#okay it’d be just plain chaos

[bubblegumbullshit]

@danielhowell and @amazingphil on great british bake off when??

[saphirered]

Caged Birds Don't Sing

And here's the third and final part of this request! You can find part two here. I hope you have all enjoyed this little angsty piece as much as I have. Happy reading my darlings! 😘

You walk among the gore and decay, stepping over those who have left this world and the horrors that tore them away. You hear the wails be they cries of pain, of grief or relieve. You’re covered in grime, head to toe. The silk and gossamer had been exchanged for steel and leather but the burden is equally heavy. You just wander. No purpose. No direction. You hear the faintest echo pierce through your hazy mind. The world is numb. You are numb and waiting for it all to come crashing down, for the realisation to hit you viciously. You’re free. You’re free of her, free of it all. You were a fool to think it’d magically all be better. All those sacrifices you made, they were a blood price for this. The goal was reached but the price steep. You find your gaze connecting to the eyes of one who paid the price for your silence. The White Wolf of Doranelle steps up to you. You can see his lips moving. He speaks your name but his words are a distant echo. He grabs onto your arm and gently shakes you. 

Fenrys saw you walking among the corpses and chaos. You looked like an angel of death among them; reaping the souls of the fallen and walking them to the afterlife. Once upon a time he might have jested you looked horrible, that the battlefield did not suit you and you should return to your life of finery, that blood tarnishes even the prettiest diamonds. You might have clapped back but he knows now you won’t. You’re too far out of it. You don’t even respond when he calls your name. He realises why when he shakes you, when he sees that hand you had clasped over your abdomen move, and sees that blood and gore is not your enemy’s. You’re ashen, and have lost your radiance. You could never be plain but this must have been the closest you’d ever got to it. He’s all too aware how you straighten your back, you don’t even feel the pain anymore but still make it a point to appear presentable, as if you’re ready to meet your end.

“Have you come to finish the job yourself?” There’s an airiness to your voice. You’re ready. You know what’s coming. It’s all lead to this. “It’s okay, Fenrys. I’m ready to face the consequences of my actions.” Conflict crosses his features so you reassure him. You find it with yourself to take his hand and guide it to his sword. He doesn’t shake you off nor stop you. Still he looks conflicted. 

“I used to dream of this moment,” He starts holding onto that sword but then he takes your hand instead, placing it over your abdomen and keeps pressure on it. “But I was wrong. I know what you did. I know why. It wasn’t worth it. You did what you could to be selfless, to protect and preserve. You did it at the expense of so many others.” Fenrys thinks for a second while you take in his words. He continues no less. 

“How is it any different than any of this? Why do you deserve to die when we’ve done just the same? When I’ve done just the same in those years of service. It doesn’t make it right but I know I’ll be spending the rest of my days making things right. You are clever and quick witted. You see through lies and deception, and are a master of persuasion. You are stubborn and thickheaded and annoying but most of all you can be a complete and utter bitch. We need that. We need you.” 

“For now I would like to see the stars.” One last time… You don’t say it but something in your heart knows this to be true. The sun is close to set. You don’t even know how long you’d been wandering the fields. It might have been eternity. You knew it would end here on the battlefield. You knew this life of yours would come to an end with Fenrys standing there in front of you. That was your curse wasn’t it? You knew how it would end for Maeve but you never gave her the opportunity to get rid of those who would lead to her downfall prematurely. You had no intention of changing this moment of yours either. It’s best to not mess with the way things are supposed to be. You learned that lesson the hard way. 

Fenrys sees the solemn distance in your eyes. He cannot begin to imagine what runs through your head, not even now he knows the gravity of your life, of the burden you’ve carried ever since you met him. He doesn’t envy you. He simply nods and throws your arm over his shoulder and lifts you as if you were no more than a rag doll. If you wish to see the stars then you will witness them away from death and ruin. With what energy he replenished he takes you to the beautiful hills of some forgotten place. As the last light of the sun sets over the horizon and the grasses rustle in the wind he sets you down. He debates if he should sit down next to you but then he feels the gentle tuck on his sleeve. You stare up at him with bright and peaceful eyes and he finds himself lowering next to you. How is it in the aftermath of it all you have become the embodiment of peace among the chaos? How is he feels that pleasant relief and release now he is near you? 

Together you sit until the silver speckles fill the night’s sky. The air grows cooler, and the wind dances ever so lightly; the only sound of the rustling blades of grass banishing the echoes of haunted clashing steel. You feel warm and comfy and cozy so you slowly lay down and gaze up. An easy smile graces your features, even when you see Fenrys at your side. If someone had told you you’d be here right now in this very moment, you’d have called them fool. Yet here you are. Here he is and he stares at you with something you can’t quite place. There’s pity, regret but that’s as far as you can uncover. 

“It was easy to hate you for all she did to us. We couldn’t do anything about Maeve, loyal or not but you… I see now it wasn’t right- I don’t know- I think what I’m trying to say is I’m sorry it had come to this.” Fenrys stumbles over his words. For that smooth talking and quick-witted fae he is known to be he half expected you to give him shit for it. He’s surprised you don’t. You just smile up at the stars. 

“I’m sorry too. For everything. I wish I could have done better.” There are so many words you want to speak but don’t have the energy for to voice them nor does it seem to be the moment to bring up that horrible past now the healing can finally begin. 

He watches as you struggle to breathe a little. He adjusts, lifts your head and sits behind you so you may lean against him. Throughout his weeks of torture, you’d been the one to clean up the mess. You’d been the one to nurture his wounds and held him while he slept. He’d refused your help at first solely for the fact he hated you, or told himself he did. He meant what he said; it was easy to hate you, to blame you and tell himself you were the villain in the story. You patched him up. You’d given his brother a final resting place when no one else dared to. You’d lied to Maeve’s face about it too. You’d risked it all for him. How could he hate you now knowing what he knows? You’ve been so strong but so broken for so long. You deserve your peace. You deserve the one thing you asked for. He’ll keep you company just as you kept him. That’s what he tried to tell himself at least. 

Hatred can turn from many things. Fenrys is not ashamed to say he’d miss you if you’d become another casualty of this grand scheme of Maeve’s. You asked to see the stars for a reason, thinking it’d be the last thing you’d see. He’ll be damned if he doesn’t try. Your odds might not be looking good but he knows you’re stubborn. He brushes some tangles from your hair with his fingers. 

“Then do better. I dare you to do better, you stubborn little bitch.” He speaks with a laugh. You tilt your head backwards more to look at him and manage to raise an eyebrow, sniffling a snort.

“What?” You’re confused but something within you sparks beneath the surface of your skin. You’d never been one to back down from a challenge set by a furry bastard. A part of your mind asks the right questions; why should you stop now?

“You heard me.” He guides you into a sitting position and pats your cheek. “Think you can’t do it? You lost your game, sunshine.” 

“Fenrys, now is not-“ He places a hand over your mouth and your next words are muffled. You try to remove it but can’t get a grasp.

“No no. I expect a grand apology for all the years of slander of my esteemed character. Besides, if I’m going to do this ambassador thing, I need you to write me a good reference. It’s the least you could do.” He lowers his hand just in time for you to snort.

“Ambassador? You? You don’t even know the first thing about basic etiquette, let alone foreign etiquettes. You’ll start a war within the week.” There’s that spark again. There’s that life in your eyes, that chaos among the calm that he’s hated facing only to be reminded it was the only consistent thing, the thing he took joy in over all these years. It was easy to hate you and blame you but it was never truly satisfying. Fenrys had found great satisfaction in challenging you, teasing you because despite everything, you made a worthy opponent who would meet his challenge. You were a sparring partner in a fight none of his friends could match. 

“What you gonna do about it? Stop me? I’d like to see you try.” He crosses his arms and raises his chin in defiance. Your lips part and you scoff shaking your head. “You can spend the rest if your life looking at the stars right here or you can tell me exactly how I fucked up the precious table settings and ate with the wrong cutlery. Hell, you can even judge me for all the princess I’ll sleep with and haunt me for being banished from nations. Someone needs to know what they’re doing and I sure as hell don’t.” He’s not wrong. He doesn’t know what he’s doing and you do. When he looks forward on his own, all he sees is shortcomings and the need to learn. he could be taught and would be of course. And he’s not completely incompetent but when he looks at you, if he had you with him, he feels safe and confident. 

“Only an idiot would leave you unsupervised.” You’re not wrong and you can see the horrible scenarios play in your mind of Fenrys running half naked out of a country or greatly offending a court for not knowing their customs. He’d be a mess. You know no amount of tutors could put up with his bullshit or have the dog pay attention for more than five minutes. 

“Well then, hello there idiot. You’re my supervisor. Now let’s get you to a healer and a bath because frankly you reek of death.” You feel your heart beat in your ears, feel the rush of blood when he reaches out his hand and offers it to you. He needs you. And in a way you need him. You need Fenrys to remind you what it feels to be alive because that’s what he’s done. He’s taken many hurtful blows to your armour in the past but when you were at a loss, you knew him to be consistent, you knew what to expect and when it mattered most, you had each other despite it all, despite the hatred you had for each other. It won’t be an easy road but then again nothing about Fenrys is easy except maybe his tendency to share his bed with others. You sigh and close your eyes. You nod as you place your hand in his. 

“I’m going to regret this, aren’t I?” 

“Eternally.”

“You better make it worth my time.” The look he gives you when you speak those words; the one that is filled with the most indecent thoughts, tells you enough. 

“You’re the only person who’s ever shared my bed and I haven’t fucked. We can change that.” He teases. Old habits die hard but he’ll never go out of his way to let you know you’re his type. Previously it would be followed by a comment of how your horrible attitude or the moment you’d open your mouth would be an instant mood kill. There’s no follow up comment. 

“I’d like to see you try.” You couldn’t resist the urge to make that comment, to set that challenge and while your initial thought is you’d regret this, everything else screams you won’t. You just won’t make it easy on him. Fenrys laces his fingers with yours, gently pulling your entwined hands towards him and therefore urging you forward. Cocky bastard. 

“How about a kiss first? I’m told it leaves the many wanting for so much more. You up for the challenge?” You don’t answer but instead close the distance and so his lips meet yours. He’s damned. He’s down the rabbit hole and falling forever more. He’s breathless. Few people managed to get him so and he’d be damned if he’d let you win that easily. He’ll still take great pleasure in this moment but when your lips finally part, he has the both of you falling through the worlds and reappear in the healer’s ward. 

“I hate you.” You groan.

“And you can hate me even more after you’re all patched up.” 

[justdontaskme]

Celebrations For You (Alexia Putellas x Reader)

A/N: Thought I would try my hand at writing for woso. Maybe be my one and only. Not sure yet. Hopefully the fluff will help with the horrible news we heard today. Let me know what you guys think!

It really sucked being left off the latest USWNT roster due to a nagging ankle injury you picked up at the end of your club season. With qualifiers for the World Cup coming up, you really felt like your spot on the national team was in jeopardy, no matter how many times Vlatko insisted it was just a precaution to keep you from sustaining further injuries. 

However, that did free you up enough to travel around England, following your girlfriend and your club teammates around for the summer. You had unfortunately missed out on the trip to Ibiza, having to return to the States for your sister’s graduation. Your stay in America was extended when you found out the girls would be starting national team camp not long after.

The original plan was that you would meet the Spaniards in England just before their kickoff game for the Euros, but when you learned about the significance of the Italy game, you knew you had to go there yourself. 

So, with the help of Leila, your best friend on the team, you booked a flight for Italy, planning on meeting the team at the stadium. Your girlfriend was kept in the dark as you wanted it to be a surprise. 

Decked out in one of Alexia’s old Spain jerseys and a plain black hat, you stepped out of the taxi, thanking the driver. You quickly texted Leila that you were outside, waiting by the entrance, leaning against the wall with your bag by your side. 

You waited patiently, fighting the urge to pick up the phone and call Alexia just to hear her voice and wish her luck before the game. Instead, you sent her a sweet good luck text and a promise to call as soon as you could. 

At the sound of approaching footsteps, you pushed yourself off the wall to see Leila making her way towards you. You grabbed your bag and met her halfway. 

“Hola, amiga. We’ve missed you,” Leila wrapped you up in a big hug before Ona came from behind to jump on your back. You swayed a little at the sudden impact, but immediately righted yourself, supporting the girl with your arms under her legs. 

“I’m so happy to see you,” Ona said, hugging you tight from behind. It’d been quite awhile since you had last seen her. 

“Missed you too, Onita,” turning your head just enough to catch the smile on her face. “How’s the team?”

“You mean, how’s Alexia?” Ona teased. 

You shrugged, not even embarrassed to be so easily read, “How is she?”

“She’s been moping since you left,” Leila answered, starting to lead the three of you back into the stadium, “she keeps staring at her phone waiting for you to call.”

Ona nodded her head frantically, “Yeah and she almost yelled at Patri when she grabbed her phone.”

Your eyebrows furrowed at the news, “Poor, Patri. But she’s okay?”

“She’ll be a lot happier now that you’re here,” Leila said, patting your back and telling Ona to get off your back. She motioned to one of the staff members. “She’ll show you to your seat and then bring you down to the tunnel at the end of the game.

“Thank you,” you gave them both a hug for their troubles, wishing them luck as they jogged back out to the pitch. 

Following the woman to your seat, you settled in, thanking her for the help. As much as you loved the game and your teammates, you couldn’t help but be slightly envious. It had been a hard couple of weeks not being able to play. But you forced yourself to quickly get over it, so you could cheer your friends on.

Throughout the game, you could see their frustrations as the Italians managed to slip one by, and even more so when they couldn’t finish their chances on goal. Despite all the chaos, you continued to cheer loudly for all of them, knowing that they could pull it together before time was up. 

When Alexia had scored in the 67th minute, you were out of your seat, screaming and shouting your praises, even if she couldn’t hear you. Your girl was the best footballer in the world for a reason, and she never ceased to impress. 

As the game rounded out in a tie, you made your way back down to the tunnel to wait for everyone to come in. You greeted some of your Barca teammates as they passed by before sending them on their way. 

It didn’t take long before you could hear Alexia’s voice coming your way. You kept your head down as the voices got closer, waiting for the right moment to reveal yourself. 

You peeked out from under your hat to spy Alexia with Mapi, heading towards the locker room, not even sparing you a second glance. You rolled your eyes at your girlfriend’s obliviousness. 

“Hola, La Reina,” you called out, your voice echoing slightly in the tunnel. 

The midfielder’s head whipped around at the sound of your voice. Her face displayed a wide range of emotions in such a short amount of time. First it was shock, then confusion, quickly followed by utter joy. 

“Mi amor,” she rushed you and instantly fell into your awaiting arms. “What are you doing here?”

No answer, you just focused on having her in your arms again. While in actuality it hadn’t been that long since you’d last seen her, a day without Alexia could feel like a lifetime to you. You hid your face in the crook of her neck, not even minding the fact that she was still all sweaty from the game. 

You reveled in her warm touch, the familiar weight of her head resting on your shoulder as she rubbed your back up and down. Judging by her tight grip on you, she missed you just as much as you had missed her. 

“I didn’t know you were coming,” she said, leaning back just enough to see your face clearly. “What are you doing here? I thought you were still with your family?”

You smiled back, pecking her lips gently, “I heard it was Mapi’s special day. Fifty caps is something to celebrate,” you said, raising a hand for the blonde waiting on the side to high five. 

Mapi’s laugh was infectious as Alexia continued to stand within your embrace with a small pout on her face. 

“I guess 100 is pretty cool, too,” you teased, laughing as she pushed you away from her. Quickly, you grabbed her hand and pulled her back into you. “I came to celebrate with you, of course.”

With a roll of your eyes, you leaned back in for a proper kiss this time. You sighed at the feeling, no complaints when Alexia decided to deepen it, her body flush against your own.

You vaguely remember hearing Mapi scoff lightly at being ignored before announcing she would see you later. At least that’s what you thought she said. You couldn’t be sure with the haze Alexia’s presence tended to put you in.  

When the two of you finally pulled away from each other, you nudged her nose with your own, your lips teasingly inches from her own. You felt her trying to catch your lips again, but you always turned just enough for her to miss, a smirk on your face at her groan of frustration. 

“Mi amor…” she whined. 

You rolled your eyes again before grabbing the back of her head and indulging the midfielder once again. Even after years of dating, you would never tire of the feel of her lips against yours. 

Eventually, the two of you had to pull away, your forehead resting against her own as you tried to catch your breath. 

“Congratulations, Ale. I’m so proud of you,” you whispered, not releasing her from your hold even though you heard more of her teammates making their way down the tunnel.

“Thank you,” she smiled back, leaning in for a quick peck. She was addicted to your lips and always felt the need to make up for lost time the second you two reunited. “It means the world coming from you.” 

“You’re amazing, you know that?” she scoffed lightly but thanked you nonetheless. “I love you, Ale.”

“Te amo mucho, mi amor,” the two of you stood there together enjoying each other’s presence. “We are going out to dinner after the game, will you come with us?”

“She’s already coming with us. She’s my date,” Leila teased, popping up out of nowhere and throwing an arm over your shoulders, gently extracting you from Alexia’s hold. 

One of your arms went around Leila’s waist to help steady yoursefl and you could only chuckle when you saw Alexia try, and fail miserably, to hide how her eyes narrowed at your hand’s new position. 

“But she promised to sit next to me,” Ona whined, squeezing herself under Leila’s arm and replacing her fellow defender in the spot next to you. 

You pressed a kiss to the side of Ona’s head, congratulating both the defenders on a game well played. The three of you continued talking for a moment while Alexia glared at the two for interrupting the moment. 

“Uh uh, she’s mine,” Alexia nearly growled, dragging you away from her friends as the two laughed at her response. 

“Learn to share, Putellas,” Leila laughed, her hand resting on the captain’s shoulder, but was quickly shrugged off. 

“Relax, Ale,” you said, reaching for her hand and intertwining your fingers, “they are just messing with you.”

“I don’t like it,” she pouted petulantly. 

You raised your free hand to try to smooth out the creases in her forehead as she scrunched up her face in dissatisfaction. 

“You know they only do it because they love you,” you told her, happy to see her tense shoulders sag and her eyes meet yours again. “Besides, they helped me get here today, so maybe you should thank them.”

Begrudgingly, Alexia turned towards her teammates, grumbling out her appreciation, which they knew she meant genuinely. She was just annoyed by the teasing. They clapped their hands against her back before taking their leave, promising to see you in a bit for dinner. 

“I don’t like sharing,” Alexia stated once you both were alone again. 

You laughed, pinching her side, “Be nice, they are your friends. Besides, you’ll have me all to yourself later tonight.”

“Yeah?”

Reaching into your back pocket, you pulled out a keycard, “Got us a room on a different floor.” 

Her eyes darkened considerably at the implications. Not even a second passed before she was surging forward again to capture your lips in a hard kiss. You allowed it, knowing Alexia needed to get it all out before dinner, otherwise she’d make some excuse for the two of you to leave early.

After allowing Alexia access to your lips for as long as she wanted, but was still appropriate, you gently pushed her back, “Save some for later, Ale.”

“I’ve got plenty more,” she answered back, but she relented, reaching down for your hand and directing you to the locker room. 

“Honestly though, congratulations, Ale. You really are La Reina,” you smirked when you saw the roll of her eyes. 

“Please, not you, too,” she groaned, walking into the crowded locker room, where all her teammates cheered as you finally joined them. 

“Someone has to keep you humbled,” you laughed, taking a seat inside Alexia’s locker as she got her stuff to shower.

“Fine, as long as that means you’re always with me.”

Leaning over you pressed a sloppy kiss to her cheek, “You’re stuck with me, until further notice, La Reina.”

“Care to join me?” she asked, her eyebrows wiggling suggestively as she tossed a towel over her shoulder. 

Even though you were tempted to, you quickly shooed her away, telling her you’d be waiting. You watched her walk away, blowing her a kiss when she turned back to you, which she gladly returned. 

While you may be frustrated with your own career at the moment, you couldn’t be happier to be here celebrating the career of the woman who had your heart.

[hunterxschafersxbitch]

chasin’

in response to @taylorkellyreporting‘s post:

“kay so who’s going to bite the bullet and write a fic where lexi follows fez out the house after he beats the living shit out nate? i think it’d be so good bc he’s sure he’s lost any chance with her, right? but here she is, checking to see if he’s okay and telling him how to heal his hands”

my sleep-deprived ass saw this at 5am and spawned this lmao

_____________________________________________________________________

at this point, it seems to just be a known fact of the universe that nothing ever happens to lexi howard. 

she’s the quiet, helpful, responsible one. 

however, she finds herself chasing down a (kind, gorgeous, azure-eyed) drug dealer after he just beat the shit out of nate jacobs on new years. 

and she doesn’t quite know why, or even what she’s doing.

she's just running after him. 

_____________________________________________________________________

lexi doesn’t even realise that she’s following him outside until the night air hits her face. fresh and cold, the breeze brushes her lightly as she runs after the retreating figure in the white t-shirt. 

fez.

for a split second, she considers returning inside, helping untangle the chaos there. 

she had watched nate go down, watched familiar shapes and faces forming a crowd of tangled limbs on the floor. cassie, maddy, mckay, kat. 

lexi had just let them pass by, rooted to the spot. she wasn’t concerned for nate in the slightest. she didn’t know how to feel about that. 

it was another face she silently sought out in the throng of people. she caught a glimpse of a chain and a white shirt in between onlookers, and her feet started to move of their own accord.

cassie, drunk as she was, would undoubtedly need a shoulder to support her stumble home (or to lexi’s car, but getting cassie up the stairs to their shared room is always lexi’s least favourite part of the night).

someone had to clean up, get the bloodstains out of the carpet. someone had to be responsible. and always, always, always, that someone was lexi. sometimes she internally joked that her name should be ‘she who remained to help hide the evidence of teenage antics whilst everyone was filtering out or fucking or falling asleep’.  she’d figured that it was a bit of a mouthful. no way she could print that on a business card, she’d muse. she was a ghost. the help. 

but she thinks of fez’s eyes and the way her smiled at her. lexi can hardly remember the last time anyone - let alone a guy - paid attention to her like that. 

her thoughts seem to unconsciously propel her forward, until she’s almost caught up to him. 

he turns towards the sound, of course. his face goes through a myriad of expressions that lexi can’t quite place (anger? fear? resignation?) as she comes to a stop in front of him. his hand reaches out to steady her, but stops short at the last second. 

a beat passes. 

“you-“ lexi starts. “I’m sorry-“ fez says simultaneously, then cuts himself off. “you first.”

“i- i just meant to ask, are you okay?” she asks, taking in his expression. he’s looking at her oddly, like he can’t quite believe she’s there.  

“I’m all good,” he says, his eyes still intensely meeting hers. 

what the fuck was she supposed to say to him? ‘good that you’re good?’ ‘thank you for beating the shit out of nate jacobs?’ 

“i’ve been wanting to do that for years,” is what comes out of her mouth in a slightly higher-pitched tone that doesn’t quite sound like it belongs to her. 

fez’s face almost curls into a full grin and he lets out a small chuckle. “yeah? what else you got goin’ on up there in that head of yours, lexi?”

he sounds playful, and if lexi were any other girl, she would be sure that fez was flirting. but she wasn’t. she was plain ol’ lexi howard. faithful. naive. responsible. 

lexi blushes. “sorry. i don’t know why i said that. it’s not like it isn’t true, but its just not something i thought i’d ever say out loud. nate - he’s just been a fully-formed dick since like, birth.”

“what, like, he popped out and jus like, told the nurse she was a cunt or somethin?” he chuckles again, and lexi can’t help but sneak a glance up at him for a second. 

fez is illuminated by streetlights, and the stark shadows they cast on his face make him look like a tragic hero from one of her novels. despite the comparison, his expression is kind and he’s back to being the fez she met, holding little trace of the way he looked when he was beating nate jacobs, local douchebag extraordinaire, with a beer bottle and his bare fists. 

she looks down quickly, realising that she’s staring, and blushes. “yeah, something like that,” she laughs quietly, not quite able to meet his gaze out of sheer embarrassment, eyes trailing down to look at her shoes. 

that’s when she notices his hands.

“you’re bleeding,” she frowns, and before she can stop herself, she takes his hands to examine the mottled shades of red and brown and violet and blue. 

“ain’ nothin i haven’t had before,” fez says gently. “no need to stress.”

brows furrowed, lexi lightly presses on each one of his phalanges, and to her relief, none appear broken. “its not broken, but you have to clean this up properly, fez,” she chides, not unkindly. 

“i can’t go to no hospital, lex.” the nickname doesn’t go unnoticed, but lexi has more immediate things to think about. plus, she’s inevitably going to pick apart every part of this interaction when she’s alone in bed. 

“you don’t need to. you need to clean this up with alcohol - not the booze kind, the sterilising kind - and wrap these with clean bandages. cold compresses too, for the swelling.”

“i’m fine,” fez attempts to repeat. but his hands don’t look like they’re fine. 

“don’t say you’re fine, fez. this looks like it hurts. and these things can get worse if you don’t look after them. you might need a hospital if you can’t move your fingers anymore cause your knuckles swelled up.”

“forreal?” fez sounds slightly alarmed, and instantly lexi can’t help but wonder if anyone has ever taken care of his injuries before. of him before. 

she resolves to put on a smile for him, tries to come off as reassuring. “but that’s not gonna happen, okay? you listen to me and you’ll be fine. now, do you have a first aid kit?”

“yeah, no,” he says quietly. “usually i just deal with it, yaknow?” 

“i’ve got one in my car. do you want-“ lexi realises she might be crossing a boundary and trails off. she’s only met him tonight and here she is, for all the world ostensibly trying to lure him back to her car like a serial killer, spouting scary worst-case-scenarios and first aid nonsense. she goes to backpedal, but fez opens his mouth first. 

“ash is s’posed to show up any second now,” fez starts, and lexi tries to hide the disappointment in her face, her doubts about fez’s interest seemingly confirmed. it makes perfect sense that he was just being friendly for the sake of being friendly, and her dumb ass just blew things out of proportion. “but you could swing by my place in a bit?”

lexi pauses.

she has two options - to go or to stay. earlier tonight, fez called her fuckin fearless, sounding almost awestruck. but she doesn’t feel fearless. 

in her mind, she feels like a fucking idiot, falling all over some guy cause he paid the slightest bit of attention to her. he was probably just being nice, seeing as she was rue’s friend and all. just being nice, listening to her babble out facts and self-deprecating thoughts interchangably. she didn’t always notice when the way she felt about herself spilled into conversation for people to hear, but since when had anyone picked up on it, much less called her out on it like fez had done tonight?

come to think of it, when was the last time anyone had properly ever looked at her? just to see her? and not because she was cassie howard’s little sister or a source of clean urine for rue or a friend of maddy’s or kat’s or bb’s?

yet, an endlessly hopeful part some part of her replays their conversation, the way he said that talking to her was one of the best parts of his year and that he missed her when she went to go look for cassie. that part of her fills her brain with the way he smiled shyly over at her, the way he was careful not to blow the smoke from his blunt into her direction, the way he seemed genuinely interested in what she was saying.

an instant later, she makes up her mind.

“yo, you good?” fez looks at her, concerned. 

“oh, yeah, definitely,” she flashes him a quick smile. she shakes her head slightly, as if to dispel her internal dialogue. “you should take my first aid kit, if you don’t have the time for me to patch you up now. i’ll come by sometime soon and check up on you.”

fez looks a little disappointed, but lexi is adamant that she’s just imagining it. “yo, forreal. thank you. i owe you one, lexi howard.”

lexi narrows her eyes slightly. “wait, how do you know my last name?”

“rue talks about you sometimes. i jus didn’t know how to start talking to you when you sat next to me cause you looked real pretty and-“ fez’s confession is cut short by the continuous blaring of a car horn being abused. 

the aforementioned ash, lexi presumes. she doesn’t know what or whom she had been picturing (maybe something resembling the kid from pokemon?), but a kid with face tats and an urgent, angry expression is definitely not it. 

“fez! get in the fuckin car!” the kid yells 

lexi fumbles for her keys and runs the short distance to her car, yanking the door open and pulling out the first aid kit from the passenger side compartment. she slams the car door shut and hands the kit to fez. 

“go, before the cops show up,” she orders him. he nods at her and jumps into the waiting vehicle, which speeds off as immediately as it arrived.

lexi stands there in the middle of the street, watching the shape of the car get smaller and smaller until it turns a corner and disappears into the night. 

[goodnightmemes]

DEXTER SEASON TWO SENTENCE STARTERS (PART TWO)

Lines taken from 2x07-2x12 of the show Dexter. Feel free to change pronouns or edit in any way to better fit your needs. Here is part one.

❛ I thrive on chaos. But this is good, too. ❜

❛ I had to do a little creative problem-solving at someone else's expense. ❜

❛ Pardon my tits. ❜

❛ Are you trying to fuck her or set her on fire? ❜

❛ Sometimes the truth speaks from a peaceful place. It's taken me a long time to find that place, but I think I have, and it's telling me you're not the right one for me. I'm so sorry. ❜

❛ Is that what I am? Clean? 'cause I don't feel that way at all. ❜

❛ No, I won't do that. I won't let you turn me into you. ❜

❛ Hope you don't expect me to comment on that so you can record it on your hidden tape recorder. I wasn't born yesterday. ❜

❛ Your past is a bigger mystery than fucking Jimmy Hoffa. ❜

❛ No matter what you try, no matter when, no matter how hard you work, I'll always be a step ahead of you for one simple reason. I own you. ❜

❛ When I'm alone and it's quiet, I get scared shitless, like I start hearing what's really going on inside. ❜

❛ 'Cause when you're around, I kind of feel like I can deal with anything, you know? ❜

❛ I've always worked best in the shadows, and that's where I have to stay. ❜

❛ You can't go back. You know that. ❜

❛ You are not allowed to talk about anyone I date as long as you're seeing little Miss "pardon my tits." ❜

❛ She is obviously a vampire. A gross english-titty vampire. ❜

❛ Can't change who I am. I'm crass and dirty, and...I have a very filthy mind. ❜

❛ Jesus Christ. They sell anyone a gun in Florida, won't they? ❜

❛ That man. He wasn't trying to rob you. He was trying to kill you. ❜

❛ Nothing you could do,___, would scare me. ❜

❛ Whatever comes, we'll get through this together. I'm not leaving your side. ❜

❛ I need to embrace who I am, who I've always been. ❜

❛ It's like I've been living underwater, holding my breath, and now I can finally breathe. ❜

❛ ___ almost had me believing it was possible to change, to become something else, as if that ever really happens. I've always known what I am. ❜

❛ I'm finding it's best to accept things you can't change, you know? ❜

❛ Is this the monster that you keep telling me about? ❜

❛ Trust me, when you meet the monster, you'll know. ❜

❛ Nice. My subconscious isn't even bothering with symbolism. ❜

❛ I feel...such regret, which is rare for me. But not that I don't mess up. I do...just never so stupendously. ❜

❛ If they're looking for proof, they won't find it. Not here at least. ❜

❛ Then maybe you should come with us, because who knows what secrets will come ❜ pouring out of me once the drinks start flowing. ❜

❛ I'm done with it and you. Did I not make that clear last night? ❜

❛ Those friends of yours, they didn't even know you. They just see the mask, but I see it all. ❜

❛ Can't live with her. Can't kill her. ❜

❛ Fuck! I'm talking about my feelings. What the fuck is your problem? ❜

❛ I've always sensed there was something... off about him. Like he's hiding in plain sight. ❜

❛ If you got in the middle of this and you got hurt… ❜

❛ The only way I can help you is if you turn yourself in. ❜

❛ Don't you disappear on me. ❜

❛ I want you to know that you meant a lot to me, more than you know, and... I just want to thank you for that. ❜

❛ If I never see her again, it'll be too soon. ❜

❛ Sleep would be nice, but there's too much to do. ❜

❛ Okay, I may be sleeping with him, but it doesn't mean he tells me shit or listens to me about anything, so stop asking! ❜

❛ That's right, motherfucker! It's over. ❜

❛ I knew there was something with you. But this shit? ❜

❛ What can I say? You were right about me. I never held it against you. I don't now. ❜

❛ It's a graze wound. Minor tissue abrasion. No hemorrhage along the bullet track. Sorry. I think I'm gonna live. ❜

❛ If you're not gonna let me go, then kill me now. Just get it over with. ❜

❛ You're a killer. I catch killers. ❜

❛ So it's okay to take a life as long as you get a paycheck for it? ❜

❛ Either kill me or set me free. ❜

❛ Taking a life is one thing, but the care and feeding of it is another. ❜

❛ I'm generally confused most of the time. ❜

❛ You ever care about anyone? Then you shouldn't have to ask. 'Cause when you care about someone, you do what you have to do. ❜

❛ I remember when life was easy, when the only question I worried about was "who's next?" Now it's: "How can I dodge my protective detail? "What should I do with my hostage?" These are not easy questions. ❜

❛ It's not about what I think. It's all about the evidence. ❜

❛ Hair-pulling may not be manly, but it's very effective. ❜

❛ If he wanted me dead, I'd be dead by now. ❜

❛ You are the only one I can count on, jackass. ❜

❛ It puts a pit in my stomach that I can only interpret as... sadness. ❜

❛ You working on an exit strategy? I'm afraid that's not gonna happen. ❜

❛ How come there's never a circus when you need one? ❜

❛ What was that shit last night? Some kind of fucking scare tactic? ❜

❛ Don't test me. I could have killed you. I didn't. ❜

❛ You're actually angry. I've never seen you angry. This is good. ❜

❛ I should warn you. You can't play on my feelings. I don't have any. ❜

❛ It's a tough job. It can wear on even the best of us. ❜

❛ I yell a lot...and bitch and complain, and I keep expecting people to guess what I want, but I never really say it. ❜

❛ And that was exciting, you know? The not knowing. What might happen, what could be. It was all possibility. ❜

❛ Your life is going to rest in the hands of the criminal justice system you put all your faith in. I wish you the best of luck. ❜

❛ You need help. Let me help you. ❜

❛ You don't have to do this! You don't have to kill this man! ❜

❛ Sorry it had to go down like this. But there really was no other way. ❜

❛ Stay away. Just stay away from me. ❜

❛ Did you happen to be stuffing a human leg into a garbage bag at that point? ❜

❛ There's that anger again. You got to let that out. ❜

❛ You're spinning. Let me help you. It's only a matter of time before you'll hurt someone else. ❜

❛ Take responsibility for who you are. ❜

❛ Why can't you just let me go? ❜

❛ If I got to choose a person... A real person... to be like, out of anyone, it'd be you. ❜

❛ Who joined who in the shower this morning? ❜

❛ For such a neat monster, I'm making an awfully big mess. ❜

❛ Maybe this is how evil works. Destroying everything it touches. ❜

❛ I've been held prisoner in a cabin for two fucking days. Fucking hellhole. ❜

❛ After everything we've been through lately, I just want... to be together with you guys. ❜

❛ You told me to take responsibility for what I am. You were right. ❜

❛ I can't live in this house of cards anymore, waiting for it all to fall down. I need to do something, you know? ❜

❛ If I do this, I need a day to get my affairs in order. ❜

❛ Mention that when they interview you for the story of my life. ❜

❛ Don't leave me in this cage, anything could happen. ❜

❛ I lie to everyone I know... except my victims right before I kill them. It's hard to establish much of a rapport there. ❜

❛ Sorry about the cage. ❜

❛ I've always been curious to try. Do you have any weed? ❜

❛ Love's a battlefield. Or in your case, a restraining order. ❜

❛ When a pretty girl smiles and bats her eyelashes, we're powerless to resist. ❜

❛ I met with a lawyer yesterday. He helped me prepare a living trust that gives you control of all my assets in the event of my death or... certain other situations. ❜

❛ God. Go away. This is creepy. ❜

❛ I'm free tonight, you wanna stop by? We'll have beer, a couple of steaks? I wanna talk to you about something. ❜

❛ I just need you to know that... you and the kids are very important to me. No matter what happens, I want you to always know that. ❜

❛ I know I've been taking things slow with us, but it's not because I don't have feelings for you. It's more like I have too many feelings, and I just wanna make sure to get it right. ❜

❛ I want you gone. Tonight. ❜

❛ I've spent a lifetime keeping up my guard, watching my back, wearing my mask. Relief was never in sight until now. ❜

❛ Lately, I was starting to feel like I had my head pretty far up my ass. ❜

❛ You decide who you are, who you want to be...and you hold onto that and ride it out. ❜

❛ I need some help! Just open the door! I'm being held captive. ❜

❛ Damn, it's good to see another face. I never thought I would. ❜

❛ When something beyond reason happens, it turns skeptics into believers. ❜

❛ If you believe that God makes miracles, you have to wonder if Satan has a few up his sleeve. ❜

❛ I can't exactly feel their pain, but I can appreciate it. ❜

❛ I kinda forgot who I was. I got it straight now. ❜

❛ The term is homicidal maniac. Not that I'm judging. ❜

❛ A public place. You thought I was gonna...That I would slip my needle into your neck? ❜

❛ You're afraid of me now, aren't you? ❜

❛ You're emotionally color-blind. You use the right words, you pantomime the right behavior, but feelings never come to pass. ❜

❛ You know the dictionary definition of emotions: longing, joy, sorrow...You have no idea of what any of those things actually feel like. ❜

❛ I created a monster of my own. ❜

❛ What did you do to make her so pathetically crazy for you? Does your dick dance? ❜

❛ What're we doing home in the middle of the day? She asked, hoping for sex. ❜

❛ Why? Why do I have to make up my mind? ❜

❛ I've never put much weight onto the idea of a higher power. But if I didn't know better, I'd have to believe that some force out there wants me to keep doing what I'm doing. ❜

❛ As it turns out, nobody mourns the wicked. ❜

❛ Am I evil? Am I good? I'm done asking those questions. I don't have the answers. ❜

[justnerdthings]

Frigid Heart Ch. 4

F!Reader x Bi-Han

Okay. I'm not feeling so well, so this chapter might not seem as well written as the others. But, I'm also not so great with action. I hope you enjoy it anyway.

@poor-unfortunate-soul-85 @whitelotusfighter @icy-spicy @crazytxgradstudent @d-taslim @bihansthot @legends-of-apex @lillikue @missroro

Bi-Han was chopping wood when you returned late in the afternoon. The girls were still talking when you left, and you were sure they were still talking as you walked towards your master. Thema had braided your hair. She’d weaved in some blue flowers to match Sub-Zero’s robes. Cho had painted your lips a deep red. Suki had made-up your eyes. And Margita? She’d shown you how to properly carry yourself.

Snowflake had beamed at your finished look. “You’re so pretty!” She’d told you. Snowflake was sure once the scars faded, that you’d quickly catch the eye of the Grandmaster, himself. But when the girls had told you what the Grandmaster did with his girls… You weren’t so sure you wanted your scars to heal.

Bi-Han looked up as you came into view. You could see his brow furrow at you, as if he hadn’t recognized you, but it quickly faded as you stepped closer. You caught the slightest hint of him fighting a smirk before he turned away, back to the wood. “Did you enjoy yourself?” He asked before swinging his axe down, easily splitting the wood. You eye’d the odd colored axe for a moment before you realized it was made of ice, just like his blade from yesterday.

“Yes,” you answered plainly. “I’d never been to a hot spring before.”

“Well, now you can’t say that,” he said, setting up another log. “I see you’ve met Cyrax’s servant.”

You blinked and reached for your braid that was draped over your shoulder. You ran your fingers over it gently and admired the small flowers. A reddish hue painted your cheeks as you remembered something Thema had told you. “Do you… Like it, Master?”

Bi-Han swung his axe again. The wood split just as easily as the last and fell off the block. “It looks nice,” he told you without looking back at you.

You didn’t mind that he hadn’t looked at you again. It actually took some of the pressure away. But his answer still made a sheepish smile come to your face.

“I shot some grouses earlier—” He’d begun.

“I’ll get right to them!” You interrupted, a bit too zealous. Your blush darkened when you caught him glance over his shoulder with a raised brow. He chuckled and looked back to his growing wood pile.

“Do that,” he told you.

You gave him a quick bow before hurrying off behind the house.

Two large grouse hung outside. Heads severed. A puddle of blood was below them. They’d been bled out. But that was the most Bi-Han had done with them. The rest was for you to handle.

Your sleeves had been tied up to avoid staining them. You’d have to ask about getting more clothes. Ones that were more practical, preferably. You didn’t want to ruin such nice clothes, even if they did seem plain and simple to everyone else.

With the grouses plucked and cleaned, you’d placed them both in a wide pot with several herbs. What vegetables you’d found were chopped and thrown in with them. A lid covered the pot before you carried it over to the hearth and carefully placed it. Soon enough it would be ready to eat. You would clean your mess for now.

You’d made quick work of the kitchen. Outside, you collected the bucket of feathers. Those could be used. Padding in armor. A pillow. Trading. They had use. You secured a lid on the bucket and set it aside carefully.

A deep, echoing growl had caught your attention. You knew that sound…

The sounds of horns alarmed the village. Your heart pounded and raced as voices shouted in the distance. Heavy thudding was coming closer. Monstrous snarls filled the forest. Bi-Han came around the house, looking in the direction of the commotion.

“Get inside,” he told you as he walked past you.

“Master—”

“Get inside!” he ordered as he ran into the forest.

You stepped back and towards the house, but stopped at the door as you heard blood curdling screams. Assassins from the village went charging after the screams. Trees fell in the distance, the cracking of their trunks sent shivers up your spine. You knew of only one beast that could snap trees in half with little effort and make hardened warriors cry in fear.

Ice beasts.

Your heart skipped a beat as the shouting grew closer. The ground beneath your feet was starting to shake with each step that beast made. No… Beasts. There was more than one.You jumped the next second as the treeline began to collapse in front of you.

A beast broke through a line of assassins with a mighty roar. Ice shards were sent flying in every direction. You ducked out of the way.

A large chunk of ice lodged itself into the wall of Bi-Han’s house. Your eyes grew at the sight. It’d only just missed you. The chill of adrenaline rushed through you as you looked back to the beast. It was quickly joined by another and you could still hear fighting deeper in the forest. Had it been a whole herd?

The two beasts stormed the village. Palace guards were pouring out. Servants were running for their lives. Just those two ice beasts were enough to destroy the courtyard. Assassins were being torn apart. The snow white coats of the ice beasts were stained red with blood. You were frozen in fear. You’d never seen such brutality. In your old village, ice beasts never attacked like this. One would appear in a fit occasionally. But they were quickly tamed. The Snow Ninja clan was gifted with being able to tame such beasts.

Lily had come out of the palace, blade in hand, the Grandmaster at her side with two blades in his hands. They wore matching armor as they watched their guards get thrown around like toys. More ice beasts broke through the treeline, charging into the village with such ferocity you hadn’t seen. You quickly moved to take cover as you watched the chaos.

Was this a common occurrence? Did the Lin Kuei often fight with the ice beasts? Did the ice beasts often attack the Lin Kuei with no warning? Both the Grandmaster and Lily charged into battle. Lily took every chance she could get to guard the Grandmaster. She reminded you of a female wolf guarding her alpha, putting herself between the beast and the Grandmaster, protecting his weak spots as they fought off one of the beasts.

Off to the side, smoke had begun to fill the village. You recognized it. It was the same kind of smoke that had covered your old village and blinded your old clan. It creeped along the ground and quickly engulfed the beasts to disorient them, leaving the Lin Kuei to freely attack with the new advantage. Explosions rocked the village. The ninja in red who you’d known as Sektor was firing hand cannons. The yellow ninja, Cyrax, was appearing and disappearing out of thin air around the battlefield.

A blue blur whipped by you. You recoiled and ducked behind the stone wall as ice crystals rained over you. A strong hand gripped your arm and pulled you away just in time as a beast’s foot came down and destroyed the spot of ground you’d been hiding in.

“Get out of here.” You turned to see it was Tundra who had saved you. But your brows knotted and you looked back. If Tundra hadn’t been the blue blur thrown past you…

Sub-Zero pushed himself up with a strained growl as the beast came barreling toward him. Your heart was about to jump right out of your chest. You looked back to Tundra with panic in your eyes. “You have to help him!” You screamed.

“Get out of here!” Tundra shouted. His eyes then shifted and he pulled you behind him. A wall of ice grew in front of him as a bolder came flying for the two of you. As it crashed into the ice wall, the ice cracked, only just barely able to hold back the attack. You ran. But not away.

“What are you doing!?” Tundra called after you as you ran around his wall and into the chaos. You grabbed a dead assassin’s sword as you ran for Sub-Zero. Blood was staining his clothes as he struggled to keep what surely was the alpha beast at bay. Bi-Han’s attacks were thwarted one after the other. He was pushed onto the defensive. Ice walls grew all around him, only to be knocked down by swings of the beast’s fists.

You did what you’d saw Lily do. You’d done what you were raised to do in your old village. You slid to a stop in front of an injured Bi-Han, facing the beast yourself. You couldn’t see Sub-Zero’s reaction, but he hadn’t shouted for you to leave like Kuai had. Your eyes locked on the beast’s. It swung a giant fist down and you jumped back to avoid it. Ice beasts were huge and powerful. But they were slow and dumb. This one had a strange look in its eyes. Something wasn’t right. You could feel it.

More attacks came from the beast. You dodged each one until you felt yourself back into Bi-Han. He grunted. He was leaned back against a tree. His breath was heavy in your ear as you stood your ground. The beast reached and grabbed the tree. The tree was pulled up from the ground, roots and all, and was tossed aside like a simple stick. You fell back with Bi-Han to the ground. As a massive foot was lifted, you threw your sword.

The beast let out an ear rupturing roar as the blade speared deep into its foot. Someone was grabbing you. You looked back to see Tundra again. His arm was wrapped around his brother as he tried to lift him and you to your feet. He swung you both around the next second. Another ice wall shot up from the ground as the beast sent its fist down. But the wall didn’t hold. It shattered, ice shards being sent in everywhere. You covered your face with your arms. What in the world had gotten into these ice beasts. They had usually been so peaceful in your old village.

You caught the strange eyes of the beast again. Your stomach sunk as a feeling of desperation came over you. You pushed past Kuai and rose to your feet. The beast roared at you as you stepped closer in defiance. Your eyes were locked on the beast’s. It seemed to take it as a challenge to its dominance. It slammed a fist into the ground, shaking everything around you. You managed to keep your footing as you stared down this abomination. “No.” You told it, stepping closer.

The beasts huffed, steam filling the air. It roared, sending icy spittle at you. You didn’t budge even as the tiny shards of ice stung your face. “No!” You shouted.

Another roar shook the trees around you. This beast seemed to be having trouble dealing with your defiance. Despite its injured foot, it backed up only a single step as it snorted. “NO!” You screamed with every ounce of air from your lungs.

The beast recoiled, stepping back further. You stepped closer. The beast dropped to all fours to support itself and raised its injured foot up. Its head shook as if trying to shake something off. You stepped closer. It grunted and snorted, unsure of your intention and kept backing away. You could hear Kuai trying to coax Bi-Han--trying to awaken him. Bi-Han must have passed out. You hoped, at least, that he’d only passed out. What would happen to you if he died? Your jaw hardened as you kept moving towards the beast.

It howled. The sudden cry jolted you, but you didn’t back away. You fought every instinct your body was screaming at you to turn and run. You kept your eyes right on the beast’s eyes and watched as clarity began to spread through them, like some veil had begun to lift.

The howl had signaled the rest of the ice beast to cease their attacks. Some were killed at the first sign of forfeit. Some were trapped. The rest had been given caution as they fled the village.

You were so close to the alpha now. You reached out as it lowered itself to your level. Those massive eyes turned the most brilliant shade of blue as they watched you. Your breath hitched when your hand finally touched, and rested, on the beast’s face. Your blood was roaring in your ears and your heart was shaking your whole chest as you stood there. The beast was heaving chilled breaths. Whatever spell this beast had been under, it seemed to have waned.

You let out a slow, calm breath as you stepped closer and placed your other hand on the beast. Your fingers combed through its thick fur. Oh, how you missed the feel of ice beast fur. So thick and coarse… But so warm when made into blankets or clothing. It backed away and you noticed it winced.

Its foot.

Slowly you broke eye contact with the beast and moved around it, letting your hand trail along its fur as you moved towards the injured foot. It snarled and you looked back to its eyes. It huffed, then moved to sit on the ground. You reached for the blade stuck in its foot and in one quick yank, pulled the blade clean out.

The beast howled again and pulled its foot away, guarding it.

Assassins had come running, shouting and readying their weapons. They were going to kill this beast. You couldn’t let that happen. You backed away from it and looked into its fearful eyes. “Go,” You told it.

You didn’t have to tell it twice. The beast quickly rose and took off deep into the forest. You then moved back to Kuai and Bi-Han as the assassins came. Bi-Han’s eyes were still closed. Kuai was watching you in disbelief as you dropped to your knees next to him. Bi-Han’s wounds were filled with ice, keeping them from bleeding.

“What happened?” the Grandmaster asked as he made his way to the front of the crowd. Kuai reluctantly shifted focus from you to his master. “He’s been injured.”

The Grandmaster stepped closer to get a better look. His expression was hidden behind his mask, but his eyes showed a level of sadness. He caught your eyes the next second, lifting a brow before they shifted to the sword in your hand, coated in blood. You quickly released the blade and averted your eyes.

“It was not her doing,” Kuai answered to your defense. “She… helped.” He seemed to have some trouble admitting that you had stepped in. Or maybe he was just confused with how you managed to subdue an ice beast.

“Someone bring Sub-Zero to the palace,” he ordered no one in particular. “Have him treated before the others.” Kuai helped a fellow assassin carry his brother away. The other assassins had begun to thin out and assess the damage to the village. You were alone on the ground with the Grandmaster’s eyes weighing heavy on you.

“You. Girl.”

You looked up to the Grandmaster slowly, not wanting to make any sudden moves.

“Where did you get that blade?” He demanded of you.

You swallowed the lump in your throat. “I took it from one of your dead. My apologies, Grandmaster. I only wanted to help my Master.”

His eyes searched you before he was joined by a limping Lily. Her eyes fell on you and filled you with dread instantly. But to your surprise, and Lily’s, the Grandmaster had sheathed one of his swords and stepped forward. He offered you his bloodied hand. You froze. Your eyes shifted from his hand, to his face, then to Lily’s deeply baffled expression. “Come,” the Grandmaster said. You looked back to him, then his hand. It wouldn’t be wise to refuse the Grandmaster...

You took his hand.

[kuroopaisen]

heartworm. (akaashi keiji)

➵ you miss akaashi more than anything. so if bokuto’s birthday party gives you an opportunity to reconnect, you’ll take it. 

wc: 2.8k

warnings: swearing

“Hey, hey, hey!” Bokuto’s resounding chant seemed to rumble through the entire apartment.

“Hey, Bokuto,” you smiled, tilting your head at him.

“It’s great to see you!” He was beaming at you as he pulled you in for a hug, face flushed and hair all ruffled. You weren’t sure how many drinks he’d had, but you could tell by the colour of his cheeks that he wasn’t going to be standing upright for much longer.

You grinned up at him. “Happy birthday, by the way.”

“Thank you!” His voice boomed out of his chest – far too loud, considering the circumstances. But, you smiled nonetheless. That was Bokuto for you.

He ushered you inside before you had time to think, patting your shoulders as you stumbled through his landing room. His apartment wasn’t large by any means, but he sure had tried to stuff a lot of people in it.

There were some faces you recognized – old team members from Fukurodani, Yukie, Kaori… and it was easy enough to fall into the groove of conversation with them. Well, as best you could, given the noise.

True to form, Bokuto’s party was little more than pure chaos. Mostly led by Bokuto himself, in cahoots with some guy who looked a little like a rooster. And of course, it was fun to watch. But something about the cacophony and the crowd was making your heart beat a little faster. You weren’t feeling claustrophobic, per say, but you needed some fresh air.

You almost laughed at yourself for that. You’d been at this party, what? Twenty minutes? And you already needed a time out? But, you supposed that’s what tended to happen once you got to your second year of university. You felt more and more like an old crone each day.

That, and there was a notable absence from the revelry. You didn’t want to think about him – no, you wouldn’t think about him. But that didn’t shift the weight in your stomach.

Thank God Bokuto had a balcony. It was rather quaint and small, but it would do. Just a few minutes in the cold and the dark, and you’d be ready to socialise again.

You sighed, turning to step into the shadows next to the door.

“Keiji!” The name slipped out of you before you could contain yourself.

He looked up at you, cross-legged at the end of the balcony. An outsider might’ve mistaken his expression for apathy. But you could tell, from the slight raise of his eyebrow and the touch of softness to his eyes, that he was surprised. Whether your presence was a good or bad surprise was yet to be seen.

“Hey.”

You wanted to throw your arms around him. You wanted to bury your face in his chest. You wanted to tell him how much you’d missed him.

You did none of that.

“Long time no see,” you smiled, cursing yourself for the cliché.

“Yeah,” he chuckled.

God, he looked good. You’d forgotten just how good-looking he was – how had you forgotten? He made jeans and a plain shirt look stylish.

A quiet memory of you and Bokuto insisting he get into modelling came back to you. You’d been teasing him, of course, but there had been truth to it. Hell, you knew you’d buy something if Akaashi was the one selling it to you.

You swallowed, trying to focus on the situation at hand.

“Are you alright?” His voice was as soft as you remembered.

“Yeah,” you nodded,

“You sure about that?” one of his brows was raised ever so slightly. He could still see through you, huh?

“Honestly, I’m a little intimidated,” you chuckled softly, sitting yourself on the ground next to him. It was strange just how much that made you feel better – to be on the same level as him. “I don’t really know anyone here.”

“Me neither,” he tilted his head to the side, turning his gaze away from you and onto the night sky.

“So, uh…” You wanted to talk to him. You wanted to keep this – awkward as it was – going. “How’ve things been?”

He shrugged. “Alright.” He paused. “I got an internship at a publishing agency.”

A bright smile overtook your face as you sat up a little straighter. “Keiji, that’s wonderful news.”

You’d rarely spoke of your plans for the future in your third year, but you knew well enough that Keiji had his hopes vested in writing. You hadn’t spoken about it at length – those sorts of conversations did little more than root anxiety, after all – but at graduation he’d left you with a little blurb.

“It’s only an editing position,” he bit the inside of his cheek, his brow furrowed ever so slightly. “But it’s an in.”

“They’ll be begging you to write for them in no time,” you nodded, smiling at him. “You’re only in your second year of uni! That’s a pretty big deal, you know.”

The whisper of a smile pulled at his lips. Your heart stirred; the very same way it had three years ago.

Fuck. Really?

“How about you?” He asked, voice aggravatingly melodic.

How were you?

Admittedly, not great. University had been… not what you’d expected.

Your first year had knocked you off your feet, and it had been quite the battle to get yourself upright again. That was on-top of everything going on in your personal life; moving out, adjusting to a whole new way of life, having to accept the changes that graduation brought… It’d been more of a feat than you’d expected it to be.

You’d tried to make friends, but it was harder in this new, unstructured environment. Making friends meant joining clubs, or striking lucky with where you chose to sit in that crucial first lecture. You’d made a handful of good friends, but you didn’t feel close to anyone yet. Not in the way you’d been close to the man sitting next to you.

But he’d drifted from you.

You remembered graduation with startling clarity; how he’d gripped your hand after the ceremony, making his way through the crowd to find Bokuto, who’d been proud to the point of tears. You remembered how afterwards, still hand in hand, you’d made your way to the local park; that little haven where you’d spent many evenings just talking.

It was there that he’d given you that little piece of prose. At the time, you felt like you barely understood it; like you’d only caught a whisper of what it really meant.

But you’d wondered, then, if you should kiss him.

You didn’t.

You weren’t going to risk your friendship with him based on some silly misunderstanding.

And maybe you could’ve shaken it off, if that’s all it was. But it wouldn’t have been some simple misunderstanding. It would’ve been all your hopes vested in a single gesture.

Things had crumbled after that.

You didn’t really see each other in person, once school had finished; he’d left to scout out apartments earlier than you, and he’d settled himself down in Tokyo before you’d had a chance to speak to him. You managed to catch him on the day he left, just long enough to give him a farewell hug.

But even that had felt off.

And then, you were texting less. And less. And less.

Next thing you know, you only spoke to him in the little group chat between you, him and Bokuto.

You hadn’t known what to do.

The two of you had been so close after meeting in first year. You’d seen the highs and lows of his volleyball career, you’d been granted a peek at his personal journey towards becoming a writer, seen him overcome obstacle after obstacle with such grace…

And he’d been there for you through every trial of your own. When it all felt like it was too much, Keiji was there to talk you down, to make you feel like everything would end up okay. There was nothing he couldn’t logic his way through.

Really, there was no way you weren’t going to develop feelings for him. He’d grounded you, supported you, cared for you. He’d become so overwhelmingly important to you, and yet here you were, at a loss of what to say to him.

How are you? He’d asked.

Fuck it, you thought.

You tell him everything. Everything that had meant something to you. Everything that had shaped you as a person this last year and a half. Everything you’d been storing in your heart, hoping to spill to him.

You don’t know how long you’ve spoken for, but you didn’t stop. For a moment, it’s almost like it was in high school; you, rambling on about whatever had caught your interest, and Keiji, the perfect listener.

But, as the minutes pass, you realise this is just like high school.

He’s smiling at you.

It’s soft, barely there. But it’s familiar. It’s the face of the Keiji you cherished so deeply, even if he looked a little older.

You paused, taking a deep breath.

He’s still looking at you. He’s there. In reach.

So you say it.

“I’ve missed you.”

His eyes widen, just a little, and for just a second. But his cheeks are dusted with pink, and the corners of his mouth were turning upwards. “I’ve missed you, too.”

Oh no. Those words were enough to make you brave. Much too brave.”

“Hey, Keiji?”

God, why did his eyes have to be so piercing?

“Why did we drift apart?”

There’s no hiding his shock now. It’s fair – you hadn’t expected that question to crop up either.

But it’s out there, now, and you’ve got nothing to lose.

His chest rose as he took a deep breath, and--

“Akaashi!”

You both knew who that voice belonged to. And sure enough, he came thundering out the balcony door, duo-toned hair a mess and golden eyes shaped into an uncharacteristic glare.

Akaashi flinched, drawing back into the shadows as if on instinct. It wasn’t enough.

Bokuto’s face was still red, but now he looked determined. He jerked a finger on Akaashi’s direction, a pout crafted onto his face.

“Have you two hooked up yet?”

You blinked. What did he just say? Your gaze flicked over to Akaashi without even thinking about it. He looked mortified: eyes wide, mouth formed in a little ‘o’, cheeks utterly devoid of colour.

He looked exactly how you felt. Sure, Akaashi was cute – although, that was an understatement – and he’s always been a wonderful person. And sure, his distancing act hurt twice as much because maybe, just maybe you’d always had a little crush on him. And maybe you’d been wondering if he was putting that distance between the two of you because he knew about it and –

“Shut up, Bokuto—”

“It is not cool to ignore someone just because you’ve got the hots for them, man!”

Two questions crossed your mind in that moment. One – who even uses that phrase anymore? Two – what the fuck?

Your head whipped around to look at Akaashi face-on, hoping, praying that’d give you some kind of answer.

He looked like he was about to explode. That stark white pallor had been replaced by blinding red, and it looked like he was puffing his cheeks out.

Bokuto was about to die. That’s all you were sure of.

“Tell ‘em how you feel, man!” Bokuto still hadn’t stopped, hands gesticulating just as freely as his voice was.

Neither you or Akaashi had anything to say. All you could do was stare, absolutely flummoxed, at the man in front of you.

You’d mentioned the whole drifting thing to Bokuto, but you hadn’t expected him to actually say anything. Not after begging him not to. How many drinks deep was he?

But Bokuto was already gone, thundering through the door and shouting for a ‘Kuroo.’

Leaving you to deal with the aftermath.

“I’m…” Akaashi cleared his throat, his gaze a thousand miles away. “I’m so sorry about that.”

“It’s…” You bit the inside of your cheek. How were you supposed to comprehend what just happened? “It’s fine. I’m… used to it.”

“So,” he sighed, running a hand down his face. “I guess I should explain myself.”

Oh God. Oh God, oh God, oh God.

“Remember that thing I wrote you?” He asked, his tone reticent.

You nodded. “For graduation?”

“Yeah,” he swallowed, his eyes cast downward. “I was… I was trying to confess.”

Wait. What?

Everything raced through your mind. How he’d held your hand. How his gaze had lingered on your face. How he couldn’t quite walk away after he’d walked you home. The look of disappointment in his eyes as you said goodbye.

Oh. Oh God. You were an idiot.

“You… were?” You hadn’t felt your heart hammering like this since high school.

“Yeah,” he chuckled softly, playing with his fingers. “I thought it was pretty obvious.”

Maybe it had been. Maybe it hadn’t. “Oh.”

“So, I just… assumed you’d rejected me,” he murmured. “Since you said nothing about it.”

Could you punch your former self in the face? Because you really, really wanted to do that right now.

“And I… I didn’t know what to do after that,” he swallowed, managing to meet your gaze. It was only then that you realised you’d been staring at him like a creep for the past few minutes. “Everything started changing, and I…” He sighed. “I got scared. So, I stopped reaching out.” He bit his lip, looking down again. “I’m sorry. That was childish of me.”

“No!” You spoke before you’d thought about it. “No, I… I’m sorry.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Why are you apologizing?”

“I…” You took a deep breath, propping yourself up on your knees and facing him directly. “I should’ve said something.”

Akaashi frowned, tilting his head at you.

“You know I had the biggest crush on you, right?” You blurted it out, so slurred it’s almost one word.

His eyes widened at that. More than usual.

“God, I was pathetic,” you smiled. “Embarrassing, actually. Remember how many times I tripped in front of you? I was like a goddamn shoujo protagonist.”

“I never noticed,” he murmured. You smiled, about to respond – “I thought you were cute.”

Huh?

“Thanks?” You had no idea how to respond to that. But you were sure the frown on your face wasn’t a good look.

Akaashi chuckled, looking up at you again. “That hasn’t changed, you know.”

Oh God, oh God, oh God—

“I still have your letter,” you said. Why? You weren’t sure.

This conversation was already totally out of your control. You’d gotten closure for something you’d accepted as forever unknowable. The boy you were damn near in love with was confessing to you in the retrospective. You’d come to this party to make an appearance and then leave after the first hour – this wasn’t how you thought your night was going to go.

“You do?” His voice was unbearably soft.

You nodded. “I… I really missed you. I… wanted to keep the last part of you I had.”

There was no word in your vocabulary to describe the look on Akaashi’s face. It was something like relief, something like regret.

“I’m glad.”

Those weren’t the words you were expecting to hear back. But what had you expected? Especially in light of this new revelation. In light of the fact that he’d felt the same way you had. And for someone so clever, so analytical… he hadn’t picked up on how you felt.

But, knowing him… that was just a testament to how much he must’ve liked you. Enough to confuse himself. Enough to doubt himself.

And sitting there, across from him, you knew that your feelings had barely changed.

“Hey, Keiji?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re not… dating anyone, are you?”

“I’m not.”

Deep breath. This was very, very stupid. But you leant forward and pressed a kiss just at the corner of his mouth, a breath away from his lips.

“Did you aim that?” Akaashi smirked. But his cheeks were red, and his eyes were fond.

“I didn’t—I don’t—I—” What you wanted to say was that you didn’t want to assume anything. That you didn’t know what you were doing. That you were trying to make up for the one vital mistake—

“Here,” he smiled. He took your hand in his, lacing your fingers together. That was enough to make your mind go frantic, a muddle of shame and excitement and the will to give in.

He brought your clasped fingers up to his lips and lay a gentle kiss on him.

God, that’s so embarrassing. That’s enough to make you burn up?

“Let’s take this slow, okay?” He’s smiling at you. A full, proper smile. “We’ve got a lot to catch up on.”

[enchanted-lightning-aes]

helloo! i hope you're having a good day <3 could you do 🍍, 🥭, and 🍑 for the ask game?

hiya there, briar! happy sts! thanks for teh ask! ✨✨✨

🍍 do you enjoy writing villains?

it depends on teh type of villain i'm writing. villains who want to cause problems for fun are enjoyable. villains who are just plain despicable can be difficult especially if they cause angst for my characters.

my problem is that i don't write enough villains for the causing chaos variety, lmao. 🤣🤣🤣

🥭 what are your favorite tropes to write?

okay, i'll answer this again differently: characters who are truly morally grey, those characters who deny and repress their emotions, and characters who learn to accept and love themselves. here's the first version of this answer.

🍑 what kind of fanfiction do you think people would write about your work? Would you read it?

for blasted scorn, i think it'd be domestic fluff, angsty whump, and various modern AU's, where they have all sorts of shenanigans. for this wip, i'd probably read those fics, lmao.

for tdrc, i think it’d be some shippy and gen stuff along with different AUs. maybe it’d be a small fandom but i think i might read these fics as long as it’s sfw.

send me an STS ask from this list? or a basic one you made up on teh spot?

[absconditum-imaginaerum]

                        [[9:49 PM]] - Mistletoe - Juyeon - Fluff - [[1,386]]

 The Christmas party at your best friend’s place this year was themed, which meant everyone was assigned an outfit—Santa, Mrs. Clause, a reindeer, or an elf. Couples were often assigned things that match, such as Santa and Mrs. Clause, a reindeer and an elf, or in less typical pairings, an elf and Mrs. Clause, or Santa and a reindeer. Somehow, you had picked (in a blind draw) for a Santa outfit. Honestly, you couldn’t help but laugh. You had a few options—wear one of those oversized coats, wear something mischievous, or find something in between.

You were able to create something just in time; not something too modest, but not too revealing either. You at least had a skirt that felt somewhat long enough, and a top that would keep you warm and also be fashionable as one could make a Santa outfit not made for a burly man. You only wondered if a pair, should you find one, would be a male dressed up as Mrs. Clause. The thought rolled through your mind as you sat on the couch next to the decorated tree, swirling your champagne as you listened subconsciously to the conversation that was taking place around you. It was a smaller gathering, compared to the parties your friends usually threw; for that, you were thankful.

The couch sunk down to your left, while you were crammed in the right corner. He was done up, all out on the costume, right out of the movie Elf complete with yellow tights and the curly shoes.

“Don’t look so lonely over here, it’s Christmas,” he whispered to you, trying not to draw attention your way since he knew that’s the last thing you wanted. You sighed, taking a sip of your champagne before finally meeting his eyes.

They glittered, reflecting all of the multicolored lights that beamed from the tree and off the tens of ornaments as you looked up at him. He was holding his flute out to you, gesturing for a quiet cheer to the end of the year with the hopes of new and better things on the horizon.

“I’m not lonely,” you replied, “at least, not anymore,” you joked with him and leaned into him as he wrapped a playful arm around your shoulders. You could feel Juyeon’s smile as he tilted his head against yours, relishing your company for a moment before being brought up in conversation, and turned to actively engage the group, but not once did he think about pulling his arm back from around you.

He guzzled the rest of his flute of champagne, staving off the embarrassment of the story that was being told, a story from high school years he would have rather forgotten, but you couldn’t help smile at the blush on his cheeks. You finessed the flute from his hand and rose from the couch to carefully step between people’s feet, using refilling his glass as an escape because he was two seconds away from turning to you for help, and that was the last thing you’d hoped for.

You busied yourself in the kitchen where there was a bit lighter to see what you were doing as you uncorked the champagne after pulling it from the fridge to fill Juyeon’s glass and top yours off before his tall frame was rushing through the entrance of the kitchen. He scrambled across the tile flooring, almost slipping in his silly elf shoes before he was wrapping you up from behind, almost knocking a flute from your hand.

“What are you doing?” you laughed, steadying the champagne.

“We’re getting ready to do the white elephant exchange, and they told me to come find you,” he muttered, sinking his face into the crook of your neck. It brought a blush to your face; it was things like this that were fueling the rumors of a relationship between the two of you and while you agreed that the two of you were friendly with each other, there was never the blossoming of a relationship.

“I’ve only been gone like twenty seconds!” you protested.

“Okay, maybe I also wanted to escape the embarrassment, but I mentioned it enough to get away,” he told you, his little hat flopping off his head and onto the counter before he tugged away from you to snatch it up. You turned to look at him, watching him shake his hair out and fix it up a little bit before daintily replacing his hat with a toothy grin.

“You’re cute,” you told him and handed his flute back before cupping your hand against his to tug him back out to the living room so you could start drawing numbers for the gift exchange. He stood next to you, tall and warm with a long arm around your body as you watched people diligently pick their gifts from the table they were splayed out across. They looked almost identical, all cubically shaped wrapped in the same plain white wrapping paper to prevent people from trying to guess what they were.

You laughed at the group, typical goofing around as they all hollered for the picker to hurry up before breaking into fake arguments. It was almost endearing, the way Juyeon stroked his hand against your arm like the two of you were watching your kids on Christmas morning being absolute fools. You finally picked your gift; a reindeer headband for the festivities and a set of small assorted candles. Juyeon got a set of tilting puzzles, the kind where you have to maneuver a ball from one side of the puzzle to the other. White elephant gifts were always silly, usually gag gifts, but you were pleased with your candles, and even more pleased with the way he helped the headband onto your head.

“My cute little reindeer,” he teased you with a smirk. You shook your head and rolled your eyes until all of the presents were claimed and people were busying themselves with their gifts and trading things back and forth, leaving the attention still off you, for just a moment that is.  His attention was taken by someone, which was fine because you were still enjoying the chaos that was unfolding in front of you between all your friends about their gifts and other things.

That is, until Juyeon’s honey voice was sliding into your ears and down your spine like thick sap again, asking you a question you weren’t sure you would ever hear him asking you, so just to make sure, you turned to look at him so you could read it off his lips and asked him to repeat.  There was a tinge of blush on his cheeks, a nervous laugh falling from his lips first.

“I said, can I kiss you?”

You looked between his eyes like he had ten heads, and when he finally caught on that you were obviously confused, that it seemed like a question out of the blue, he motioned up with his head to indicate the mistletoe that hung just above the both of you. The situation rotated in your head probably a hundred times before a soft smile overtook your lips.

“It’d be bad luck not to,” you replied, unleashing the butterflies in his stomach as he turned entirely towards you, sliding a hand against your middle and around your back to pull you close to him and slowly leaned down with the tilt of his head to mesh his lips against yours.

“Oooooohhh!!!!” the group called—they had to be tipped off by someone. But not even the whoops and the hooting and teasing encouragements broke Juyeon away from you, in fact, it may have only made him a little more confident before he pulled away and the whooping increased littered with some cheers. In the background, confirmations of people owing others money and losing bets about your status seemed to be lost in his captivating gaze as he looked down at you, locking your tunnel vision on him.

“Wow,” he breathed, breath hot against your face, fingers still furling in the soft fabric of your bright red costume.

“Yeah, wow,” you replied just the same, and in your subconscious, your fingers were tugging at the back of his neck to bring him back down.

And more hollering ensued.

[wlw-lovestruck-fiction]

I know you guys are always swamped with requests and asks but can you do more vinca fics or hc fluff or smut plz? I feel like Vinca is a underrated character other than waiting till the day she gets a route

Pairing with: Vinca realizing she had fallen in love with SWM MC when Yvette asked her about MC

Yvette smugly tells Vinca that the latter totally has romantic feelings for mc. Pride continues to deny it until got kicked of home out cuz Greed want her to go to the bike shop to confess to mc 👀👀👀

Vinca taking care of MC sick?

...

Written by @an-awkward-ghost

“You seem excited for tonight’s show, Vinca.”

“When aren’t I?”

“No, I mean… more than usual.”

Vinca’s eyes flick upwards, instantly wary when she sees Yvette’s lopsided smirk, the one she gets when she’s planning something that will ultimately unveil in pure chaos she can smugly observe from afar with amusement.

She pauses the videogame she’s playing, squinting at her best friend.

“Out with it, Yvette.”

She looks down at her gloved nails with false nonchalance. “Whatever do you mean?”

“You don’t get to play that game with me. Be direct.”

“I have nothing interesting to say, Vinca.” A small shrug, which tells Vinca she definitely has something interesting to say. “I just think you should know MC just texted me. She can’t make it to the show tonight.”

There are several things wrong with that statement. Vinca narrows her eyes without realizing, hand snapping up towards her phone before she catches herself. There’s a sudden, strange, burning feeling in the pit of her stomach that makes it hard to think clearly.

“Why?” Slips out of her like a bullet. She freezes for a split-second, and then adds, perhaps a bit too hastily. “Pff, I knew she was bluffing when she said she could endure whatever I threw at her during the show.”

Yvette’s smirk remains in place. “There’s always next time.”

“If she couldn’t gather enough courage for this one, I don’t have much faith in the next one.”

“Then again, the act you had planned for tonight was specifically for her. If the guest of honor won’t show up, I’d say there’s not much sense in your part of the show for tonight.”

Vinca blinks at her. “Someone else can volunteer-”

“But it wouldn’t be the same, would it? You want that act to be for her and her alone.”

“…The pipsqueak is hardly that important, you know. I didn’t plan that act only for her.” Except Vinca had pictured MC’s face under the spotlight, expression fierce and defiant, spirit blazing and unwavering despite the hundreds of eyes that would be on her. Her eyes would be fixed on Vinca’s, tracking every little movement with a concentration that would make a hunter jealous. She had been looking forward to the banter that would spark between them with the same energy of a crazed storm, something Vinca couldn’t get enough of.

She hadn’t even considered the act with anyone else, and when she tries to imagine, everything falls apart. There’s no point. No excitement. The volunteer would be a jittery mess and Vinca wouldn’t get anything out of it. It’d be plain boring, because it wouldn’t be MC standing on stage.

The entire show would be plain boring. It wouldn’t be the same without MC watching. Vinca had expected to spend quite some time with her, too, after the show, ready to mock MC’s inevitable failure in the act despite the fight she would give her.

Yvette didn’t need to know that.

“I can still do my part of the show.” Vinca says, shoving her thoughts aside. Despite being the one with the mind-reading abilities, Yvette could be unnervingly sharp when she wanted to, and Vinca preferred not giving her anything to work with. “I have plenty of acts to work with.”

Yvette pauses. Gives her a pointed glance from her side of the couch when Vinca resumes her game, obviously considering the conversation over.

“You can take the night off. Lazareth and I can handle the show just fine.”

Vinca huffs. “You aren’t trying to kick me out, are you? Besides, what the heck would I do for the night? I’d just bore myself to death here. There won’t be anything interesting to watch on TV.” The casino wouldn’t even offer a great distraction anyways, since Vinca would just be too stuck on the ‘could have been’ to properly enjoy it.

Yvette’s glance turns into a full-blown stare.

“What?”

“You won’t stay here.”

“Oh yeah, sure, kick me out of our house just like you kick me out of the show, no hard feelings-” Vinca pauses, suddenly realizing where this is going. “You want me to go see the pipsqueak?” She pauses the game, suddenly grinning as a plethora of ideas come to her mind. “Of course! I can go mock her for chickening out! Oh, it’ll be glorious-”

“You’re excited again.” Yvette notices, as if it’s a world-changing observation.

“I mean. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Oh yes.” Yvette’s smirk turns predatory. “Why wouldn’t you be excited to see your crush?”

Vinca stares at her. Yvette’s words don’t click right away, because the idea seems too ludicrous and definitely not the right thing someone as sharp as Yvette should come up with. But the clock ticks away in the background and Yvette’s expression remains unchanged, and Vinca feels like she should rectify this horrible misunderstanding before it gets out of control, because honestly, falling in love with the pipsqueak of all people?

Vinca snorts. She has better tastes than that.

“Uh, hello? This is MC we are talking about. The girl who crashed her bike during my shoot and forced us to do the whole thing over again? The girl who can’t take two steps without breaking something? A rock has better fashion sense and finesse than she ever could. That girl?”

“Yes, the girl you are always visiting.”

“That’s only because she gets in so much trouble. You’ve seen it, she attracts demons left and right.”

“The girl you’re always talking about during dinner.”

“C’mon, I always let you vent when someone gets on your nerves, why can’t I do the same?”

“The girl who you know wouldn’t cancel something like this without good reason.”

That makes Vinca pause, because it’s true. The whole reason Vinca had even gotten the idea for the act was because she knew MC was up to the challenge. That she would rather give up a limp than back out and give Vinca the satisfaction of winning.

That burning feeling was back. Vinca swallows.

“Is she okay?”

If something had happened, why hadn’t she told Vinca? Why did she text Yvette instead? Did she think Yvette cared more than Vinca did? Why would she-

“Nothing plenty of rest can’t fix.” All hints of smugness are gone. Yvette’s expression is carefully neutral, her voice gentle. “But you should go see her, if you’re worried.”

“…Thank you for telling me, even if you were annoyingly slow about it.” Vinca says, half-way to the door before Yvette can finish speaking. “I just- want her to be in the show, is all. I’m not doing this any other reason.”

“Sure.” The faint amusement Vinca can detect in her response makes Vinca huff and quicken her pace.

…

She knows something is wrong when she enters the shop and sees Joyce on the counter, chatting with a costumer. MC usually takes the morning shift on Thursdays.

She’s tempted to fish around Joyce’s mind for an answer, but the idea makes her uncomfortable, just like reading Yvette and Lazareth’s minds made her feel. She blinks, equally parts annoyed and surprised. Since when had she begun to care about other people’s privacy? Was it just because Joyce was MC’s mom? Joyce wouldn’t even know if Vinca read her mind, and their relationship was rocky enough that it wouldn’t surprise her if Joyce flat out refused to tell her what was going on.

…so it would make it all the more special if she did tell her on her own volition. Not that Vinca hoped she would.

“Vinca.” Greets the older woman, voice less warm than it had been a second ago.

“Miss.” Is all she says in return, meeting Joyce’s gaze in kind, refusing to back down.

“You’re not here to buy a bike, are you.” It’s not a question. She almost looks resigned. When Vinca shakes her head, she pauses for a second, like she’s mulling something over.  She lets out a long sigh. “Fine. Go on upstairs.”

Vinca blinks. She hadn’t been expecting this to be so easy. It usually wasn’t. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Joyce narrows her eyes and gives her another look. Her stern expression melts into a small smile. “It took me a while, but I can see you care about her. Go. Her room is down the hall.”

Vinca shuffles awkwardly, not sure how to process this new development. She nods mutely, infinitely grateful, and makes her way upstairs. She still doesn’t know what was up with MC, but if Joyce didn’t look overly worried, it was probably nothing too serious.

She frowns again, deeply bothered by the fact that MC hadn’t texted her. She’s in front of the door to the apartment in less than a second, emboldened by her need of answers and growing concern.

She goes in without knocking.

MC’s head snaps towards her, so startled that she loses her grip on her phone. It falls and bounces on floor with a dull thud, cat videos on full display for the world to see. Vinca smirks.

“What… Vinca?!” She splutters. Her expression is pure gold, all wide eyes and open mouth. Vinca doesn’t get to admire it for long, instantly distracted by her pale, miserable complexion. There are dark circles under her eyes, like she couldn’t sleep well, and her voice sounded wrong, as if she were holding her hand over her nose. “What the heck are you-?”

“Shut up, pipsqueak.” Vinca hisses, leaning down to retrieve the phone. Her eyes roam over MC’s body, taking in the sweat on her skin, the way she’s shivering. “You’re sick. You should be in bed.” Her eyes shift to the pot in MC’s hands, and she instantly reaches out to take it. “Let me take care of that.”

“No!” MC takes a step back, glaring. “Why are you even here? I can take care of myself just fine.”

“You’ll just get worse. Look at you, you can barely stand.”

“Don’t exaggerate, I can-”

Vinca pokes her directly in the chest and watches her flail around, trying to recover her balance. She steadies her with a pointed glare.

“You were saying?”

“That’s… I wasn’t…”

“Go back to bed, I’ll make you something.”

MC freezes under her hands, looking up at her warily.

“What? Are you deaf now, too?”

It feels natural to offer this. It’s something Vinca would do for her friends and sister in a heartbeat, without really thinking about it. Only when MC continues to stare does she realize what just happened.

When had she begun to care so much for her, anyway?

“I mean. I-if I want you to recover for the next show, I need to…” She trails off, feeling stupider by the second.

MC’s lips curl into an amused smile. It’s so similar to the one Yvette gave her earlier that Vinca instantly looks away, annoyed. They usually only smile like that when they know – or think they know – something Vinca doesn’t.

“Need to make sure you… don’t do anything stupid. It’s a cold day. You should be in bed.”

“You won’t poison it, will you?” MC says.

“If you keep bothering me, I will. I’d be doing the world a favor, anyway.”

“Maybe I should stay. I’ll go quicker if we both-”

Vinca grabs her by the wrist and drags her down the hallway before she can finish, ignoring her protests. She needs some time alone to process everything, anyway, and MC would just make everything worse. As per usual.

“Rest.” She barks, all but closing the door in MC’s face. She hopes she shoved her in the right room.

The next half-hour goes by in a blur, but it’s enough time to ponder the strange effect MC has on her. She doesn’t know how, she doesn’t know when, but MC had become someone important to her. Almost as important as Yvette and Lazareth were, just in a different way. There was something else there. Something that made her yearn for presence, for her witty responses, for the way her eyes sparkled, for the way she laughed. The sound has been with Vinca for ages, stuck in her head, refusing to come out.

And now here she is, skipping both the show and whatever lame thing would be on TV at this hour, just because MC was sick and Vinca cared too much.

Vinca scowls down at the soup. Swears loudly.

Vinca’s tastes must be shit, because she definitely is in love with this insufferable pipsqueak. And that’s another thing Yvette – or anyone, for that matter – didn’t need to know.

[kaitycole]

“Cicero!”

Summary: You thought you and your sister just had one thing in common. What happens when you learn you have a second thing in common: your husband, Oikawa Tooru?

Pairing: Oikawa x Reader

Word Count: 2012

Warnings: Angst. Mentions of murder, cheating, black outs, and blood.

If Alex had to pick one word that described you, it would be smug. From the way you walked into the room, how you pulled out the chair, even the expression on your lips, were all smug. She knew right away that this interview would be a lot different than the others, something about you just radiated that energy, that almost dramatic flair an actress has when walking down a red-carpet Alex would’ve chuckled aloud if she knew it wouldn’t have inflated your ego that much more.

You look at Alex on the other side of the glass and smirk to yourself even though you know she can see you. You are the one who got everyone else to agree to this series of interviews, truth be told, you just wanted another chance to be interviewed. Prison wasn’t glitz and glam, no one cared about who you used to be outside the plain, cracked concrete walls, but those on the outside were so invested in what each inmate did, you decided to give them a show.

“Alex Hunt. How’d you end up landing this job?” You pull the sucker out of your mouth, making a pop sound, “I figured it’d be someone more…experienced.” If she’s taken aback, you can’t tell which intrigues you but also pisses you off in a way. “I don’t have to interview you, I can just exclude yours from the piece.”

You raise your eyebrows, slightly surprised at her sharp tongue, but knowing you were going to have fun talking with her, “I don’t recall that being what I said.”

“Then shall we start? Or do you have more banter you’d like to get out?” Alex picks up her pen, flipping over the already written on pages to a clear page.

“Yellow legal pad, how very original.” “Are you finished yet? Or are you going to comment on how I’m not wearing a hat or going by the nickname, Ace?”

You laugh, a sincere laugh, something you hadn’t done in years. This would definitely be fun. “Should I start by stating my name for the record?” “Sure, we can start with something easy.”

“L/N F/N. But I prefer just going by Y/N.” You scoot the chair back, propping your feet up on the small counter space you have on your side of the glass.

Alex just mutters under her breath, though nothing that you are able to hear. She scribbles something on her notepad before looking up. “ Your case is the only one that involves a double homicide. Says here it was your husband and…”

You finish the statement for her, “my sister.” A cold chill runs down Alex’s spine, up until now they had just been crimes committed against lovers, but not with you. She takes a moment to catch her breath, to gather her thoughts, never in a million years could Alex imagine killing one of her siblings. Though she also couldn’t be sure if she found them with her significant other, the thought wouldn’t cross her mind.

“Tell me about your sister. What was she like?”

You let out a breath though your nose, trying to figure out what exactly to say. What was she like? Did you even remember? Whenever you tried to think about her, all you could recall was her and your lover, in the throes of passion.

“The opposite of me, that’s for sure.”

“How so?” You bite down on the little bit of the sucker that’s left, the broken pieces fall off the stick which you just hold between the corner of your lips. “If I was dark then she was light. I wanted to be a part of everything, be in the middle of the chaos so to speak. But Sis, she just wanted to stay in, to be away from everything.” “What about your husband?” She slides a few folders around before picking up the one with your name on it, “Oikawa Tooru. How did you meet him?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” The smug expression Alex saw you wear when you first walked in was gone replaced by one that she swore was more devilish and mischievous than she’d seen before.

*                      * “Someone wants to meet you.” Your sister looked at you with a small smirk.

It was late, your show had run late and you just wanted to go back to the hotel and sleep. It was unlike you, your sister would make that same remark, but international travel was wearing you down.

“I really just want to go to bed.” “I really think you should go meet him.”

You rolled your eyes, how many times could you fake a smile through fans telling you how sexy it was that you were -that- flexible before following it up with some poor and downright lame attempt at trying to sleep with you? But your sister was never this persistent which made you feel you should.

“Okay, okay, where is he?”

“Right out there,” she pushed you through the door of your dressing room but before you could yell at her, you felt yourself bump into someone. When you looked up, a pair of wide brown eyes take in your (e/c) eyes before he apologized.

“Oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was so close to the door.”

You wanted to tell him that he wasn’t. that your sister pushed you, that you lost your footing, but none of those seemed to come out of your mouth as you took in the tall brunette’s features. You swallowed hard, inhaling though your nose before introducing yourself.

“I know, I’ve been to a few of your shows.” You watched as his cheeks reddened. “I’m Oikawa Tooru.” “Sorry, but I don’t recognize your name.” You smirked and could’ve swore you saw his knees buckle.

He ran his fingers through the poof of brunette hair. “I take that as a good thing, though I can’t say I’m surprised.”

His words were innocent, but the tone in his voice made them cocky and you knew in that moment you were hooked on this Oikawa Tooru.

“As much as I’m enjoying this banter, you can just skip the part where you tell me how hot it is that I can put my legs behind my head and I’ll just skip to the part where I turn down your poor attempt to sleep with me.”

“Ah. I should’ve guessed this happened a bit.” He leaned forward, causing you to back into the wall behind you. His hand on the right side of your face, pressed flat against the wall as his nose brushed yours. “Well I hate to disappoint you, but I’ve seen a few people that can put their legs behind their head.” THUD. Your heart rammed into your ribs.

“Oh? Then why bother coming backstage? Surely not to get an autograph, mine’s not that pretty.”

He smirked, leaning closer to your ear, his breath hot against your skin. “How else would I ask you to dinner?”

*                      * “We dated for a while, he stopped playing professional volleyball and joined my sister and I on the road. We got married about a year or so later.”

“You traveled for acrobatic routines?” She looks up at you, making sure she had the facts right and not in the condescending way other reporters had looked at you.

“Yes. It was the one and only thing my sister and I actually did together. Well, unless you count the incident that landed me here.” You pull your legs off the counter, standing up to stretch a bit.

“If you had to describe how you felt that night, the night of the incident, which word would you use?” “Betrayed.”

*                      * “I can’t believe it! Two hundred shows, that’s insane!” Your sister laughed, popping open a new bottle of champagne, haphazardly pouring it into you and Oikawa’s glasses.

“I can. You two are simply amazing.” He pressed a sloppy kiss on your temple before downing his drink.

The three of you were in you and Oikawa’s hotel room, celebrating the fact that the show you just finished had been the two hundredth show you and your sister had done. It was a huge feat for the two of you since you didn’t have a proper manager, Oikawa had been doing the best he could in the three years you’d been together.

You watched as your sister turned up the music that had been playing, dragging Oikawa to his feet and making him spin her around as they did something that looked like dancing. You laughed, loving how close your sister and husband were, it made the three of you traveling all over easier on you. You didn’t have to worry about petty fights and having to pick sides because that would’ve been hell. Acrobatics was the biggest thing that linked you and your sister after years of being polar opposites and you wouldn’t trade your relationship with Oikawa for anything, he was the only person other that your sister that understood you, made you feel safe.

“Maybe while I go get ice, you two can learn how to dance.”

The three of you all laughed, a mix of happiness and alcohol clouding everyone’s judgements and decisions. You turned to look back at them once more before slipping down the hallway, empty ice bucket in hand, feeling on top of the world.

*                      * Alex shifts in her seat uncomfortably, she knows what you’re going to tell her next. She’s read the reports, seen the crime scene photos but just like her last interview, the emotional recollection of the events made it that much harder to stomach.

“You couldn’t have been gone long though.” “Heh.” You scoff, “long enough apparently.”

*                      * They must not have heard the door click open due to the loudness of the music, that’s what you told yourself when you say your sister and husband in the compromised position you found them in. They would’ve jumped apart, right?

Would’ve told you that it wasn’t what it looked like, right?

That it was just the alcohol, right?

Not just continuing the crude act they were preforming, right?

Then it all hit you, like a train, the way your sister would look at him. How her fingers would linger on him when she handed him something. How you’d seen his eyes follow her around a room while sitting next to you. How all the times you found them together, looking like two teenagers who were walked in on, didn’t seem so innocent anymore, you didn’t seem so paranoid now.

Your vision seemed both blurry and red at the same time. An intense anger that you’d never felt before, is that what it felt like to have the two people you loved more than life itself betray you? You sat the ice bucket down, fingers wrapped the candlestick on the shelf. You chuckled, remembering how your sister had pointed it out calling it tacky, maybe in some sense that was ironic.

You lifted it above your head with both hands, the last thing your remembered was Oikawa shouting your name as your sister screamed.

*                      * “You really don’t remember anything else?” Alex is quickly writing down what you’ve said, making sure not to miss any detail.

“Not at all. Not until I walked into the bathroom.”

*                      * You cocked your head to the side, watching as the red liquid dripped from your hands, how it just smeared when you rubbed your hands together. You saw how your golden band was stained as you ran water over your hands, the white sink turning pink. It was in that moment you knew that both your sister and husband were dead.

*                      * “I know that look.” You say, looking directly at Alex, who looks positively pale.

“What look?”

“The ‘I can’t believe they did that’ look.” You scoff. “As if you know what you would do in that situation.”

“I don’t, but…”

You cut her off, “then how can you tell me that I was wrong?”

Series Masterlist here

General Masterlist here

[let-it-show]

A Surprise for Anna

I wanted to participate somehow in Elsanna Week. Idk if I will have time or energy to do more than one prompt but...here we go for Reunion. So- Elsa does something special for Anna!

Getting Anna to agree to her plans for the day was difficult. Elsa understood, she got it, but she really needed Anna to go. She had a surprise for her little sister that she knew she would love.

Anna was a grown woman, a queen alongside her, but she still dug her heels in, crossed her arms and shook her head like a stubborn child. She was having none of it and Elsa had been ready to encase her in ice and have Sven drag her. Fingers were pointed, voices were raised, and threats -  none of which were very serious - were made. It only lasted so long before Anna managed to crack herself up, smile, and laugh. She kissed Elsa on the cheek and said if she made it worth her while later in the bedroom, she'd go.

That didn't mean she would stop whining, though.

Elsa had readily agreed to the terms. She already looked forward to whatever 'revenge' Anna might cook up for later. It was getting to the Ice Palace that was rough.

"We're almost there, Anna," she told her as they rode on a wagon hauled by one of Elsa's big ice bears. "We're almost there and...Anna..."

To her dismay, Anna had balled herself up a bit next to her as they went on an incline. Her eyes were wet and she simply looked ahead. Elsa knew why she didn't like going there. For some while the palace had remained empty, none of the crazy laughter and fun that they would walk into when they visited before Elsa was called by the North Wind. Marshmallow might have been grumpy now and then but the snowgies were always up for some chaos. Usually, Olaf encouraged it.

"We really have to go? Is this surprise worth it?" Anna asked in a small voice. Even the whining she'd been doing was somewhat lighthearted, with moaning about being hungry or her butt falling asleep.

"Anna..." Elsa put her arm around her and tried to bring her closer. It wasn't really working, so she moved her own body, brushing one of Anna's braids out of her way. "It's well worth it. I know you will love it. You'll have the biggest smile you've had in forever," she said quietly, stroking Anna's freckled cheek with her finger. Her skin was warm despite the cold temperature of the breeze around them. The North Mountain was always cold.

"Everyone live in Ahtohallan now. It just...it just makes me think and makes me feel alone, even when I'm in there with you," Anna said with a sniffle, adjusting herself to hug her knees to her chest, fingers digging into into her beige dress. "We go in and it's empty. I don't want to go, Elsa."

She should tell her. Elsa knew she really should tell her. And yet...she knew the joy Anna would feel when they went inside would be incredible. When she saw the surprise she would be so, so happy. At the same time, Anna was clearly upset. She didn't want to be reminded of the period of time they were apart and nothing was as it ever was. While it wasn't truly terrible, according to Anna herself, it'd been a struggle.

Elsa hugged her and kissed her head. Her reaction was yet another sign that she played down how she'd felt in those months. Thinking about it made Elsa's heart hurt.

But she was back. She was back to stay and she was never leaving Anna - her Anna - ever again. Anna was hers to hold close and speak soft, love-laced words too. And she was hers to make happy.

If they could just make the last curve before they actually had to take a short walk to the stairs, it would be okay. Anna was fighting off actually crying and if she did get there Elsa knew she would have to tell her what was going on. So Elsa kissed her head again, and then her cheek. "I promise it'll be worth it. You'll be grinning from ear to ear. I know you will. You might cry from happiness," she told her, lips finding her cheek again.

Anna let out a slow, controlled breath. "Elsa..."

"I promise," Elsa repeated. "And if....if it's just too hard I'll tell you what's going on. We can stop and I'l tell you. It's just that I can't wait to see how thrilled you're going to be," she said, playing with Anna's braid.

Anna studied her quietly and then sighed. "I trust you. I know you really think whatever this is will make me happy and I-I trust you."

For a moment, Elsa simply looked at her. She didn't want to do the wrong thing. She really didn't. Keeping the surprise was a good idea...she was going to stick with it. "Thank you for that. I...thank you," Elsa whispered.

When they arrived at the stop, Elsa hopped out first and went around to offer her hand to Anna. "Come on, darling," she told her, coaxing her sister from the wagon.

Anna slowly took her hand and let Elsa help her down. She leaned into Elsa and then turned fully to wrap her arms around her, running her hands through Elsa's long, loose hair. She didn't appear to be sniffing anymore. She'd managed to swallow her sobs evidently and Elsa hoped that didn't made her feel worse. She squeezed Anna's warm body against her own.

Nothing ever felt so right as Anna did in her arms.

They held hands as they walked through the rocks, Anna's squeezing Elsa's regularly. Anna pointed out where she had tried to mountain climb years prior when searching with Kristoff. She did that each time they visited the palace in the past, and Elsa loved it. Sometimes Anna even imitated where she pushed back from the rock and knew Kristoff would catch her because he was 'a smelly guy, but a nice one'.

Then it was the ice stairs, and Anna was hesitant. With one hand on the glistening railing, Anna bit her bottom lip and stared. Elsa rubbed her back gently, and encouraged her to keep going up. As usual she followed behind her. If Anna slipped, Elsa would easily catch her. She'd done so before, and Anna had giggled and looked up at her before scampering up the stairs to go see everyone.

Elsa watched the usually optimistic girl drag her heels up the ice.

When they arrived at the door, Elsa told her to stop. "Knock!" she told her, stopping beside her. "I uh...knock."

Anna looked at her oddly but raised a fist to bang loudly on the door. Elsa never quite understood why the knocking sounded like a bang on a big wooden door, but if it sounded like ice should sound when hit, she guessed it wouldn't attract as much attention.

The door opened slowly to reveal...

Olaf.

"Olaf?" Anna asked.

The little snowman laughed and waved her in with his stick arm. "Come on in Anna! Come on!" he said and reached for her hand.

Anna took it, shooting Elsa a confused look over her shoulder. Elsa just grinned. She had felt guilty getting Anna all the way up to that door, but there she was...about to be very pleasantly surprised. She followed them both into the ice castle where everything was the same as always, just empty...

Until a figure slide down the icy bannister of the glorious staircase in front of them. One little white figure followed by another. Then another. And another and another! Olaf was giggling and snowgies started to bounce down the stairs on their heads, legs, and midsections. They were laughing and making an awful lot of noise that echoed off the walls of the palace.

"It's..oh! It's Flurry, Sludge - WILLIAM!? Is that you?" Anna squealed, and she and Olaf ran for the bottom of the stairs.

"And Powder and Ansel, even Huggy and Skate - it's everyone!" Olaf said, bouncing around and letting the snowgies take off his head to bounce it around. They were climbing on Anna already, letting her scoop them up and hug them as even more flooded down the stairs.

"Almost everyone," Elsa answered, approaching them. She snapped her fingers and on the balcony above them, heavy footsteps could be heard. Anna looked up along with the snowgies, who turned Olaf's head in the proper direction. A hush fell over the crowd and even the snowgies on the stairs slid and slammed into stops. Elsa waited, excitedly, even though she knew it was obvious who was approaching.

Then Marshmallow made his appearance, peering over the railing at them. "Now, now it EVERYONE!" he bellowed, and the snowgies started to bounce about, once again. Olaf's feet and bottom started flying in the air at random while his head cheered.

Anna clapped her hands and bounced while the flood of snowgies continued to pile around her, lifting her up as Elsa finally made her way to her. Elsa wasn't surprised to see her cheeks were wet.

"So, Anna?" she asked as she looked up at her. "Is...was it worth it?" she asked. She felt very silly asking, but she had to be sure Anna was okay.

"Yes!" Anna answered loudly, cheer in her voice. "So worth it! Oh thank you, thank you! Are they...?"

"They're staying." Elsa smiled. "They all wanted to come back." She didn't mention how tired Nokk was of fishing wandering snowgies out of various parts of the Dark Sea.

"Oh!" Anna wiped tears from her eyes. Her mouth opened but she didn't say anything. Instead her lips morphed into a happy smile. She sniffed and wiped more tears before holding her arms out. "Elsa!"

"I-OOP!" Elsa felt herself suddenly lifted. The snowgies surrounded her heels and took the train of her white dress. They latched on and with a just plain weird amount of strength, they lifted her up and brought her to Anna, nearly throwing her on her sister.

Anna's hands and arms found her, bringing her in close for yet another hug. Elsa closed her eyes as she buried her face in Anna's neck, doing nothing but listening to the merriment around them. Olaf was laughing. Marshmallow was making his way down the stairs, the snowgies were absolutely losing their minds. Anna was giggling and the sound was music to her ears.

Everyone was home.

[crashingmeteorz]

no one asked, but here’s the ba sing se bimbos playing among us:

the first time they play, jet gets red by accident. he doesn’t really care either way, but zuko asks demands they switch so that zuko can be red. jet finds this hilarious and refuses, citing red as his favorite color.

“that’s not your favorite color!” zuko says furiously. “oh yeah, then what is?” asks jet. “uhhh, green?” zuko says feebly. “wow. you really don’t know me at all. just for that, i’m keeping red.”

green is jet’s favorite color, but that’s not relevant.

zuko relents and goes with dark blue. jin picks lime because she thinks it makes her seem fun and perky. song switches between white and pink, because she can’t decide which makes her seem more trustworthy.

“white,” says jet. “pink,” says jin. “neither,” says zuko, thinking about how those are ty lee’s color choices as well, and how sorely she’s kicked everyone’s asses in this game.

jet thinks he’s smooth as the impostor, subtly throwing people under the bus and Very Obviously Doing Tasks. but he’s incredibly passionate when he’s a crewmate and thinks someone’s an impostor, so it’s a pretty obvious tell when he acts too relaxed. he gets voted out quickly. a lot.

“i’m sneaky! why can’t i win!” he yells. “you’re incompetent is what you are,” says song, “going to electrical for your first kill? that’s so overplayed jet.”

jin employs basically the same tactics, but does not get thrown out nearly as much since she keeps her poker face no matter her role. as a crewmate, she goes about tasks so diligently she often walks right by bodies, which results in her incorrectly getting voted out.

“i was doing the wiring!” she argues. “you stepped over zuko!” song argues back. “so? everyone steps over zuko!” jin snaps.

this is true, because zuko always dies. he’s literally always first to die. song kills him because he never assumes she’s the impostor and sticks by her. jin kills him because she’s figured out his ship route. jet kills him because zuko always accuses jet first, so it’s easier to get him out of the way.

zuko really, really likes being the impostor. he thinks sneaking around is the best part of the game. but for whatever reason, he barely gets impostor. it infuriates him, especially when he’s accused of being the impostor when he’s not.

“it’s definitely zuko,” says song after neatly murdering three people. “I WISH!” he yells, and gets ejected.

when he finally gets impostor after a dozen games in a row of being a quickly-killed crewmate, he’s so excited he screws up and vents right in front of jin. jin feels bad for him though, and lets him kill jet and some randos before suggesting it might be him.

“why didn’t you rat me out?” he asks when she later admits it. “you were so happy you ran around the cafeteria twice. it’d be like kicking a puppy,” she says.

they play with either the gaang, the fire nation gals, the freedom fighters, or randoms.

with the gaang, zuko has to give up dark blue to sokka, much to the bimbos’ delight.

“gee, zuko, why aren’t you giving sokka such a hard time about colors?” jet asks him sweetly. “because sokka isn’t an asshole, that’s why,” says zuko, blushing furiously.

“i’ll take yellow,” zuko says. “oh, okay...” says aang sadly. “FINE! ILL TAKE ORANGE!” zuko says, unable to upset aang without feeling nauseous.

“calm down, zuko,” says song. “it’s just colors.” “can i have white then?” he asks. “over my dead body,” she replies.

the impostor almost always loses with the gaang. they’re all too loyal, sometimes they even just outright admit they’re the impostor so as not to hurt anyone. aang is most guilty of this, making it all the way to the end and then not being able to kill katara when she sees him vent. if it weren’t for his guilt complex, he’d be deadly in this game.

with the fire nations gals, ty lee and song take turns switching colors.

“why can’t we do that?” zuko asks jet. “because i said so!” jet replies, not wanting to admit he’s gotten attached to red now.

the impostor almost always wins with the gals, everyone’s deceptive and clever, and loyalty basically doesn’t exist. once, terrifyingly, song and ty lee were the impostors. they won in three minutes.

with the freedom fighters, it’s just chaos. the duke will call a meeting just to ask if they can get friendlys later. longshot sits at security the entire time. i could write a whole separate post about them. everyone accuses everyone and they’re really, really bad at the game together.

when they play with randoms, somehow, it’s always little kids. the kids flock to jet for the most part. he makes them laugh and they trust him implicitly - they’re the only way he can ever get a good winning streak going.

sometimes song gets two or three little followers who think she’s nice and helpful. if they’re playing with new players, song’s the one who tells everyone how the game works and helps them figure things out.

zuko usually gets flanked by feral children. they absolutely cyber bully him and tell him he smells, but when it comes to the debates, they defend him with their lives. on the rare occasions he’s the impostor, he can’t bring himself to kill the kids and lets himself get caught.

jin mostly sticks to herself, she curses way too much to be responsible talking to children. but once in a while she’ll get a little weirdo who follows her everywhere. they say practically nothing, they do their tasks right alongside her, and when they do talk it’s just “my favorite snak is plain celery.”

“oh my god you’re such a little gremlin i would die for you,” jin says affectionately. “jin you can’t call a kid a gremlin!” says song.

“bark bark,” says the little weirdo, and song internally recants her earlier statement. the kid stays with them for like nine rounds and by the end he’s their son and that’s that.

all the kids ask the bimbos for their snap, and, as cool as these children are, obviously they can’t do that.

“we actually don’t own cell phones,” says song. “they’re illegal where were from,” says jin. “we’re trying to smuggle some into the country, we’ll get back to you when that works out.” says jet.

“where are you from?” the kids ask.

“rhode island,” blurts out zuko.

(yes, obviously, they also give the kids a lesson on not sharing personal info with strangers and boot out any suspicious parties because all four of them would lay down their lives for innocent children and that’s on canon.)

credit for this au of an au to @azenkii as always!

masterpost

[rantheon]

the bakarina anime is done! it’s just a drop in the ocean that is the otome isekai genre so these are some recs + what you need to know about them. i just listed most of my favs otherwise it’d be too long :p

in no particular order. includes some non-isekai ones too. needless to say most of these aren’t completed yet

my next life as a villainess: all routes lead to doom

using this to plug that there’s more bakarina content in the form of light novels, manga and 3 spin-offs

an observation record of my fiancee - a self-proclaimed villainess

told in the pov of prince cecil, whose fiancee bertia straight up tells him she’s a villainess of an otome game from her past life

if you ever wonder what jeord from bakarina might be thinking half the time, this is probably close. cecil is the same kind of prince who initially finds things bored and predictable until they met the mc

the things cecil would get up to for bertia? hoo boy

also the way the mangaka draws hair is addicting to look at

the villainess cecilia silvie doesn’t want to die so she decided to crossdress

the title speaks for itself~ after remembering an otome game she played in her past life, cecil (previously cecilia) is now the one capturing the hearts of the academy ladies instead

it’s fairly new so there’s not much of it yet :c but it’s pretty interesting

the original otome game had a whole rpg combat system going on and i’m hyped to see how it’s gonna lead the story

the Angelique vibes are strong in this one

the villainess wants to marry a commoner

isabella used to play an otome game in a past life, but she was really only interested in a side character named ursch. and then one day she finds him in her mansion garden

her past life self is such a mood - i too have 100% otome games in hopes of side characters getting hidden routes but alas

definitely deserves the ‘video game’ tag. isabella can see status screens and character stats/skills etc, and all the gacha rewards and grinding transferred over after her reincarnation. she’s the isekai female protag we’ve always wanted

seriously the main ship is too op for their own good aha

deathbound duke’s daughter

in a past life, erika only managed to finish 2.5/7 scenarios of an otome game thanks to an unlucky encounter with knife-kun. with the different flags of her impending doom approaching, she takes things into her own hands years before the game events start

very fantasy-oriented (the most on this list) and pretty action-packed, once you get past the game exposition in the first 3? chapters

the world building is brilliant, from the hafan mages to the aurelian alchemists, and there’s beasts and wands and spells and dnd stuff sprinkled in

the cast has quite interesting dynamics and interwoven plotlines, and they’re all dorky in their way :>

beware of the villainess

melissa remembers a novel from her past life and desperately tries to cut off contact with the male leads, but they still make her life hell & she rages

she’s just so done with everyone and you can’t help but relate to her

definitely the funniest on this list XD melissa and her reactions takes the cake but even the shit characters are hilarious in their own way

there’s also a lot of parodies to memes etc & best of all, there’s cussing. all the shits and fucks. a whole lot of it

it’s great

death is the only ending for the villainess

penelope wakes up as the villainess from a game she’d been playing in her past life, only right now it's on the hardest difficulty where death is literally everywhere. thus she tries, well, not dying

what’s cool about this is that penelope has access to the original game system. she can see menus, choice options etc. the male leads even have affection percentages floating above their heads :> which is always cool to see (and what i’m a sucker for)

but it’s definitely one of the darker ones on this list. iirc there’s depictions of violence, abuse, drugs and then some. just a fair warning

the daughter of albert house wishes for ruin

upon realizing that she’s the villainess from a past-life otome game, mary decides to stay as one. chaos ensues

i love this manga so much, everyone is so quirky and there’s something to laugh about on almost every page. the story almost feels self-aware of itself and just lets the characters do whatever. like ride bikes

addie is so cute ;o;

it’s definitely something everyone should experience

i’m a villainess daughter so i’m going to keep the last boss

one of the finished ones!

post-annulment, aileen pulls a Lisa Tepes and asks the demon king claude to marry her. he refuses. hijinks ensues

mostly on the fantasy side, as it builds on the world of the monsters

the cast is pretty fun! aileen’s smart, funny and pretty competent in her own right. plus she and claude are positively adorable together

milady just wants to relax

post-annulment, ronia decides to open a cafe in the countryside. it later becomes the frequent hangout of a beastmen mercenary group, who are intensely feared by the townsfolk

well... beastmen. that’s all you need to know /wink

okay, that aside, it’s just as chill as the title suggests. ronia slowly makes friends she can trust, and the beastmen find a second home in the only cafe that’s willing to accept them. it’s pretty wholesome

the banished villainess! living the leisurely life of a nun making revolutionary food

despite actively trying to change her ‘villainess from a past-life otome game’ fate since childhood, elizabeth gets annulled, her noble title stripped, and is sent to a church in a neighboring kingdom. she enjoys it more than expected, despite the appearance of the ever watchful leonid

there’s plenty of 21st-century food like sandwiches, cotton candy leonid’s muscles <3

the entire cast is lovable, and can chris get an f for all the heart attacks leonid keep giving him

seduce the villain’s father

yereninovica (or just yerenica) realizes that she’s in the world of a novel she read in her past life, but as the aunt of said novel’s mc. after thwarting a kidnapping that’s basically the mc’s origin story, she takes it upon herself to also prevent the tragic death of emperor belgoat

a bit different since it switches the roles around (side character x side character) and goes into the “parent generation” of the original work

there’s also an interesting bit where the world seems to recognize her as a hijacker, and where that takes her, we’ll see in due time :o:

plus the way yeni habitually calls him ‘father’ cracks me up every time

transferred to another world but i’m the savior of an otome game

after a ritual gone wrong, “yamada tarou” (fake name) is stuck in the world of an otome game. the only way back is with a magical ring, normally obtained after becoming the lover of one of the male leads. he of course says no i’m going adventuring but the game doesn’t like that

it’s absolutely hilarious - the leads treat our mc like a heroine, and there’s a lot of otome tropes that are called out on/parodied. like the seiyuus’ names oh my god

tarou’s reactions are great and his appraisal skill is the funniest thing alive

endo and kobayashi’s live commentary on the villainess

in modern japan, endo and kobayashi start their playthrough of an otome game, which becomes a bit glitchy and odd. they discover that siegward, a male lead in the game, can hear what they’re saying. they use this chance to finally give lisolette a happier ending

much of the story’s focus is on the characters slowly warming up to lisolette, and a bit on endo/kobayashi’s irl relationship. despite being the primary drive of the story, lisolette herself hardly moves the plot - if you know what i mean

regardless it’s undeniably adorable

tearmoon empire

no isekai, more of time travel? chronoskimming?

mia wakes up 10 years in the past after being sentenced to death. now afraid of guillotine-kun, she strives to solve the issues in her kingdom that had previously led to her doom

a bit similar to bakarina in terms of concept: avoid death flags, unknowingly recruits the people she meets into her little saintess cult. the misinterpretation is very strong, and in brilliantly funny ways

it has really fun narration ngl especially in the light novel

of course, i’ll claim palimony!

to prepare for her annulment, yulia starts scheming recording her fiance’s meetups with the heroine to use as evidence. if you’re gonna lose a suitor, might as well get some money out of it, right? along the way she gets involved with rudonik, one of the male leads

no reincarnation. rather than an otome game, the villainess story comes from a book written by a side character, and the “heroine” just decided to play it out in real life

the cast together is a riot, and it’s entertaining to watch yulia only think in profits and every connection she can make to achieve it

the villainess’ slow prison life began with her broken engagement

no isekai, just a plain old villainess

post-annulment, rachel is sentenced to imprisonment. which she enjoys and is thoroughly, hilariously prepared for

everyone’s a little afraid of rachel and for good reason. it’s better to find out yourself through the LN or manga, but let’s just say that even the king doesn’t want to deal with her XD

the holy grail of eris

now this one is interesting, putting the villainess trope into a mystery ghost story. that said, no isekai either

our innocent heroine constance attends a party and encounters scarlet, an executed villainess from ten years ago. a body possession and some public embarrassment later, they decide to team up to solve the mystery that might be behind scarlet’s death

i mean, ghost villainess? sign me up

+ some honorable mentions

i favor the villainess (the heroine goes for the villainess- girls? girls? yes)

a bellicose lady got reincarnated (a delinquent reincarnates as a heroine; what a concept :o unfortunately there’s not a lot of english content for it yet)

it seems i got reincarnated into a yandere otome game (i like that the mc actively makes it so that game can’t ever happen the way it should; plus, yanderes are always interesting to study)

inso’s law (modern isekai, and quite cute!)

the reincarnated young lady aims to be an adventurer / holy guardian tiger (similar to deathbound duke’s daughter in that there’s more of a focus on the fantasy aspect)

expecting to fall into ruin, i aim to become a blacksmith (so far the only one with a shounen tag that i like; its main charm is probably the cast and their interactions with each other eliza best girl)

since i’ve reincarnated as the villainess’ father i’ll shower my wife and daughter with love (big big wholesome vibes)

level 99 villainous daughter (severely op lady who takes no shit from the people looking down at her, and regularly thinks about blowing up the academy within the first 4 chapters? hell yeah)

may i please just ask one last thing? (post-annulment, the mc literally punches everyone in the room; it’s great)

this is getting long now oops

edit: i also made a visual-friendly personally-tagged-by-me bookshelf here!

[the-sunshine-dims]

amnesia rewrite! (chapter 6)

ch 1 | ch 2 | ch 3 | ch 4 | ch 5 | ch 7 | ch 8 |

original fic

words: 1692

ao3

contents and warnings: amnesia, deaged Janus, food, fluff, weeping angel mention, pranks, 

____

Patton knew individually both Virgil and Janus were very strong spirits, and he had learned over the past couple weeks that together they were.. well, chaotic, but surely

surely.

It wouldn’t be normal for them to do- well whatever they did, Patton could only guess as roman chased them, covered in a sparkly goop, and yelling a couple of nonsense phrases as well as what Patton could only make out as “undo it!” 

He really hoped it wouldn’t be normal.

Patton pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing to himself, before taking pity on both poor Roman and the flooring which was ever so slowly being fully covered with the goop as well, he loudly coughed to get their attention, having the intended effect of having them all halt in there running, “did you two do this?” He asked in his practiced and patented dad voice, already pretty certain he knew the answer but still asking anyway.

Janus immediately piped up, taking the attention from Virgil who had actually not fully stopped and had kept slowly side-stepping away from roman “No!” He told him insistently, not wanting him or Virgil to get in trouble and have the invite of movie night be rescinded, it was the first time it was calm enough and no one was too busy for one, which meant it was his first movie night, he didn’t want to miss it! still despite his very best attempt it was very very, abundently clear to Patton that he was lying, which wasn’t as big a surprise as Janus wished it would be, after all, he was a very shifty character.

the effort made Patton make sure to be soft with his tone however before he was just about to reply Virgil spoke up to talk to Janus, “dee patt’s smart enough to know we did it- and even if he didn’t would you really wanna not take credit for the awesome prank?” He asked vaguely motioning to Roman who was halfway across the room from him now.

Janus pouted- actually pouted and Patton couldn’t help but silently chuckle to himself, thankfully unnoticed by all other parties, and once he had stopped pouting he just turned around to face patton and immediately looked down to fiddle with his sleeves as he quietly went “okay.. we did, ‘m sorry” he said, focusing his attention on Patton.

“You don’t need to apologize to me, Roman’s the one who’s affected and deserves an apology.” he told him, and speaking of Roman, “Roman when you’re ready the bathroom should be free why don’t you take a shower, it doesn’t appear that the goo was made with just a snap,” Roman sighed loudly before nodding and Patton smiled at him before turning his attention once again to the two chaos bringers “now, you two clean the mess from when he was chasing after you and later you’ll have to help me with movie night preparation, sound relatively Fair?” 

Virgil, Janus, and Roman mumbled a chorus of yes’s, Romans more prominent as he was happy to get some retribution for their crimes. Patton nodded- mostly to himself, “good.” 

It would be days before he ended up admitting to the two that he actually found the prank kind of funny, because by then Roman, while still acting offended by the pure mention of it, everyone could tell that it was purely lighthearted and he was in no way mad.

It would be only hours though until he admitted it was adorable and so very sweet how much Janus had latched and pretty much imprinted onto Virgil, following him around like a little duckling, (and when Virgil was truly busy Roman was a close second, however, it didn’t seem to save him.)

_______

“..Roman why are you sparkly?” 

“I don’t wanna talk about it.” roman grumbled back.

Patton chuckled as he listened to the short-lived conversation of the two from the kitchen, Virgil and Janus had been helping him with prepping everything for the movie night but as making popcorn was the last thing they needed to do (and they and Roman had gotten banned from the kitchen because while one of them had tried to make pasta while waiting for the plain water to heat up it somehow caught on fire) so he let them go, to do what they wanted to do until everyone gathered for the movie.

After a bit he was finally done popping it so he then sifted popcorn into the two bowls, one for just melted butter and salt for Logan and Virgil and one bowl with sugar and melted butter for Roman and himself and maybe Remus if he joined them, and Janus was welcome to both as Patton hadn’t really been able to memorize his favorite yet.

He smiled as walked out, quickly setting the popcorn bowls down onto the coffee table, before happily sitting and leaning into Roman’s side, he hummed quietly to himself as he waited for Virgil to come back down before he noticed that Janus was just standing there, near the tv not really doing something, barely even moving.

He took worry-filled moment to take a breath before just going “hey dee? You wanna sit down kiddo?” And Patting the spot next to him, he didn’t want him to feel like the odd one out and feel too awkward to sit down, so he wanted to offer a clear invitation just incase, logan had said he occasionally needed that.

Janus glanced at Patton momentarily, before shaking his head insistently “no, waiting,” He explained, well it might’ve been explaining to him but it gave much more questions than answers, and honestly it was kind of scaring Patton especially as he immediately went back to staring at a specific spot, and a long while back Virgil had introduced him to what weeping angels were, so now he was scared to look away when his kiddos stared at either him or a very specific spot that didn’t ever vary for a prolonged time.

After a bit Virgil came down and sat right next to Logan, who had been silently reading a book against the armrest,

Then the moment Virgil sat down and everybody got situated- not even a second later, Janus ran full force at the couch and threw himself onto them, eliciting a variety of startled yelps and shrieks from them, and after a moment of him just happily using all of theirs legs as pillows as they remained completely stunned, Roman, Logan, and Paton just started to make noises of both bewilderment and dramatic alarm, however, the former was more of Romans doing, despite the only Part of Janus that was even touching him was his arms, extended like a stretching cat, though honestly despite the earlier prank Patton felt like if it had been anyone else and not Janus who had done that Roman would make much more fanfare about the throwing themself at them at all, Patton smiled to himself at the notion before grabbing the remote and stretching to hand it to Logan, absentmindedly starting to card his fingers through Janus’s hair.

Janus smiled contently as he got comfortable, happy with just being so close to his family. 

_______

It had been maybe two and a half movies before Patton looked around, about to tell them another movie-based pun before he realized that They all had fallen fast asleep, Roman’s head lulled to the side and leaning on him much more than patton realized, Virgil cuddling Logan closely, and Janus holding patton’s arm captive, close to his chest, Patton barely suppressed an adoring coo with just how adorable the scene was before he realized that one of them wasn’t asleep, though he wasn’t that far away from it.

He looked over to focus more on Logan, who was trying so hard to watch the movie, blinking his eyes open after they started drooping more than three times in a single minute. 

Patton smiled fondly before quietly going “lo, dear, you should go to sleep,”

Logan paused as he processed his words before he gave Patton a sheepish- and very groggy- smile, then he looked down to his lap, doing his best to avoid eye contact, and Patton realized a very important thing as Logan mumbled “‘mm don’ wanna move,” because while Virgil was very cuddly currently, Logan was equally cuddly, and he appeared very content to be so.

Patton chuckled softly as he understood, before going to shake his head lovingly, “lo-lo you don’t have to go upstairs to go to bed, you can just go to sleep in the cuddle pile with us, I was just saying if you're sleepy it’d be good to go to sleep.”

Logan made a small little “oh” sound, making it abundantly obvious even if it wasnt already that he was too tired to of even considered that, before grinning so brightly and so groggily and happily collapsing into Virgil’s chest.

And Patton couldn’t see exactly but he wouldn’t be surprised if Logan instantly fell asleep, he gave a small chuckle before doing his best to cover everybody with the blankets they had gradually grabbed and brought over to the couch to make sure no one got cold in the middle of the night.

After he was done he grabbed the remote from where Logan had put it and turned the tv off, soon continuing to card his fingers through Janus’s hair with his non-stolen hand.

And as Janus just melted even more at the contact Patton’s heart just melted once. 

It didnt take long for patton to start getting drowsy now that he didnt have something to pay attention to and soon Janus and Patton started to Have incoherent conversations, Patton didn't even know if he had partially awoken or if it was just mid-sleep mumbles, but it didn't matter because he wasn’t even forming real or coherent words either, suddenly too tired to even realize it.

And not long after he could only yawn as he tried to keep his eyes open, before just collapsing against Roman’s shoulder and being the final one to quickly doze off.

[sliggoons]

A Fluffy, Comforting Guzma x Reader

This is what we all need right now, whether you want to admit it or not.

   The rain was coming down in torrents as you walked down the main street of Po Town. You didn’t bother running, your clothes, hair and entire bag were already soaked through. Your socks squelched inside your shoes with each step you took. This day had just been plain rotten, and the heavy rain was only worsening your mood. Not only had it prohibited you from accomplishing your days worth of activities, but it wasn’t a pleasant rain. Buckets of cold, frigid water pelted into the earth, muddying the paths, and the wind brought goosebumps to your arms.

     Quietly you made your way up to Guzma’s room in the dilapidated mansion. Since you and Guzma had been together, you noticed an increase in his motivation to fix the place up. Slowly but surely the cracks in the walls and ceilings were beginning to be patched, the broken glass swept up and windows replaced.

      A few of the grunts you were closer friends with extended waves or words of greeting, but you ignored them, silently walking up the stairwell. You felt awful doing it, but you knew they’d just ask you what was wrong, and you’d stand there dripping wet, trying to explain and fighting back the lump forming in your throat. So you opted to just continue on, head down.

      Soon you reached the door to Guzma’s room. You hated to bother him, knowing he had some work to do, and he’d been in a grumpy mood. Team Skull had really been struggling with finances recently, and since Guzma was in charge he felt personally responsible for it all. But you were still there, knocking on the door to his room.

      You heard a voice snap from within. “Whaddya want? I’m real busy,” he paused, waiting for a reply as you tried to figure out how to word this. Maybe it’d be better if you just went home, Guzma had been really stressed about all the work he had to do lately. “Oh just come in already, best make it quick though.”

      You opened the door, stepping in, then closing it quietly behind you, all too suddenly self aware of the water soaking into the carpet at your feet. You looked up at him, Guzma, your boyfriend, splayed out on his "throne", his laptop balanced on his knee. You felt at ease, just standing in this room, and the stresses of your day started to unwind, in the form of tears pricking at your eyes.

      Guzma looked up, he blinked once, twice, his eyes wide. “Oh,” he stated, haphazardly throwing his laptop to the side, standing up, his eyes glued to you. “Aye, what happened, baby doll? Is everything alright?”

      Guzma noticed instantly, the difference between the water droplets falling from your soaked hair and rolling down your face, and the tears gathering in your eyes. He saw the way your bottom lip quivered so slightly and the dark circles forming under your eyes. He walked towards you, his arms awkwardly out, his instincts telling him to touch, hug, hold you in his arms. He wasn’t sure though, he learned to be cautious with you, always waiting to make sure he didn’t force you into anything you didn’t want.

      So Guzma waited, close, his big hands resting tentatively on your elbows, rubbing gentle circles into your skin. And that was enough for you, the tears started to overflow and your shoulders started to shake. His arms wrapped around you the instant you reached for him, burying your face in his chest.      One arm around your waist, the other hand cradling the back of your head, Guzma gently stroked your hair as you cried, ridding yourself of all your negative emotions.

      “You can always talk to me yaknow. About anything. I’ll be here to listen, but only if you wanna tell me.” Guzma held you for another minute before pulling away, watching as you wiped the stray tears from your cheeks. “Let’s get you out of those soppin’ clothes, okay?" Guzma suggested, his voice quiet, yet reassuring. He looked around his messy room, broken bottles piling up in the corner, clothes thrown around. Guzma managed to find a clean pair of gym shorts in all the chaos. He glanced around once more and with a sheepish, awkward grin he shrugged off his jacket and extended it in offering.

      As soon as you had changed his hands were back on you, pulling you in for another hug. He set you back at arms length, looking you once over. "You’re really wearing my clothes, huh, looking all cute n shit,” he paused, reveling in the small chuckle that fell from your lips and into the small space created between your head and his chest as you fell back into him. “You didn’t get hurt, did you?” Guzma asked pressing a heavy kiss to the top of your head, still damp from the storm, but he didn’t seem to mind.

      “No, I’m alright,” you replied, shaking your head and wrapping your arms even tighter around Guzma’s torso. You didn’t understand how he stayed so lean and muscular despite his horrible diet, maybe it was all the training he put himself and his Golisopod through. You weren’t complaining though, you were sure there wasn’t a place on the planet that felt safer than one of his giant, encompassing bear hugs, wrapped up in his strong arms.

      “I’m glad, I’d have to go pulverize some punks if you weren’t, and I don’t really feel like doin’ that right now.” Guzma rested his head on top of yours, gently swaying the two of you back and forth. Guzma really was a playful boyfriend, like right now you knew he wanted something, but he never liked to tell you himself.

      “What do you want to do then?” You asked, trying your best to drag it out of him. You knew he was doing this on purpose, one of his adorable games that was also good for getting your mind off of the negative.

      “Hmm, besides spending time with you, I’m not sure I know,” Guzma loosened his grip on your waist, pulling away to give you his signature smirk.

     “A Pokemon battle?”

      “Nah.”

     “A hot cup of Tapu Cocoa?”

     “Ah, you know I hardly ever pass those up, but not exactly what I had in mind…” Guzma trailed off.

     “I know!” You exclaimed, smiling, “You want to go get in bed and give your girlfriend the best cuddles ever to help cheer her up!”

     Guzma gave you his dopiest grin, “Right on, doll!” He picked you up, almost effortlessly, and carried you over to the bed where he (gently) tossed you onto the pile of pillows and soft blankets. He collapsed into bed next to you, turning on his side to face you and propping his head up with his hand. “Do ya maybe wanna talk about it?” Your boyfriend asked cautiously as you situated yourself in bed, mirroring his position.

      “Maybe later,” You muttered, looking down at the sheets, feeling the tears flooding your eyes again. You had almost stopped crying, but once you started up it was hard to stop. You felt a few fat tears roll down your cheeks before quickly reining your emotions back in. Sometimes it was just nice to cry and get all your pent up emotions out.

      “How come you still manage to look beautiful with tears all over ya face, huh, babe?” Guzma whispered, bringing his hands up to cup your face and wipe your tears away with his thumbs. You laughed lightly, a smile forcing its way onto your face along with a burning blush, looking up to meet his eyes and kind smile. At that moment you were really able to see Guzma for who he really was. His eyes were warm, but the heavy, dark circles beneath them were not. Ingrained under his eyes after many cold nights alone, many sleepless and many overslept. Yet after all that, Guzma was gentle, kind, and his stormy grey eyes were calm, at least when they were turned to you. Grey like a solid, steady rock, always there for you to lean and rely on.

     “I, I want you to know. I love you, okay?” His voice was soft, shaky, a manner you had never heard from Guzma before. He paused for a second, then falling back in to his usual tough guy façade, “An I ain’t saying it again, I’m not no sap.”

       Smile bright and hands shaking, you reached up to run your fingers through the back of his undercut, bringing his face closer so you could smash your mouth to his. You conveyed all your love, trust, and appreciation in that kiss, pulling away and holding his cheek in your hand.

     “Maybe I should say that more often then,” Guzma said, winking, a chuckle rolling from deep in his chest. You still caught the delicate blush that had settled in along Guzma’s cheekbones and over the bridge of his nose. You made Guzma get up to turn off the light and open the curtains so the room filled with a the gentle, dim grey light that had made its way past the storm clouds. You were too cozy to get up yourself, and Guzma was happy to do so for you. He’d do anything for you, and he hoped one day he could find the courage to tell you that, and much more.

      You smiled and hummed in contentment as he returned to bed and snuggled up close to you. With your head on his chest you could hear his heartbeat steadily thumping, the rain drizzling outside with gentle rolls of thunder, and the occasional whisper from Guzma of his newest crazy idea. Heat radiated off of him and his arm was lazily draped around your side. You knew you definitely made the right decision going into his room, and you hoped you’d never have to leave.