#maybe i shouldn’t be joking about an actual risk but who care

[t4tstarvingdog]

maybe if we’re lucky the suspicious guy trying to get into our apartments will break in and kill my in my sleep with some sort of heavy object straight to the cranium

[crazyw3irdo]

as someone whos got a romeo and juliet adaptation/sequel on the backburner, i have a question for you: What is your favorite part of this play? It can be themes, a scene, or a character or whatever else! Personally my favorite thing in it, at the risk of sounding cliche, are the themes of destiny and doom. I also like benvolio (totally didnt get him in ur quiz lol)

oooh!! well i mean the obvious answer for me is equally obvious i think lol

i fuckin love mercutio. so much so that even if im watching a version of r&j i don’t care for i’ll stick around at least until he dies lol

he really just cements the tragedy of it all to me. if the story were a romance he’d just be the silly best friend comic relief character, and, aside from the opening narration and a couple fights, r&j really can seem like a romance… up until mercutio dies. his death is a signifier of the tonal shift. the happy-go-lucky guy who brings romeo to a party and cracks jokes just died. you want comic relief? he’s dead.

and of course there’s the fact that he shouldn’t even be involved. he’s not a capulet or a montague. he’s related to the prince. not a part of the families. he’s a casualty. he was a friend to romeo and benvolio- two montagues- and he was invited to the capulet party! he’s how they got in! he had no enemies- he shouldn’t’ve died! hell, had romeo not come between him and tybalt, he might have lived. then romeo wouldn’t’ve killed tybalt, he wouldn’t’ve been banished, juliet wouldn’t’ve had to fake her death leading to well… everyone knows that part.

he only got into the fight to defend his friend’s honor. (well, to be fair depending on how you read the dialogue before the fight, mercutio might be pretty ready to jump into a fight for any reason lol) but still, he got into that fight because tybalt wanted to fight romeo, and he only died because romeo intervened.

what really gets me too is… no one seems to mourn him. sure, yes, romeo kills tybalt in revenge, but then immediately tybalt’s death takes priority. everyone’s freaking out about how tybalt died- tybalt is mourned. i don’t recall if mercutio is ever mentioned again. (edit: mercutio is mentioned when paris dies, romeo calls him mercutio’s kinsman, but that’s. still not much)

there’s also his iconic quote as he’s dying- a plague on both your houses. as he dies he goes out screaming about how both families are at fault, how it’s their own stubbornness that is causing all this. and if anyone listened to him, maybe things would’ve been different. but still, romeo and juliet (…and paris i guess?) have to die before anyone actually listens.

also, on a more lighthearted note, he is fucking hilarious. his whole queen mab monologue to make fun of romeo is a personal highlight, as well as his line like… quoting from memory here, “here comes romeo, without his ‘ro’ like a dried fish.” okay okay so this is when they still think romeo is into rosaline, hence the “ro” but also “roe” like fish eggs, but also meo is a word for “sigh” so he’s sad because he doesn’t have his crush with him all told with a fish pun. love this guy i aspire to be on his level

ooh, also, when a staged production (or other kind? it’s most common staged) uses red for the capulets and blue for the montagues, i love when mercutio wears purple. goes back to my earlier point about him not being either but still being friendly with both.

also speaking about very specific productions of romeo and juliet some mercutio highlights:

-in rómeó és júlia (personal fav version of mercutio) when mercutio gets stabbed, he bleeds, gets his hand covered in blood, and slaps romeo before he dies, so romeo goes through the rest of that scene wearing his friends blood and it really adds to it

-also in that version they give mercutio a rap verse that is in no other version and i think of it constantly

-he also keeps flirting with everyone and kisses both romeo and benvolio and tries to with tybalt

-i made a compilation of him in that version i never posted actually i should see if i can find it

-in the italian version of romeo et juliette mercutio kisses romeo as he dies and it’s really intense lmao

-okay actually just watch this video comparing different versions of le duel from romeo et juliette i’ll stop talking about those versions specifically lmao (and watch les rois du monde & la mort de mercutio on the same channel)

-in romeo + juliet he wears heelys and when he says “by my heel i care not” you can see them lmao

-in that version he also dresses in drag and i love it

-riff from west side story is not technically mercutio but he sings the jet song & cool and i love those songs so hell yeah

-okay i said i wouldn’t talk about versions of retj again but going back to my beloved hungarian version rómeó és júlia the guy who plays mercutio also voices the onceler in the hungarian version of the lorax and if i have to know that so do you

anyway i genuinely plan for my last words to be “ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man” so yeah love that guy and personally think this could have all been avoided had he started dating romeo and benvolio and hell why not have a toxic fling with tybalt what who said that

[zambehnation]

They never kiss because in this one Wilson and Cuddy and the merry band of fellows convince House that he didn’t need to be miserable. Only he found he could be happy with someone else.

You’re jealous.

Of course, I’ve secretly harbored feelings for you all of this time. Leave your new lover. Come away with me instead.

Tempting. Except, you were never jealous of any of the other people I’ve been interested in— you were actually happy for me when I started dating Stacy. So, what’s changed? Is it because it’s a man?

You— actually think I’m jealous of you dating that man. I’m not— House, I have a patient in ten. Can we talk about this later? Or not because nothing’s wrong.

I asked if you wanted to get dinner. You said you were busy. You’re not. I checked with your secretary—

I had plans. I do have a life outside of this hospital that my secretary isn’t paid to manage.

There’s nothing, I would have known if—

What is it that you actually want? Why are you here? So, I missed this dinner. We can reschedule. I’m free tomorrow night. We’ll finally meet and I’m sure I’ll approve of him because anyone who makes you less of an ass is good in my book.

You’re avoiding me. I don’t care if you don’t approve of him. I care that we haven’t hung out since you found out. You’re not homophobic or else I’d have run you off sooner with all the gay jokes and the flirting. You’re jealous because I’m dating a man. But Pookie, you shouldn’t, because you’re still number one.

I’m not— It’s just a little weird. You never told me and now I’m just supposed to accept— I’m the one who’s always been there for you— through the leg and Stacy leaving and the addiction and the destruction. I stood next to you, given you everything you needed, everything I could.

Why isn’t it me?

That sounds a lot like a confession which if it is…is terrible.

It’s that serious?

You like him?

You’ve been pushing me to let other people in since you’ve known me— to move on from Stacy (from you), to try (to fall in love, be happy)—

Does it have to be with him?

It could have been with you.

—And now what? You suddenly decide to act like an idiot because there’s someone else or is it because you think that I owe you enough to sleep with you? That it? After all this time, you banked enough to collect on the fuck the cripple credits?

Don’t cheapen this. You know that’s not what I meant. If I had known there was a chance—

How could you not have known?

I didn’t know you liked men. You’re not as transparent as you think.

Not to anyone else. But to you? You’re as obsessive about me as I am of you. You notice everything and you’re proud when you’ve figured me out, when you’re right about me. So how could you have gotten this wrong?

You know I—?

I want you.

That you wanted me? Yeah.

I’ve always known. It wasn’t a problem. I wanted you too.

But you never said anything.

You hide. You repress. You get married (to other people). You could have said something, but you didn’t because you weren’t going to risk it so why should I?

Because you’re not afraid of risking anything even when you have everything to lose. You’re the adrenaline junkie. You thrive on the knife edge. Maybe there was something there to lose if you’d told me the truth and told me that you knew how I felt but for some reason you decided you weren’t going to risk it.

You think it’s not worth it if you can’t risk losing it.

No, I wasn’t.

Why?

It doesn’t matter. (You could have said something, and I still wouldn’t have let you because you stay when you’re needed. I’ve never seen you stay because you were loved.)

You want it not to matter? (But you want me.) You want to stay just… friends? (But I want you. We could be more, and we could be good, but you’d rather we pretend?)

Yeah. (No. Call me out. You’re supposed to be brave.)

Okay. I’ll come to dinner.

[tooxldtorememxer]

fornassau​:

The question be asked must have turned him a brighter shade of red behind the hand that was hiding his face. In general or personal preference? Oh god. He felt absolutely humiliated. The laughter did not help with that, though hearing him laugh like that in turn made James laugh even if he was trying to hide it. He was shaking his head. “ I just want to crawl in a hole and die right now.. “ He joked again, but then that hand was on his arm tugging it down. At least he was letting him know his faux pas was all right. He wasn’t bothered by it.

“ At least I made you laugh? “ He raised his arms up and dropped them, taking a few deep breaths, hoping the warm he felt on his face went away soon. But the extra and almost strange question of what he’d want was not helping the blush situation. He leaned back in his chair, rolling his eyes upward as he tried to think. “ I’d want.. someone kind, funny.. he definitely has to be able to make me laugh. Preferably good looking, but they aren’t everything. Someone that wants a family. “ He looked back at him then.

“ Similar interests, but also different because if we both liked everything that could get boring. Adventurous? I like to try new things and someone stuck in their way might not like that. Affectionate. He’d have to be affectionate. And money isn’t everything, but stability is. I’d like someone who has a job, knows what he wants out of his life. “ He then snickered. “ Someone who could put up with me, because frankly I can be a mess sometimes. “ There was something charming about the warm look on his face as he gave him a few things he’d look for in someone.

Then amidst all the lightheartedness, he started to fidget with his fingers, avoiding eye contact as a frown started to tug at his lips and his voice was softer. “ Someone who wouldn’t hurt me.. I don’t think I can take anymore hurt to be honest. My ex almost broke me. Maybe he did, actually. It’s been several years and I haven’t had the confidence to even try dating again. I just don’t want to be rejected. I’ve had enough of that for one lifetime. “ Then he reflected more, this question having now sent him down a deeper, darker hole. “ Maybe it’s my fault anyway for thinking I could trust a politician. “

“Please don’t. I actually enjoy talking to you. I’d have to go back to only speaking with my brother if I wanted some normal conversation,” he rolled his eyes again. When you were in the circles like the Lannisters, finding casual and comfortable conversation was harder than one thought. I always seemed to be about money or business with those people and sometimes Jaime just wanted to goof around or talk about normal things. It was hard keeping conversation with five-year-olds when one of them only wanted to talk about her stuffed animals and the other wanted to fingerpaint the whole kitchen table. “I’ll give you that, but I wasn’t laughing at you, but it was kind of funny, I’m not gonna lie. But you didn’t answer my question but fine, keep your secrets,” he smirked and winked. He was clearly more comfortable now than he had been when he first walked in.

Jaime cracked another smile as he ticked off his list of what he would want in a man, a soft one at that. What McGraw wanted didn’t seem like it was much to ask for. Just a man that had his shit together and actually cared for him but since the world was full of assholes and deceivers, he could see that it might seem impossible or hard to find. “Hm, well, no one can be constantly perfect,” he shrugged. Everyone turned into a mess sometimes, one way or another and if that was too much then what the hell were you doing with that person to begin with?

There would always be the risk of getting hurt, even in a good relationship and rejections happened, but it didn’t have to be a terrible experience, it shouldn’t be, but that was always a part of the risk, wasn’t it? McGraw spoke of wanting someone willing to try something new and adventurous, brave even, so maybe what he needed was for someone to take that leap of faith for him and show him the way rather than push him over the edge. Jaime watched as he started to fidget and spiral again and his eyes narrowed in suspicion and then there it was again. The doubt, the self-blame. He reached out again, but this time his hand gently rested atop his fidgeting fingers instead of his arm. “No,” he said firmly but soft, he wanted him to hear him and believe it. “It’s not your fault, it was his choice, he is to blame for his own actions. Don’t do that. People like that, they’re well aware of what they’re doing. It was not your fault,” he repeated it again. Those were words he’d had to repeat to himself many times over in the past when his wife had died. He’d lived off of a lot of ‘what ifs’ and ‘whys’ for a long time.

It also bothered him that this man was a politician. It meant that Jaime might have met this man at some point. Politics and money went hand in hand and the Lannisters most certainly mingled with them, politicians. Jaime hated it, it felt pretentious and it was super boring. He could ask him for his name but it didn’t feel like this was the time for it. He could read the room and he wasn’t the main priority right now.

James McGraw had spent his entire life’s work dedicated to a personal hobby; antique books. Even with what little he had growing up, James made a fine life for himself. His grandfather made sure that he got a good education, something that came quite easily to him. For nearly twenty-five years now, he stood as the soul proprietor of The Gilded Page, a small antique book shop with a Victorian style front that faced the street on Charing Cross, in London. He’d practically written his soul away for the loan years ago, but all of that had paid off very well for him indeed.

It was difficult to be an antique dealer, much less a purveyor of rare titles. To be such a thing required intimate and vast knowledge on the subject and a great deal of trust between private collectors, auction houses and the like. But over the years he had mastered to do just that. This place wasn’t for someone to come and browse in like Barnes and Noble. God, no. The shop’s walls were lined high with books that were shelved in cases and behind glass. There were two large rooms for the ground floor, a chandelier with muted lighting hanging in the main room. Tables had some books here and there, and there were large volumes in display that were open, revealing the handwritten and painted work within the pages. And above all this was the flat he lived in. This place was just as much apart of his home.

In order to be seen by him an appointment had to be made. Book collectors tended to run in certain circles, and James liked to get information ahead of time so he could gather various titles from various places that might interest a buyer, and sometimes that took a bit of time with all the bartering and buying he had to do.

So in the second room, there sat a rounded table with a few comfortable high back chairs. He was expecting his client, a Mister Jaime Lannister. It would be difficult to not know that last name in London. But like all possible clientele, he gathered the volumes he’d obtained that may have been of interest as to what he was told on the phone weeks before hand. He’d just gotten some tea ready, which he also had brought out for that table with cream and sugar available. It was getting about that time, and to impress a new client was paramount in this business.

[bellatrixobsessed1]

The Comfort They Crave

Summary: Instead of finding herself imprisoned, Azula chooses to fight battles on behalf of everyone else even though it is slowly breaking her down physically and mentally. Sokka is the first person to suggest that maybe she doesn't deserve to be treated as a weapon.

“Why do you care if I’m safe?” She demands. She almost sounds angry about it. Angry to have someone who cares about her, someone who could be worried about her. And Sokka admits that he almost does let it deter him. Afterall, she is right. Why should he care? After everything that she’s put his sister and his friends though. After what she put he and Suki through.Why should he care, especially when she is snubbing him right now while he is trying to care. 

It is something in her eyes. 

That is what stops him from throwing up his hands and telling her that she’s right, he doesn’t care and he shouldn’t. 

Something in her eyes that says she is afraid. 

Afraid to be cared about. 

Afraid to let someone care about here. 

Something in her eyes that says that she is confused. 

Confused about how to handle a helping hand.

Confused, genuinely so, as to why anyone would care. 

Her tone is hateful but Sokka is certain that Azula really does want to know why he cares about her safety. At first all he can say is, “because no one else does.” A bad answer, he knows that even without her reply.”

“Clearly…” She mutters. Her voice is as flat as ever but he can still hear the hurt in her voice. She has come to some sort of resigned acceptance that the closest she will come to having friends is a gaggle of people that invite her to dinner because she has been fighting their battles for them. 

Today’s battle is a small team of assassins that have been after Zuko for some time. She has already taken down several of them; their capture had led to the relaying of crucial information. Details of the assassination plan that is going to be put into action tomorrow. And Sokka doesn’t think that this group particularly cares which royal they take down so long as they’ve got blood on their hands and an example to make of the body.

.oOo.

She supposes that she’d rather run the risk of death than spend a lifetime in a cell alongside father. At this point she has grown rather fond of the extremely high risk endeavors, they offer her, her best chance for peace. Her best chance for a blissful, merciful nothingness. The kind that will wrap around her and caress her body as it pulls under and away.

Away from everything that hurts her.

That will always hurt her and haunt her and torment her. 

Right now the source of her torment has blue eyes and the beginnings of a scruffy beard. Evidently this has been the source for the past few days. He is always yammering away about stupid things and telling ridiculous stories that she doesn’t care about. 

He tells her dumb jokes that aren’t funny.

Now he is pretending to be concerned so he won’t have to feel as guilty when she finally makes her way to that nothingness.

When she finally dies. 

“You’re not so bad.” He tries again. “I actually like talking to you.”

She furrows her brows, she can’t imagine why he would enjoy it. “Talking at me, more like.” 

He rubs the back of his head. “Yeah, I guess.” He pauses. “You’re the only person who hasn’t told me to shut up.”

“I’ve been trying to signal it with my eyes.”

Although she isn’t trying to be funny, he laughs. “You’re the only person who actually listens. And don’t tell me that you don’t. I’m used to people zoning out in the middle of my stories. You actually pay attention, I bet that you can tell me exactly what I was telling you about three days ago.”

“Submarine infrastructure.” She mutters against her better judgment. “How Water Tribe submarines differ from Fire Nation ones and the pros and cons of both.” 

“Exactly.” He is beaming now. She is not used to people look so cheerful over something that she has said. 

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“You asked me why I care if you’re safe.” He shrugs. “I care because I like talking to you. I also enjoy having you around for dinner.” He is dancing around the word ‘friend’. Not that he would consider her to be anything of the sort. 

“There are plenty of other people who you can talk to, Sokka. Maybe they aren’t as attentive but they’re more pleasant conversationalists.” She tapers off into a sigh. There is a stirring in her tummy, a depressive little tickle. 

“You’re not just some…some guard dog.” He sputters. 

They could have fooled her. She knows that they have been feeding her metaphorical table scraps. They pet her and treat her when she does well and kick her when she doesn’t even if it isn’t in a physical sense. 

Evidently she doesn’t even think that they realize that they are doing it. 

That they treat her not dissimilarly to how father always has. 

Especially Zuko.

Zuko who is so proud of himself for not turning out like his father. 

“I guess that it feels that way sometimes.” Sokka’s voice falls. He finds himself a seat next to her, shoulder hunched, posture slouched–exactly the opposite of how she holds herself. “It’s okay to feel heavy sometimes. It’s okay to show it.” He says. And then he clarifies, “You don’t always have to sit so tall.”

“Perhaps I find this position comfortable.” Even if it is only by familiarity. 

“I don’t think that you’re just some kind of weapon.”

She doesn’t believe him.

“You don’t have to do this, you know? I’ll tell them that I wouldn’t let you or that I wanted to handle it because I needed to feel useful.” He offers. “Sometimes I do that, you know? I can’t bend and so sometimes it feels like I’m not as cool or important. So sometimes I do dumb things…”

“Sometimes?”

“So that I can feel like I’m as strong as everyone else.”

Azula shrugs. “What do you need bending and strength for? You have something better.” 

“Better?”

She gives his head a good tap. “You’ve got more brains than all of them put together. They can master all the bending forms that they’d like, build as much muscle as they can. It won’t matter so long as you plan adequately.”

Sokka smiles. “See, this is why I like you.” He pauses. “You don’t give compliments very much…”

“That wasn’t a compliment it was a…”

“That’s what makes it mean so much when you do. Even if you decide to pretend like you weren’t giving compliments.” He has the audacity to take her hand. “I don’t think that you’re as cruel as everyone says, you wouldn’t be such a good listener if you were.”

She stares at her palm and at her hand in his. She considers shaking his grip away.

“Just because you have a past doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t get a future.” 

And she cracks. 

She doesn’t want to but she does. 

That armor that he has been steadily chipping away at is finally crumbled beyond use. 

Her breath hitches and she grits her teeth so to stifle the sob that wants to come forward. She swallows it down, though the tears are burning behind her eyes. She lets him rub her back. 

“It’s alright.” He assures. “You can just let it out. I think that you need to. I won’t tell anyone. As long as you don’t tell anyone that I’m also going to cry.”

“Why would you cry, Sokka?” 

“Because it just so happens that today is one of those days where I really wish that I could have bending so I wouldn’t just be the ‘idea guy’.”

.oOo.

He is surprised to find that she doesn’t tell him that that’s stupid and that he should be grateful that they think he is the brains of the group. Maybe it is simply because he has caught her in a vulnerable moment…maybe it is because they are both having one, but she pulls him into her arms and brushes her fingers through his hair.

She doesn’t say anything at all, but he can feel the care in her gestures. 

Can feel the affection. 

He knows that she isn’t as heartless as everyone makes her out to be, not when these small comforting gestures seem to come very naturally to her. Naturally, when she needs the comfort more than anyone else.

Not that he also can’t use some comfort. He isn’t just the idea guy, he is also the shoulder to cry on. The tough guy who listens to everyone’s problems and solves them. 

Just like he was trying to do for Azula.

Azula who has very much redirected his efforts and taken it upon herself to try to ease his pain.

He thinks that somehow it is soothing for her to be consoling him. 

Maybe it makes her feel less like a monster, maybe it helps her to remind herself that she is a human being filled with all of those emotions that people insist she is devoid of. 

“You know what else bothers me?” He asks.

“What bothers you?” She murmurs. He is glad for the soft and subtle quality of her voice. A voice that is so level now, he knows that she has managed to once again bury her own need to cry.

“I lose a lot of people I love and care about. I lost my mom and Yue and…I guess that’s not actually a lot.”

Azula shrugs. “One dead person is a lot, Sokka.” 

“I don’t want to lose another.”

“I’m not going to let Zuko die. Or Katara. Or any of those idiots.” 

“I’m not talking about those idiots!” He replies in a near shout. 

Azula snickers. 

“I’m talking about you.”

.oOo.

Azula swallows, “me?”

“Believe it or not, I care about you.”

The stroking of her hand comes to a halt. Surely just listening to his silly stories isn’t that profound. Really it is just a common courtesy. Yet he seems to really cherish that. She inhales through her nose. “Does it really bother you that much that I’m going to take this mission?”

“Yes!” He exclaims. “I know that there’s a better way to take this organization down. Sure it’s easier to just let you go in and do you thing. Take all of the damage that you usually take.” It isn’t lost on her that his eyes have locked on the scars that decorate her arms. The same sort that cover nearly every inch of her back and abdomen. The scars that keep piling up and up to the point where she is beginning to have trouble recognizing her own body. “It’ll take more time and planning but they don’t have to keep throwing you into the line of fire.” 

Azula shrugs. “It’s alright, Sokka. I’m used to it. If they didn’t, father would be.”

He takes her hands and squeezes them very tightly. “But it’s not alright. You shouldn’t be used to that.” 

She takes another shaky breath. The man really is pushing her to tears, she thinks that he might just be doing it on purpose. Maybe if she just gets it over with he will let her move on with her day and move on with her tasks. 

And maybe that is exactly what would have happened if Zuko and his merry band of morons hadn’t decided to come home from their afternoon of tomfoolery early. She shouldn’t have allowed him to convince her to cry. Especially not out here in the middle of the fucking palace garden of all places. 

She definitely shouldn’t have allowed him to coax her into leaning against him for a change. 

Because now they are looking at her differently. 

They are looking at her with pity and disgust. 

They are looking at her like she is weak. 

Sokka assures her that they are looking at her with empathy. That they are finally looking at her as a human being rather than something expandable. That might be reassuring if she believed him. 

.oOo.

It doesn’t take nearly as much convincing as he had anticipated now that they have happened upon her crying. Of course, Azula is furious with him, insisting very adamantly that he’d done that on purpose, that he had set her up to be caught. He’ll let her be mad at him because they are finally reconsidering their plans.

“Don’t write her out of them.” He mentions. “Let her work with us, not for us.”

“Sokka, you just said that you didn’t want her fighting.”

“I don’t.” He confirms. “But I know that she’ll take it the wrong way if we have her stay home. Let her take the lead, she likes doing that.” It’ll make her feel as powerful and strong as she likes to feel but she’ll have some support. People to make sure that she doesn’t acquire anymore painful scars. 

“Alright, we’ll come up with a new plan and…” Zukok starts. 

“I already came up with one.” Sokka cuts him off. “That’s my job, remember. I’m the idea guy.” Maybe one day they’ll catch that hint of bitter in his voice. At least this time, he is alright with being the idea guy. “I’m going to run it by Azula and let her polish things out. She’s amazing with details. I don’t know why you don’t let her make the plans. She can accomplish everything that needs to be done without getting hurt all the time.” He declares. 

It is then that he notices her figure propped up against one of the throne room pillars. He wonders how long she has been lurking for. Having noticed that she’d been noticed, Azula slips away from the pillar and wanders toward him. 

She looks much smaller without all of that armor. Or maybe it is how long the sleeves of her robes are. Or the way that her hair frames her face. And yet those eyes burn with a ferocity to match the bold personality within.

He takes her hand, it is soft and smooth and warm. “I think that between the two of us we’ll come up with a way to keep the assassins from getting to you and take care of them once and for all.” He pauses. “Without risking Azula’s life.” 

She is terribly quiet but he realizes that she is holding his hand back. Apparently she isn’t so angry with him after all. 

“That would be ideal.” Zuko replies as though this is the first time that he has actually truly considered that it might be better for everyone to try to make Azula feel cared for. 

Perhaps this mission won’t be full of love and fluff and team spirit. But it will be a start. And maybe, in due time, he won’t have to be the only one making all of the plans. Maybe, in due time, Azula’s scars will have a chance to heal. Maybe, in due time, the both of them will get the comfort they crave.

[outtherecreations]

🚙Chose Kevin🚙

Read Part 4 (FINALE) for this to make sense

I take a deep breath, looking between the two boys. I don’t want to do this, but I have to…for my own sake.

“Ben,” I sigh, they both perk up “I care about you. I always have and I alway will, but…I can’t keep doing this. For my own sanity, I can’t keep watching you become more and more distant, making more and more mistakes, and putting less and less in this relationship. We worked better as friends…I actually KNEW how you felt about me. I want to be in a relationship where I’m putting in the most work. I’m sorry…”

Those green eyes I fell in love with…

Now they’re making feel like puking. Ben lets outs a shaky breath, “N/N…you’re joking, right?” He asks. Ben looks at me up and down “You can’t be serious. After all we’ve been through, you’re gonna let one small mistake-” “It’s not just one small mistake. It’s a bunch of small mistakes that always turn into bigger ones. And I always let you slide every single time…I can’t do it anymore.” I sigh.

“If that’s how you’ve been feeling, why haven’t you actually tried to talk to me?!” Ben shouts “Well you don’t make it easy! You’re not even making breaking up with you easy!” I shout back “Newsflash, relationships aren’t easy!” Ben sighs “They shouldn’t be h*ll either! Ben, just stop please.” I sigh tiredly. Ben looks down at the ground, clenching his fists.

Kevin stands there, watching the both of us carefully. “Fine.” Ben says quietly before turning to Kevin “If you break her heart. I’m kicking you back into the Null Void.” He threatens. Kevin rolls his eyes “It’s gonna be hard to break what you already broke.” He states, Ben only growls. I watch him storm to his front door.

The door slams loudly-I just know Mrs Tennyson said something.

I flinch when Kevin places a hand on my shoulder, “Come on. Let’s head to the garage.” He says gently. We get into the car and drive off. I glance over at Kevin to see him grinning like an idiot “Why are you so happy?” I snort tiredly, looking out the window “Why am I so happy? Is that a serious question?! I finally got the girl of my dreams!” Kevin says victoriously.

My cheeks warm up, “Well…I’m probably gonna need some time before we-” “Say no more. I’ve waited this long. Now that the deal is officially sealed, I can wait a for more days or weeks.” Kevin says. He grins a little, keeping his eyes on the road. I stare at him in surprise, “Stop staring at me, Nut-heh, guess I can’t call you that anymore��Princess? Yeah, Princess…I missed calling you that. Stop staring at me, Princess, you’re making me distracted.” Kevin jokes.

“You just seen really ok with this.” I say “Of course I am, at the end of the day…I’m finally the one that gets to hold your hand and kiss you and call you everyday and beat up any guy that flirts with you. Maybe I can teach you how to drive now.” Kevin suggests, not even bothering to hide his excitement “Oh please, you said you’d never risk your car. Plus, Ben already taught me.” I scoff playfully. We stop at a red light “I never said we were gonna use MY car. And Ben barely knows how to drive himself.” Kevin snorts, I laugh and shake my head “You got a point.” I giggle weakly.

~2 Week Later ~

‘I guess if this is really what you want…fine Y/N. But don’t expect me to be there when Kevin breaks your heart.’

I place my phone on the counter when Kevin walks into the garage “See, I changed. Now are you ready to go get lunch?” Kevin asks, I grin playfully “Depends on who’s driving.” I tease. Kevin snorts “Look, I know I said you’d be on the road in a week, but I also know that you know that my car is my baby and no one shall ever drive her but me.” He says firmly. I hop into the passenger’s seat as Kevin gets in. I glance at him, Kevin drives off.

“Don’t you trust me, Kev?” I ask, he glances at me for a second “Nope.” Kevin says seriously “WHAT?!” I gasp offendedly, Kevin laughs “I’m sorry, but you almost hit a dog last time.” He states “That was not a dog, it was a deer!” I say defensively “A deer wearing a leash?” Kevin asks. I pout, “I will jump out this car with no hesitation.” I huff.

“You won’t get food if you jump out.” Kevin warns “Shoot, you’re right.” I groan, pressing my back deep into the seat. Kevin only laughs, “Beside we’re almost there.” He says, I study the buildings and places outside the window “Kevin, where are we? I’ve never seen this place in my life.” I state with a confused frown. “I know, there’s a new restaurant around here. Thought it’d be good for a first date.” Kevin hums softly.

My cheeks redden a little, “Aw look who’s blushing.” Kevin teases. I roll my eyes “Aw, look who’s a big old softie.” I squeal, Kevin cringes “Ugh, never called me that again.” He snorts “But you are a softie. A soft baby man.” I say, making my voice sound baby-ish. I stop teasing him when the car pulls up to a restaurant. “We here.” Kevin tells me, he frowns.

“Come on, Kev. You can’t seriously be mad about-”

“I’m not…”

I hum in confusion before I finally look off to where Kevin was staring. My eyes widen for a second, “Huh, looks like Julie ended up with Ben after all…glad she got what she wanted.” I say happily. Kevin blinks at me as I start to grab my things, “You really wanna go in there while they’re here?” He asks seriously “Yeah, we’re on a date. Who cares that they’re on a date too?” I say with a shrug “You don’t care?” Kevin asks “Not really…I mean, I moved on. So, I’m glad he’s moved on too.” I say.

“How do you exist?” Kevin asks with red cheeks, my face mirrors his. Kevin steps out the car and walks over to open my car door “Milady~” He says, bowing a little. I fight back a laugh as I step out the car, it didn’t take long before a felt a pair of eyes staring me down.

I elbow Kevin gently, “Looks, like we’ve already been spotting.” I whisper. Kevin hums in thought “You ok with that?” He asks “Mmhm, are you?” I ask “As long as you’re fine with this. If he says anything sh*tty I’ll kick his *ss.” Kevin warns, I cast him a tired smile. Kevin wraps an arm around me and we make our way to the entrance.

“How many times have I told you, get away! I want nothing to do with you!”

“Don’t be like that, Benji-”

“Don’t call me that! Don’t EVER call me that!”

Kevin and I walk past Ben and Julie. Once we were far enough, Kevin snickers “Stop it. Be nice.” I say “All I’m saying is, Tennyson got what he deserved.” Kevin says as the waiter walks up to us. She beams at us “Oh? A couple! Would you like our ‘Just the Two of Us’ special?“ She asks happily. Kevin squeezes me happily, I look at him “Why, yes, we would like that special.” He says, pushing a fancy voice.

~Time Skip~

“-So seasons 2 and 3 aren’t dubbed, but season 1 is? What?!”

I groan tiredly “I know! The original people who were dubbing it lost the rights…now I gotta watch it all subbed. And don’t get me started on the continuation series-they changed all the voice!” I say. Kevin nearly spits out his water “Ugh, I wish I would’ve known before I started watching. Their old voices are perfect.” I whine.

Kevin chuckles “I’m not touching that show.” He tells me “Dodge that bullet, Kev, dodge it!” I say firmly. I let out an annoyed groan before I notice Kevin staring at me. “What’s up?” I hum, he only laughs “Can I take a moment to realize how cute you are?” Kevin asks with a playful grin. “Only if I get to brag about how cute my boyfriend is.” I say.

Kevin’s eyes widen, he grins widely “So…we’re official now?” He asks. “Yep-” I yelp when Kevin pulls me into a kiss. He quickly pulls away with red cheeks “Sorry. Sorry, are you ok with me kissing you yet?” Kevin asks carefully, I laugh “It wouldn’t be the first time you kissed me without permission,” I tease “But I’m fine with it.” “Good. Cuz I wanna do it again.” Kevin says excitedly, pulling me into another kiss

[irrealisms]

c!Tommy is annoying (and that’s important)

I have... a lot of feelings about c!Tommy in s2, from the start of the exile conflict through the Green Festival. I also think the fandom tends to mischaracterize him--I know I’m guilty of this, and as a c!Tommy lover I’ll be mostly addressing a thing that I and other people who love his character don’t focus on as much--which makes me sad because the aspects of his character that tend to get glossed over are also some of the ones that are most personally meaningful to me. (rest of the post is /rp, because “c!” gets annoying to type.)

Specifically: Tommy is loud. He’s abrasive. He’s annoying. He threatens, he griefs, he steals. He lies, blatantly, all the time. He tends to be self-centered (despite being deeply selfless). He lashes out at people who are trying to help him.

He is, in short, a bad victim.

And this is precisely what makes him vulnerable. 

Some people on the server were opposed to and sad about exile, sure. But a lot of people? Thought it was funny, that it was natural consequences, that it was deserved. Sapnap came and laughed, Technoblade came and laughed, Lazar came and laughed, Quackity came and laughed. Now, we don’t know what would have happened if Ranboo was the one being isolated and abused; maybe it would be the same. But I don’t think it would have been. A lot of characters have issues with Tommy or simply find him unpleasant to be around, and I would imagine that a significant number of them were probably, on some level, kind of relieved that he wasn’t their problem anymore. To be clear, I don’t entirely blame them for this! Tommy is... a lot, and they (mostly) didn’t know the full extent of what Tommy was going through. Even those of them that tried to visit with good intentions often got their gifts burned and called “pity gifts”, got insulted or yelled at by Tommy, etc.--or in Jack Manifold’s case, actually killed! The first time I watched the leadup to exile arc, I found Tommy difficult to sympathize with at first--he lied to L’Manberg before his trial; he refused to cooperate with probation while he was on it, even though Tubbo was pushing for it as an alternative to exile; at the beginning of exile, he would sometimes log on to visitors, drive them away, and then complain that he was lonely. As much as it’s obviously ultimately Dream’s fault, it’s easy to look at Tommy and not feel much sympathy for his position or feel that it’s partially self-made. It’s easy for outsiders to look at a Tommy who isn’t stealing, isn’t griefing, who is comparatively quieter, who isn’t their problem anymore, and be relieved rather than concerned. 

Exile arc makes it obvious that they’re wrong.

(Incidentally, I have a lot of sympathy for what Dream’s going through in the prison.)

And not only are they wrong, but exile makes the consequences of this painfully, horrifyingly clear: the abuse gets worse, Tommy gets more and more depressed, and at the climax of it all Tommy attempts suicide. 

(Although notably to me, he’s not the stereotypical victim during exile arc, either--he doesn’t cry on stream, he’s still trying to make dumb jokes, he’s not strategic, he refuses to listen to people, he switches wildly between fight and fawn responses without much correlation with who he’s talking to or how he’s being treated.)

Tommy’s recovery arc, after all of this, starts with him stealing valuables from Technoblade, building a secret basement underneath the existing basements, and then loudly asserting that it’s his house and Technoblade is trespassing.

I could talk about how these things are rooted in trauma. I could talk about how his constant eating of golden apples comes after a period of food insecurity, appetite/disordered eating problems, and physical abuse. I could talk about how he’s regained some of his energy after a period of depression but has nowhere to let it out in a small basement room. I could talk about how he repeatedly annoys Technoblade--quite probably the best PVPer on the server--perhaps in part as a test of how far he can go before he gets abused again, and in part as a sign that he feels safe enough to be annoying without being abused.

But that’s... not the heart of it, at least not to me. The heart of it is that before exile, Tommy would have stolen from Technoblade without a second’s thought, and during exile, Tommy didn’t steal from Technoblade because “Dream wouldn’t like it”, and afterwards, he steals from Technoblade again. 

Sure, he’s being annoying. But more importantly, he’s being himself again. Before exile, I might have rolled my eyes, because Technoblade worked for those potions and golden apples and armor and so on, and Tommy’s totally ruining his chest organization system. After exile? I cheered. Tommy’s being Tommy again. And, yeah, that means that he’s being annoying, he’s stealing, he’s ruining dramatic moments. So what? None of that stuff is actually all that bad, in the grand scheme of things. He’s not depressed, he’s not suicidal, he’s not being abused. He’s a teenager and he’s having fun. Technoblade will tease him for it, but he won’t hit Tommy, won’t take his stuff, won’t threaten him, won’t isolate him any further. That’s what a proportionate response to finding Tommy annoying looks like: teasing. 

I’d also like to address one more thing, which... I couldn’t figure out how to fit in the rest of the post, but it felt incomplete without it. Right before the meeting that ends with Tommy pulling out Spirit, Tommy asks everyone what the plan is, and is basically told that the plan is for him to be quiet. He says “you guys, please, for the love of God, you know I’ve watched for this long, I’m not going to be quiet.” He reiterates this throughout the conversation: he can try to be quiet, but it is not, ultimately, as easy for him as “be quiet”. This is also the source of Tubbo’s anger at him-- Tommy can’t do “one simple thing” for him. I’m not claiming Tommy is neurodivergent, but... as a neurodivergent person, Tommy repeatedly saying “I cannot do this thing that is simple for you, I can’t, empirically every time we have tried this in the past it has failed, if you make more plans based on that then they will also fail, have you met me” and having this seen as evidence of me not caring or trying... resonated with me. Which isn’t to say it’s not a flaw--almost all character traits can be flaws in the right (or, well, wrong) situations--but it does show that Tommy has some level of self-awareness about his flaws, which is something I appreciate about him, and it frustrates me when that goes unacknowledged. Tommy knows he’s annoying. He jokes about it. But he can’t actually... turn it off. Whether or not he should (and I would argue that he shouldn’t have to) isn’t even in question: he can’t. This is who he is. The only time we see him less loud and more capable of being obedient is exile, when he’s severely depressed and being abused. That’s fascinating to me, as a character trait!

In my experience, there’s a specific archetype of abuse victims in fiction that is... overrepresented. I can’t quite find the words to talk about it in a way that doesn’t technically include Tommy, but... the ways Tommy is important to me is the ways that (a) he doesn’t fit that archetype (b) not fitting that archetype makes him more vulnerable to abuse. He’s not always easy for other characters to talk to or sympathize with... which makes him uniquely easy to isolate and victim blame. That’s important. I think I tend to downplay Tommy’s annoying tendencies because I want to emphasize his sympathetic traits, and that’s fine, but it’s important to me that... Tommy’s a victim, and he’s annoying. Annoying people can be victims just as much as shy rule-followers can. Not only that: Tommy’s a victim in part because he’s annoying. Him being annoying is a risk factor for abuse, not an excuse for it.

[invisibleanonymousmonsters]

This Game of Yours

Father of Mine – Part 1 and Part 2

Jason was beautiful.

And somehow that scar that went from the right corner of his mouth up to his temple only made him that much more beautiful to Y/N.

Those blue eyes were the same color of water on a stormy day in the Irish sea. And somehow Y/N knew they held the same tempestuousness.

The white streak weaved with his jet black hair so naturally that Y/N would’ve believed he was born with it.

His shoulders were so broad, making his 6’3 height feel even more imposing. He had a presence. People noticed every time he walked into a room. It made Y/N wonder how he was ever able to sneak up on people as Red Hood.

He was wearing a black hoodie underneath his black moto jacket.

Y/N knew Jason didn’t give a shit about fashion. Yet he was well-dressed without any effort – more so than most of the models Y/N had shot throughout her career.

Not being able to control herself any longer, Y/N raised her camera and took a photo.

Jason stopped surveying their surroundings and his gaze snapped to her.

“What do you think you’re doing?” 

But his growl didn’t scare her in the slightest.

“Anyone who’s by me when I have a camera is at risk of getting their picture taken. No one is safe. Not even you,” she answered his question unapologetically.

Y/N was working on a personal passion project for her next show. Her collection would be about the poverty and crime of Gotham. Half of the photos would show the heaviest crime areas of the city. And the other half would expose the lifestyles of the wealthiest people in Gotham.

Why did so many suffer from the same system that helped the rich get even richer?

When Bruce found out Y/N was going to Crime Alley and the Bowery by herself, he was visibly upset.

But he realized that Y/N would do as she pleased, so his plan b was to give her protective detail.

However, Y/N didn’t know that Jason had volunteered, almost immediately.

Instead, all she heard was Jason grimly telling her, “You’re lucky you haven’t been fucking murdered yet.”

She had only responded with a roll of her eyes.

“I’m not your escort so you can take my picture. I’m here so you don’t get raped or murdered.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you have a way with words?”

His only response was a glare.

Jason loved playing this game. The game of pretending to be irritated with her when actually he was absolutely infatuated with Y/F/N Y/L/N.

“The easiest way to stop getting your picture taken is to always be the one holding the camera,” Y/N added with a smirk and wink.

Jason didn’t answer, only thinking what a shame it was that no one got to photograph her.

Suddenly, the sunlight hit the top of his head perfectly, creating a halo around that thick and messy hair of his.

Y/N snapped another photo.

“Will you stop?” He warned.

It only succeeded in making her laugh.

And that just excited his heart even more.

“Jason, you were born to get your photo taken.” 

There was no joke underneath her words, only sincerity.

“Whatever,” he mumbled.

Jason had a hard time believing that. His skin was riddled with scars. And he was convinced that she’d be singing a different song if she saw his chest, with its thick autopsy scar amongst the so many others. The absolute last word he’d use to describe himself was beautiful. Strong and imposing? Yes. But never beautiful – or any other positive adjective, for that matter.

“I’m not kidding. If you ever want to stop the whole vigilante thing, you can easily become a model.”

Y/N had noticed it as soon as Jason took of his helmet that night. His domino mask had done nothing to prevent her from noting the obvious.

It didn’t take long for Y/N to realize Jason wasn’t like his “brothers.”

“Brothers.” What a strange word.

Should she consider all of them as hers?

Only Damian was actually related to her – and technically he was only her half-brother.

Y/N had watched Jason get on his motorcycle and leave the cave that night she’d almost died.

She’d agreed to stay for dinner and get to know everyone. And a part of her brain was excited to get a better read on the masked man that sat by her bedside as she’d recovered.

“He’s not staying?” Y/N had asked Bruce as he guided her to the stairs that led back up to the manor.

He only shook his head, but she noticed the disappointed expression.

Soon she found out that Jason was the black sheep of this strange family that had taken her in.

Dick was the one who told her about Jason’s dark past. All of it seemed unbelievable: murdered by Joker and brought back to life from a mysterious pit. Only to return to the family who appeared to have replaced him and never sought vengeance on Jason’s behalf. 

But it was true; Y/N had seen no lie in Dick’s eyes when he filled her in.

Suddenly there was yelling coming from around the corner.

Without hesitation, Jason shoved Y/N behind him.

He reached for one of his guns and then realized that he didn’t have any.

Y/N was rather vocal about hating them, claiming they made her extremely uncomfortable.

Her expression alone as she said it was enough for Jason to swallow his stubbornness and leave the things at home.

Bruce was rather taken aback by the gesture. Nothing he’d ever said was enough to get Jason to do that.

A gang of young men came marching around the corner like they owned the place…because they did. This was their territory.

Jason immediately recognized them as some of the Russian mob.

Despite pulling Y/N behind him, they still caught sight of her and looked her up and down without an ounce of shame.

“Hey, beautiful. How you doing?”

“Продолжай идти, придурки,” Jason growled at them.

He was outnumbered. But there must’ve been something about his body language that made the gang realize they shouldn’t pick a fight with him. Maybe it was the muscles or his height or that he looked like he wouldn’t even blink before murdering them.

So they just…walked away. Some of them mumbled threats or insults at him. But they realized they shouldn’t even so much as look at Y/N.

A split second before they were gone, Y/N took a picture of Jason.

“Really?” He asked.

She shrugged. “You look like a different person when you’re protective.”

Y/N was beautiful.

Jason watched as she passionately explained her work to a potential buyer.

He recognized the man as a local politician – luckily, one of the few that hadn’t been corrupted from this shitty city.

Y/N had the intimidating energy of her father, but the kind eyes of her mother. At least, that was what Bruce had told everyone, and they all took his word for it.

She wore a stylish white jumpsuit that made her look like a 1980s villain and black stiletto heels. 

Jason watched as men cowered in her presence, hating the fact that she proudly stood taller than them. She was just one less woman they could intimidate or manipulate – and they couldn’t stand it.

But Jason loved watching the emasculation in real time.

The bastards didn’t deserve her anyway.

Dick was one of the very few men Jason knew who didn’t blink at a woman towering over him. In fact, his older brother had a track record of preferring it.

“Surprised to see you here,” Bruce said beside him, catching Jason watching Y/N.

“Well, I was her personal bodyguard through all this. Figured I should see if it was worth me wasting my time or not.” Then he tossed back his champagne and slammed it on the tray of a waiter passing by. “Plus, free alcohol.”

Bruce just quirked an eyebrow, silently telling Jason that he knew he was lying.

“Are you buying something?” Jason asked, trying to change the subject.

“I have been strictly forbidden,” Bruce sighed.

Jason chuckled.

He knew if Bruce had his way, he’d buy every single on of Y/N’s pieces.

“I have to know,” Bruce began. “What exactly is holding you back?”

Jason finally ripped his gaze away from Y/N to give Bruce a questioning look.

“What are you talking about?”

“Y/N. You care about her.”

“All of us do,” Jason brushed off. “Even the demon spawn.”

Bruce knew there wasn’t a chance Jason would admit his feelings – especially to him.

“Not that I think you care…but you have my approval.”

Little did Bruce know, Jason did care.

Jason had convinced himself that their rocky relationship and past fights meant that Bruce would die before he let Jason be anywhere near his daughter.

And Jason could hardly blame him.

He didn’t deserve to be loved. He lost that right after he died and came back a monster. And that was the story Jason told himself over and over again.

So he would love Y/N from afar. And hope she would pick someone who was worthy of her love.

“She’s basically my sister,” Jason groaned in fake disgust.

It was quite the performance.

Bruce narrowed his eyes. “We both know that isn’t what’s stopping you. And you’ve made it clear you don’t consider us your family.”

“Whatever, Bruce.”

Jason walked away, having enough of the subject.

“What was that about?” Clark asked as he joined Bruce’s side.

“Jason refusing to let himself be happy,” Bruce sighed.

Clark already knew what Bruce was talking about. He’d seen Y/N and Jason dancing around each other for months now. He’d never really seen Y/N take an interest in anyone before, so it was all new for Clark.

“Don’t worry. Y/N won’t let him get away with it for much longer,” Clark said through a smirk. “She gets what she wants.”

And Bruce believed him.

“It doesn’t bother you – the two of them together?” Clark asked with genuine curiosity.

“Jason reminds me every day that I’m not his father. And I’m hardly Y/N’s.” A soft smile formed on Bruce’s lips. “He’ll look after her. And she…I think she’d be good for him. I just want them to be happy. Both of them.”

——

Jason headed home rather early.

He’d never actually went to say congratulations or even hello to Y/N.

Every time he was about to go over, someone else stole her attention. He didn’t want to get in the way of her talking to potential buyers or even just friends.

Jason was just about to make himself something to eat when there was a knock at his door.

He froze.

Very few people knew where his apartment was.

Jason grabbed a gun and tiptoed to his front door.

With a peak through the peephole, he let out a irritated sigh.

Jason whipped the door open, “You’re lucky I didn’t shoot your head off.”

“Maybe don’t own guns and you wouldn’t have to worry about shit like that,” Y/N snapped back.

“What are you doing here?”

“You come to my gallery opening and don’t even say hi?” Y/N accused as she stepped around him and into the apartment, not waiting for an invitation.

Jason eyed the paper bag that was in one of her hands.

“By all means, come on in,” he called sarcastically as he slammed the door behind her.

Y/N started searching through his cabinets. “Where are your glasses?”

“The one to your right. What are you doing here?”

Y/N had the brightest and almost mischievous smile as she pulled a bottle of champagne from the paper bag.

“I brought this as my thanks for you making sure I don’t – and I quote – ‘get raped and murdered.’”

Jason glared at her.

Here was the game again.

Y/N being charming and hilariously provoking..and Jason pretending like he hadn’t fallen for her.

She poured them both a glass. They weren’t flutes or coupes, but she couldn’t care less.

“We’re chugging these, by the way,” Y/N informed Jason as she handed him a glass.

He sighed, but obediently clinked his glass with hers and tossed it back.

Barely giving them a second, Y/N immediately refilled them.

“So, why didn’t you come over and say hi?” She repeated.

“Didn’t want to bother you,” Jason mumbled with a shrug.

She narrowed her eyes at his answer. “You’ve never bothered me before, Jason.”

Now he felt guilty.

Jason bowed his head. “I should’ve come and talked to you,” he agreed. “Your work…it looked – it’s amazing, Y/N. Congratulations.”

Apparently Y/N hadn’t expected such a sincere compliment from him, and she was stunned to silence.

“Thank you,” she managed to whisper once she’d recovered.

She cleared her throat, trying to maintain her edge. “And really…thank you for being my own little security detail.”

If Jason was healthy about expressing is thoughts and feelings, he would’ve told her that it was the highlight of his weeks. That he looked forward to her calls or texts, telling him that she was going to photograph another shady area. “Be there or don’t. I’m going no matter what,” she’d text him with her usual snark.

But Jason didn’t express his thoughts and feelings.

He kept them bottled up – with the same energy he used to keep Y/N at a distance.

So instead, Jason said, “If it wasn’t me, one of the others would’ve done it.”

Y/N winced slightly at that.

‘You’re such a fucking asshole,’ Jason told himself.

“You know…we can see each other even you’re not my bodyguard.”

Jason was impressed by her boldness. But she didn’t know what she was doing. She didn’t understand that he wasn’t good. He couldn’t play the loving boyfriend role. She belonged with someone like Dick or Clark – or literally anyone but him. And Jason was willing to be an asshole to make sure she understood that.

Y/N took a step closer to him, invading his personal space.

Without breaking eye contact, she threw back her second glass of champagne and then placed it on the nearest counter space.

She stepped even closer.

This was simultaneously Jason’s worst nightmare and most desired dream.

Her eyes moved from his eyes to his lips.

But before she could make her final push, Jason took a step back and cleared his throat.

He looked down at the ground as he said, “You should go.”

When he looked up, he expected to find Y/N heartbroken or embarrassed.

But she was neither.

No. She looked irritated.

Not because she wasn’t getting what she wanted, but because she was sick of his games.

Y/N sighed and stepped back. “Fine.”

Jason rubbed his face in frustration as she grabbed her purse and started for the door she had walked through only minutes ago.

She opened it and paused.

“You know what? No. Fuck that,” Y/N snapped before slamming the door closed.

She whipped around and strutted back to him with purpose.

Jason was suspended with both fervor and awe.

Y/N grabbed his face and pulled him down to her lips.

All self control went out the window. Jason couldn’t continue his game. It was all over for him.

He kissed her back almost immediately. How could he not?

Y/N bit his lip slightly, making him hiss in surprise. It was his punishment for making her wait all this time.

Eventually they needed a moment to breathe.

But Y/N didn’t let go of his face when their lips finally parted.

“Choose your next words very carefully,” she breathed.

He swallowed nervously. “You’re kind of fucking terrifying. You know that?”

Her smile was pure evil.

Apparently this was the right response.

“Are you done being an idiot?” She asked.

He nodded quickly.

Her hands moved down and then lingered on his neck, tracing the bottom lines of his jaw.

She smiled again and then looked him up and down.

“What?” He questioned.

“Nothing,” she laughed. “I’m just…I’m not used to being shorter than men.”

“Is that the only reason you like me? Huh? My height?” Jason goaded.

“Of course not,” Y/N scoffed. “It was the whole ‘I look like I could murder everyone and I can, but deep down I’m a big softie’ that did it for me.”

Jason’s grip tightened on her waist. “Oh, yeah? You’re one to talk…”

“Me?!” She yelped. “I couldn’t kill anyone, even if my life depended on it.”

“Maybe. But your terrifying in basically every other way.”

Y/N laughed at that.

Jason couldn’t stop himself from smiling at the sound

“So…still want me to leave?” She asked.

And this time, she would if that’s really what he wanted.

“Fuck no,” Jason answered, almost threateningly.

Then, for good measure, he picked her up by the back of her thighs and carried her to the couch, before he started to kiss her once again.

Y/N knew things weren’t always going to be this simple.

Jason had his demons. 

And honestly, so did she. They were nothing like his. And maybe they were silly in comparison. But she wouldn’t be the perfect partner. Just like he wouldn’t be. 

They’d drive each other crazy. But it would be the good kind of crazy.

------------------------------

+ Childhood

[tarydarrington]

Veth doesn’t know who she’d expected to be waiting on the other side of the knock at the door, but if she’d had to guess, Essek Thelyss wringing his hands like a worried grandmother would have been near the bottom of her list.

“Oh,” she says. “Hi?”

He bobs his head, almost more a quick bow than a nod, tenting his fingers in front of his chest. “Good afternoon,” he says, with the distinct cadence of someone who has repeated the words to himself in the mirror all morning. “I hope you are well?”

“I’m all right,” Veth answers haltingly.

The two of them stand there for a moment, awkward silence hanging between them. Then, finally, Essek gives her a nervous smile.

“I do not wish to impose, but, ah…” He gestures past her. “May I enter?”

“Yeah. Sure.” She steps aside, and Essek gives her a grateful nod before walking - walking? - past her into the living room. “Take a seat, if you like.”

He takes the invitation, perching gingerly onto the very edge of the armchair they keep for their larger-sized guests. Veth follows him in, shutting the door behind her and wondering if this isn’t all a very strange dream. Essek barely meets her gaze as she circles around to stand before him. She leans forward, narrowing her eyes.

"What is this? Why are you being weird? Did something happen? Did Caleb die?"

"No!" Essek reins in his volume, pressing his palms together in apology. "No, certainly not. It is simply…"

Veth raises her eyebrows to prompt him.

"Well, I, ah…" His fingers draw little circles in the air, as though he can pull the words out like a spell. "I have read that it is custom in the Empire to request the blessing of a guardian if one wishes to…" The pained look on his face stretches even further. "Court."

Veth blinks at him. He’s serious. He has to be. That face, all pinched up towards the middle, reminds her of the way the neighbor boy looked when he admitted to breaking her dining room window. It looks absolutely absurd on the former Shadowhand.

"Well, I'm sure he would be flattered, but even with the slower aging, Luc's a little young for you."

She can practically see the joke fly over his head. "No," Essek blurts hurriedly, eyes blown wide with mortification. Veth might have laughed if she didn't feel a bit guilty. "No, I…" He brings one hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose, eyes squeezing shut, and she suspects he's rooted out the sarcasm.

"If you're talking about Caleb," she says as a peace offering, "I'm certainly not his mother."

"No." Essek presses his palms together again, this time in his lap. "I have considered ways to make a meaningful gesture regarding his parents, but…"

He shakes his head. Veth can fill in the blanks. She wouldn't want the beginning of a new relationship to be tangled up in past trauma, either.

"So," he continues. "I had thought, perhaps, that as his closest friend, you might be a suitable alternative."

Well, that’s… She isn’t sure if it’s flattering, exactly, but she’ll accept the show of respect. She takes a moment to scrutinize him as he watches her apprehensively. Essek and Caleb. Caleb and Essek. It makes a certain kind of sense. Once, years ago, she might have railed against it; despite his growth, it’s still difficult sometimes to look at Essek and see anything other than her husband’s former jailer.

But lately, these last few years, Veth has been at home. She’s been with her family, the most important people in the world to her, and Caleb… well, he’s been off on his own adventures. And without Veth there to look after him, it’s been on Essek’s shoulders to make sure he comes back from said adventures alive and whole. Which he has, so far, without fail.

And that look Essek is giving her, as though if she says no, it might actually dissuade him?

"First of all," she begins with a sigh, "you’re not at court. You’re not courting. You're dating."

At the look of confusion on Essek's face, she takes a deep breath.

"You'll take him to have a meal together, or to see a play, or to watch a lecture. Don't do the lecture thing, that's a bad idea. That would be a terrible date." She pauses. "Although, with you two, maybe."

She can tell from the look on his face that she's losing him, so she waves her hands. "Nevermind that. Disregard all of that. The point is, you'll take him to nice places and do enjoyable things together."

Essek shifts uncomfortably. “I… don’t know if I can do that,” he admits. “I cannot be seen outside of the confines of his home or areas outside of the Empire.”

Veth frowns. “Well, you’re going to have to take him somewhere. You have disguises, right?”

Essek seems to consider it. “I do,” he says. “I suppose it would be worth a small risk, from time to time.”

“You’re darn right,” Veth agrees. “And don’t skimp, either. Caleb deserves the best.”

Essek nods entirely too seriously, as though he’s filing all this away in his mind. Veth makes a mental note to pester him with a progress report in about six months’ time.

Not one too rigorous, though. It’s hard to imagine prodding at him for entertainment’s sake when he looks so pathetic.

“Is there anything else?” he asks tentatively, when the silence persists.

“Well, let’s see.” She runs a finger over her chin, theatrically deep in thought. She already knows her answer. “Do you care for him?”

“Of course.” The sincerity on his face almost makes her feel bad about this. “More deeply than I have ever cared for anyone.”

She shouldn’t ask. It’s probably not something he’s discussed with Caleb himself, yet, if they’re only just now getting together. It would be prying, even for her. “Do you love him?” she asks, anyway.

A little, lost smile turns up one corner of Essek’s lips, and it’s almost a whisper when he replies, “How could I not?”

A pang of something that has never quite left Veth’s heart smarts for the first time in years, and she looks away with a matching smile.

When she and Caleb had been traveling with the others, people tended to hem and haw when she brought up how amazing Caleb was. They thought he was talented, sure, but it sometimes felt like none of the others could see the unquenchable light in him. But looking at Essek’s face, at the way his eyes are shining, Veth can’t help but think that maybe, finally, somebody gets it.

"Alright." She reaches out, and before he can flinch away, pats his hand. "You've convinced me. You have earned my permission to have regular sex with my adult, human son."

“I…” His brow furrows. “Truly?”

“Yeah, go nuts.” She waves a hand dismissively. “Caleb’s a grown adult. He can make his own choices, and if he’s choosing you, then good for both of you.”

Essek blinks at her like she’s just handed him a full pardon from the Bright Queen.

“I mean, obviously, if you hurt him, you will have all of us to answer to,” she says. “But you’re the guilt guy, so I think you’ll probably have yourself to answer to, first.”

"I…" He clasps his hands together. "I expected more… what is the word? Pushback.”

Veth braces her hands on her hips. “You know what? Fjord and Jester didn’t even tell me they were dating until I literally saw them kissing, and Beau and Yasha were barely better.” She jabs a finger towards Essek’s chest, ignoring the way he startles at the movement. “So you have just made it to the top of the Winter’s Crest card list.”

Essek presses his steepled fingers against his mouth, but not before Veth catches the bashful smile spreading there.

“Thank you,” he says. “Truly, I… This means a great deal.”

“Heck yeah, my blessing’s worth a lot,” she replies with a grin. “You know what? Tell Fjord that. He doesn’t have my blessing. I’m gonna make him work for it.”

This time the joke doesn’t pass him by, and she can read in his small smile that he’s grateful for the show of familiarity.

“I should hope he will rise to the occasion,” he says, and Veth gets the feeling he isn’t just talking about Fjord.

[katyasrussianaccent]

i don't wanna be your friend, I wanna kiss your lips (corpse x reader)

Summary: Corpse suggests you flirt with each other to mess with the fans. What happens when you suddenly catch feelings?

Authors Note: This has been in my brain for so long so I decided to write it. May or may not write a part 2, im not sure. Lemme know what you think! My requests are open for fic/headcannons aswell 💖

It should have been simple.

Flirt, mess with the fans a little, sit back and relax.

It should have been simple.

You remember Corpse coming to you with the idea.

“Why would we do that?” you had asked, frowning at your phone screen. It had been another late night phone conversation with him; something that was starting to become a regular occurrence.

You pictured him shrug as he answered. “Fun?”

“Are you so bored you wanna make a fake relationship with me?”

“Not a relationship. Just do what we do now, but like, more.”

You had agreed before your brain had even registered it. On paper it was straightforward. You already flirted a little anyway, you were naturally a flirtatious person, and so was he. It made sense; or at least you had told yourself that it did. You knew the fans already shipped you together, you saw the things they tweeted as you occasionally lurked the ynhusband tag on Twitter. It was just innocent fun right? No-one was going to get hurt.

For a little while that was true. For a little while he called you baby and you called him darling and it meant nothing. Your face didn’t feel flush when he commented on your latest Instagram post and your heart didn’t do a little flip when he would call you just to see how you were. The phone conversations were your favourite; curled up in bed with the phone on your pillow, trading secrets into the night. He had suddenly become this constant in your life, this almost routine familiarity like brushing your teeth or going to get milk.

You weren’t sure what changed, when it had gone from being innocent fun to meaning something. It was like someone had flicked a switch, and Corpse was no longer a warm glow but this bright, blinding light that hurt your eyes to look at too long. It was almost cruel, the way you wanted something so unobtainable; the universe’s idea of a joke had no humour in it. The thing with Corpse was he was so unaware of the power he had. He was mysterious yes, but he was faceless among a sea of faces; of course people were drawn to him. And you were just another.

You started to pull away. You played different games with different people, you ignored his tweets. It was easier, if you never interacted with him, you could pretend there was nothing but shallow feelings instead of the crashing waves that threatened to pull you under. The fans had started to notice; your streams were filled with questions that you refused to answer.

“Where’s Corpse?” you read aloud as you scrolled down the chat. “Probably in his house? Go ask him.” Your tone was bitter even to you and you inwardly cringed. He hadn’t contacted you in 2 weeks, and while you were thankful, you were hurt by it. It was stupid and hypoctritical of you to be upset by something that was your own doing, and you weren’t sure what you had expected from him. He had other friends, other people to talk to, why would he have cared about you anyway?

Your phone lit up next to you, and you ignored the pang of disappointment at Rae’s picture flashing up.

Rae: Among Us???

You hesitated for a second. The likelihood of Corpse being there was high, but you knew deep down he wouldn’t say a thing to you, not on stream or in front of your friends. You could just ignore him, like you had been doing and it would be fine. You weren’t sure you believed yourself anymore.

“Guys, you want to watch me play Among Us? I’m not sure who’s playing, other than Rae.” You looked at the fast flowing stream of affirmatives and emojis. Guess you had to do it now. You opened up the game and joined the lobby.

“-yeah she looks really fucking cute,” you heard Corpse say as you logged in. You looked down at your outfit,; he definitely wasn’t talking about you in your oversized t-shirt and sweatpants. You had been on stream for a few hours now; your eyeliner was smudged a little and any lipstick had worn off with the constant drinking and licking your lips. No, he definitely wasn’t talking about you.

“Hey guys,” you said tentatively, swallowing down the feeling of jealousy at Corpse’s previous words.

A chorus of greetings hit you, and you smiled at their enthusiasm. You had played with Rae, Sykunno and Toast a few times before, but Felix, Jack and Ash were new to you, though you knew of them.

“Hey Y/N,” Corpse said. You had hoped after 2 weeks he wouldn’t still affect you so much, but the way your stomach turned said otherwise.

“Hey Corpse,” you replied, hoping your tone was casual.

“I haven’t seen you in a while, how are you?” he asked.

“Oh. Uh yeah, I’ve been a bit busy I guess, how are you?” You looked down as you answered, picking at your nail polish. You glanced at the chat that was filled with messages.

corpsesbaby: You can always tell when someones lying coz they look down” llamadelrey: why is this so awkward lmao arent they friends??” simpsforrae: This is like is a breakup i swear

“I’ve been okay, thanks” Corpse answered, drawing your eyes off the chat and back to the game. You nodded as you muted your mic to go back to your stream.

“I hope I don’t get imposter, I always suck at that so much.” You watched as the screen counted down and the word IMPOSTER flashed up alongside Corpse’s name. “Guess I jinxed it guys.”

Great. Not only were you imposter, you were imposter with Corpse, which meant you would have to actually speak to him. Maybe you wouldn’t have to.

You both followed Rae as she walked up towards Greenhouse, and you cornered her while she did her task, killing her quickly.

“Everyone seemed to go right, so we should vent back towards cafeteria to avoid suspicion,” Corpse said.

“Okay,” you answered. You vented together, and you muted your mic to laugh. “This is kinda cosy guys.” You said to your chat. You briefly imagined what it would be like in real life to be so close to him.

You moved to Admin where Toast was doing his task. Before you could say a word, Corpse had already killed him and you both vented outside Cafeteria. “Fuck, that was so close,” you muttered, chuckling a little.

“Don’t worry, I got your back,” he replied, making your heart sing a little.

“Oh my hero,” you said, making a point of swooning to your chat, your voice high and airy. “How will I ever repay you?”

He chuckled, “You shouldn’t ask questions like that.”

You flushed at the suggestive tone he had taken, and you hoped it wasn’t noticeable but judging by the comments in your chat, it clearly had been. This was another issue you had with Corpse; he always made these type of comments with you and it was really annoying. You knew there was no chance he was being serious, and sometimes you wished he would stop it purely because it got your hopes up.

delilah: shes BLUSHING dreamofme: uWu yn uWu

You opened your mouth to respond when Dead Body Reported flashed up, bringing your thoughts back to the game.

“Toast and Rae are dead,” Sykuuno said. “I found Rae in Greenhouse and Toast in admin.”

“I was in balcony, I went there from the cafeteria,” you said confidently. You hated being Imposter, especially being teamed with Corpse, who was so good at the game, you had a lot of pressure to do well.

“I was in MedBay, I didn’t see you YN,” Ash accused.

“You only see if they enter through the left door. She entered through the other door,” Corpse answered for you.

“And how do you know that?” Felix asked.

“I was in Cafeteria,” Corpse replied.

“You could’ve vented YN,” Jack said.

“No I couldn’t have, if Ash was in MedBay, she would have seen me. Unless she wasn’t in MedBay,” you suggested, smirking to your cam as you muted. “It’s not going too bad I don’t think? Always feel like I’ve been arrested when I’m Imposter.”

“Little sus of you Ash to say you were in MedBay when you weren’t,” Corpse said. You gaped a little at how easy it was for him to manipulate the situation, it was almost scary.

Ash argued as the other players began to agree and discuss among themselves. You smiled in success at the text on the screen.

Ash has been ejected.

You split up this time, and while you hadn’t really spoken during the game, you kind of missed Corpse’s astronaut next to yours, and you said that to your chat. “Haha, our colours did look cute together, I agree.”

Any previous trepidation you had had disappeared as soon as you had heard his voice; and you realised how much you had missed him. You would simply just need to deal with your feelings; they would go away eventually anyway. You just hoped it wasn’t too late for you to start again with him.

You walked to MedBay with Skyunno, making small talk as you did.

“I’m glad to see you playing with us, it’s been a little while,” he said and you felt bad that you would have to kill him. As you turned towards him, ready to kill as he did his task, Jack walked in. You mouthed oops at the cam.

“What’s going on here?” Jack asked, suspicion in his voice.

“I was just saying how nice it was to have YN here,” Sykunno replied. You stood and faked your task, watching the green bar fill as you did. It would be too risky to kill here.

“Ah yeah, Corpse has been asking after you constantly,” Jack said. You blinked at the response, it had caught you off guard.

“Oh?” you replied simply. You mentally shrugged it off. Of course he would have asked about you, you were friends, that was all.

DEAD BODY REPORTED

“Felix was dead in Reactor,” Corpse announced. “Oh Corpse, you’re taking a risk here” you said to your chat.

“I was in MedBay with Jack and Sykunno,” you replied, smiling as they agreed. “Where were you Ash?”

She sighed sadly. “I was in Labs, but I was doing a task, I swear!” You all agreed quickly that Ash would be the next voted out.

“2 to go,” you said triumphantly. “I thought I was gonna drag Corpse down, but it’s going okay!”

The round started again and you could feel yourself getting tired. Hopefully this wouldn’t be too much longer to finish the game.

You circled round Corpse a few times, hoping that he would understand your signal. Luckily he did, and you both vented to Decontamination where Skyunno and Jack were. The room had already started to emit steam, making it extremely easy for you both to vent unnoticed and kill them both.

You grinned at the Victory message that flashed up.

“Good game guys!” you said. The others congratulated you and Corpse on your win and you smiled at the sound of your names together. You had it bad.

“It was all YN,” Corpse said.

“Pfft you ssh being humble, it was all you,” you replied, taking your hair out of your ponytail and running your hand through it.

“Your hair looks nice,” Corpse commented and your eyes widened. Your heart started to beat a little quicker. How long had he been watching your stream?

“It’s bad to watch someone’s stream without telling them,” you replied, making a show of pouting for the camera.

He laughed a little. “What can I say, I’m a bad guy,” he said, singing the last words. You laughed at the sudden Billie Eilish.

“Guys, either play another game, or get a room,” Felix interrupted. You blushed a little and rolled your eyes, the chat going crazy from the corner of your eye.

“And that’s my cue to exit,” you said, yawning. “Bye guys, have a good night!” You wished everyone and your chat goodnight before closing the stream and leaning back in your chat. You couldn’t believe Corpse had been watching you. You hadn’t said anything too incriminating, but still.

You prepared for bed, settling back into the softness of your pillows as you grabbed your phone - a terrible habit you really needed to stop.

Corpse: Can I call you?

You gulped at the message that appeared on your screen, a gnawing feeling of nervous clung to your throat as you typed yes. His name came up almost instantaneously and your hand shook as you pressed to accept the call.

“Hey,” he greeted.

“Hey, what’s up?” you asked, trying to keep your voice even while your heart beat erratically in your chest.

“It was nice playing with you again,” he commented.

You sat up a little as you held the phone against your ear. “Did you call me to tell me that?”

“I haven’t spoken to you in a while.”

You sighed a little. “Yeah, I’ve been a bit busy, sorry - “

“You’re lying to me and I don’t know why,” he replied. You had never heard his voice like that before; so angry and hurt. You tapped your foot against your mattress as you thought what to say.

“I -”

“Did I do something?” he asked. You had been so selfish; blocking him out to avoid being hurt, but you hadn’t thought about his feelings. He was more popular than you were, you had assumed he would be fine, that he wouldn’t care if you were around or not.

“No, you didn’t do anything, I swear -”

“Then what? Because I thought we were friends, close friends and then suddenly you pretty much disappear. But you’re still streaming with other people. It’s pretty shitty of you.”

You chewed the inside of your cheek and looked up, the sting of tears threatening to fall. “It was really shitty of me, I’m sorry.”

“What happened?” he asked. “Please just tell me.”

“I don’t know what I’m meant to say,” you replied softly.

“What do you want to say?”

You blinked, the anticipation of unspoken words caught in your throat, making it hard to swallow. The taste of them was bitter on your tongue. “I...I have feelings for you.”

There. You had said it. There was no taking it back now, and you felt like your heart was about to shatter with every single second of silence that passed. You could hear him swallow on the other end of the phone. “Are you saying you’re in love with me?”

You bit your lip, taking in the meaning of the question he had asked. It wasn’t something you had thought of, you hadn’t conceptualised your feelings for him, not put them in a box labelled love or anything. “I don’t know. I feel something for you. And it kinda sucks being your friend and having those feelings. So I pulled away.”

“Why does it suck?”

You laughed bitterly. “Why wouldn’t it? Feeling something for someone that doesn’t feel the same is fucking shitty.”

“I asked you to flirt with me YN -”

“Yeah, for fun,” you interrupted.

“No, I said for fun, but really I just wanted you to,” he replied. “I feel something for you too. How could I not? Has anything I’ve ever said to you sounded like it was just for fun?” You smiled at his response, your heart no longer on the fit of breaking, but suddenly doing flips and soaring through your chest, radiating warmth through your body.

“Oh,” you said, your brain was overloaded with thoughts, and was apparently no longer capable of coherent sentences.

“Oh? That’s a great response, thanks,” he teased, but you could tell he was smiling as he spoke.

“I wasn’t expecting you to say that, I don’t really know what to say honestly,” you replied.

“Well, baby, how about you say yes to a date?” he asked.

“Yes.”

[enchantestuff]

promises - red bull Sebastian vettel

as I promised just complete fluff and no smut. our poor seb isn't appreciated enough so here is the four times Sebastian jokingly proposed to you and the one time he actually did 

NOT MY GIF

warnings; none really, fluff (btw this made me realise how TERRIBLE I am at writing fluff sorry <3 )

2.1k words, she's long

Sebastian was nervous about getting a new engineer, he so badly wanted to win a championship with Redbull and Christian had confided in him, telling him that this engineer and their new competitive car, would help him live out his dream of being a Formula One champion.

It was nearing the start of the new season and Sebastian had still yet to meet the person that he would be talking to under his most stressful moments and who he had to have full faith in while driving his car. He had begun to think that maybe he never would meet his new engineer when he received a call from Christian, telling him that they both would take place in a race for the Redbull youtube channel, where Sebastain and his new engineer would race against Mark and his, the twist being that the engineers would be the ones driving, not the drivers themselves. Sebastian agreed knowing that it would be a great way to remove any awkwardness between the two of you.

Only a few days later Sebastian was standing on a random racetrack, talking to Mark when he noticed Mark's engineer walking towards them with a beautiful young lady by his side, who Sebastian assumed was his very own engineer. “Hi! It's so nice to meet you Sebastian! My name's Y/N,” you cheerfully greeted him as you shook his hand.

A smile immediately appeared on Sebastian's face at your warm nature and he knew you two would get along just fine. “Please, call me Seb, '' he grinned as he brought a kiss to your knuckles, “now, are you ready to beat these idiots” he joked as he cocked his head towards your opponents.

“Oh, we are going to make a great pair, Seb” you joked as you accepted a helmet off Christian and climbed into the car, getting comfortable inside of the driver's seat.

“Are you a good driver?” Sebastian asked as he secured himself in the passenger's side of the car.

“I don't think I can call myself a good driver with a future Formula One champion sitting right next to me” you smiled as you drove the car to the start line. Sebastian smiled before he braced himself as the flag spun, indicating the start of the race. His head knocked against the headrest as you sped through the track, blocking Mark's engineer as he tried to overtake you and weaving through deadly corners with minimal braking.

It was when the car drifted across the finish line that Seb turned towards you with a wide grin plastered on his face, his heart was thumping hard in his chest with adrenaline. “Please marry me” he joked and you laughed as you high fived him, pleased with your small victory.

* * *

The atmosphere around the paddock was tense, the drivers championship standings were close. Sebastian could almost taste the victory, but he still had a lot of work to do. He had what he would consider a terrible qualifying and had spent the whole night before the race brainstorming ideas on how to improve his time, however nothing seemed to be working.

Everyone was stressed in the Redbull motorhome the following day, which was never something you liked to see, but you understood it as you too had a sleepless night. You pulled Seb to the side the minute you saw him and told him of the new strategy you dreamt up late last night. He was hesitant since it hadn’t been approved by anyone, but he was willing to take the risk if it meant he would win.

“Are you sure?” he had asked you, looking intently into your eyes.

You shook your head. “No not really, but I know you and I know you're the only driver that could make it work” you confided. You both stared at each other in silence for a few moments before Seb pulled you in for a hug, he gently stroked your back as he squeezed you into him. You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding and hugged him back with just as much force.

“I trust you” he whispered into your ear and you felt a shiver run down your spine.

“Good luck” you spoke as you gave him a final squeeze and pulled away. You bit your nails out of anticipation and shot Seb an encouraging grin as he climbed into his car.

The race went much better than expected and although Christian was furious that you didn't run the plan through him first, he was satisfied that Seb was currently P1 with a final lap to go. Your nerves were at an all time high throughout the race and you could feel the grin creeping onto your face as the end got closer and closer.

It was when Sebastian crossed the checkered flag that you let out a relieved laugh. “P1 Seb! P1! '' you grinned as you spoke to him through his earpiece.

“Ahhhh thank you, Y/N! Will you and your strategy marry me please?” he laughed

“Congratulations,” you smiled “I’ll see you up on the podium”

You practically ran to the podium with the rest of the team, grinning up at Sebastian as he lifted the trophy into the air and you could almost swear he was grinning right back at you. You clapped and hollered at him and a blush crept up your cheeks when you saw him mouth a “Thank you” in your direction.

* * *

It was inevitable that you and Seb would become close, but you two had a very different relationship compared to the other drivers and their engineers. While the other pairs spent their time going over the car's performance and new strategies, you spent yours pressed up against the wall of your office while Sebastian kissed you with as much force as he could muster. Your most heated and intimate moments were just after a race when he was full of energy and you were full of pride.

Behind closed doors you and Sebastian could almost be compared to lovers, but out in the public eye you two kept things strictly professional, which is why you were full of shock the night that Sebastain had won his title.

The whole Redbull garage and the majority of the drivers went out to celebrate Sebastian as well as an amazing season. You had congratulated him at the start of the night, you shared a quick kiss when you were sure nobody was looking and he had bought you a drink. You hadn't seen him since, however and spent the last few hours talking to random drivers and team principals.

You almost jumped out of your skin when you felt two hands land firmly on your waist. You turned your head to see a tipsy Sebastian Vettel smiling at you with a mischievous glimmer in his eyes. “And there's the main man himself,” you giggled as you turned around to face him.

“I missed you,” he blurted out as his hands travelled dangerously low for a public event.

“Did you?” you asked “you're the one that disappeared for an hour” you continued as you tapped his chest.

“Kimi wanted to take shots,” he grinned as one hand moved to cup your bum.

“Sebastian!” you scolded as you swatted his hand away.

“What? It's not like i've never done that before”

“Well yeah, but-but not in public’ you whispered as you looked around, wondering if anyone had noticed the exchange between the two of you.

“I want you,” Sebastian declared, suddenly looking much more sober as he stared into your eyes.

“Let's take this conversation outside” replied as you took a step away from him. Sebastian sighed as he took your hand and led you out the doors, he didn’t care who saw as you both walked by, he didn’t care about anything anymore, he was sick of hiding his feelings for you from everyone. He wanted people to know you were his, he wanted to hold your hand in the paddocks and kiss you for good luck before a race.

Sebastain could feel his heart hammering in his chest as you paced back and forth in front of him, your hands rubbing your arms for warmth. He took a step towards you and grabbed your face with his hands. “Look at me. I want to make us official” you opened your mouth to speak but he cut you off “No listen to me. I need to say this. i don't want to sneakily glance at you during meetings anymore. I want to marry you one day. God! I want to marry you, Y/N! Is that not obvious?”

“Ok” you spoke, a blush rose to your cheeks and you cheekily grinned at him.

‘What?” Sebastian stuttered

“Let's make it official”.

* * *

You and Sebastian had been publicly dating for a little over a year and you were beyond happy. It was currently his birthday and you woke up early to make him breakfast. You both had celebrated the night before and you had to admit you were still sore but you wanted his day to be as special as him.

Sebastian tossed and turned in his sleep, frowning as he felt the cold sheets next to him instead of your warm body. His eyes fluttered open as his eyebrows furrowed. A smile soon made its way onto his face as he smelt the heavenly scent of breakfast. He turned to stand up but immediately sat back down at the sound of your voice. “No! Dont get up!” you pleaded and he laughed at the sight of you struggling to hold the breakfast tray in your hands.

“You shouldn't have, liebe” he muttered as he helped you place the breakfast tray on the bed.

“Maybe” you shrugged as you sat down next to him, “but I wanted to, now go on! Try it!” you encouraged as you practically shoved the plate into his face.

“Okay, okay” he laughed as he defensively put his hands up. You watched him as he put a fork full of food into his mouth, his eyes involuntarily shut as a quiet moan left his mouth. “Mmm marry me” he said once he swallowed the food.

“Is it okay?” you asked nervously as you played with your hands, it was your first time cooking for him and although it was just breakfast, you still wanted to make a good impression.

Sebastians head flipped in your direction, a shocked look plastered on his face. “It's better than okay, darling. Thank you. I love it. I love you”

Your heart fluttered once you heard those three words come out of his mouth. You grinned so hard that your cheeks began to hurt. “Oh god, please say something” he pleaded and he began to think that he spoke those words too soon.

“I love you, Sebastian” you spoke as you wrapped your arms around him and straddled his hips, placing kisses all over his face before finally collecting your lips.

* * *

It was yours and Sebastains anniversary but you both had decided that you wouldn't do anything special, you were just going to get takeout and watch a movie.

You pulled into the house with the food in your hands. You unlocked the door and called out to your boyfriend, “Honey, I’m home!” you joked, locking the doors behind you kicking your shoes off. You placed the food on the table next to the door and turned around, the sight in front of you shocking you as you let out a loud gasp.

Sebastian was kneeling on the floor with a ring in his hand, rose petals littered around him. You couldn't focus on the gorgeous dinner he had laid out on the table or the sweet music playing on the radio, you could only look at his glossy eyes and nervous face.

“Y/N, darling, I love you. I think i've loved you since I first laid eyes on you on that racetrack.” he laughed and looked down at the floor before connecting his eyes with yours again,”You have been with me through my lowest lows and my highest highs and somehow still manage to look at me with a glimmer in your eyes. There's nothing I can’t do with you by my side. So i’m asking-no-i'm practically begging you to finally marry me, for real this time. Will you do me the honours and become my wife?”

You nodded at him with tears in your eyes as you took small steps towards him. “I want to hear you say it, liebe”

“Yes, Sebastian! Of course I’ll marry you”

[ootahime]

analyzing every gojohime moment in the manga >:) pt. 3

more and more paragraphs ahead.  BE PREPARED!

i’m also writing this at 3 am so please bear with the horrendous grammar and punctuation.

chapter 63

i know he’s probably like this with everyone but i love how excited he is bragging about his students to her.  he’s like a child telling his mother about an amazing adventure he had with his friends, making sure he mentions every detail.  in the anime, their conversation lasted for 3:41 :3 backwards 341 is 143 which means i love you.  

1 letter = i

4 letters = love

3 letters = you

chapter 63

i love her fit!  i also like how both of them like to wear baggy clothing that accentuates their collarbones `w` it’s like they’re matching in a way.  even if she did tell him to cut the crap, she still let him run his mouth to his content LOL i feel like if he didn’t compliment himself at the end, she would have said something different.  UGH HE LOOKS SO HAPPY CALLING HER

 ah, let me translate the conversation just in case anyone needs it.

utahime: you wanted to talk about the investigation, right?

gojo: well, got any idea who?

utahime: i have no idea.  no one seems suspicious.  what do we do now?  should we ask the students for help?

gojo: yeah, that’s fine.  i’m busy so asking the kids would be okay.  keep looking.  i’m counting on you.

I THINK THAT’S WHAT THEY’RE TRYING TO SAY.

OR it could mean that she’s asking if they should start investigating the students.  it would make sense either way because gojo says in the next panel that he doesn’t want to assume that the mole is a student, and in chapter 79, gojo sends the trio to utahime to help her.  

chapter 63

these two love their students to death.  neither of them wanted to assume that the mole was a student.  in chapter 79, when utahime is talking to the trio about the mole, nobara points out to the group that the traitor must be from kyoto because utahime is the one who’s reaching out to the tokyo side.  utahime has a dismal look on her face, almost like she’s saying, “i didn’t want it to turn out this way -- for this to be true.”  after mechamaru says his farewells to miwa on the train, mai tries to talk about what he did to which utahime says, “it doesn’t matter, he’s dead, after all,” with a similar sunken expression.  i just love how her care for the students is one of the biggest aspects of her personality that’s been showcased so far.  it’s also cool how it ties together with gojo’s belief that no child’s youth should be taken away.  i truly think these two have the capacity to understand each other to a deep level, down to the core.  seeing as utahime is also a teacher, it’s safe to assume that she also wants to raise the next generation of sorcerers to be strong.  utahime and gojo’s similarities and contrasting elements are so interwined, i really wonder if it’s intentional.  like am i looking too much into this?  are utahime and gojo really meant to be this connected?  think about it.  similar motivations, care of the kids, contrasting palettes, the bickering, long history.  IT’S JUST TOO MUCH. 

also can we mention how their phone calls and meetings must be heavily planned out?  this means they’ve talked and interacted with each other A LOT behind the scenes.  she doesn’t answer his call with “what do you want?  don’t bother me on my day off.”  she knows exactly why he’s calling her and they even speak in code.  she probably meets up with him and tells him to call her on a specific day and at a specific time.  they must know each other’s schedules very well in order to execute this investigation in complete secrecy.  when he says, “we can never be too sure who is listening in around utahime” it implies that they find calling a risk, so in order to guarantee that there is no one around, they have to meet up in person.  see where i’m getting at?  they talk A LOTTT and most likely are aware of each other’s daily lives.  

the fact that gojo is her main source of stress when he’s literally a 3 hour train ride away from her is hilarious LMAOOOO.  you know what that means, right?  he must call and text her constantly about random things to annoy her.  

chapter 65

ah yes, my favorite moment by far.  look at that smile on his face.  

chapter 65

he loves saying her name.  he probably rushed over with the sole purpose of doing something like this to her LMAOOOO like i mean, mei was in there with her so technically they both needed to be helped but judging from his words and expression, he only wanted to help utahime.  notice how mei’s not there in the debris.  could she possibly have suspected gojo’s presence or an outside force?  or was she fast enough to avoid being in the debris?  either way, her lack of presence in this scene helps highlight the fact that this is a special interaction between utahime and gojo.  he refers to her in a very familiar sense.  the most formal way to address someone is by their last name followed by the honorific, -san.  in gojo’s case, he should be calling her iori-san if they weren’t acquainted.  he doesn’t even bother to call her utahime-senpai.  granted, gojo is not the most respectful and socially competent person out there because geto points this out to him.  he isn’t even aware that she finds him annoying because he views her bad attitude toward him as her just playing along with him.  he probably thinks she’s flirting back LOLOL

since he asks her “you cryin?” that definitely means that gojo witnessed her crying on one occasion or maybe multiple.  who knows, the old utahime could have been a very emotional person.  while this is happening, mei is close to gojo, she then asks him if he would console her if she were to cry in a flirtatious manner.  gojo dismisses her attempt at flirting with him and says she won’t cry because she’s strong.  now normally, you’re supposed to face the person you’re talking to, GOJO.  he KEEPS his eyes on her even when more people come to join the conversation.  

now, we can all agree that geto, mei, and shoko are better at picking up social cues than gojo.  they probably knew the vibe of the conversation and decided to play along with gojo’s antics.  

chapter 65

WE were worried about you.

pay attention to the order of the characters that show up.  gojo makes his appearance first, then geto, followed by shoko.  based on utahime’s reaction to seeing shoko, it’s evident that these two share a close bond.  shouldn’t shoko be the one to arrive on the scene first?  she’s the closest to utahime and would therefore be more concerned about her condition, right?  i know shoko’s technique doesn’t really allow her to do anything other than treat the wounds of others, but if you heard your friend was missing, you would definitely rush to the scene.  

look at geto’s reaction when mei says, “you’re the one who’s picking on her, geto.  you don’t even know it.”  i think it’s mei who’s saying this because gojo calls geto “suguru”.  but anyway, mei is aware that they’re picking on her.  i don’t think she’s the type to legitimately bully someone for their strength.  her reaction to all of this is very playful and her “heh heh heh” is proof of that.  when geto shows up and swallows the curse before it gets to utahime, he says, “satoru.  it’s not nice to pick on the weak.”  by saying this, he pisses utahime off because he too, is joining in on gojo’s joke.  i believe he’s unaware that he’s making fun of utahime because his reaction is “gah!” with a sweatdrop.  he probably thought gojo was making fun of weak people in general.  

geto’s usually a gentleman seeing as it is canon that he is more popular with girls than gojo.  BUT WHO KNOWS...you gotta be a specific type of person to be best friends with gojo.  maybe he ain’t shit too...  okay, my point is that everyone is just playing along.  when shoko shows up, utahime is relieved to see her because shoko doesn’t tease her like this.  since utahime tells shoko to not become like those two, this implies that geto teases her as well (probably not as much as gojo).  we all know geto is really big on looking out for the weak so he probably wouldn’t have insulted her for real.  

verdict: utahime being weak is just a joke.  i’ve mentioned this so many times, sorry if it’s getting annoying and repetitive hehehehehe...

chapter 65

these three aren’t irresponsible.  geto and gojo are a troublesome duo for sure, but they’re dependable.  seems unlike them to forget something so simple and essential to pretty much every mission.   

chapter 65

here’s my headcanon.  they were hanging outside or in the car when their assistant manager got a call.  the assistant was informed that two days have elapsed since mei and utahime went on their mission (or last contacted someone).  

gojo: that’s weird.  mei’s with her so they should have finished exorcising the spirit sooner.

geto: you think something happened to them?  maybe it’s a strong special grade.

gojo: utahime probably dragged mei down with her.  poor mei-san~  

gojo gets up 

geto: where are you going?  

gojo: going to save utahime!  it’s fine i’ll put up a curtain!

manager: gojo wait!!!!!!!!!!!

geto sighs

shoko: that idiot’s always running off without us.

they pin the blame on gojo for saying that he’ll put up a curtain and leaving the assistant manager behind.  you know what this means?  he ran and the manager couldn’t catch up HEHE... why the rush, gojo?  were you actually concerned about her?  

tbh i don’t see gojo ever running to something unless it’s urgent.  the fact that he ran to save her says a lot.  

----

let me know if you have any thoughts or questions!  i forgot to add this but gojo had a more serious expression when he was explaining how they must’ve been trapped in a barrier that messes with time.  he then states, “we thought it was weird even though you’re here, mei.”  i know he was probably worried sick because if mei couldn’t be contacted then that means something must’ve happened to utahime too.  okay that’s it for now.  i’ll be bringing up this little detail i’ve noticed about utahime in the manga next :3

[engie-ivy]

Remus is the uptight, swotty Prefect who's always getting the popular and beloved troublemakers Black and Potter in detention. Remus doesn't care what people say of him, and he absolutely doesn't care about Black's blinding smile.

A Book By Its Cover

Remus pulls his jumper closer around himself against the draught in the large, empty halls. The corridor is dimly lit and he hears nothing but the sound of his own footsteps. Everything is quiet. Too quite.

A loud clang suddenly sounds from behind one of the tapestries. Remus almost smiles to himself. Bingo. In a swift motion, he pulls away the tapestry.

Startled, Black whirls around. He’s surrounded by what appear to be paint cans and rope. His shock only last a moment, though.

“Lupin!” He exclaims, a beaming smile appearing on his face. “What a pleasant surprise!”

Remus crosses his arms over his chest. He makes an effort to keep a firm expression on his face, to show he’s not affected by Black’s notorious, blinding smile, like everyone else is. “Only pleasant if you like detention. And as for a surprise, I am a Prefect. I am supposed to be here making my rounds. So what are you doing here?”

“Preparing a prank,” Black says simply.

Remus doesn’t know whether he should be insulted Black doesn’t seem to take his authority very seriously, or glad that he doesn’t insult his intelligence by coming up with an excuse.

“Right,” Remus says, before taking out his notebook and pen. “Out of bed after curfew and engaging in illegal activity,” he scribbles down. “And where’s Potter?”

“Aw, am I not enough for you, Lupin?” Black pouts.

“I figured you could use some company in detention,” Remus replies smoothly.

Black clicks his tongue. “So thoughtful.”

“If you’re here setting up some prank, then it’s a given Potter is setting up that prank somewhere else in the school as well. So, where is he?”

Black shakes his head. “For you’re own good, Lupin, you don’t wanna put James in detention right now. People won’t be too pleased with you if the school’s football star misses the upcoming match against Slytherin thanks to you.”

“So thoughtful,” Remus repeats Black’s words, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “But please, don’t concern yourself over me. I’ve never cared what others think of me, and I don’t plan on starting now. And you basically just admitted Potter is currently doing something that would warrant me giving him detention, so you might as well tell me where he is.”

Black sighs. “This is why people call you uptight.”

Remus’ expression hardens. “If people care so much, they should be mad at Potter for risking the football match in the first place by playing some stupid prank.”

Black gasps dramatically and clutches his chest. “Stupid? Our pranks are not stupid! They’re works of art! Jumping out of a cake on miss McGonagall’s birthday? Hilarious! Making a zip line to go from one floor to the other? Brilliant! Filling the gym with stray cats, many of whom were eventually adopted? Genius! People love our pranks. They make people laugh and bring some excitement in their lives. Much needed excitement, because let’s face it, school is boring. Sitting there, listening to old people tell you things you already know.”

“For you maybe,” Remus mutters.

Black scoffs. “Don’t pretend you’re not one of the smartest people in our class, Lupin.”

Remus just glares harder at Black, to show that no, he doesn’t care that Sirius Black, whom people are always falling over themselves for to get even a bit of his attention, has apparently noticed Remus’ academic achievements. No, he doesn’t care at all.

“Even the teachers love our pranks,” Black continues. “They put some life into this place!”

“We’ll see what miss McGonagall has to say about it when I report you tomorrow,” Remus says calmly. “I’ll go finish my rounds, and when I get back, you better have cleaned up this mess.”

As he turns around to leave, Black suddenly grabs his wrist. “Join us!”

“Wha...” Remus turns back, and his traitorous stomach flutters at how close Black is suddenly standing.

“Join us for one prank,” Black says.

Remus blinks at him. “Why in earth would I do that?”

“Because it’s fun! And honestly, Lupin, to me you always look like you can use a bit of fun.”

That catches Remus off guard. It’s true. Between struggling to get top marks, doing everything he can for extra credit, making sure he has a spotless record, excelling at his Prefect duties, and worrying about his sick mother, lately he often feels like just throwing his hands in the air and say ‘screw it all!’, and just do something crazy, something dumb or irresponsible. But he definitely never wanted for Black to notice that.

“Come on, Lupin,” Black says, as Remus stays silent. “Be part of the fun for once, instead of putting a damper on it.”

“Your childish pranks aren’t my idea of fun,” Remus bites back, feeling himself getting defensive.

Black just grins. “You won’t know that unless you join us for just one prank!”

“Why would you even want me to join you?” Many people would be lining up to be a part of one of Black and Potter’s infamous pranks. It’s beyond Remus why Black would ask that one stuffy guy who puts them in detention almost every week.

“Because I like you,” Black shrugs. “I like how hard you work for everything and how you don’t care what anyone thinks of you. And I think you secretly have a talent for it,” he adds with a wink, that absolutely does not make Remus’ knees go weak. “I bet you have a wicked side to you underneath all that swotty stuff.”

“But I’m a Prefect!” Remus argues. “I’m supposed to discipline rule-breakers, not break them myself!”

Black rolls his eyes. “You shouldn’t take that job so serious.”

This rubs Remus the wrong way. “Not everyone can afford to treat everything in life as a joke,” he says coolly.

Black folds his arms over his chest and stares. “A fancy title and a badge and suddenly you’re better than us?”

“It’s nothing like that!”

Black huffs. “Then why is that bogus job so important to you?”

“Because some of us can’t afford to have even one note on their record if they ever want to get anywhere in life!” Remus snaps. “Because some of us need perfect scores and every bit of extra credit they can get if they want universities not to immediately bin their applications! Because some of us don’t have a last name they can flaunt, a daddy who can make a phone call, a mommy who can throw some money around, and suddenly you’re top of the list! Because some of us can’t just look at their rich parents and rely on them to always give them everything they want!”

The change in Black is instant. He takes a step back, and instead of his usual easy smile and bright eyes sparkling with mischief, his face becomes an ice-cold mask. “Fuck you, Lupin,” he hisses. “You don’t know a thing about me.”

He pushes past Remus as he storms off, leaving him behind feeling very confused. Maybe he shouldn’t have said that. Yes, the system is unfair and Black is privileged, but Remus supposes that isn’t really Black’s fault. He knows Black isn’t actually a bad person. His heart is in the right place, and he’s usually kind, only ever mean to people who, quite frankly, deserve it.

Remus just wishes Black would stop with those bloody pranks.

Remus just wishes Black would continue with those bloody pranks.

Or do anything really that makes him seem more like his old self. Remus never thought he’d miss that loud, barking laugh, that infuriating smirk, those lame puns so much.

Ever since everyone returned from Christmas break, Black has completely withdrawn. He hardly talks to anyone, he just sits silently, his eyes staring off in the distance and his expression blank. Potter is always by his side, softly talking to him or just throwing him worried glances.

Since then, it has been the talk of the school, and even in the papers and on the news: Sirius Black has been removed from his parents’ custody. It was a messy affair, the police has even been involved. Black’s father was arrested on grounds of child abuse. Apparently, Orion Black, the noble and well-respected patriarch of the prestigious Black family, has a habit of beating his son. It must’ve been going on for a while, but over the break it escalated. People just can’t get over how Sirius Black’s life wasn’t as perfect as it always seemed to be.

Remus feels bad for Black, and especially feels like an idiot, having said the things he said. He knows he owes Black an apology. It has been a couple of weeks since the break ended, and the apology is beginning to be long overdue. Though he also knows that Black has probably not been waiting for an apology from the uptight twat that always gets him detention.

Maybe it’s more to ease his own consciousness that he hesitantly approaches the table where Black is sitting. Potter glares at him the moment he sees him, and half gets out of his seat, probably to tell him to piss off, and rightfully so. However, after a quick glance at Black’s face, who’s looking up at Remus, he sits back down, as if he sees something on his friend’s face that makes him chance his mind.

“Bla- Sirius,” Remus says, realising a tad late that Sirius might nor want to be reminded of his family name right now. “I’m sorry,” he blurts out. “I said some shitty things to you, and I shouldn’t have. You were right, I didn’t know anything about you.”

“It’s okay,” Sirius says softly. “You had good reason to be angry, it’s a rather fucked up system. And you didn’t know. Didn’t know that I would’ve gladly given up all that privilege to just have parents who... who love me...”

Sirius’ voice falters and he trails off. Potter is staring at him wide-eyed, and also Remus is surprised. He knows Sirius hasn’t talked about it to anyone, and he feels almost guilty he’s saying it to him of all people. He’s also surprised at the overwhelming urge he has to pull Sirius into a hug, hold him and tell him they never deserved him anyway. He has to leave before he does anything stupid.

“I should go,” Remus says quickly. “If there’s ever anything I can do...”

As he turns around to leave, Black suddenly grabs his wrist. “Join us!”

Remus turns back to look at him.

“Join us for one prank.”

“Why would you want me to join you?” Remus asks, much like the first time.

“Because I like you,” Sirius replies, much like the first time, only where he had then sounded nonchalant and slightly amused, he now sounds pleading and vulnerable.

“Yeah,” Remus says hoarsely, because his Prefect duties suddenly don’t seem so important compared to helping Sirius come back to his old self. “Yeah, I’ll join you for one prank.”

And then the most amazing thing happens: for the first time in weeks, Sirius Black smiles. It’s only a small smile, but the room already seems a bit brighter. In a moment of vivid clarity, Remus knows that there’s nothing he wouldn’t do to make that boy smile.

[somewhatgreatexpectations]

If you need me, let me know (Wanda Maximoff/ Reader)

Hello!

Can I just say thank you for all the positive feedback I received for "Leave, then go"? I'm so happy you all enjoyed since this idea is fairly different. Here is more double Lizzie! Also known as "Love me (Or let me go)" part 2. Let me know what you all think! :)

Summary: Y/n attempts to navigate being there for Leigh and becomes closer with Wanda. Minor angst but also fluff.

The unexpected sound of your phone piercing through the stillness of the night paired with the bright light of your screen coming to life in the darkness startled you out of your sleep. A quick glance at the time showed you that it was well past one in the morning.

Leigh.

The surprise of seeing her name through bleary eyes almost made you miss the call. Almost. She had been isolating herself for almost two weeks now. Not that you blamed her considering the circumstances.

In a daze, you dragged your finger across the screen to accept the call. “Is this a booty call?” You joked groggily, as your muddled mind slowly began to wake up.

“Yeah. This was a mistake.” Leigh’s reply floated through the line, her tone displeased.

You pressed your palm roughly into your temple, annoyed at yourself. You nervously rushed out a reply hoping she hadn’t hung up yet. “Wait! Leigh, I’m sorry. I was joking. Wrong time. Noted." You paused slightly. "Are you okay?”

Leigh’s next response was quiet, practically inaudible. “I couldn’t sleep.”

As soon as you heard her reply you worriedly sat up on your elbows. Your eyes drifted over to the keys on your desk. If she said the word, you’d be there in an instant. “That’s understandable. Wanda was telling me you seemed overwhelmed when you met her. Is there something I can do to help?”

A tense silence hung in the air and for a moment you were sure she had actually hung up on you. “Seriously? You’ve been talking to her?” The sounds of her moving around drifted from the phone. “Why have you been talking to her?” Everything in you wished you hadn’t said anything.

You should have known better.

Even over the phone you could feel Leigh’s icy stare. “Wanda doesn’t know anyone else around here. I wanted to offer her some support. I don’t know… She’s nice.”

“And I’m not nice?”

You sputtered in shock. “What? Leigh, I never said that. We were talking about Wanda.”

Just as you were about to add more Leigh’s voice interrupted your own. “You know what? Let’s just pretend this call never happened. Goodnight.”

“Leigh-” The dial tone replaced her voice before you could say anything else.

With a groan you threw yourself back against your bed. Every conversation with Leigh felt like bomb defusing and it seemed like you could never stop them from exploding in your face.

Creating a bond with Wanda didn’t mean that you wanted to push Leigh out of your life. You couldn’t.

Leigh was in your veins.

Admittedly, you did speak to Wanda almost daily, but it was mainly over the phone. You had only seen her once since the discovery, briefly. She had randomly got called into work which ended your lunch early.

That day you had seen that she was troubled, so you offered her an ear and a shoulder to lean on which she tentatively accepted. You would have done the same for Leigh had she not rejected each attempt you had made to reach out to her.

The difference between them was that Wanda let you be there for her where Leigh used all her energy to push you away. The only reason you even knew what was going on was because Wanda confided in you. That’s how you learned Leigh was a triplet. Or well… was since Wanda brokenly informed you that their brother had passed away. Leigh would never get to know him.

Even with Leigh pushing you away, you knew you had to keep trying to be there. Maybe it would just have to be in a different way than you were there for Wanda.

______________

As gently as you could you placed the box on the doorstep and took a step back. You pulled out your phone to send a quick message before you left.

Hey. You’re probably asleep

or just don’t want to talk.

I just want you to know I’m

here for you. I said I would be

and I intend to keep my word.

So, when you wake up I left a surprise

for you at your front door.

Hopefully the raccoons don’t get

to it before you can.

If you need me, let me know.

Read 2:07 a.m.

You were surprised to see that your message was read almost as soon as you sent it. This time you didn’t expect a reply, but you were glad she had seen the message at the very least. Just as you had reached the end of the walkway you heard the front door open. You kept walking without turning towards the sound, determined to give her space.

“Where are you going?” The shock of hearing her voice caused you to trip on some loose gravel. The quiet sound of her laughter filled the still night around you.

Straightening yourself, you turned to find Leigh with the box in her hands, her head tilted in amusement. “Um. Home?” If you didn’t know better, you would have thought she wanted to say something.

As you were turning to leave again you heard Leigh’s voice. “Do you want to come inside?”

“Do you want me to come inside?” You countered. As much as you tried, you couldn’t control the way surprise seeped into your words.

Leigh playfully rolled her eyes as she pushed the door further open. “Do you expect me to be able to eat a dozen donuts by myself?”

Strolling back up the path you had walked countless times before felt foreign.

Leigh nudged you playfully as she closed the door and you couldn’t help the smile that grew because for a moment everything felt like it used to. It was dangerous and you knew it.

That’s how you ended up cross-legged on Leigh’s bed, the box of donuts between the two of you as you reminisced moments from your past.

Moments that were safe to reminisce anyway.

“In my defense I did say, David, if you call her that one more time I’m going to punch you in the face.”

“And you broke your hand punching him!” Leigh exclaimed through her laughter. Genuine laughter. Warmth blossomed in your chest at the sound.

You groaned and covered your face with your hands. “Don’t remind me. I swear his head was made of concrete. That’s why that’s the only fight I’ve ever been in.” Leigh’s laughter continued. “It was worth it though.” You added quietly.

You were too busy looking down at your lap to notice the way Leigh watched you, a small smile forming on her face. She quickly wiped it away when you looked back up at her. “If you fought every person who’s called me names, you’d be fighting a lot of people, Y/n.”

“Worth it.” You shrugged, refusing to look at her as you fiddled with a loose thread on her sheets.

A comfortable silence settled in the air. “I can take care of myself you know.” The way Leigh’s lips curled into a smile was easy. Light. Unfamiliar to you after all this time.

“Trust me. I know.” The loose thread snapped under your fingers. “Speaking of, how have you been since, well… you know.” You asked carefully, bracing yourself for the explosion that was bound to come from the question.

Leigh took in a sharp breath and for a moment you were sure she was about to kick you out for overstepping. “It… sucks. Finding out I’m adopted. Finding out I was separated at birth and suddenly have a twin sister.” A bitter chuckle fell from her lips. “I can’t say it’s the worst thing that’s happened to me in the last year and a half though.”

There was nothing you could say that would make her situation better. You knew that. Taking a risk, you sat up on your knees, moved the box to the foot of the bed and hesitantly pulled Leigh into your arms. You hoped the touch could offer her the comfort you couldn’t find the words for.

Leigh tensed almost as soon as you made contact and you were sure she was about to push you away and scream at you to get out. Just as your hands began falling away, she relaxed into the embrace, her arms wrapped around you tightly.

You both stayed wrapped in one another’s embrace for a moment. Leigh was the one who eventually pulled away. “Thank you.” Her words were hesitant.

“Of course. You know,” Gently you pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. You quickly folded your hands back together in your lap immediately after. “if you ever need me, you just have to let me know.”

Before you could say anything else, Leigh surged forward and connected her lips to yours. Despite yourself, you couldn’t help the way your lips easily fell into the familiar rhythm. This was wrong. She was vulnerable. This was so wrong.

When you came to your senses you abruptly pulled away, ignoring the way she chased after your lips. “Leigh… We shouldn’t. You’re vulnerable. I don’t want to take advantage.”

Your heart stuttered in your chest when Leigh straddled you.

Resolve was quickly slipping through your fingers when she looked at you like that. “You’re not taking advantage. Y/n… I need this. You need this. We need this.” She leaned forward so her lips lightly brushed over your own with each word she spoke. “Just this last time.” She whispered as she trailed her lips down to nip playfully at your pulse point.

Absentmindedly you ran a hand up her back until it was tangled into her silky strands. “Just like you said the last time.”

The bright light seeping through the curtains woke you up the next morning. You rolled over to find the bed empty, Leigh nowhere in sight. You wanted to say you were surprised, but you weren’t.

As much as you hate to admit it, you would’ve been more surprised if she actually stayed.

Cautiously you made your way towards the front door hoping to make it out undetected. “Y/n?” You mumbled a quiet curse as you turned in the direction of the voice.

“Jules! Long time no see.” You greeted Leigh’s sister, hoping that she wouldn’t comment on your obvious walk of shame.

The smirk on her face let you know she knew exactly what had happened. She had seen it more than enough times to recognize the signs. “Now Leigh leaving for class early totally makes sense.”

Even though you knew Leigh was avoiding you, hearing it from someone else still stung. “On that note, I need to get to work. Bye Jules.”

“Bye Y/n. Good seeing you again.” Jules took a drink of her smoothie and chuckled as you rushed out the door.

It didn’t matter how high Leigh could make you feel in the moment, it wasn’t anything compared to how low she could make you feel after.

_________

For the first time in your life, you were thankful for a chaotic shift as it prevented you from having to think about anything outside of work itself. Until you were able to take your break and look at your phone at least.

Good morning, Y/n.

I was wondering if you were

free tonight? I wanted

to make up for having

to leave early.

Sent 8:24 a.m.

No pressure though!

Sent 9:18 a.m.

The smile that appeared on your face was immediate as you rushed to send a reply back, hoping the offer was still available since she had sent that text a few hours ago.

Hi, Wanda! Sorry for

taking so long to get back

to you. Work was hectic.

Definitely free tonight.

Read 12:04 p.m.

“And every night for you.” You mumbled to yourself with a smile as you watched the bubbles appear, indicating that she was typing a reply.

Great! Does 7 work for

you? I can pick you up.

Sent 12:05 p.m.

7 is perfect!

Read 12:05 p.m.

See you then, Y/n.

Dress comfortably. :)

Sent 12:06 p.m.

Can’t wait.

Read 12:07 p.m.

You felt giddy at the idea of seeing Wanda again as thoughts of her quickly filled your mind, leaving room for nothing else as you went about your day. The day couldn’t move any slower.

__________

Almost as soon as the clock struck 7, you heard a knock at the door and rushed over to find Wanda standing before you with a shy smile. “Hi. Ready to go?”

She’s so beautiful, you thought to yourself in awe, completely entranced by the woman before you. Nothing else seemed to exist around you when she was around. You noticed that her cheeks flushed a pale pink. “Y/n?” Her eyes twinkled in amusement.

“Sorry! Just zoned out a bit there.” You mentally cursed yourself as you grabbed a jacket and stepped out. “Ready when you are.”

The featherlight touch of Wanda’s fingers grazing the small of your back as she led you to her car set your skin ablaze. “I hope you don’t mind a short hike to get to our destination today.”

Settling into the passenger seat felt easy as Wanda began the drive.

How does she manage to make everything she does look so damn breath taking?

Wanda’s hands flexed lightly on the steering wheel, her lips curling up faintly as though she knew a secret you didn’t. “I don’t mind at all.” You finally replied.

“I’m glad.” Her eyes glanced over at you momentarily before settling back on the road. “How was work today? I remember you saying it was hectic.”

Someone wanting to know about your day felt unfamiliar to you. It was a nice change. “Work was good. There was this little boy, adorable, but he was so scared to get a shot. He was hiding behind his mom the whole time. Wouldn’t even come out to play with some of the blocks we had in my office.”

Wanda hummed to let you know you had her attention. “What did you do?”

A short chuckle fell from your lips as you watched the curvy road pass you in a blur. “He became so brave the second I pulled out this Iron-Man action figure we keep in my office. It was adorable. It was like he wanted Iron-Man himself to see he was brave, you know? I let him keep that toy after he got the shot. It was one of the most adorable things I’ve ever seen.”

“It’s sweet that you’re so good with children.” The sincerity in her words made you blush.

“I try to be. Part of the job description.” You joked lightly as you deflected the compliment.

Wanda nodded faintly, acknowledging the deflection as she changed the subject. “Do you know much about him?”

You shifted slightly so you could get a better look at her. “My client?”

The was a faint hint of tension that lurked beneath the nonchalance of her next words. You didn't understand why. “No. Iron-man.” She coughed slightly. “I know some people are big fans of his and you know... you had his toy in your office.”

Unable to help yourself, you chuckled slightly. Maybe she was wondering if you were a fangirl. “I buy a lot of different toys every few months or so to keep in my office for situations like this. I also have aliens, barbies, teddy bears. It depends on the kid.” You explained. “I really only know Iron-Man’s name because of the toy. I don’t know much about the revengers in general though.”

“The Avengers.” She corrected before she could stop herself. You noticed that she winced slightly.

You snapped your fingers. “Right, I always seem to get that mixed up. They typically stay on the east coast, so I don’t pay much attention to them. I do respect what they do though.”

Wanda’s shoulders fell slightly, almost as though she was relieved. “We’re here.” She informed you as she pulled off to a dirt space on the side of the curvy road.

When you stepped out of the car, you looked around as Wanda got something out of the trunk. “Yup.”

Wanda stopped at your side. “What?”

You looked over at her and squinted your eyes slightly. “This is the part of the movie where you kill me.”

For a moment she stared at you in surprise until her eyes crinkled and an unabashed laugh fell from her lips. “I promise that was never in the plans, Y/n.” She held out a hand. “The path can be a little tricky.”

Without hesitation, you slid your hand into hers as she led you forward into the dark night, the path only lit by the moon shining brightly above your head. There was something about Wanda that made it easy for you to place your trust in her. There was goodness to her. You’d follow her just about anywhere.

You continued to walk beside her in silence, the cool metal of the rings that adorned her fingers against your skin calmed you.

If it weren’t for her hand in yours, you’d be lost in the breathtaking sight before you when she finally came to a stop.

“Wow…” You breathed out, as your breath hitched in your throat.

Wanda looked over at you, a tentative smile on her face. “Do you like it?”

On stunned feet you stepped closer to the edge, feeling Wanda’s hand fall from your own. “Wanda, it’s amazing. How did you even find this place?”

“A lot of wandering. I like to come up here to think. To get away from it all. To find peace.” You heard her respond from behind you as you took in the bright lights of the city in the distance.

When you turned back you found Wanda setting a blanket on the floor. “I hope I’m not taking away from your peace by being here.”

Wanda pat the space beside her. You took a seat as you both took in the view. “You could never. For some reason, I feel at peace whenever you’re around.” She admitted, her gaze dropping to the blanket.

Your breath hitched again, but the view had nothing to do with it this time. “I feel the same with you.” You placed your hand over hers.

When her glimmering emerald eyes lifted up to meet yours you were sure you forgotten to breath entirely and for a moment it seemed as though the world around you slowed down. All that you could see was Wanda, and you could never look away. You didn't want to look away.

Your chest tightened as you watched her shift forward ever so slightly. You wanted to kiss her. You wanted nothing more than to kiss her… But it wouldn’t be fair to her. Not after last night with Leigh. Wanda deserved more.

With that in mind you begrudgingly turned away and looked back out in the distance. “Is everything okay?” Wanda questioned cautiously, unsure of what just happened.

“Oh, sure. Just a prisoner of my own mind. The usual.” You mumbled petulantly as you picked at the grass.

The curiosity in Wanda’s eyes came back in full force, but you couldn’t find it within yourself to look up and get lost in those eyes again. You wouldn’t have the strength to look away and not give into to what you desperately wanted a second time.

“In a sense aren’t we all prisoners of some sort? Prisoners to our memories, or fear, or disappointment…” Wanda tugged at her sleeves. “Aren’t we all defined by something we can’t change?” She added quietly.

You laid back, so you could look up at the moon through the trees. “I think we’re all defined by what we chose to allow ourselves to be defined by. Like you said, by memories, or fear, or disappointment. Even love and happiness. We chose, so maybe we can change it.”

You could feel Wanda lay beside you more than you could see it, her head rested softly against your own. “I would want to be defined by love.” She whispered.

“Yeah…” Like magnets your hands found one another in the open space between you two. “Me too.”

Once again, you realized that you could lose yourself in this moment. You would never be happier to be lost as long as you were getting lost in Wanda. The sound of your phone chiming in the night went unnoticed as you and Wanda spoke well into the night.

You both stayed there until the first breaks of daylight peaked over the horizon. The sky had never looked more golden or beautiful than when you had seen it reflected in her eyes.

Part 2! This was actually so fun to write (even if I did face a minor block). Hopefully this part made the dynamic that the reader shares with Leigh a bit more clear and developed what the reader is building with Wanda further as well. Don't worry, more will be revealed as the story progresses. Also Wanda has powers which will lightly come into play later.

Let me know what you all think, I'm excited to hear back! Thoughts and comments always welcome. :)

Tag list: (Please bear with me this is my first time trying this, let me know if I missed you.)

@khiaraaa-in-spacee @halobaby @madamevirgo @aimezvousbrahms @trikruismybitch @marvels-writings @izalesbean @causeitswhatjesuswouldfreakingdo

[genshin-impact-writings]

hi there! may i request small frappé with pumpkin spice and whipped cream? childe x reader ty! this is my first time requesting so i hope i didnt do this wrong!!

Heya, dear anon! Thank you so much for your request, it was perfect and i had a lot of fun writing this. So, here's your drink: A small frappé with pumpkin spice and whipped cream on top. Hope you enjoy! <3 (Reblogs are very much appreciated.)

Prompts: fluff, fake dating, “You’re not wearing that, are you?” + “I don’t think I can do this anymore.” (400 followers event: JJ's coffee shop)

Be mine – Tartaglia x gn!reader (fake dating!AU, fluff)

“You’re not wearing that, are you?”

With furrowed brows, you looked at Tartaglia. He was standing behind you, watching you as you turned in front of the mirror to get a better look at your outfit. “Why?” you asked, a hint of confusion echoing in your voice. “Is there something wrong? Is it too much?”

“No,” he replied, and a smile flashed over his face as he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around your waist from behind. Resting his chin on your shoulder, he added, “It makes you look even prettier than you already are, to be honest. Everyone’s going to stare at you.” He nuzzled your cheek. “And I’m not sure if I like that thought.”

You felt your face growing hot at his words and tried to wriggle out of his hug. “Stop that,” you said with a sheepish grin. “No one’s here, there’s no need to act like we’re a couple.”

Tartaglia hummed in response and took a step back after releasing you from his hug, although he couldn’t deny that your words hurt him more than he liked to admit. He knew that you were right – the two of you weren’t really dating, after all. It was just a show you put on to stop your friends from constantly pestering you to finally find yourself a boyfriend. When you had asked him to pretend to be in a relationship with you for a while, Tartaglia hadn’t hesitated to help you. Up to this day, he hadn’t regretted it – well, a bit, maybe.

At first, it had been nothing more than a game and a secret the two of you shared – something that never failed to make you laugh when your friends weren’t around. But as the weeks passed, things had… changed. At least for him.

He had no idea how you felt about the whole situation, though. If you still thought about him as a friend or if his constant flirting did have some kind of effect on you… if you maybe had developed real, genuine feelings for him too. It was foolish, he knew that, but he couldn’t help but hold on to that thought whenever he saw you.

You watched him in the mirror, the way he stared into the distance absent-mindedly, his pretty blue eyes filled with something you couldn’t quite put your finger on. He often had that look on his face when he thought you weren’t noticing it but whenever you brought the topic up, he always told you that you were imagining things before he quickly changed the subject.

That didn’t stop you from asking, though. You turned around to face him, your left arm slightly outstretched, almost as if your body couldn’t decide if you wanted to reach out for him or not. “Hey,” you said, your voice a lot softer than you initially intended. “What’s wrong?”

It was fascinating to see how his facial expression changed almost immediately, how he put on a smile that could have fooled anyone but you. “I was just thinking that you’re right,” he replied and shrugged. “About us, I mean. We’re not a couple when your friends aren’t around, and I’m sorry if my actions made you feel uncomfortable.”

You let out a surprised laugh. “What made you think I was uncomfortable? I just – I don’t know, I guess I wanted to say that there’s no need to pretend anything when we’re alone. It’s not necessary and I don’t want to bother you. Um…” You shook your head, annoyed by your own stammering. “You’re not making me uncomfortable. That’s what I was trying to say.”

You watched as his smile slowly transformed into a more honest one, and suddenly, there was this warm feeling welling up inside you again. It had happened a few times already, mostly when he looked at you like you were the most precious thing he had ever seen or when he hugged you like he had done earlier but you had never bothered yourself with thinking about it. After all, he only acted like that because you had an agreement with each other, not because he actually cared about you… at least not in that way.

And it was fine, although you couldn’t deny that a part of you had always wondered what it would be like to be in a real relationship with him. He could be reckless and even kind of belligerent sometimes, yes, but when he was with you, he seemed to be a completely different man – caring and considerate, always trying his best to make you smile when you were upset or sad. He was your best friend, the one you could always rely on, no matter what happened.

And sometimes, just like in this moment, he was the one who made your heart skip a beat without even knowing it.

“We should go,” you said, shaking your head once again to get rid of the confusing thoughts that had come to your mind. “The others are probably already waiting for us.”

*

On your way back home, you couldn’t stop thinking about something your best friend had said to you. Sometimes, you couldn’t help but wonder if they secretly knew that your relationship with Tartaglia wasn’t real but since you didn’t want to risk anything, you had decided to let sleeping dogs lie a while ago. Maybe they didn’t know it, anyway but something about the way they looked at you when they told you how happy you could be to have someone like him in your life, had suggested that they were well aware of your fake dating. “If you weren’t so cute together, I would be so jealous, really,” they had added with a grin, darting a glance at Tartaglia who had been joking around with one of your other friends at this point. “He’s awesome, (Y/N). Don’t mess this up, okay?”

The words were still echoing in your mind. How could you mess it up if everything wasn’t even real? Of course you knew what they were trying to say but at some point, you would have no other choice than messing everything up because you either had to tell your friends toe truth or act like you and Tartaglia had broken up. You couldn’t force him to play along forever, after all.

Sooner or later, he would find someone and fall in love for real, and then you would have to let him go, no matter how awful it felt to imagine him being with someone else. The thought hurt – and at the same time, it made you absolutely furious.

You stopped in your tracks, confused by the sudden anger that welled up inside of you when you thought about Tartaglia’s hypothetical future partner. Just because he would start to date someone, you definitely weren’t going to lose him; he would still be your friend. The only thing that would change was the fact that he would no longer act like he was head over heels in love with you.

And that was the moment it finally hit you.

The problem wasn’t that you were afraid of losing your friend. The problem was that you didn’t want him to fall in love with someone else – you wanted him to love you, actually love you, not just pretending like he had done for the past couple of weeks.

It was absolutely crazy, you knew that. He had agreed to fool your friends with you for a while because he thought it sounded like fun but actually developing feelings for each other hadn’t been a part of the deal. It had been completely out of the question, even.

Heck, why did everything have to become so complicated all of a sudden? Why did you have to fall for him? Everything he did, every hug, every kiss… all of that was part of your charade. He didn’t do it because he had romantic feelings for you.

Right?

You couldn’t help but remember the scene from earlier when he had hugged you in front of the mirror, implying that he’d be jealous if someone else would start to admire you. There had been no one around to see; he didn’t have to talk to you like that – and still, he had done it. And he had hugged you in a way that still made your heart beat faster.

Damn it. You needed to talk to him.

You needed to talk to him right now.

You turned around and rushed back to the restaurant where you had parted ways maybe fifteen minutes ago. He wasn’t there anymore but you knew that he sometimes went for a walk near the docks because he liked to listen to the sound of the waves, so you decided to look for him there.

It wasn’t too hard to find him – and as he spotted you approaching him through the crowd, a soft smile flashed over his face. “Did you miss me already?” he asked in a teasing tone that usually would have caused you to roll your eyes. But right now, it just made you feel more insecure.

“I need to talk to you,” you said. Admittedly, it wasn’t the smoothest conversation starter but you were way too nervous to bother yourself with being particularly eloquent in that moment. “About us.”

He raised his eyebrows. “About us?”

“About the whole situation,” you explained. “The relationship thing we have going on. I – I don’t think I can do this anymore. It just… it just feels wrong to pretend like we are dating when we’re not. I don’t know why I came up with that idea in the first place, it’s so stupid and I’m sorry for dragging you into this and-“

“Whoa, slow down, (Y/N),” Tartaglia interrupted you and furrowed his brows. “What are you talking about? I told you many times that I don’t mind helping you. I know your friends, I realize that they can be quite annoying when it comes to… well, your love life. You’re not taking advantage of me if that’s what you’re concerned about.”

You buried your face in your hands for a few seconds and let out a frustrated groan. “That’s not the reason I want to end this, Tartaglia,” you said. “I want to end it because it just feels wrong. We don’t love each other – we shouldn’t pretend that we do. It’s… it’s just not right.”

“Who says I don’t love you?”

You had expected every answer from him but not something like this. With wide eyes, you stared at him, searching his face for a sign that he was joking, that he was trying to fluster you like he already did a million times but his expression was unusually serious. “What?”

“Who says I don’t love you?” he repeated patiently. “You said it’s not right to pretend that we love each other. But the truth is that I’m not pretending anymore. So, it’s not wrong, is it?”

You couldn’t reply. Your thoughts were racing as your brain tried to comprehend what he had just told you but you felt like you weren’t able to think straight at all. Not when all you could think about was that he loved you.

Tartaglia stepped closer, gently cupping your face with his hands. “I love you,” he said, the tone of his voice so earnest that it send a shiver down your spine. “And I think that you may love me too, so if that’s the case could you please say something? Or – I don’t know, blink twice, maybe?”

“Shut up,” you said, finally snapping out of your state of shock. “Shut up and kiss me.”

Taglist: @blissmal, @aimicoos

[ggreactionsandscenarios]

prompt 35 with sana, thank you!

Sana x Reader

Prompt n°35 : " I'm not letting them get away with this."

Pigs

"Hey baby, how was work ?"

That, was the one question you weren't ready to answer to. You didn't want to talk about work, the company or the people working there.

Sana was smiling waiting for your answer but luckily she received a text which made her forget that she even asked.

Drifting on an other subject you didn't know if you were happy or sad. You didn't want to annoy her with your problems but you wished she just knew somehow.

For the moment you decided to just go with the flow, trying to forget about what happened at work.

You listened to Sana's day with the girls until you fell asleep (her stories were always full of details maybe a little too much for you to keep track).

Sadly tomorrow was fast to come and with it a new day at work where nothing had changed over night. Your co-workers were still all men and were still reminding you every minute that you were only there for the company's image and quotas.

You were indeed the only female of your sector and they were making sure to treat you that way. You actually had to go down of two floor just to go to the bathroom because there wasn't any female bathroom upstairs.

If only it was just about bathrooms but no there was more, you were the victim of sexual harassment almost everyday. You only realised it recently but that was the truth there wasn't a single man in this floor who didn't make terribly sexualised jokes while talking to you nor was there any man who does talk to you with respect.

Over the last week you took note of those interactions and seeing them written only made them more real. On monday Chad was asking you out for a beer because : "A woman like you shouldn't refuse to go out with any man."

Tuesday it was David's turn to say you needed a man in your life while you were eating, he even try to wipe your lips with his thumb.

Wednesday it was Patrick your co-worker who decided that a crowded elevator was a good excuse to touch your ass.

Yesterday was the scariest, when your boss made it pretty clear that if you'd give him a blow job he would gave you a raise. The touch of his engagement ring on your hand when suggesting it only made you want to puke some more.

The last one was probably the one which actually hit you for good, even if all of those actions should’ve. You had enough but what could you do when your job was at risk. You loved your job, you really did but it was until the fear of going to work became louder than the want.

You were about to head off to work a couple of steps separating you from the door but something stopped you before you could reach it. At first you thought it was only the fear showing up and indeed even if you wanted to you probably would’nt have been able to pass the door. Yet the thing that really stopped you in your movement was no other than your girlfriend’s hand grabbing yours.

Sana was there holding your arm, while you were still too deep in thought to actually quite realised what was happening.

“Please don’t go.”

How you wished those words didn’t have such an impact on you but for some reason they sounded like your inner voice talking to you, asking you to stop the torture. 

You didn’t really noticed the tears until your girlfriend’s hands came wipe them away.

She took you back to bed, settling herself against the bed frame and you against her front, she knew. You could tell and not only because of your dairy open on the bed side table but also because it was bound to happen and you figured a long time ago how she’ll react. The simple sight of her eyes showed that she did read everything and now knew all about your condition at work.

“I’m not letting them get away with this.”

Your sobs just grew louder against her chest. She let you take it all out. There was no such thing as shame right now all there was was need, need of her but mostly need of someone on your side.

Because during the past weeks everything felt like a battle against the whole world.

You didn't go to work that day, neither did you the following days. On monday Sana was in your CEO's office threatening him of taking charges against the whole firm.

You wanted to go with her but she refused, there was no way she was letting anymore pigs talk to you or ask you for blow jobs under the table.

Soon enough she came back home still on the phone with someone.

After hanging up, she pecked your lips brightly, visibly happy.

"He is done, they all are. My friend from law school is taking care of it."

For the next twenty minutes she proceeded to tell you how your boss shit his pants at the mention of Twice revealing everything to the public and more especially his wife. He tried to corrupt her with money only to find out she was recording the all conversation on her phone. All that to say he was ruined.

"Can we stop talking about him now ?"

As content as you were about the way your girlfriend made sure that every men that disrespected you get what they deserve, you needed to move on now.

"Yes you're right let's talk about our vacation to Hawaï ?"

"Wait what ?"

And there your girlfriend proceeded to tell you every detail of why you were going on vacation and for once you liked that there was so much.

"Oh baby I almost forgot, congratulations Mrs. New CEO."

Hey, after I don't know how much time I finally finished this prompt. Hope you like it, give feedback 😁-Ael