#okay okay--as you can see I'm much more chipper

[cryptid-killjoy]

Everything was going wild. Everything seemed fun and pretty typical until they couldn't decide if they should try and cover up the body or not. The Laveaus weren't the types to let a little crash and burn disrupt their fun. It was all part of it. Anywhere else they understood the usual rules though. They knew the aftermath murder code. Autopilot had a way of taking over. Still, if they could get away with not doing things the methodical way they'd take the out.

Scout was focused on her phone waiting her dad's answer out. Grinding someone down and eating them up was a messy and time consuming task. If they could get out of it they'd like to know for sure. Logic was telling them maybe in Feral where rules were lax it might just be okay to not go through the usual precautions. They also didn't want to do anything wrong and upset their hosts either. They just weren't used to the Feral rules, if there were any.

While all these converstions were going on between Koda, Chip, and Dale, and Jetsam not giving two shits all hovered over the stranger digging one of their eyes right out of it's sockets. Old habits died hard. He might have been dead but he noticed they were a cool color and couldn't help but want to harvest them as if he might add them to the collection he didn't have anymore. Maybe he'd start a new one?

"Weenie-balls." He was laughing. "That's the name of my new collection. I'll get a new set every Halloween. Keep 'em at your place, Chipper."

Scout broke in, "I can do it. I can keep them for you, Dad." She was trying so hard to be a part of it still wanting to be a part of his life as she watched Jet shove the wet thing into Chip's hand.

Then there was Koda who was trying to hold up under Chip's arm since he'd just been through a wreck. Chip was also still in slow-mode. Zombie-ish mode. His reflexes weren't back. He was looking at Scout like he wanted to respond but nothing was coming out. Jetsam took his silence as a yes because his hand held onto the eyeball unable to do much more quite yet.

Then there was GoGo. She came in and Dale was gazing at the sky when she came in out of nowhere and Smack!

Incoming.

Thack!

"Hey?!"

GoGo went off. She was practically barking at him. She kept going.

Dale's sore arms went up trying to protect himself but it was too late. She'd already hit him before he managed to sheild himself at all. A bloody third WOMP.

"Damn it!" Dale's body rolled and cringed away ready to jump up and ... and do... do something... he wasn't sure what... stop her he supposed but she stopped herself as he managed to roll over onto his side.

Scout stared at her as Dale managed to push himself off the ground holding his ribs, covered in the dismembered arm's splattered blood, and got his feet. It happened so fast. It had every hair on the back of her neck standing straight up. Then GoGo even yelled it out. Something about loss. It was bone chilling.

Once Dale was on his feet he limped over, red faced, wide eyed.

Dale's initial reaction was anger. Pain and anger.

Then he saw her face.

Okay, maybe he was still angry, but fuck. Then he just pushed through the pain, stormed through it actually. He hadn't wanted to move at all. The adrenaline had made him jump up and next when he saw her face, he rushed forward and forced a hug on her.

"Fuck you. Are you trying to finish me off, GoGo?"

Damn, the hug hurt. Yelling hurt. Breathing hurt. He didn't care. He squeezed her in.

"Fuck you so hard."

He groaned over her shoulder, "You push me away. I'll squeeze harder. So fuck right off. I'm staying here."

All Scout could see was the fragility of human life, something she wasn't anymore. It was scarier than it used to be. It was the sort of subject she never thought about until her family fell apart. They used to feel so indestructible. Thomas built it back up so strong. She wasn't sure what this feeling was watching her brother and GoGo. Next to them was her zombie bit brother touched by death who caused the crash. Next to them was her actually dead parental who she'd been dying to see for years now, missing him, and conflicted feelings were still stirring. She watched him not pay attention fully focused on gouging out that second retina from the socket.

Before she could get much deeper in those thoughts her phone went off and Thomas's text came in. It shook her back to the present.

"Okay guys. Dad says it's not a big deal to just dump it here. GoGo's probably right. We can just blame it on a zombie. Looks like we don't have to take the time out for disposal here. We're good guys." She said taking the lead on the situation which under normal circumstances would have been a much bigger situation had they been anywhere else.

Jetsam stood up with his second eyeball in his hand grinning, "Told ya guys. Fuck it all." Then he kicked the corpse's eyeball-less head.

She saw Koda looking behind him and she gave him a little peace sign with her fingers, bursting the bubble with her tongue. She watched her own rearview mirror and playfully moved to swerve next to the VW, her open window meaning that she could reach across and ruffle Dale’s curls.

After that, GoGo sped on ahead, feeling her groove the same way that Kuzco did when he had a guitar in hand, the same way that Valerie did with a microphone, the same way that Delta did when she had her wings out, the same way Frank did as he kicked at a suspended reporter, making his body sway on the hooks while he read.

GoGo had been a girl who fell in love with cars, a real engine geek, and didn’t have much love left over for people. Not even her family. Once it was clear that they weren’t going to understand her, that they were going to try to dictate her life as if she was anyone else, she had given up on them. They became roommates. They didn’t do family dinners, or going out together, or even celebrations of birthdays.

It had taken a while for the Laveaus to permeate through that. It wasn’t even as if Go-Go had big walls up, the way that Elsa did, trying to protect herself or thinking that she was protecting others. She just hadn’t even realized that there was a door that they could even knock on. But it had opened and - now, she couldn’t imagine a world without them, the same way she couldn’t imagine a world without cars.

Loud music coming out of stereos, the noises blending together during the split seconds that they were near one another. Her eyes would dart over to see who it was, and would make faces over at Scout if it was her, and then would chuckle to herself. Her heart was beating with the engine, almost feeling like they were one. As she went up in speed, plowing through a zombie or two, only flipping on the windshield wipers as her reaction, she thought to herself, ‘This is better than masturbating.’

Unlimited speed. No cops. No sirens. No one telling her to slow down. If someone got in the way, hit them. This is just what the Autobahn must be like.

The sounds of gunshots weren’t even unwelcome. They echoed through the empty streets, with no one looking out windows, or running for cover. They would be heard up from the tower, where Frank and Delta were busy, but weren’t bothering them much either. As long as it wasn’t pointed towards them, or their people, Frank didn’t give a fuck. He was too deep in … well, a fuck.

She would have kept going when Dale was out of the window, but realized a moment or two later when there weren’t any more headlights in her rearview mirrors. Curiously, she turned her own car around and encroached on the scene. She had her own window down and climbed out through her window, exactly like Dale had been sitting when he had been ejected.

It was rough seeing Dale laying on the ground, like a piece of roadkill. It was rough seeing Chip behind the crumpled hood of the car, the windshield broken, pieces of glass. It triggered something in her. She couldn’t move for a moment. It felt like she was underwater. She could just about hear the garbled voice of Dale talking to Scout, and Chip’s eyes being open as Koda got him out of the car.

Tadashi. The outline of him, the silhouette, against the fire as he had run in like he thought that he was fireproof. Like he was immortal. Like he was a goddamn hero. The situations were different but the feelings were the same in that moment, a clenching around her heart and her stomach, a sense of loss. Everyone was, thankfully, preoccupied with the twins and the body and texting while she had her moment or two of panic before she felt like she was able to breathe again.

She wasn’t thinking the clearest though. She climbed off of the car door, walking around the glass-littered ground, the blood-soaked asphalt in her bare feet, and approached Dale, still on the ground. The panic was still in her eyes, the tenseness of her bones, all of it. And what she did was lean down and gave Dale’s head a smack.

“You don’t get to come close to dying, do you hear me?” She said, and then realized that her own little hand was barely going to do anything to Dale’s head, not through those curls anyway. She took a short march towards the dead body, picked up an arm that had been driven over, detatched at the shoulder, and then used that arm to hit Dale again. “You stupid, egg-headed shitpuddle!”

After hitting him a third time with the arm, she threw it down and then ran her fingers through her hair, pushing it out of her face to try to calm herself, taking deep breaths. “I’m not losing another friend,” She said in a quieter tone this time. It was only then that she seemed to realize what she had done. That there was a detatched arm beside her that had been attached to a body only seconds ago. She leaned down and then wiped her hand on Dale’s shirt because she wasn’t going to do it to her own dress.

While this was happening, Scout’s phone would get a text. Thomas was paying attention to his drunk wife, but also to his phone because he had meant what he had said when he offered to pick Ches up, all she had to do was text. Same with Scout, but that went without saying.

‘If Chip doesn’t want to eat it, I’m sure just tossing it into a sewer or something is fine? Just don’t leave a big mess.’

Go-Go was coming down from that short-lived panic attack. It hadn’t gone full blown, just enough for her to go full-throttle rather than her more subdued self. She was a bit embarrassed so decided to gloss over what she had just done rather than address it, and move onto the next topic.

“If anyone asks, zombies did it?”

[throughpatchesofviolet]

Good morning ... I'm doing better, today. Still not exactly 100%, but better! I went ahead and added a couple things to my BYF and DNF--as well as one thing to my pinned. Other than that, I'm going to try to get to asks, sometime, today--thank you to everyone who sent something, by the way, no matter what it was! It did make me feel better, and I appreciate them. /gen

[mytheoristavenue]

MHA Eijiro Kirishima - I Could Kiss You

Summary: When you finally get offered a new work study under your first pick, Fat Gum, you know exactly who is responsible.

Warnings: Pure fluff, mentions of a toxic work relationship, mentions of misogyny, short/rushed, possibly OOC Shishido

You sighed, gripping the letter tightly in between your fingers. A part of you was relieved to read the words 'Employment Contract Termination Notice' at the head of the page, but something about the implications brewed something awful in your gut. The few months you'd spent under Shishido had been hellish and were were happy it was over but this also meant that, not only were you out of a job, you were out of a way to earn the work study credits you needed to pass the semester.

"Ah, nice," A familiar, chipper voice called from behind you. "About time!" Kirishima cheered, a hand on your shoulder as he read the letter over your shoulder.

"I guess so," you shugged his hand away dismissively.

"What do you mean?" He asked, growing more concerned at your lack of joy. "That guy's an ass, aren't you happy Nezu was able to terminate your contract?"

"I am, really," you answered with a sigh, plopping down on the common room couch. "Maybe it wasn't that bad..."

"Not that bad?" He snorted, sitting down with you, knees far apart as he leaned forward. "He treated you like a secretary. He took Ojiro and Sato out on patrols and made you stay at the office, that's not fair at all."

Kirishima wasn't wrong. It was an open secret at Shishido Agency that you were a diversity hire. The hero tended to avoid hiring interns who didn't fit a specific archetype, and he rarely ever hired women. But his contract with the school came under scrutiny when it was realized that he hadn't hired a single female student since the year after his agency opened. You were the only one who had applied to work for him, thus your employment began.

Your days after school were spent checking his emails, getting him coffee, answering his fanmail, and the like. Your classmates who worked under him would always flash you apologetic smiles as they headed out for patrol with him. "I'm sure you'll go with us next time, (Y/N)..." Ojiro would offer sheepishly on his way out the door. "Yeah, plus you're lucky, now you can get paid to just chill!" Sato would add, much to your chagrin.

"Well, in any case," Kirishima grinned, hoping to lift your spirits a bit. "Now you can start looking for a new hero to intern under!"

"Shishido was the only one who accepted me," you groaned, throwing your head back against the backboard of the couch. "I applied to like everyone I could think of."

"And nobody sent you any offers?" He asked, grimacing at your plite.

"Nope," you answered, exhausted. "Some of them never even replied." You admitted, repositioning on the couch, throwing your legs over his as you settled in. "God, 'Shima, your so lucky to get to work with Fat Gum. He was my first choice." You casually mention, cracking open a textbook to start on some homework.

"Oh yeah?" He askes with a smirk, interest piqued.

"Yeah," you smile softly. "He's always been my favorite pro, ever since I was a kid."

"Did you apply to him?" He suddenly asked, resting his hands on your shins.

"Obviously," you answered snarkily. "He was the first one I applied to."

"And?" He leaned in curiously, as if the answer wasn't glaringly obvious.

"He didn't ever respond." you sighed, turning the page of your book, a sadness gleaming in your eyes.

"Maybe you should reapply." He suggested, oddly excited as the conversation continued. "You never know! Maybe he'd take you this time around!"

"I doubt it," you rolled your eyes as you peered up at him. "I'll have to reapply to everyone though, so I might as well."

"Listen, I gotta go get ready for work." He suddenly jumped up, throwing your legs off him, earning a glare from you. "S-Sorry'bout that, but hey, I'll see you later, okay?"

-----

Once again, you stood there, tightly gripping a letter, the paper crinkling under your trembling fingers. In disbelief, you held it tightly to your chest, repeating it's contents over and over in your head. Finally gathering your bearings, you darted for the door, drifting into the hallway towards the common space.

"Kirishima!" You squealed, prompting the redhead to poke his head out of the kitchen in a panic, puffed cheeks full of half-chewed banana.

"(Y/N)! What's up?" he worried, setting the rest of his snack on the counter, looking you over for possible injury. "You good? You're shaking."

"I got in!" you shrieked, joyous tears pricking your eyes.

His face scrunched in confusion as he tilted his head before suddenly realizing. "Oh my God!" He hollered, sweeping you up into a laugher-filled hug, spinning you as your feet left the ground. "Fat Gum offered you a position?! I told you he would, hell yeah!"

You snickered as he raved with you, setting you back down on the floor, arms still wrapped securely around you. "Oh stop, I know you talked to him."

"W-What?" He paled, pulling away slightly. "N-No, of course not!" He laughed nervously. "I-I mean, you applied to Fat Gum? I didn't even know! I-"

"Eijrio," you stopped him dead in his tracks with a soft smile and the uttering of his given name. "You're a terrible liar..."

"I-I know..." he finally relented with a sheepish smile. "Are you mad at me?"

You couldn't stifle your laugh. "Mad at you? 'Shima, I'm overjoyed." You reassured beaming. "I'm literally so happy I could kiss you!"

You regretted the words as soon as they left your lips, frozen in his grasp, watching rouge crawl up his throat and across his cheeks. His dumbstruck expression made your heart sink and you could feel the heat radiating off your face.

"Y-You mean that?" He finally asked, face never changing. You nodded hesitantly before shaking it furiously.

"I-It's just an expression, I-I didn't-" You were silenced by his calloused hand reaching up to cup your cheek and the pad of his thumb brushing across your lip.

"If you're too nervous to do it, I can kiss you..." he suggested lowly, already leaning in, crimson eyes half-lidded and flickering from yours to your pouty lips. You nodded wordlessly, also closing the distance.

"Y-You can kiss me, if you want." you whispered against his lips, simply earning a nod from him as your lips met at last, briefly and sweetly.

After a moment, Kirishima pulled away, forehead pressed to yours and he murmured to you softly, still cradling your face. "If this is my reward, just tell me what else I can do to make you happy..." he said with a toothy grin.

"It's not a reward," you confessed with an equally saccharine tone. "I would have taken any excuse to kiss you..."

"Is that right?" he laughed, pulling you flush against him, head dipping down to catch your lips again, this time for much longer. "Guess I'll have to keep giving you excuses then, huh?" he teased in between kisses.

Suddenly, a grumpy voice boomed from behind the pair of you, causing you to both jump, holding each other tightly, as if caught with your hands in the cookie jar. "Can you two take this shit elsewhere? You're literally right in front of the fucking fridge."

[midnight-mourning]

DCA Promptober Day 9: Off-Limits

Had an idea in mind for this one, then @soupdweller pretty much solidified it for me with this piece of art. Hope you enjoy!

Word count: 1868

Content warning: non graphic depicitions of death, obsessive behavior if you squint really really hard, reader discresion is advised

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

You wish you were taller. Maybe not super tall, and certainly not eight or nine feet tall, but a couple inches you think would be nice. A couple inches could potentially make you feel a bit less, small, in this situation. 

The Daycare Attendant looms over you, that cartoonish grin and dead eyes certainly not helping your nerve. You swallow. You were not going to let him intimidate you, you were not going to let him intimidate you-

"Friend."

"Sun," Your voice is more squeaky than you'd ever like it to be, you clear your throat, "Can I get past you, please?"

His rays click sharply to one side, "I'm afraid not. This area is off-limits."

"I, understand that, but it's also my job as a guard to check that everything is in order-"

He moves suddenly, bending down so that your faces are now inches apart, he tilts his head, "Off. Limits."

You have it in you to get a little annoyed then. You don't really know the Attendant all that well, and from what you've heard from other staff he's usually pretty friendly and even a bit, oblivious. 

This was not that. 

From the moment you'd met he'd been off-putting, a little creepy, and in a way, hostile to you and everything you did. You almost wondered if it was a work hours vs after hours thing, but whenever anyone else was around he had that chipper persona. It was just with you that there was a problem. 

"What's in there that's such an issue?" You ask, trying to peer around him, ignoring the way his 'pupils' seem to shift and watch you, "Last I checked the Plex doesn't have any big secrets. Not any that I as a guard wouldn't know about at least."

It's hard to tell what's back there, mainly because of the near blinding light coming from the doorway to contrast with the darkened space you're currently standing in. And from what you remember, it was all just storage space. One of the bigger ones to your understanding. Actually, how'd the Attendant even get over here? You don't remember there being another entrance to this location. And furthermore, why is he-

"That," He puts a hand on your shoulder, "Is not," You're shoved backward, "Your concern."

Okay, now you're irritated, "For the last time, this is my job. Last I checked, you're the Daycare Attendant, and I'm the security guard. So, you can either move out of my way, or I make you move."

Sun stands upright again, clasping his hands in front of him, "You can try."

"Why do you even care? Why are you even over here?" You point your finger at him now, "You know, you've been honestly kind of a jerk to me since I started, and I'm kind of sick of it. I've never done anything to you!"

A click. You continue. 

"I have tried to be nothing but kind and considerate, I don't stay in your space too long, I wave when I see you, I compliment your art and yet you've been nothing but cold, impassive, and downright rude."

The Attendant is stock still and frankly, you don't care.

"What did I do to deserve this, huh? What made you decide I was going to be the target of your just, straight vitriol toward me?" You throw your hands up, then slap them against your legs. 

Your breathing is heavy now. But at least you've said your peace. 

It's then that the bot laughs, not the reaction you were expecting. For some reason, it sends a chill down your spine.

He takes a step closer, then another. It gives you an idea as he once more bends down to your level. 

"What you've done?" Several rapid clicks of his rays turning to the right, "You want to know what you've done-"

You quickly sidestep him, darting inside, "Maybe some other time! Let's say after my patrol, how's that?"

He makes a loud sound then, which you take as merely mild frustration. Something that in hindsight, was a mistake on your part. You snickered, served him right. You were just trying to do your job.

The storage room was a lot bigger than you were expecting. Grander. Many aisles of boxes piled to the high ceiling on either side of you, along the backwall, and is that a connecting room behind? Geez, why is this area not patrolled more often? Seems like there's a lot of stuff to grab, regardless of there seeming to just be the one entrance. 

You think you've lost Sun, for now anyway. If he catches up to you again it's not like he can do anything except complain. The thought instantly peeves you. 

You're nearing one of the back corners of this front room now, deciding to radio back to the main office, "Hey, working on the last bit of my route, there a reason we don't check this storage room more routinely?"

"We don't.... manpower.... -eople have... -ssing. Wasn't supposed... -your route. -ou should probably-.... -here." Is the response you receive.

You frown, speaking into the device again, "Hey, you're cutting out super bad, could you repeat that?"

All you get is more garbled static as a response. You shrug it off. Must be a dead zone near this room. Annoying, but that's life.

There's a smell in here, you're realizing. And it's not dust, even though there's quite a lot of that. It's decay. 

And the closer you get to that back corner, the stronger is gets. 

Now, a normal person would say fuck it, and call a custodian to deal with whatever poor animal had gotten in here and died. And maybe on a different night, you would have done that. But for some reason, that wasn't the decision you were going to make for tonight.

You round the corner and find-nothing. Just some more boxes. But god that smell is strong now. You're getting ready to turn around and high tail it out of there, when you notice that there's something sticking out from the corner, between where the boxes on either wall collide. 

You don't need to get a closer look to confirm what it is, but you do. 

You can only stare on in complete and utter disbelief. 

Yup. That is indeed a shoe. Attached to a foot, attached to a dead body-a dead security guard's body-which you're 99% sure is what you were smelling. 

The surprising part of all this was exactly how many dead bodies were stuffed into that corner. All in various states of decay. 

"I warned you."

You jump, whipping around to find Sun staring at you. Somehow, the blank look in his eyes is more unreadable than ever before. You swear there's like, a shimmer to optics. Kind of, purplish. But your eyes are probably playing tricks on you.

Your instant reaction is to pray, but you think it's a little late for that. Your second reaction is to beg. 

Your voice wavers as you speak, hands up defensively, "Pl-please don't, don't, hurt me..."

"Hurt you? Oh no no no, sweet thing. I'd never want to hurt you," Sun tuts, his words have a softness you've never witnessed before, "I'll admit I haven't done the best job of showing it, but I do care."

In your shock of it all, you can just stand there, fear dissipating just slightly while blinking a few times, "Excuse me?"

He goes off on his own little tangent, starting to pace as he speaks more to himself than to you, "Believe me, coming to terms with the idea that you of all people would catch my interest wasn't, easy, but I think I've been dealing with it to the best of my ability," He turns to you, hands together, "And now, you've made this entire process that much simpler!"

"...Simpler how?" You're still processing the dead people thing; you aren't even comprehending the idea that Sun likes you. 

"Well, now we can so spend time catching you up to speed," Sun tilts his head, tone eerily cheering as his eyes lift into crescents, "You didn't think you could leave now, did you?"

You bolt.

You try to remember how you got back here, which ways to turn to get back to the front. Given you're kind of freaking out right now, it's not easy.

Sun's behind you, somewhere. Sure you can hear him; those bells were loud on top of the mechanical clinks and whirls his limbs emit as he follows after you. The problem is that he's eight feet tall and you can only run so damn fast. 

You find the entrance. The door's shut.

"Shit. Shit, come on," You fumble for your keycard, shaking hands swiping it through the card reader. 

"Access denied. Access denied. Access denied."

You hear Sun a few aisles over, "Ah, ah, ah. Leaving so soon? After you worked so hard to get in here?"

You curse under your breath as he continues.

"And really, to not bother to listen after I told you to stay is really, quite, rude," From the sounds of it, he's now where you just were, and seemed to be expecting you to still be trying to get out, having the gull to be annoyed about it, "Well there goes that dramatic reveal."

You don't know where you're running but you realize you're going to need to find a destination soon, because you're going to eventually run out of stamina. And Sun will not. 

A hiding place. You need a hiding place. 

"I put in a lot of effort to keep this from you, Starshine," Sun says to the empty space, "Spare you from this thing, that I've become."

There is nowhere to hide in here. It's just the same repeating rows over and over again. Could you maybe circle back? Start climbing? Just something-

"It's not a willing participation, you know. If you understood how this f̴͉̲̲̳̐̑̈́̍̀eė̴̘̽̋l̴͍̣͎̙͎̉̃ṣ̶̪̀, maybe you'd be a bit more sympathetic. Though I suppose that's a big ask."

You need to quiet your breathing, collect yourself a bit. Find another option.

You swallow, trying to calm down as you rest back against the cardboard. It sort of works. 

Until you become acutely aware of the fact that Sun is now silent. 

You strain your ears, eyes flicking back and forth to either end of the aisle. You're closer to the one on your left than the right, but you wonder if it'd be worth the risk to dash to the other side. 

Unfortunately, you don't get the chance.

You take a step away from the makeshift wall, only able to react after the fact as Sun comes from around the corner, the surprise of seeing him making your trip backwards as you spin to face him. 

He catches you, and you notice that the ribbons which usually wrap around his wrists are missing. He tricked you.

"Caught you friend~" He chuckles lightly at the joke. 

You can only look up at him with fear. His pupils are purple, you're sure of it now. He leans in, rays spinning. 

"Maybe next time you'll listen when I say something is off-limits."

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

Since y'all liked reading the notes I write for Confused Spirit, here's the one I wrote for this lmao:

You can read the others here, sorry for being late with this! As you can see, she was a biggin'. Thanks for reading!

[livesworthlivingau]

Lives Worth Living Chapter 19

Spoilers for ISAT/Two Hats, you know the drill. CW: Descriptive lightly gore-y depictions.

(You slowly lift your heavy eyelid open as you lie in bed. Breathing hurts, everything hurts really. Your body is still incredibly sore, your throat is raw and ravaged, your feet blistered and throbbing. The only comfort is feeling your head against a familiar, warm surface, hearing that gentle heartbeat that's soothed you so much over the years...)

"Isa..." (You mumble softly, weakly looking up towards his face. He was absolutely passed out, snoring softly, mouth wide open with drool oozing down in his sat up position. You give a soft smile of comfort at this, just remaining in his slumbering embrace as long as you can.)

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

"Is Frin gonna be okay?"

"I-I think so! I don't know what happened but the healing seemed to help. Th-They'll just need a lot of rest after everything he's been through."

=You sip your breakfast tea as Mirabelle explains Siffrin's condition. Flashes of that shade flowing in your mind as you ponder what the gems could have caused such a thing.=

"How long is that gonna take?..." =Boniface asks, looking both worried for Siffrin's sake and disappointed it will take longer to seek out the bright star they saw in the sky.=

"I-I'm not sure Bonnie, probably at least a few days..." =Boniface doesn't respond, just looking down with a sad expression.=

"We can check on Siffrin when he wakes up, if you'd like. He seems to be doing better so I'm sure he'd want to see you too, Boniface." =They respond with only a slight nod, staying quiet. You wish Isabeau wasn't preoccupied, he was always better with the emotional stuff. It was getting as exhausting as the hike was.=

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

"Nnghh... Sif?... You awake?" (Isa mumbled softly in his tired state. You flutter your eye open and glance up at him tiredly, giving as big of a smile as you could muster. He tiredly wraps his arms around you carefully, pulling you into a close hug but not wanting to hurt your already abused form.)

"Isa..." (You rasp out through your thrashed throat, savoring the hug before you hear a sniffle and feel some wet drops falling to your head.)

"I'm so glad you're okay Sif... I-I..." (He stammers through his sobbing... You can't remember ever seeing him like this, in your whole 30 years with him he was always able to hold his emotions well even in extreme moments. Sure he'd cry at really cute things or watching a really sad play but... never quite like this.)

"I-I'm sorry..." (You feel his grip tighten some around you, taking a couple deep breaths to try and calm himself.)

"D-Don't be... Thank you Sif, for continuing to fight. I love you so much." (He lifts you gently, kissing your forehead as you smile again, weakly squeezing him back. He keeps you in this close embrace for a while before finally loosening his grip, pulling an arm away so he could wipe his tears.)

"S-So... Are you ready to see everyone? I'm sure they'd love to know you're doing better!" (He says, back to his usual chipper self after a couple deep breaths. You give a light nod, slowly sitting up and climbing to the edge of the bed. Before you can manage to climb off on your own, you let out a surprised little squeak when Isa lifts you up, carrying you bonded style. Your face burns darkly at this, but you just lay your head against his chest, not putting up any protest.)

"Hehe, sorry Sif, I still think you should take it real easy, so no walking for you~! Doctor Isa's orders!"

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

"Did someone order a Sif? Sorry, they got a little banged up in transit." =Isabeau joked, causing Mirabelle and Boniface to giggle as you just roll your eyes with the lightest smirk. Siffrin desperately wants to hide their blushing face but can't without their cloak. He does look more emotionally stable though, so that's a good sign.=

"Siffrin! How are you feeling? D-Do you need anymore healing?"

"N-No, I think you got all you could." =His voice was so soft you could barely hear it from the other side of the table. You still aren't sure what caused that episode earlier. Why was that color back? Why was he hacking it up? There's too many factors at play and he seems in no state for long winded answers. It seems those questions must remain unanswered for now.=

"F-Frin? Are you okay?" =Boniface asks as they get up, walking closer. They look up at him worriedly, but his soft smile and holding out a hand for them to take helps put them at ease.=

"I'm better... I'll be okay soon, I promise."

"Super duper promise?..." =He smiles a bit brighter and holds up his pinkie. Whatever this gesture means, their face lights up, bringing their own pinkie to it and curling it around his.=

"OH! You must be starving!! What do you want to eat Frin?!" =They shout, quickly looking in the cabinets and bags for whatever ingredients they had.=

"Whatever it is, please make sure it's soft Bonnie, Sif's throat is still pretty thrashed."

"Got it, Za!" =Without hesitation they got to work on some extravagant meal, putting in the extra effort for the sake of the situation.=

"A-Are you sure you're okay enough to eat?" =Siffrin nodded, his stomach sounding out as if for emphasis.=

"He can't get much better without eating, it's been nearly 3 days since you've had a meal..." =Isabeau remarked worriedly, giving Siffrin a nervous stare. To help reassure their large companion, they laid their head on his shoulder before speaking.=

"I'm okay... I promise, just need some rest and food." =His voice is still practically a whisper. You sigh to yourself as you have very little to add to this conversation, all you have is more questions, more theories, none of which can be answered right now... A meal and rest would have to do for now, but you would need to get some answers soon.=

[hunterbunter3000]

I think it's also about the way sweetheart touches them. She's gentle with them, which is something rare for absolutely all of them. Sweetheart doesn't assume because they're in the military that they don't need kindness and support and delicate hands. She knows they already think that they don't deserve anything like that so when she sees them wanting it and craving it, she is so willing to give. Her love cup is so full for her team and the people she cares for.

She handles ghost like he's still just Simon Riley, a sad kid deep down. Sweetheart offers up affection that she can just feel is so foreign to him. Yes he can take care of himself but everybody knows it doesn't extend beyond the basics and she takes time to try to heal his aches and pains that he's gotten so used to living with

She's delicate with price, knowing how hard he's worked to keep the team alive and well. How most of the time, he gets no recognition for his efforts. Sure, she teases him and calls him an old man when he complains about his back but in the same breath is offering a massage to get the ever present knot out

She's attentive with soap, hating how he looks like a sad puppy when people try to brush him off as a loud and brash grown up child. She wants him to hold on to that because she knows if it goes away, he'll seem like a shell of himself. She's seen what too long in the field can do to someone like johnny and how it can change them for the worst so she always encourages his jokes and such.

She helps gaz as much as she can. She sees how he pushes himself and how it sometimes ends up in neglect of himself. How many meals has he missed due to trying to just get one more thing done? How many hours of sleep has he skipped to try to figure something out? With a firm hand, she always guides him into taking care of himself and to give himself a much needed break.

IM RAMBLING IM SORRY

AAA NOOO DONT BE SORRY- DONT EVER BE SORRY FOR RAMBLING THIS IS AMAZING 💖✨️✨️💕

(I'm terribly sorry this took so long- BUT GARRICK'S IS PRETTY LONG SO ITS A WIN WIN-)

But holy cow I agree with this so much

Tw: mentions of depression, insecurities, trust issues

I'm really gonna start with Soap because what you said is her biggest fear. She cares deeply for Mactavish and always pays a little bit more attention to him than the others because of that terror.

It would be a nightmare if she didn't see the life in his eyes anymore. Her heart was already broken when her second uncle came back a zombie from being in the army. Didn't talk to anyone, and if he did he would always snap at them. He loved his family still. He really did. But the happiness, and the compassion was gone. He couldn't let go of the guilt, of the regret he had in his choices. He didn't really talk about it, but when he did Sweetheart could see the black tar oozing out of his mouth. All the internal pain and suffering. She doesn't want to see Soap be like that, since their personalities are quite similar. Fun, chipper, determined and kind. She will protect his internal being with everything she has, just like she did with her uncle. So she will always laugh at his jokes and add on to them, making them both double over. She will always stand up for him when someone calls him loud and brash. Telling him it's okay to express yourself how you want to.

If she fails, if she even sees the shine leave his eyes for a second, she knows she failed her uncle again and will never be the same.

--

Now with Ghost-- GOOAAHHHHDDDD he needs all the hugs and cheek kisses he can get (and really just hugs) he doesn't like to be touched unless he knows you knows you (kinda like König and Roach) it took Sweetheart a WHILEE to get close to Ghost. Yes, he did have a small soft spot for her, but he would NOT let her touch him. It took like five months just to let her touch his shoulder. Because of his insane trust issues and paranoia, he didn't let her get close. He couldn't. He couldn't risk getting hurt from Sweetheart. Kind, charming, thoughtful, Sweetheart. Caring, strong, smart, Sweetheart. He craved for her touch so badly that he knew it was what he needed, but he couldn't handle the pain afterward. But there was no pain when she first hugged him when he came out of that explosion alive. There was no pain when she held his hand through his panic attack. There was just warmth. And love. Through every touch she gave him, it spoke of love and care. She gave him time. She gave him so much patience so he could trust her. So he could love her. And he does.

Price-- that man deserves a hundred medals I swear. As you said, he gets no recognition of his effort from anyone, because that's what he's supposed to do. He's supposed to get everyone out alive, he's supposed to succeed everytime. It's just built in the job with that expectation. But Sweetheart knows in order to keep that kind of task going, he needs support. And my god, does she give it to him. Always patting him on the back and saying good job. Checking for any injuries, and if there are, she would fix them. Listening to anything he's talking about and giving her opinions on it. Giving him some tea and something to eat if he's up late. And just giving him any form of affirmation. He deserves it. He deserves all the support, the back rubs, the massages and the teasing, the tea and the naps, all of it. And Price is so grateful for it. If she wasn't there for him, no one would be.

Kyle. Gaz. Garrick. Goodness, that boy has put so many expectations on himself that NO ONE ELSE has put on him. It's weighing him down. Since he's the youngest and has less experience than everyone else, he thinks that he has to catch up to everyone else or be better than them in order for people to see him. See him being one of the members of Task Force 141. The best of the best, right? Like Sweetheart? How she carries herself through chaos, how she handles dire situations, how well she works with others, how physically, mentally, and emotionally strong she is? Can he be skilled like Sweetheart? Calm and collected like Ghost? Well-armed like Soap? He doesn't know. His insecurities are always getting the best of him, making him forget to brush his teeth. Or eat breakfast. Or even get out of bed. Is he even fit to be on this team? Sweetheart knocks on his door. Is he even worthy? She knocks again. He has so much to catch up on. She opens his door. How will he catch up to them? She sighs, walking towards his curled up figure on his bed. He's in their shadow. Maybe he should leave. Sweetheart comes into his view, shocking him. She has a slight concerning face, but more anger than anything. Angry that he hasn't been taking care of himself. Concerned on why he hasn't been taking care of himself. She grabs his hand and brings it to her lips, closing her eyes. His entire body feels warm. Awake. She breathes in and opens her eyes back up. She urges him to get up. Get up and take a shower. His brain says no, but his body is moving subconsciously. She waits outside the Men's Bath Unit until he's done. She waits for him, quite closely, when he's brushing his teeth; Sweetheart tells him not to forget to brush his molars. She waits for him when he dresses himself in clean clothes, still in the same room as him, just turned. She waits for him to finish eating a big breakfast, which he eats fully. All with silence. All with a neutral face. Yet her actions are firm. Caring. Helpful. She sits him down on his now cleaned bed, the help of Sweetheart, and they just... talk. Talk about what's been going on, talk about why he feels this way, and when. It helps. She's giving her opinions on what he can do to be better, but it's up to him to take them. She sighs, eyes studying him. 'I hope I'm not crossing any boundaries with you. But I couldn't sit aside and let you make yourself disappear. Especially when you're valued as a teammate and a friend.' She says. Gaz feels like crying. And he does. He hugs so tightly. Tight enough that she could feel his appreciation through his touch. He's thankful that she saw him. And she continues to see him.

[legendofmorons]

How to fall in love twice part 7

Pairing: Malon x Time x reader

Rating: G

Summary: While you and Malon go on an unofficial coffee date, Time finally has some sense knocked into him thanks to Wild, Warriors, and Legend.

Warnings: N/A

Other: If I missed anything, please let me know

-------

The third day in modern Hyrule begins with the delightful experience of introducing Malon to modern coffee shops. Which is certainly worth it.

However, first, you get a nice shower. With your hair routine, proper soap, any shaving you might choose, and the ability to have hot water. It's glorious, and you are thankful for running water.

Malon takes a shower as well, still confused about modern shower products, but delighted in the effects! She likes that there are so many options. She also adores the hot water since she doesn't have to heat it herself.

Malon has delighted in modern clothes, a sage colored cable knit sweater, and dark jeans are her chosen outfit today.

How the fuck is she so pretty all the time? It should be illegal.

You need to focus on the things going on. Not on how pretty Malon is.

You also need to introduce her to milkshakes. You think she'd like them. But that's for later.

For now, you focus on getting your wallet, keys, and any other items you need for a city outing. You glance at the deity mask sticking our of your bag.

You find both comfort and worry in the presence. The mask has the markings that Time bears. And yet it feels unlike him at all.

You shake your head to dispel the thoughts. There's no use dwelling on those things.

Your time is much better spent on other things. Like kicking ass or spoiling the gorgeous red head you're with.

You lead Malon into the local coffeeshop midmorning. The crowd is not dense, but there's quite a few people there anyway.

Mostly, it's college students who take residence in the establishment.

You both look over the menu, and once you've explained the new drink concepts to her, you both step up to order.

"Welcome to Cuthulu brews. What can I get started for you?" The barista at the counter asks with a smile. Their eyes look dead, though. Classic customer service jobs, sucking the life out of people.

"Can I get a mocha but like - not taste the coffee?" Malon asks.

"Uh- maybe?"

"Why don't you get a shot of espresso in you hot chocolate." You suggest lightly.

"I can do that?"

"Sure, you want hot chocolate with one shot?"

"Yes, please."

"What size?"

Malon looks to you, unsure but excited.

"Large, please." You decide, that'll be more chocolate to hide the coffee taste in.

And really, you think you both deserve nice things after the hell you've been through lately.

You don't know what you'd do without Malon. Ignoring your feelings for her she's still been such a help and pillar of support.

"Awesome, can do. And for you?" The barista turns their attention to you.

You order your drink, along with two breakfast pasteries. You want to make sure you and Malon are both eating well enough.

You pay and leave a tip.

While you and Malon wait for your order, she seems to be buzzing with excitement.

"You're more chipper today, good dreams or something?" You ask with a smile.

The smile she turns on you is dazzling, "Sort of. I'm just glad I'm with you mostly."

"Oh, that's sweet. I'm glad I'm with you too, Mal." You smile and then feel silly using the nickname you've only heard her husband use. "Sorry, uh, the nickname is probably weird."

Malon just shakes her head, "Not really! I like hearing you call me that."

"Oh. Okay." You smile, trying not to read into any of this.

But over the time spent with Malon- your crush has definitely become bigger. And you are a lot closer to in love than you should be.

After collecting your drinks and breakfast, Malon leads you to a window table to sit at. Her mood is the highest it's been in a while.

It's good to see her happy.

"You said you wanted to show me something called - a wifey?"

You nearly choke. "WiFi. Wifey is something different."

Malon laughs, but she looks like she said the wrong thing on purpose. But that's got to be wrong.

(It's not wrong. She's teasing you.)

"You're probably right." She says before taking a sip of her drink.

You just resign yourself to a few bites of breakfast pastry. You need a moment. Just to get your mind up and running again.

"So, if we're in your time, don't you have someone to check in with?" Malon asks as she looks you over.

She does that a lot. Why's she always looking you up and down? She's not checking you out. That's just silly.

(She is checking you out. And she thinks it's rude you keep trying to stop yourself from returning the attention.)

"Not really. I'll be gone again soon so it'd just upset them." You say simply.

Because really the longest you've stayed in any time is a week since you got pulled away from the chain. So why bother upsetting people?

"I guess. But I'd want to hear from you."

You laugh, shaking your head. "You're sweet to me."

Malon makes a face, as if amused and exasperated. She does that a lot when you try to wave off her compliments.

"(Y/n), sweetie, you're a lot better than you give yourself credit for."

"Oh. Uh- thanks."

She just smiles, and sets a hand on your hand. "I mean it. You're going to make whoever you end up with very happy ome day."

She has a weird tone, and you almost think she wishes she was who you end up with. But that's ridiculous and probably not right.

"Thank you."

-------

Time is having a very bad time. Since he saw you and Malon, he's been torn up inside.

On one hand, you're both alive!

On the other hand, you're still who knows where facing threats he can't protect you from.

What a great time.

"You need to eat." Wild says as he pushes the shepard's pie into the old man's hands.

Time looks at him, blinking. Right. Food. He does need sustenance.

"Thank you." Time manages.

Wild just sighs, shaking his head. "You're disrespecting both of them by thinking they're gone."

"I don't - I don't think they're gone... I just think I'll never see them again."

Wild just levels a stern look at Time. He's not paid enough for this. He isn't paid at all, actually.

He will have to talk to Hylia about labor laws. She needs to hear from his union.

First, he needs a union, actually. He'll have to ask Legend for help there.

"What?" Time manages with a strangled edge.

"You're being entirely too pessimistic. Everyone thinks we'll see them again. Even Legend. So are you going to snap out of it?"

Time blinks again, confused and unsure if he should be offended. He's just being realistic!

Right?

"Don't give me that realistic spiel. Stop making things out worse than they are."

"I'm not!"

"We saw them three days ago. They were alive without any immediately fatal injuries, and they were both standing on their own. So unless they've started throwing the same pity party you are, they're fine."

"I'm not throwing a pity party."

"Call it what you want, but you're being too seal-ious."

"You did not just make that pun."

Wild just grins. There is nothing like puns to make people listen to you.

"Is he done making the worst assumptions?" Warriors asks as he makes his way over.

"I don't know. Time?" Wild turns expectantly to the old man.

Time just sighs. "Yes. We need a plan."

"We have a plan." Warriors says, as if it should be obvious.

"Since when?"

"An hour after we saw them. Some of us have been getting shit done." Legend adds helpfully.

"Legend." Warriors sighs. Though he dosen’t seem too far away from the sentiment.

"You didn't tell me?" Time asks, sounding genuinely upset.

"The only people who can pull you out of your spirals consistently are the reason you're spiraling. We tried." Pegend tolls his eyes.

"You're not the only one who misses then, Time." Warriors sits beside Time gently. "You may know Malon the best, but we all like her."

"And we all love (Y/n). Not the way you do, but they're one of us." Wild says firmly, "Twilight is barely keeping it together. You know he hates losing loved ones to portals."

Oh.

Time realizes he's really been disconnected. Of course, everyone else misses you and Malon.

He didn't even think about how the others might feel.

Shit.

"I'm sorry." Time says as he looks between his three companions. "I haven't- been present latley."

"We'll forgive you, this time." Wild gives a little grin, "Just don't get lost in your gear again."

"Deal."

[eddiemunsons-missingnipple]

Dad!Eddie x Mom!Reader

Summary: it's your daughter's first day of school and Eddie isn't taking it too well.

Warnings: none some suggestive themes. just a small little fic. This is complete and utter fluff. Dad!Eddie has been on my brain all weekend.

Not proofread

Walking through your home with a clothes hamper on your hip. Hunting down various articles of clothing thrown about from your hectic morning. The first day of school is always stressful, but it wasn't too bad with just your son attending now it's your daughter too.

Getting them all up and ready was more than enough stress for you to begin the day with. Your daughter, who is like her father in so many ways, is NOT a morning person. While your son is a very bright, early, and chipper in the morning. After getting them ready for school, allowing Eddie to be the one to send Lily off this time around. You had the pleasure of sending your son James off to his first day of school last year.

Making your way to your kids' shared bedroom, you hear small sniffles emerging from the cracked door. These weren't sniffles of two sad little kids who didn't get their way. These were sniffles of their sad father who is having a tough time letting go. Eddie was the soft parent in your household. Anytime his little ones so much as poked out their little bottom lip, he was putty in their hands. Now, here he was sitting against your daughters bed, hugging her bat squishmallow to his chest.

"Hey Ed, everything okay?" You asked, sitting the laundry basket down on the floor.

"She's not ready yet. she's too small." His voice muffled in her favorite plush toy. Eddie had a very close bond with both of his children. But when Lily was born, it was like this whole other side of him came out. He became more aware of the world around him. Knowing it was going to treat her differently than it would your son. He became way more sensitive and understanding of her feelings, even if it was a small inconvenience.

"Eddie, she's five. I think she's ready." You said, taking a seat next to him on the floor.

He looks up from the plush bat that had stains of various glitter nail polishes. His eyes were red and puffy. His lips chapped and nose slightly runny. He wasn't taking this milestone well at all. His partners in crime were not making a mess in the living room like they usually did. They weren't running around screaming for Daddy to come and play. The house was quiet, and it hasn't been like this in six years.

"Tell me why you think she's not ready. This isn't just because she's small."

His chin wobbles just a bit, and he shakes his head. Clearing his throat, and you can tell he's struggling to get himself together. Now that you think of it, he's probably been a mess since watching her walk off with her kindergarten teacher. You'd never think this intimidating looking metal head you'd met years would be weeping in a stuffed animal.

"B-because no one is gonna protect her, how I can."

"Whose gonna spray the toilet for monsters?" He said, and you couldn't help but smile a little.

"You know how much the sound of a toilet flushing scares her. Who is gonna help her?" His voice sounding more and more frustrated as he spoke. Your daughter did have a hard time going to the bathroom. Anytime she went, either you or Eddie had to be on standby at the door while she went. She hated loud noises. If those noises weren't from your husband's guitar, she hated them.

"She's gonna have a total meltdown."

"Well, if she has a meltdown, I'm sure the school will call us." You reassured him.

He's not listening at this point hes just coming up with excuses to keep them home. Eddie wasn't good with change at all. When your son started school, he called them every fifteen minutes to check on him. Every day, during their nap time, he would call and ask the teachers to check and see if he was still breathing. That's just how he was with them. If they were not in his care hes freaking out. Like he said, no one can protect them the way he can. You couldn't help but fall in love with him more after seeing the way he is with your kids. He's attentive, playful, and a little too overprotective. You can tell the relationship he has with them is something he longed for growing up.

"You should have seen her. She looked so cute." He spoke up, interrupting your train of thought.

"Her backpack is way too big for her it looks like a little turtleshell." He smiled fondly and rested his head on your shoulder. You move your hand up and rub the side of his face. He moves the plush toy away from his chest to hug you close.

"She's growing up, Ed."

He groans when you tell him that. You can tell he's been battling with that realization for a while now. Today is just a reminder and confirmation of that. She's growing up, and soon, she'll be on her own. "My little Lily pad is gonna be all grown up one day."

He hugs you tighter, and you can hear him choke up again. Pulling away to look at him, you kiss the tears that have escaped the corners of his eyes. He's a mess and probably won't be over it until she walks through that front door again.

"That won't be for a while. Ed, don't rush it." You said as you peppered kisses to his face.

"I'm just not ready for that day yet, baby."

"This house is so lonely already without them here." He says as he begins to stand up and pulls you up with him. He tosses his daughters toy on her bed and pulls you in for a tight hug. The way he's holding you feels like if he lets go, you'll be gone, too. Eddie has always been a clingy man. That's something you always found endearingly beautiful about him. Eddie is a wonderful man and an even more wonderful husband. Sometimes, you see him play with your children and think about how lucky you all are to have him in your lives. People are too quick to judge him based on his hobbies and aesthetics. Those people have no idea what kind of person they are missing out on knowing. He's always been a very kind and generous person. Now add two little squealing children yelling for him 24/7, and those qualities are amplified to one hundred.

"Come on, we have two hours left before they are home."

"Ooh, what exactly are we gonna do in these two hours?" He said, wiggling his eyebrows at you suggestively. You laugh at him and pull away, trying to pick up the clothes basket. He grabs you from behind and pulls you tight against him. "We gonna make another one?"

"Oh no no no we're not." You said giggling as he buried his face in your neck.

"Oh, come on, it's too quiet around here, and I'm sad." He said as he playfully pouts.

Wiggling around, you finally break free of his grasp. Both of you are running around the house, giggling. Eddie finally grabs a hold of you and throws you over his should heading to your shared bedroom. What was supposed to be an intimate afternoon with one another ended up being an afternoon nap for you both. Wrapped in eachothers arms, getting some much needed rest until your kids burst through the front door.

[tragicclownwrites]

Why the ending of "Sponge-Cano!" was great SquidBob fodder

Hello! I'm back with an analysis post as I came across something recently and wanted to share some thoughts.

I'm likely late to the game here, but I saw an old post in which the author (a fellow SquidBobber) was upset by the ending of "Sponge-Cano!" and I just have to say... huh!?

Were we watching the same episode? 🤨

Needless to say, I was thoroughly perplexed by this reaction because I personally read into it much differently. Then again, I am a clown.

Therefore - in the spirit of friendly fandom discourse - I wanted to provide another perspective on this episode. Absolutely no shade to the OP either - people are allowed to have differing opinions, after all.

If you're with me, let's clown around below the cut!

The lie that started it all

Before we dive in any further, let's take a look at the scene that started this whole conversation.

Essentially, after Squidward's heartfelt confession to SpongeBob, while he's hanging on for dear life over a boiling volcano...

Squidward: "Please SpongeBob, I didn't mean any of that! I do appreciate your friendship. I am grateful. I'm… I'm… I'm grateful for the life I'm living! Who knows how long I'll have it? I learned that from you, remember?"

He says this after being rescued by his true love SpongeBob:

Squidward: "You know SpongeBob, in light of everything that just happened... I lied to you. I am not grateful for anything! I mean look at me. I don't even have a roof to sleep under, anymore!"

Now, this is the moment that had the OP so heated about this episode. After everything he said, after SpongeBob saved his life, he just... lied?

Weeeell, not exactly.

The truth always reveals itself

Now, for my hot take... I don't think Squidward was lying at all when he said he was grateful for SpongeBob.

Before you immediately decide that I've completely out-clowned myself this time, just hear me out!

There are a few reasons Squidward may have reacted the way he did in the aftermath of the volcano debacle.

He's Squidward

Our man's just lost his whole fucking house for the billionth time

The reality of what he just said is slowly catching up with him

He's Squidward

Unlike his more chipper counterpart, the guy doesn't exactly wear his heart on his sleeve and has been shown to struggle with vulnerability and admitting failure. I mean, he can barely manage to apologize for his less savory actions without choking and sputtering like a fool!

However, when his life was on the line in this scene, he was vulnerable in more ways than one. Physically, he was quite literally dangling over an active volcano - you can't get more vulnerable than that! Emotionally, he bore his soul to SpongeBob because he thought he was going to die and wouldn't have another chance to say any of that again. Keep in mind, he truly believed he wouldn't live to see SpongeBob ever again.

I've mentioned this in my Reigisa x SquidBob masterpost, but there have been several other instances where - particularly, in a dire situation - Squidward will openly admit that he has always liked/cared for SpongeBob. And similarly, he's also tried to take it back or act like he didn't mean it when everything turns out okay or if other people aside from SpongeBob hear his confession.

So, as much as he "hates" SpongeBob and can't stand him, when it really counts, the truth always reveals itself.

Is it possible that he was just trying to play at SpongeBob's heartstrings to save his own ass? Perhaps.

But then, he accepts his fate. He loses his grip, giving everyone a tearful farewell. That is, until his little yellow angel comes to his rescue.

SpongeBob: "Squidward, I always knew you felt that way. Aw, buddy. Thanks for finally opening up to us."

⬆️Just look at the pure love in his eyes! (*Patrick voice*: LOOK AT IT!) The sappy sponge was even prepared to sacrifice himself for him. 🥺

While there was absolutely no way SpongeBob would actually let Squidward perish - promises be damned - it wasn't until Squidward poured his heart out, putting his true feelings towards SpongeBob out in the open, that he was saved from certain death.

You know how they say, "the truth will set you free"? No kidding!

As for why SpongeBob was completely fine with Squidward's lie after the fact (another point of contention for OP), well... he loves him. Period. And I think, despite his emotional constipation and frequent annoyance with the sponge in question, it's pretty clear Squidward loves him, too.

Therefore, SpongeBob wasn't upset by Squidward's outburst here because, as naïve as he may be, I don't think that fact is lost on him either.

In conclusion...

I think it's safe to say that "Sponge-Cano!" was a pretty great episode to add to the ever-growing SquidBob pile.

And if you thought the scene I talked about above was the last of it, ohohoho~ 🤭😏

You. Just. Wait.

At the very end of the episode, after Squidward loses his home and complains that he no longer has "a roof to sleep under anymore," SpongeBob does what SpongeBob does best: he offers to help him out.

Even after Squidward's selfish actions in "Can You Spare a Dime?" (which had some great fodder as well, such as *ahem* Squidward making SpongeBob wear a sexy maid outfit), SpongeBob still lets him stay at his house for an indefinite amount of time. Continuity? I don't know her.

To which, this gets even better.

Squidward doesn't refuse and find somewhere else to crash. After all, wasn't SpongeBob the reason he was miserable enough to be sacrificed in the first place? Why would he subject himself to even more SpongeBob, if that were the case?

At SpongeBob's house, he doesn't sleep on the couch or in a spare room. He doesn't even take SpongeBob's bed for himself while SpongeBob sleeps elsewhere - just like he did in "Can You Spare a Dime?"

NO.

The two of them share SpongeBob's bed. As in, they sleep in the same bed together.

Are these two fucking serious!?

They totally cuddled. Maybe even kissed.

All that to say, as much as Squidward whines and gripes about how much SpongeBob makes him miserable, it's clear to see that - even in the face of life-threatening adversity - SpongeBob's presence in his life is the key to his happiness. In this case, the key to his survival as well.

Now, if only our favorite grumpy octopus would take that spongey key, embracing him fully, to unlock that door... 🌈

[montammil]

ouu! for those requests, can we see a super sick sawyer being taken care of by rowan? 🫶 (up to you if he's sick bc sawyer poisoned him or if it's something he got on his own :3c )

TW: Intentional poisoning of food (nothing lethal), vomiting, creepy/intimate whumper, creepy comfort, captivity, non-sexual nudity

...

Rowan was getting tired, to be frank.

Sawyer's defiance had been getting worse instead of improving, much to Rowan's growing irritation. He thought after enough punishment, Sawyer would begin to learn his lesson and eventually obey, but his misbehavior and impudent attitude remained staunch in place. Not only that, but it was getting far more obvious with each passing day.

Despite Sawyer's attitude, Rowan did feel more optimistic each day at work, every time he needed to go to the office.

Sure, he still hated leaving the house (more importantly, Sawyer), but he felt in a much more chipper mood now that he wouldn't have to return to an empty home.

He would never again go back to that lonely, depressing life.

Soon enough, Sawyer would come to his senses and allow himself to be cared for and loved. Rowan just had to be patient, surely. Who in their right mind would continue to deny a life of luxury and romance? It'd be ridiculous.

No matter how stubborn Sawyer was, even he had his breaking point somewhere within. And once it's breached... everything would finally fall into its perfect place, where Sawyer could be happy to spend his time with Rowan.

When he got home, he shucked off his oxfords and placed them carefully by the door, straightening them out. He then slid the briefcase from his shoulder and set it aside, loosening his tie as he went into their bedroom.

He heard pained coughing when he entered the room, and saw Sawyer laying on the bed curled up in the fetal position, sniffling softly.

"Sawyer? Darling..." Rowan frowned down at him, sitting himself on the edge of the bed and feeling his forehead. He felt incredibly warm and a bit damp too.

Sawyer looked at him silently, his face scrunched up from the pain he was enduring. His nose was red and irritated, skin hot to the touch, dark circles around his eyes indicating lack of sleep.

"You must be sick, poor thing... don't worry, I'll get you some medicine," Rowan kissed his head, going off to search through his bathroom cabinets.

He always stocked up on medicine for flu and fever season, so he knew he should have some left.

When he came back with a bottle of cold and flu medication, he shook out a couple pills in his palm and filled a cup of water in the kitchen sink, returning to Sawyer's side.

"Here, love. Can you sit up for me? Just need to take this medicine, alright?" Rowan hummed quietly, setting the medicine and glass of water on the nightstand before turning to assist Sawyer in getting upright.

The raven haired man groaned weakly as he got lifted into a half sitting position, accepting the medication from Rowan and gulping down the pills along with some water.

Once that was taken care of, Rowan wiped the wet bangs from his forehead and pecked his burning temple.

"My poor darling... I know what will help you feel better. Do you want me to make some soup?"

"Stay away," Sawyer hoarsely mumbled. "I'll get you sick."

Rowan's frown split into a grin. How sweet he was to think of him like that! He hated to admit it, but he couldn't deny he liked Sawyer's sudden change in behavior.

Now if only he could act like this all the time instead of being uncooperative and difficult.

"Oh, sweetheart," He leaned in to press kisses against his forehead again, wrapping his arms around him, stroking his fingers through his hair. "It's okay, I don't mind at all. I'm here to take care of you. Let me do my job..."

"But—"

"Shhh," Rowan gently hushed, brushing a thumb over his lips. "None of that. Don't strain yourself any further. Please, let me get you some soup. I don't like seeing you in such misery like this." He kissed Sawyer's warm cheek and laid him back down, bringing the comforter over his body. "I'll be right back. Not one step out of bed, alright?"

"...Alright..."

After finding his apron and tying it neatly around his waist, he headed off into the kitchen and pulled open the refrigerator to find vegetables and broth he had saved for dinner later on.

As he prepared Sawyer's soup, he heard loud coughing erupt from the bedroom.

He sighed to himself. Maybe leaving him in the cold shed really had been pushing it too far... but what else was he supposed to do with Sawyer's continued resistance?

What more would it take for his sweetheart to realize it was all hopeless? He had faith that soon enough Sawyer would learn to trust him.

Maybe this was the final push he needed.

"On second thought, 'm not that hungry."

Rowan turned around to see Sawyer standing in the hallway of the kitchen, swaying dangerously on his feet as if he'd trip any moment.

He dropped what he was doing, quickly striding over to hold Sawyer before he stumbled.

"What are you doing?! You're supposed to stay in bed," Rowan reprimanded firmly, looking into Sawyer's glazed eyes. Sawyer only grumbled an incoherent noise. Rowan clicked his tongue and led him over to the couch, placing him there while he went to fetch some blankets. "Just can't sit still for a minute, can you?" Rowan returned with a large quilt in tow, tucking Sawyer inside and making sure he was wrapped snugly in it.

Sawyer sniffed for the seemingly millionth time. "'M fine."

"I'm sure you are," Rowan spoke in a mocking tone, kissing his sweaty forehead, "My poor baby... just can't stay put for even a second. Here, wait." He went back to finish heating the soup and poured some in a bowl, taking care to blow on it before carrying it back over to the couch. "Open up."

"I don't—"

"Ah-ah, I know what you're going to say. Open."

Sawyer opened his mouth reluctantly, letting Rowan spoonfeed him bits of broth. After a while though, he did refuse to eat any more when he suddenly covered his mouth with his hand and swallowed thickly.

"Noo, please, my love. Can't you finish the rest of the bowl? It'll be so good for you," Rowan pleaded, trying to coax Sawyer into finishing.

"Feel too sick..." Sawyer hid his face in his sleeve in a desperate attempt to hide his tears, squeezing his eyes shut tightly. His breathing began to pick up and shudder.

"Oh... oh no, oh baby, hey, hey... look at me... it's okay," Rowan whispered to him. "Come here, come here..." He set the bowl aside and crawled onto the sofa, gathering Sawyer into his arms and rubbing his back. Sawyer started to sob. "Hush, hush... you did nothing wrong," Rowan shushed. "You were so brave for me, love, so brave. There's no need to be upset."

While this was breaking his heart, he also couldn't help but feel thrilled. This was a drastic change compared to how Sawyer used to behave. It was so incredibly refreshing.

"It hurts," Sawyer rasped.

"Where does it hurt?"

"My throat, and— and my stomach. And I feel so gross and sweaty, but I'm so cold."

"How about a nice bath?" Rowan offered. "Hmm? A lukewarm one, maybe?" Sawyer shrugged his shoulders, which Rowan took as a yes. "Up we go now," He muttered while shifting Sawyer in his hold. He was glad he started working out more before he took Sawyer in. All those exercises and diets were paying off well.

He managed to scoop him up into a bridal carry and stood from the couch carefully. They made it all the way to the bathtub successfully and he eased Sawyer down onto the closed lid of the toilet.

Sawyer instinctively looked away when he saw Rowan undressing. "You're getting in, too?"

Rowan smiled. "Can't a man bathe with his husband?" Sawyer didn't comment on how they weren't even boyfriends, much less husbands. Rowan stepped closer and stripped Sawyer of his clothing until he was completely nude. "I won't try anything, if that's what you're worried about. Unless you want me to." He winked.

Even Rowan knew his answer was obvious, so Sawyer didn't bother replying other than with an unamused frown.

When Rowan was done filling the tub with the appropriate amount of water, he slipped in and then beckoned Sawyer over with both hands. Sawyer climbed in, cringing when Rowan pulled him close and trapped him within his arms.

"Why is the water cold?" Sawyer grunted.

"We don't want you getting warmer," Rowan informed him, moving aside and returning with a bar of soap. "I take cold showers every morning, so I'm used to it."

Sawyer huffed. He thought kidnapping was proof enough that Rowan was insane, cold showers in the morning though? Now he knew he was insane.

"Why?" he asked, only to distract himself from the skin-to-skin contact. "Is there a reason for it or do you just want to torture yourself?" He felt Rowan's chuckle reverberate through his chest.

"It actually does have many health benefits. It improves your circulation, mood, sleep, and is healthier for your hair and skin," Rowan claimed. "Though if you want to ever join me, I'm more than happy to make the shower as hot as you want it." Sawyer remained silent. Rowan continued to scrub him down, along with his hair. "After this, I'll make you some tea and you can get some sleep. I'll take a few days off work just to make sure you get better."

Sawyer suppressed a scoff. "You don't have to do that, I'll be fine—"

"Oh, hush. Of course I have to do that. You know I can't bear to be without you for even a little while. I'll hop at any excuse to take work off for you." The water sloshed lightly when Rowan shifted around, pouring water over Sawyer's head to rinse him.

For the next few minutes, Sawyer spaced out, that when he became aware of his surroundings again, he was already sitting in bed bundled under two large blankets and wearing warm clothes.

He felt the heat of a cup being pressed against his palms and blinked away the dizziness when he took a sip of what was given to him, tasting herbal tea with a hint of lemon and honey.

After that, he fell asleep with Rowan wrapping an arm around him securely, like he had to be afraid Sawyer was going to disappear at any moment.

When Sawyer woke up the next day, he immediately noticed a body curled behind him, and there was something heavy on top of his hip. Casper was resting on him and purring loudly when he saw that Sawyer was awake.

Sawyer went to pet him, then felt a wave of nausea overcome him. He leapt out of bed and sprinted to the bathroom, lifting the lid and spilling whatever he could muster out of his insides and into the toilet.

He didn't realize he was crying again until a thumb brushed the tears away from his cheeks while fingers gently pulled his hair out of his face.

Rowan rubbed circles over his back with his free hand. "There we go. Let it all out, love."

Soon enough, Sawyer finished expelling the contents of his stomach and slumped into the strong arms awaiting him. "Fuck," he whispered. His throat burned and felt raw.

He made small shushing sounds, guiding Sawyer back to bed and tucking him in.

Sawyer was past the point of caring about his own humiliation by now. He buried his face in Rowan's stomach once Rowan sat down on the bed and closed his legs around him.

"So clingy today," Rowan chuckled. He sounded more happy than worried, but Sawyer didn't even notice over the ringing in his ears. "Let me get you some more medicine first, then you can latch onto me."

"Nooooo..." Sawyer whined, nuzzling his abdomen like a cat. Rowan huffed out another laugh and simply reached into the nightstand's drawer to fetch the fever medicine, popping out a pill and grabbing the glass of water from now just a few hours ago.

After Sawyer swallowed both down again, he fell back asleep. Rowan couldn't stop smiling.

...

Just three days later, Sawyer was starting to improve. He wasn't slurring his words nearly as much, and his throat and stomach pain were only mild.

It was a (rare) good day for Sawyer, but for Rowan? Not so much.

He knew it was selfish, but he missed having Sawyer depending on him and needing constant care and attention.

As much as he wanted him healthy, he missed having Sawyer clinging onto him and acting like he needed Rowan for everything. It made his heart ache to know Sawyer would return to his regular behavior eventually... that it was only a matter of time before he ended up trying to escape again or denying his affection.

"More soup!" Rowan claimed. "Vegetable soup, to be specific."

Sawyer sighed. "I'll eat it, but then I want to be left alone."

"Sure, darling. What ever you say."

His tone wasn't sarcastic, but that's what made Sawyer more suspicious. Rowan never would've responded that way. He shrugged it off and sipped on his soup until it was all gone. The clock ticked silently as Rowan watched over him, smiling cheerily as if it were Christmas.

Sawyer gave the bowl to him and turned his back to close his eyes and get some more sleep.

Rowan left, still cheerful and bubbly. He was thankful he had decided to grow those irises in the backyard because it would work wonders with the soup. In more ways than one.

[rarityroo]

Hi there!! Is there anyway where we could get a Ragatha x reader. Where the reader comforts Ragatha who starts to feel somewhat unappreciated by some of the other members of the circus. Maybe the reader could give Ragatha a small present they working on just for her to show her she does have someone who cares and appreciates her. Please I just want her to feel some form of love and appreciation. She is legit such a sweat heart and I wanna tell her how amazing she is.😭😭😭

Giving thanks

Ragatha x Gn!reader

Hi! This seems like such a great idea, I literally stayed up until 1AM to finish it. I agree Ragatha is such a sweetie she deserves the best, also in this fic she has a small mental breakdown but it’s all okay because the reader is a sweetheart. Enjoy!

A simple thank you would have been enough, that's all she wanted. She wanted the others to finally notice all the mental and physical help she gave. The comfort she provided to Pomni when she first arrived, whenever Gaggle's mask broke because Jax made the trip. Ragatha always made sure to help. When Zooble or Kinger were having a rough day she’d take time out of her day just to make them feel better. She never minded doing it, until now at least.

Ragathas posture was slumped with tiredness and her shoulders were stiff showing her stress. She sat in her room contemplating, she felt so out of it. All she wanted was for someone to notice the effort she offered every day.

You could tell Ragatha was distressed, at first you thought she just felt like being quiet, you had days like that yourself but today felt different she seemed somewhat depressed. Her pretty smile gone and her chipper attitude deflated. It made you sad to see her that way, you hoped a small gift would lift her spirits, a red paper flower, it was a similar red to her hair and just thinking about it made a small smile grow on your face. But first, you wanted to make sure she was okay, she was the backbone of this circus and God knows without her we would all be lost.

You made your way to her room hesitantly flower in hand and approached her room quietly, you softly knocked on the door, not to startle her. "Hey, Ragatha," you said softly, your voice holding concern.

You heard a muffled shuffle in the room, then her door slightly opened, only being able to see part of her face, "Oh, uh hello," she murmured awkwardly, forcing a weary smile.

"I noticed you've been off lately," You said, gently “Are you alright?” You asked, it felt like such a silly question, clearly, she wasn’t alright she’d been avoiding everyone all day.

“I-um well-“ Ragatha stumbled over her words, nobody had asked her that in a while, that thought alone hit her like a title wave of emotions. She started to break down, and through broken sobs, she barely choked out, “I just, I’ve been doing so much and no one has shown an ounce of gratitude!" “I’ve done so much and it feels like it’s for nothing, no matter what I do it’ll never be noticed…” You looked at her with wide eyes, is this really how she felt this whole time? How could you not notice? “Ragatha..” you use your hand to push up her chin so she can look you in the eyes. “I hear you. It's completely understandable that you're feeling this way. Trust me when I say your kindness and support haven't gone unnoticed, even if it may have seemed that way. We all rely on you more than you might realize, and your efforts haven't gone unappreciated. You're not alone in this, and I'm here to support you, just like you've supported everyone else.", “Here, I have a gift for you.” You said bashfully, “I know it’s not the prettiest thing in the world but I was hoping it was enough to make you feel a bit better.”

With trembling fingers, Ragatha carefully took the paper flower. Tears welled up in her eyes as she realized the effort that went into it. Finally, even if it was as small as this it was still so perfect.

"It's... it's beautiful," she managed to choke out, her voice thick with emotion.

You smiled warmly. "I wanted to express my gratitude for everything you do," "You're always there for others, offering comfort and support. Your kindness hasn't gone unnoticed, Ragatha."

Ragatha's heart swelled with warmth as she looked at the gift in her hands. At that moment, she felt a wave of adoration wash over her, lifting the weight of loneliness from her shoulders.

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice trembling with emotion. "Thank you for seeing me, for hearing me, for understanding."

As Ragatha looked at the thoughtful gift before her, "It’s so lovely," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. “Something you both got in common" you replied, God that was embarrassingly sappy, Ragatha let out a sweet laugh, leaning in closer, your eyes locked on hers. "Seriously though please know that I care about you, Ragatha. More than you'll ever know."

Ragatha's breath caught in her throat as she felt the warmth of your hand on hers, her heart racing with nervousness. "I... I care about you too," she finally admitted, a shy smile spreading across her face.

She finally had someone who cared, someone who appreciated her for the kind-hearted soul she was.

And in that simple gesture of kindness, Ragatha found the love and appreciation she had been yearning for all along.

[always-andromeda]

aaaAAA valentines prompts are here!! (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠) weeee please spare some white chocolate truffle for love of my life dwayne? thank you dearest, compliments to the chef (⁠ ⁠˘⁠ ⁠³⁠˘⁠)⁠♥

– 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦

𝐃𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐧𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐱 𝐆𝐍!𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: aHH okay this was super cute!! I hope you enjoy this one, anon!! also lmao, yes, the title is a song. it's from Yellow House and it always reminds me of Dwayne. <3

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: Dwayne is aged up to be high school senior, pure fluff, bits of Dwayne being a little pessimistic guy, nothing else I can think of!

First period hadn't even started yet and already you could tell that Dwayne was itching for the final bell. He sighed, folding his hands together and resting his chin on top of them. You watched him peer out from under his curtain of dark hair at a few students around you both exchanging cards, candies, and little stuffed toys. 

"Doing okay there, Dwayne?" you asked as you unloaded your textbook and your binder.

He threw you a sideways glance and replied blankly, "I'm a ray of sunshine." Whatever modicum of patience he usually had in school was drained entirely by Valentine's Day.

"Oh, yeah. You're looking especially chipper today."

This time, Dwayne turned to look at you fully with his brow furrowed.

"It's a joke."

"Have you seen what's been going on today?"

"Uh, yeah, it's a holiday," you shrugged.

"It's bullshit. It's an excuse for fucking candy and card companies to make a killing," he sneered. "Because if you don't buy your boyfriend or girlfriend a stupid piece of paper that says 'I love you' then you're obviously a bad person, right?"

You scoffed, "Not exactly."

That earned another scowl from Dwayne.

"Listen, I get what you mean. It can be superficial and overbearing sometimes, I guess." You struggled to conjure the right words to explain yourself in a way that Dwayne would understand, "But...it's nice sometimes, ya know? It's nice to have someone show that they thought about you."

"Please," Dwayne dismissed. "It's not about thought or care. It's all...bullshit social transactions that no one is gonna give a shit about after we graduate anyways. It's just...dumb."

Placing a hand over the top of your binder defensively, the more Dwayne spoke, the more you found a lump forming in your throat. It made it even harder to speak as you choked out, "Dumb?"

"Yeah. And...gross," he huffed with an air of stubbornness. He'd never been particularly fond of the holiday; the unnecessary drama of couples asking each other to be their Valentine and the gossip that came from rejections for days afterwards. But...you thought...

With a new wave of frustration, you flipped open the cover of your binder and pulled a card out from the inside flap. You slid it across the top of the table in Dwayne's direction. "Then there's a stupid card for you, Dwayne. Happy Valentine's Day," you added bitterly.

Dwayne froze. Already, the cover threw him off. There was the haunting phrase of the day written out in your handwriting and above it, a drawing of a bouquet of flowers in glitter gel pens. Slowly, he opened the card, finding more of your handwriting hiding inside.

I know this is super cliche. And you're probably going to roll your eyes at me when you read this. Promise me you won't hate me too much. Or at least promise me you'll spare me the embarrassment and forget this immediately after you read it. I just had to try at least once. But I really like you. Will you be my Valentine?

With your head hidden in your folded arms, you could only guess what you and Dwayne looked like to the rest of your classmates. Already, you were anticipating how that scene would get spun. Everyone talked about how you and Dwayne were bound to end up together, seeing as you're one of the only people that would willingly hang around with the reclusive guy. And one of the only people that he would actually let hang around him.

Your first thought after that was to think about Dwayne. He didn't like being the center of attention. Being talked about like this would be the most aggravating thing in the world. And god, it frustrated you that even when he was being a jerk, you still worried about him.

Then you felt a poke on your shoulder. You raised your head and found Dwayne, still looking at the card and tracing the flowers on the cover. But this time his hand was on the table, open with his palm facing up. Inviting you to grab it. Which you do, quickly.

"I'm sorry for what I said," he muttered.

You sniffed softly. "That's okay."

"I like the card."

"Thanks."

“And I'll be–" Dwayne paused. "I'll be your Valentine."

The exhilaration inside you flared so intensely that you couldn't help but squeeze his hand in return. And Dwayne also couldn't help the tiny smile that formed on his lips when he felt the warmth of your sweaty hand enveloping his. Maybe both of you could be right about Valentine's Day. It was gross. But...nice. Very nice.

[king--dom]

"Goddammit Caleb, fuck off. I really thought you were different"

"This IS different! We've been friends forever, Lucy! I was one of the first people you came out to and I've been by your side for years!"

"Waiting for your chance, evidently!"

"Is it such a crime to wanna help my friends start a family?"

"It should be to pretend to be someone's friend just to be 'the one man'."

"You said yourself that IVF is too damn expensive!"

"Yeah, and that me and Amanda gonna save up for it "

"But what if you don't have to? It could take way longer than you expect and with the way politics are going, it may not be an option in a few years."

"Then why don't you help us pay for it if you care so damn much?"

"I would if that's what you needed! But if we don't HAVE to spend the money and if my genes are as good as anybody's and--"

"And if you get to fuck your lesbian couple friends."

"Only to help start your family!"

"Yeah, I'm sure you'll keep insisting we 'make sure' until we start showing."

"They came out with an app that alerts you the second your pregnant, so it would just be until the alert goes off"

"Oh my fucking god...you realize Amanda is the one who's gonna carry the baby right? This still isn't your chance to fuck your old crush"

"Like I've been saying, that's not what this is. And y'know before she came out I--"

"Shut up before I hear something you'll regret. That's my wife you fucker"

"Alright, just promise you'll talk it over with her, okay?"

"What makes you think she'll agree?"

"I don't necessarily think she will, but I still want to offer any help I can"

"Ugh, fine. But don't get your hopes up."

*******************************************

"Babe you can't be serious."

"Lucy, I know you're stressed out trying to save money, but I don't think he's being underhanded."

"I'm not talking about that! I got over that, he's just a ridiculous dork. I mean you can't seriously be considering fucking that goober."

"To save a quarter year's wages? Maybe. It doesn't have to be a big production, it's just sex"

"But it's more than just sex. I don't know, sex with you is something really important and special to me. Him just giving you a boring fuck is almost worse than you having sex with a man in general."

"So you'd rather he seduce me and blow my mind?"

"I'd rather put a baby in you myself! Stop laughing!"

"I'm sorry babe, I know you're much more of a man-hater than me but I really don't see the big deal."

"Oh yeah? You're the one with a nonstop libido, I figured it'd be a pretty big deal to you"

"Stop~ you might get me riled up haha. I've looked into that app, y'know. It's legit, it even tracks orgasms. Why don't I set it up and you can see just how much you've got me wrapped around your finger. Would you feel less scared that your best friend will steal me away then?"

"Pff, he doesn't scare me. Fine, let's see if it works and if it does I'll tell Caleb he's got a chance at being a donor."

******************************************

"You seem a lot more chipper today"

"Let's just say it's nice to put numbers on how good of a top you are"

"You tried out the app? It's pretty great right?"

"Hmph, I guess. Listen, I appreciate you want to help, but you have to understand this is about more than money for me. My pride as a provider, a top, and a lesbian are in the mix. My girl deserves the best and if I'm gonna allow anybody else to fuck her they gotta prove they're up to the task"

"Uh, okay? I think I get what you mean. So what do you propose?"

"I'm not gonna just let you fuck my wife. You're gonna have to somehow get her hot and heavy for you and treat her right before you even get a shot"

"You want me to...seduce Amanda?"

"I want you to try. Since I can track her orgasms, I'll know if you don't satisfy her before you try to knock her up. If you dare try to pump and dump my wife, it's seriously gonna be the last thing you do."

"Okay okay! Sorry, this is just a full 180 from what you were saying last time. And wait...you're gonna use the app to track it? You're not just gonna be in the room?"

"One: I don't wanna have to watch you fumble with pleasing my wife. Two: I still have to make money to pay the mortgage and groceries."

"Okay...so what time should I--"

"Figure it out."

"Huh?"

"I told you I'm not gonna just let you sleep with Amanda. I'm actually going to be playing goalie as much as I can to keep you from getting the chance."

"Wait but you said--"

"These are the terms of my challenge: if you try to come over when I'm home I'm going to physically throw you out like Jazz in Fresh Prince. If you somehow get Amanda to let you in and get in bed, the first orgasm I'm alerted to I'm heading straight over to-once again-bounce your ass on the pavement. You have a week starting tomorrow morning to do your best and if you can't, you're paying for half the IVF"

"God, I forgot how competitive you get. Okay fine I'll--"

"Ah! Not done. To make sure you don’t chicken out, 'cause you're my friend but I really wanna enjoy cockblocking you, if you somehow manage to put a baby in Amanda after making her cum...I'll let you put a baby in me."

"...Lucy..."

"Ha! What's wrong? Too scared or too horny to think straight?"

"Sigh...fine...if this is what it takes to help you two, I accept."

"Good! You're not a coward of a man after all. Go ahead and get your finances straight tonight because starting tomorrow, it's the beginning of the end for you."

********************************************

"You're so dramatic"

"Don't act like it doesn't turn you on~"

"Two things can be true haha as long as you're comfortable, I'm willing to play along"

"I still can't believe you're okay letting him come onto you"

"Well I guess now I don't have to be since he has to pay up if he doesn't. As dramatic as it is, I appreciate you prioritizing my pleasure.

"Like I said, sex with you is sacred. I intend to enforce that. Why don't I prioritize your pleasure before we go to sleep~"

*********************************************

"Have a good day babe!"

"You too Amanda, remember to not even open the door unless Caleb somehow manages to make you blush"

"I probably won't even hear the doorbell, you got me all revved up I'm probably gonna stay in bed a but longer and jill to the thought of what you did last night~"

"God I love you."

********************************************

*Ping*

[3 orgasms @ 8:32, 9:14, & 9:56]

"God she couldn't even wait for me to get to work. Lunch is almost done and she never texted saying Caleb swung by. He must not be taking this seriously enough. I was certain my wager would light a fire under him, oh well his loss."

"Hey Lucy, glad I caught up with you. You back on the clock?"

"About to be what'sup?"

"Got a rush order that has to be done today. Marketing fucked up and never sent us their info, now we need it ready for tomorrow's presentation."

"Goddammit, okay. If I start now I can probably bang it out before quitting time."

"Awesome, I gotta go put out some other fires, you're a life saver"

"Just remember that at my next review! ...man he moves fast, better get a raise from this."

*Ping*

[1 new orgasm @ 12:34]

"Heh, Amanda must be getting her second wind."

*Ping*

[1 new orgasm @ 12:43]

"Damn...she never bounces back that fast. I really must have set her on fire last night

*Ping*

[2 new orgasms @ 12:58 & 1:05]

"Fucking hell, she must have gotten a new vibe? Shit I'm getting wet just thinking about it. I should be home right now instead of working on this last minute bullshit report"

*Ping*

[3 new orgasms @ 1:19, 1:26, & 1:37]

"I just have to put my phone away. I can't think while I'm checking this every time."

*Ping*

*Ping*

*Ping*

*Da-ding! Da-ding!*

"What the fuck is that notification??"

[2 new orgasms @ 1:49 & 1:56]

[3 new orgasms @ 2:09, 2:16, & 2:25]

[2 new orgasms at 2:37 & 2:48]

[Successful impregnation @ 3:08]

"What the fuck!? When did he even...HOW LONG HAS HE BEEN THERE!?"

"Lucy? What's wrong?"

"Jerry, I need to get home right now! Jesus this is--"

"Family emergency? Somebody at the hospital?"

"Yes! I mean not that, but--"

"Are you almost done with the report?"

"I'm like halfway through, I can finish it first thing!"

"East coast branch needs it first thing their time EST."

"I can finish it at home, I promise!"

"Not this one, it's some serious NDA stuff. We'd lose our accredidation if you took this home."

"Fucking...is nobody else able to take this over?"

"Not without overtime. Listen normally I'd let it slide, but unless someone is dying or being born I can't spare you. I'll try to send someone over to help you out."

"God it's already too late to...okay thanks Jerry. Fuck..."

"Sorry Lucy"

**********************************************

*Ping*

*Ping*

*Ping*

"Stupid fucking marketing that cant send shit on time. Stupid fucking interns that can't read excel. Stupid fucking traffic holding me up! Stupid fucking CALEB! FUCKING MY WIFE!"

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

"YOU BETTER BE LONG GONE CALEB! WHEN I GET IN HERE I'M GONNA FUCK. YOU. U--..."

"Oh hey Lucy, I was wondering when you were getting home. Amanda here's been pretty impatient."

"What the FUCK is going on??"

"Well right now she's sucking me off 'cause she's too blissed from cumming her brains out but still feeling pretty amorous"

"I can fucking see that you--how the fuck did this happen?

"I waited to come over when I knew you were settled at work. Maybe it's best Amanda tell you the rest from there~"

*Pop*

"Ha...ha...ha...hi Lucy~ y’know even after wearing myself out I wasn't ready to just let Caleb in...but he started talking about wanting to get to know his future baby mama better and I was already feeling like a prized treasure after last night~ I really was just planning on talking to him, catching up on things, but he said such sweet things and really listened to everything I had to say about my boundaries and what feels good. Then he asked to make sure he knew what I liked and I let him touch me and...oh boy I don't know how we never clocked him as a lover boy but mmmm he knows how to use his hands"

"Amanda...you came so many times...so fast...faster than I've ever..."

"Lucy it's okay! I still love you and I can't wait to fuck you again, nothing's changed between us"

"Then why did you keep fucking after he knocked you up!"

"Heehee, well we really thought you'd be here by then... and we already had your permission...and you made a big deal about how I deserve the best~"

"Would you say I passed your test, Lucy?"

"Caleb I swear to god I'm--You need to leave before I do something that'll land me in jail."

"Sweetie, don't be like that~ Come here lemme--"

"Don't touch me, you're covered in his--"

"Shh shh shh, we're all friends. This was always a possibility"

"No it wasn't! He's a dork that's crushed on me since high school! There wasn't a world where he was gonna one-up me!"

"Well here we are, you didnt consider this when you made your wager?"

"I was gonna win!"

"Well now you need to own up to your end of the bargain"

"No fucking way! I'm not gonna--"

"It's okay Amanda, I knew it'd be a long shot. Honestly I'm honored to have helped this much. If Lucy wants to back out I'm--"

"Fuck you! Don't you act all high and mighty; I don't need your pity!"

"Sweetie it's okay, he's not gonna hold you to it"

"It's not about him! I...I put my pride on the line...and I fucking lost...welching on a deal isn't gonna fix that..."

"Whatever you need to do, I'm right here with you."

"Goddammit Amanda...I love you..."

"I love you too Lucy."

"Alright you fucker...you win...you knocked up my wife, you fucked her better than I ever could, and I couldn't even stop you...come and claim your prize..."

"Lucy I really wanna say this was never about humiliating you, I wanted to respect your challenge and...I'd be lying if I said your wager didn't motivate me, but I love you. As my best friend, as my future baby mama, and as whatever we may be in the future."

"You really did all this and were completely serious this whole time?"

"Well...yeah. what can I say?"

"I can't believe I'm letting such a fucking dork impregnate me..."

"We can take it as slow and steady as you want, no rush."

"Fuck that, let's get right to it"

"I had a feeling you'd say that. I may have talked to Amanda about what you like as well"

"Traitor"

"You'll think me later sweetie. Now kiss your baby daddy while I set up the app for you"

"Why?!"

"So we know when you're knocked up. Unless you wanna keep going after he's already bred you."

"Fine! I get it! Come here you fucking--"

"Oh wow he's really been wanting this...damn sweetie he's all over you. I thought he'd need some warm up first, but he must have memorized everything I told him. The app should be set up and synced to--"

*Ping*

"No way...Lucy there's no way you just--"

"Shut it! Shut up! We're not talking about it! I'm just pent up from a long day!"

"Aw c'mon it's not from me rubbing your clit like this?"

*Ping*

"You fucking bastard...not in front of my wife"

"It's okay sweetie, it's kinda hot seeing you like this. I always thought you liked to top because it's the only thing that made you feel good. I never realized you were so sensitive, it's kinda cute~"

*Ping*

"I told you she probably had a humiliation kink"

"Haaa! D-don't talk about mmme, like-fuck...like I'm not here!"

"Sorry honey, I've been your lover for years, but he's been your best friend for longer, I think he's got the full read on you."

"It's not that you're pathetic, it's that you're a badass who always has to keep it up. But you've pushed down the fear of not measuring up and now you get to safely feel what it's like to be a sensitive little bottom that's ready to fall apart for a man that can wrap you around his finger."

*Ping*

"Did I mention he's good at dirty talk?"

"Caleb! You motherfucker...if you tell anyone about this..."

"Shh, don't worry. This Lucy is just for me and Amanda to see. Speaking of, why don't you help your wife lie down and get ready mama?"

*Ping*

"Oh wow, Lucy you even cum when I call your wife mama? Good to know"

"Haaaa, I swear I'm...mmmm, going to..."

"Calm down sweetheart, let's get you ready. You're the only one with clothes still on. This is nice, usually you're leading me, but now I can lead you on how to be a good sub. Just focus on me, think about all the fun we've had on this bed and how you've made me look when you fuck me with your strap. Now that's gonna be you, and you're gonna be so hot~"

"Amanda I don't know if I can do this...if he makes me cum with his...and I like it...then he knocks me up...then--"

"Then you'll still love me and I'll still love you. And if there's room in our lives for our baby daddy, we'll work it out. We haven't failed, we've succeeded! We're gonna start our family! You've already made it happen"

"I love you Amanda"

"And I love Lucy"

"Shut up and kiss me before I hurl"

"I know I'm standing here with a raging hard-on, but you two are the most adorable couple ever."

"Yeah yeah, just come over here and don't make me regret this"

*********************************************

[56 new orgasms @ ...]

"Fuck! Fuck fuck fuck, goddamn you motherfucker! Fuck me into the mattress! Batter my womb! Knock me up! Breed me! Pump your fucking kids into me! Fuck!"

"Damn Lucy, your dirty mouth perfectly matches the rest of your sexy body! You feel so good squeezing my cock, you're ready to be a mother now aren't you?"

"Yes! Goddammit, impregnate me so my tits can swell up and I can feed your fucking children! You fucking bastard, stole my fucking wife and then fucked me too. You motherfucker!"

"He hasn't stolen me Lucy, I should be worried about him stealing you from me at this point."

"Don't worry mama, she's just reveling in how her pathetic male friend outfoxed her and outfucks her too, isn't that right, Lucy?"

*Ping*

"I guess you're right honey~"

*Ping*

"Oh wow she really lights up when you call me pet names. Show her how much you've fallen for me, hm?"

"Yes dear, whatever you say. Even though Lucy wanted me all to herself, she was no match for my big strong man. I'm so lucky to have such a lovely baby daddy, though if you really love me you'll become my husband too~"

*Ping* *Ping* *Ping*

"She loves that! I think I love it too! Maybe I will make an honest woman out of you, poor Lucy here couldn't."

*Ping* *Ping*

"Please do sweetie, make me the happiest woman she never could~"

*Ping* *Ping* *Ping* *Ping*

"This is it! I can't hold it anymore! Lucy's feels too damn good cumming on me! Here it comes Lucy! I'm going to breed you because you get off on your wife cheering me on! Now fucking take it!"

"Fuck yes! Make me your woman! Steal my wife! I-I...I love you Caleb!"

*Ping* *Ping* *Ping* *Ping* *Ping* *Ping*

"Oh fuck! Ah! Ah! God I've never cum so fucking hard in my life, not even when I fucked your wife! Ahh fuck I'm still...take every last drop Lucy. You're my baby mama now...you're both mine now..."

*Da-ding! Da-ding!*

[Successful impregnation @ 1:34]

"He's right, we're both carrying his children now. Are you happy Lucy?"

"Aaa..aa...Amanda...he did it...we're both gonna be mothers..."

"We are Lucy! I'm so happy, we're gonna have kids together."

"Ha..ha..and they're gonna have the best dad in the world"

"I'd be honored to join you two, I can't believe how lucky I am."

"No...not join us...we're yours...we're the lucky ones."

"She's being dramatic again, but I'm not arguing. We'll figure out the paperwork later, for right now, let's all go to sleep as a new family~"

"I...I love you two...Amanda...Caleb..."

"We love you too sweetie. Go on Caleb, you can say it too."

"I love you too mama. And I love you too, darling~"

*Ping*

[floralcyanide]

𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐀 𝐕𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧 • 𝐑𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐫

Part One

Roman Bridger x AFAB!Reader

The day Roman first laid eyes on you, he knew he had to have you. There was something about you that he couldn’t quite put his finger on, and usually, he was good at reading people off the bat. But you were a different story. Naturally, you only opened up when necessary, not letting people in if you didn’t have a reason to. So you were guarded, and Roman didn’t like that. He wanted to worm his way into your life, no matter what it took. 

If that took delving into his twisted past again in order to get to you, so be it. AFAB - (assigned female at birth) someone who is born female but can identify with she/her or other pronouns. reader pronouns are gender neutral, so people who use any pronouns can read, but female anatomy will be used and described in this fanfiction eventually.

request: Please could you write a Roman x reader where she is only supposed to be an extra in his movie, but he becomes obsessed with her and starts doing whatever it takes to make her part of the main cast so he can get much closer to her. by anon.

Can you do Roman with s/o that's an actor/actress? If you don't I'll cry myself to sleep :) by @hell0r0ck

warnings: none for this part!

word count: 1300

author's note: sorry it's kinda short, but I felt it was a great place to naturally stop. I do want this to be a few parts long, so we shall see how long it gets lol! thank you to those who sent in requests (: I'm happy to be writing for the Scream fandom again <3 if you enjoy this and want me to continue, please reblog/ like/ comment!

series masterlist | masterlist | add yourself to the taglist here

this fic has been cross posted to ao3.

ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ᴄᴏᴘʏ, ʀᴇᴘʀᴏᴅᴜᴄᴇ, ᴏʀ ᴄʟᴀɪᴍ ᴍʏ ᴡᴏʀᴋ ᴀs ʏᴏᴜʀs ᴏɴ ᴛᴜᴍʙʟʀ, ᴀᴏ3, ᴡᴀᴛᴛᴘᴀᴅ, ᴏʀ ᴀɴʏ ᴡᴇʙsɪᴛᴇ. ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴘᴇʀᴍɪssɪᴏɴ ᴛᴏ ᴜsᴇ ᴍʏ ᴡᴏʀᴋs ɪɴ ᴀɪ ɢᴇɴᴇʀᴀᴛᴏʀs ᴏʀ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴏ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀʀᴛɪғɪᴄɪᴀʟ ɪɴᴛᴇʟʟɪɢᴇɴᴄᴇ. ʏᴏᴜ ᴍᴀʏ ɴᴏᴛ ᴜsᴇ ᴍʏ ᴡᴏʀᴋs ᴛᴏ sᴇʟʟ ғᴏʀ ᴀs ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴏᴡɴ ᴄʀᴇᴀᴛɪᴏɴ.

You’re about to do a simple audition process in order to be an extra in the new Stab movie. There’s not much to it- just getting into hair, makeup, and costume and then blending into the background when ordered to do so. You’re pretty good at becoming invisible already, but you’re still nervous. The movie's director is attractive, in your humble opinion, and he’s the one who conducts the auditions. So you’re most anxious about doing something embarrassing in front of him. In your self-absorbed imagination, you hope, for whatever reason, the director notices you out of everyone here. But the chances of that happening are astronomically low.

You’re in an area full of other random people auditioning to be extras, possibly around fifty people altogether, solidifying why you won’t be so much as blinked at. You managed to snag a seat earlier when you arrived before people began pouring into the studio. You’re squirming in the chair anxiously, switching which leg to cross over the other often, and playing with your hair without noticing. 

“Are you okay?” someone from next to you whispers.

You glance over to your right and see a small girl around your age studying you with concern. 

You nod, “I’m fine. Just kinda nervous.”

“I can tell,” the girl smiles gently, offering a hand, “I’m Sage.” 

“Nice to meet you. I’m (Y/N).”

“Is this your first time auditioning?” Sage asks, her eyes curious of your answer.

“Nope,” you shake your head, “I’ve been in plenty of shows and movies.”

“Then why are you so worried? You’ve got this!” the chipper blonde grins.

You hesitantly chuckle and lean in closer to her to whisper, “I think the director is cute.”

“Roman? He’s alright. Not my type, but he’s really nice! I’ve worked with him before.”

“Really?” you raise your eyebrows, intrigued to learn more about Roman now that you know his name.

“Yeah, he directed some shitty horror movie about a year ago, and I was one of the random bystanders that got killed. He always made sure all the extras were the best they could be. I doubt half of these people here will make it because he’s really picky,” Sage rambles.

“Good to know,” you say, now even more nervous than before.

The room suddenly hushes, and everyone looks in one direction at whoever caused the silence.

“Welcome to Stab 3, everyone! I’m Roman, and I’m the director. Let’s get started.”

Everyone is ordered to a set where we all stand aimlessly and talk to each other or walk around. According to Roman, anyone breaking their character or not looking convincing enough will get booted. Upon his signal to begin, we all take random places around the set and pretend to be nobody. Piece of cake. There are placeholders for the actual main actors reciting lines for the scene we’re practicing to make it more natural. You avoid your eyes from anyone specific other than Sage, pretending to be deep in conversation with her. Roman walks around the set like a ghost, dismissing people here and there. He has a hand on his chin, rubbing it inquisitively as he studies everyone he passes. A group of girls giggles at Roman when he walks by them, to which he then dismisses them off the set. You avert your eyes back to Sage quickly before he notices. In your vision field, you can see him walking in your direction.

Sage notices your staring and looks at you knowingly before learning her throat, “So have you heard?” 

“Heard what?” you say, trying to remain in character the best you can as Roman inches ever closer.

“There’s a masked killer on the loose,” Sage looks around nervously, quieting her voice.

“Seriously?” you furrow your eyebrows, half wondering if she was actually serious or if she was just playing her part, “Do they know who it is?”

Sage shrugs as Roman stands by the two of you, watching with a slight gleam in his eye, “No one does. We just have to make sure to stay safe. So if you go anywhere, don’t go alone.”

“I wouldn’t be caught dead anywhere alone,” you chuckle, rolling your eyes playfully, “No pun intended.”

Roman stifles a laugh, “Good job, you two. I’ll see you on the real set soon,” he winks.

You look at Sage with wide eyes as he walks away, and she pats your shoulder with a smile, “I told you that you had this in the bag! Besides, I know Roman enough to know that he thinks you’re cute.”

You try not to snort, “And how do you know that?”

“He’s still staring at you.”

Trying your best to look casual, you scratch your neck and turn around slowly, darting your eyes around to avoid direct contact with Roman. Your eyes land beside his face, where you can see him sneaking a peek at you before turning away.

“Told you,” Sage snickers, “Now come on, let’s blow this popsicle stand now that we have the parts.”

The two of you head over to the area where other extras which have been accepted are sitting. There are about 20 of you, while a measly 10 remain on the set. After 15 minutes, 5 more dwindle over to where you and Sage sit and converse.

“Alright, my extras,” Roman smiles as he approaches the group of you, “I’ll see you bright and early on the actual set tomorrow at seven sharp. Don’t be late.”

Everyone cheers and talks amongst themselves as you and Sage stand up from your seats, brushing yourselves off before making your way to the exit.

“You two,” Roman stops you both right at the stage door, “I’ll be keeping an eye on you. You guys seem too good to be extras.”

“Roman, you know good and well your team wouldn’t allow some random extras to be in the main cast. So keep dreaming, pretty boy,” Sage rolls her eyes with a laugh, “We’ve been down this road before. I’m not into major acting.”

“What about them?” Roman points to you, and you nervously cave in on yourself momentarily under his direct gaze.

“Uh,” you stutter, looking between Roman and Sage, “I don’t know. I guess I’ll see how it goes tomorrow first,” you shrug.

“Alright,” Roman grins, “See you tomorrow.”

You nod, suppressing a smile. Once Roman is out of earshot, Sage squeals quietly.

“You two so like each other,” she giggles, pushing the door open.

“Remind me to block your number when I get home,” you say jokingly.

The following morning, you try your best to refrain from rubbing your tired eyes after having makeup applied to them. You’re standing at the coffee cart on set, clutching a cup of hot liquid as your eyes gloss over. Someone walks into your peripheral, waving their hand in front of your face.

“Are you there, sweetheart?”

Snapping out of it, you squeeze your eyes shut quickly before blinking rapidly to clear your vision. Roman is standing in front of you in a flattering button-up, a small smile on his lips.

“Sorry, just a little sleepy this morning,” you laugh nervously, pulling the cup of coffee closer to your chest before taking a cautious sip.

“That’s alright. It’s a slow day today, not much to film with many extras, so if you want, you can chill out on the sidelines,” Roman suggests, and you shake your head.

“Nope, I’m here to work. I’ll wake up here soon,” you take a large gulp of the hot, caffeinated beverage.

“A good attitude to have!” Roman grins, patting your shoulder, “See you on set later, then!”

Little did you know, you’d see Roman more than just on set. And he’d be seeing you everywhere you went. Everywhere all the time.

[kairiscorner]

Ok ok I just read your NoirXFlorist and I am so in love. A personal HC I have is that Noir’s giving love language is acts of service and so ⬇️

-Imagine Noir being colorblind, but he wants to help at your shop and since the easiest way to differentiate between flowers is color he learns other ways to tell the difference- scent, texture, size, shape, or just memorizing where a certain type of flower is most often stored, because he wants to help. -Also, if any heavy lifting needs to be done, he rushes to do it before you even get the chance, even if it’s just a box. “No, no, I got it, doll.” “A lady of mine shall not do any heavy work, not while I’m here.”

anon are you trying to kill me with cuteness and fluff.

BC IT'S WORKING OMGGGGG YEAH, NO, I WANNA MAKE A FIC OF THIS, THANK YOU FOR THE IDEA AND FOR SHARING :>

(i wish i could credit you anon, you and your big beautiful brain 😭😭😭🫂🫂 also reblogs are greatly appreciated, it helps get my content out there! if you guys like what you see, please reblog it too <;:D)

(part 1)

so imagine:

it was a real hectic, busy day at your floral shop; people came flooding into your place more frequently, and while it was good for business, you were completely and utterly overwhelmed.

you managed a small establishment, and business was going well recently, but you were the only one working there, of course a pair of hands and a couple of fast feet can only do so much work.

peter'd have come in all chipper and point out the long line of people coming in, and then he'd see your tired, overworked face still smiling and wrapping up bouquets so darn fast.

he'd be in awe, of course, and fall in love with your hardworking and capable self, but he'd be super concerned as well for you so he'd pull you to the side as the influx of people died down for a bit and ask you with a concerned smile if you were okay.

"dear, you good? looks like you had to run several laps back there." he joked lightheartedly as he put his hands on your shoulders. "i know i'm not exactly the most helpful guy out there for this job, but if it gives you any comfort, i can help. i'm around you and the flowers all the time, i... i kinda got everything down about them." he said in a slightly cocky tone, but of course, it was to impress you with his new confidence since you first met him as a bumbling fool who was head over heels in love with you the moment you showed him just what kind of hidden beauty was lying in wait for him to discover.

you hesitated telling him you were okay and that he didn't have to bother himself to help you, because you were seriously considering getting some help at the very last minute to complete your clients' requests. "well... i'm actually kind of drowning over here, pete. i'm worried i can't do this on my own." you admitted.

peter smiled as he put his hand to your cheek. "don't you worry about a thing, i've got you. i meant it when i said i know everything there is know about the flowers here. i may not be able to tell which flowers are what color, but you of all people know a flower's color isn't the only thing worth nothing." he said with a small wink at you. yes, he'd been practicing that wink, he waited for the right occasion to use it on you.

it made you smile widely as peter agreed to help, and you had a lot of faith in him that he'd be able to ease your burden. you had shown peter the ropes before after work hours, it was another option for a date between you two. you loved how fast he picked up at tying the bouquets together, ringing up change, and memorizing the descriptions of the flowers; it really warmed your heart that he took interest in these things and was determined to show you he could do these things for you if you needed him to.

he got to work immediately, hoping that him having to interact with the customers would come as natural and easy as learning everything there is to know about the flowers; but humans are no flowers, they're significantly much harder to please, so that thought kind of scared him. but you were counting on him, that was all he could think about--you counting on him, you needing him right then and there.

you couldn't believe how different peter seemed when he was talking to the customers, helping them out as you tied up the bouquets. he appeared like a door to door salesman, and you meant that in the nicest way possible.

he seemed more upbeat, cheery, and... you dare say, a lot more charming. you two soon switched shifts, he was on tying and ringing up the bouquets, and you were the one helping out the customers pick flowers.

you were a little worried because you knew peter didn't do so well when having other people wait for him, it sort of intimidated him. you never taught him everything he now knows during work hours, it was just you two--and as pleasant as it was for both of you, you were still concerned how he'd be doing applying that practice in a real scenario.

but lo and behold, peter did it all in a jiffy. he didn't even need to use a calculator or do the math on paper, the minute he saw the flowers, counted them, and took note of other things--he could instantly give them their total, with tax. he was extraordinarily fast, too; he was extremely agile yet delicate with handling the bouquets, they were flowers, after all; they needed room to breathe, a single mistake can end in them being crushed, so of course, he was mindful of that, too.

soon, the day was ending; the sky had red, orange, pink, and purple strewn out over the horizon as the sun set. you and peter just finished up the last round of orders, and the floral shop was nearly empty by the time you were finished.

you both breathed out a breath you both didn't realize you were both holding in this entire time. the two of you laughed since you did it at the exact same time. "thank you for helping, peter. really, i... i don't know what i'd've done without you." you said as you went over behind the counter and stood next to him.

now this is when the shy, flustered peter parker comes back to you. he smiled at you widely and blushed profusely; leading all the way up to the tips of his ears, an innocent and pleasing mix of red and pink dancing on his cheeks.

"it's no biggie." he muttered, trying to sound as confident as he was earlier, but his defenses broke down when he caught you leaning closer to his face, your nose mere inches away from his own. he chuckled. "well... maybe it is kind of a biggie." he said as he put his hands on your arms and rubbed them lightly.

"well, thank you, again, pete." you repeated as you put your hand on the back of his. soon, peter noticed a truck coming by and a man coming down the truck with a clipboard in his hand, a few other men bringing boxes about and laying them by the door of your floral shop.

"oh, wait right here, pete." you said as you went over to talk to the man. peter watched as you signed the papers on the man's clipboard, thanked him, and... they left without helping you carry those boxes!

peter was enraged just the slightest bit as he watched you, your poor, overworked self, carry them into the floral shop without contempt for those men who didn't even bother to help. immediately, peter rushed to your aid, flung the door open, and took the box you were trying to carry away from you and into his arms.

"peter--!" you exclaimed as he took the box with ease. "i've got it, don't worry, really! i've already asked for your help today, this... i got this." you tried telling him, but he refused to listen and took box after box into the floral shop.

he smiled up at you and adjusted his glasses with one hand, carrying a box in his other hand. "no, no, i got it, doll. don't you worry about a thing, a lady of mine shall not do any heavy work, not while i'm here." he said as he flashed you another wink, he was getting better at it, you had to admit.

you blushed at his gallantry and general altruism towards you. you decided to reward him for all his hard work afterwards. he finished carrying the boxes and putting them aside. he turned to look at you as you walked into the floral shop, blushing a bit as you kept admiring how sweet he was towards you and for all his help.

"i really can't thank you enough for today, peter. it's far beyond what i originally asked you to do." you said as you took his hands into your own, and he blushed yet again. "of course. anything for you, my darling." he murmured, still admiring how soft and warm your hands were. you giggled. you opened a box to unveil a flurry of flowers of every kind in it, and you placed a flower behind his ear yet again.

he chuckled. "my, you never get tired of doing that, don't you?" he asks. you shake your head playfully. "it looks beautiful." you remarked. "it does?" he asked, a little joyful at that compliment. "well..." he said as he took a flower from the box that he thought was the prettiest and tucked it behind your ear, too. "i've always wanted to do that. and now... oh goodness, you're a complete and total beauty on your own, and now... oh, call an ambulance, love, i'm having a heart attack!" he said as he leaned over to brush his nose against yours, smiling and chuckling to himself all the while as his eyes stared intently into your own big, beautiful ones.

"i truly, truly love you, dear." he tells you as his lips are just centimeters away from your own. "and i love you, truly, pete." you reply as you close the distance between you two, kissing him as the sun sank down into the horizon--you two greeting the night with a loving kiss shared between you two.

maybe he should come out to help you more often, after all, such is to be done when you're planning to become one's husband, no?

a/n: BUIREBFIUBEVIUBHIUFEHIFIRFRBVIURBVBRVR I LOVED WRITING THIS SM AAAAAA TY AGAIN ANON HOPE YOU LIKE ITTTTT <33

tags !! @thecoolerdor @miguelswifey04 @fictarian @pixqlsin

[dreamties]

there's nothing really wrong with me; i'm just choking almost constantly || Polyam! Ghostface x GN! Reader

title from Twinkle Lights by The Sonder Bombs

Reader is dealing with the aftermath of their sexual assault, to which they still haven't told Billy and Stu that it was even a thing that happened. After a particularly rough night, the boys comfort them.

1st person POV

TRIGGER WARNINGS: there is reference to past SA, but it's not too graphic. the reader talks about it and there's like, references about it through out the text- and I know it can be really traumatic for some to read it so PLEASE be careful and read at your own risk. panic attacks, nightmares, i believe that's it !! let me know if I need to add more warnings!!

I blink awake, filled with an erratic, heart-pounding panic. It takes a moment to realize where I am- home, in my bed, by myself. I'm not at the trailer and I can't feel his breath down my neck anymore. 

I let out a shaky breath and sit up slowly, trying not to shock my body anymore.

My body feels unstable and wrong as I walk through the house. My mind and body caught in a fuzzy sort of dream state. 

I dial Stu's phone number, because I know he'll ask less questions than Billy- and that's what I needed right now. Just a distraction.

I school my voice to properly fake that sort of "I'm fine, nothing bad has ever happened to me" tone.

I clear my throat. "Stuey? I know it's a little late, but-"

"Nah, it's okay, baby. Whaddya need?"

I laugh- of course Stu sounds so chipper, he was likely up looking at Play Boys or watching total torture porn (aka a load of trash). 

"Could you pick me up? It'd be nice to stay at your place tonight." 

I can practically hear him grin on the other line. "Ab-so-LUTE-ly!"

I kind of half-giggle and thank him. I pull on an extra-long hoodie and grab the handmade Michael Myers plush my friend gave me off my bed. I wait out on the front porch for him to arrive. 

I settle into Stu's bed, and he hurriedly puts his magazines and other items under his bed, careless to the minor scrumpling to his merchandise. 

“Hey baby,” he kisses the top of my head and I try not to shrink away too much when he does so. I know it’s Stu, I know I’m safe- I can still feel his touch around my body, his hands at my throat, though. It’s so hard not to think he’s there with me, in bed next to Stu and I.

I smile at him and let him turn his lamp off even if the darkness and the looming shadows in his room are wholly disorienting.

I can feel a light tickle against the shell of my ear, like someone is whispering, “I won't be able to stop myself.” I shake him off of me and turn to my other side.

Just leave me alone, please.

I probably toss in my sleep the whole night, but Stu doesn’t seem bothered when we wake in the morning. My eyes are bleary and blinking back tears, hoping he doesn’t see. 

I should know better than to think Stu could keep any secret from Billy. I'm still surprised, however, that Billy jostles into the Macher's kitchen at 9am, already with a prickled attitude.

I drop the spoon into my bowl of cereal, milk splashing up and over onto the counter. I try to school my expression into something more neutral, so my surprise doesn’t hurt him. 

“Billy,” I greet. 

He replies back with my name, which I can only half-hear through the fuzzy, distant feeling in my body. 

Billy sits on a stool next to me, moving my bowl a little further from my reach. “Why were you up so late?”

I half-laugh, still tired, still groggy. “What, I’m not allowed to stay up?” I tease. And the hurt sick feeling settles in my throat. 

Billy shakes his head and sighs- he’s clearly frustrated. 

Stupid. Stop teasing him, he’s- I physically shake the thought off. Trying desperately to repel the negative energy like water to oil. Get it together.

“C’mon,” Billy tries again. He seems abnormally pissy, and I wonder what Stu told him on the phone. It’s no way that either of them could have figured it out, but the lump in my throat still grows at the possibility. 

“Just- missed Stu. That’s all.”

“You brought along your plushy,” he says, like that’s supposed to prove anything. “And that big hoodie of yours that you only wear when you’re sad.”

“Did Stu tell you that?” I try not to sound too antsy or annoyed. I know they’re only worried. Of course they’re worried- of course they know my tells like the back of their hands. I should have just stayed home, even if that meant waking up with the feeling of him pressed against my body. 

He nods. “You always tell us what’s wrong,” and he whispers my name in that hard-soft tone he gets when he’s anxious. I shiver.

“Nothing’s. . . nothing’s wrong.” I try and I know it’s bullshit. It’s a dumb attempt and Billy sees right through it. “Nothing that you can fix.” 

And I know Billy takes it as a personal attack- that I think he can’t take care of me. That his comfort isn’t enough, that he isn’t enough. I don’t know how to tell him that’s not what I meant, though, without telling him what happened. It feels hard to breathe, I take a shaky, sharp breath in. It doesn’t help. 

I don’t even know what’s going on, my eyes teary and blurred. My ears are ringing out. My body feels so fuzzy and too soft at the edges. My thoughts muddle in my brain and I don’t know if I'm breathing or talking or breathing or- I gasp out. 

Stu’s hands hold my shoulders tightly, trying to ground me. He’s done it a hundred times before, and it works nearly every time. 

My breath is labored, heavy and quick. Too quick. I still can’t feel myself breathing.

Billy and Stu both try to reassure me- I think. Their voices still unclear through the fog. 

“‘M sorry, ‘m sorry, sorry, sorry,” I repeat, till the word feels unsafe and garbled through my lips. “Shouldn't have to- shouldn’t have, shouldn’t have to. Have to- have to worry.”

My voice sounds so far away, like I’m speaking into a dying microphone, to the clashing, screaming crowd before me. Feeling so unheard, so unseen, even at center stage. 

The fog fades around Billy’s voice. “Hey, hey, it’s fine. Just- stop apologizing,” my name is slow on his tongue. “Can you hear me? C’mon, baby, you’re worrying Stu.” 

And I should respond. But everything just feels so- off. I’m not even sure what I’d say. I don’t want to explain myself. 

When the fog finally finally cuts through, I can breathe again. I’m sitting on the tiled floor of the Macher kitchen, with my knees pulled up against my chest. Billy and Stu sit on either side of me, their hands tentatively retracted from my body. 

I can finally breathe in the clearing. I could cry, if feeling my feelings didn’t hurt so much. If everything didn’t hurt. 

My breath takes a while to steady, and when it does, Billy takes this as a sign to pounce on me again. 

“What happened, baby?” And he sounds so . . . concerned. It hurts to know I’m hurting him. My body aches with every pound of my heart against my chest. 

“I think I had a panic attack,” I managed. 

Stu lets out an awkward laugh, and I don’t freak out this time when he touches my shoulder. “No shit!” 

He murmurs an apology and repeats himself, quieter now. It was sweet. Stu was so sweet and I can’t get over myself to just- live and not cause all this . . . all this angst and trial and tribulations between us. Billy would remind me- if I vocalized this ache - in my own words, that having tough emotions aren’t a burden. It feels like it is though. 

“I’m sorry,” I try and Billy shushes me. He seems annoyed still, I know it’s just the look he has when he’s scared, though.

Fuck, he’s scared. Get yourself together.

I swallow down the lump in my throat.

“Okay, fine. I can’t apologize, I get it.” I realize now that my voice croaks out, like I'd been crying. 

My eyes still feel hazy around the edges and they still struggle to focus on anything properly. 

“What can I say then?” I teasingly ask, and I feel sick to my stomach. 

Please don’t ask me why. Please don’t ask why. Please don’t ask why. Please.

“What’s up with you?” Billy asks. I’m not sure if that’s any better of a question though. 

“I- I can’t tell you.”

Billy rolls his eyes. “We can’t help you if we don’t know what’s wrong.”

Stu sighs, giving my shoulder a gentle squeeze. His fingers tense when he speaks. “Please? We won’t- Stu glances at Billy and then back at myself- I won’t ask any other questions, I promise.” 

I give a humorless laugh in response. “Real assuring.”

“C’mon, I can’t control what Billy does,” he whines.

And there it is again. The lump in my throat. His breath tickling against my face. “I just can’t control myself around you.”

The attempts to shake off his incessant greed seem to only be in vain.

“Just- just get off of me, please,” I have to wrench the words out of my throat. “Please, ‘m sorry for- I’m sorry- just. Let go.”

Stu quickly winds his hand from my shoulder and puts his hands up, in defense. He looks at me all confused, his eyes wide and his brows furrowed. 

He lowers his hands and gives me those stupid, big blue puppy eyes.  “What’s wrong?” And he says it so gently. His voice felt warm and comforting.

“Just- I. Give me a moment.” 

“Okay,” both boys reply. 

“I- I think I was sexually assaulted.” My voice comes out in a tight whisper, lodged somewhere between my throat and the tension of the kitchen conversation. “I thought- I thought it was my fault or maybe it didn’t- it didn’t happen. Or- or maybe I misremembered it but-”

My voice gets caught and I let out a measly sob. 

“Woah,” Billy carefully reaches a hand out towards me, but doesn’t touch me. “Woah, woah. Baby,” he whispers. “What- who did this to you?”

I sniffle. I didn’t want to tell them.

It felt so much more real speaking it aloud. 

His voice feels dirty against my body, and I just want to get away from him. But he’s in the walls, he’s in my dreams. And I can’t escape. He’s sitting with me as my boyfriend’s try to comfort me. 

“I know better than that. I should have known better than that and-” my throat feels all funny, like I can’t breathe again. A sharp intake in, a shaky breath out. “And I still let him put his grubby hands all over me.”

“Woah, baby,” Billy’s voice is impossibly quiet and calm. He appears more apologetic and concerned with how I am, than the dark, revengefulness that usually seeps out of him when someone hurts me. “Baby, look at me, okay?”

I keep my head snuggled at the top of my knees, straining my eyes to look in his direction. I hum, not trusting myself to speak without crying. 

“It’s not- it’s not your fault. Whatever happened, it’s-”

My mouth seems to be on its own agenda. And my head feels impossibly fuzzy again. Everything is so . . . so disconnected. I tap my fingers against my shins, and they don’t feel like they’re really there at all. No matter how many times I tap them in the same familiar pattern. 

Nothing feels right. 

“I shouldn't have been such a tease. I- he told me to stop, said he wouldn’t be able to control himself if- and, and I didn’t listen, Billy. Was so confused, didn’t know where I was, Stuey and- and he- I told him that. But I should’ve listened. He w-warned me and I should have- I’m sorry.”

“Hey, shh,” Billy tries once more. “It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s not your fault, baby. Whatever- whoever it was, who convinced you . . . it doesn’t matter, okay? He doesn’t- you didn’t make him do anything. You-” even Billy struggles with it. 

He sighs, “what do you need from us? Just right now- what do you need at this moment, okay?”

Stu tries, as well. Learning from his previous mistake. 

“Is it okay to hug you or touch your shoulder right now?”

I shake my head. His hands at my throat, his voice tickled against my face. 

His hands at my throat, telling me to behave. 

Taking my “i’m fine”s and “okay”s out of context, blatant ignorance of my confusion.

“Could we just- could we sit on the couch maybe?”

It felt better, safer, in the openness of the living room. 

Like I wasn't going to suffocate and, like, explode or something. 

Stu's hanging his limbs off one end of the couch, and Billy tentatively perches on a couch arm. I assume Billy is sitting strangely to give me space- Stu's position is natural though. He always sits weird, and does things weird, which I love. I love him. I love Billy, and I'm just. I'm hurting them- I'm sitting in the middle of the couch, shaky and strange, and hurting them.

“What can we do?” Billy sounds gentle. He sounds sincere. I think . . . he is. The whole situation is strange and terrifying. I want to go back to sleep and hope when I wake that the past few months were some fever dream instead. 

I let out a shaky, heaving sigh. 

“I don’t- I don’t know.”

“That’s- that's okay. Baby,” his voice is sturdy, despite the uncertainty bleeding in.

“Yeah!” Stu smiles at me, and it feels sort of warm. It feels almost good. 

“You shouldn’t have to deal with someone so damaged.” I stare at my feet and my hands fidgeting absently in my lap. Tears pricking, stinging at my eyes.

I stumble over and retract apologies in my head. Trying to justify what he had done to me, to pin what he said, to pin his hands around my neck and push me down, as my own fault. As my own actions. 

I can’t tell Billy that. Not to him, not to Stu.

Billy has this restrained look in his eyes, and his face is twisted into an almost scowl. I don’t know what he’s thinking, but I know I shouldn’t have said that. Because Billy thinks he’s broken, all the time.

He’s told me or alluded to his mom’s disappearance, to his asshole father. About the disconnect between himself and his own thoughts, his hands and his actions. He’s told us why he’s only ever felt safe and trusting in the arms of his lovers. 

And that he’s so afraid that one day, we’ll up and leave him, too. 

That he’s too damaged, too broken, to be loved. 

And I go and fuck it up again. I only know how to hurt.

“That’s, wait- that’s not. I’m sorry, Billy. I-”

And his voice is uncharacteristically sweet. It’s calm and low, and I can’t hear held back anger.

“It’s okay.”

“What?” My voice is small and squeaks out, unsure. 

“It’s okay. Baby," Billy says my name with my name with care. “You’re not- you will never be too fucked up to be loved by us.”

Stu smiles, protective. “I- we will never let that happen to you again.”

They offer physical comforts, they lean closer but not close enough to touch me. 

Maybe I shouldn’t be so trusting. He had promised to never hurt me and I followed him blindly. But Billy & Stu aren’t him. And I should be allowed to put my faith into others, without fearing I'll be hurt again.

I lean into Billy's touch, allowing him to encase me in his strong arms. Stu leans against us, bringing his long, sweater-clad arms around the huddled mess of us. 

Maybe it's against my better judgements.

Maybe it's a mistake.

But maybe, too, this is safety. This is love.