#never got attached to a character with so little screen time

[0booboozefool0]

[lemuel-apologist]

reading little women when i was ten was a weird experience, because i absolutely despised alcott's writing, but jo was one of the few characters i truly saw myself in at the time

[seelestia]

⟡ within your waking thoughts (there i’ll be).

⎯ what do they do when they miss you? how do they cope with yearning when you're away? { y for yearning ノ ordered by @floraldresvi! (sorry for the ping!) }

RESERVED FOR! ノ characters. aventurine, sunday, dr. ratio ft. gn!reader. { 1.3k words }

FLAVOR! ノ genre. fluff, slight angst (my apology to sunday lovers yet again), established relationship.

TOPPINGS! ノ tags. aventurine has his tech savvy moment, pre-2.2 sunday (heavy references but no spoilers), ratio has two phones (king of separating work & personal life !!!).

BAKER’S NOTE! ノ thoughts. a repost! bcs tumblr didn't like it the first time. hopefully, this one will be here to stay. thank u to vivi for requesting this ‹3

© seelestia on tumblr, may 2024. please do not repost, plagiarize, translate, use for AI-related purposes or claim as your own.

in your absence, aventurine welcomes little thoughts of you that float around his mind with open arms - and the way he indulges them is by simply texting you. effective and efficient, there is a reason why the cosmos calls it the second most used means for long distance communication. what about the first? well, he would've opted for calling you with his earpiece if only his line of work doesn't require 90% of its usage time.

let's just say the idea of fellow stonehearts interrupting his conversation with you ruins the fun. besides, he has deft fingers; coin tricks aren't the only thing in his book, you know, typing a few sentences in one go is no problem at all.

but maybe, he is using that too much to his advantage . . . considering the “25+” staring back at you from your notifications every few hours or so. aventurine is truly, irrevocably relentless.

anything even remotely in your favorite color found within his vicinity? new message: Saw something that reminded me of you, you must really like crossing my mind.

an item he thinks would fit you well? new message: I got you a gift. Does it suit your fancy? [1 attachment]

reminded of how cruel fate is to separate you two for so long? new message: Haven't seen your face in a while. Fifteen hours are a total too cruel, don't you agree?

have faith that you will never grasp the true meaning of boredom when you’re apart from him. luck follows a man like aventurine, so do interesting events - remember how he won a vacation to a resort with one chip? he revels in telling you stories of his encounters while you're away. it is as if thrill revolves around him constantly. . . one wonders just how he fares living on the edge of it all.

(you, for one, are aware of his ways. he has allowed you to wander far enough behind his masquerade, after all.)

of course, texts on an illuminated screen can barely compare to seeing you in person. he prefers having you in his arms instead - but he'll live. solitude is an old friend of his, albeit distant and cold, aventurine can deal with its company every once in a while. at the end of the day, he knows you’ll be there when he comes home.

though, it's such a shame he cannot see your face when you're apart. the curve of your lips as you smile, the twinkle in your eyes with his reflection in them, and. . . ah, seems like he is making this harder for himself. maybe, he should consider buying that HD holographic communicative device on the market? his ears caught wind of some P45 officers at pier point whispering about it before.

it'll cost a large sum of credits but hey, he thinks it'll be worth it. for you? anything is possible.

(...him? clingy? well, guilty as charged.)

sunday’s self-discipline is not something to be underestimated. halovians are a species known for their enchanting voices, yet he feels as if he cannot spare any for even his inner thoughts. what an irony. his longing for your presence is persistent, tumbling at the edge of his tongue - but he is equally as, if not more, stubborn and so he swallows this yearning down instantly.

you are not confined to the dreamscape like he is, as self-imposed as that may be. sunday is aware of that, hence his first instinct is to keep quiet. the curse of sealing his lips till forevermore; watching you leave through the grand doors, letting his gaze fall to where your shadow used to be, savoring the last of your remaining fragrance from when you last bade him goodbye - all without a word.

(don't go, he wished he could say.)

is it a bad habit? “your voice shouldn't be used just to utter words that others want to hear,” you reminded him once. “it's also for you. it's yours.”

but even then, your words are akin to a faint whisper; muffled by the thoughts that plague his mind like a mist. he can't help how they fog up his reflection in the mirror, leaving remnants of something acrid that wafts in the air. something like doubts, sunday would know because he has dwelled in it for as long as he remembers.

you are outside, fluttering your wings in the sky and enjoying what it has to offer. does he have any rights to disturb you? perhaps, in his eyes, sunday views himself as a string tied around your talon, trailing all the way from the heavens where you soar to the humble ground where he resides. each time your absence compels him to reach out, it is as if he’s tugging on that string and dragging you lower from the height you truly relish in, from the height you deserve to be at.

(sunday believes that you belong to the sky, unlike him.)

so here, he shall stay and here, he shall wait until you return. sunday’s heart begins to grow cold - but the farewell kiss you've left on the apple of his cheek hasn't faded. its warmth remains, even when he brushes his freezing hand against it, it remains.

you remain.

(and that is enough for him.)

dr. ratio is a man with a packed schedule, so it's safe to say he keeps himself occupied particularly well. tasks at the intelligentsia guild are nothing short of demanding, after all. there are researchers asking for his input left and right, although some tremble while speaking to him even when he hasn't even uttered a word yet. ignoring that, he also aids in projects that require his expertise. last but not least, his students and classes which he takes very seriously.

(but be careful with how you phrase it — the doctor doesn't view them as distractions, no, he sees them as his responsibilities — saying the former might offend him.)

as you can see, he is perfectly capable of spending time away from you. . . .or at least, until it's time for a break and a part of that perfection chips off.

his office is quite tranquil, free from outside noise, just the way he likes. this place bears a similar purpose as his headgear, to let him focus in silence without disturbance - but he hasn't expected that exact silence to be this deafening. hah, how absurd! in what realm of possibility could silence ever be associated with deafening as an adjective? he supposes it could be a case of tinnitus. . . but veritas knows that isn't the case.

something's missing and it is, much to his dismay, you.

veritas has his standards. he prefers things to be set at a specific level - and this level of silence, one marred further by your lack of presence, is too low for him. he's getting too used to seeing you barge into his office with neatly packed sandwiches in your hands, a revelation he'd rather keep to himself.

veritas reaches for his personal phone, his work one left neglected at the far end of the desk. he considers making a call to you but the clock is ticking. tick tock tick tock, as if to hang the fact that his break is reaching its end over his head.

utilizing whatever time he has left, his finger gives the gallery app a tap. various pictures pop up on the screen; selfies of you with silly expressions, candid shots of veritas himself and some photos of random objects like your matching mugs. all of these were taken by you, of course. seriously, is this his phone or is it yours?

who knows at this point? he nearly lets out a snort, but that smile on his face is fooling no one. the doctor continues scrolling through his gallery, utterly content with just this until he gets home. to you.

(yes, yes, this still counts as keeping himself occupied. thank you for your concern.)

— thank you for reading! reblogs with comments are most appreciated.

[the-fandom-is-now-my-life]

I apologize in advance, but the brainworms did a heckin screech and I felt the need to share the chaos.

Imagine, if you will, that our Creator let's it slip that they've interacted with other worlds before reaching Teyvat. (Played other video games) Imagine having to explain that in these other worlds, they may or may not have been interested in the denizens of those realms...sometimes in the romantic sense, which led to wedding bells and/or children.

Cue the uproar from the Genshin cast. The Creator, Blessed Maker of All...you have courted others? Have been married?? You have had children??? Their image of you being pure and untouchable, blown apart into tiny little pieces of confetti. 🎉

Though many loathe to admit it, they are curious...who are these people, what are they like? Is there a common factor in your selection of spouses? You would only pick the very best of a realm to choose as a potential partner, surely another being of creation...or perhaps a demigod?

It leads to the proverbial red string board getting made, the Archons trying to find out who is your most likely pick from their regions. It's all for your safety, your Benevolence! If you insist on having a partner, they must find the perfect match for you! You deserve only the best of the best, after all.

Bonus points if the Creator was a fan of games like the Harvest Moon/Rune Factory series. They're gonna need to make a list of all their partners, there are so many options to choose from. >>_>>

I'll admit I never played any of those games so I skimmed through the harvest moon wiki and chose one of the bachelors and chose some other game characters lol. Plus a game for all of you, guess the characters.

Though I do think that the reader having children before causes a bit of whiplash because it's totally unexpected, mostly because there were no records of you taking spouses or kids, even knowing you ‘have’ (play) other worlds is a surprise that causes a bit of a crisis. Either way here are some head cannons.

“I must admit, your grace is awfully attached to Qiqi” Zhongli hums as he blows on his white tea, a small cloud of steam leaving.

Qiqi doesn't pay him much mind, her head coddled under your chin like a little puppy, between her hands there is a small bird plushie “Well, I must admit she does kind of remind me of one of my little ones” Your hand softly pats her head, a few strands of hair moving as you do.

He stills as you spoke, eyes fixated on his cup “your… little ones?”

“Mhm?” Without looking up from the braid you were giving to the little girl you just nod “yep, she is quite soft spoken like Milenoe”

“... I wasn't aware your grace had sired children” there was never any mentions about holy spawns or spouses taken by you in any manuscript he got his hands on.

“Well, I never chose a couple from this world, so there wouldn't be any descendants” the comment slips airly from your lips as Qiqi slides off your lap towards baizhu who had finished checking the books from your bookshelf. “Do you want to see her? She started elementary school a few weeks ago” without waiting for an answer a screen appears displaying a tall man with black hair and horns standing regally behind you and a child with emerald eyes and horns.

“She looks rather shy”

You hum nodding “she is as shy as her father when he was her age. There aren't many children her age she can play with so she was pretty lonely her first 50 years”

“50 years?”

“her dad is a slow maturing species” so it should be 10 times the life expectancy than humans. Not that long for him but certainly longer than usual.

•°•°•

“It's a wonder to see how you manage to get Klee to change her mind about going fish blasting,” albedo scribbles some data half mindedly as he watches you hover next to Klee, who showed you a new drawings every few minutes “she is so stubborn even with Alice”

“Well I do have experience with headstrong children, Pardine is as focused on her goal as her father” one of your hands fall on her blonde hair, bright but still darker than Pardine’s almost champagne blonde and her red eyes polar opposite to her icy ones, a carbon copy to her dad. Even if your genetics rarely showed up on any of your kids it was uncanny how similar she looked to her dad and aunts “but I will admit she does annoy many guards asking to train her”

Albedo just laughs it off, listing the few loose characteristics of one of her spouses. Venti has been annoying him about his nation almost getting no information so he hopes a few spare tidbits and Klee’s rough drawing of a blond blue eyed man with a big shield works for whatever weird thing the archons have going on.

•°•°•

“Your Grace has married before?!” Ayaka gasps as you take a stroll around the nature surrounding her home. Her hand had swiftly unfolded her fan in front of her face.

“Mhm, I don't know why people get so surprised, after all it would be weirder if I spent so much time somewhere but took no lovers” you laugh at her slightly seeing her slightly flustered “it's almost a tradition at this point, to wed someone from each world. Want to see some family portraits?” She nods fervently looking at the tablet like thing that appeared on your hands, first a white haired cowboy like man is kneeling on the ground holding a baby by the armpits surrounded by three wolves ,seemingly playing with an older child, by the time the next imagine passes Ayaka is almost hanging by your shoulder, asking things about the siblings and begging to see more photos of your babies.

“And who did you take from teyvat?” Ayaka looks up sweetly at you, she has always held you in high regard and now that you are in Inazuma she can't help but get giddy thinking about how you decided to spend the stay in her state and most of your time with her.

Feigning surprise you tap your chin with your index finger “now that I think about it I didn't choose anyone yet... maybe it's about time”

“Then that means you could pick my brother!” She wraps her hand around your own, smiling as if she got the best idea ever “I could even call you older sibling!... If you wanted so of course”

“Big brother you remember how you told me you would find me a proper bachelor”

“If this is about wanting me to rush it won't work”

“It's not about it, I found you someone”

“Fine, as you please, need I remind you my standards are quite high”

“It's their grace!... Why are you choking on your tea!?”

•°•°•

“There isn't one damned coincidence…” Raiden slaps her head against the table with the rough drawings and some information about them “a king, a captain, a cowboy, a damned sorcerer…”

“Maybe there isn't supposed to be a coincidence” Nahida guesses “maybe they just look for someone who catches their eye”

“It doesn't help out as much as you think it does” the tsaritsa crosses her legs and leans against the back of the chair “if we are doing people with very clear characteristics maybe Ajax could fit nicely? Redheads aren't very common”

“Mhm, maybe but don't they have a liking for smart men? Then Alhaitham would be closer to their past couples”

“Well if we are going by that logic they should like the geo archon, as one of them has dragonic features” the tsaritsa side eyes Zhongli from the other side of the table.

Sighing deeply Furina, who came in place of Neuvillette, chimes in “It is their decision who they want to marry and even if they wanted to!”

"obviously you would be so calm, after all they are very close with your iudex. Don't get so cocky, I heard the commissioner Ayato is interested in the idea"

[world0fmadness]

BLACK AND WHITE BEAUTY

toto wolff x vintage fashion! model! wife! reader

♡ general married headcanons for toto with a vintage fashion model partner!

୨୧ finally got around to making headcanons related to the smau <3

♡ related smau available here | view my formula 1 masterlist here

reading music recommendations: hug me kiss me love me by helen kane - red hot by billy the kid emerson - a fine romance by marilyn monroe

♡ toto is just the absolute best husband to have as a vintage loving woman!

୨୧ he’s very old time romantic, he lives just to spoil you and take you on expensive but romantic dates

♡ but those aren’t the only type of dates he takes you on! oh no!

୨୧ he loves taking you to history museums and art galleries! you guys walk through them hand in hand, pointing to things and holding quiet conversations about them after reading the attached information plaque, he always leaves these dates recommending the place to all of his friends, telling them how much his wife loved it

♡ speaking of spoiling, he buys you anything and everything you could ever want!

୨୧ oh what’s that? a pair of gorgeous vintage diamond earrings are going for auction? well, you better take his card!

♡ he’s always surprising you with new jewellery, clothes and other knick knacks, often leaving them wrapped beautifully in a box on your shared bed for you to find <3

“ ah, that! yes, i saw it in a store today and i thought you would like it, do you? no, it wasn’t too expensive, don’t worry about that, schön! ” ( it was absolutely too expensive but he won’t tell you that and nothing is actually too expensive to him if it means he gets to see your smile )

୨୧ i can see toto really getting into watching old movies with you too! he really immerses into the plot line and characters

♡ you often watch movies together in the living room, you’re curled up into his side with one of his arms thrown around you and his chin resting on your head whilst your eyes are glued to the screen

୨୧ if you mention wanting to go grab a drink or some snacks, don’t you even dare try to get up! he’ll go and get it for you, just be sure to pause the movie because he doesn’t want to miss anything…

♡ if you wear hair curlers to bed so that your hair will be full in the morning, he absolutely helps you with them!

୨୧ he’ll stand behind you as you sit at your vanity, helping you hold and part your hair correctly whilst sending you a cheeky smile and a wink in the mirror when you meet his eyes

♡ he helps you take them out in the morning too, i just know he’d be SO gentle with it, pulling them slowly and making sure they don’t pull painfully and none of your hair is tangled

୨୧ after like, two years of you guys dating, he surprises you with a vintage car you’d been dreaming of owning since you were a kid but could never purchase because even as a model it was just a little out of your price range and pretty hard to come across

♡ but toto found it, he’d find anything if it would make you happy and he’d get to see your beaming smile

୨୧ he’ll never tell you how he found it and managed to snag it but you take a guess that it’s because of his connections in the car industry…

♡ and when you guys got married, the “ just married ” drive off was in that same car <3

୨୧ speaking of your guys’ wedding, oh my god was that a dream

♡ he went all OUT for your wedding, wanting you to have the dream wedding, the wedding you’d fantasised about having for years

୨୧ everything you wanted at your wedding was there, no matter how expensive!

♡ a lot of your wedding was very reminiscent of rich vintage weddings, a beautiful wedding dress with a short train, your hair done perfectly and your makeup as bright as your smile

୨୧ but toto does not do the infamous cake face smash, absolutely not! he can tell you’re extremely happy with your hair and makeup, he doesn’t want to ruin that for you and respects you

♡ so he simply dips his finger in the icing and smears a tiny bit on your nose as you giggle and do the same to him before sharing another kiss

୨୧ when he’s as rich as he is, why wouldn’t he give his liebling her perfect wedding day?

♡ toto will come with you to photoshoots whenever he can, always standing with his arms crossed and a boyish smirk on his face as he admires you performing different poses

୨୧ when you ask for his opinion on an outfit for a shoot, he’s sooo… god, i don’t even know how to explain it! he’s almost completely mesmerised by you, speaking quietly as he just can’t stop running his eyes across your body and face, still finding it hard to believe this is the beauty he gets to call his wife

“ you look amazing, schön… you always look so beautiful, you know this, yes? my beauty ” ( with the amount of compliments he sends you every minute of every day? yes, you definitely know )

♡ the amount of photos that exist of him where he’s standing in the mercedes’ staff area with a big lipstick mark on his cheek is insane…

୨୧ there’s SO many of them circulating on social media! sometimes because he simply doesn’t realise the print is there and other times because he simply doesn’t care to remove it, wearing it almost like a mark of pride

♡ and people notice that whenever you’re in the paddock, he’s much less easily angered!

୨୧ he does not like losing control of his anger in front of you at all and will always suppress it the best he can, being settled by your soft hands massaging his shoulder-blades and your voice whispering assuring words to him

“ thank you, schön… yes, i’m okay… don’t worry, you want to go and get some lunch? a tea, maybe? come, let’s go ” ( he lets out a deep chuckle when watching you drink, admiring how to drink so carefully as to not ruin your perfect lipstick )

♡ the number of flower bouquets you get from toto is enough to rival a flower shop! he gives you one nearly every single day and you have so many vases in your home due to it

୨୧ he just knows you really love how romantic flowers are and when your eyes light up as they land upon the new bouquet he’s extending towards you, it fills his heart with the strongest sense of love

♡ due to you almost always wearing heels, toto is very attentive when it comes to pampering you!

୨୧ he’ll give you a foot massage any day, just give him the word! or don’t, he’ll probably still massage your feet for you without even having to ask

♡ you become pretty close with basically the whole mercedes team! always baking them cookies and other treats, either taking them to them yourself when you can join toto or making toto take them and promise you he won’t eat them all himself in his office

୨୧ lewis and george are especially big fans of you and your cookies! you’ve stopped toto from raging out on them more times than they can count which they’re already more than thankful for but your baked goods too? you’re an angel to them, sent straight from the highest peak in heaven to feed them well and save them from your husbands wrath

♡ toto absolutely ADORES how minimal your makeup is! always going with very neutral tones and calm colours <3

୨୧ he honestly just loves watching you get ready, sitting on the bed and fixing the cuffs of his neat white button up shirt whilst his soft eyes follow you as you perform your usual morning routine around the bedroom

♡ you’ll always know he’s watching, feeling his big brown eyes on you and ask him for his opinion on how you should have your hair and what type of eyeshadow you should do today before he comes up to you for a better look at the options

୨୧ this man is the BIGGEST fan of dancing with you whilst you try to bake in the kitchen, he’ll put on some jazz and come up behind you, snaking his arms around your waist, swaying softly before gently pulling you away from some cookie dough and taking your hand in his

♡ toto loves spinning and dipping you, leaning down for a soft kiss when you’re dipped back against his arm, it makes you laugh a lot and to him that’s the most heavenly sound in the world…

[lowkeyrobin]

Hey pookie😽I’d like to request headcanons for the mcyts with an actor/actress s/o.<3 Especially how they’d react to any emotional scenes or if the character that their s/o played dies, im craving some angst right now lol

Ly😻

oooo okay okay ; I'm still very much burned out but unable to give myself a damn break so I apologize for these being so short ; I also named movies to get some inspo so sorry if you don't know any/some of them lol

ALSO!! I'm gonna rework my oneshot links on my masterlist so beware any changes lol

MCYT ; actor reader with death scenes

includes ; tommyinnit, ranboo, badlinu, nihachu & quackity

warnings ; language, talk about death, gore & violence

masterlist

TOMMYINNIT

you played a character in evil dead rise, which tommy got really attached too even though you got like 10 minutes of screen time

genuinley started sobbing and laughing at the same time bc your death was so sad to him for some reason yet so cool and bloody

he looks over at you, jaw dropped like "wtf?"

there's actually tears streaming down his cheeks 💀💀💀

you post a pic of him crying on ur ig story and caption it "he's sad I died"

he logs back into his old letterboxd account to rate it 5 stars

his explanation is "my partner died but good movie. I almost cried again seeing the monster thing at the end though"

RANBOO

you had a little cameo in a quiet place pt2

basically your character was alive for a while and helping out the abbotts until you died saving reagan from one of the death angels

she obviously couldn't hear one behind her and your character had to lunge and save her and sacrifice themselves on the island that she ran off too iykwim

like your character went off with her to keep her safe + you died during that chase/fight scene at the end

ran nearly broke down into tears because you got a solid two hours of time in that movie for all that buildup and shit

TO DIE TOO

they started crying a bit cause like ???

literally gave you an award (a massive hug) for your incredible acting skills bc damn

FREDDIE BADLINU

insidious the red door goes crazy

you bond with dalton at college and help him float around and shit

the demon doesn't like that you're helping him whatsoever so it drags your character into the further

the whole kill is done with you exploring the further for a moment, being hunted down by prey and then jumpscared by the demon

it's not a very emotional death but it scares the fuck out of Freddie

"wait, oh my God, they'll never be able to talk to Dalton about supernatural stuff again! what the hell?"

the death was pointless and for a jumpscare but he couldn't care, he enjoyed watching you on the screen

NIKI NIHACHU

you were in the forever purge

you play a very obviously queer & pro-human rights character who's shit on by all the rich, conservative, ranch owning Texans in the movie

you basically had to sacrifice yourself trying to get to the border in time

in the city scene, you get killed as a protection sacrifice

no way you were letting adela die

niki literally started crying bc there was no reason for your character to give up their life but they did anyways

you were such a w the whole movie and she can't help but rant about that as well

she gives you a round of applause at the end cause like that was a damn good performance cmon now

ALEX QUACKITY

alex is never watching any terrifier movie ever again holy fuck

you skipped over the first one bc you couldn't even watch it again and went to the second because you were in it

he was actually on edge the whole movie

what the hell do you mean you were cut in half??? wtf is this?? saw???

he actually almost puked LMAO

you were laughing the whole time your death was playing

"WHAT THE HELL WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?? THIS UGLY CLOWN IS KILLING MY PARTNER"

"that mf doesn't know you Alex, I do"

"Okay whatever"

[sciderman]

pokes you with a stick…what do you think of valpool

oh bless you - uh, not a lot. i don't think the comics gave me a lot to work with, on that front. i think when i was reading it i kept thinking "how long is this one gonna last before inevitable double cross / untimely death / off screen break-up" and turns out the latter happened. sorry val.

so my own cynicism meant i never got too attached to val. because i knew we weren't going to be seeing them for very long. nothing in a deadpool series endures. and i'm so frustrated that wong's deadpool run was a 10 issue thing. because it was over and done before i even started enjoying it.

for me it takes a long time to get attached to a deadpool - because every wade wilson is different. they have their own thing going on. wong's wade is softer. more childlike. very childlike. actually, almost irritatingly childlike. like thats his whole thing. he's s child.

that was off-putting for me. he didn't feel like the kind of deadpool i'm interested in reading. he felt like the softer, cuter fanon-interpretation of deadpool. which i guess goes over well with fans who love their baby girl. but i... eeh. i can't bear it. he's not a baby. and i'm not a baby either. stop feeding me baby food.

i think - in my head - when wade acts like a baby, there's an angle to it. i don't think he's sincere. he does it so enemies will undermine him, or to win favour with the audience - there's an angle. he's not sincerely that naive. he's smart. so - when i see him acting like that - sincerely - i can't feel like he's being sincere at all. he's smarter than that. he's doing it on purpose. so - so... i don't know, i never felt like we were getting a sincere wade, in this series. he never turns the baby act off. we don't get a peek behind the curtain. i think that's the thing with wade lately - i keep expecting an eventual peek behind the curtain so i can say "oh. there he is. there's the deadpool i know. he was doing it on purpose. he was acting shallow and cutesy just to sell books and the real deadpool was lurking behind there all the time," but it hasn't happened with any deadpool media at all, lately, save for the recent kelly dp/w wiiii book - (once again, thank you kelly, owe you my life, only man pulling his WEIGHT around here) - maybe my expectations are just too high for wade, in that i'm doomed to be disappointed by like, 90% of deadpool media.

i feel like maybe wong could've done something if they'd had more time with it. but for me, man, i didn't get anything out of it, or any kind of attachment to it. and i felt so disappointed. especially with it being a nonbinary author, and a nonbinary love interest for a character i've so long headcanoned as nonbinary. i just - i wanted more from it. i always write from a nonbinary angle - because i don't know how to write from any other perspective. it comes out in everything i write. so i was expecting something more like that. i was expecting it to come through - not in some overt way - but in small ways that i could read and appreciate. like the matrix. that's a trans story. there are no overtly trans characters in it but it's a trans story with lots of trans allegory to digest and the authors are trans. but - you know, not being trans, it's not immediately obvious. but it's there. food to eat. and chew. and digest.

i know marvel definitely wouldn't let wong get away with much - but, god almighty. i was hoping even for something subtle. some little crumbs of food that brought some new dimension to wade that i could sink my teeth into. or something interesting about val that i could get attached to, in spite of the relationship being rushed and quick and abrupt.

i'm not saying it had to be a nonbinary story but - like, man. it feels like, conceptually, i should get excited, and i should sing more praises to this series, but what it feels like more, to me, is a wasted opportunity, and val is another love interest that readers failed to get attached to, and another in a consistent line of deadpool's love interests that marvel rushes to forget and move on from. and... sighs. sighs.

i do want more from valentine. because i feel like they're such a wasted opportunity, and i don't want to throw away one of marvel's only non-binary characters. that's too much food to waste. i think - for me, at least, i think wade deserves healthy relationships. ones that aren't always necessarily romantic - and - well, him having someone to go on cute zoo dates and hang out and be unapologetically gender with - well, i'm all about that.

[firelxdykatara]

I too ship Zutara and think they should have been canon. Although for me it's important to know how such a rewrite would go down. I tried to think, and I'm lost.

After Mai betrayed Azula for him, will he just go "sorry, not interested"? He isn't obligated to date her because of this, but her redemption hinges on Zuko and I don't see it being satisfying if he ends up rejecting her after this.

I thought the solution would be to rewrite her arc in boiling rock to make her have a moral realization, but then the problem with Maiko is practically solved. Their relationship wasn't salvaged by her redemption because last time they talked, Mai still didn't understand what's wrong with the Fire Nation and only changed because she loved Zuko. So how do you make it both satisfying & logical?

With Kataang the problem is the Chakras. The problem with the original (in my opinion) is that after he opened his chakra, letting go of his attachment to Katara, he's still attached (forcing a kiss on eip). Should TCoD get rewritten so that Azula shoots him before he opens it? Then why wouldn't he just open it later? Maybe the chakra would be locked so he feels as though he doesn't need to overcome his attachment just yet. In that situation, how would his chakra even unlock? The stone thing felt like nonsense, so how would I do it?

So yeah I have no idea how to approach this. How would you? (Thanks)

I've been rotating this ask in the back of my head like a rotisserie chicken for a few days--it's interesting because I don't generally stop to think like, how would I write them out of these relationships, I either ignore the relationships completely (which isn't hard, they were barely footnotes in the cartoon) or play a little bit with jealous exes or something. Thinking about like, In A Perfect World where Bryke wasn't in charge of ATLA post-canon (because if zutara had been canon, you can be sure they would've made us regret it) is interesting, and I do have thoughts on how I'd handle their relationships in a rewrite.

(this got long, so the rest is beneath the cut)

Assuming you mostly want to keep canon intact, I think maiko would be the easiest to work around, given how little relevance their relationship has in canon. The problem with maiko as an endgame ship is that it was not set up that way--if it had been, it would not have begun entirely off-screen and their whole relationship would not have been a study in misery and utter inability to connect emotionally. His relationship with Mai was there to showcase just how much he had changed and how little he fit into the life he had been so sure he wanted more than anything since his banishment. It worked very well to highlight Zuko's growth--how that contrasted to Mai's lack of it and why she could not understand him even at his most open and vulnerable--and did not work nearly so well when she was shoved back with him in the epilogue, after he'd quite literally forgotten her existence (he never mentions her again after Boiling Rock, not even to say a word of mourning, considering he'd have every reason to believe she was killed for defying his sister).

I don't think you can fix this by giving Mai some moral realization, because there simply is no room for it. As @araeph says in the essay I linked:

As a character, Mai is very useful to the story during Zuko’s return, because she represents everything that Zuko gains by sticking by his father. A girl who cares about him; the ability to indulge her; the authority he has over others at the palace; we see it all in his interactions with Mai. But this makes Mai a tether to a life he has long outgrown. Her function is not to advance Zuko’s character development, but to obstruct it, which also unfortunately means that Mai gaining a full understanding of Zuko’s trials would be disadvantageous to the story. If she knew everything about him and still wanted him to stay, it would give Zuko more cause than he should have to remain in the Fire Nation, but if she knew and encouraged him to leave and join the Avatar, it would rob Zuko of the triumph of making this decision on his own. In other words, there are good narrative reasons for keeping Mai in the dark; it just doesn’t make their relationship any stronger.

The seeds of a genuine redemption arc (one that includes some sort of moral realization and change to her moral framework) for Mai would have to have been planted far earlier than five episodes from the end of the series, but doing so would have of necessity detracted from Zuko's own character arc and the realizations that he makes despite his attachment to Mai (or more specifically to their relationship, which I feel like he was clinging to more out of a sense of abject loneliness he couldn't shake rather than genuine feelings and emotional connection).

So, in my mind, since we're tackling this with an eye towards getting rid of maiko with the fewest ripples to the overall story anyway, the easiest way to do this would be make one slight change to the end of the Boiling Rock two-parter--have Ty Lee (who had always been the least gung-ho of the trio about bowing to Azula's whims and had to be textually threatened into joining her in the first place) save Zuko's life, and then have Mai (who showed the most genuine affection for Ty Lee anyway) save Ty Lee. I love Zuko more than I fear you always fell flat for me as some epic declaration of love, anyway, since a) Zuko is not around to hear it, and b) unlike Ty Lee, she never showed much fear of Azula to begin with, so it wasn't a very high bar to clear. It was a cool line that was entirely unearned, and I don't think it would be missed, there would be some cute mailee crumbs this way, and a throwaway line of getting them released from the prison after the war ended could wrap up their presence in the story pretty nicely.

Now, kataang is a little trickier, if only because the last leg of Aang's character arc is almost completely derailed by his refusal to let go of his possessive attachment to Katara, to the point where he never naturally reopens his chakras, he has to have the Rock of Destiny hit him in just the right place, and the deus ex lionturtle there to give him a way out of having to make a hard moral choice. (I've maintained for years that if you work the final act of your main character's overall arc in such a way that it could have been solved by one good session with a chiropractor, something got fucked along the way.)

The thing about Aang's chakras is that, narratively, his whole thing with Guru Pathik and leaving his training early to save his friends was basically his version of Luke running away from his training with Yoda on Degobah because of his Force vision, only to find out that his friends were in the process of rescuing themselves and then losing his hand because he hadn't completed the most crucial part of his training. What's missing, therefore, from the last act of Aang's character arc, is the return.

See, in Star Wars, Luke pretty explicitly makes the wrong choice when he chooses to prioritize saving his friends over attaining enlightenment and fully mastering the Force. It was the only choice he could have made, but it was still the wrong one--because, like Aang, his friends did not actually need him to save them, he actually almost makes it harder for them to get away by requiring them to save him because, like Aang, he loses a battle in a very critical way. This was a lesson he desperately needed to learn, and it is clear he has learned it by the time he makes it back to Degobah and witnesses the end of Yoda's life, his own enlightenment having already been reached.

But Aang never goes back to the Guru.

And the text refuses to allow us to sit with the fact that he made the wrong choice in prioritizing his attachment to Katara over his ability to master the Avatar State. He is actually narratively vindicated about it, because the plot bends itself into a pretzel so that he doesn't have to spend any time during the last book trying to reopen his chakras and regain access to the Avatar State, handed both in the final battle with no excess effort on his part, and handed the girl into the bargain. (The girl who never even wanted him, so far as we can tell from all the lack of cues she gave him that she actually returned his feelings.)

And I think this could have been solved with a few scattered scenes. Let Katara actually have some agency in her own romantic relationship (or lack thereof), insofar as noticing Aang's advances and clueing the audience in to how she actually feels. Let Aang struggle with the fact that he can't reach the Avatar State, that his mastery of the elements is in limbo because he can't access his full power, rather than ignoring all of this until the end of the show. If we're trying to keep the shape of the last season roughly the same, let Katara confront Aang about the invasion kiss.

This would have been the perfect time to establish that Katara actually does feel some type of way about Aang prior to the epilogue, and it could have saved us from the exceedingly cringey EIP kiss that Aang never apologized for. How it comes across now, of course, is that Katara basically pretends it never even happened, to the point where she doesn't even know what Aang is talking about during EIP until he reminds her--the death knell for any shot their relationship had at looking requited, because I can tell you, as someone who's been a teenage girl, if someone I had conflicted but burgeoning romantic feelings for had kissed me, I would not have completely forgotten about it only a few weeks later--and we never get any indication as to what she actually felt about the kiss (which was not mutual, despite what Aang's dialogue in the EIP scene implies) except for the fact that she looked away and frowned afterwards. (A change mandated by Bryke, who wanted to leave her feelings completely ambiguous; the original storyboards had her smiling to herself.)

So, with an eye towards wrapping up Aang's puppy love crush and establishing Katara's distinct lack of romantic feelings for him, have her talk to him about the kiss. A good frame of reference for this would be Meng's conversation with Aang in "The Fortuneteller", where she finally realizes that he doesn't like her in the same way she likes him. Katara and Aang's conversation about the invasion kiss could be a callback to this, with Aang having some important realizations--that just because Katara doesn't share his feelings doesn't mean she loves him any less, and just because he can't have her the way he wanted doesn't mean he has to love her any less, that she doesn't belong to him but that's ok, because she's still his family and they'll always have each other's backs. Which could have functioned well in helping him take another step towards unblocking his chakras. Going back to the Guru directly may not have worked, since by this point in the story we're hurtling towards the final confrontation and Sozin's Comet, but let Aang reflect on what the Guru told him with new understanding granted him by his experiences throughout the first half of the season.

To keep the stakes high and up the suspense, obviously, he shouldn't have fully unlocked his chakras and the AS before the final fight, but the seeds could be planted--little moments like a talk with Katara about the invasion kiss, maybe a little more empathy and understanding from him about why Katara needs closure in TSR, etc--and then, during the final fight, rather than hand him all the answers on a silver platter, have him almost lose. He still can't go full Avatar, he's out of time, he still doesn't know exactly what to do about Ozai given his own pacifism and desire to preserve that part of his culture--he tries to fight but he's pretty quickly overpowered. Idk how I would've animated this, and maybe it wouldn't have looked as cool for the final fight, but the true climax of the finale was the Zuko and Azula agni kai anyway, so it hardly matters--I'm picturing him doing the rock-shield thing and going into a brief meditative state, where he finally achieves the enlightenment necessary to unlock the AS on his own, no rock of chiropracty necessary. And at this point, I'd give Ozai a Disney Death, since leaving him alive causes more problems than it solves and it's not necessary for Aang to kill him for him to die--they're fighting on a mountain ffs--but if you don't want to change that part then him figuring out energy bending as part of becoming a fully realized Avatar would at least feel more earned than the lionturtle just handing it to him. (And that could've been foreshadowed better by seeding the idea for it earlier in the season.)

After all of that, particularly if you up the emotions during the agni kai and have Zuko and Katara kiss there (or something less explicitly romantic but still tender, like a brief forehead touch), it'd feel pretty natural to have a just friends ending for Aang and Katara. Maybe a brief, slightly awkward but ultimately amiable conversation if Zuko and Katara had a ~thing at their final fight, and then the final shot of the series could be the gaang all together, maybe zutara holding hands or Katara resting her head on his shoulder or something, but since they already kissed there wouldn't feel like a need to end the whole show on romance, something which I've always felt missed the point of the series.

And then, y'know, after that, the world's your oyster! This is how I'd do it if I were trying to keep the bulk of the final season intact. Of course, breaking it all down to its component pieces and rebuilding from the ground up is also an option, but that'd probably be a longer post lol.

[slowcatsworld]

Oliver Aiku has a droopy eyelid.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

This is just a headcanon, but it makes so much sense for me. I’ll attach a pic at the end, but he pulls that face one too many times so I’m calling it.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

It’s always his left green eye too. Whenever he relaxes his face or is preoccupied with something, that eyelid of his gradually begins to lower into being half open. (Sometimes it makes me feel as though he got one identical eye from both parents, shape and color included.)

Oliver wasn’t aware of his droopy eye as it wasn’t entirely noticeable until his former junior high coach brought it to his attention.

“Now son, I don’t think it’s affecting your performance on the field. You’re still our best defender and have an innate talent for dropping advances from your opponents,” His coach started off, “I just think it might be best to let your parents know in case this will become something of a problem later on.”

Pfft, it’s not like he was infected with a disease. Oliver did ask his mother about it, and she claimed she had always known about his little droopy eye tendencies. However, it never caused harm so what was the reason to point it out? Oliver then brought it up to his friends the next time he saw them. They looked at his face and all shared a moment of silence.

“Oh, your eyes are opening at different heights. Adds to your aura I guess.” On of them said simply. And that was that.

You, his current fling (though he told you yall were serious, don’t believe this hoe of a man) a few years later, however, find his eyes captivating. Always one to compliment on their different colors, Oliver noticed how much you adored his droopy eye too.

It did lead to some cute moments though.

Like that one time he was watching a play back of his latest soccer game on his phone when you came waltzing through the door to his room. Oliver mumbled out a small, “hey, baby.” In acknowledgement. His eyes never left the screen. You sat down in front of him and took in his features, noting his eyes.

“Your eyes make it seem as though you’re tired, but the rest of your face looks as intense as ever.” You chuckle. Oliver snapped up to look at you, confusion doting his features. Ah, the eye, he assumed.

A slanted smirk that matched his scraggly beard made itself known before he spoke, “You make it seem as though you’re not my favorite thing to look at.” You roll your eyes before advancing upon his lap to give him a soft kiss.

Your favorite memory of his face though, and the primary reason why you like his eyes so much, is because it adds so much character to his face at the wrong time.

It was a semi-formal ceremony for Japan’s U-20 team before the start of the season. Oliver stood a little ways away from you, his personal invite, calmly surveying the team. Before you could make your way over to be by his side once more, a commotion broke out on the other side of the room.

Sendou voice could be heard along with the shriek of a lady. Squinting, you could see a young woman-probably some upstarting model-wearing a gorgeous grey dress with a splash of purple running from her chest to her lower abdomen. Sendou was cowering beside her, with one hand in his hair and the other holding an empty cup.

Oh. Just as the realization of what had occurred hit you, the damsel strutted through the exit with great fervor . Sendou stood frozen as though he was bit by a poisonous snake. You grimaced at the sight. You turn to your right, and a pair of blue and green eyes meet your gaze. You take a moment, then start chuckling. A chuckle turns into a laugh, and you have to hide your mouth behind your hands while Oliver makes his way over to you.

“Might I ask what’s so funny lil miss? Poor Sendou over there just ruined the mood, that chick’s dress, and his shot at getting laid tonight.” Oliver inquired with faux malice lining his voice, a playful grinning coming on.

“Your face.” You huff out. He blinks at you. Huh? He looks the same as when you first turned to him. A look of confusion and boyish charm is all that stands before you. Totally did not match the vibe, well at least before Sendou ruined it.

Seriously who wouldn’t find this cute face a little silly

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

7.29.24

My unloyal hubby smh

[sukuna-dees-nuts]

rizzless sukuna pt 4

part 1 | part 2 | part 3

at long last!!! it's here, im back!

---

It’s been about two weeks since Sukuna had his date with Megumi. His mood is the best it’s been in awhile; the change is enough for his parents to notice. When they try questioning him about it, he brushes them off with an easily crafted lie. He’s not quite ready to tell them that he’s possibly dating his younger brother’s best friend (who they almost consider their own son at this point).

Sukuna isn’t ashamed or anything. He knows that his parents wouldn’t give a flying fuck if he told them he isn't straight, but he also didn't think it necessary to tell them anything. Who cares? It isn’t anyone’s business but his own. They’ll figure it out when Sukuna brings Megumi as his date to dinner or something. The idea alone gives him butterflies and he scowls at himself. 

He and Megumi have been texting back and forth nearly nonstop since their date. Well, nonstop in the sense that he talks to Megumi more than anyone else, which only happens to be his brother and Maki. Sukuna has never been one to hold a conversation (which was obvious during their date), but there’s something about Megumi that makes Sukuna want to talk. He wants the conversation to keep going. Every time it drops, he finds himself picking it back up again, usually with a movie related question.

Megumi still questions the fact that Sukuna says that he is not a movie buff simply due to the amount of movies that the older boy has seen. The more Megumi mentions it, the more Sukuna starts to believe it himself and he curses his younger brother’s effect on him, not that he’d ever admit it to Megumi or Yuuji. 

At the moment, the two of them are arguing over who is better: The Joker or Loki. 

Raisin Boy: Idk I think that Joker could outmatch Loki

Sukuna's jaw drops and his thumbs furiously tap away at the screen, not listening to whatever Yuuji is saying to him. He's in the middle of an important argument!

’There's no way. Loki has Joker beat 100 times over! He’s taken punches from Thor and The Hulk,  and he has magic. There's nothing the Joker could do to Loki!’

He huffs and drops his phone onto his leg, crossing his arms over his chest as he waits for Megumi's reply. 

“What’s got your panties in a twist?” Yuuji asks, briefly glancing at his brother before looking back to the screen so that he can dodge an attack. 

Sukuna shakes his head and scoffs, “Your shitty gaming skills. You still haven't beaten this boss?” 

The younger boy grunts. He stays quiet for a moment as he concentrates before he replies, “His spinning maneuver that he does always catches me off guard.”

Another beat of silence stretches between them and Sukuna momentarily forgets about his little argument with Megumi as he watches Yuuji rolling around on the screen. He manages a few hits on the boss character before ultimately meeting his doom when he goes into his spin attack and kills Yuuji’s character immediately.

Yuuji huffs and slumps back against the couch in defeat. “See what I mean?”

“Gimme that,” Sukuna grumbles. Reaching over, he snatches the controller out of his brother’s hands. He leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees (his ‘boss fighting position’ as Yuuji has appropriately named it). 

The only sounds in the living room are the sound of Sukuna’s fingers rapidly hitting buttons on the controller and Yuuji’s gasps in surprise. He sits up with wide eyes as he watches Sukuna effortlessly fight this boss character that Yuuji has been struggling with for about a week now. Of course, leave it to Sukuna to pick up on Yuuji’s slack. 

When Sukuna’s phone dings, his concentration goes out the window and he glances down at his phone to see who the message is from. A bad decision on Sukuna’s part because within that same second, his character dies from a large attach from the boss, leaving Yuuji’s character defeated once again. 

“Wh—Sukuna!” Yuuji groans. “You almost had it!”

Sukuna shrugs and tosses the controller back to his brother. He picks up his phone with a shrug, unlocking it to read Megumi’s message. “Sucks.”

Yuuji stares at his older brother for a long moment, taking in the expression on his face. There isn’t a smile per se, but he notices the way Sukuna’s features seem to relax when he reads the message he just got. It makes Yuuji raise an eyebrow in intrigue. Who could he be talking to that would earn just barely a hint of a smile from Sukuna?

He leans over, trying to peer at Sukuna’s screen, curiosity getting the better of him. “Who are you talking to?” Yuuji asks. 

The older boy’s trance is broken at the sound of Yuuji’s voice and whatever “smile” was on his face falls immediately and he narrows his eyebrows at his brother. “What?” he asks, instinctively leaning away from Yuuji. 

“You never just lose a boss battle because someone texted you. Who is it?” Yuuji asks again, a shit-eating grin on his face and he leans even closer to try and get another look at Sukuna’s phone. 

Sukuna scoffs and shoves Yuuji away roughly. “None of your damn business.”

“Well it has to be someone!”

“Yeah, I’m asking the adoption agency if they’ll take you back if we still have the receipt.”

“I wasn’t even adopted!”

Sukuna raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that? I’m hot and you’re…” He pauses, his eyes quickly glancing over his brother and grimaces, “eugh.”

Yuuji’s jaw drops. “What do you mean eugh? We look the same! We have the same face!” 

Sukuna slowly turns his attention back to his phone, turning his body so that Yuuji can’t peek at his screen. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, buddy.”

With a shake of his head, Yuuji kicks his brother in the leg and goes back to playing his game, grumbling under his breath. 

Focusing back to his phone, the older boy goes back to replying to Megumi. He types out a message only to backspace and try again. This happens 3 or 4 times which seems to be enough to concern Megumi because another message pops up.

Raisin boy: I'm just pulling your leg 😂 I agree that Loki is far better than Joker

Sukuna’s jaw drops as he stares at the message. Another one pops in.

Raisin boy: As your brother likes to say… Got em

Unable to keep himself from chuckling, Sukuna shakes his head and his mouth cracks a smile. “Oh my God.”

Yuuji glances over, his attention caught by the sound of his brother laughing. “Okay, seriously, who are you messaging?”

“Shut up,” is Sukuna’s reply.

Raisin boy: And you say that you’re not a movie buff

Biting his lip, Sukuna mulls over what he wants to say next. Since they’re on the topic of movies, he wants to ask Megumi to come over when his family isn’t home so they can actually watch The Exorcist and The Conjuring together as they’ve had planned.

He kicks Yuuji in the leg. “Do you still have plans with your friend Johnny or whatever on Thursday?”

Yuuji makes a face. “... you mean Junpei?” 

“Yeah, sure.”

The younger boy slowly nods his head. “Uh yeah, why—”

“'K, thanks.” 

Sukuna begins typing out his message, asking Megumi if he’s busy on Thursday afternoon. He hopes whatever higher being is out there watching that the other boy isn’t busy. It’s almost disgusting to Sukuna how much he wants to spend time with Megumi. Sukuna doesn’t even want to spend this much time with his own friends. Or friend, in this case. Maki doesn’t mind, of course. She has her own life and isn’t reliant on Sukuna for socialization. 

“Who are you bringing over?!” Yuuji exclaims, dropping the controller to turn his full body in Sukuna’s direction. “That’s the only explanation!”

Sukuna scoffs. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“I would!” 

The next thing Sukuna knows, Yuuji lunges at him. He tries to grab the phone out of Sukuna’s hands but his grip is strong, the two of them playing tug-of-war with it. Yuuji tries twisting his body so that his back is facing Sukuna, pinning the older boy’s arms under his armpit to give him better leverage when attempting to pry the device out of Sukuna’s fingers. 

“Yuuji, you brat! Let go!” Sukuna grunts.

“You first!” 

Sukuna makes the decision to let go with one hand so that he can tickle Yuuji’s side, in hopes of making his brother lose his grip. It works, but not in the way that he had hoped. The phone slips free of Sukuna’s fingers and Yuuji’s jerky movements are enough to send it falling and sliding acros the hardwood floor. 

Naturally, Yuuji dives for it first, scrambling along the ground to grab it. He cheers in victory and flops down on his back, holding the phone above his face as he reads the name on the screen. Sukuna is quick to jump to his feet as he snatches the phone out of his brother’s hands. However, the damage is already done, judging by the confused look on his face.

Yuuji sits up, yelling after his brother's retreating figure. “Who the hell is Raisin boy?!"

[mypearlsareclutched]

If This Is All That's Real

High By The Beach | Chapter Seven

Modern!Aegon II x Original Female Character, Modern!Aemond x Original Female Character

Life is now getting better, slowly but surely, for both Mila Stark and Aegon Targaryen. Perhaps there is hope for the future, if they can continue to keep things uncomplicated. But how long can things be uncomplicated when you're fucking your ex-boyfriends older brother in their family beach house?

This feels the tiniest little bit fillery, but it's got some very steamy smut, romance and some good angsty feels. Next chapter is written and will be posted later today so you guys don't have to suffer for long <3 Enjoy!!! x

Song inspiration | High By The Beach, Lana Del Rey

CW//TW: Sexual Content (MDNI, 18+), PIV sex, catching feelings, mentions of toxic families, romantic smut, love confessions during the deed, ye olde climax, discussions of the future, Aegon is so OOC because he's just a lil sweetie pie in this, not lore accurate.

Word count | 3.5k

previous chapter // next chapter

And so they began their... relationship? Friends with benefits situationship, that sounds better.

Over the next week, life became simple. For the first time since her parents died, Mila Stark knew what it was like to feel normal. Like her life wasn't some social experiment created by the gods to see how much one girl can take.

And it seemed like Aegon felt the same.

They slept early and woke up late, wrapped up in soft sheets that cover their bare bodies. They cooked together, and ate breakfast on the beach. They spent their days occupying their time with . Aegon would draw, Mila would read, sat together on the dusty living room sofa with her legs over his. As the sun set, they wrapped themselves up in each other, basking in mind-numbing, no strings attached sex.

They were best friends who fucked like lovers. There's nothing wrong with that, right?

But when he held her gently in the mornings, pressing her back to his chest as he snored gently, his hands wrapped around her protectively, Mila wondered if there was more to their relationship.

Aemond never cuddled. The most Mila could get was an arm wrapped around her after they made love. Sometimes he would wake up holding her, but she could never bask in that. When he woke, he would rush off immediately. Like holding her would ruin the peace that they had.

'Afraid to get too close,' is what Halaena had said to her once. Aemond had her, yet he kept her at arm's length. It seemed like Aegon had the opposite problem. He knew she wasn't his, so he cherished the moments he had her in his space. Arms wrapped around her like she was his.

And as she watched his peaceful, sleeping face in the mornings, Mila truly wished she was.

Mila stands at the window, looking out at the ocean beyond. She held the pay-as-you-go phone in her hand, flipping it around as she watched the waves crash against the rocks.

She needed to talk to her brother. After Aegon's insistence the morning after their first night together, Mila sent Cregan a text message. Aegon had rolled his eyes, stating she needed to grow a pair and talk to him face to face. Cregan had yet to respond, so Mila knew she needed to actually call him.

Sighing, she switched on the phone, listening to the twinkling beeping sound as she nervously bit her thumb nail. Once the phone was on, she put in the sim card. Typing in Cregan's number, she held it to her ear listening to it ring.

"Please don't pick up, please don't pick up, please don't pick up."

"Hey, you've reached Cregan Stark. Sorry I missed your call, leave a message at the beep."

The phone beeps, and Mila takes a sharp breath, "Hey, Creg. It's, uh, it's Mila. I'm okay, I'm safe. I left Weirwood with Aegon... you know, Aemond's brother? I was having a tough time. I needed to get away. But I'm somewhere safe, please don't worry about me. I'll see you soon. I love you."

Ending the call, she takes another deep breath, exhaling sharply she presses the screen of the phone to her forehead, swallowing her nerves and guilt like a bitter pill.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Aegon's soft voice asks.

Mila turns around and sees him standing in the doorway, leaning against it casually.

"My thoughts cost more than a penny." She jokes, putting the phone down on the chest of drawers.

"I'll take out a loan." He states as he walks further into the room.

"Or you could use your dad's totally not stolen credit card." Mila chuckles, meeting him halfway.

"You called your brother?" Asks Aegon as he takes Mila's hand in his own, smoothing his thumb over her knuckles.

"I tried. Went to voicemail."

"He's a busy guy. You know, being a famous footballer and all. He's probably got a big game, or something. You know, with like... kicking and... goals? Never really liked sports, me." Aegon laughs as he pulls Mila over to the bed, sitting down as she stands in between his legs. He runs his hands over her arms, waiting for her to speak.

"Yeah..." Mila sighs, "He's probably really busy. Wish we had access to the internet in this literal abyss."

"Gwayne was a dude of the eighties he never cared for Wi-Fi. I think that's why Daeron decided to return to the modern age the second he was old enough to go to uni."

"I feel very amish."

"Hey, look on the brightside." Aegon states as he takes her hands in his, "We're completely disconnected from the modern world. No crazy articles about our every move. We're not seeing anything about..." He stops himself, his voice fading as he inadvertently reminds Mila about the reason why she's here.

Aemond was never too far from her thoughts, always lingering in the back of her mind like some kind of phantom. She can see her eyes when she wakes from a nightmare, feel his fingers on her when the autumn breeze sends a chill through her. Her love, which once felt sweet like , had now turned bitter and cold.

Mila shakes her head, as if she could rid herself of her memories and lingering feelings if she tossed her head around a little bit harder. Like bashing the bottom of a jar to loosen a stuck coin or something. Yet, Aemond remains inside her thoughts.

"It's okay, Aeg." Mila sighs, shrugging, "You're right. It's good to not hear anything about him."

Aegon stares at her, big blue eyes sad as he watches her face. His fingers play with hers, a nervous tick of his she had gotten used to. More than gotten used to, she found herself adoring it. She looks down at their hands, smiling softly to herself.

Loosening their hands, Aegon leans back on the bed. Mila furrows her eyebrows, concern evident on her features. But a cheeky grin appears on the Targaryen's full lips, as spreads his legs slightly.

"Come here and let me fuck the sad out of you." Aegon murmurs, beckoning her closer. She chuckles despite herself, following him over.

"I think you overestimate your abilities, Aegon Targaryen." Mila chuckles as she climbs on top of him, straddling his waist.

"Oh, it's gonna be like that is it?" He laughs, burying his face into her neck. Mila presses her lips to his temple, running her hands over his messy hair.

Their clothes are discarded quickly, leaving Aegon bare beneath Mila as she straddles him. As her lips descend upon his shoulders, she doesn't notice the soft, conflicted look in the Targaryen's eyes.

"Hey! Gettup, now, I found something!"

Mila groans as she is pulled out of her sleep, unceremoniously. Blinking, she sees the sun has barely risen, golden rays poking through the thin curtains. Loud footsteps surround her, a sigh coming from someone across the room.. A pillow hits her face, and she squeals, tossing the pillow away as she runs a hand over her face.

"What, Aegon? You fucking child..." She groans.

"I said, I found something!" He laughs as he rushes back out the room.

"What, a body?" Mila groans as she stands up, grabbing her discarded shirt and throwing it on. Her bare feet pad across the bedroom, heading out to the open plan of the rest of the house.

Aegon sits cross legged in the living room, searching through a water stained cardboard box.

"Whatcha got there?" Mila asks, raising her eyebrow. Aegon smiles as he looks up at her, grabbing a mug from the coffee table to offer it to her.

"Sorry I woke you up so aggressively, I got excited. Peace offering?"

"You made me coffee?" Mila took the mug, looking down at the caramel coloured liquid. A few days ago, Mila convinced him to get a coffee machine from the holy land (big Tesco). She then had the joyous experience of watching him try and fail to figure the machine out.

"I finally read the manual." Aegon says proudly, "You do take it with milk, and two and a half sugars, right? I'm gonna be so pissed at myself if I got that wrong."

"That's right." Mila chuckles, eyebrows raised, "How did you know that?"

"You told me."

"You listened?"

"You seem shocked." Aegon chuckled, shaking his head as he refocused on rifling through the box. Mila tries to bite back the wide smile at the sweet gesture, choosing to instead take a seat next to Aegon.

"What is this?" She asks as she peers into the large, withered box. It's full of old books, covered in a layer of dust. From her position, she can read a few of the titles, 'Pride and Prejudice', 'Alice in Wonderland', 'Twelfth Night', 'The Secret Garden'...

"They belonged to my grandmother." Aegon explains, "Gwayne kept them when she passed. She loved old books."

"They're lovely." Mila says wistfully as Aegon hands her an ancient copy of Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein'. Her fingers glide across the leather cover, the bumps of the words catching against her callouses. She cradles it in her hands, smiling giddily.

"Gwayne gave them to Daeron when he came to live with him, but like the sixteen year old boy he was, he preferred comics and playboy mags."

"Classy." She chuckles, accepting more books he handed to her.

"I thought you could have them."

Mila looks at him, mouth agape, "What?"

"You can have them." Aegon smiles, piling more of the classic books into piles, "You know, because of the book shop you want to own? I know there aren't tons, but you've got to start somewhere, right?"

She stares at him, taken back. It's an unbelievably sweet gesture, and one she never expected. Her dream of a book shop seemed too distant, too unreachable in her chaotic life in the spotlight. But it was like Aegon was handing her not a bunch of old books, but hope. Hope for her dream of a simple, happy life.

As Aegon sits beside her, rambling and piling books into her arms, Mila watches his profile, feeling herself blush.

The afternoon sun beats down on the two of them as they sit on the beach, side by side like they come as a pair.

Aegon lies spread out like a starfish, alien sunglasses on. His button up floral shirt is open, revealing his pale, freckled skin to the afternoon sun. Mila sits next to him, her dark curls whipping in her face as she

A whirring, distant noise catches Mila's attention. It sounds like a bee, and she flicks her hair around trying to find the bug in question. But as she looks around, she sees the source of the disturbance is not an insect.

A speedboat floats distantly, so far that the Stark has to squint to really see it. It was not unusal for other people to walk the hidden cove beyond the Hightower summer home, but boats were a rare occurance. People usually kept to the vibrant beaches near the city, the smaller beach they were on was too far from the rest of civilisation for folks to make the

Mila watches the speedboat, a prickling sense of dread creeping up her spine when it drifts closer. It carries a singular man, tall and lithe, bald and wearing a pair of thin sunglasses. His appearence does not irk her.

It's the fact he's staring right at her and Aegon.

Said Targaryen twitches next to her, before letting out a yelp and jumpinh up. Mila's attention is diverted to him, eyebrows furrowed as he shakes his head like a dog, whipping his sunglasses off.

"What?" Mila asks, concerned.

"Crab." He shudders, pointing at the offending, orange creature who clicks its pincers and trudges along the sand.

"Jeez, Aeg, it's teeny. It's more afraid of you than you are of it."

"I guarantee you it is not."

Mila rolls her eyes, watching the crab scuttle away back to the shores. Her eyes look back at the rest of the sea.

The speedboat is gone.

As night settles over Old Town, Mila giggles as she finishes washing the dishes. Aegon presses incessant kisses to her neck from behind.

"Jeez, Aegon, give me a second." She laughs, feeling his hands wander over her hips and waist.

"Mm, no, horny." Aegon groans against her neck, biting the nape as she squirms and elbows him.

"You're insatiable." Mila rolls her eyes playfully, grabbing a rag and drying her hands as Aegon returns to running his hands over her hips. She smiles as she kisses him, melting against Aegon as he kisses her just how she likes.

Just like that, they find themselves entwined on the bed. Naked, flushed bodies moving together rhythmically. Mila moans beneath Aegon, wrapping her legs further around his torso as she takes him deeper and deeper, feeling the tip of him kissing her sweet spot.

"Right there, right there." She pleads, throwing her head back. Aegon whines, pounding into her harder just how she likes. His head hangs down, eyebrows furrowed with the effort.

Her hands grasp onto his waist, aiding his movements, her fingernails digging into his plush skin. It spurs him on, making his noises louder and breathier as they both get closer to their climaxs.

A well angled thrust makes Mila keen and gasp out Aegon's name like a prayer, sending the blonde man reeling as he presses his face into her neck.

"Fuck, I love you, I love you." Aegon murmurs breathily.

Mila's gasp gets stuck in her throat, her eyes opening as she looks up at the dark ceiling. His words shock her, startling her to her core. His face remains in her neck, his hot breath against her skin. He kisses along the place that connects her neck and her shoulder, whispering words of praise and love against her, lost in his own world.

Pleasure courses through her veins, overtaking her shock at his sudden admission. She moans low in her throat, clenching her eyes closed as she tries to push back rational thought.

He ravages her body, bringing her to the precipice of euphoria, begging her to give it to him. As she finishes, he praises her, lips ghosting the shell of her ear as her body shudders, sending him to his own end.

"I love you..." Aegon groans out as he finishes, snapping his hips repeatedly as he fucks his spend inside of her.

Mila focuses on recatching her breath, eyes fluttered closed. She can feel Aegon collapse beside her, his arms wrapping around her and his sweaty forehead pressing against her shoulder.

She runs her hands over his arms, letting sleep take her over and wash away her sudden whirlwind of emotions...

...But those emotions were waiting for her when she awoke.

Mila sits on a loveseat outside the house, biting her lip nervously as she stares out at the gentle ebbing and flowing of the ocean waves.

"Fuck, I love you, I love you..."

His words echo around her head. The feeling of his hands on her, his lips pressing to her skin, his hips pounding against hers as he fucks her relentlessly, it is all fresh on her mind. It sends shivers through her, pleasent feelings of euporia like her body had ingrained Aegon's fucking into her mind so well it could repeat it when he wasn't around.

But his admission frightened her.

Why? Because it made everything complicated.

When they met at Weirwood, she managed to seperate him from her life outside of the clinic. Aegon was just another recovering addict who helped her through her detox, sitting by her bedside and holding her hair back when she threw up into her bin.

But her trecherous body found itself drawn to him, and feelinsg she was all too familiar with appeared out of the blue. And all of sudden he was no longer just another recovering addict, but her ex-boyfriends recovering addict brother who she was attracted to.

Mila tried to run from it, tried to go back to her old life and let her harmful coping mechanisms destroy the seed of affection growing inside of her. But Aegon found her. He saved her, he helped her. She was drowning and he was offering a hand back to the surface.

When he devoured her on the beach, she let the drugs push away any lingering affections. And when she couldn't push them away any longer, she convinced herself he was only her friend. When he was deep inside her, not only her body but her soul, she told herself he was only her friend. He only saw her as a friend. All of this means nothing...

But it means something. It always did. From the very beginning, it meant something.

The way he made her head spin and her heart ache and her body blush and her smile reappaer from nowhere... that meant something. It meant everything.

But he was her ex's brother. Aemond Targaryen's brother. How could she let the

Why is everything so fucking complicated.

Footsteps interrupt her internal ramble, her head snapping to the side to see Aegon walking towards her. He's shirtless, grey joggers hanging low on his hips. She can see marks left from her fingernails left on his waist, and she looks away with a sharp intake of breath.

Aegon says nothing as he takes a seat next to her on the love seat. He runs a hand through his hair, sleepily looking out at the beach. The silence is not awkward, but it is tense as both of them are left unsure of what to say.

With a sigh, Mila decides to start.

“Did you mean it?” She asks, not turning her head to look at him.

“Yes.” Aegon says without hesitation. Mila closes her eyes, taking a deep breath as she lets his words sink in again, "I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" She asks him, giving him an incredulous look.

"Because this was supposed to be simple." Aegon sighs, running his hands over his face, "You left Weirwood to escape how complicated things became. I brought you here so you could heal, but instead we shagged and I fell in love with you."

"That's not your fault."

"Maybe it is..." Aegon turns to her and reaches over to take her hand in his, "I should have been more careful. I knew... I knew from the beginning that you were special. Different, good. Better than I deserve. Every moment I spent at your side, I found myself needing to be near you. You make me feel alive, you make me feel normal. I should have been more careful when I let myself touch you on the beach, because I knew that it be so easy to fall for you."

"Aegon, stop..." Mila stands, taking a few steps away, holding her hand to her mouth.

"Em." He says softly, and she turns to him. Aegon gives her a sad smile, choosing his words carefully.

"I said it before and I'll say it again; You're the best thing that's happened to me in a while, maybe even ever." Aegon takes her hand in his own, pressing it to his chest, “I love you.”

Mila takes a shuddering breath, covering his hand with her own. He presses his forehead to hers, closing his eyes as he basks in her closeness.

They sit on the loveseat, Aegon's head resting on Mila's chest. Their fingers are intertwined, and Mila watches them with half closed eyes.

Aegon has a small tattoo on the back of his hand, of a tiny green bird in a little golden cage. Mila smoothes her thumb over it, tracing the jagged lines with a featherlight touch.

A distant noise startles her out of her daze, and she looks around for the source. Aegon lifts his head, eyebrows furrowed as he looks towards the front door.

The sound of a car can be heard driving closer, and the two share a confused look as they go back inside the house. Aegon leaves first, and Mila follows him to stand in the doorway.

A black SUV parks next to Aegon's battered ford fiesta, and Aegon freezes on the porch, his hands clenching into fists beside him.

Mila's bros furrow, wondering who on earth could be here. As the person steps out of the car, she gasps, taking a step back from the door. His pale, lone eye moves from Aegon to Mila, his blonde hair swaying in the beach breeze. No fucking way...

Aemond fucking Targaryen.

AN// Yuh! He's back! Aemond 'surprise bitch I bet you thought you'd seen the last of me' Targaryen. This is definitely only going to bring good things for Mila and Aegon, Emiliaegon if you will (please don't, that's actually awful). See y'all soon, sending love <3

Lula x

[sh4wty18]

can you please do jake webber best friends to lovers. like jakes been y/ns best friend since they were kids and neither of them knew they liked eachother until they went to a party and all that. and then add some cute lil smut in there as well but theyre both virgins. ❤️thank uuu:)

omg im so sorry for the delayed response, i was not motivated to write for a while! i hope you enjoy :)

best friend.

pairing: jake webber x reader

summary: same as request except i didn't include the smut <3

cw: fluff, language, alcohol, some spice/suggestive ending but nothing too crazy

word count: 2.5k + edited

---

Since your childhood, Jake has been your best friend. You’d grown up together in Kansas, and being the only two “alternative” people at your middle and high schools, you stuck together. He’d always been the person you leaned on, and you were the same for him. Time didn’t seem to exist when you two were together, you could talk for hours and never get bored. Both your parents had expected you to end up dating eventually, and were shocked that after over ten years, it still hadn’t happened. But everyone always said you were soulmates, in one way or another. 

When Jake got famous, you were so proud of him. It had been his dream for years, he’d been posting little vlogs for a while, and sometimes you were even featured in them. But meeting Sam & Colby had caused his career to skyrocket. Then he moved to LA to keep pursuing his dream, and of course you supported him. You wanted all the success in the world for him, so you said goodbye. 

You made a point to visit him as often as possible, which he loved. You loved seeing him, and sometimes being featured in his videos. Being a side character in his on-screen persona had garnered you your own little fandom, and people loved seeing “with y/n!” attached to his video titles. Being famous was never your “thing”, though; it was Jake’s, and you respected him for it. You were happy with your small subset of fans, and couldn’t imagine constantly being scrutinized by millions of people. Jake’s rising stardom had no effect on your friendship, and now, after many long years of hard work, he is finally gaining the recognition you had hoped he’d receive since you were kids. 

With his newfound rise in fame came more money, and in turn, a bigger house in LA. Some time after his break up with Tara, Jake had asked you to move in with him and Johnnie. You worked from home, and had been visiting him so much that you practically lived with him part-time already, so of course you’d said yes. 

What he didn’t know was that for the last three years, you have been completely and hopelessly in love with him. You didn’t know why or when it started, really. You just knew that one day, seeing him kiss Tara made you want to rip your heart out. Obviously you never told him, you could never do that to him. He was in love with Tara, and you loved and respected him too much to ever come between them. You had also become friends with Tara, and would never want to hurt her. So you yearned in silence, fully believing you were going to go to take your feelings to the grave. Their breakup was unexpected, and despite being irrevocably in love with Jake, you weren’t happy about it. Seeing your best friend in pain was the worst feeling ever, so you made sure to help him through all the ups and downs until he and Tara were comfortably friends again. 

Moving in with him may not have been the best thing for your romantic feelings, but your friendship is stronger than ever. You are constantly together, and knowing how affectionate the two of you are, you’re always touching, too. Whether it be a finger linked through the belt loop, hands intertwined, leaning on each other’s shoulder, hugging from behind, or cuddled up on the couch, you always have to have your hands on each other. Jake wasn’t very drawn to physical touch with many people, only his closest friends, which made you feel special. You loved that the only people he acted like this with were you and Johnnie. And even though he was touchy with Johnnie, it was nowhere near the level of touchiness he had with you. Some people say your relationship is weird, too close, or codependent, but you guys just laugh it off. You didn’t care if people understood, you loved each other, full stop. 

For the past three years you have wanted more, desperately so. But you knew that Jake didn’t feel the same, so learning how to separate your romantic and platonic feelings for him was a challenge. You would never want to do anything to potentially ruin your perfect friendship, though, so you learned quickly.

This would all change tonight. 

You and Jake had been curled up in his bed together under a mountain of fluffy blankets, watching one of your favorite movies, when he turned to you.  

“Tara is having a party tonight at her place, if you wanna be my plus one,” He smiled, always excited to ask you to be his plus one to events.

One of the many life changes that occurred when you moved to LA was that you were now roped into “events” way more often than you were used to. Whether it be casual parties, brand deal socials, or filming videos, you were involved in more social interaction than you’d ever been exposed to back home. You were much more introverted than Jake, and the changes were sudden, but you were slowly getting the hang of it. Plus, Jake loved when you were involved, he wanted you to be there. You loved making him happy, so you were hardly one to say no. That being said, the once small group of fans you’d garnered from being featured in Jake’s early videos was not-so-little anymore, and you were gaining quite the following. This had never been the life you’d wanted per se, but it was growing on you. 

You turned your head towards Jake’s and smiled back at him, “Of course I’ll go with you.” 

He blushed, “Yayyyy, I love my best friend!” He squealed in a silly high pitched voice, and you giggled. You wrapped your arm around his waist and buried your head against his neck, spooning him for the rest of the movie. 

After it ended you let go of his waist to go get ready for the party, which elicited a whine from Jake, “Aww, I was comfy,” He pouted and let out a huff. 

You laugh, “We can cuddle later! I have to go get sexy for tonight,” You joke. 

“You always look sexy, we’re wasting valuable bestie nap time,” he gave you puppy eyes, and you blushed. It was the first time he’d ever called you sexy. 

“Don’t look at me like that,” You giggle, and look away, trying to hide your pink cheeks and hot ears. 

“Look at you like what?” He asks innocently, continuing to give you his biggest, prettiest puppy eyes. 

“Shut up,” You laugh, swatting your hand at him as you walk towards the door. 

“Hate you!” He shouts after you as you walk across the hall toward your bedroom. 

“Hate you more!” You yell back. 

–

Two hours later, you’re finally completely ready for the party. You took an ‘everything shower’, applied a full face of your favorite glam makeup, painted your nails, and put on a brand new lacy, skin-tight, black dress. You emerge from your bedroom and walk back across the hall to Jake’s room, knocking on the door.

He opens it and stares at you in awe. He could hardly stop his jaw from dropping as he got his first look at you, and you giggle with embarrassment.

“Hi,” You say, cheeks blushing.

“Hi,” He responds, still looking you up and down, unable to tear his eyes away from your body. “You look incredible.”

You let out a modest scoff and look away, “Stop it.” 

“I mean it, y/n! You are… stunning.”

He makes eye contact with you as he thoughtfully lands on the last word, stunning. You feel a wide grin spread across your face, the rosy hue in your cheeks definitely deepening even more, but for some reason, you weren’t embarrassed anymore, only confident. 

“Thanks, Jakey. You don’t look so bad yourself,” You say, finally eyeing him up in the same way he’d done to you. He was wearing low waisted baggy jeans and a cropped baby tee, showcasing the star tattoos traveling down his v-line. Your eyes lingered there for a second too long, and you couldn’t stop yourself from imagining kissing each of those stars before wrapping your mouth around his cock. 

He caught the glint in your eye and leaned against the door frame, smirking down at you, “Like what you see?” he teased, casually placing a hand in his pocket.

You feel yourself blushing again, but you stay strong, taking a step closer and smiling up at him, “Maybe I do.” 

He maintains eye contact with you for a few seconds, and before you know it you’re competing, seeing who will break the awkward sexual tension first.

He breaks, and his smug smirk falls into a grin as he playfully pushes your forehead away from him, “C’mon ya freak, let’s go to the party,” He laughs. 

You walk the few blocks to Tara’s house, listening to Jake rant about one of his recent hyperfixations. You loved listening to him rant. He wasn’t a big talker, and usually you were the one who did the majority of the ranting in your friendship, but sometimes Jake would allow himself to rant about something he loved. He only did it with people he was super comfortable with, and it wasn’t too often, even then. But tonight, he must have been in an extra good mood, because he talked the entire walk. You smiled, and nodded, and asked him questions, which he loved, both because it signified to him that he wasn’t boring you, and because it meant he got to keep talking about something he enjoyed. You loved seeing him like this, bubbly and excited and blabbing on and on about a show you’d never even heard of. When you finally arrived at Tara’s house, he turned to you and said, “Woah, I really just talked that entire time about Peaky Blinders, didn’t I?”

“Yup. But don’t worry, I love hearing your voice,” You smile, and he grins down at you.

“I love hearing your voice too, y/n.”

You knock on Tara’s door, and she opens within seconds. “Jake! Y/n! Welcome!! It’s so good to see you guys, you both look amazing!” She pulls you both into quick hugs and you follow behind her into the packed house. She had cleared out some of the furniture for a makeshift dance floor, and people were definitely putting it to use. She led you to the kitchen where you spotted bottles of liquor littered throughout. “Help yourself!” She shouted over the loud Ice Spice song that was currently playing, and walked away to greet more guests.

You and Jake shared a look, already knowing this party was going to be overstimulating unless you got some alcohol in your systems ASAP. He poured you both a shot of whatever was closest and shouted “Cheers!” before you both downed them. 

It only took a few drinks for you both to start feeling warm and buzzed. You grab his hand and begin leading him to the dance floor, social anxiety be damned. 

“Y/n are we actually about to dance right now?” Jake asked from behind you, and when you turned to face him, you saw a big, stupid grin on his face.

“Yes, Jake! I want to throw ass with my best friend, since when is that a crime?” You shout back dramatically, still tugging on his hand. 

He suddenly yanks your hand, pulling your body closer to his. In one swift motion, he’s wrapped your arm around the back of his neck, while his hands grip your hips tightly, steadying your body in front of him. He leans into your neck, lips grazing your ear as he whispers, “Ya know, I meant what I said earlier… you look beautiful.” 

You sigh at his words, leaning your head back to rest against his chest. You pull his neck closer, forcing his head down so you can whisper back, “I- I don’t just want to be your best friend anymore.” 

“I know,” He says, “I think… I think a part of me has always known. It was always going to be you, I just couldn’t see it yet. But I do now and… and I want you so bad-” You cut him off, closing whatever little space was left between your mouths, taking in all of him. You had imagined this situation millions of times– what it would feel like to envelope your lips in his. Were they soft? Warm? Was he messy or gentle? For years, you had fantasized about this moment, never thinking it’d actually happen. Yet here you are, finally. Kissing your best friend. And it was better than you could have ever dreamed, like a drug. As soon as you got a taste, you craved more. You swiveled your body so you were facing him, and his hands moved up and down your back and further down to squeeze your ass. You lifted yourself onto your tiptoes, bringing yourself even closer to him, hands tangling through his hair, as if in a desperate attempt to swallow him whole. One word rang out in your head over and over: more. 

You broke away eventually, gasping for breath, but he didn’t stop. Instead he moved down your jawline, sloppily kissing anywhere his lips landed, letting out soft grunts as he made his way down your neck, stopping to suck on a particularly sensitive area where he noticed your breath catch. 

“Wait,” You said, and he immediately stopped, placing a hand on your cheek.

“What is it? I’m sorry, did I do something wrong?” He asks, genuine concern painting his face.

“No, no! I just… I wanna make sure you mean it. You’re not just saying this because we’re tipsy, right? Because it’s real for me. You’re my best friend, Jake, and you always will be. But… I wanna be more. I wanna be yours.”

His face softens and he leans in to kiss you gently now, his hand still cradling your cheek. “Y/n, I promise, you are mine. And I’m yours. I’ve been yours since the day you moved in. I might be tipsy, but I’m still aware of what’s going on. I swear, I want this. I want you. Only you.” 

Tears well in your eyes and he wipes them away, “Don’t cry, angel.” 

“I just really love you.” You say, and the biggest smile you’ve ever seen spreads across his face.

“I really love you, too. God, I’ve wanted to say that for so long,” He lets out a relieved sigh. 

You lower your voice to a whisper against his ear, “I really think we should get out of here. You look so fucking sexy.” You’re the one kissing down his neck now, and he breathes out “Fuck.” 

You lead him through the crowd again, this time toward the front door. An Irish goodbye would have to do– being socially unacceptable would be worth it to be naked in his arms. 

---

this piece marks the end of my writing block! i have so many good johnnie requests from you guys that i'm excited to get working on :) as always likes and reblogs are appreciated!

[cerise-on-top]

Playing Stardew Valley

One of my favorite games of all time. More headcanons, this time on what it's like to play SDV with the majority of the main cast. I think these can be read as platonic or romantic too. The only real mention of a romantic relationship is in Gaz' section, but even then it's just a "if you're in this scenario then that happens". SFW and gender neutral, obviously. The characters are the ones I usually write about, so no Makarov, for example.

Price: To no one’s surprise he’s not actually much of a gamer, at all. If the choice was up to him then the two of you would likely be spending your days somewhere outside. However, it’s not too hard to convince him to play with you on stormy days. The game is relaxing, it’s nice, he won’t have to worry about gunshots for once. Despite maybe having heard of it before and nothing else, he’d come to like it after some time. Most of his time is spent on the farm and in town, it takes him some time to find the mines. Loves getting to pat the animals, watering the crops and making the farm look nice. He makes sure that everything is going well so you can go hunt monsters in the mines or mine ore there. He doesn’t go overboard with the money either, so as long as you don’t constantly buy expensive things you’ll always have a good chunk of money.

Gaz: His name is Kyle, it’s in his blood to be a gamer. But Stardew Valley isn’t what he usually goes for in his spare time. However, as long as you’re playing it together you can be sure he’s gonna say yes. Despite being pretty good with money normally, he loses count of how much he has in game and sometimes wants to buy things he can’t afford anymore. But he always promises you that you’re gonna get it back. Gaz is also the kind to bring you all sorts of gifts, regardless of whether you asked him to or not. If you’re dating he’ll call it him “trying to gain relationship points”. His end goal is to marry you, in that case. Despite being resourceful he sometimes forgets to water your crops and pat the animals when he’s in a hurry with a quest. If you don’t take care of it, then you can be sure your crops will wither from time to time. Doesn’t mean for that to happen and will buy new seeds. It’s a vicious cycle. 

Ghost: Rolls his eyes and asks you why when you bring up the idea of playing with him. He’s got better things to do, actually, but he can be convinced to play if you annoy him enough. Afterwards he’ll come to enjoy the game, it is a great source of escapism, after all. Unlike Gaz, he will never forget about your crops or your animals and will always take care of them. Even money-wise it will be you who spends most of it. His favorite activity would be foraging. He knows quite a bit about survival and, if you ask him about it, he’s more than happy to divulge some information and give you some tips if it ever came down to it. Every time he sees your character running up to him with some gift he’ll roll his eyes, but appreciate it nevertheless. It wasn’t often that he got presents when he was younger, so now as an adult he’s quite happy, even if it’s just within a silly game.

Soap: Will probably laugh a little when you bring up the game, but is willing to play it with you. It’s not the most exciting game to play to him, but he gets to chat with you over something easy to digest that doesn’t require him to make a million decisions per minute. However, please let him name the animals, he loves doing so. Yes, they will end up with silly names, but he just tries to get you to laugh. Soap does get attached to them, though. Loves being in the mines and slaying the monsters there, he gets to feel powerful as he cuts through slime and mine some ore. Every once in a while he’ll fall unconscious, though, because he forgets about the stamina bar. During those few seconds of loading screens he loves to annoy you. Or when he’s already in bed for once and waiting for you to do the same. Poking you, throwing popcorn at you or something else, he can be a nincompoop in the most loving way possible.

Alejandro: Because he has such a high rank, there’s a chance you won’t get to see him that often. And during those few and short times you do get to see each other? He’s more than happy to indulge you in anything you like. You wanna play a funny farming sim? Of course you can! He loves it because of the setting. A pretty rounded guy, he does just about anything, except maybe fishing. He’s not a big fan of that minigame at all. Everything else is fair game. Once you have the kitchen unlocked he’s more than happy to make you a home-cooked meal every morning so you won’t run out of stamina on your adventures. The game makes him very happy, so much even that he’ll make the suggestion you play together eventually. It’s his mission to pet the animals every day. Please let him discover giant crops, he’ll love it and try to get as many as possible. Gets very into the game and its domesticity, but he’ll leave the decoration of the farm and the house to you.

Rodolfo: He’s a bit skeptical at first since he isn’t much of a gamer and the game sounds somewhat boring to him. The first few days actually are to him, but once he’s gotten the hang of it, he loves the game. Every day, he hopes you’ll ask him to play it with you. Heck, if he has the time, chances are he’ll invite Alejandro to play it with you two as well. Another all-rounder, he does everything he is asked to do, except he loves the fishing minigame. He’s also insanely good at it, the legendary fish got nothing on him. While he does simply follow you around for the most part, especially if you’re in the mines together, he has a good time doing so. Plenty of gifts from either of you for the other, you try to make sure the other feels appreciated. For the most part, he forgets that you can eat to replenish your stamina and will sometimes complain about it running out so quickly, until he discovers he can simply lie down in bed. His favorite activity is fishing with you while you’re talking about anything and everything. Loves playing into the night with you if neither of you have anywhere to be.

Valeria: Scoffs at you when you bring it up. However, once you’ve bought her the game she’ll at the very least give it a try. It’s surprisingly nice to her. Valeria can be a bit competitive, however, so don’t be surprised if she mentions how much money you suddenly have. On those few days she actually has some downtime for once, she’s willing to play it with you. Be warned, though: She has looked up guides on how to be successful in the game and make lots and lots of money. She may be a businesswoman, but she does try to purchase all the upgrades she can for you. Yes, she calls you out on using a lot of money, yes, she’ll also wring out every piece of gold she can find to get you that lovely little couch you want. Go ahead and make her some food every once in a while. It may just be a game, but she’ll remember that gesture. Do that regularly enough and she’ll just take you out to eat at a fancy restaurant, with her paying, of course. If she finds out about giant crops on her own without guides, she’ll simply stare at the cauliflower for a good two minutes before laughing a bit. For some reason, she finds it funny.

Graves: Has heard about the game, refuses to play it because he deems it childish and boring. Tries to dislike it and complain about it while playing with you, but once he sees how much you enjoy it and how much heart and soul has actually been poured into it, he’ll seem neutral, but likes it in secrecy. Like Valeria, he tries to make as much money as possible to show off how competent and good he is at the farming game. While he tries his best to get as much iridium ore as possible, the thought of cleaning up his farm doesn’t cross his mind even once. The animals get to roam freely, the crops will usually be fine, though. He loves having lots of silos, coops and barns because it seems home-y to him. He’s from the south, he grew up with animals and thus loves them, which is why he also enjoys having as many cows as possible. The fact that they look cute is just an added bonus. While playing, his cocky demeanor disappears a bit and he becomes more smiley as well. Point it out to him and he’ll outright deny it. He likes the game, but he’d rather be put in the electric chair than say that out loud.

Alex: The game seems fine to him, a lovely little break from having to worry about getting shot at any moment. He’s more than happy to play it with you and needs no convincing whatsoever, you just need to tell him what the game is about. He immediately falls in love with it and the very first thing he does is try to get a chicken coop. He saw them and knew he needed ten. The joy he felt when he found out he could name his chicken things like “Sweetie” or “Honey” was something else. He gets creative with those cute names too, especially if you like them as well. He’s a bit lost on what to do at first since he usually carries out orders others give him, but if you tell him to explore the map he’ll report back on his finds with excitement. He’s also fairly keen on befriending the townsfolk and tells you about all the events. Another thing he’s rather attentive to is the soundtrack. Once he’s heard the fall themes he’ll listen to the OST when doing the dishes or cleaning. Unlike Graves, Alex will outright tell you how happy he is that he gets to play the game with you. He loves it and he’s glad he gets to spend this time with you, doing simple farming chores.

Farah: For the sake of this we’ll pretend she’ll actually have the time to play the game with you every once in a while. It’s calming, it’s distracting, it’s escapism in its purest form. Farah needs fairly little convincing to play the game, especially if you bought it for her. It’s worth a try in her eyes, if she doesn’t enjoy it she can just tell you. It’s a bit weird to her at first, she’s so used to there being death and destruction all around her pretty much all the time, she’s just waiting for something to happen. But when you assure her that the worst thing in the game is the dragon enemy, she relaxes. Even while playing she tries to be efficient. Someone needs to tend to the crops, the animals and the townsfolk while the other goes foraging, fighting monsters and mining. I think she would enjoy the forest farm the most. Urzikstan doesn’t have the most flora, so it’s a nice change of scenery for her. The more she plays, the more she relaxes, but she does give you orders from time to time. As mentioned before, she likes spending time with the townsfolk and helping them out when they need it. The community center is finished within the first year as quickly as possible and the following cutscene warms her heart. Needless to say, she likes the game and likes playing it with you.

Laswell: Some convincing is needed in her case, but once you tell her about how it’s your favorite game, regardless of whether it’s true or not, she’ll cave in. While she has heard about the game every once in a while, she didn’t think she’d ever play it. Despite knowing nothing about it other than its premise, she’s actually pretty good at it from the get go. She always keeps an eye on her stamina, she always takes some food with her, and she gains money fairly quickly as well. Other than that she’s also fairly lucky, finding diamonds and prismatic shards comparatively easily. Despite getting the hang of the game quickly, she cannot do the fishing minigame to save her life and will openly complain about it. While you’re working on the community center she’ll leave all the fishing up to you. But other than that she loves the soundtrack as well. She won’t listen to it outside of the game, but if she ever hears any of the songs she’s immediately reminded of your small gaming sessions together and smiles. Laswell also found the giant Junimo plushie in the bushes on accident in spring of her first year without consulting any guide and to this day you don’t know how.

Nikolai: He knows about the game, plenty of people he knows play it, but it was never something he was interested in. Then you came and asked him to play it with you, and who was he to deny you such an innocent request? He may not be a gamer, but he’s confident enough in his abilities to suggest you two choose the monster farm. A lot of his time is spent slaying enough monsters to get all the rewards, that’s his goal. While he doesn’t do a lot of farming, he barely even buys any seeds unless he has to or you ask him to, he’s always somewhere on the map, exploring and foraging. His pockets are usually filled to the brim with stones, ores, gems and monster loot. His favorite challenge is getting to floor 100 in the Skull Cavern. He knows about the staircases, but he doesn’t use more than 10 of them. He can be a show off, he wants you to know that, despite not being the youngest anymore, he’s still very capable. Your animals bear Russian names. No Cyrillic used, just the way the words are spelt in Latin letters. If you don’t know any Russian, then he won’t tell you what the names mean. If you do know Russian then you’ll find that the chicken is simply named “chicken”.

[yanderecrazysie]

Good day, I was actually the anon who requested oshi no ko… I hope you enjoyed it cause I just recently rewatched it cause I couldn’t move past Ai’s death.

But can I have Yandere Aqua and more specifically if you are ok with it, with someone from his past life like his young intern. Like someone he had an attachment to as a doctor as they spent a lot of time working together and become really good friends despite the reader not really being into an idol stuff. So after his death, the reader naturally mourn him and left his hometown because of guilt of not being able to find his body.

So flash forward reader is now a certified doctor for stunt doubles and meats Aqua in a movie set. Seeing you, his once meek intern now a professional doctor brings feelings from him. You are his only connection to his past life as Gorou and he can’t seem to shake you off the emotions you bringout from him. He sees you as someone he has to control to protect you from harm and this leads to yandere obsession.

Thanks for reading my ask and request. Although thinking this more clearly, I feel like there would be a significant age gap between intern reader and aqua but The idea won’t leave my head so I hope you’re ok with it as long as both Aqua and Reader are legal adults

Oshi no Ko was literally so good! I cried at Ai’s death scene, it was so sad! (Then again, I cry at everything on TV these days lol) 

I made Reader young at the start, but there’s still a large age gap obviously. Both are adults though, so it’s technically fine.

Title: To See You Again

Pairings: Hoshino Aqua x Reader

WARNINGS: Yandere themes, significant age gap (legal adults)

Summary: Aqua sees someone from his past life again after 18 years. It brings up some darker feelings.

“You know, I can’t really get into this idol stuff, but it makes me happy to see you happy,” you giggled. 

Dr. Gorou couldn’t tear his eyes away from the TV, where a beautiful girl in a pink dress danced and sang on a brightly-lit stage. He gave a grunt of acknowledgment to show he’d heard his young intern. 

At just 18, you were the youngest person working in the hospital. It was clear you weren’t aiming to be a gynecologist like Dr. Gorou was, but your hometown was a small one and there weren't many options to intern at. 

You sat down on the bed next to your mentor, watching Ai blow a kiss to the audience, her eyes shining with emotion. Although you didn’t see the appeal in it, you understood that he had gotten into it from a young patient who had died. You couldn’t help but wonder if that death had scarred him somehow.

Scooting a little closer, you smiled up at Dr. Gorou. He looked at you from the corner of his eye for a moment, smiling back, before he turned his attention back to the idol on-screen. You stifled a sigh.

He’d never notice your feelings, would he?

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aqua stood idly around, watching the other actors practice their lines together. He’d already memorized his part of the script- it was easy compared to all the medical terms he’d had to memorize in medical school. 

“Quiet on set! Quiet on set!” Someone called out. The actors went quiet as a stunt actor got in place on set. Aqua watched silently from the corner he stood in.

The stunt double took a running leap through a glass window, taking the place of the main character, who had performed the scene just before this one. Suddenly, he stood up, clutching his leg and letting out a strangled cry. Sticking out from his thigh was a large shard of glass, blood beginning to seep through his pants.

“Cut!” The director yelled, leaping up from his chair. “Aqua, take him to the doctor on set!”

Aqua bit back a sigh. Why him? He walked over to the stunt double and offered him his arm to take. The stunt actor leaned against him, limping with each step and wincing in pain.

Aqua had never seen the doctor, but he knew where she was staying. He helped the man along the backstage hallway and to the office. He gave a quick knock and entered, helping the stunt double onto the bed.

Once he saw the doctor, his heart stopped. 

You were older now, probably around the age he was when he’d died in his previous life, but it was unmistakably you. He felt an irresistible tug at his heart when he looked at you, reminded of your smile and obvious crush on him.

For a moment, he waited for you to recognize him, but remembered that he wasn’t the same person anymore. Of course you wouldn’t know him. 

You had turned all of your attention to the poor stunt double in front of you, and Aqua was struck by the realization that you’d matured so much since he’d last seen you. You were a fully fledged doctor now, not just an intern. 

He was surprised by the thoughts that crossed his mind. I’m an adult again, so surely she’ll recognize me and want me again. And even worse, the childish reaction he had when he saw the wedding ring on her finger. I knew her first!

Back when he was Dr. Gorou, he had specifically ignored your advances. He was too old for you in his 30s, he had thought. But now, here you were, and the roles had swapped. Now he was the young adult, and the attraction had taken hold of him. Maybe it was hormones or maybe it was the fact that he finally had something from his old life in front of him.

He spotted a photo on your desk and leaned in to inspect it. He was shocked by the image- younger you standing next to Dr. Gorou. He just about choked on his tongue asking, “Hey, who is this?”

You looked up from the leg you were tending and followed his gaze. A sad smile crossed your face. “Oh, that’s my old mentor. He was a kind doctor that went missing, presumed dead. I miss him every day.”

Take that, (Y/n)’s husband. He thought victoriously.

“When can I see you again, Doc?” The stunt double asked as you bandaged his leg, “Maybe at a bar, just you and me?”

Aqua felt red-hot rage shooting through his veins. How dare he?

You giggled your sweet giggle, the one he’d missed for 18 long years, and turned him down. He didn’t deserve your laughter or your kindness, and Aqua seethed silently from it. You had pined after him for so long, why had you moved on?

Maybe your husband had forced you into a relationship. Threatened you. That’s the only conclusion he could make from this situation. After all, you still had his picture on your desk.

He’d take care of your husband for you, and then he’d find a way to make you see that he’s the same man you fell in love with all those years ago.

[rabidaly]

Ok one more update from a shark in the water? Please???

Here’s the first 1k(roughly)! Keep in mind I haven’t edited and I had like. A three-month long writers block for this fic so I’m not super attached/happy with this intro— it may change when I go back next weekend!

Hopefully it’s enough to wet your appetite tho ;)

—

Stiles had friends.

Lydia was his friend. Erica. Danny and Kira danced the line between acquaintance and actual friendship, but gun to his head, Stiles would count them as the latter. And Scott. God knows they'd been inseperable for over a decade.

It's just—

Stiles didn’t text his friends the way he texted Derek.

Or as often.

It wasn’t anything serious. Just lots of little, trivial things: pictures here and there, Stiles blinking doe eyes at the camera, biting his lip. He texted Derek about his annoying professor, the chronological order of the Marvel movies, his attempts at latte foam art. Stiles rambled and vented and altogether talked too much, but—

Derek always answered.

Even if it was a simple, one-word reply. Even if sometimes it took a couple hours. Stiles wasn’t sure he’d have been able to stop even if he didn’t; every little thing that popped into his head came with the companion thought of, oh! I wonder what Derek would think about this!

ive never seen you play a video game, he texted on Thursday evening.

I don’t. What are you playing?

COD

with scott

R u home?

At the gym.

Stiles had figured as much, but he still caught himself sighing. They were in the Hale-McCall living room, playing on Scott’s family Xbox, both sore and tired from their shifts at work. From his spot on the couch, Stiles could hear Peter humming in the kitchen, most likely prepping for dinner. Melissa was still at work.

And Derek was at the gym. Snooze.

how much can u lift? Stiles texted, before his character on screen ran into a wall and he had to put his phone down. Scott side-eyed him, hard.

Stiles caught the tail-end of Scott taking incoming fire before his phone buzzed again. He looked back down.

I can lift double your weight, easy, Derek had typed, cutting to the heart of the matter.

Stiles pinkened.

for how long?

For as long as it takes. Derek replied. it’s your endurance we need to work on, if anything.

Stiles could taste the sharp edge of Derek’s condescension on his tongue. Something inside him went molten-hot, liquified, like the liquid wax of a burning candle.

maybe you should take me to the gym with you, he typed, squirming at just the thought of it. Derek all sweaty, the graceful arch of spine, muscles flexing as he lifts himself. we could be workout buddies.

Would you wear leggings?

Stiles readjusted on the couch, his leg coming up against his chest.

in public? no.

but I could sit on you.

on your back. while you do push ups

A bit too daring. Stiles bit his lip when Derek didn’t respond. He focused back on the game, hoping to distract himself.

It didn’t help much.

Scott huffed, throwing down his remote when they both died.

“What is with you, man?”

“What do you mean?” Stiles said, peeking at his phone again. No new messages.

“I mean, you’re not even watching where you’re going. You just got us both killed!”

”I’m just—“ Stiles felt unreasonably grumpy. “Bored. Can’t we play something else?”

“Like what?”

Like Mario Kart, per Stiles’ suggestion. The best part about Mario Kart was that Scott was—

“Awful, man. Just terrible,” Stiles laughed as Scott swerved off the road, twisting his remote uselessly, as if that were going to do anything while he wasn’t holding down the gas. “Honestly, it’s embarrassing to watch. You should just stop. You’re bringing shame to your family name.”

“I used to beat you at every game!”

“Yeah, in like seventh grade.” Stiles shook his head. “How’s it feel, Scott? To have peaked in middle school?”

“I haven’t peaked, I’m just—“ Scott threw down the controller as the track completed, screen flashing the stats. Scott in tenth place, Stiles in first. Just like the last time. And the time before that. “Out of practice. God, screw this. I want to play Skyrim.”

“Skyrim is god-awful on the Switch.”

“Well, then, I’ll bring the PS4 down here.”

“But it’s single player,” Stiles scrunched up his nose. “I’m not going to just sit here like your girlfriend and pretend watching you play video games is interesting.”

Scott looked offended. “Allison isn’t pretending. She said she loves watching me play.”

Right.

“Sure she does.” Stiles rolled his eyes. "We can just put on a horror movie or something, play fuck, marry, kill." A weird little tradition of theirs, any time they break out the b-rate horror films.

"Which one do you wanna watch?"

Stiles shrugged, "You pick."

He checked his phone again. Sighed for the millionth time.

Scott noticed.

“Who are you texting?”

Fuck.

”No one important,” Stiles said quickly, and put his phone face down on the side table.

Scott stared at it. “Is that a new phone?”

”What? No.”

”It’s pink," Scott pointed out. "Your phone's not pink.”

Stiles really needed to get a case for the thing. “Okay,” he conceded. “It’s a new phone. I splurged.”

The reaction was immediate.

”Stiles! We’re supposed to be saving up for an apartment!” Scott shook his head. “You’ve got to stop spending money, dude.”

Scott was definitely right about that. Stiles might not have bought the phone, but he'd hardly saved a dime since he’d started his job. He’d been too busy buying— well. You know.

As if summoned by the thought of his underwear alone, Stiles' phone (finally, finally) buzzed. Stiles had moved before his brain had fully processed the sound, snatching his phone up from the table on reflex.

Stay put. I’ll be there in 10.

Stiles’ cheeks darkened to a fire-engine red. Uh-oh.

[softpascalito]

Agent Ortega x Reader - Agents dont have favorites

Summary: Special Agent Ortega visits the Emerald Palace occasionally. Somehow, the woman tending to the horses is more intersting to him than those tending to the men. When he stays away for a while and things go south for her, he comes back to find something that he doesnt like.

aka its emotional but also they fuck.

Relationships: Agent Ortega x FemReader

WC: 2600

Tags/Warnings: Creator chose not to use Archive Warnings, The Sixth Gun, Agent Ortega x Reader, Implied/Refered Non-Con (Off-Screen, Time-Period typical), Hurt/Comfort, No use of y/n, Smut, Explicit Sexual Content, Creampie, Prostitution, Vaginal Fingering, P in V Sex, yes i wrote p*rn about an unaired pilot ep from 2013 so what

AO3 LINK

Notes: hello loves! what can i say, i saw a new pedro pascal cowboy character and i felt things.

here are said things written down.

_______________________________

Agents don't have favorites. They breeze through Brimstone occasionally, their sole focus on their mission and occasionally getting down in the Emerald Palace after finishing said mission.

They can't afford to get attached, to care too deeply about someone. Especially not girls working in a brothel.

Agent Ortega has a favorite. 

It had developed over time, starting when you had tended to the run-down stables behind the palace, feeding and cleaning the horses for their owners. The pay had barely been enough to afford the small room you shared with three other girls.

The Agent had never been charitable but he had taken to finding you during the evening chores and slipping you some money when he'd been in town, always claiming it was to make sure his horse got the best possible care. You had believed it for a while until you had noticed the way he looked at you. Still, he had never made any real advances towards you, unlike other men who simply could not understand that you were paid to take care of the horses and not their own needs.

But even with the occasional support from him, the money had run out and after another offer that promised the pay equal to a week's worth of feeding horses for two hours with a man- you had finally given in, telling yourself that it would only be this once, just to get by until payday.

It hadn't been once. 

Instead, you have adapted to a new routine, returning to the bar after your chores and waiting for a man to approach, both dreading and waiting for one of those sleazy hookup lines that always led to the same thing. It has become routine, the way you agree on a price and then lead them upstairs. It has become routine to lock the door. It has become routine to try and scrub yourself clean afterwards. It never works.

Agent Ortega has not been in for the better half of a year. But when he steps into the parlor of the Emerald Palace, the memories immediately come back and he takes in the smell of whiskey, cheap perfume and dried cum. He uses one hand to open his jacket as he looks around, taking in the few familiar faces in the crowd, girls he has seen spread out on the sheets below him and that he has never thought of again.

You can see, from the way he walks, that he's here for pleasure and not business, a slight bounce in his step as he clearly considers his option, pondering if he should start with a whiskey to relax a bit. He's been in the stables already but he couldn't find you and assumed you'd left, remembering distantly how you'd told him on his last visit that you'd been trying to save up, trying to get out of Brimstone for good.

He didn't have the heart to tell you that it wouldn't get better in other towns.

They were all the same.

As he takes a few steps into the establishment, he smiles at the girls around him and winks at one, who instantly tries her luck and approaches him, running her hand over the front of his shirt. You can't hear what she says but it must be some variation of the hookup lines the men use because Ortega smirks for a moment, turning his head a little to the side.

And then he spots you. 

The reaction is imminent as his face falls and he shakes the girl off, heading straight towards the corner that you're huddled in. Worry fills him as he gets closer and with every step, it gets worse as he notices your thin, hunched over form, eyes puffy and highlighted by the dark circles under them. The toll the last few months have taken on you is painfully visible, especially compared to the picture he had stored away in the back of his mind, that he had drawn up on lonely nights to keep him company.

He seems to be by your side in an instant, whispering your name as he kneels in front of you, gently reaching out to touch your leg as he gazes up at you. The look in your eyes scares him more than anything.

A sudden suspicion hits him then and you can tell by the way his eyes wander up and down your body, taking in the tight dress you're wearing, that he knows. He knows what has changed.

You try and avoid looking at him, lowering your eyes, too afraid of what you'll find in his gaze. It doesn't make sense, technically. After all, you had to watch him walk up the wooden stairs with a bunch of different girls, trying to ignore the pang of jealousy you felt each time it happened.

“You're not-” He starts softly, his voice gentle and you shake your head quickly:” Please don't. Don't make me say it.” You beg silently, feeling the tears rising in your eyes.

He shifts slightly, leaning a little lower to look at you and his face hardens a bit. He is painfully aware that this is not the place to discuss this.

“How much?” He simply asks and at that you finally look up, slightly shocked at the sudden implication:” What?” Your voice sounds breathless and a small tear rolls down your cheek. He has to try his hardest to not reach out and wipe it away. Not yet, at least.

“How much? For the night?”

You stutter the price, eyes still wide as you look down at him:” But I don't want-”

This time it's he who cuts you off and gently reaches for your hand, tugging until you get up and follow his lead.

As you ascend the stairs, the steps of your routine start taking over. You try to push your emotions away, focusing on everything but. The sounds from the kitchen below, the wooden stairs creaking slightly under the Agent's steps, the way your hand still rests in his.

He steers you into a room gently. By the time the door closes behind you, your brain is in full autopilot. You turn the lock with a swift motion, the sound immediately making your body slump slightly, like it too has memorized what's about to happen.

Your hands are already on his belt when his own hands join them and for a moment you distantly wonder if he is the type who can't wait, who is always too eager- and then, in a gentle motion, he wraps his finger around yours, keeping them safely in his grip as he lowers his arms. When you look up at him, the only thing you can find in his soft, brown eyes is fear. Fear over what had happened while he had been gone. There is a hint of anger too, but you immediately understand that it is not directed towards you. 

Agent Ortega looks sad. And it breaks your heart, knowing that you're the sole reason for it.

“You don't have to do that. Not with me.” He says quietly, his voice shaking slightly as he lightly moves his thumb over your fingers, caressing them. His gaze remains on you and after a moment of silence he speaks again:” Life hasn't been treating you well, has it?”

That's all it takes for you to crumble and suddenly, the autopilot is off, the routine you have perfected broken and you all but throw yourself into his arms as the tears spill out of your eyes, small sobs shaking your body and you escape the grip of his hands to wrap your arms around him. He pulls you in.

“I should've been there.” He mumbles silently, burying his nose in your hair as he brings one hand up to stroke it, tangling his fingers between the strands. It takes a while until you manage to catch your breath, using the back of your hand to wipe the last tears off your cheeks:” I should get back.”

Your voice is shaking and it's a whisper- but his reaction is not lessened by it. His brows furrow slightly and he decidedly shakes his head:” Absolutely not. Besides, I told you I'd pay for the night.”

“But you just said we didn't have to- '' You try to protest but he doesn't budge:” I know what I said. I'm paying for the night regardless. In fact, let me pay you for the whole week.” 

After a moment, he adds, a little more quietly:” I don't want them touching you again.”

You look at him for a moment, your gaze wandering from his eyes down to his lips and a few seconds later, you're kissing him like your life depends on it. You press your body against his and for the first time in your life, you are trembling out of desire instead of fear.

You both lose yourself in the kiss for a moment and he takes a few steps back without your lips breaking contact until the back of his knees hit the bed and he sits down, pulling you with him so that you're sitting on his lap, your dress riding up slightly as you spread your legs.

After a few more seconds, his lips leave yours and he studies your face as he catches his breath:”Are you sure about this? I'll pay you no matter what.”

You shake your head softly and finally, a small smile appears on your lips:” I'm sure. I- Please, believe me.”

The internal conflict plays out on his face for you to witness. He doesn't want to hurt you, doesn't want to be like those men, doesn't want to take advantage. But something about the way you look at him tells him that you're telling the truth:” Okay.” He mumbles and his hand brushes over your cheek before wandering down your neck and then down your body as he leans forward again, placing little trails of kisses all over your face. 

His lips are softer than you expected and you shiver as his mustache tickles at your skin when he places a kiss on your nose and then on each of your eyelids.

A strong hand settles at your back for support as you feel the other one slowly inching up your thigh under your dress, drawing an impatient noise from you as he takes his time. Eventually, the tips of his fingers find the thin cotton panties you're wearing and, in a stark contrast to the slow movements from before, he suddenly speeds up, pulling them towards himself and ripping them off your body.

You gasp slightly, opening your mouth to protest as he chuckles lowly:” I'll buy you new ones, sugar.”

His rough finger finds the soft skin between your legs, running over your folds and circling around them for a few moments before slowly pushing in, parting your wet heat for him. He watches you closely, the way your breath hitches in your throat when he curls his hand just the right way, paying attention to your reactions to make his mental notes. 

He adds a second finger, slowly moving them in and out until your breathing is ragged and you lean into him, whimpering as your breasts almost spill out of your dress. The hand that has been supporting your back gently finds the front of your dress and pushes it down until it pools around your middle, revealing your bare breasts to him and he squeezed them slightly while still moving his other hand in and out of you, sucking in a breath at the way you clench around him:” You're perfect, you know that?”

Your own impatient hands soon find his shirt, pulling open the buttons and pushing it open so that his bare chest is exposed. His badge falls to the floor but neither of you can bring yourself to care. 

Eagerly, you trace a finger down his belly, following the small trail of hair that leads into his pants until you find his already half open belt. This time, neither of you stop as you fumble until it springs open and you can already see how tight his pants are under your touch.

When you pull it out, his cock is already hard and leaking and you stroke it a few times, marveling at the way the foreskin ripples back and forth with your movements. The dark hair at the base tickles your hand and you bring your other hand down to squeeze his balls slightly, drawing a breathless moan from the Agent's lips.

After a few moments, he pulls his fingers out of you, which has you whining at the loss but then you feel his hands flying to your hips and he lifts you up easily, pushing your dress the rest of the way up before slowly lowering you onto his cock.

You let out a high-pitched whine as you feel him filling you, thick and hard and you silently thank him for preparing you with his fingers.

“It's okay, I got you.” He mumbles, whispering soft praise into your ear until he's all the way inside of you, your bodies flush against each other. You hear him take a breath, clearly forcing himself to hold back and you nudge him softly, silently letting him know that he can move.

He does and the slight discomfort gives way to pleasure as he slowly buries himself in your heat again and again. It feels so different - He feels so different - from all the men you've been with that it makes you want to cry with the revelation.

“You okay?” He mumbles again and you nod, placing your hands on his shoulders to steady yourself as you beg:” Harder, please.”

Agent Ortega silently obeys, changing his angle so that he is hitting your cervix with each thrust and you almost yell at the glorious feeling that starts forming in your stomach as your fingers dig into his skin.

“Come on, darlin. Come for me. Just for me .” 

You whimper as your climax hits you seemingly out of nowhere and you can hear him curse under his breath as he quickly tries to pull out of you.

“Please don't-” You whimper silently and he looks at you, face somewhere between pleasure and surprise before he gives in, letting your muscles draw him back inside as you clench down on him, drawing out both your orgasms.

He looks down and moans your name at the sight of his seed spilling out of you and running down the base of his cock, that is slowly starting to soften inside of you.

Later, after he has cleaned you up, you are in his arms, your naked limbs entangled in between the sheets. He is stroking your hair slowly, occasionally leaning down to give in to the sweet promise of another kiss.

“Maybe I should take you with me. Back to Santa Fe.” He mumbles and you sigh softly, pressing your hand against his chest:” And why would you do that?”

He stays quiet. When you realize that there is no response coming, you raise your head a bit, glancing up at his face. His eyes are soft as he looks at you in a way you don't think anyone else ever has.

You answer your own question.

“ You care about me .”

He gives the tiniest of nods, smiling a little as he leans down and kisses your forehead softly.

”Get some sleep. I'll be here in the morning.”

___________________________________

notes: thank you for reading! feel free to leave me a comment if you want more agent ortega or if you want to give some feedback. love you all <3