Woody after I got home. Let’s just say he wasn’t exactly thrilled to hear from me at that time but I told him what happened and he let me know he’d seen you earlier in the week and spoken to you last night. Said that you’d got the wrong end of the stick and you were upset about it and I just thought if you left then there was no going back, you know? I don’t want us to be done yet’

‘Me either’ you smiled, eyes filling with tears again as you looked over his perfect face. ‘So I didn’t loose you then?’

‘No even for a second’ he whispered, pressing his lips to yours gently. ‘We kind of owe Woody a lot huh?’

‘We do’ you smiled. ‘He’s put up with a lot of our shit’

‘Well he won’t have to anymore, we’re back where we belong. With each other’ he smiled before melting his head in your neck to you could hold him and all you could think about was not wanting to belong anywhere else but here ever again.

‘Where you go, that’s where I’ll be right?’

‘Where you go, that’s where I’ll be’ he repeated softly, a gentle smile taking over his lips as he looked at you lovingly.

Can I go where you go?

Can we always be this close forever and ever?

And ah, take me out, and take me home (forever and ever)

You're my, my, my, my

Lover

Thank you so much for reading 🩷 I would really appreciate some feedback on this so please feel free to drop me an ask or a comment or whatever you feel comfortable doing. I’d just love to hear from you 😌

[sl33paholics]

Why Can't You Love Me Back?

Yan!Ali Jr x black!fem!reader

Warning(s): General yandere behavior, stalking, harassment

"Leave me the fuck alone."

Was something you said to the man you were once a fan of weeks ago, but how did it get to this point?

The famous Ali Jr., the son of the world's greatest boxers of all time, Muhammad Ali, was hitting on you. You always attended the boxing events where he was the main star fighting with someone else in the ring. Amidst the roar of the crowd and the energy of the fights, Ali Jr.'s charismatic approach caught you off guard. His attempts at flirtation carried a unique intensity, a blend of confidence inherited from his legendary father and a genuine interest that hinted at more than just a passing connection.

In the afterglow of the boxing spectacle, the buzzing excitement persisted as you finally found yourself face-to-face with Ali Jr. out of all the eager fans getting pictures and autographs. His attention shifted toward you, his gaze holding a certain recognition. To Jr., it was love at first sight. Your beauty seemed to have cast a spell, making that moment more than just a fleeting exchange in the afterglow of fame. With autograph and picture in hand, you left the buzzing scene, hyped up, and pumped that you got to meet the man you always wanted to see. However, unaware that this seemingly ordinary encounter would soon be one that you regret.

On his way back to the hotel, in the dimly lit interior of the limo, Ali Jr. couldn't help but replay the encounter in his mind. The city lights blurred outside the tinted windows as the hum of the engine provided a backdrop to his thoughts. "You seem to be deep in thought, sir," his driver would say, making a casual observation. Breaking from his thoughts, Ali Jr. met the driver's gaze with a thoughtful smile. "Yeah, I met this pretty lady at the after show, I hope to see her again." He'd simply say, looking out the window.

As more events happened, he'd see you in the crowd cheering him on. Your crop top hugging your breasts as you held up a large sign with his name on it, your presence alone made him want to win the fight just for you, and you only. It encouraged Ali Jr. to throw another harsh jab at his opponent just to show off how strong he was to you.

So when he asked you for your socials and phone number when the event ended, it caught you off guard, but of course, you couldn't deny the offer. He was your favorite!

It started off with a few compliments and replies to his Instagram story until it turned into full-blown conversations. Now, you could tell he was flirting with you through these messages, but you didn't give that same energy to him. Which he noticed, but Ali Jr. brushed it off and believed you were too oblivious to notice it via text.

On days free from the whirlwind of boxing events, Ali Jr. found solace in spending time with you. He'd whisk you away on rides, the city's pulse blending with the engine's hum as you explored streets together. You watched him spar at the gym with other inspiring and upcoming boxers. Ali Jr. would tell you stories of his childhood and his famous father.

To you, you only saw him as a man who wanted to become close with one of his dearest fans turned friend. Although, to Ali Jr., he saw this as an opportunity to court you and potentially ask you to become his girlfriend.

When the moment arrived, you surprised the boxer with a straightforward rejection. "I appreciate the time we've spent, but I gotta boyfriend, and I'm committed to our relationship. Let's keep things friendly," you conveyed. The honesty in your words made his mind go blank. Was it shock? Was it anger? He couldn't tell. Jr. stared at you with a terrified look. "Did I do something wrong?" Ali would ask. "No! Not at all, it's just that I'm not interested in you like that. At all. You're a cool guy with tons of skills, I just don't see myself being with you. Let's stay platonic."

Since then, he's been out of his mind. Those texts stopped for a while, and then it started to get excessive out of nowhere. Just leaving your phone down for a short time can have this man sending you over 50 messages. You no longer answer his calls. You told everyone around you of your encounter and called him "a weirdo." It was exhausting.

So many voicemails from this guy alone. Over a hundred messages, most of them are Ali asking why you aren't picking up his calls or not responding. The guy's voice ranges from pleading to frustration, and the tone is unmistakably hurt. Each message seems to carry a weight of its own, painting a portrait of a man grappling with the realization that his feelings are not reciprocated as he had hoped.

You can't even walk peacefully around the city without this man somehow finding you. It's as if he's always just around the corner, his eyes scanning the crowds for a glimpse of you. The encounters are awkward, filled with a mix of longing and resentment as Ali Jr. struggles to come to terms with your decision.

Now, you don't know how he found your address, but he's been sending you a ton of gifts lately. Surprisingly, they're things you always wanted, each one arriving with a little note attached. The notes are heartfelt, expressing his regrets and other times it's obvious flirtation. It's as if each gift is an attempt to bridge the gap created by your rejection, a silent plea for another chance. Sometimes, Ali isn't so heartfelt in those messages whenever your boyfriend comes to receive them at your front door.

Ali's messages become less heartfelt in those instances, almost passive-aggressive, hinting at a desire to undermine your current relationship. The gifts, once symbols of his remorse, now carry an undertone of possessiveness and jealousy, as if he's trying to assert his presence in your life despite your clear boundaries. The situation grows increasingly uncomfortable as the boundary between genuine remorse and manipulation blurs. It came to a point where your boyfriend begged you to go talk to the man after seemingly being followed by some of his men at one point nearby the residence.

Ali was so giddy to get a text from you agreeing to meet him late into the evening. His excitement was palpable as he hastily made his way to the rendezvous point. The night air was charged with anticipation, and every passing moment seemed to stretch into eternity as he waited for your arrival. It was a chance for him to express his feelings and plead his case once more, hoping that this meeting would be the turning point in your relationship. When he saw you approaching, he was going in for a hug only for you to move him away with your hand.

"(Y/N), I'm so happy to see you! I-I thought you hated me, so I sent you the gifts, and it seems like they worked," Ali exclaimed as he approached you, a mix of relief and excitement in his voice. His words tumbled out in a rush, betraying his nervousness. The gifts, once a gesture of his longing and remorse, now seemed to have shifted the dynamic between you. As he stood before you, his eyes searched yours, hoping to find a spark of forgiveness or understanding in your gaze. "Listen, Ali, what can't you understand?" You sighed, scratching your elbows. "I'm not interested in you at all." The words hung heavy in the air, punctuating the tension between you. Ali's expression shifted from excitement to disappointment, his features contorting in a mix of hurt and disbelief. The reality of your rejection seemed to sink in, casting a shadow over the hopeful anticipation that had fueled his eagerness to meet you.

"I won't accept that for an answer." Ali would say, making you raise a brow. "I spent my die-hard money on those gifts to make you happy. We went out together, called each other, and we texted each other every day!" Ali grabbed your shoulders, giving them a firm grip. "And you suddenly stop replying to me? You had me sick and worried. No texts back, no calls back, NOTHING! Why did I have to resort to shit like this?!"

"You stupid ass! You harassed me after I rejected you to be your girlfriend. I told you I have a boyfriend. Sorry to hurt your feelings, but that doesn't mean you have to blow up my PHONE!" you exclaimed, your frustration boiling over. Pointing your index finger at Ali, you made your feelings clear, leaving him looking at you in shock. "Somehow getting my address and sending stuff I didn't ask for? Your men following (B/N)?" The accusations hung in the air, the intensity of your words reflecting the depth of your exasperation. The two of you went back and forth, of course people around the area watched you two bicker at one another, some even recording.

"I'll say this once, leave me the fuck alone. I don't want you near me again," you stated firmly, your voice cutting through the tension like a blade. The weight of your words hung in the air, a final declaration of your boundaries and a stark reminder of the consequences of crossing them. Ali stood before you, his expression a mix of shock, hurt, and realization. He watched you stomp off to your car while standing there.

As much as your words hurt, Ali couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. He was happy that he got to meet you face to face after weeks of being ignored and unanswered. To see you in person instead of through a photo and video made Ali excited, as if he's meeting you for the first time again like he did that faithful day.

Ali wasn't going to back down. No matter what. The man was determined to find a way to win you over, to change your mind about him.

[darkmold]

could I request yandere cato hadley hcs?

Yandere!Cato Hadley HCs

Warnings: typical yandere behavior (obsession, possessiveness, etc.), Cato is a spoiled douche who tries to force you to marry him, tried to make Reader gender-neutral but lemme know if I gendered something

Cato is a lot to handle. Being from District 2, his life has been fairly easy and he views aggression and dominance as honorable traits

He trained for the games since he was a kid, and takes his goal very seriously. His obsession probably began because he saw you as a rival. Cato is extremely competitive, and didn’t take kindly to being one-upped. You were his motive for getting stronger, and eventually you invaded his thoughts more and more often.

His frustration towards you became fascination. He’s arrogant, and the thought of someone being half as great as him is mind-boggling. He begins thinking of ways to impress you, starts subconsciously looking for you in crowds, and even looks for ways to establish some sort of dominant role over your life.

Cato is a jerk, but he knows how to turn on the charm when he needs to. When his feelings become romantic (his twisted version of romance at least), he lays it on thick. Brings you all sorts of gifts. Nice and practical gifts that, despite your stubbornness, do make your life easier. Ex: new shoes that are just a tad more expensive than the old pair (he’s gotta show he’s “better” than you financially ofc)

The next stages could go one of two ways; you willingly go out with him, or you refuse and provoke his utter douche-ness

Option One: you willingly date him

He may actually prefer to call this “courting” or something else that implies a much more serious relationship

He asks you out in a very nonchalant way, however. He brings up how similar you both are maybe complimenting you but don’t hold your breath and suggests that it would be mutually beneficial to partner up (I imagine he’d phrase it similarly to forming an alliance in the games. His entire life is focused on that shit)

Anyway, he’s over the moon when you say yes. Just be aware that this is a “no backsies” kind of situation. He immediately tells everyone whats going on between you and makes it very difficult to change your mind.

At this point, you’re probably a bit uncomfortable with his behavior but still think you can get through to him somehow and fix him up (spoiler: you can’t)

Option Two: you reject him

He’s pissed. Point blank.

Every positive thought he had about you is gone, but the obsession remains. The rejection solidifies his belief that you are below him.

He’s not gonna let a weak embarrassment of a person hold him back from the plans he’s built these past months. In his meltdown, he spills every idea he’s had for the two of you

He’s been training so hard to win this shit, just for you. Weak, pathetic, adorable you. So he can come back as a victor and bring honor to his district. So he can come back and marry you! How could you not want that?

I imagine that Cato’s family has some kind of foothold in District 2’s community, so it wouldn’t be hard to keep you under his thumb even after you refuse him. Wether that be through social isolation, threatening people who help you, or direct abduction is up to you.

The day of the reaping, you get dressed together. He chooses your clothes to compliment his, sits silently at the breakfast table as you both eat, and stops you at the door before you head to the square.

With your wrist in a tight grasp, he pries your hand open and gives you a plain golden ring. It’s proud and foreboding; like the man who gave it to you. He tells you that when he gets back, you’ll be his. Forever.

You can only hope for a deadly miracle in that arena.

[carionto]

It'll be "awesome", the Human said

(Continuation/conclusion to this)

____________________________

After the Coalition delegates had been mindblown enough, it was time for them to finally leave and have a nap. But Captain Knoslark had one more thing he desperately wanted to show them.

"So, like, we're a science vessel and we have three of the biggest reactors, right? Right. So, I wanna show you what we recently figured out we can do. C'mon, it'll be awesome."

Awesome - a word the rest of the Galaxy will soon learn to both admire and run for cover whenever a Human uses it.

With trepidation in their steps, and worry in their breaths, they followed the all too eager Captain, who was almost skipping and humming down the halls, dramatically pointing the way. His crew continued to not give him the satisfaction of ever acknowledging his theatrics.

"Once the reactors are in good enough sync, we'll reconfigure the Radiant Dusk to a circular shape and begin!"

Oh. Yeah. Of course their ships can also transform. Why not. The delegates have given up thinking there are things Human engineering can't accomplish. Also, good enough?

"Eh, don't worry about it, we overbuild everything, so a 1 or 2 percent margin of error is fine, most of the time."

They could not imagine themselves to be more worried. At least not until a few minutes from now.

"Captain, she's ready," Chief Engineer Tameki's tone changed to a total blank deadpan for the next words, "to transform. and. roll. out."

With childlike glee, Captain Knoslark tapped the big red button, specifically designed for his pad only, to begin the sequence.

Distant creaking of metal, anguish at the prospect of bending in ways nature never intended, and the unmistakable jolt of mechanical movement, despite the artificial gravity maintaining the same down throughout, once more instilled primal anxiety for the delegates.

The reactors wound up, turning the almost-buzz like feeling beneath their feet to a true all encompassing sense of absolute power. Three small stars at equidistant points along the now 4km in diameter vessel created a singular feeling of something imminent that should never have been possible. The Universe itself wanted to reject this possibility.

"We tried copying your mass field generators from way back when you did the barrier thing. Wanted to see if we could get close to Black Hole levels, there were some theories that time travels was possible with that kinda pull."

I don't think anyone would be surprised if they had succeeded, but, for once during their entire visit, the Humans said they couldn't get time travel to work. Celebration! Then the Captain kept talking.

"So what happened instead is we accidentally tore a hole in time-space, creating a sort of warp gate." He said with both joy and disappointment.

Then the Universe shrieked. A massive distortion in reality now struggled and failed to restore normality between the ring-shaped ship. Swirling coils of matter flickered in and out, ghostly visages of detonations on a solar scale. A sight never intended to be witnessed.

"Still gotta figure out how to set a destination to anywhere. Right now the only stable connection we can get is with massive gravity wells, so any celestial body with enough mass, smallest one is a red dwarf. Problem is the connection steers towards the center, so not really practical right now."

"If we try to point at empty space the gate just kinda wiggles and you end up getting spaghetti-fied on the other end. Still, once we get enough ships like this one around the galaxy, we'll solve that whole trips taking more than a few hours thing we got with the hyper drives."

At this point the delegates decided to be escorted away, as most had became a crying mess. One stumbled onto a automated cleaning unit and at this the Captain, whose mood had soured a bit now that his time as tour guide was over, rose back to heights unseen before. With his most official sounding, yet at the same time most joy filled tone ever, he declared:

"Sergeant Ying Zhao, issue an official notice. Today at 20:30 ship time there will be a grand ceremony for the promotion of Captain Stabicus to Special Envoy of the Galactic Coalition. Ready all relevant paperwork, and his new badge, and inform the chef to prepare a feast. We have done much today for the sake of Human-Coalition relationships, and so much more for the Radiant Dusk at Everest and her crew and staff. Tonight, we celebrate!"

[stories-and-chaos]

Tarnished: Honeymoon

[Helluva Boss AU where Blitzø’s childhood theft from Stolas’ palace is discovered and major consequences ensue for everyone involved.]

[Word count: 2291]

[CW: dubious consensual sex, consensual sex, rough sex, light bondage, oral, alcohol use]

—————

Two weeks after Stolas and Stella’s wedding

Stolas did his best to maintain the peculiar balance of tension and blank focus. The sooner this was done with… he shoved away the thought of wanting this to be over. That was the quickest way to waste this evening with Stella. He felt himself reach the tipping point. His body shuddered with relief as he came, taloned fingers tearing into the sheets as he let out an involuntary moan. Stolas would have grabbed onto his wife’s thighs but she made it clear how much she hated his touch.

He’d tried to be affectionate on their wedding night. Just because they had a duty to conceive an heir, that didn’t mean the act couldn’t be enjoyable for them. Stella rejected that immediately, pushing him away when Stolas tried to kiss her. “Why would I ever want to kiss an imp fucker like you?” She then demanded they get the sex over with as quickly as possible until she laid their egg.

“Ugh, finally!” Stella said from above him. “Took you long enough tonight,” she continued in a scornful tone. She stopped riding him once his orgasm passed. She didn’t move off him right away and Stolas didn’t pull out either. The whole point of this marriage was to conceive an heir. Both of them wanted to increase the chances of a child so they stayed in position until Stolas’ cock softened enough to slip out on its own.

With a huff, Stella rolled off. She settled onto her side of the bed before bringing out her phone. She opened up her cycle tracking app to mark that they’d had sex that night. She was very thorough about it; logging any symptoms, notes on her mood and diet, tracking her basal body temperature. The regal demon wanted this heir business over as soon as possible.

Coitus logged, she started looking up activities for the next day. The newlyweds were halfway done with their month-long trip through all of Hell’s Rings. They had some formal events with the rest of Hell’s royals. But the next couple days in Gluttony were free. “Let’s see here, oh, Bee has a tasting of her new distilled Beelzejuice. There’s also a chocolate sculpture competition and the day after tomorrow the hotel is hosting a hors d'oeuvres sampling. Annabelle will love that and Gustav will jump at the chance to try Beelzebub’s newest brew.” Stella quickly texted her two closest friends to make plans.

“Three days from now we’re scheduled to judge a Hellforged Chef competition, so you’ll have to find something to occupy yourself until then,” she continued with a dismissive wave in Stolas’ direction. “But don’t forget you need to perform again in two days.” Her tone was haughty as she gave him a raking look. “Honestly this whole conception nonsense would be so much easier if you weren’t such a pathetic bore in bed, Stolas.”

The owl prince felt his face heat up with shame. Satisfied that she’d landed an emotional blow, Stella responded to her friends’ messages with a smirk.

Stolas turned away, listening to the rapid pings of texts. After a few moments he felt steady enough to get out of bed. He didn’t bother with the princely garments he’d worn earlier in the day; instead he grabbed casual shorts and a t-shirt. As usual, he wished her a polite, “Good night, Stella,” as he exited their hotel suite. As usual, she ignored him.

Once out in the hallway, Stolas slumped against the wall. He slid to the floor, hands gripping his scalp. We’ve been married two weeks. Get it together stupid bird. He’d signed on for a lifetime commitment with Stella. He had to shape up.

The pocket of his shorts buzzed, making Stolas squawk in surprise. Blitzø was texting him.

At teh bar. Dcikweeed bratndr won’t get me a dirnk. Sez im undregae

Stolas felt his beak twitch with a slight smile.

You are underage dearest. So am I for that matter. So is Stella, not that it’s stopping her. Or her gossipy friends that she keeps inviting at every opportunity on this trip.

Wuts teh ponit of royltea if you kant get bend rooles an shit?

Normally I’d advocate for not breaking the law but this is my honeymoon and I feel a drink or two is warranted in such situations. I’ll be there shortly to discuss things with Mr. Dickweed at the bar.

Fuk yes

Face to face with a member of the Ars Goetia, Mr. Dickweed promptly poured some top shelf Beelzejuice for them. The Hellhound’s paws shook a little as he slid the drinks to Stolas. The prince paid the demon double what the drinks cost to ease the bartender’s nerves.

Blitzø and Stolas claimed a high table. Stolas sat on the barstool with ease but the imp had to climb up. “Fuck I feel like a toddler in a goddamn high chair.” Fortunately once he was seated, the table wasn’t too high for comfort. “Thanks for the assist, Floof, didn’t think I had that much of a baby face. Gotta say it’s bullshit that you’re legally old enough to marry but not old enough to drink.” The imp continued to grumble as he tossed back some of his drink.

Stolas savored his drink. Blitzø’s running commentary had been a familiar constant on this trip. “I’m sure you’ll look more mature once your braces are off. They’re a sure giveaway to your underage status.” That set the imp complaining about the braces, his orthodontist, and his inability to eat certain foods. Stolas listened and made agreeing noises at appropriate times. He’d heard all of this many times before. He knew Blitzø was complaining for the sake of it.

By the time the imp’s rant ended, most of his Beelzejuice and half of Stolas’ were gone. He eyed the Goetia over the rim of his glass. “So. Stella got your feathers in a twist again?” The owl grimaced, nodded, and gulped down a huge swallow of the honey sweet alcohol. It left a pleasant burn down his throat; a good distraction from his wife’s opinion of him.

Blitzø didn’t let up though. “C’mon, spit out what she did. You’re gonna stew over it for ages otherwise.”

Stolas’ eyes narrowed at him. “I would prefer not to talk about this Blitzø,” he said, choosing his words very carefully to avoid activating the binding. The imp inhaled sharply at Stolas’ tone. He made himself relax and wait.

The silence continued as the prince nursed his drink. Eventually he gave in to Blitzø’s patience. “Am I a pathetic bore?” he asked quietly. “Am I that terrible a lover?” His four eyes heated with frustrated tears and he drained the last of his glass to distract himself.

Blitzø snorted. “Well, yeah, of course you are.” Stolas felt his heart drop in shock but Blitzø continued. “With her at least. I mean, you guys don’t even like each other. Why would you be good at fucking her?” Now Stolas’ jaw dropped. His heart rose closer to its home in his chest as Blitzø kept talking. “I’d have told you if you were shit in bed by now. Not to mention, you’re power bottom. Doesn’t really mesh with straight up bitch.”

Suddenly, the prince felt something sliding up his inner thigh. Blitzø’s hands were above the table but a seductive smile played across his lips. There was no denying the heat in the imp’s eyes as his tail tip slid under Stolas’ shorts. The spade shaped end stroked underneath the owl demon’s clothes, just barely brushing his groin.

“If you’re up for it,” Blitzø said with a purr in his voice, “I can give a demonstration.”

Stolas felt his face heat at the thought. Blitzø’s tail continued to tease until his feathers puffed up in excitement. “Mmm, please do.”

Moments later, they were in Blitzø’s room, a few doors away from the honeymoon suite. Like the other servants that accompanied the Goetia, he had a very basic hotel room with a single full sized bed. The imp had Stolas pinned to the mattress. His tongue swirled in the prince’s mouth, sliding far enough to touch his throat. His tail was wrapped around Stolas’ thigh, the tip still teasing the owl’s balls.

When Blitzø finally broke the kiss, Stolas was gasping for air. “Oh my- FUCK!” Blitzø had bit into his neck before he could catch his breath. Even the imp’s pointed teeth couldn’t easily sink through all Stolas’ feathers. Which was why he bit down hard. “You do like to be in charge, don’t you Blitzø?” The imp ripped the shirt off Stolas, tearing the fabric as he scratched the prince’s chest.

“You fuckin know it.” He slid his body up Stolas’ torso. His smug expression was full of rough desire. Blitzø flicked his forked tongue at the tall demon’s beak. Stolas’ mouth parted open as he leaned toward Blitzø’s tongue, desperately wanting it back in his mouth.

Blitzø chuckled. “And your lanky ass loves it.” He pushed Stolas back onto the mattress with one hand as the other grabbed part of the torn shirt. Using his teeth, he tore the fabric into a long strip. “Aw shit, thread in my braces. Hang on.” With his tongue and claw he tried to locate it until Stolas reached up to delicately remove it. Blitzø thanked him then grabbed the taloned finger in his teeth. Stolas moaned in pleasure as the imp then pulled the finger into his mouth and sucked on it.

“Oh, yes, I do love it, Blitzø. I love when you take command, when you’re in control. I love when you [redacted] my [redacted] [redacted] with your thick [redacted].” Stolas continued to list what he liked from Blitzø as the imp removed his finger with a ‘pop!’ He grabbed both of the prince’s wrists and used the t shirt strip to tie them together.

He flung Stolas’ bound wrists back over the Goetia’s head. “Told ya so.” With a lustful look, he stripped off his own shirt and pants. He left his tight black underwear on. Not that it hid his bulging erection. Stolas let out a soft whine as he eyed Blitzø’s hard cock straining against fabric. The smaller demon laughed huskily. “Nah, I don’t think you’re desperate enough yet.”

The teasing promise in the imp’s voice made Stolas tense and squirm. He could simply order Blitzø to strip fully but that took all the fun out of things. Keeping himself from issuing any demands also added an odd thrill to their liaisons. So he held back any words as Blitzø played with him.

Blitzø bit and kissed, stroked and scratched, teased and tormented Stolas. Blitzø brought him to the edge of coming before easing off. The imp snuggled up against him, gently nuzzling his neck feathers as Stolas relaxed. Then he sank his teeth into Stolas’ collarbone and began the delicious torment again.

Once he had Stolas whining in desperation, Blitzø took off his underwear and straddled him across the chest. His tail quickly wrapped around Stolas’ cock. The prince gasped and Blitzø took the opportunity to grab both sides of his head. The imp roughly pulled Stolas’ head to his groin and thrust his cock down the prince’s throat. Stolas was vaguely grateful he didn’t have much of a gag reflex. Then he couldn’t think of much of anything as Blitzø face fucked him.

Stolas closed his eyes in bliss. Blitzø’s thick penis filled his mouth. The owl demon used his tongue, stroking and tasting every hard inch as Blitzø kept thrusting. “Fuck, Stolas. That. Feels. So. Fucking. Good!” He punctuated each word with a sharp short thrust. Meanwhile his tail was wrapped around Stolas’ cock. Each thrust of his hips made his tail slide around the owl’s length.

Stolas moaned around the cock in his mouth. Blitzø started to thrust faster, grunts of pleasure and exertion escaping his throat. Suddenly he went rigid. His claws flexed as he held Stolas’ head against his crotch. Stolas could feel Blitzø twitching and pulsing in his mouth as the imp came. Warm cum filled his throat. The sensation of Blitzø orgasm in his mouth tipped Stolas over the edge. He came hard, coating the loops of Blitzø’s tail.

The two demons stayed frozen in place for a moment. Then as the tension eased away, leaving the soft pleasure, Blitzø let go of Stolas’ face. Stolas swallowed the remaining saliva and cum, his head relaxing onto the pillows. Blitzø unwrapped his tail to let it flop off the side of the bed. Then he shifted to lay next to Stolas.

With his arms still bound, Stolas brought them down, maneuvering to embrace Blitzø. The pair laid there for a time, basking in the aftermath of shared pleasure.

Then, once Stolas could think clearly again: “Thank you, Blitzø. It seems you were right.” Blitzø, not quite able to speak yet, waved a horns sign with one hand. Stolas smiled and nuzzled the imp’s forehead.

A few moments later, Blitzø extracted himself to clean off his tail. He brought back a towel and bottles of water for the two of them. Cleaner and hydrated, he untied Stolas so they could cuddle better. They chatted idly for a bit, brainstorming activities for the next couple days. Blitzø wanted to visit an all-you-can-eat hot dog bar while Stolas was interested in a local bookstore that specialized in works on local cuisine.

Plans made, Blitzø shifted on top of Stolas again. “Well, Mr. Power Bottom. Ready for more?”

With a smirk of his own, Stolas rolled them so he had Blitzø pinned. “Very much so,” he murmured, kissing his lover softly.

—————

A/N: This is what Stolitz nation wanted with The Full Moon right? I’ve been wanting to write this bit for awhile and after the emotional damage of Full Moon I needed this feelings bandaid.

Side note, updates have been slow due to Striker still not vibing with my brain and our kiddo being on summer vacation. Writing mature audience content with an elementary schooler around all day does not compute for me. So new parts are coming out slower but the tale must go on!

Tip me through Ko-Fi if you’re enjoying my content!

🖤🩶🤍💜

[scarlettriot]

Hi. Just wanted to let you know that I’m pretty positive both Kiri and Kat would never understand you’re trying to flirt with them. They don’t pick up on it until they’re told by someone else or you flat out shake their shoulders and tell them point blank.

Even then it sometimes doesn’t get through.

But when it does…

You’ve been trying to get Katsuki to notice you FOR MONTHS and nothing is working. Not the coffee you make to his fastidious liking every morning. Or the cute outfits you wear around. Literally nothing grabs this man’s attention.

He just thinks it’s annoying. The way you buzz around and make his dumb coffee perfect every time and hand it to him with your way too bright smile. Fix his tie before interviews. Always smelling nice or whatever. Annoying. It’s all annoying!

It wasn’t until he was drinking with his friends, passively complaining about the things mentioned above that Mina started to laugh. “Gods, you really are hopeless, they like you, dummy!” And suddenly, everything makes a whole lot more sense to him.

And now he’s spent way too much money to get a taxi and he’s standing outside your apartment thinking this has got to be the dumbest thing he’s ever done. But, he has his phone to his ear and your line is ringing. And he hears himself ask you to come outside.

Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.

“You like me?” He didn’t even say hello.

“Just figuring that out now, huh?”

Your smile is blinding again and he has to do something to block the light. “Shut up.” He mumbles as he pulls you in, kissing you until you’re both breathless.

And then there’s Kiri. He so sweet and kind, almost to a fault. He sees the good in damn near everyone. Just assumes everyone is being nice. And you are. You’re so nice to him and he makes sure to tell you how thankful he is for it every chance he gets!

You always double check his reports to make sure he didn’t forget anything. And after his workout there’s always a big glass of ice water waiting for him thanks to you. And those are only a fraction of the sweet things you do.

You thought he might finally pick up on your crush when you wore one of his hoodies to work on a casual Friday but he just told you how honored he was that you wore his merch and gave you one of his famous bear hugs.

It becomes apparent you’re gonna have to say something or nothing between you two is ever gonna change! So, next time he goes in for one of those hugs, you grab his shoulders and blurt out, “I like you!”

And that makes him stop and blink. And you think he might be finally getting it or trying to figure out a way to reject you. But, sadly, neither was the case. “I like you too… did I do something to make you think I don’t?”

You sighed and do the only other thing you could think of. You kissed him. Square on the lips.

“Oh! That kinda like!”

And then he’s the one kissing you. “I like you like that too.”

Bless him.

[likeafairytale]

"And if... the only thing I want from you is friendship... How would you react?" - Yasmeen to Malachai, slightly afraid of his reaction but trying her best not to show it

Malachai's heart broke to those words. He tried to not show how her words affected him, and he wasn't sure he truly succeeded. The man toyed with his signet ring, while listening to the fire cracking in the fireplace. His room was so quiet right now that this was the only noise him and Yasmeen could here; the fire cracking, and the noise of the clock in the room who now stroke midnight. Malachai was honest with Yasmeen tonight, he told her that he wanted more than a friendship. He finally, after a few days thinking of it, build the courage to ask her on a proper date, but the answer wasn't what he was expected. To be honest, he didn't truly know what he was expected.

He was a prince. A crown prince who will inherit the throne at his father's death. He wasn't some random young adult, to ask people out. He did not know why he asked her so suddenly. But Yasmeen had this gift of making him do things he wouldn't do usually. She made him go out of his comfort zone, and he liked that about her. There were a blank during one of their conversation, and the words came out by themselves, as if he wasn't thinking anymore, which wasn't like him; Malachai was more the kind to overthink things. But not this time. Never with Yasmeen.

He knew he loved people before. But he also knew he never truly was in love with people, until Yasmeen at least. After a few weeks, and observing his siblings' behaviour, he could confidently say he was in love with her. He thought of her every day, and every night, and was looking forward to their secret meetings. One time, the girl didn't show up in the church for some reason, and Malachai was in a bad mood all day –poor Nathaniel had to endure his brother that day. The point was that the young girl was in his mind constantly, he couldn't get her out of his system. It didn't get better after they kissed a few times.

After a moment, Malachai, who was fixing the fire all this time, finally looked at Yasmeen, who couldn't look him in the eyes, and he realized that, as good as she was at not showing her emotion, she couldn't truly hide to him the fact that she was scared, and he could understand. A maid rejecting the advance of a crown prince was pretty daring. The merman felt bad that he was sad, when it was obvious that Yasmeen would felt worse. He cleared his throat and sat correctly on his chair, before looking at the board game in from of him and moving his pawn.

“I'd be saddened, but I'd respect your choice. And accept it.” He finally said bringing her attention on him. She played her game, before looking at him quite wary.

“Would you?”

“Of course.”

“Many men wouldn't listen to a woman's opinion in the matter. Especially a servant's one...”

“You are not just a servant to me.”

He looked up from the game, and their eyes met. His heart missed a beat, and he felt as if someone punched him, as if he did not have any air in his lungs. It was just a look, but it was enough to unsettle him. Being unsettled, he looked back at the game and play his move.

“And you are not just any man to me.”

“Of course I'm not.” He said with amusement and arrogance which seemed to amuse Yasmeen who played her turned.

“What I mean is, to me, you're not just a prince. You're a person to me.”

He said nothing. He was too taken aback by her response for being able to say anything. They had endless discussion about how Malachai didn't feel like he was someone. How he did not feel like he was something else than a prince, and that it was the only thing that matter about him. This was hard to handle, and something he never said to anybody before, except Yasmeen. So her words meant a lot to him. Still quiet, he looked back at the fire cracking, before sighing a little. He thought it was a silent sigh, but she seemed to have heard him, because she slowly put her hand on his arm, bringing back his attention to her. When he looked at her, he wanted to kiss her, but he wasn't sure he was allowed to do it. So he restrained himself, which was hard. She might have noticed his eyes lingering on her lips because she broke off the physical contact, and Malachai felt bad about what happened. He looked away, blushing a little.

“I'm glad you don't see me like any prince.”

“That's because you're not any prince that we cannot b-”

“I know.” He cut her short quickly, because he did not want to hear those words. “I know too well... Like I said, I will accept your answer. Whatever it is.”

“I have to decline. I'm sorry.”

“It's all right.” He answered with a sad smile, and she smiled the same way. “Friendship sounds perfectly fine to me.”

She seemed relaxed now, and he felt a bit better. Maybe it wasn't what he was hoping, but it was better than nothing, right? At least she still wanted to be around him, she could have rejected him and left right away. Of course, he was saddened, but he realized that Yasmeen wellbeing and her comfort were more important than anything to him right now. The tension in the room was eased, and they even add some laughter to the noises of the clock and the fire.

“Now, as a friend, would you explain to me how you always win at checkers? That's a child's game and I can't even win a single game!”

“That's because you aren't a really good player.”

“Ouch.”

“You asked a friend's explanation.”

“You didn't have to be so rude!” He pouted, and she laughed. “One last game, please.”

[vodkassassin]

I’d be interested to see what you’ve got for your OC Obi-wan Insert?

Ah, another WIP Wednesday ask! Thank you.

Honestly I should rename it Weekday WIP at this point alfjksjd. Also this ended up being WAY longer than originally anticipated, my bad lmao

__

“You fought well, but you hold much anger within you.”

Obi-wan Kenobi pulls up short, blinking rapidly as they stare at the absolute goliath of a man that looks over them. There’s something about the guy’s presence that almost feels threatening, in a way. The emotions that emanate from him, what little can be sensed past the impressively fortified shields that befit any master, are tinged with something that tastes like judgement and final resolution.

As if this man had taken one look at Obi-wan before they had even stepped out into the tournament ring and had already decided his opinion of them.

Which is exactly what Quigon Jinn had done. In fact, even before setting eyes on Obi-wan, they know that Jinn had already made up his mind. Coming to the tournament to watch them fight had the sole motivation of finding some excuse to reject them as quickly as possible.

Which is fine. Jinn doesn’t want a padawan and Obi-wan knew that from the beginning. In fact, they find the meddling of the council — or perhaps one person on the council — quite insane and manipulative. They had no right to force Jinn to basically adopt another child when he didn’t want one.

And trying to force a child upon someone who doesn’t want one never ends well, so isn’t that sort of like putting Obi-wan themself in danger?

So, in this one thing, Obi-wan is on Jinn’s side.

But nowhere else.

Obi-Wan wants to scowl. They already have the answer to this. They have their entire life here. Quigon Jinn is a nonentity.

Except, here he is. Here to bring the mood of the room plummeting down.

Instead of scowling, though, they keep their face passive. There’s little need to give Jinn even more ammunition. Even if the fact that this grown ass adult man has decided to scorn a child for something out of either of their control absolutely burns.

“Everyone holds anger within them, Master Jinn.” They reply politely, sketching a bow that they already know doesn’t have a single fault. The very perfection of it makes Jinn’s frown even more severe. “It’s the consequence of sentience, to have emotions about the universe around you.”

It makes Obi-wan want to needle the man even more.

���Allowing those emotions to control you is a very different matter than simply having them, Initiate Kenobi.”

Wow, the emphasis on that word, as if this grown ass man is trying to make a clear point. Well, point very much made!

The gall.

Obi-wan takes a slow, steadying breath, passive mask barely flinching. Inside, though —

Maybe Jinn is right. They are filled with rage. Curious, however, that the only time they’ve ever felt like this is when confronted with Jinn himself.

Really makes one think.

Theyre lost in thought, they realize, and flit their eyes upward again just in time to catch Jinn shaking his head firmly.

“I will not take you as my padawan.”

Obi-wan simply blinks.

Feeling uncharitable, they reply, “Master Jinn? Were you looking for one? It’s only; last that I heard, you were against the notion.”

That gets him. The man straightens up, blinking in a somewhat startled fashion before his expression goes purposefully blank.

Obi-wan does not allow any victory to show on their face.

“I’m sorry if you were disappointed in my tournament exhibition. Now that the topic is brought up, though, I must say that I have to agree with you. As a practitioner of the Living Force, you’re absolutely correct to pass over me as a student. Our paths in the Force are far too different to work well together.” Obi-wan shrugs lightly, glancing across the room to watch impassive masters and knights pass by on the catwalk below the viewing room that they’re in.

He turns back to find Jinn staring at him with an unreadable expression.

“It’s unwise to claim that you have little to learn from me. Arrogant, even.”

It’s not like he even wants to be their teacher anyway! Why is he so offended at the hint that Obi-wan might reject him?

Fucking adults and their superiority complexes. Fucking men and their egos.

Also! Putting words into their mouth! That’s one of their fucking pet peeves.

Obi-wan smiles politely, as serene as can be.

Maybe going Sith isn’t such a bad idea…

No. If they did that then maybe the council would send Jinn after them. The consequences were not worth the freedom of being able to do whatever the hell they wanted (and look hot while doing it. Fuck you Palpatine, you did it all wrong).

They let their smile drop. Jinn is a grown man, and he’s right here purposefully antagonizing a child.

They are a child. Just a little twelve year old.

Obi-wan blinks rapidly and breathes in through their nose a little too sharply. They turn slightly to look away, but watch from the corner of their eye as a grimace takes over Jinn’s face.

Eat the consequences of your actions, you sorry excuse of an adult.

“Now, I know that you are close to aging out…” the man begins, likely about to say something along the lines of ‘maybe another master will chose you in the next few weeks’ in an attempt to placate them and stop the floodgates, but Obi-Wan interrupts before he can.

“It’s okay, Master Jinn.” They say, gently. They give the pathetic man standing before them a small, somewhat watery smile. “You don’t have to try and make me feel better. I have to experience feelings for myself or I’ll never be able to understand them and let them go properly. I…”

They swallow, blinking a lot — maybe more than they really need to, their eyes are feeling quite dry despite the tearful quality they’ve achieved — and take a small step back.

“My crechemate, Bruck — my opponent for the exhibition, in fact — taught me that. I’m grateful that he did, because it ensured I knew not to hope for the impossible.”

There’s an uncomfortable expression on Jinn’s face. Obi-wan’s smile widens just barely, and they hope the sharpness of it is still on the inside.

They sketch a light bow, one much stiffer than the one they’d given in greeting initially. Show discomfort, hesitance.

“I have some bags to pack, so I’m afraid I’ll be leaving you first, Master Jinn.” They say. “Please do have a wonderful evening.”

They turn on their heel and book it out of there. Ideally, it looks like they’re barely holding back tears and don’t want the esteemed master to see them vulnerable, but mostly they just need to get out of that goddamn room.

Here’s to hoping that they never have to be in the same space as Jinn ever again.

Unfortunately for them, nothing is ever that fucking easy.

[bronze-bell]

The sound of chalk and writing draws Frederick's attention, even as he feels his body relaxing just a touch. Lifting his head to peek at the words at the signal, the poke from Victor to tell him there was something to read, he had to say something. Didn't he?

"Find enough hypocrites and you come to expect them, I suppose. Letters can't be overheard, but... they can be kept. Used later as evidence." His hand ran gently along Victor's back. "I understand. I... I know."

So whoever these people Victor kept fearing were, they were... not ideal to be around. Not the kind who you want seeing you. The composer's heart pounded faster, louder, body tensing as he read the crossed out words, realized he'd scared his friend. His calloused hands had said more than he wanted, as well. When Frederick spoke next, it was quiet, shameful. Like he didn't know how to say the words in order to not make matters worse. "I... in truth, I already do, generally. I... left it by the desk for a reason." Would this help? Probably not. But... both parties knowing that the weapon was not on his person may do something.

That was... certainly a wording. Frederick felt his mind go blank and far too crowded all at once, unable to form a proper set of words, only able to barely process what was being said. A... whine, almost, of worry, left him, the only sound he could manage.

The description of his family sounded much like how Frederick had felt, had been stewing for too many years running. "Thank you. I assure you, they are not. The standards they hold go beyond music, as well."

What was facade and what was underneath, who was to say. Who could tell which was which, sometimes, when such things bled together, and some actions were in both. "...I cannot be sure, but I would like such things." The promise of not rejecting him, the grace being offered, made Frederick's body shake, trembling next to Victor. "...Thank you. I... I will promise the same."

The ringing of the bell next to his ear caused him to almost perk up, before he feels arms around him, and... the tears. Oh god. He couldn't let go right now, not when he was sure Victor was collapsing either way. Blinking back tears of his own, even as some managed to escape him, he couldn't help but worry. He had to keep himself upright, so they don't both fall.

Victor can only cry and wait for a response that doesn't come. The hands readjusting to hold him steady, the heartbeat he can feel under the chest that's the only thing keeping him from toppling over, the tears he can feel from the pianist dripping down his neck, it's all too much for him to handle writing right now as he melts into the hold.

He settles on wondering instead, deciding that the conversation is probably over as of now. He closes his eyes, calming his breathing as he recalls. Of course letters can be kept to reuse later, that's why he keeps them so safe, close to his chest to reread over and over while making sure they never slip out into the wrong hands. He trusts Frederick with his words. At this point he's starting to trust Frederick with his life.

The cane is what Frederick is implying as the weapon, he's pretty sure. He doesn't understand how it would fire, as he imagines it in his mind's eye, but it's definitely not a weapon he wouldn't notice Frederick grabbing. That's good. He feels safer, thinking about that. Frederick is so kind, keeping it a good distance away, making sure Victor would know if the pianist held it in his hands and set it up. It's kind to let him feel the comfort of confirmation that he is not in danger right now.

Victor holds back a disgruntled noise thinking about Frederick's family. He'd had parents who pretended they loved him as a child, and he had.... A kind of family as a postman, and the former he could never imagine doing such a thing. The latter... This time he does make the noise, although coming out as more of a sad whine, usual muteness giving way to some form of strained communication.

He smiles thinking about Frederick's promise of holding Victor's secrets to the same standard, smiles at the comfort, smiles at everything as he cries and sobs and laughs a little, bubbly hitches escaping stitched lips as he clings to Frederick like a spider to a fly, emotions spinning in his head fast enough to stop him thinking straight, and so...

"t-thank yyou... S-so muc-ch..."

His throat burns with disuse as he finishes the meagre statement, but he's too drunk on being cared for to worry about that. If falling in love was platonic, he'd be head over heels. He doesn't think anything has ever felt so wonderful, as he lets himself relax, sinking into the warmth of the pianist's arms. Here, he's safe. Here, everything will be okay.

He is loved, just for tonight.

[jeremy-ken-anderson]

Spider-verse, Angels, What We Measure

The things we associate with the divine is not What There Is to the divine.

It's what we can see, and/or what impacts us in the places and on a scale where we comprehend it.

That which we never perceive, collectively, we claim not to exist.

Scientifically, this serves. But also scientifically this has no basis, and a decent scientist will tell you so.

What is an angel? Some accounts say a beautiful man with wings who had children by one or more of the women in the village; children who then had no wings but did seem to have impressive abilities. Some accounts say a voice from the heavens. Looked upon, as we were asked to, the being had many eyes, formed in rings upon halos of light, wings and fire. The voice told us what was to come, and what we must do. This kind of thing is shockingly detailed but gains us very little ground toward answering the question of what an angel is. The two accounts differ on as straightforward a question of "is an angel a thing of flesh?"

By the nature of these events, if you assume they happened and everyone involved was being honest on the topic of their own lived experience, there remains an issue of vast swaths of unseen information. Questions like, "Why?" and "How?" are left practically untouched, and "What?" remains rather vague.

The question of "Why?" is seldom discussed and the reason given is that this can't go beyond speculation. That the "why" of godly things is not something to be known by humans. But many take it a step further and forget that "Why?" was ever a part of the missing information. Perhaps they fill in with their own theory and, in absence of proof to the contrary, they take that as truth.

This leads to weird questions of veracity. Like, how would a human distinguish between a demon - in some lore literally an angel who happens to be on the outs with the divine - and an angel? We admit we don't know any of what's going on behind the curtain but then make assumptions about our own capacity to judge what we haven't seen.

Were those angels who begat nephilim angels as the other ring-of-fire angels would call them? And vice versa? Would angels be offended if you referred to their fallen kin as Not Angels? There's all this lore hidden from us by virtue of the things we're talking about being of a core state we do not (and potentially cannot) understand. But we make all kinds of confident declarations about what a True angel is. About what is and isn't an angel. About the properties, purposes, and nature of angels.

Even if we trust our religion of choice absolutely and assume all the lore within scripture is true, we must assume functionally everything else is just made up. In terms of how much we can trust it, it might as well be.

This is one of the weird places I get to looking at Spider-verse.

Miguel has this utter certainty that being broken down by a failing of personal responsibility and driven by a need to make good on a debt that literally can't ever be repaid without resurrection powers is necessary to being Spider-Man.

We know he's been watching a lot of stuff in a lot of universes.

We also know he's biased as fuck. He's got his own hang-ups. And everyone wants to think other people think like them. Outside of contrary evidence almost everyone defaults to this mindset.

I also find his place as the gatekeeper for who does and doesn't get to be declared "really Spider-man" pretty funny, because a lot of fans rejected his comic series as just not being very spider-manny. A lot of his themes and even powers feel more like someone stuck Morbius into a spider-man outfit?

I dunno. There will always be Secrets of the Universe (or Multiverse, I guess) that we don't know. It's really important to recognize the points where you don't know things, and quit acting like you do when you hit those blank points in your own knowledge. We've absolutely got to keep working with the best knowledge we have. But the fact that it appears to have been functional so far doesn't mean we should ignore the possibility that it's faulty. The water pulling away from the beach does not mean this is a good time to play in the sand. It may seem that way, and indeed will be that way, until the tsunami arrives and suddenly it is Not At All a good time to be on that beach.

Assumptions that anomalies and everything associated with them are inherently a problem but the spider-verse travelers' travel methods aren't...Well. Those are some assumptions. And when you think about it, they're assumptions that happen to align with what a big group of people who want to Make It Right and can't do that in their own world would want to believe.

[themoonlily]

Galadriel's storyline in ROP rubs me wrongly in so many ways. Honestly, if an Elf really needs to be gallivanting around Middle-earth with a bunch of Númenoreans at their heels, it's Elrond. He's the young one here, whose angst would be a little more understandable in the scale and nature written in the show than Galadriel’s (not that she doesn’t have stuff to be angry about, I just expect better of her), with canonical connections to Númenor and thematic potential with his being Elros' brother and thus the living embodiment of what Númenoreans crave. Meanwhile, if anyone should be dealing with the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm, it's Celebrimbor and Galadriel - and especially the latter should be the political agent Elrond is made out to be.  For the record, I do not actually condone this idea, but if we are talking in the terms of the story as it is being told in the show, it would make a lot more sense if Celebrían had the role of the warrior princess that's been given to Galadriel. Canonically little is known about what she was actually like, and as a character she does not have the baggage of established lore and how fandom widely regards her role in the legendarium. Galadriel, meanwhile, has these in loads and we know she was being politically active and a wife and mother at this point of the Second Age. Weren't the show's creators harping on filling in the blanks or writing the book Tolkien never did write? Instead they've gone and erased an actual canonical character whose story was never very detailed, and completely derailed a character that does have plenty written about her. As the show's version stands, it pretty much declares the story of Galadriel as a woman with a husband and daughter is not worth telling. Galadriel is not trying to reach her goals through her personal power, charisma or influence but through violence and bitterness. 

And what did the first season accomplish? It made Galadriel's goal vengeance, pure and simple. Even before the death of Finrod, it was something along the line of avenging the death of Two Trees. Not a word about her personal ambition of becoming a queen in her own right, establishing a realm or being a leader. Her story is of aimless wandering for an age, looking for some guy so that she can kill him to avenge a brother who is living happily in Valinor. Now, especially after that scene with her and Halbrand/Sauron, Galadriel's story is twisted even further. Now it looks like it was Sauron who planted the idea of ruling as a queen in her head. And not even as a queen in her own capacity, but as subservient to him (Sauron does not share power, essentially he's offering her nothing better than he offers to any common orc). This casts a completely different light on her rejection of the Ring in FOTR and undermines the importance of what this moment means for her as a character: the temptation is no longer her ruling as the supreme queen, but acting as Sauron's bootlicker, which also makes the temptation look pathetic and thus her refusal no big deal. Essentially, Galadriel's story is not about Galadriel anymore. It's a story about men who leave her (Finrod and Celeborn), or who condescend on her (Elrond), or who use and manipulate her (Gil-galad and Sauron). I don't even know what purpose this serves. Not only is this ship-baiting just tired, but also what it implies about her is pretty awful and humiliating. It's contradictory to everything said about her in canon, or Elves and marriage. Galadriel even in her youth keenly reads and understands people and their motives and she is consistently the one person who recognises evil when it has not yet revealed itself and rejects it before anyone else. And yet here she is, dicking around with the enemy she has been hunting for millenia. It makes her look clueless, naive and stupid, her "quest" essentially a fool's errand, and it paints her later struggles against Sauron not as the actions of a leader trying to do the right thing even though it costs her everything, but as a scorned ex trying to get payback for personal slight. It's as if Amazon was not capable of understanding the concept of people choosing to do good for its own sake, and deciding to fight an almost hopeless battle because to do nothing would be worse. For them, every good deed has to have a personal stake or agenda. This undermines Galadriel's "goodness" (and her greatness) even more, as if this show's version of her hadn't done enough to make her look as bad as possible. And it shows Amazon’s profound misunderstanding of Tolkien.   Sidenote, now that I think more of this, I can't help this feeling: Galadriel had to be the one to go to Númenor instead of Elrond, because show creators were too much of cowards to genderbend Sauron or ship-bait a male/male relationship (for the record, I think ship-baiting or queerbaiting are both stupid things to do). Appearing as a woman is completely within the reach of Sauron's abilities, and he actually has the history of using shapeshifting either to fight or to entice. Hell, why is ship-baiting even necessary, unless to recycle once again some truly overused tropes? (Employing overused tropes in fanfiction is one thing, but I expect better from a big adaptation that makes a huge number of being faithful to the source material.) Tolkien in particular is known for his iconic friendships and love between comrades; in fact, it's the friendships of his characters, not their romances, that save Middle-earth and a betrayal of faith and fellowship is no less devastating. Instead of a potentially interesting and new take, what we got is an entire season of Galadriel and Halbrand getting off on being mutually terrible people, her apparently being the reason he returns to his evil ways, and her agency stripped away from her so that she can pursue an essentially pointless vengeance. Even the person she supposedly loves is mentioned only once in a throwaway scene that does not in any way convince me that she actually cares about Celeborn. Also the erasure of Celebrían (who is canonically around the same age as Elrond) now leads to the logical conclusion that she will be born some time during this show, which makes her extremely young in Elven terms at the time of her marriage to Elrond. Yikes. Furthermore, this is a further violence done to Galadriel and her narrative, because canonically she and Celebrían were together at least for most of the Second Age, but now her daughter will be married off almost as soon as she has reached some sort of physical maturity. (Honestly, does anyone believe that Morfydd Clark looks and appears as if she could be the mother of an adult daughter? I have no trouble believing this of Cate Blanchett's Galadriel. Both of these actresses are/were in their early thirties when they first appeared in the role of Galadriel. Maybe it's not Clark's fault -- although her physical smallness in the role of a very tall and strong woman is jarring -- and instead it's because the character is written as such a petulant child that it's horrifying to even think of her parenting anyone.) 

[cursedvessels]

A branding tool is passed his way and Demi lifts it to inspect the image carved onto the end. He smirks in satisfaction as he views it, grinning over at Leo with that twisted curl of his lip.

"The ring can be broken, removed," Demi points out to Eric harshly, a dramatic flourish of his hand given in demonstration. "This can never be undone..." A deep chuckle from his chest as he twists the rod in his fingertips. Then, he grabs Ambrose and shoves him forward, smile disappearing as quickly as it had come. A firm scowl as he passes the rod to the god cowering on the floor.

"Do it or I'll make you," Demi growls through clenched teeth. Ambrose presses his lips into a thin line, looking from the brand to Demi and then back again for a long moment. Then, his face contorts into some kind of fear and pain as he shakes his head in refusal, a slight whimper escaping. His rejection is met with more rage, Demetrius grabbing him by the throat and dragging him closer, the hot metal held close to his face.

"Would you like to be next," he growls into his ear and Ambrose cowers, whimpers as he quickly shakes his head.

"I just..I think..." A shaky breath. "I mean, sh- shouldn't ye...have Shimi watch." An attempt at stalling the inevitable a bit longer, perhaps giving room for Leo to escape that fate...Of course, Demi could smell the trap now that he knew Ambrose had been so close to Leo. His lips curl into a wicked grin and he slowly shakes his head, throwing him to the floor.

"Ambrose," he booms. "My deepest desire at this very moment is for you to brand this girl that she might never be near Shimi, the very jinn she's fallen for, ever again." Eyes narrow as he glowers down at Ambrose, holds out the rob. "I wish it." The hissed command is enough to have Ambrose moving by force to take the branding rod, his whole body rigid and eyes glazed, the deep green glow of them burning brighter as he takes the heated tool and turns to Leo.

Blank expression falters as a tear slips down his cheek, the corners of his mouth twitching up into a sad, sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry..." he whispers in a choked voice before moving to grab her hand, stretch out her fingers...

And burn the talisman onto her knuckle.

Talisman.

Leo scrambles backwards, desperate to get away from all three of them. Had the ring they stuck back on her finger not been enough? She couldn’t get it off without feeling like her skin would go right along with it. She knew it was meant to keep Shimi away if e came looking for her. Couldn’t touch em without it causing em pain. Why would she need something else?

“What…?” Terrified blue eyes lock onto Eric, though he mostly looks bored despite turning a little green around the gills. “No, no, no…”

“You’re sure the ring won’t just keep him away?” Is that remorse on his face as he sets down the branding tools on the floor of the cage? “People might see it.” He hesitates for a moment as his gaze flickers to Demi, though he doesn’t look at Leo, then mumbles. “It’s not gonna be pretty.”

Leo’s seen all those tools before. The equipment necessary to brand cattle. Her dad never let her watch, but she snuck into the barn once; that smell was still trapped in her nose. William swore it didn’t hurt them but how could it not?

“No, wait… wait. Don’t – you don’t have to.” The pleas are muttered as she backpedals more, shoving herself against the bars as hard and as close as she can get. Like the distance will somehow matter in the long run. “Ambrose!” Leo shrieks as Eric moves closer, grabs her by the arms to drag her back to the center of the cage despite her flailing.

[frogtanii]

[buckle up; this one is a long one (1.6k words)]

things weren’t supposed to turn out this way.

she was supposed to show up, apologize “sincerely,” and the boys, her boys, were supposed to welcome her with open arms and swiftly discard of you.

instead, she was sitting in the back of a cramped police car with two pigs, one of which had a horrible b.o. problem and an affinity for sauerkraut.

it was so frustrating.

and, of course, it was all your fault.

you’d been blocking her from true happiness ever since the beginning when you’d first met in middle school. it was crazy because you’d actually seemed nice; kind, understanding, and you didn’t judge her for what her father did to her mother or for how she acted out because of that.

sure, you were a little weird and sometimes you could be downright rude to other kids in your class but you cared for her in a way that no one else had before.

(un)fortunately, you didn’t come alone — you were a packaged deal. your childhood friend, daishou, came into her life right along with you. she didn’t mind at first; daishou was fun when he wanted to be but he was mostly full of snarky comments and sarcastic quips.

the three of you spent all your time with each other; from playing at the playground to helping her begin her makeup youtube channel in 8th grade.

you all got along pretty well up until you got to highschool. once there, you threw yourself into your studies, sort of retracting yourself from her and daishou.

how selfish.

she couldn’t help but feel betrayed by you—you knew how bad she was at making friends and you didn’t even care, leaving her all alone to fend for herself.

well, not all by herself.

daishou was a constant. no matter where she was, or how alone she was feeling, he was there to provide entertainment at the most, and his presence at the least.

it wasn’t always the healthiest, most functional friendship, she could admit that. there were weeks that daishou would choose to ignore her for no apparent rhyme or reason, citing his explanation as he just didn’t feel like it.

obviously it sucked but he was her only friend, ever since you so cruelly abandoned them. i mean, you still ate lunch with them every day and invited them over to study and hang out, but it was not the same.

with you so absent, she grew closer and closer to daishou to the point she was spending almost every waking moment with him. and, as the story so goes, she fell for him, head over heels.

she knew it was a bad idea, if their friendship was anything to go off of but she didn’t care. she was desperate for love and physical affection and he seemed willing to at least give her the latter.

after she decided to confess, nerves all the way in her throat and a box of chocolates behind her back, daishou took her virginity in the back of his ford fusion, hard, fast and nothing like she’d imagined.

the next day, she’d cornered you in the library (where you always seemed to be) to tell you the good news. your face was unusually blank as she detailed the best night of her life to you, your response being less than stellar when she was done. “please be careful,” you had said.

what did that even mean? you clearly wanted to keep daishou safe from her which was ridiculous because weren’t you supposed to be her friend too? she’d stormed out of the library after that, determined to demand a kiss from daishou to make her feel better.

that day was one of the last that she’d see you for a while. you got caught up with clubs and schoolwork (and apparently therapy for god knows what) while she got caught up with daishou.

things with him weren’t... great. they never really were but things were getting even worse. his random bouts of silence got longer and though it was only freshman year and they’d been dating for less than 5 months, he’d meet with her after school with a hickey plastered on his collarbone that she knew she didn’t put there (she sucked even harder over the spot to claim it as her own).

as she said, things weren’t great but they weren’t horrible either. they remained that way all the way up until sophomore year.

you and her had drifted even further, hardly speaking to one another unless it was for a project or to vaguely greet one another in the halls. it was okay though. you had all your other friends and she... well she had daishou.

speaking of, her “boyfriend” had been more distant than usual. she wasn’t an idiot and she knew he’d been seeing other girls on the side, but she believed she would be the one he’d end up with, the one he’d marry.

how foolish she had been.

it was prom night and she felt beautiful. her beauty channel had finally begun picking up traction (she’d just hit 13k subscribers the night before!!) so she filmed a prom night makeup tutorial, making sure that every square inch of her face was perfect. donning a silky blue floor length dress, she felt like a princess and she certainly looked the part.

she showed up to daishou’s house about 30 minutes before the event, ringing his doorbell with an elated grin painted all over her face. he had mentioned in passing that his parents and older sister would be out for the weekend, leaving the house for themselves. that meant sex and sex meant being wanted.

after the third ring of the bell, she started to get nervous. maybe he wasn’t ready yet? maybe he needed help with his tie? just when she was about to wring the bell again, the door swung open to reveal daishou... not in his suit.

“oh, it’s you,” he’d grumbled. “‘m not goin’ to prom.” she felt her breath catch in her throat. she’d protested and begged for an explanation but he wouldn’t give one to her. eventually, she’d followed him into his house, furious because how could he do this to her? on her night?

it didn’t take very long for him to get fed up, his snake-like eyes honing in on her, filled with venom. “‘m not goin’ because i don’t like you anymore. you still look pretty though.”

just like that, with just a few words, he’d shattered her heart. she was frozen in place, completely disconnected from daishou, her love, as he not-so-gently pushed her out the door, slamming it in her face.

she felt tears stream down her cheeks and before she knew it, her legs were carrying her to a place she hadn’t been in months.

banging frantically on the door, she cried out, begging for someone, anyone to hear her. the door opened quickly and there you stood. you’d clearly been studying but as you took in her frazzled appearance, it seemed as though your heart broke.

you ushered her inside, sat her own the couch, and began to make her a cup of tea, your parents having been out for the night as well. once the kettle went off, you quickly prepped her drink and gave it to her, the words flowing out of her like liquid once she had taken a sip.

she didn’t know why she was even there but despite the animosity between the two of you, you seemed like you truly... cared. (neither of you mentioned the tears that stained your favorite t shirt or the quiet apologies you muttered into her hair).

that night quickly went and passed and by the next day, she was feeling rejuvenated and more like herself. however, that feeling quickly dissipated when she caught you in the hallway between classes speaking with daishou behind the stairwell in hushed tones.

within the span of a few hours, her heart had been broken twice and she was sure she’d never felt such heartache before.

she turned on her heel and darted away, avoiding your every attempt to talk to her for weeks and weeks until you just... stopped trying. after you’d cut off conversation, yet again, the sadness quickly festered and morphed into anger.

that anger only grew when she watched you graduate at the top of your class in your senior year, your smile blinding as you accepted your diploma. it only grew when she saw that you had made it into the university of your choice on your instagram story, her own rejection letter torn up in the bottom of her wastebin. it only grew when she saw you’d made your own youtube channel, her own going untouched and neglected (her last video had been a half-assed “get ready with me” that had more dislikes than likes due to her horrible makeup and even worse attitude).

soon enough, the rage had intensified until it had taken over her whole being. she was just so angry at all that you’d done to her, all the ways you’d ruined her life that she couldn’t keep herself from plotting your demise.

when she got the email from the hyper house management team that invited her into the house and offered the option that she could pick someone she wanted to move in as well, her anger turned into excitement.

this was her chance. this was her moment to turn your life into a living hell, to make it at least a fraction of what she went through by your hands.

she was going to make you pay and god, was it going to feel great.

the metal of the handcuffs chafed her wrists as she adjusted herself against the cool leather of the cruiser, the discomfort removing her from her reverie.

yeah, right. it seemed as though she was the only one “paying” right about now.

she tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling, tears filling her eyes but refusing to fall.

things definitely weren’t meant to turn out like this. not at all.

℗ poker face

not like this

series masterlist

(●’◡’●)ﾉ

an - OMFG THE BACKSTORY REVEALED I AM SO OVER IT >:(( this took me forever to write and i still wasn’t able to include everything i wanted to so hop over to my asks if you need any clarification!! oh oh && just a reminder, this playlist is from meiko’s perspective so chances are, things didn’t exactly go just like this wink wonk KAJS ANYWAYS DONT FORGET TO FEED ME ILY <3333

taglist - if your name is in bold, i cannot tag you

@boosyboo9206 • @geektastic84 • @elianetsantana • @trashy-simp • @infinitebells • @6mattsun9 • @suhkusa • @katsulovee • @kotarosbabygirl • @fucktheworlddude • @insomniacwreck • @calumsfringe • @saltylettuce • @chai-blu • @al3x1ss • @hawksyoongi • @jooleuuh • @loubells • @kissungjae • @liberhoe • @tetsurocore • @animeoverdosee • @duhsies • @saiKishaircLip • @afire24 • @premiyagi • @kit-kat428 • @doctorspencereid • @daphnxy • @kyomihann • @maer-333 • @sinoflust19 • @peteunderoos • @peachiikichu • @iidanotlida • @yongboxerrr • @kac-chowsballs • @tanakaslastbraincell • @memorableminds • @risjime • @starry-magicshop • @sugavwara • @smuttyanimeslut • @kiwibirbs-library • @haijkk • @airybnb • @crybabygumi • @iwaisa • @decaffinatedtealover • @notameera • @kawaii-angelanne • @rintarovibes • @urlocalsimp • @keiarma • @shrimpypenis

the rest of the tags will be in the replies!!

[moririki]

⤷ CLUELESS

USHIJIMA WAKATOSHI X READER -> 1.5K despite your best efforts to confess your feelings to the infamous stone wall, he never quite seems to understand

REQUEST -> n/a CONTAINS -> ushijima being fucking clueless lmaooo, reader stumbling around being awkward, tendo being a jackass in the best way, obvious pining MORI'S THOUGHTS -> this imagine is based off of monthly girls' nozaki-kun, which is a pretty good (and short!) anime i watched on netflix hehe. the dynamic just reminded me of ushi for some reason so this became a thing

WHEN YOU FOUND YOURSELF FALLING HEAD OVER HEELS FOR THE CAPTAIN OF A VOLLEYBALL TEAM, YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO DO. the two of you had nothing in common. the most you saw of him in a day was the brief glimpse of him before he headed into class. despite the fact that you could count the number of interactions that you've had with him on one hand, you were quick to develop feelings for the guy.

maybe you just had a type. he was tall, handsome, and quiet, but you were surprised that not many of the girls in your class gossiped about him. from what you knew about him, he mostly kept to himself or the volleyball team, with a very focused mindset accompanying him on and off of the court. the more that you knew about him only deepened your crush, to the point where it was getting unbearable to just admire him from afar.

while you felt like you knew the outcome before it started, you still decided to try your luck. today was the day of your confession.

"um, ushijima?" you tapped him on the shoulder hesitantly, stood next to his desk. he turned to you, face stoic as always. now or never. don't give away the fact that you're sweating bullets, you reminded yourself. your hands were balled into tight fists, nails digging into your palms as you felt your mouth open and close a few times with no sound coming out. fuck.

ushijima's face was blank, offering neither support nor disdain. well, the lack of outright disgust was always a good sign.

"i just wanted to say that i, uh.." you trailed off, resolve crumbling underneath the powerful gaze of ushijima. what were you thinking? you couldn't tell him how you felt, but you couldn't just slowly destroy yourself keeping it from him. might as well get it over and done with. "i want to be around you!" you ended up blurting out. and once the dam broke, more and more words started to spill past your lips.

"i've always admired you and how dedicated you are to volleyball, and i want to be around you more- and it's because i-" you finally hesitared at that, feeling your face flame up when confronted with the three little words which would change everything. but ushijima must have assumed that you had finished talking because your chance to confess had disappeared.

"i'm glad that you feel that way, y/n." ushijima's facial expression was still stern, but you perked up at his words nonetheless.

"you do?" you sounded breathless, eyes wide after you had just exposed exactly how you felt to your long-standing crush. ushijima nodded encouragingly, and you could feel a ringing in your ears as you begaj to think that you were dreaming. this was simply too good to be true, and you felt so lightheaded that you could float away with the lightest gust of wind.

"to confirm your position as manager you're going to have to fill out a form, but you can join practice tomorrow." you blinked, feeling yourself crash back down to earth when ushijima continued to speak.

"wait, what?" ushijima then looked at you in confusion.

"did you not just ask me to be a manager?" you hesitated, struggling internaly as to whether you should confess, again. but your cowardice won, and you sighed, nodding.

"i'll see you tomorrow."

the plasticky squeak of trainers hitting gymnasium floor welcomed you, and you steeled your nerves before stepping through the doors and being welcomed by the bright lights. you squinted as the glare hit you, hands holding onto your arms in an attempt to pull yourself together.

the sound of a volleyball being spiked into the floor harshly grasped your attention, and you watched in awe as the shiratorizawa volleyball team began to warm up. ushijima had just delivered that terrifyingly fast spike, and you felt a blush rise to your face as you saw how concentrated he was. cute.

"oh, hello!" a singsong voice and accompanying face invaded your senses, and you squeaked in surprise, taking an involuntary step back. the red-headed boy grinned at you, his frame towering over yours. "are you the new manager?" you nodded once, eyes darting past him to look at ushijima again. the ace still had his attention trained onto the court, despite the racket his teammate was causing. you sighed when you realised that your crush hadn't noticed you come in, and your action caused the redhead in front of you to narrow his eyes shrewdly.

"tendo, get back to practice!" a second voice called from the court. another guy with grey hair was stood there with his hands on his hips, staring at the male in front of you expectantly.

"coming, semi-semi!" tendo sang, offering you a cheery wave before running back. you were glad that there was at least one friendly face in the gym, though you had to fend for yourself now.

considering the fact that you had minimal support and nobody else to show you the ropes, you had actually picked up rather quickly on how to be a semi-decent manager. you fell into a rhythm over the next few weeks, filling up water bottles and preparing towels for the sweaty players. at least your failed confession had led to you taking part in a club that would look very good on your college applications.

another positive from this whole experience was the fact that you had gained two new friends, who went by the names tendo and semi. it was almost embarrassing at how quickly they figured out your crush for their team captain- semi tried to flirt with you, and tendo cackled as you stuttered out a rejection for his advances. next thing you know, one instinctive glance in ushijima's direction had tendo unraveling the entire mystery as to why you had signed up for a position as manager.

of course, the two assholes found the whole situation hilarious at your expense. however, you couldn't find yourself holding a grudge against the boys when they offered to act as your official wingmen. as for the very reason why you had joined the team, things were going about as well as you could expect. while he made no indication of going out of his way to talk to you, ushijima would gladly return any conversation that you struck up when handing him his water bottle or towel. he'd then return to practice promptly, help to lock up the gym, and then leave with not much in terms of a second glance. it was unsurprising behaviour, but still disheartening to say the least.

that's how you found yourself ranting to tendo during the team's five-minute break, with the boy watching your frustrated face in amusement.

“i just- i can’t believe that i talked myself into being a manager! all because of a crush! a crush that doesn’t even realise that i like him!” you placed down the towel that you just folded in frustration, and tendo couldn’t stop a giggle escaping his lips.

“look, that’s just how he is.” the redhead attempted to console you, giving you a pat on the arm. “he’s difficult to read, and he never talks about his emotions. besides, i don’t think he’s ever had a crush before.”

you sighed, nodding in defeat.

“yeah, yeah. i get it.” tendo’s focus drifted from your face to behind you, and he was quick to sling an arm around your shoulder.

“speaking of the guy...” he muttered to you under his breath. you turned to see the captain approaching, his brow slightly knitted. you smiled as best as you could, offering him a water bottle.

“bye, sweetie,” tendo cooed at you, shooting you a painfully obvious wink that had you blushing and looking down at your shoes. now it was just you and ushijima, the latter being as silent as ever. you coughed once, peeking up at his face.

“you spiked well today.” ushijima nodded once, a small smile spreading across his face. the motion had your heart swelling.

“thank you. you’re a very good manager.” you laughed, mostly to hide your blush and just at how ironic this entire situation was.

“thank you.” you smiled up at the man, and that was the end of your interaction. you watched his back as he returned back to the court, going so much further away from you. tendo shot you two thumbs up and received a slap on the back of the head from semi, and that made you giggle.

hell, even if you got here under circumstances that weren’t in your favour, you wouldn’t trade it for the world. something about getting to watch ushijima perform in his element every day was enough to keep your crush going, reciprocated or not. besides, who knew how the guy really felt after all?

your daydreaming had you staring off into space as the coach blew a whistle to mark the return to practice, and a pair of olive eyes tore themselves away from you to focus back on the court.

you had been paying attention to his spikes, after all.

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