#only after telling me I'm definitely overreacting but still

[brainworms-all-night-long]

Not feeling it rn cuz idk how to disclose to my family (mom, really) that I have two very funnily misplaced random underskin lumps on my neck and and one on the back of my head, and that my mind immiditely jumped to the worst conclusion

[mooki3-bear]

I Need You (Paige Bueckers x black!fem!reader)

Summary: You and Paige go through a rough patch, you only see one solution

Warnings: Just a lot of cursing

word count: 1346

I was tired. I was tired of the constant arguing, silent treatments, and petty comments. The most tiring thing of them all was trying to keep up the picture of a happy couple when I knew we were the complete opposite at the moment. 

I woke up around eight in the morning, feeling around the bed for Paige’s warmth. When I was met with a cold part of the bed, the memories from the night before came rushing back. The screaming, the insults, and the words that could never be taken back. Which then led to Paige sleeping on the couch. We have had some pretty bad arguments, but this one definitely takes the cake. I rubbed my burning eyes, which were dry from the tears, and made my way out of our room to the kitchen. As soon as I opened the door, I was met with Paige, making coffee in the kitchen. Our eyes met, but we didn't say a word to each other. I hesitantly made my way to the kitchen island and took the coffee that she slid in front of me. We sat in an uncomfortable silence, which was considered normal at this point, waiting for the other to say something. Anything.

 As we sat there I wondered to myself. I wondered how everything went to shit after a beautiful three-year relationship. I wondered how such a loving apartment that felt like home soon turned into a place you dreaded waking up in. I wondered if I had the opportunity to go back in time, what I would have to do to prevent all of this from happening. 

With a deep breath, the first word in five minutes is spoken. “Paige…we need to talk” I say with a shaky breath. Paige’s head shoots up, her eyes filled with concern. “All we’ve been doing for the last month is arguing. It’s literally draining the life out of me” I say as I move my coffee away to make sure I am more focused on the conversation. “I know. I'm sorry but I've just been stressed, babe. You can’t get mad at me for being stressed” Paige scoffs and turns away. “Did I fucking say I was mad at you for being stressed, Paige? No, I didn't! So don’t put-” I take a deep breath, not wanting to start another draining argument between us. Paige noticed that I was more frustrated than usual. “Look, I'm sorry. Can we just lie down and watch a movie? I just wanna forget last night happened” Paige suggests as she takes my hand in her’s. This is the bullshit that makes me so mad. I don’t want to ignore the issue. That's all she ever wants to do.

“No, Paige. We have to talk. We can’t keep ignoring this. If we ignore it all the time it just gets worse and worse” I stand up and walk around the small space of our apartment. “I don’t feel like talking about it. I just wanna sleep and lay with you. The couch wasn’t the most comfortable” Paige laughs, trying to soften the mood. “I understand Paige. However, what happened last night was just…it was a lot” I sigh, rubbing my hand through my tight coils. “ Oh my god. Are you seriously still upset about that? I told you about eighteen times you have nothing to be jealous of” Paige's voice gets louder, as she remembers how ridiculous she felt the conversation was. “You constantly telling me ‘Don’t worry about it’ and ‘You're overreacting’ doesn’t ease my fucking nerves, babe. It makes me feel like I'm delusional and I know I'm not” I say, becoming more and more frustrated with every word that leaves my mouth.  “I never said the you were delusional, babe! I’m telling you that you have nothing to worry about. If you don’t believe me I don’t know what to tell you. What do you want me to do” Paige rubs her hands over her face as she makes her way over to the couch. 

“I don’t know Paige! I honestly don’t know but you don’t understand. The way you say these things makes me feel…like I'm this weird insecure girlfriend who needs you to coddle her all the time” I say walking over to stand in front of her. She slightly, but noticeably rolls her eyes. I scoff and walk into the bedroom, just needing to get away from her. To my misfortune, she follows me. “Baby! I am trying my best to figure out what you want. You're acting fucking weird and I don’t know what you want” Paige exclaims. I stood and looked at her for a while….what did I want? 

Why were we always having these useless arguments that felt like they were going nowhere? Was I trying to prove something? Were we trying to keep something alive that just wasn’t there anymore? What the fuck was going on.

“Hello? Seriously what is going on with you” Paige asks as she annoyingly waves a hand in front of your face. “Paige” I pause, not exactly sure what to say. “I think we need to take a break” Tears finally fall from my eyes. Paige’s entire demeanor changes, shock filling her body. “What the fuck are you talking about” Paige asks with a shaky voice. “I just feel like we should take a break…this relationship needs a break” I walk over to the closet, packing a bag full of enough clothes until I can get the rest of mine. “Why would we need to take a break Y/n? Because we had a few arguments? That makes no sense” She exclaims, following me into the closet. “Paige! We have been constantly fighting for a fucking month now! Im fucking tired” I yell while clapping my hands, hoping to get my point across. Paige’s eyes fill with tears, both of us motionless. It felt like someone had just stabbed me in the heart.

 I would never in a million years have guessed that I would be packing my clothes to take a break from the love of my life. Paige all of a sudden takes my hand in hers, staring into what felt like my soul. “Y/n…please. Don’t leave. I'm sorry” Tears fall down the blonde's face as I drop my duffle bag to the floor for a split second. Every bone in my body was telling you to stay, to forget everything that had happened. They were telling me to just sit on the couch like I usually would and brace for the next argument that would ring throughout the apartment. However, my heart was telling me that you needed time apart so that we could get better. 

I take the girl's face in my hands, looking into her beautiful blue eyes. “It’s not forever Paige. I promise,” I say, trying to keep a strong face on. “But we need some time apart so that we can get better…I need you to understand” I whisper. Paige is hesitant but nods her head. I finally let out a shaky breath as she sniffles and leaves the room. As she closes the door I let out another shaky breath that turns into a sob. 

As I calm myself down I finish packing my bag with enough clothes to keep me through the “break”. Once I finished, I walked out into the living room to see Paige curled up on the couch, eyes red from her tears. With a shaky breath, I walk over to her, giving her a passionate kiss before making my way to the door. With my hand on the handle, I hesitate, turning to Paige to look at her for the last time in a while. “I love you, P,” I say, with a smile and salty tears falling down my face. “I love you too, Beautiful” Paige sniffles and laughs. With those last words being said, I close the door to our apartment, ready to see what life has in store for me until I see her next. 

This was my first REALLY long fic! I hope yall enjoyed and I MIGHT make a part two cuz I hate when some angst don't have a happy ending <3

[httpswritings]

jealous girl

alexia putellas x reader [+ jana fernandez]; around 900 words; not really angst, just reader being dumb about jana and alexia's friendship.

You were not a jealous girl, not at all, because you thought jealousy was nothing but a waste of time.

As a family member, as a friend and as a girlfriend, you were very easygoing with the people you loved.

That's why when you felt an unfamiliar envious sensation when it came to Alexia's friendship with Jana, you felt quite lost.

Alexia was very dear to you. 

She had been your football “big” sister since you were very young, always making sure you were alright.

You were such a talented girl, always playing at an advanced level compared to girls your age, like Jana, Pina, and Bruna."

That's why you had always been so close with Alexia.

There weren't any girls' your age around, and she felt very comfortable to be with.

The time passed by, and you weren't the youngest one in the team anymore.

It took you some time to adjust, but nothing to worry about.

Jana was a very happy and loving girl.

She was very talkative and always willing to help anyone.

That's why you were deeply upset with yourself for feeling such a horrible emotion towards someone like Jana.

Alexia noticed something was off with you, but she couldn't get you to speak about it.

She didn't insist anymore and hugged you.

Her hugs were very comforting, and you felt like your eight-year-self after hugging her.

She was around when you fell playing and hurt your ankle.

Alexia rushed to hold you and shushed you until you calmed down.

Since that day, you created a very beautiful bond not only with her but with her family, including her sister Alba.

You thought that Alba could feel threatened because Alexia was giving you a lot of attention, but she was very excited to have you as a friend, even insisting Eli to half-adopt you when both of you were still young girls.

The days passed by, and it was very obvious that you were annoyed by something.

Alexia wanted to give you some space during training, so she paired up with Jana.

You were infuriated by her movement, the worst part being that you were behaving like a child, and not like a twenty two-year-old woman. 

You paired up with Frido.

She was very sweet and patient, but you were getting on her nerves.

You excused yourself and headed to the changing room.

You had told Torre and Jona that you were going to leave early, and you'd catch up tomorrow. 

Alexia realized you were missing, and she didn't waste time in pairing Jana with Frido.

You were on your way home when she began calling and messaging you.

Ale <3 

Amor, is everything okay? 

Ale <3

Torre told me you weren't feeling okay.

You felt awful for not responding to her, but it was better than telling her: It's actually because I'm jealous about my teammate because my best friend is not spending all her time with me.

Alexia went to your house and still got no response. 

Ale <3 

Please, open the door 🙁

Ale <3

I can take care of you if you're sick 

Ale <3

I just want to know if you're alright 

Ale <3

Please, I'm very worried 😔 😢😥

You smiled when you saw the emojis. 

You loved to tease Alexia about the amount of emojis she would send.

You stood up and opened the door, and Alexia's face broke your heart. 

Her eyes were teary and she was visibly upset.

“Tell me what's wrong, please.”

You hugged her and lost yourself in her arms.

She was the big sister you never had.

You never knew what sisterly love was until you met Alexia, and then Alba. 

Did you overreact? Definitely. 

You had to be a grownup, whatever was wrong with you was not an excuse to leave training early.

“You're going to laugh—”

“I'm won't. Please, tell me what's wrong.”

You sighed, prepared to be laughed at.

“I missed you. I've been very jealous of Jana because I've felt replaced. I know it's childish and embarrassing, but it's what it is.”

Instead, you received a punch on the arm, not too hard but enough to surprise you.

“Have you gone mad? I thought something had happened to you. Like I was prepared to fight anyone at this point.”

You couldn't look Alexia into her eyes.

Alexia, having calmed down, started to laugh as you tried to escape of her embrace.

“Alexia, fuck off. You told me you were not going to laugh.”

“I'm laughing because you're very adorable. I love Jana, but you're my best friend. Alba would kill me if she knew how you had been feeling.”

“Alexia, this is ridiculous. I'm supposed to be mature, at least a little bit.”

“For me, it's not ridiculous. I'd be fuming if you replaced me with someone else. I've told you before: you'll always be my little football sister. No matter if you're eight or fifty years old. There's nothing nor no one who will be able to change that.”

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for disapproving of my best friend's relationship? (CW for grooming)

Context: about a year ago I (17, transmasc) joined a local group for queer teenagers to hang out and do stuff together (we meet once a week at the library). The group consists of roughly 10 people and I usually get along with all of them, but my closest friend in the group is W (20, transfem). I would say she's my best friend in general, and I think she'd say the same for me. I'm still in high school and W goes to the community college here.

A few weeks ago, myself, W, and another friend from the group, J (18, cis guy) were over at my place. After a while W said she had some news for us - she'd gotten into a relationship! W used to be (and still is) very socially isolated. She didn't have any friends to speak of before joining the group, not even online, so for her to find a romantic partner was super exciting and I was honestly really proud of her. I obviously wanted to hear more about it, so I asked her to elaborate and this is where things go off the rails.

She said that her new girlfriend (let's call her L) was also trans, and that she was 27. She said they'd met in college and started spending more and more time together. She told us she'd honestly just expected to be friends, but over the winter break L officially asked her out, she was elated, and since then they'd been spending basically all their free time together. immediately alarm bells started ringing in my head - I asked her if I'd heard it right, that L is 27, and W responded yeah, and she knows it's a little strange, but she doesn't mind, so whatever.

I tried to calmly tell her that a 7 year age gap is way too much and that it's not a safe relationship to be in. She immediately got defensive, saying she's an adult and she can do what she wants, etc etc. I said I don't care if she's technically an adult, that's still fucking creepy! I asked J, who had been keeping quiet the whole time, to back me up, but all he did was give me that "I don't know, it's not my place to say anything" bullshit. I was genuinely shocked, I thought he would have supported me but he just… waffled. We had all gotten pretty heated, and at this point W had stood up and started shuffling over to the door. She started in saying I was overreacting over nothing, that they'd been together for not even two weeks, and she didn't need my permission to have this relationship. She said she thought she could trust me, she only told me because she thought I'd be happy for her, on and on, and then she walked out.

It's been a few weeks since then, and she hasn't shown up to the group at the library. I've been too scared to text her because she's clearly pissed off at me. I recognize that I wasn't very good at keeping my composure, and I definitely could have been kinder about it, but I was just scared for my friend. It would be worrying if anyone had gotten into a relationship with that much of an age gap - but she has essentially 0 social skills, and hasn't been in a relationship before, so I'm terrified that she's being taken advantage of because of her inexperience.

What are these acronyms?

[xxsycamore]

BAD LIAR

╰┈➤ You love Harrison, but he gets on your nerves sometimes. You know you can't lie to him, but you can still get back at him in other ways...

Harrison Gray/f!Reader • rating: E (MDNI) • tags: Jealousy; Make-up Sex; Couple Arguments; Rough Kissing; Vaginal Sex; Riding; Dirty Talk; Swearing; Rough Sex; Creampie • wordcount: 2,405 • masterlist

Visions of Temptation 2024/KINKTOBER DAY 5: Make-up Sex

"I told you already. Even if I didn't have my curse, I'd still see right through you. Because you're simply that bad of a liar."

The tiny gasp you let out only makes Harrison that much more amused. You feel the blood boiling in your veins, not even caring anymore if you're overreacting or not.

"I swear, this has nothing to do with you, Harry. I too like to drink strawberry milk sometimes, okay? It's as simple as that! I wanted to drink some so I got myself some. It was my strawberry milk. It wasn't strawberry milk I left for you because I'm too shy to tell you I got you a gift! Jeez!"

"I told you it's fine. I know how shy you can be when it comes to expressing your feelings…"

He pauses to take a sip - the last sip, precisely - of the glass before setting it down where you can see it.

The audacity.

"…So now that you saw me enjoying your gift, we can close the topic if you want to. No need to get so worked up over it… though I'd admit, it's a good look on you."

You watch the empty glass in disbelief.

"…It's sexy, even."

And in the next second, you simply storm out of the room.

***

Later that night, you enter the castle with your cheeks hurting from the big grin you’ve been sporting for quite some time now. With a spring in your step, you walk into the foyer while still linking arms with Liam.

You caught a carriage ride back home together after you ran into him, as your late afternoon going out happened to coincide with him finishing his rehearsal at Scala. Spending some time with him was definitely better than sulking by yourself while browsing the marketplace, seeing how quickly and effortlessly he cheered you up with his bright and bubbly persona. You're not sure if he asked out of politeness or if he picked up the signs of you having a bad day that easily - great, not only are you a bad liar but it seems like you can't hide your feelings at all now - but it wasn't long before you were telling Liam all about your lovers' quarrel earlier that day.

Liam's initial reaction was to smile. Just a smile, not a mocking laugh that reminds you of a certain someone's relentless teasing. Then he made sure to comfort you about it, saying he understands why you're upset with Harry. He's a good friend of his, after all, he knew exactly what you're talking about.

Liam's magenta eyes lighted up for a second, like an imaginary pair of cat ears tingling in attention on the top of his head, with a new smile blooming on his face. A mischievous one this time. He told you he has a plan.

"We're hooooome!" Liam announces out loud, making sure the figure sitting with its back to the door is able to hear it. Of course, both you and Liam know who this is, but you pretend you don't.

"Oh, Harry, it's you!"

Turning to face you while still holding onto the book he's been reading while waiting for your arrival, you and Liam make sure he sees your linked arms just for a bit longer before you let go of each other. You approach first, resting your arms on the backrest of the sofa where Harrison is sitting and gushing about the fun time you had with Liam.

"…And then he looked down and saw he was still wearing those funny-looking medieval shoes from the rehearsal!"

"I can't believe you had to point them out to me… In my defense, Tom is absolutely working me to the bone these days! He's so excited for this new play we're putting on!"

"Who wouldn't be? When you told me about the plot of it, it got me all excited too! Can't believe I haven't seen this play before… I definitely have to come see it. Hey, Harry, you're coming too, aren't you?"

Between the animated gesturing of you and Liam, Harrison remains quiet and mostly still. He crosses his arms in front of his chest, tilting his head for a second as if he's been distracted until you spoke his name.

"Hm? Oh, sure. I'll be there."

"Yaaay!" You clap your hands, before turning your attention to Liam again, as he apologizes for having to leave the two of you so soon. He doesn't forget to say that he's going out early in the morning and probably won't be back till the end of the day. And you don't forget to show how much you're going to miss him, giving him a nice goodbye hug. Right in front of Harrison's eyes.

Once he's gone, you let out a sigh, but don't hurry to move your attention to Harry just yet, even as you walk past him on the sofa. This, however, leaves you wide open, as a pair of arms wraps around your waist in a flash, pulling you right into the lap of the cunning fox.

"Eeek! What's gotten into you, Harry?"

Up this close, reading Harrison's gaze is not hard, even while he's doing the same to you. It's rare to see him so unlike himself, but if there's one thing you know for sure, it's that this is the face of a man being jealous. You need no special abilities to tell this much.

"Nothing much. What's gotten into you? You seem to be in high spirits."

You scrunch your nose at him, opening your mouth to bite back… but you select your words carefully so as not to be caught telling a lie, answering the question with a question.

"Can't I be?"

"'Dunno. It's not the face of someone whose treat was stolen earlier."

It's tempting to break the intense eye contact with a roll of your eyes, but you hold back, even if his words provoke you to do just that.

"Oh, that? I got over it already! I'm not childishly stingy about getting my treats stolen, like a certain someone."

Ouch, that must have hurt. You worry about going too far, but you can't deny the amusement of getting back at him. Especially when you can bask in the results of your earlier performance being written across his face. Maybe your place is in Scala, after all.

His teal eyes shimmer with an unfamiliar light in them, and trying to figure it out makes you feel dizzy. In the next moment, it ceases mattering altogether, because both of you go in for a kiss at the same time.

It begins slowly despite the dramatic pause that preceded it, neither of you wanting to give in first. You let Harrison in your mouth, just to ambush him; wrapping your tongue around his, you turn the kiss into something rougher, and he doesn't back down to you in the slightest. The mass of frenzied energy inside you manifests in clinging to his arms, to his shoulders, tugging at his hair, at his clothing; you maintain your iron grip even as you notice you're disheveling his shirt at this point.

He is the first to withdraw, and despite looking slightly out of breath, he's still staring at you with the same look in his eyes, almost as if he's mad at you. Good, the feeling is mutual.

"Bedroom. Now."

Thank god he said it already.

Once you find yourself in private with Harrison, you know you will not hold back, and neither will he. It's a surprise that a mindful hand still reaches for the light switch, though it's hardly important for either of you right now. With the way you're set on your goal, bodies knowing the way, you hardly need to be able to use your vision at all.

"You're the worst. I'm so mad at you."

"No, you aren't."

Ignoring his words, you relish in the feeling of the naked torso you drag your fingernails down, once that shirt is finally gone. But you're after his belt next, even if Harrison's own hands are on the way.

He's got your skirt removed already, trying to distract you with a kiss while he removes your blouse next, but you refuse to lift your arms up - not until you claim the next article of clothing on him. He breaks the kiss and clicks his tongue, fed up and impatient. Not unlike you.

He easily finds your wrists and grabs them, backing you to the bed and pushing you down until your body hits the fluffy duvet. From there on, his plan seems to be holding your wrists in one hand above your head while he attempts to lift the hem of your blouse again with the other, but it proves hard with you squirming underneath him. You can't stop looking at the expression he makes, and you remember to use your strongest weapon, your tongue.

"You're pretty worked up, aren't you, Harry? Could it be that you really got jealous…?"

He'd never confess to it straight up, so you can at least have your fun teasing him for a little longer.

"I didn’t."

"Liar."

The growing need to kiss his puckering lower lip is what makes you give up on the undressing war, letting the piece of clothing be taken off of you and discarded somewhere on the floor, joining the pile that's already there. Harrison keeps the kiss short because there's still more he can take off of you.

"Yeah, that's what I am."

That's it? No "at least I know when to stop", anything? You lift your head up to catch him moving down on you and tugging at your underwear using his teeth, and the sight makes you forget about your grudge for a split second. Damn it, you want him so bad.

You know once he gets between your legs you'd be screaming with pleasure no matter how stubborn you are. But at least you want to be the one calling the shots while your anger still fuels your boldness. It takes a little bit of effort and a little bit of tongue down Harrison's throat, but at last, you manage to push him down the bed and turn the tables on him.

Once you're on top, you drag down his pants in a rush together with his underwear, letting his erection spring out in your awaiting hands. You rub the blunt head onto your drenched entrance, teasing him one last time before you gradually sink down on him. Though it lacks the usual gentleness Harry treats you with, always mindful of his own size, and the result has you cursing him.

"F-Fuck you…"

"Yeah, it seems like you're trying to do that."

His big hands snake their way up your waist, already there to support you, and a part of you wants to smack them away and show him how well you can ride him without his aid. But you don't, despite yourself and despite the provoking words that his dirty mouth keeps on spilling.

You don't know what's to blame here, but the pleasure of becoming one with him grows tenfold under these circumstances. You need to keep going like you need air. Like it's the only way to channel the emotions rushing inside you right now. The only pause you're willing to take is to unclasp your bra and throw it down at Harrison.

He catches it, bringing it down to his lips for a second while flashing you another dirty look, before it ceases being of interest to him and he throws it away.

"You're- Haaah- You're seriously bad at this. Aren't you going to say something in defense?"

"I'm more interested in fucking you right now."

Your walls clench as you hear this, your body being way more honest than the words coming out of your mouth tonight, but it's hardly a surprise between the two of you.

"Since when did that become your priority? I thought you were having more fun teasing me?"

"Since yesterday. Remember when I commented on how sexy the look on your face is?"

The pace of your hips falters. Thinking about Harrison desiring you like this is, admittedly, hot, but it's his honesty that messes with your head here. As much as he uses his lies to his advantage, it seems like he can use honesty in just as dangerous ways.

Another lowering of your guard, and another chance for him to flip the two of you around.

Now that he's back on top, Harrison hooks your legs on the folds of his arms and it's your only sign to brace yourself for what's to come.

"Come on, say it. Say that you want me to fuck you. Or lie if you wish, I'm not stopping you."

You have to give up clutching your jaw the second Harrison starts pounding inside you in earnest, but the fear of him stopping is what makes you really say the words.

"Fuck me… Fuck me, please! More! Don't stop!"

"As you wish."

Unlike how talkative both you and Harrison have been so far, the following minutes are filled with nothing but moans and the sound of skin slapping against skin. When he leans over you, caging your body completely in his arms, you can't resist wrapping your own arms securely around his shoulders, afraid of him playing tricks on you again. Even if you know he won't. You need this so badly, and so does he.

"Harry… Harry, tell me you love me…! Ngnnhh-I'm gonna-!"

"I love you. I love you so much."

"I love you too-Ahhhh-!"

Hot-white takes over your vision as Harrison's pace shatters, his thrusts deepening just as you reach your peak, milking him for everything he has. He keeps rutting inside you while he cums, his heavy pants muffled into the crook of your neck as he leaves open-mouthed kisses against your feverish skin. You hold him so tightly even after the strong climax relaxes its grip on you, as if wanting him to sink into your ribcage and completely become one with you.

The kiss the two of you share once you can find your breath again, or maybe even before that, is a sweet one, but the aftertaste of it promises another round of this. It seems like there are still some things you have to settle with Harrison.

Liam when he came up with the idea: Oh they're fucking fucking tonight!

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[strwbmei]

In the spirit of me fucking up my knee, could I request a short thing of Keqing/HSR Bronya princess carrying an injured reader?

~Teeth

(Also heya how’s it going?)

Hello, Teeth!! It's been a while! A lot has happened. Normally I'd say that I hope you've been doing well, but the fucked up knee speaks for itself. Not sure how you hurt your knee exactly or how bad it is, so I apologize if anything written here is medically unsafe/incorrect!

Keqing would go full asian mom style. She'd scold you for being careless, saying things like "I told you to be careful!" and to "stop being so reckless!" while dressing your injury. Her words sting, but you can tell that she cares with how careful she's being with you. Also, she insists on carrying you the same way a few days even after you've recovered. Acts strict, but you can get away with a lot more with her during the time that you're recovering. She'll even let you use her lap as a pillow.

"Ow!" You hiss in pain as Keqing tightens the makeshift bandage around your knee. She glares up at you, eyes full of disappointment and irritation, yet also with a hint of worry that only you could discern. "Well, maybe if someone wasn't being such an idiot..."

"Still, be more gentle! You're dealing with an injured person here, y'know?" You complain, and the other woman rolls her eyes in response. "I'm sure it isn't as bad as you make it out to be if you still have the energy to whine."

Suddenly, Keqing stands up and lifts you into her arms with ease, carrying you bridal style as she starts walking. You yelp in surprise. "What are you-"

"Taking a certain idiot to the infirmary." You sort of just stare at her awestruck because she's rarely so... gentle? It's hard to find the right words to describe it, but you're sure this kind of opportunity is rare.

"What, you think I'd let you walk around with an injured knee?"

"Honestly, yeah, a little bit." As soon as you said those words without thinking, you were sure she'd put you down out of annoyance and tell you that you're free to go to the infirmary yourself, but she only stays silent.

"Whatever. Just... don't worry me again like that, okay?"

Bronya... would definitely overreact. There's no other way to word it. Her expression would be akin to a wounded puppy. She'll have all of the best doctors in Belobog taking care of you and the most luxurious bed for you to lay on even if your injury isn't that bad. Qlipoth bless her soul if the doctors even mention the possibility of your injury permanently impairing you, because she is most definitely going into cardiac arrest. After you recover, she makes it a point to ensure every place in Belobog is accessible to people who can't walk.

Although Bronya works as the Supreme Guardian, she's spent most of her life on the battlefield and she's learned many useful techniques from her experience. One of them is basic medical care.

She's not a professional, but her know-how has saved a few comrades' lives. Still, Bronya most certainly didn't expect that she'd have to use this skill of hers on you of all people.

"Bronya... I'm okay now. Really." You say; an attempt to console the very obviously distressed woman in front of you. With how much she's frowning, anyone that saw her would think that she was the one with an injury.

"No." Bronya responds, and honestly, this is the first time you've heard her so... stern. She knows that you aren't lying, but she sure as hell isn't risking your wound getting worse. "We need to get you to a doctor."

On second thought, it's too dangerous to move you around; it'd be better to have a doctor come here themselves. Still, the nearest doctor is much too far away, so Bronya decides to carry you there instead.

As soon as she picks you up, her mind races with a million thoughts all at once. What if it leaves a scar? What if you aren't able to walk normally again? Aeons forbid, what if you won't be able to walk at all? However dramatic, just the thought has her heart sinking.

She senses your unease and takes a deep breath, pressing a small kiss to your forehead. Perhaps her emotions have gotten the better of her. "I'm sorry, my love. You know how I worry for you." She smiles reassuringly. Whether she's trying to reassure you or herself, you don't know.

[lewistoferrari]

I'm gonna just come out with this first and say that I am actually black, unlike some of the anons who come on here, but I genuinely want to believe auspicious is trying and will improve in the future.

There is a big common difference in language in other countries than in the US. There are words they use that are offensive here but aren't there, and it's not always an excuse. I'm not saying she can't educate herself, but she even said she really did not know which I'd like to believe instead of holding a shade over her head.

We are cultures apart from countless people all over the world, and there's bound to be some mistakes here and there. Is it common for us as poc people to experience situations like this? Yes, most definitely, but that doesn't mean every single white person is doing/saying things out of malicious intent.

Her writing was done terribly wrong, the entire situation looked horrendous, but it felt like instead of educating her like we should do, you took how fed up you were and placed it all on top of her. We don't have much representation in this world. There aren't many black writers or black characters out there for us and were often treated wrong, and it's tiring. That shouldn't mean we take that frustration out on her.

It just seemed like really bully behavior to say most of her writing is shit instead of reaching out and saying how she could change and do better. Maybe I'm an optimist who tries to always see the good in people, but this entire situation could've been handled better.

honestly telling me that you’re black (and on anon at that) does not move me when you’re sitting up here trying to tell me that i should go out of my way and educate people about racism and anti-blackness when i definitely don’t have to do that. if they have access to tumblr, then they have access to the internet. i am not anyone’s mule and definitely don’t have to anything i don’t wanna do just because you say so. if you’re so concerned about educating her & the masses then YOU do it.

“there is a big common difference in language in other countries than in the US.” mind you the n word exists in every language but alright!!!

also the “not all white people” line doesn’t work on me so you can dead that.

i’ll take my frustrations out on whoever the hell i want to especially when she was warned twice on anon about the characterization and her use of a slur (which is the only thing y’all keep focusing on, instead of focusing on the stereotypical way she wrote a black male character). she was also talked to in private. and instead of apologizing and taking the fic down, she tried to edit it and repost it. she only wrote that lil essay (still no apology) and deleted the fic after she saw ppl discussing the issue.

“it just seemed like really bully behavior to say most of her writing is shit” mind you this is what i said. so don’t come into my inbox putting words in my mouth.

i also find it funny how some of y’all have been clicking that “ask anonymously” button and are trying to tell us that we’re overreacting. you better think again the next time you come into my inbox talking out the side of your neck. this was me being nice.

[klaprisun]

One Sunny Day

(Stardew Valley) (Haley x Female Farmer)

Chapter 36

⚠️Content Warning⚠️

The line to get on the bus was way longer than I thought it would be. When Sam, Abigail, and Sebastian said that a "few" others were coming... I didn't think it meant nearly the whole town. I'm having my doubts that this bus can even hold all of us. I'm also having my doubts about Pam driving, but driving the bus seems to be one of the few things she enjoys doing.

"You are going to sit with me, right?" Haley mutters as we take a few more steps closer to the bus entrance. The line is moving insanely slow to get on. I have a feeling Mayor Lewis is the one holding up the line.

"No, I'm going to sit with Clint," I joke. Haley looks at me with disgust then looks me up and down judgingly. We both break into a fit of giggles right after.

"Hopefully he doesn't try to sit with Em. Keep an eye on him for me, okay?" Haley asks.

"Sure thing, Hales," I pull Haley into an embrace and kiss the top of her head. She just melts into my arms without another word.

The line finally starts moving again, and this time we actually make it on. Haley had asked me to bring my backpack to carry all of her stuff in for her. I had to toss that onto the rack above the seats with all of the other bags from everyone. It was only meant to be a day trip, but people seemed to have gone packing crazy.

As I was lifting the bag onto the rack above the seats, I felt my shirt rise up a bit from my arms reaching up so high. Haley was already seated in the spot next to the window, but I could tell she wasn't looking outside just yet.

"Oops. Danny I forgot to put...this..." she frantically starts looking around. She looks at the many bracelets she has on his wrist and slips one off. "This bracelet! I forgot to put this bracelet into the backpack."

"But you were wearing it. Why do you want it in the bag?" I skeptically say. I know exactly why she wants it in the bag.

"I don't want to wear it anymore. It doesn't match my outfit anymore in this lighting." She held the bracelet out for me to snatch out of her hands. Sure enough, I raised my arms to pull the bag from the rack so I could put the bracelet in. Once I got the bracelet secure, I went to sit down but Haley stopped me again.

"I lied. I want it back please. It did kind of match my outfit. I think I just overreacted." Haley flashes me innocent puppy dog eyes that I just cannot turn down.

"Alright fine," I roll my eyes and go back up to the bag to get the bracelet back. I leave the bag up there this time to rummage through, keeping my arms up for a while, my shirt still lifting up as I reach.

"What a view," I hear Haley whisper from her spot. She is definitely not looking out the window.

"Here." I toss the bracelet to her but she misses it due to her flinching. It smacks against her chest and falls into her lap.

"I wasn't ready!"

"Should've been," I shrug nonchalantly.

The rest of the passengers have finally settled down, so Pam was able to get the show on the road. Sam had the radio going, so everyone was able to start getting hyped for the big gig.

                                                🌻 🌻 🌻

The bus ride ended up being a couple of hours. It was longer than the train ride here due to traffic, but it was long enough that I was able to take a little nap. I woke up due to a Pam speeding over a pothole, causing the bus to jostle around aggressively.

"Morning sleepy head. We are almost there," Haley murmured to me as she filed her nails. When I look around after opening my eyes, I see that my head slid down to rest on her shoulder in my sleep.

Looking out the window, I can see all of the tall, skyscraper buildings of the big city. I don't miss this view even for a second. I shift my focus to Haley sitting in front of the window instead. She was too busy filing her nails still to look at me, but I just kept staring at her. That was until the bus lurched to a stop at our destination.

Sam begins chatting hysterically, waving his hands upwards to motion to the passengers to cheer and chant with him. I'm the first to jump up and start chanting along. Soon the whole bus erupted into chaos. Poor Abigail is so nervous that I can see her bent over, holding a plastic bag to her mouth.

Sam and Sebastian are the first to get off the bus to get their gear with Abigail hobbling behind trying to keep up. Everyone bids them good luck as they leave the bus.

"We need to get a good spot at the front! Grab the bag and let's hurry!" Haley makes no move to get up and waits for me to grab the bag from above us.

"You don't seem in that much of a hurry," I roll my eyes and quickly pull the bag down. After that was when she finally made a move to rush off the bus. The two of us shimmy our way down the bus aisle to the door to hop out. I scurry down the steps first and turn to hold Haley's hand as she gently steps down each one sideways in her heels.

"You're gonna get real sick of standing those," I point out.

"I'm actually a pro at wearing heels thank you very much. I can even run in them if I have to," she huffs as we speed walk to the area where the small concert is happening. There are a few people already here, but our town folk take up most of the space alone. It's hard to say if many others will show up from the city or not.

As I take in the few other people from the city that are here, I realize I'm severely underdressed for the occasion like usual. My overalls, cowboy hat and t-shirt don't really match the vibe very well, but I didn't have anything else. I made sure to wear a black t-shirt though so that kind of helped. Haley even out did me despite this not being her typical scene. She had a pink plaid mini skirt on, with a black, off-the-shoulder, blouse on. The weather hasn't quite cooled down yet despite it being fall now. We were also in a closed-in area outside that has buildings blocking the wind. The heat from all the bodies packed around will surely bring the temperature up as well.

One of the bands was just getting ready to perform as the last few stragglers came waltzing in at the last minute. Sam, Sebastian, and Abigail were going to be one of the last few groups to perform for the night, but it will still be nice to listen to others play as well.

The concert begins, and everyone starts going wild in the crowd. I have people screaming by my ear, and bumping into me constantly. I have my arm tightly wrapped around Haley, clinging on to her for dear life. We are right at the barricades in front of the stage, so I also had one hand holding onto one of the poles.

It took me a few performances to finally get used to the craziness, but by the third performance I was feeling more psyched. That was until some guy situated himself on the other side of Haley. It would've been okay if it weren't for him constantly looking over at her. I didn't point it out just yet, but I kept my eye on him.

As the performance of this band ended, that's when this guy decided to make his move. Unfortunately, he was a conventionally attractive man that many girls would be swooned by. He seems to know he is good looking too and that fuels his ego.

"Hey," He says as he leans over to Haley. Haley's head snaps his way in shock.

"Oh...h-hi?" I hear her stutter. I don't step into the conversation just yet. Instead I fold my arms and rest them on the barricade in front of me

"It's a pretty good turn out, eh?" He examines the large crowd behind us but turns his gaze back on Haley.

"Yeah. It's pretty busy that's for sure," she gives him a tight lip smile as she also had just examined the crowd.

"It's lucky so many people showed up. It was my band's first performance today so we were happy we had such an audience. We were the second band that played," he explains.

"Oh yeah. I recognize you now. That's pretty cool," Haley politely responds.

"I see you came here with your friend?" He points over Haley's shoulder to me, still leaning on the barricade. Haley turns her head to look at me with an unreadable expression. I don't say anything and raise my eyebrow in question.

Their conversation was interrupted by Sam, Abigail, and Sebastian taking the stage for their performance. Of course, Sam had to do a really loud entrance that made the crowd erupt into a frenzy. The guy's attention turned to the stage, but Haley was still staring at me with her weird expression. I stayed staring at her with a dull look on my face, only breaking eye contact to look at the stage.

It was really hard to enjoy the band's performance now, and I feel really guilty that I'm not enjoying it like I should. But I can't help thinking about what Haley would have answered if they didn't get interrupted.

The whole time, I keep looking over at the two of them. He has been scooching closer and closer to her every second. One more step and his arm would be touching hers. She has been angling her upper body closer and closer to me and away from him, but not stepping completely over. I shake my head and turn back to the stage in distraught.

That was until I heard Haley gasp, even over every speaker right by us. From the corner of my eye I saw her stiffen up as well. Curiously, I looked over to her and her eyes were screaming a look of "help". Investigating farther, I look over at the guy. His hand is extended out to Haley, but resting somewhere it shouldn't be. Right. On. Her. Ass.

Boldly, he even slides his hand down her ass and to the hem of her skirt where he moves his hand under. My eyes widen in horror and my brain goes into autopilot.

I grab Haley by the waist and move her behind me out of my way because the next move is not going to be a pretty one. Without thinking, I swing my fist at the guy and feel it connect to somewhere on his face. It was all such a blur that I had no idea what I was doing until after it happened.

After retracting my fist away, I take a second to analyze where I hit him. From the looks of things, his cheek is already bruising, as well as a few drops of blood escape his nose.

Haley steps back in front of me to face the guy who is currently cradling his injured face in his palm. He looks at her angrily but she brings out the sass.

"She's my girlfriend you creepy, ignorant fuck. Don't you DARE touch another woman like that again," she points her sharp, pointy finger nail directly in his face then switches to her middle finger. She makes flipping someone off look so elegant with her cute, done up nails.

I started to notice we had created quite a stir in the crowd and that security was starting to come in our direction. I take Haley by her hand and the two of us wave to the stage to Sam, Sebastian, and Abigail. We give them a loud, encouraging shout and hop over the barricades. I have to help Haley though by lifting her over, but I climb over just fine. We start taking off across the concert field just as the band's song gets to the climatic part of the chorus. It gives Haley and I such a thrill as we run away from the scene, ditching the security guards trying to keep after us.

As we continue to book it back to the bus, Haley ends up kicking her heels off and starts carrying them in her hands. I silently laugh in my head as I remember our previous conversation about her in heels.

When I turn back, I see the security guards have disappeared and are no longer chasing us. When we get back to the bus, I pry the doors open so we can pile inside. Unsurprisingly, Pam forgot to lock the door.

I shut the bus door behind us and immediately brought my attention to Haley, breathlessly pulling her in for a steamy kiss. She tosses her shoes away and pushes her body up against mine, accepting my kiss.

We stumble through the bus, not breaking our lips apart. The sky has darkened since we had first arrived, so we only have the light of the moon shining in through the bus windows.

We keep having to catch our breath every so often due to not having any to begin with from the run. We stumble all the way to the back seats where they are bigger and wider. She lays back across a few of the seats with me hovering over top of her.

"That was so hot," she moans as I kiss down her neck.

"I thought you said you can run in heels," I mutter as I take her blouse off and toss it over the seat in front of us.

"Grass is a different story. That's harder to run on," she replies breathlessly as I start kissing her breasts. I make my way down to her lower half where I move her skirt up. Disgustingly, I'm knee deep on the floor of the bus like a hooligan. But I don't think anything of it since I was so wrapped up in the moment as well as Haley's legs.

I slide her panties down and keep them hung around one on her ankles so they don't get lost. I grip her thighs tightly with my hands and bring my tongue up to meet her waterfall of excitement. I must've really got her going.

She takes my hat off my head so it's not in my way and puts it on her own head so we also don't lose it. She runs her hands through my hair and gasps in pleasure. I feel her legs shake and tremble as they continue to stay wrapped around me. We hear the band continue to play off in the distance as it is just that loud. It's more of a slower song now than the one we ran off to.

I look up and see that Haley has her head thrown back and now has a hand braced on the seat in front of us and one on the back window of the bus. She is moaning unapologetically loud as no one would be able to hear us.

Her legs extend out behind me and her moan turns to more of a gasp. I grip her thighs tighter and keep at the same pace, not wanting to ruin her moment. Her hand slides down the back window as she loses control of her body. Butterflies erupt in my stomach as I realize how much she is enjoying this. She quickly recovers from her big finish and pulls me up onto the seat back over top of her. She brings my lips down to hers to continue where we left off.

"You're turn," she moans between kisses.

"Oh but you'll get your pretty little knees dirty. Here, put my shirt under you," I whip my shirt off over my head and give it to her. She breaks away from me and spreads my shirt out on the bus floor.

As if sharing the same brain, we both freeze and look at one another. She looks down at what I'm wearing and we burst into laughter. Overalls were not the move for this situation, but how was I supposed to know this was going to happen?

"Hold on a minute," I start undoing all the buckles and straps so I can slide them down. I kick them down my legs and onto the floor in front of the seat. I give her a wink and she pushes my legs apart so she can get to work. It's kind of an awkward angle for me to lay as my head is kind of resting up against the side window. My one leg hangs off the side of the seat while the other is pressed right up against the back of the seat and Haley's shoulder. It's a bit of a tight squeeze but I soon tune it out as my thoughts go elsewhere.

I forgot to take my hat back so she continues to wear it as she goes down on me. I don't bother taking it back since it looks so good on her. I feel the pressure start to build up as she is doing such a good job with her tongue. A moan escapes my lips and I feel her moan against me. My legs tense up at that sudden vibration and my mouth falls open.

"I'm almost there, Haley," I breathe out as I grip my hands in her hair. She moans again and that is my breaking point. My legs start trembling and I roll my head against the window while I bite my lip.

Just as I finish, out of the corner of my eye, I see a whole group of people through the window walking up to the bus. It was the town people coming back from the concert. I didn't even realize the music had stopped playing a while ago.

"Haley, get my stuff!" I whisper loudly. We frantically gather up our clothing and throw it back on. It takes what feels like hours to get my damn overalls back on but I get it just in time. We bump into each other as we try to find a way to act casual and unsuspicious. She jumps into a seat three in front of me and I'm left leaning against one of the backs of a seat as the first person gets on the bus.

"I found them..." Robin says as she makes awkward eye contact with me. I give her a thumbs up and a weird smile. Pam gets on behind Robin and sits in her driver's seat. She turns the bus on, causing all the lights of the bus to flicker on. Haley's shirt is on backwards, her skirt is twisted, and she was still wearing my hat. My shirt is covered in dust and dirt, and one of my overall buckles is loose while the other is undone. Both of our faces were red and my legs were still subtly shaking.

I shoot finger guns at Robin and shyly sit down in the seat next to Haley. Everyone else starts piling onto the bus now, giving us knowing looks. We both look out the window, avoiding eye contact with people, stifling our laughter.

[coeurcanelle]

☆Baby,the stars shine bright☆pt6

pt5

inspired by the 'kamikaze girls',♡ always had unconditional love for lolita fashion and nothing else but when she met ellie,an auburn haired girl whos part of a gang with a dad's fashion sense ,her love for clothes begins to compete with her growing feelings for ellie

strangers to friends to lovers,love-hate friendship,opposite aesthetics,early 2000s

wlw,fluff

wc:8k

loud scream was heard all around the house, immediately waking up Ellie. The bed was empty beside her, and you were nowhere to be seen in her room, so she ran to search for you.

Mars ran away from the bathroom door, using the chairs in the living room as her hiding spot. Ellie's eyes drifted from her cat to the bathroom door. She approached it, turning the doorknob while imagining the worst.

There she found you.

"wat's wrong with you? don't tell me you got jumpscared by a spider or something."

Mixed emotions washed over her: relief and confusion. She hated waking up to clock alarms, but your screaming was by far the worst. She was even more puzzled seeing you standing next to the large mirror, holding the same bonnet you wore yesterday.

"it's worse than that," your voice filled with sorrow, making Ellie furrow her eyebrows in confusion. Only her fear of spiders could make her scream like that. But when you clearly showed her the small holes in your bonnet, she didn't need any clearer explanation for your reaction.

Your ears quickly turned red when you saw Ellie raising one eyebrow at you; you might have overreacted. "sorry, but if you think about it, it's not entirely my fault."

Ellie scoffed. How was she to blame?

It was you who fell on your own that night you both left the casino. If you didn’t call her the names you did, she wouldn’t have chased after you. She didn't need to lift a finger to make you regret your words, not when gravity became your worst enemy at that moment.

"you're such a drama queen. Just get a new one. Besides, what's done is done. At least next time you'll watch your mouth before calling me stupid names." Her hand still reached to grab your bonnet, wanting to know if it was that badly messed up for you to react so negatively.

"you sure don't get anything in fashion. It was a limited edition, dumbass." You handed the accessory to her. Since it had gotten into a mediocre state, its worth was now reduced to nothing to you. It would finally meet its destined fate and be thrown in the trash.

Carefully, Ellie inspected your item and even tried to slide her fingers through the small holes.

"well, you're definitely not a smartass for wearing this AND trying to annoy the shit out of me." Her fingers swiftly passed through the holes; she wiggled them at you, doing a good job of pissing you off.

It was just morning, and you could already feel grumpiness sticking with you all day.

You snatched your bonnet out of Ellie's hands, earning a smug grin from her that you couldn't snatch away from her face. "you're so fucking immature."

All you wanted to do was to go home and start all of this over, wishing for a miracle and hoping to find the exact same bonnet in any nearby shops.

"you can't call me that too." Ellie crossed her arms and blocked the way out of the bathroom so you couldn't leave, even if you truly didn't want to.

You were for sure overreacting, and Ellie wasn't going to let you be all grumpy to her, not when she thought of a solution to help you and not when both of you spent a dreamlike night yesterday.

The clock was ticking 9 am, signaling it was her breakfast time, but the only thing she needed at the moment was that smile of yours to make a comeback.

So she suggested: '"you know what, I'll let that slide because you're-your hat's cute."

"bonnet" you corrected.

"whatever. Just give it to me. I don't know anyone around who can do it for free, so I'll try to fix it up."Her words were anything but convincing to you. "plus, embroidery is like stitching someone up except with fabric. I'm sure I can do this with my eyes closed." she sounded more confident until she saw reluctance reappearing on your face at the last sentence.

"It's fine"*you're going to mess it up even more* you carefully didn't add.

Ellie wanted to help, and she started to get desperate. Fashion wasn't something she was particularly interested in, but she was certainly interested in you.

The way your face would beam at the sight of Lolita dresses, the way you'd work hard (scam) to get money for the sole purpose of upgrading your wardrobe, and the way you looked in the clothes you liked didn't go unnoticed by Ellie,in fact,there was nothing else she liked more than seeing you happy.

It was at this moment she also realized your connection was so strong she started to match your emotions too, and the last thing she wanted right now was to feel sad because you did.

"just give me one chance," she said, letting herself get carried away by the waves of love and affection. It was undoubted that she would do anything for you. "and if it doesn't look fashionable enough, you can lock me in your basement and leave me dying of hunger and boredom."

Your lips curved into a smile at the inside joke. "you're lucky I'm not as unhinged as you", after debating whether or not you should let Ellie fix your bonnet, you reluctantly gave it to her to put an end to her persistence, but not without lessening your worries.

Ellie was thankful that you trusted her, and now that your bonnet's future was placed in her hands, with hope and determination, she would give it to you all fixed up to thank you back.

"damn, you can't take a joke, can you? I don't even have a basement and even if I did— i mean..do you see me doing this kind of stuff? thats just fucking crazy. What kind of psycho would do that just for getting scammed?"Her tone was exaggeratedly bewildered as if it was something morally unthinkable, as if she didn't joke about it last night.

"It doesn't sound that unbelievable since you did think about it." Your arms crossed and you straightened your back. You recalled Ellie's serious face from last night and how she easily sent shivers down your spine. Your opinion today hasn't changed; you still found her kinda hot. "trust me, those psychos think exactly like you. They're just a little more deranged."

A sigh escaped her lips as she inspected your item, using her imagination to figure out how to sew the small holes. But if you kept teasing her, she would start to reconsider helping you.

"you can play this spot-the-difference game and all you want. You could do the same with your hat and Joel's socks once I'm done fixing it."

Yesterday, when you passed through the kitchen, the open windows offered a view of the small garden outside. The hung-up clothes slightly moved back and forth with the wind, and a few holey socks were strongly attached to the cord.

Now you know who they belonged to.

"please don't."

☆°☆•°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°

With eyebrows pulled together, focused eyes, and gentle yet ineffective movements, Ellie’s determination wasn’t enough against her lack of experience. Many things that looked easy often revealed themselves to be the complete opposite.

Some stitches were too tight while others were too loose; Ellie had difficulty hand-sewing up the hole.

You both had left Joel's house to head to your own, not expecting to see your dad bringing people into the house too. It turned out he had finally found a job—something that wasn’t drastically different from what he used to do before but made him satisfied. However, you never imagined he’d once find money through being a fortune teller. But only a scammer like him didn’t mind looking absurd while predicting obvious events that eventually occur in everyone’s life.

You had led Ellie to your room at the end of the corridor and now you were sitting at the edge of your bed, with your face resting in the palm of your hand when you weren’t leaning over your desk, taking a closer look at what she was doing.

If it wasn’t for her kindness and how adorable she looked, you would have definitely taken back your bonnet already, not letting her continue her terrible job at pushing the thread in and out.

Since it was her first time doing something like this, she judged the uneven stitches to be fine, while you grimaced at the sight of them.

After finishing one hole, Ellie turned to you and held the bonnet up to you expectantly.

Your lips pressed into a thin line quickly formed an embarrassed smile.

You didn’t know what to say.

“is my work so good it got you speechless, or you don’t wanna say anything because you envy my skills?” Her grin was cocky despite her awful work. You had to do something about it (both her cockiness and her work).

“I’ll give it a 2/10 for effort and also because it’s your first try.” Your bluntness instantly made her cocky grin disappear, her lips pressed into a thin line instead.

“never meaner... and why not 3?” Ellie asked for justification. She had spent a hot minute trying to copy what you had shown her, but she couldn’t even get through the basics.

You wanted to laugh at her desperation. “maybe you’re right, I should reconsider...” You pretended to think as you put your finger on your chin, not surprising Ellie with your comeback, “1/10.”

“alright, for effort or first try?” she asked as if your answer was going to have life-changing consequences.

“whatever helps you sleep at night,” you shrugged your shoulders and tried to think of what to do with your ruined accessory. Now that Ellie had tried to help, you didn’t want it to end its life in the trash. “I’ll do it myself, I can’t stand seeing my bonnet like this.”

“then sit,” she didn’t fail to make you roll your eyes at her, smirking in return.

After giving it some thought—something Ellie is highly unlikely to do—you carefully removed the thread Ellie had stitched on the hole, throwing away 30 minutes of hard work and determination.

You told her you had another idea when you heard her dramatic gasp, and all she could do was trust the process.

As your hands were busy hand-sewing, your mind brought you back to a memory that still felt like a vivid dream.

The scent of Ellie on her clothes that you were wearing, her playing the melody of your favorite song, and her strong arms embracing you.

You slightly shook your head.

No.

One thing was in fact from a vivid dream.

At least you still got to wear her clothes, get her to play your favorite song for you, and even gaze at the stars while your heartbeats rhythmically synced.

However, you couldn’t ignore the painful pang in your chest when you remembered her embracing you with affection was just a dream.

You wanted her to hold you like this in real life too.

Once again, you shook your head to arrange your thoughts.

You were so crazy about her that the lines between imagination and reality uncontrollably started to blur!

Then 1... 2, and soon 5 petals were meticulously sewn around the hole. You had never thought of doing something so original before; maybe it was because you felt Ellie’s attentive gaze on you.

You made sewing look so easy while she struggled to get one stitch right.

Thoughts like "maybe if I'm better at this, I could make her like me more" resurfaced in Ellie’s head again.

At first, it was envy, but her admiration for you made her gradually seek approval from you, which wasn’t any easier.

Her mind was still filled with the newfound memories of yesterday: how good you looked in her clothes, the way your eyes would sparkle under the moonlight, and the sound of your uncontrollable laughter when she’d tell you something stupid. This was the recipe for making her heart melt. Words weren’t enough to perfectly describe how happy she felt, knowing she was the reason behind your bright smile.

One night wasn’t enough to satisfy her; she wanted to spend as much time with you as possible.

Maybe tonight you could hopefully recreate yesterday again, even better?

Caught staring at you, Ellie snapped her thoughts away and drifted her eyes away from you.

You had noticed Ellie’s devotion to proving herself to you, but you were against it, believing this whole comparing thing was pointless when you liked her just the way she was.

“there are about 2 holes left,” you stated, reaching your hand out for Ellie to grab your bonnet. “here, take the needle. I’ll teach you how to make flower petals instead.”

Ellie’s hand didn’t budge, and you saw the hesitation in her eyes. “bet you could do this with your eyes closed after some time,” you added before taking her hand to place your unfinished accessory in it.

She scoffed as her eyes glanced at what she was holding, the pressure to be successful coming back “I don’t think you actually want me to do that.”

“hey, you might be slow, but you’ll get the hang of it at some point,” you reassured her.

You always believed that humans were gifted with potential; they just tended to limit themselves.

Plus, it wouldn’t hurt to have something handmade from the girl you liked. “Also, my hands are getting sore.”

“so, you’re basically using me? didnt know you were like this” she exclaimed with a smirk.

“you literally begged to help me.”

"omg, I literally didn’t... why’d you—I wasn’t even that desperate.”

And the teasing went on and on until she started to turn her attention back to your bonnet.

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Once again, getting attention was something you were used to by now. You've seen so few people wearing lolita clothes that you could count them on one hand, so it was a normal reaction for people to curiously stare at you. Hence, you brushed it off when you felt the employee from your favorite clothing shop's eyes on you.

"maybe it's been a while since she last had a customer," you thought.

Totally lost in your own world, you shuffled through the stunning dresses crafted with luxurious fabrics and adorned with intricate lace, pearls, and embroidery details that were to die for.

Since Joel didn't want to spend his time shopping at the convenience store, he had sent you and Ellie with a list of things that mostly consisted of food. But after you were done with the task Joel had given you, you couldn’t wait any longer to visit the Baby, the Stars Shine Bright shop nearby, which you judged to be the best shop to ever exist in the world.

After taking a quick look at their newest collection in their showcases, you didn't waste a single second and stepped in.

Ellie aimlessly followed you around, carrying the plastic bag containing your groceries with one hand and holding yours with the other, languidly dragging her feet.

After finding your happiness, you headed towards the cashier. Faint dimples appeared on both sides of her cheeks as she smiled, enlightened to see you again. You dropped Ellie's hand as you paid for a brand new white headband, and the same employee from earlier approached you, as pleasant as the cashier, but her staring started to make you self-conscious.

"is there anything else you need, miss?" she asked, her eyes not leaving your bonnet. You readjusted it a bit nervously.

"that will be all for today, thank you" you returned an awkward smile. The employee felt sorry for her persistent gaze, but she needed to take a closer look at your accessory.

"is this bonnet purchased from here?" The employee thought it was strongly similar to one bonnet from their previous collection, except it didn't have embroidered flower petals adorning it.

She received a silent response with a positive nod from you, and you suddenly became shy.

The employee rapidly called another worker, "regina, come here, you have to look at this!"

In just a span of seconds, you became the center of attention of the whole place. Everyone was looking and pointing at the details on your bonnet, still sitting at the top of your head.

They were women with taste, and you hoped the surprise painting their faces didn't mean something about the retouches looking horrendous.

A feeling of reassurance washed over you when they started to praise you.

"beautiful, beautiful!"

"did you make this yourself? You truly are talented!"

"i wish I was this creative and knew how to do embroidery as well," they all exclaimed enthusiastically as their eyes shifted from your creation to your face repeatedly, admiring your bonnet like it was a piece of art displayed in a far-famed museum.

You were far from accustomed to getting praises, and Ellie wondered why they were all acting so excited over an accessory.

But when you told them she had helped you fix your bonnet up, all eyes turned to her, flattering her with praises as well.

One of the employees managed to get the boss out of his office upstairs, leading him to you.

It felt like time instantly stopped.

You couldn't believe what was happening.

The CEO of your favorite clothing brand, walking up to you?

It must be a dream, right?

You were too busy trying to distinguish your imagination from reality to react when he asked if he could take a closer look, suggesting you hand your bonnet to him.

Your legs suddenly felt heavy, and your vision started to darken though you had your eyes open.

You weren't here.

"wow, this is beyond wonderf-" The man didn't even have time to compliment your work before you helplessly fainted on the floor.

Alarm bells went off in Ellie’s mind. Standing beside you, she rushed down to catch your head before it could harshly hit the 'white tile,' blaming your sudden unconscious state on the tall man.

"what a reaction for a burst of joy," she sighed as she slightly shook you in an attempt to bring you back to her.

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It didn't take long to wake up, but wake up from what? Because right now, you could literally say you're living a dream.

Ellie's heart returned to its normal pace. "are you alright?" she softly asked, brushing a strand of your hair behind your ear to see your awakened face more clearly.

"yeah." The realization that you had fainted in front of everyone, especially the CEO of your favorite shop, made you extremely embarrassed. After a moment, you slowly stood up, cleared your throat, and turned to the girl who had just saved your life. "you?"

Your unnecessary concern for Ellie elicited a light chuckle from her. "thanks for asking, but you're the one who nearly passed out here."

The whole room was filled with awkward and short laughs. The feeling of embarrassment flashed across your face once again, and you refused to look ahead and meet the eyes of the man who had created the source of your happiness.

Your fixed bonnet was still held by his hands. His eyes darted from you to it, with many questions eager for answers popping into his mind.

Curiosity bubbled up inside him as he wondered how one's mind could go that far and how you and your friend had created such a wonderful replica of what you had just imagined. His mind was like bubbles of curiosity ready to explode.

He carefully approached you and Ellie, offering you praise and asking various questions.

Ellie's eyes never left your face, studying every single feature as you did your best to answer as clearly as possible. Her heart swelled uncontrollably with warmth when you'd mention her helping you a lot.

After what seemed like a lifetime to Ellie, he finished interviewing you both.

He just needed one thing from you.

The sight of his hopeful and impatient eyes made your heart burn with anticipation. You tried to control your breathing, which quickened its pace, refusing to succumb to the menacing fainting.

"with an imagination and talent like yours, it would be regretful for it to go to waste," he stated, reaching out to return your item. But he didn't hand it to you when your hands nervously grabbed for it. "I wish to hire you as an embroiderer. What do you think?"

Your mind was flooded with racing thoughts about working here.

It seemed like the ideal workplace, but was it truly your ideal job?

"I just love wearing cute clothes, not necessarily making them," you confessed after a moment of silence. The female employees exchanged glances, curiosity on their faces as they wondered why such a talented person would pass up such a fortunate opportunity.

Refusing to let this be your final words, Ellie gently touched your shoulder, encouraging you to step out of your comfort zone. "are you serious? Do you realize i know how to do embroidery thanks to you? me...someone who couldn't even hold a needle without shaking and pricking my finger" Ellie took your hand, squeezing it as she urged, "this is your chance, dont fuck it up"

Refusing wasn’t an option when such a suggestion came from the CEO of your all-time favorite brand, but hearing the desperation in Ellie’s voice made you accept right away.

Working in your favorite place, surrounded by stunning dresses and accessories, and earning money from it was literally a dream job. To you, it wasn't as if he was asking you for something but rather offering you a present. You told him you could work from 8 to 6, Monday to Friday.

His eyebrows furrowed in refusal, and he thoughtfully reduced the amount of work hours since you were currently on summer break.

And just like that, you left the shop with the same smile you entered with, except it was slightly wider and brighter than usual. The realization that this dream-like moment was indeed a reality would hit you later.

You walked down the streets with ellie,both of you not knowing where to go and just mindlessly following each other.

"uh, where exactly are we going right now?" Ellie questioned, her eyes squinting at the bright sunlight directly assaulting her face.

"I don't know. I was following you." You stopped mid-track and tried to put your mind on pause. The scenes from earlier replayed in your head non-stop.

"don't freak out, but I kinda don't have a sense of direction when it comes to wandering in places I don't know." A tired sigh escaped from Ellie's mouth. When she turned around, she couldn't even recognize where you both had come from.

But this place wasn't more unrecognizable than you. It felt like your soul had left your body since you passed out, that it had stayed in 'Baby, the Stars Shine Bright,' and that you were now working on autopilot.

Ellie's eyes fell on the white summer houses around you. With such little details to distinguish them from one another, they all looked awfully similar.

Silence reigned over the avenue, unlike your mind, which was anything but quiet at this moment. "ellie," she directly shifted her gaze from the houses to you, more worried about your overwhelmed state than the fact that you were lost. "god is real."

Pure confusion replaced her worry in a split second. "what the fuck are you on? I told you, you should never try smoking."

"listen, I'm serious." Your hands found their way to her shoulders, an attempt to make her carefully listen to you. "I received his blessings, and since I'm blessed and you're my friend, it means you can be too."

If she wasn't sober right now, maybe she would have taken you a little bit more seriously.

"friend?" Her voice carried genuine surprise; she realized she forgot to ask you what you both were after last night.

"so I would be cursed if I happened to be your girlfriend?" She tried to hide her genuine surprise with sarcasm and get a possible hint from you.

Her delusional side convinced her you were her soon-to-be girlfriend, that you followed her around because you loved her, and that your love language was annoying her,secretly liking the way she looks when you succeeded.

"what? no, I mean—my point is..." Ellie's heart felt less heavy seeing you avoiding eye contact suddenly, her lips curving into a proud smile knowing the effects she had on you. "I'll help you find the founder of your gang. I can also sew your gang's name on your jacket sleeve."

At first, she didn't know why. But the pieces of the puzzle started to connect together as she realized she was your only friend.

"you don't have to look for some designer to do it for you," you continued.

It was like playing baseball with her being good at throwing the ball and you not knowing how to properly catch it.

When Ellie was openly affectionate to you, you didn't know how to receive it.

Ellie smiled a bit. "Are you sure you don't mind doing it? I mean...no pressure, okay?"

How could you know how to receive love when you didn't even know what it was to begin with?

Your parents separated when you hadn't even hit puberty, and no amount of romance novels could make up for the lack of experience of a strong and passionate bond between people in love.

For this reason, you never truly knew what that feeling was.

To make things worse, whenever you felt yourself falling for something close to love, you would unforgivingly push it and the person involved away.

Even though your mom had cheated on your father, she was still the one who had welcomed you to this world. The guilt has never left you when you chose to live with your dad over your mom, although he was a good and loving person.

You couldn't put a face onto the word 'love,' and it gradually became meaningless to you, an unfamiliar word you'd come across when flipping pages in a dictionary. But as time went by, you had rediscovered it and put clothes onto it that were also the definition of your happiness.

"I want to do it for you," you smiled back.

But if all of this was in a book, Ellie would be the major plot twist. Her definition of happiness was short and precise: you.

Ellie reached her hand out to take yours, giving it a gentle squeeze. " 'kay, if you're in, you have to promise me something."

Love hurts when one-sided. If her definition of happiness was you, she had to change your definition of happiness and add herself in it too.

If you've never learned how to receive affection, that's okay. She'd proudly volunteer to teach you and only you.

"promise me," her eyes bore into yours expectantly, "that you'll never leave me."

Because, from you, she's learned that it wasn't impossible for love to go with happiness and that pain could step out of their business.

At least, that's how she felt about you.

"of course, I promise." You stuck out your pinkie, but to your surprise, Ellie didn't.

Instead, she wrapped her arms around you before pulling you into her embrace.

Your warm hearts beat faster in sync by the second, exploding in affection.

Except Ellie's heart missed a beat when you hugged her back. She never knew she needed it until now.

Her hair smelled like vanilla, and her body felt so warm against yours.

Both of you stayed like that for God knows how long. You had lost the notion of time, and it was the least of your concerns at this moment.

Her arms were over your shoulder, a sign that she deeply trusted you.

Pulling you out of your reverie, a red Suzuki Wagon drove past the both of you. Your arms stayed on hers for a little longer, an unspoken and double-meaning promise that you'd never let her go even if she did.

It seemed the car came from the same place you both were, meaning you weren't totally lost.

So after turning on your heels, both of you started to walk your way out of the unknown avenue, hand in hand.

In the end, everything turned out fine, and you soon found your way back to Tokyo.

This time,despite the comfortable silence it was ellies mind who couldnt keep quiet.

Her giddy smile not leaving her face ever since she wrapped her arms around you,as well as the warmth in her heart.

For how long will she able to keep her feelings locked in her heart?

Though your hug meant an unbreakable promise bonding you two,she hoped it also meant something more.

She cleared her throat,when you both stopped at the train station,it was surprisingly sparse of people for such a busy time.

"so like...you have a thing for tall guys or...?"

The sight of the tall man holding your bonnet in admiration and you fainting right after this flashed before your eyes"oh my god shut up"you retorted,rolling your eyes at her whose eyes shortly sparkled with hope.

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This time, despite the comfortable silence, it was Ellie’s mind that couldn’t keep quiet. Her giddy smile hadn’t left her face ever since she wrapped her arms around you, and warmth filled her heart.

For how long would she be able to keep her feelings locked away?

Though your hug symbolized an unbreakable promise bonding you two, she hoped it also meant something more.

She cleared her throat as you both stopped at the train station, surprisingly sparse of people for such a busy time. “so like… do you have a thing for tall guys or…?”

The sight of the tall man holding your bonnet in admiration, and you fainting right after, flashed before your eyes. “oh my god, shut up,” you retorted, rolling your eyes at her, whose eyes shortly sparkled with hope.

☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°

“…but still… you’ve never fainted like that when you first saw me.”

After stopping at Joel’s to drop off what you had bought before, both you and Ellie returned to your house, which was quieter than usual.

Your empty schedule became busy in the blink of an eye. With a brand new simple white dress needing final touches and the famous gang name to sew in under three days, there wasn’t a single second to waste. Not to mention that traveling across the country to find the mysterious gang founder was also on your ambitious list.

“why would I?”

Turning your attention away from the jacket sleeve, your eyes shifted to Ellie instead.

“maybe 'cause I carry a tremendous amount of swagger like nobody else can in this world,” her voice sarcastically filled with confidence. She said this like it was an obvious fact, and you couldn’t really disagree.

Someone who clearly doesn’t know what they’re doing but lets themselves be guided by adrenaline and curiosity. Someone who doesn’t mind taking risks as if their life could be restarted by passing a video game checkpoint. Someone who didn’t mind getting lost in the most unknown places as long as it was with you.

As much as you tried to think, no words could perfectly describe Ellie’s unequaled aura.

But you weren’t going to let her know that, not when you liked teasing her so much. “you’re still not the CEO of Baby, the Stars Shine Bright.”

“you’re right,” she started before looking away, gathering inspiration from her heart. “But I’m the CEO of making you smile.” You proved her point as your lips immediately curved into one, as if her words put a spell on you.

“It shines brighter than any star too,” she added with a playful wink, mentally cheering for having the courage to compliment you. It was a small, yet hopefully significant, step forward in what you both had.

Her words flew straight to your heart, coloring it red because of the blood but also because of your newborn love.

The transition from liking to loving Ellie had started the night you spent stargazing with her.

And now you could no longer carelessly brush off her flirtiness, not anymore.

Her compliments were seriously starting to make you feel things.

Ellie’s eyes didn’t miss yours trying to push away the effects she had on you.

“did you train yourself in the mirror say this one too?” you asked.

It seemed you dodged Cupid’s bow again. “why? Is it a crime to be a natural flirt?”

“It’s far from natural; it almost sounded scripted.” your voice dripping with sarcasm as usual

The truth is if you followed her, borrowing the path of truth, you’d end up either literally confessing your feelings or shyly stammering on your words and making her childish smirk come back.

And above all, teasing was more fun.

“your reaction didn’t seem like it followed a script though,” a soft chuckle followed her words. Before you could turn back your attention to the dress in front of you, she reached her hands out of her pockets to direct your turning chair towards her. “I think you just can’t flirt back, so you talk shit. Just admit I’m a smooth talker and you like it. It doesn’t hurt.”

There was a small gap between you, and when you turned to look at Ellie’s face, her kissable lips formed a smirk and her eyebrows waggled together.

Her sudden proximity made time stop, and the soft music playing in the background faded as you felt your heartbeat getting louder.

An unfamiliar feeling bubbled up in your stomach, something that seemed ready to explode as her gaze on you intensified.

Your body reacted before your mind, and her chest met your hand. Ellie understood she would cross the line if she leaned closer.

You kept her eyes on hers. "it does.it hurts my ego and pride." Ellie obviously understood your sarcasm—not because it's part of your nature, but because she also paints her buried feelings with jokes.

She took a few steps back before you could add another layer of satire, her eyes not leaving yours even when they looked away from hers.

"but objectively speaking, you're charming with your words."The honesty contrasting with your previous words made her snicker.

Today, at 5:36 pm, an hour when she usually lets herself be consumed by boredom, a new memory was engraved in her mind, and she wouldn't forget to write it down in her journal once back home.

Her heart would swell with joy as she'd quoe you calling her charming. Her stomach would birth butterflies as she'd remember this compliment coming from a pretty face.

But with a closed mouth to keep quiet and not make Joel think she'd gone crazy. Even though that was kind of the case.

"shut up, that's nothing but objective." Ellie scratched the back of her head, being the one avoiding eye contact now that your eyes peered at hers.

"don't your friends think the same when you flirt like that?" A natural flirter, smart and beautiful, kicking ass to do justice—to you, Ellie was an all-in-one, and you wouldn't be surprised to learn that she made other girls feel special too.

That you were just, hopefully not, one of her other friends.

"I don't flirt with them."

Whether it was the truth or a lie, a part of you wanted to believe her anyway. Maybe that was another effect, a result of her irresistible charm.

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Overthinking was one of your worst habits, controlling your mind and replaying your most embarrassing conversations on a loop.

The best way you could have replied to Ellie complimenting your smile could have been simply thanking her and returning the compliment.

WHY DID YOU NOT THINK ABOUT THIS EARLIER?

You wanted to hide your face in your hands as unanswered 'whys' and 'hows' progressively took over your mind.

It felt like losing the 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' game over the most evident and unmistakable question.

Except you weren't losing money but Ellie's interest, but that's just what you thought.

Suddenly, the same girl you've been thinking about spoke up again. Ellie's voice was a remedy to your overthinking; it was seemingly curious since a hint of interest influenced her tone. "do you ever look at guys and get... i dont know, like you find them so attractive you want to hug and everything... maybe ki-'

With a swift move, you pulled one thread out of Ellie's jacket sleeve. The details on the dress were unfinished; switching up between sewing the jacket sleeve and the dress so you could finish them both by your deadline was much smarter and also because doing repetitive things bored you.

After hearing her words and the mention of men, you stopped sewing for a second. "ew, why?'

"just asking"she snickered when your first reaction was disgust.

He appeared again. The man selling most of the clothes you had in your closet. The same man who praised your job at embroidery and who now wanted you to work with him. You physically shook your head to mentally shake the thoughts of him away.

"I'm not into him, okay? It just felt like meeting a celebrity; it's hard to control your emotions,"you clarified. You loved his work, not him.

"but in general? does it ever... happen? Idk how to make it not sound weird" Ellie started to fidget with her fingers, her black nails painted by you. Her mind took her back to yesterday again when she'd admire you whenever your sparkling eyes were fixated on the moon, wishing you were thinking about her too.

"it sounds weird no matter how you put it. But no, I guess puberty came late to me."

" 'mkay."

Before turning your attention back to her jacket sleeve, you caught Ellie nodding, putting her hands back in her pockets casually, turning her face away to forcefully stop her lips from forming a smile.

For the first time in her life, she believed in luck.

"you?" The initial of Ellie's gang name started to take form as you repeatedly pulled the golden yellow thread in and out of the fabric.

"ew, no, I'm not interested either. Just thinking about it grosses me out."Her brutally honest answer made you chuckle softly; you weren't that much different after all.

"really? Even if I was a man?"you joked.

"yeah, plus you couldn't even get to wear those dresses and stuff. Just seeing you wearing formal clothes to fit in with everyone else would feel weird."

She tried to imagine you wearing casual clothes or anything not extravagant in general, and you laughed at her unpleasant expression.

"that's funny to think I'd finally look normal for some people,"you said between laughs, and Ellie joined you in your laughter.

Now that you think about it, it was a pretty rare occurrence for you to wear something other than lolita clothes.

You paused and put the needle down before turning to Ellie.

"do you want to see how I used to dress before? It doesn't look that weird, trust me."

After last night, the magical night you spent over at Ellie's, you can officially say things changed.

Your past self would definitely not recognize you now for trusting someone enough to have the courage to show a different version of yourself.

"my brain does that thing when it erases traumatic memories, so you're fine."you rolled your eyes at her teasing tone, her jokes getting more creative as time went by.

"that was backhanded, wasn't it?"

Ellie shrugged her shoulders as she smirked, her impatience growing stronger as she followed you out of your room.

"whatever helps you sleep at night.'"

In the corridor, you slid open a door, keeping the boxes of furniture inside, and tipped onto your toes to reach the medium cardboard box

The dust that had accumulated on top of it over the years, quickly flew away as you brushed it off, before opening what had been closed for God knows how long.

The "you" that was once buried to give birth to the "you" now resurfaced.

Ellie grabbed a few pictures before you could change your mind.

Smiling and chuckling at how different you looked compared to now, she carefully scanned all the pictures in front of her, noticing one thing that had never changed.

"I gotta say... you still look so fucking cute."

Your brain stopped functioning at her words.

Her eyes darted from the pictures to yours, not really expecting you to respond to her compliments, just admiring your flustered reaction.

You tried to think of a response that wouldn’t make you cringe when you overthought it later.

Those words, coming from someone infinitely prettier, whose eyes regarded you like you were a masterpiece belonging in a museum, whose arms made you feel like home, held significantly deeper and more impactful meaning. It was as if Ellie knew what she was doing to you and wanted your heart to explode just for her.

To her, it was just a matter of time before you completely let yourself fall for her, unaware that it was already the case.

"thanks,you’re cuter though," you smiled back at her.

But if time really isn't real, then she would learn to be patient, knowing you'd be timeless.

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It was Ellie's turn to sleep over at your house.

Despite wanting to stay awake a little longer, both of you found yourselves surrendering to unconsciousness faster than last time.

Imaginations and dreams enveloped your restless minds, quieting them down.

The smell of breakfast was more effective than an alarm clock at waking you up.

Your body was as cold as the inside of a fridge since Ellie kept unconsciously pulling the covers over her.

After warming up with some tea and filling your stomach with fluffy pancakes, you and Ellie continued with your day separately.

After spending two full days with her, her sudden absence felt strange, but you decided to put this feeling aside and focus on your new job to avoid having a wallet as empty as Ellie’s absence.

Sewing fabrics here and there to train yourself before working on the actual dress and jacket sleeve.

Walking back and forth around your room thoughtfully.

You spent most of your time sighing in frustration, as creativity refused to show up at your door.

Staring at the unfinished project in front of you, without new ideas in mind, began to take an awful toll on you.

Roses, tulips, and other flowers floated in your thoughts.

If there was one thing you wished for right now, it would be for your imagination to be as abundant as the richness of nature.

So, you ventured closer to nature and away from your trapped thoughts, wandering aimlessly around the nearest park while trying to empty your mind and let creativity flow naturally.

After a while, with plenty of walking and silent contemplation, your watch ticked to 5 PM. It was almost evening, but the sun was still shining in the sky, illuminating the blue lake beside you.

Ellie once told you that the reason the sea looks blue is because of the reflection of the sky.

A few ducks flew above the water before landing.

Some ducks swam in another direction, leaving two of their companions alone. They didn’t seem to mind the others had left, focused on swimming their own path, just the two of them.

Eventually, you dragged your feet out of the park, leaving your energy behind. A place as energizing as nature had unexpectedly drained you because no matter what you did, you always thought of her.

Whether she was around or not, Ellie lived in your mind rent-free.

When you contemplated the sky,the moon wasn’t out yet, so you stole one last glance at the lake.

Maybe you shouldn’t give up now; doing so would mean your entire day would have gone to waste.

Not to mention,facing complaints instead of praises from the CEO of your favorite shop would surely tear your heart into pieces.

So you called her.

You took your phone and dialed her number, biting your lip in hope she would respond.

Desperation was overpowering you, and Ellie clearly noticed it.

“what’s wrong?” her voice slightly modified by her phone.

A moment of silence passed as you repeated in your head what you wanted to say.

"everything,” you look pitiful.

“nothing,” you're wasting her time.

“are you busy right now?” just go straight to the point.

“I miss you,” too honest.

Ellie patiently waited for you to speak up, leaning her arms on the railing of the bridge, eyes peering at the lake while inhaling deeply.

“I need your help.”

Her eyebrows instantly furrowed in worry; you usually tried to handle things on your own, and it was unusual for you to directly ask for her help. “where are you?”

You had been wandering away from the park for so long that you didn’t even realize where you were heading. The area you found yourself in was sparse of people, resembling an abandoned train station with overgrown herbs on the rails.

When you sat on a bench, you heard an engine roaring toward you.

Ellie saw you alone on the bench, and your face instantly beamed at the sight of her arrival.

She parked her motorcycle next to the entrance of the train station and carefully crossed the rails, making her way to you.

“I’m away for one day, and you’re already missing me?”

You didn’t even have the energy to roll your eyes at her cocky smile; her words were harshly true.

Suddenly, the temperature began to cool down, signaling that evening was approaching. Ellie locked eyes with you, intently listening as you ranted about your struggles with creativity. As an artist herself, she thought of creativity like a battery that often needed recharging.

The thing was, Ellie was your recharger. Talking with her and spending time together felt like a mental cleanse, refreshing your mind. Her absence felt so unfamiliar to both your heart and your brain.

Asking for her help made her smile blissfully, unable to describe how happy she felt to spend time with you again.

Without hesitation, she took your hand right after you finished your monologue, bringing you to a familiar place—the one holding your best memories. Among them, searching for your bag with Ellie was your favorite so far.

So far, because you believed the future held even more thrilling and joyful memories with her.

Most of the stores still had the "open" sign in their showcases, including "Baby, the Stars Shine Bright."

Unexpectedly, you refused to let your inspiration come from the clothing brand you were now working for.

"You said you're on a creativity block," Ellie said, her confused eyes meeting your self-assured ones.

The CEO of this brand had praised your work for its originality, something he had never seen before. "exactly, so we need to think outside the box."

To keep satisfying him and his expectations, you decided to remain on the same path, coming up with unimaginable and creative patterns.

The puzzles instantly assembled, forming a clear image of understanding in Ellie’s head, your words failing to prevent her from holding back her laughter.

You were picking up the same sarcasm as her.

"My jokes are better."

Clothing shop after clothing shop, going from bright to dark areas, and the excessive bright lighting contrasting with the dark hues of the blue sky outside, was overstimulating Ellie’s mind.

But she kept dragging her feet to follow you around.

You could tell her anything, and she would do it without a second thought.

So that’s what happened.

The faltering and desperate look in your eyes disappeared, replaced by bright sparkles and dilated pupils as you rummaged through the clothes.

Your imagination started to paint Ellie wearing the type of clothes you had grown fond of—clothes she would never dare to wear, not because they weren’t aesthetically pleasing, but because she thought she wouldn’t look good in them.

Yet here she was, looking at your cheeky smile as you scanned her in an extravagant lolita dress you pleaded her to try.

There was no doubt you felt immensely proud to make her wear lolita clothes.

To you, Ellie was still the cutest human being you’d ever seen; the lolita dresses only enhanced her cuteness, something she strongly disagreed with.

Sensing your eyes admiring her, adding makeup felt unnecessary with her naturally blushed cheeks.

A sudden urge to squish them in your hands settled in your core.

Ellie’s face reddened even more when her cold cheeks met your warm hands, unable to ignore the temptation.

"you’re so—" you started, but Ellie immediately cut you off, her gaze dropping to the floor, embarrassed.

"don't say it."

She knew what you were about to call her; it was the complete opposite of the image she wanted to project—a thick wall of intimidating and cold exterior she had spent years building.

Yet in just a few days, she’d allowed herself to let her guard down. This wall, carefully constructed to give her a good reputation among her acquaintances, felt totally useless around you.

"alright," you retreated your hands and let out a giggle.

It was like a fierce missile flying right at this thick wall, crumbling it down with such ease, allowing her to be cheeky, goofy, flirtatious, embarrassed, flustered, happy, and in love—allowing her to be who she truly was.

☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°☆°

What is the common point in Ellie's loving smile, the stars at night, and her making you the happiest being on Earth?

It all puts sparkles in your eyes.

The inspiration you had difficulty finding found its way back to you like a lost pet, except it always came from one person and the things that made you think of her—which was a blessing when she was present but a curse in her absence.

So you desperately hoped this night would never end. It became a message the universe was now used to getting because when the clock ticks morning, that's when the magic ends.

And you wouldn't be peering at the horizon ahead of you anymore, sitting behind Ellie as she focused on driving across the city lights. Your mind filtering out her friends driving with you at midnight, only caring about the person you were holding in your arms, trying to bring her what she brought you: comfort.

To your surprise, this dreamlike feeling repeated itself again when you woke up with her in your arms once more. She wasn't listening to your heartbeat anymore, totally absorbed in whatever dreams she was in, so you decided to oversleep with her, hoping to appear in one of her dreams.

In one of her dreams, you and Ellie were traveling across the country on her motorcycle, often stopping at car stations when her gas was low and eating breakfast in local coffee shops working early in the morning.

Both of you were unstoppable, searching for the infamous founder of her gang, grabbing clues from door to door and heading to as many cities as you could.

Your world was so small until you hopped on Ellie's motorcycle and discovered new places, unfamiliar routes, and different types of vegetation.

Thinking back to the time you accepted to help Ellie, despite the bumpy and narrow path, today you didn't have any regrets.

Everything went smoothly. When exhaustion enveloped you, you would stay in a nearby hotel; when hunger crept its way into your stomach, you'd find a restaurant to fulfill your wishes; and when you needed more money for the road, you'd stop at the city casinos, always going for the pachinko machines.

But again, it was just a dream.

Refusing to let disappointment consume her as the alarm went off, Ellie quickly woke you up and got ready. The festival's date was approaching with big steps, and Ellie found the perfect partner to help her find Himeko.

Since the perfect partner was you, you threw away your usual routine for the next days, trying to make her dream come true.

Dreams and reality, when you're blessed with luck with many ups and rare downs, there's not a significant line separating dreams from reality. However, when reality turns to look somewhat closer to a nightmare than a dream, a dream is often an escape.

"Dream" is such a small word for its numerous meanings, but even if it can be a subjective term, both you and Ellie can agree that your current situation was progressively drifting away from the aspect of a dream.

"I can't," you said as your walk came to a halt, still holding Ellie's hand. If you could describe the word 'inseparable' in three words, you would say you and Ellie; however, it seemed circumstances were starting to change that.

"what? What do you mean?" She hoped she had heard it wrong, that the sound of engines and powerful winds had made her a bit deaf after traveling for two days.

"I can't go any further," you clarified, your eyes dropping to the floor.

"listen." Ellie's mind froze for a second; your expression was unreadable to her. You were just lacking a bit of sleep, tired, maybe a little demotivated, right? "we've come a long way, to Tokyo, down to Yokohama, just you and me alone. In just what, two days... we already have a clear destination, and it's not like people don't know her at all..."

She gently squeezed your hand, a gesture that always brought your eyes back to hers. "I'm sure we'll gather more clues on our way there. Just trust the process... trust me. I promise we'll find her soon enough."

Even when you tried to seek comfort in her words, your mind wasnt set on it, not after what happened in the last casino you stepped foot in. "I literally gambled all of my money away."

Noticing the exhaustion in your voice, Ellie reassured you, lifting your chin up to hers. Both of you had already talked about this. "You're not gonna be broke... I can lend you some, y'know it's not a problem."

You went silent, and Ellie concluded it as the end of the discussion.

She didn't want to stop here, not now, when you were midway to reach your destination, so close to finally make her dream come true.

But when you gently pushed her hand off your chin, she sensed this situation was more complicated than she had expected.

"you don't understand..."

It's when Ellie was brought closer to her dream that she would get pulled back into harsh reality, something closer to a nightmare now that she felt that you were going to break her promise.

[cottagecheese1]

Hi! Could you write about a jealous hunter x reader?

My girl

Summary: Hunter sees a jock flirting with you, so he decides to go over and make himself known.

Pairing: Hunter sylvester x fem reader

Warnings: fluff just fluff with some fighting

Ever since you moved lockers next to Emily, which also happened to be by one of the most popular jocks in school. Matthew Hart. With several accounts of him constantly flirting with you, which oddly seemed to go unnoticed by Hunter.

Well that was until you were sitting at lunch with Hunter and he decided to walk up to you.

Hunter looked up from you and his smile slowly fading as he realized who it was; Matthew put his hand on the table and turned to face you, blocking your view to see Hunter, you can already tell Hunter was about to do something out of line.

Matthew smiled and raised his eyebrows

"You must be so lonely..Wanna come sit with me?"

You shook your head fixing to reject him, and let him know your boyfriend was literary right behind him, but you were took by surprise when Hunter seemed to get to him first.

"She doesn't wanna sit with you, fuck off"

Matthew turned around and still kept up the smirk on his face. Hunter looked face to face with him.

"Sorry dude I must've missed you. I swear I didn't see you over here."

"Yeah I'm sure you did. Must've got dropped on your head a few times from all the times you got your ass kicked."

My eyes widened; I silently looked over to Hunter to give him the look to cut it out.

Matthew turned and faced me quickly

"What the fuck are you doing sitting with this weirdo anyway"

I paused, I could definitely feel a rant taking place in about 5 more seconds.

"No. I don't wanna sit with you. Especially with someone who insults my boyfriend daily, so you can leave."

Matthew scoffed "fucking whore."

He then turned to walk past Hunter but got stopped quickly when Hunter gave him a right hook to the face. I gasped and everyone started circling around our table pulling out their phones and started recording.

So far Hunter seemed to be winning, only a black eye slowly starting to show up on his left eye, it seemed that Hunter was right after all; Matthew couldn't fight for shit.

The fight was soon broken up by a teacher, and Hunter huffing and puffing with Matthew on the ground trying to suppress his pain.

"Don't call my girlfriend a whore"

A teacher told Me and Hunter to go to the office, and the principal would come and see us all once we Got Matthew bandaged up.

I followed Hunter and sat in the nurses office on the table trying to look at his face and put the bandages on the cuts on his face.

After I was done Hunter looked at me with a slightly sad look on his face and quietly said

"I'm sorry..I probably overreacted a little bit"

I furrowed my eyebrows and tucked his hair behind his ears, cupping his face with both of my hands.

"It wasn't your fault baby, that guy was an asshole and you didn't have to stand up for me but you did, that's definitely one of the many reasons I love you"

He smiled and kissed my forehead wrapping his arms around my waist

"I love you to, I just don't wanna scare you off"

I giggled and squeezed his hand softly

"I think if I didn't like you, you would of scared me off a long time ago"

He laughed and was fixing to give me another kiss when the nurse walked through the door.

"What are you kids doing?"

I paused before thinking of something to say

"Uh just getting a closer look at this cut right here"

She smiled slightly

"Ok..well you two head to the office the principal would like to see you guys"

We both nodded and headed to the principals office where there sat Matthew with a couple bandages on his face while he held a ice pack up to his eye.

20 minutes later

You and Hunter were both told to go home and were able to convince the principal to not call your parents to come pick you guys up.

Once you both got into Hunters car, you grabbed his hand and turned to face him.

"Seriously, thank you for having the balls to stick up for me, I love you"

He smiled and gave my hand a peck

"Anything for my girl"

A/n: This is really short and really bad I just needed to finish this draft one way or another also not proof read.

[puppyplayhouse]

I'm not sure you remember me but I've had another thought plague my brain

Wolf hybrid Chan and reader who's scared to live alone, I really hope your seeing my vision here

So let's say things fall into place when someone breaks into readers apartment and now the place they once called home no longer feels safe so they look to move to a much quieter area and hopefully move in with someone untill they can feel a little bit more comfortable again

And wolf Chan is tired of working a bunch of hours and barley making rent so he's on the lookout for a new flatmate and after some time they end up contacting eachother

Chan thinks nothing of the first time they meet up he's lived with people in the past doesn't see why the reader is so nervous, he's sitting across the table from them and can hear how fast there heart is beating but doesn't say anything to not spook them even more

Were as the reader is sweating bullets across the table because there still not over what happened and now doing what was always thought not to do, don't talk to strangers let alone move in with one

The move in is smooth Chan helps carry most things since it's nothing really difficult for him and he really just wanted to get his scent on everything without making it too obvious

They merge well together better than they could have ever thought, they hang out eat at the table if there both home watch movies maybe even a few boardgames

One thing Chan might have forgot to mention is that his friends come over whenever they want regardless of the time if there near they'll drop in to say hello or sleep on the sofa for the night

After there movie night they split ways and head to bed tired after a long day and some really good food

Couple hours go by and everyone is asleep cozy under the blankets when the reader is woken up to the sound of the front door opening but there's no way because they definitely locked it before going to bed and the neighbourhood doesn't really attract attention like that

They continue to listen and can hear some muffled voices still down stairs and she's suddenly can't breathe because it's happening again how can they be so unlucky there vision is fading in and out they feel like there gonna throw up and then an idea finally makes it's way through all the panic they just need to run down the hall and get to Chans room how hard can that be it's just a couple of feet away that's it

Except they feel like there walking on a glue trap everything is going so slow eventually cracking the door open slightly to hear how close they are, now what sounds like they've moved to the kitchen and scrambles down towards Chan's room burst through the door dives right onto his bed and quietly but also loudly trying to wake him up

It doesn't take long before Chan shoots up out of his sleep frantically looking around for what keeps hitting him and them he sees it , teary eyes looking right at him and he feels like he's been hit by a truck so overwhelmed with needing to protect them suddenly he's up putting himself between them and his bedroom door asking them what's got them so upset and after explaining what they've heard he slowly makes his way down stairs towards the kitchen and hears footsteps shuffling around so he waits until they try leave

Not even two minutes later the intruder walk out the kitchen to head to the sitting room and Chan jumps pushing them to the floor that's met with a very familiar scream he looks up and sees Felix he's long time best friend and beneath his other best friend Changbin not looking to impressed with being tackled to the floor

Chan explains what's going on and looks a little embarrassed that he's maybe overreacted but his friends understand completely and just wanted a little snack before staying the night after apologizing he heads back up stairs to tell the reader there's nothing to worry about and they can head back to bed only when he gets to his room there nowhere to be found

Chan told them that no matter what they've not to leave until he give the all clear but then he hears it the little sniffles that come from under his covers

Pulling them back he's met with a scared face and tears running down there cheek and immediately gets to comforting them wrapped them in not only the blanket but his arms tells them everything that's happened and how it's just some friends that need a place to stay the night and he must have forgotten to mention that they do that sometimes

After a couple minutes of rocking and helping the reader take some beep breaths do they realize the position there in

It's not awkward but it's the closest they've ever been to each other. Chan suddenly aware of how nice they smell how perfectly they fit in his arms, the reader is now aware of how beautiful Chans eyes are and how much heat he gives off and doesn't want to move wants to fall asleep like this every night if possible

That's definitely just the left over adrenaline running through there body because that's the only reason they could be thinking like this nothing to do with unspoken feelings no way

A few nights go by and both of them are suddenly too busy for dinner or movie night together just straight to bed after work only there not sleeping, just tossing back an forth imaging being curled up under the blankets with no where to go and just lay in eachothers arms so the reader decides to make the first move and heads to Chans room and lightly knocks on the door hoping he doesn't hear it but of course he does

They peek through the door and with a little wave explains how they can't sleep and just wanted to see if he was up, a couple minutes of slow awkward conversation Chan scoots over and pats the empty spot next to him inviting them into his bed

And who's saying no to that??? nobody is, so they make there way over greeted by the warmth and comfort of Chan

It's almost like he knew what they both wanted but didn't verbalise it and it's the best sleep they've had in days and it would only make sense for that to be the arrangement from now on because sleep is so important and it's definitely not for anything else

Even though there friend group pokes fun at them over there living situation and how they can't see how infactuated they are with one another there happy enough with what they've got and wouldn't change that little bubble of each other they get every night

This one is a little more on the softer side and written out very messy so I apologise

Also I need to think of a different scenario other than them moving in together it's always that for some reason 😭

THIS IS SO CUTE YOU HAVE OUT DONE YOURSELF ONCE AGAINNNNN SLOW BURN ROOMMATES TO LOVERS I EAT THAT SHIT UP EVERY TIME

[sigyn-foxyposts]

Smite!Loki analysis! (Spoilers for The official smite comics)

I haven't made this kind of post about smite Loki before because he genuinely scares me. Look at this face, I have good reason to be. No, but in all seriousness my question is what is wrong with him? Why are you the way you are sir?

YOU MAKE ME GO FERAL AGHHH-

Anyways I find this version of his character so interesting and I need to learn more about him. But we don't have THAT much honesty.

So let's start with my biggest question! I apologize if I am all over the place.

What happened between him and his children to the point jormungandr and fenrir ended up hating him so much? We don't know what happend between them but luckily we have Hel. They made it very obvious in the comics what kind of father he is to her at that point in time, what their dynamic is ect.

At this point we know he has already killed Baldr and been punished for it, hence the black scarring on his face. (Sigyn where are you?)

Loki and Hel worked together to obtain Zeus's Thunderbolt only for Loki to take it for himself when Hel needed it to free Fenrir.

What does Loki do with it? Have create chaos and scare people!

He might be a little unhinged after his torment but he is clearly trying to stop Hel from helping her brother.

Also when Hel does confront Loki they end up getting into a fight, something Hel was willing to do keeping Fenrir in mind and the things Loki tells her.. I want to assume is a heat of the moment thing.

Something clearly happend between these two in the past for Hel to insist they go through with the plan and Loki is like: "No that's insane!"

Also what's up with this plan they keep bringing up? I'm pretty sure it's about them starting Ragnarok since Hel's only goal is to free Fenrir and start Ragnarok. Even though it has been stated in the game that Hel has the ability to choose a different path other than to the propechy tied to her since birth.

Out of nowhere though, after Hel manipulates the other gods into stopping Loki and convince them she's on their side. Loki suddenly starts speaking the truth about what Hel is doing even though he could've sooner? (He was too busy beating up other gods and insulting them)

Maybe it's a way to save his ass but it came across to me as him being genuine at the same time, despite causing so much chaos himself. Do you think he is ashamed about his kids? Heck, even afraid of them with the way he doesn't want to start Ragnarok previously calling it insane?

Also not to forget he says they're monsters. He is basically agreeing with the other gods. But then again he is CRAZY AF to the point he has embraced the negativity..

Perfect timing to move onto his character!

I only have his mythical counterpart to base off what could've happend to him (even though it's very obvious) because they keep referencing Sigyn and his punishment.

Also Sleipnir! (they're yet to be shown and we still don't have a trace of Narfi and Vali + Angrboda was only hinted at in a joke voice line of a Loki skin 💀)

So personally to me, it's giving: He is an alternative version of myth Loki but if Ragnarok didn't happen and he went mad.

You can't tell me he is obviously left with all his trauma and scars. This Loki is unhinged, cruel and a broken image of his former self. He is a masochist, embracing what previously burnt and ruined his face, the poison that hurt him. It's all he apparently needs. He is proud to be what children fear at night. (Me too, I'm afraid of you/j)

What hits harder is that he seems to hate what he has become to an extent, with how he fought himself in his dko god reveal. Though he did trick Hercules to his death (Uhm..poor guy?? 😭)

Maybe I'm overreacting or over analysing this but why else would they add that in the way they did? To show he can't be trusted, not even with himself? That would make the most sense, right? 🤨

If I had to have a therapy session with this guy he would definitely have some issues. Don't make me fill in the gaps here hirez, I'm too used to doing this..💔😭

YOU UGLY MAN I HATE YOU (ILY THO)

[queen-of-writing-bad-things]

Henry Danger Reader Insert | Captain Man x Reader: SEASON 3

Episode 5: The Trouble with Frittles

~In the Man Cave~

It was official, the city had gone insane. In the world's craziest PR stunt, the Frittle Company had decided to release two new chip flavours, Bodacious Blue Bacon and Raging Red Rhubarb. Both were wacky, both were weird and both had sent Swellview into a meltdown when the sneaky CEO announced that only one flavour would become a steady product. Now, everyone was bacon or rhubarb, red or blue. 

It was the same in the Man Cave. Henry and (y/n) were Bodacious Blue Bacon all the way and Ray had found an ally in Jasper for Raging Red Rhubarb, not that the true fighting had begun yet.

"Hey, Schwoz." Ray greeted his funny little handyman as he and his girlfriend came down from the sprocket. He was munching on some red Frittles, but (y/n) wouldn't say anything, not yet. Bacon was way better than rhubarb, however, she loved her boyfriend and knew that he'd take her different opinion as the ultimate betrayal.

"What's the scoop?" (y/n) quipped as she watched Schwoz shovel oats into the auto-snacker with a small scooper. God, she loved puns, Schwoz though, not so much.

"I'm filling the snack machine with oats for my sister." He answered after rolling his eyes, making Ray groan. Not that damn horsewoman.

"Ugh, Winnie's still here?" He grumbled, which caused (y/n) to smack him on the arm. She didn't want him to be rude about Schow'z family, but then again, having an equine madwoman around the place did make having time for themselves tricky. She didn't have an understanding of boundaries.

"She's only been visiting for two days." Schwoz frowned, thinking that the large man was overreacting.

"I know, but...she looks like a horse and she freaks me out!" Ray whined, shoving another Frittle into his mouth. Those eyes; they followed him around the room and it made making out with his girl extremely freaky for him.

"Shhhhh! She's right over there." hushed Schwoz and the three looked over to see Winnie stood sleeping by the elevator, snorting and whinnying like a horse. "Schleeping." Schwoz smiled, she was his sister and he loved her even if she was odd.

"Ignore him, he's just cranky." (y/n) smiled at Ray and leant up to kiss him, but the man jerked his lips away when he saw Schwoz snacking on something repulsive over her head. Blue Frittles? What the fu...

"Hey, dude, uh...if you really like those...blue Frittles, you really gotta try these Raging Red Rhubarb ones, 'cause they're really good." Ray retched at the thought of the Bacon flavour and (y/n) pouted as he ignored her kiss for some dumb chips. Well, he definitely wouldn't like it when he found out what her preference was.

"Eh, (y/n) and I think the blue chips are better." Schwoz shrugged and the young woman gulped as she nervously looked at her boyfriend. He slammed his can of Frittles down and looked at her with annoyed eyes. Honestly, it's the ones that you love the most that hurt you the most.

"I mean, the rhubarb's nice, but the bacon is, y'know, nicer." She smiled shakily, but he wasn't impressed. His darling, sweet girl was in league with the blue Frittles? Ew.

"On Tuesday, you're both voting for the red chips," Ray told the two, making (y/n)'s smile drop instantly. He wanted her to do what now? 

"Okay, A, don't tell me what to do, B, no, we're not and C, don't use that tone with me or you won't be getting any for the next four weeks." She replied sternly, moving to stand next to Schwoz with her hands on her hips. She loved him, always, but she wasn't going to get bullied into something. Her opinion was valid.

"The red chips are better." Ray insisted, looking at both of his friends with a serious face. He didn't want to go a whole month with no touch from his girl, but he wanted, no, he needed those rhubarb Frittles in his life and every vote counted.

"What's it like to be so stupid?" The small guy folded his arms and looked at his boss with as much disdain as the woman next to him. If they wanted to vote for blue, they were gonna vote blue.

"You shouldn't even be allowed to vote." Ray hissed back, making (y/n) step in front of her little friend protectively. 

"And what's that supposed to mean?" She asked him in a pissed off tone, staring at him with a hard gaze and folded arms. God, he was such a drama queen sometimes.

"You know exactly what that means, sweet girl," Ray growled at her softly and tried to walk away, mumbling something about Schwoz going back to his own country. Schwoz, being a small guy, wasn't one for extreme acts of violence, but being told to go back home over a damn chip got his dander up. He sprinted across the room and leapt onto Ray's back, strangling the startled man as they struggled.

"Seriously? All this over a chip flavour?!" (y/n) shouted at the men, who were spinning wildly across the room. She couldn't bear to watch as they knocked into the peaceful Winnie, setting her off into a frenzy. Geez, what a mess.

"Oh, for god's sake!" The young woman shrieked and tried to avoid getting clipped by Winnie's flailing arms as she made her way over to Ray and Schwoz. At this point, Ray had peeled Schwoz away from his back and was holding him under his arms like a child. It was quite a comical sight, not that Schwoz was laughing.

"Put me down!" He grunted, kicking his legs around in the air as he struggled to get free. It was a useless attempt though, Captain Man's clutches were strong and used to holding even the toughest of criminals. Puny Schwoz had no chance of escape.

"Nope, I know where to put you," Ray smirked and marched Schwoz over to the big barrel of oats he'd brought down for Winnie. He wasn't going to put him in there, was he?

"Raymond, don't be ridiculo---oh, god." (y/n) facepalmed as she watched her boyfriend plunge the poor repairman face-first into the oats, leaving nothing but his calves and feet sticking out of the top. It was an immature move that proved he'd won, but Ray couldn't help but feel like he'd gained one thing and lost another; the adoration of his sweet girl.

"Unbelievable." (y/n) hissed and walked off to grab the blue can of Frittles that Schwoz had left lying around. If he wanted a war, he could have won, he could stick her in with Schwoz if he wanted, she didn't care.

~

The couple were sat on opposite ends of the couch's crescent curve and each enjoyed their respective books and chips. Normally, the girl would be glued to his side and he'd press kisses to her head whenever she giggled at a funny line in her novel, but this wasn't normal. It was boyfriend versus girlfriend, red versus blue and neither were gonna back down, not even when the elevator dinged and Henry and Charlottes stepped onto the battlefield. 

"Oh, hey guys," Ray smirked at the teens as they frowned at the scene. They couldn't discern which was weirder, Schwoz in a tub full of oats, or seeing the world's cuddliest couple sat so far apart. However, the sharp flick of (y/n) turning her page over (with sass) told them that she was pissed off and the presence of the Frittles said even more. All out couple war.

"Uhhhh, Ray? (y/n/n)?" Charlotte asked the couple nervously, wondering why they were both acting as though nothing was wrong. They should be kissing for the fiftieth time that day by now, not munching on Frittles.

"Yeah, what goes on?" The superhero asked cooly, not glancing up from his book, although (y/n) did sneak a peek. It reminded her of ten years earlier when she first came to the Man Cave and would study the features of his face from behind the safety of her book. It was never more than a glimpse since she didn't want to risk her handsome boss noticing and she always told herself that it wasn't checking him out, it was just an analysis. Little did she know that he too often gave her an "analysis" to memorise the way she bit her lip at the tense part or wiggled her toes when she got to the happy ending. 

This wasn't like that though, she was observing the enemy, seeing if he was as uninterested as he sounded and she stuck her nose back in her book when she saw that he was. There was a small "analysis" on the side too though, she had to admit that she had never been very good at resisting those. 

"Did you stuff Schwoz into a bucket of...oats?" Henry questioned as Charlotte dashed over to help the screaming man, making (y/n) chuckle humourlessly.

"No, I don't recall seeing Schwoz today." Ray brushed off the comment as popped another Frittle into his mouth as Henry went to help Charlotte yank him out. 

"That's funny because I do, babe." (y/n) remarked, spitting out the pet name like it was nasty on her tongue. Ray didn't take it to heart though, he knew it was just fighting talk. Never in their history had she called him babe. Doofus? yes. Handsome? yes. Babe? no. It wasn't her style, she'd given him her names for him and they always fell from her lips with so much sweetness, it sent him crazy. It was cold and lonely without her, but it would be over in a few days, hopefully.

The couple's focus was stolen from the lines in their books as Henry and Charlotte pushed the oat bucket over, freeing Schwoz from his torture. He stood up furiously, shaking off the oats from up his sleeves and glared at his boss, but it was safe to say that Ray didn't give a toss.

"Oh, hey, Schwoz. Where you been all day?" Ray smirked and nibbled on another chip. That cocky smile, it both boiled (y/n)'s blood and made her shudder with desire.

"You know! You stuffed me in that bucket of oats!" Schwoz cried and Ray giggled at the reminder. 

"Oh, yeah. Good for me." He chuckled, snapping his book shut as his girlfriend studied his every mood. When he wanted to be, he could be so damn annoying.

"(y/n), why didn't you help me?" Schwoz whined and stamped his foot, making the young woman lift an eyebrow. She wasn't cruel or uncaring and she wanted to help, but...

"Well, I wanted to, I really did, but Ray said he'd never kiss me again if I went near you. Don't get me wrong, Schwoz, you're great, but I'm not giving that up after waiting nine years so..." She trailed off when she witnessed the rage build in Schowz's eyes until it reached its boiling point. The small man wrapped an arm around Ray's neck and yanked him backwards in a chokehold, making Henry, Charlotte and (y/n) panic.

"No, no, no!" Henry freaked and dashed over to pull Schwoz away, but for such a small guy, he was quite strong. It must have been all the lugging and loading Ray made him do.

"Okay, Schwoz, let go now." (y/n) pleaded with the guy and put a knee on either side of Ray's hips so she could lean over him and prise Schwoz's fingers from his throat. Her boyfriend had been pissing her off all day, but she didn't want any actual fighting going on. She loosened his grip as Henry pulled him away, causing Ray to collapse on her as he gasped for air. The couple toppled onto the floor, with Ray panting into her neck as she winced at the rough landing, although having her boyfriend on top of her did have its perks.

"Schwoz! My spchoon is too schmall!" Winnie trotted into the Man Cave as her brother seethed and Ray sneakily pressed his lips to (y/n)'s neck, feeling her pulse under his lips. She giggled at him when he pulled back and his eyes crinkled with happiness as he took into her flushed cheeks and the rapid rising and falling of her chest. Chips or no chips, they were still dorks in love.

"Well, what am I supposed to do about it?" Schwoz asked his sister, not wanting to leave his argument unsettled.

"Go get your sister a bigger schpoon!" Henry told him and shoved him in the horsey lady's direction as Ray raised his body from (y/n)'s and balanced himself on his knees.  

"Oh, schweet," Schwoz grumbled in his strange accent but complied anyway. He knew when to walk away, sort of.

"Why'd you shove Schwoz in a bucket of oats?" Charlotte asked the large man as (y/n) gazed at him with playful eyes, pushing her boobs out a little in a way to lure him to her side. It was tempting, very tempting, but rhubarb was just his vibe.

"Because I'm the boss around here! And he and (y/n) were talking about blue chips and how great they are." Ray grumbled, scrambling to his feet and offering a hand to his girl. Sure,  she was a tease and the enemy in the battle, but he was a gentleman through and through and he wasn't going to leave his queen on the floor. 

"They are great, way better than those icky red chips," Henry noted, screwing his nose up at the thought of the sour taste of the rhubarb Frittles, which didn't go down very well with the big, blue aficionado, Ray Manchester.

"What are you talking about?" Ray let go of (y/n)'s hand and stood straighter as he looked at Henry with disgust. Another blue? First, his sweet girl, now his faithful sidekick, his friends sure had bad taste.

"Here we go again..." The young woman groaned, pinching her nose as the boys glowered at each other.

"Oh, come on, you guys! This is so dumb!" Charlotte voiced her annoyance too, although she was more neutral than (y/n) since she didn't give a shit about red or blue. She thought the world had gone mad and she sure as hell wouldn't be voting for a winner.

"Dumb?" Ray gawped at the young girl with an incredulous expression. This wasn't dumb, this was the question of the century: red or blue?

"How can you say that?" Henry added, making Charlotte roll her eyes. Despite his calmer nature, Henry was as big of a drama queen as Ray, especially when it came to being competitive.

"'Cause, no matter which chip wins, nothing's gonna change! I mean, remember when they came out with nacho cheese-flavoured chips that everyone thought were gonna change the world? Well, they didn't. Then, they gave us sour cream and onion, nothing changed. Then, cool ranch, then salsa verde, every four years, it's another new, exciting flavour! But look around, people. Nothing's changed! Yeah, you ponder that." She exclaimed, making Ray and Henry think about her mini-speech.

She had a point. The entire situation was just nothing marketing ploy by a large company to fool suckers into buying their chips. But, they didn't have time to ponder any longer, because the alarm sounded, making their heads snap to the supercomputer

"Emergency!" Henry gasped, knowing that noise so well. He heard it in his sleep now.

"Oh goodie, it's a video call." (y/n) smiled as they dashed over, rubbing her hands together excitedly. She always loved it when they got to see who was calling, it made things more interesting.

"Put it on screen," Henry instructed Charlotte, who sat down at the controls and hovered her finger over the button.

"Wait! We're not in uniform." Ray mentioned, gesturing to their casual clothes. God, they couldn't show the person who Captain Man was under the mask, nor his sidekicks. That would be a disaster.

"She's not gonna turn on our camera, doofus." (y/n) rolled her eyes and nudged him in the ribs with her elbow, but her amused smile let him know that she took his cautiousness in good humour.

"This my first day on the job?" Charlotte quipped, turning around to give Ray a raised eyebrow and a cynical look. Geez, some people just had no faith.

"No..." Ray mumbled, looking off to his right so he could avoid any eye contact. (y/n)'s smile was way more interesting anyway.

"Help! Please! Captain Man, Captain Man!" A terrified man appeared on the screen, shaking with fear as rocks crumbled around him. Well, this didn't look good.

"This is Captain Man, please state your emergency," Ray answered, leaning forward so he could hear everything. Plus, it was nice when (y/n) rested her cheek on his shoulder.

"Sure, I was climbing up Mount Swellview and there was an avalanche and I fell...ah! There's a big boulder on my leg and I can't move! Ah! More rocks are falling, please help, Captain Man, Kid Danger, Miss Danger, please, help!" The man groaned, clutching his broken leg as it throbbed under the boulder and he reached into his rucksack for a small comfort.

"All right, we're gonna be there in, wait...what did you just put in your mouth?!" Ray gasped when he saw a flash of blue across his screen and he knew just what corn-based snack the man was eating.

"Oh, it's a blue Frittle chip. They're so good." The man replied, making Ray huff like a child. So, he was a blue man?

"Oh, so on Tuesday, you'll be voting blue?" Ray prompted, making Henry and (y/n) look at him weirdly. It wasn't the time for the petty competition, this guy could die.

"Yeah, I guess." He said,  quivering as more rocks tumbled from the cliff face.  

"Oh, well, I guess you can just save yourself!" Ray hissed and slammed his hand down on the end-call-button, ignoring the man's protests. Well, there was no need for that.

"Are you not gonna help that dude just because he's voting for blue?" (y/n)  gasped as Ray sulked and turned his back on her, Henry and Charlotte. The teens were equally disgusted and couldn't believe that Ray's childishness was triumphing over his sense of duty.

"Maybe." He muttered, folding his arms like a scolded child as he took in their hard stares. 

"Okay...okay, then we're not gonna help anyone who votes red," Henry spoke for the both of them, making Ray let out a high-pitched squeal as (y/n) snapped her head to look at Henry. She didn't care about the chips, she just wanted to help people.

"Hey, speak for yourself!" She frowned at Henry, who gave her a begging look. He desperately needed her on his side if he was gonna strike out against Ray, but getting her to go against her boyfriend was immensely difficult. 

"Whoa! You guys can't stop not helping people because they support a different chip than you." Charlotte chided the man, who wasn't about to take a dressing down from his youthful assistant.

"Really? 'Cause, I'm pretty sure I just did, Charlotte--" The superhero argued back, making (y/n) see red when he got all stroppy.

"Raymond Manchester!" She snapped, uttering his name with fury in her voice. She didn't normally raise her voice like that, not with him and not so angrily, but sometimes, he needed bringing back down with a sharp tongue.

"Oooh, busted," Henry smirked at how pale Ray went and the way he gulped at the young woman's outburst. He hated being on the receiving end of her rage, but he loved seeing her so animated and...hot.

"Our job is to help and protect the citizens of Swellview and that means everybody. No matter what damn chip colour they like. We don't judge and we don't discriminate, both of you should know that." She lectured them, making the smile on Henry's face drop. The boys felt like they were standing in front of their teacher and boy, it was scary.

"I know..." Ray scuffed his sneaker against the tiled floor, sticking out his bottom lip in a pout. He knew she was right and he felt guilty at how he'd gotten so caught up in the stupid chip voting.

"You can't tell us what to do..." Henry mumbled, not liking how he, a fifteen-year-old boy was being told off, even if he was being stupid.

"You wanna say that again?" (y/n) growled at him, stepping forward so she could hear every word that the boy dared to say. Talking back wasn't his brightest idea...

"Nothing." He quickly retracted his protest, standing straighter as the surprisingly intimidating woman looked him up and down. She wasn't the same (y/n) he'd met two years ago, she wouldn't say boo to a goose, but now, she wasn't afraid to speak her mind.

"Henry! (y/n)!" Schwoz shouted as he ran down into the Man Cave again. He must've found Winnie another schpoon.

"What?" Henry asked irritatedly, still feeling the sting of his telling off.

"Someone broke into the Frittle Factory and stole a whole load of Frittle chips!" The little man divulged, making the boys' eyes widen. They hadn't learnt their lesson and (y/n) sighed when the mention of the brand made them stand to attention.

"What colour chip?" Henry whispered, trying not to upset the girls, even though they could hear every word, loud and clear.

"Red," Schwoz answered as he typed away on his cell, making Henry smirk victoriously.

"No!" Ray cried, dreading the thought of the Raging Rhubarb having a disadvantage.

"All right, do I have to lecture you boys again? Charlotte's up for it too." (y/n) questioned and folded her arms as she and the girl crossed their arms.

"No, no, no." Ray and Henry quickly shook their heads, not wanting to be on the receiving end of her anger again. They'd had enough already.

"Good, so you go get that truck and Henry and I will go get that guy off the mountain." She smiled at her boyfriend, thinking it was a good idea to keep Captain 'I'm voting red and nothing else' Man away from the dude, who was a staunch Bodacious Bacon fan. 

"Wait, where's my gumball tube?" Ray suddenly asked as Henry and (y/n) took out theirs. They were already chewing the gum, but he was still patting down his pockets. 

"Oh, here, I made you a new one." Schwoz smiled sweetly at his boss and offered him the new tube. His smile suggested something sinister, but Ray didn't pick up on it. He was just eager to get dressed and go salvage the red chips. The three blew their bubbles and snapped into their uniforms, only, Ray wasn't in uniform, more like a beautiful white wedding dress.

"What the..." He gasped as he looked down at the flowing gown and Charlotte, Henry, Schwoz and (y/n) couldn't help but giggle. 

"Schwoz! What did you do to my balls of gum?!" He growled at the man as the woman and teens laughed. It was pretty funny to see and his exposed chest and arms were not going unappreciated by (y/n).

"That's what you get for putting me in a bucket of oats!" Schwoz replied mirthfully, loving how sweet his revenge was. Karma was a bitch and she had hit Ray hard.

"You know, I always thought I'd be the one wearing the dress." (y/n) giggled, adjusting the strap of Ray's dress like she was his bridesmaid. Oh, she wished she had a camera right now, he was putting her scarlet and azure ensemble to shame.

Ray's cheeks flushed at her teasing, feeling all embarrassed at how she was loving every second of it. But her words weren't lost on him and the thought of her wanting to wear a white dress for him made his heart soar. It wasn't just him then, she wanted to be his forever too. The tender moment was cut devastatingly short though, as Winnie came galloping in and started to laugh or neigh at the hilarious sight of a man in a dress.  Her reaction was infuriating for Ray, who didn't mind his girlfriend fawning over him, but Schwoz's sister? Ew, no.

"Oh, shut up." He grumbled, tugging at the white material that was making him look so foolish.

"Horse." (y/n) added on the end, not even bothering to disguise it with a cough or anything. God, that laugh/neigh was annoying and it proved to be too much for Ray to handle. He gathered his skirt and stormed off to the secret door, probably intent on manually putting on his super suit. Life was hard when someone messed with your balls.

~At the Frittle Factory~

"I am not talking to her." (y/n) seethed as Henry told her the bad news. He shuddered at her fury,  but Ray was too busy with the factory workers to break it to her, even though he was the only one who could calm her nerves and anger. 

"We have to. It's a TV interview!" Henry pleaded with her, trying to get her to come on camera with him. Evelyn Hall, KLVY News reporter and ex-flame of Captain Man, was begging the supers to give her a few words about their involvement with the Frittle Van rescue, but (y/n) didn't want to say anything to her, even if she was just doing her job.

"I don't care if it's a speech to the fucking U.N, Henry, I don't like her." She frowned, screwing her nose up at the thought of all those times she had to endure Ray and Evelyn flirt or kiss or whatever. She knew that her jealousy was unfounded and she trusted her boyfriend, of course she did, but she couldn't help but feel her insecurities rise to the surface. Meaningless or not, Ray had gone out with hundreds of girls, what if he suddenly realised that she wasn't what he thought she was? What if he called everything between them a mistake and reverted to his playboy lifestyle?

"Come on. She's coming over, just let me do the talking..." Henry rushed, dragging her to the camera crew despite her complaining and smiled politely at the pretty woman, although (y/n)'s was anything but polite. More of a sneer than a smile.

"I'm live at the Frittle Factory with Kid Danger and Miss Danger. Tell us how you caught the criminal who stole the Frittle truck." She started immediately, leaving the sidekicks to flounder as they thought of something to say.

"Uhhh...well, actually--" Henry stuttered, ready to admit that Ray had done all the hard work. They'd been on Mount Swellview just ten minutes before and had only arrived to see how Ray was doing. Speak of the devil, Captain Man himself sauntered up to his sidekicks and smirked into the camera, allowing them to give him the perfect introduction.

"Actually, it was Captain Man who did the rescuing of the truck and capturing of the criminal, so..." (y/n) gave Evelyn a half-assed smile, wishing that she was talking to anyone but her right now. 

"But you helped." The woman pressed on, making Henry and (y/n) feel pretty awkward. They had literally just arrived on the scene, this was nothing to do with them.

"No, we were actually trying to save another guy, who fell off a mountain." Henry recounted the tale, impressing Miss Hall, who cosied up to the dashing young superhero. Now, wait just a second, had (y/n) missed something?

"Wow, you're the real hero." She flirted with Henry, making Miss Danger do a double-take. Had Evelyn Hall switched targets?

"Well..." Henry blushed, feeling flattered that the pretty reporter was lavishing the praise onto him. He did half the work, (y/n) deserved some recognition too, not that she minded, she was still processing the fact that Evelyn Hall wasn't flirting with her boyfriend.

"Uh, excuse me. Hi, hello." Ray nudged his way into the shot and Evelyn's smile fell. The superhero wasn't so super in her books and he wasn't a hero either, more like another guy who stood her up after promising he'd call her.

"Hi, uh...who are you?" She asked him, not caring that it made her seem like an idiot on national TV. She just wanted to see Captain Man squirm.

"I'm Captain Man, you know that everyone knows me, so..." He gulped at her sarcastic smile, not liking where this was going. He didn't want (y/n) to see this, not when they had been so happy together recently. One word from Evelyn could bring it all crashing down.

"Oh, right. The guy who took me out on two dates and then never called me again." She recalled bitterly, not caring that Kid Danger and Miss Danger were caught in the middle of their argument, the latter swallowing down the lump in her throat. It was never nice to meet the ex and with Ray, that was gonna be a very long line of disgruntled women.

"Do you wanna hear about how I recovered the stolen Frittle truck?" Ray asked her, hoping he could just do the interview and move on before Evelyn convinced (y/n) that he was some lousy jerk, who'd left a trail of broken hearts behind him as he pursued her. Just the sight of her fidgeting fingers was enough to make him nervous, was she thinking the worst already?

"I do not, I don't like being stood up." She smiled at him sweetly, making Ray stutter in panic. They couldn't leave it there, not when it made him look like the world's biggest asshole.

"Yeah, 'cause we all know how you like the reverse, Evelyn." (y/n) retorted, not being able to help the comment that slipped from her lips. She had nothing but disdain for the girl, she knew it was the wrong thing to feel for her, pity or sympathy was probably more apt, but she couldn't help it. It was a long seated grudge and it grew deeper when she made her boyfriend panic.

"B-back to you, Trent." Evelyn snivelled and scurried off in a tetchy mood. Oops, (y/n) had just made an enemy, not that she cared.

"I love you." Ray breathed out to the young woman next to him as she watched Evelyn storm away. He couldn't help it, he didn't know why. Maybe it was born from his panic that she'd leave him for someone with a cleaner slate and this was just his way of trying to hold onto her with the words he'd struggled to tell her for so long. Or maybe he was just in awe of how despite his regretful past, she still hadn't run a mile. Perhaps it was both.

"I know." She smiled at him, letting the phrase wash over her. She was the only one who got to hear those words and it warmed her heart to know that he'd picked her over everyone else. 

"Captain Man! Captain Man! Miss Danger and Kid Danger." A short man called out after the superhero's preventing Ray from seizing his girl and kissing her honeyed lips like he wanted to. The guy was wearing an expensive-looking, bespoke suit and it was obvious that the guy was the Frittle CEO, basically the boss or head honcho. 

"Hello there." Ray smiled at the important businessman, shaking his hand courteously even though he'd interrupted his moment with (y/n).

"Hi." Henry shook his hand too, trying to stay calm at meeting the face of Frittles. First, Evelyn flirting with him and now, this? It must've been his lucky day.

"Hiya...okaaay then." (y/n) held out her hand for him, thinking that he'd shake it as he'd done to Ray and Henry, but no. To her surprise and Ray's jealousy, he raised her gloved hand to his lips and graciously placed a fleeting kiss to the back of it, like he was bestowing his respect on a regal queen. It was a bit awkward for the young woman and made her look to her friends for help, but she just had to accept it, much to the chagrin of her boyfriend. 

"I'm Jack Frittleman, chairman and CEO of Frittle snacks and I wanted to thank you personally for..." Mr Frittleman's gratitude was interrupted when one of his workers whispered something in his ear and handed him a sheet of paper.

"There a problem?" Henry asked the man as he noticed the frown on his face, not that Ray cared. He didn't think it was fair that Frittleman got to kiss his girl before he did, even if it was just a peck on her hand.

"Well, sort of. When the truck was stolen, it had four hundred cases of Raging Red Rhubarb Frittle chips." He read out the report, but the superheroes didn't see the problem.

"So?" Henry questioned as Ray scratched the back of his neck. 

"So it seems that two cases of chips are missing. Weird. Wonder what happened to them." The CEO pondered, striking a thought up in (y/n). Huh, she knew someone who'd die for a steady supply of those damn chips...

"Raging Red Rhubarb did you say? Very weird..." She played it off like she had no suspicions, but there were too many correlating factors in it for her. Namely that Captain Man loved the red chips.

"Well, I suppose you'd have to ask the chips." Ray smiled at Mr Frittleman, ignoring how the woman was eyeing him carefully. Nothing to see here, not any stolen chips anyway.

"What's that mean?" The man asked, looking at Ray weirdly. 

"Hmm?" Ray gulped, wondering how he was gonna excuse himself out of this one.

"Well, I can't ask the chips 'cause they're missing." Mr Frittleman noted, not seeing the bigger picture as Henry did.

"And even if he could, chips can't talk." The boy added, leaving Ray in a difficult spot to explain himself. Talk about throwing someone under a bus.

"Well, if chips could talk and were here, I'm sure they'd tell us." He replied,  confusing everyone listening. He was getting deeper and deeper into the bullshit he was speaking.

"What's he saying?" Mr Frittleman asked his sidekicks, hoping they could shed some light on the superhero's odd choice of words, but they were just as lost as he was.

"Absolutely no clue." (y/n) shook her head, tapping Ray's arm to tell him that it was probably best for them to leave before he said something else weird.

"Bottom line is, you're welcome." The large man shook the chairman's hand again and gave him his most charming smile and turned to leave before a hoard of children came running in.

"Captain Man! Kid Danger! Miss Danger!" The gang screamed, Piper being at the front as she lead the way. The Man Fans were here and they were ready to see their heroes in all their glory, especially since it gave them a chance to see Miss Danger up close. A new addition to the Captain Man team? They'd happily welcome her in.

"Who are these children?" Mr Frittleman asked, feeling slightly startled by so many children bursting into his factory. Health and safety weren't very high on the list by the looks of things.

"Oh, that's my si----" Henry caught himself before he could name Piper as his sister, but his trailing tone made him sound crazy.

"Si---scissors! Has anyone seen my scissors?" He saved it at the end and even if it did sound bizarre, it was a lot better than revealing his secret identity.

"We're the Man Fans!" Piper introduced them proudly and she and Marla whipped out their Man Fan club cards.

"The official Fanclub of Captain Man, Miss Danger and Kid Danger!" Marla squealed, barely able to contain her excitement at the sight of Swellview's greatest crimefighters. 

"We're verified," Piper added on the end, making (y/n) blush. It was nice to be included and to see so many happy faces, well, it was sweet. 

"Hi, guys." Ray smiled at his club warmly, his hand curling around (y/n)'s as he sought out her touch. Did he care that people were watching his every move? No, he wanted the world to know that Captain Man had found his soulmate and he wasn't letting go.

"Hello." (y/n) greeted the kids, who weren't oblivious to how Captain Man and Miss Danger was holding hands. Ooooh, Captain Man and Miss Danger, sitting in a tree...

"Are you guys here to see the launch of the Frittle blimp?" Mr Frittleman asked the group, believing that they'd come across town to see his genius advertising idea.

"No. Kids hate blimps," Marla answered curtly, not caring about a big balloon in the sky, which was what a blimp was to anyone under the age of twenty-five.

"We gotta decide what Frittle to vote for on Tuesday, so we need to know!" Piper smiled at her heroes, who felt a bit put on the spot. What. the Man fans were told, they'd do; it didn't matter about their personal opinion, what their heroes said was the right thing to vote for. 

"Need to know what?" Henry looked at the kids blankly, not seeing what they were getting at.

"Which chip Captain Man, Miss. Danger and Kid Danger are voting for." Piper explained, not realising that she was reigniting a burnout argument. 

"We're gonna vote for whichever you guys tell us to." Oliver Pook added, making (y/n) stiffen. Did they have to bring that up? It had already blown up once, she didn't want it to happen again.

"Well, if you really wanna know, personally..."

"Well, I'm gonna go with.." Ray and Henry started, but an arm curled around their shoulders and they nervously looked to the side to see. (y/n) smiling at them pleasantly, or was it sinisterly?

"You say anything, I'll break your phone, you say anything and you're sleeping alone tonight." She hissed in their ears before letting them go and pushing them forward a bit. A few light threats always did the trick.

"Look, kids, Captain Man, Miss Danger and I do not get involved in snack politics, so you're just gonna---" Oh, Henry, he was such a good egg. The thing with Ray though, he wasn't and that was a problem. Mainly because he just sussed that he'd follow (y/n) to her bedroom and latch onto her until she gave in. No need for him to slumber in solitude.

"Vote red!" He yelled to the kids, making (y/n) growl and Henry gasp. So, he'd chosen death, not life, a bold choice.

"What?" The boy stuttered and was horrified to see the kids agree on voting for the gross rhubarb. Well, he wasn't having that. 

"Kids, you like me. Captain Man says vote for the Raging Red Rhubarb Frittles!" He addressed the group, ignoring Henry's babbling for some sense. 

"You're so gonna be eating those damn chips alone, Captain Man." (y/n) muttered, not liking how he was essentially rigging the voting. She thought it would be best for the kids to make their own decision, but no. Ray couldn't let this one go.

"No, you're not supposed to--vote blue!" Henry switched tactics and decided that if Ray was gonna play dirty, then so would he. Screw the moral argument, he wanted to chow down on Bodacious Blue Bacon for the rest of his life.

"Stop it! You can't tell them to vote blue--vote red!" Ray encouraged the children, who were now unsure of what to do. They couldn't vote for both and the way Captain Man and Kid Danger were arguing, it looks like they'd never get through to them.

"Okay, why don't you both just chill? Hmm? Kid Danger, go over there." (y/n) stepped in between her friends and forced Henry to back off. It was like trying to control two kids sometimes.

"You need to calm down." She turned to Ray and gave him her scolding face as she tried to control her stroppy boyfriend.

"Oh, so you're now telling me what I can and can't do like him?" He whined at her, not meaning to upset her, but his sneering voice ruffled her feathers.

"Oh, grow up." She hissed, stepping back from him. If he was going to act like a child then she'd leave him alone to cool off. She wasn't going to be jibed at and it looked like Henry wasn't either.

He'd grabbed one of the company's tube launchers and loaded up a can of blue Frittles. It probably wasn't the best idea to fire a tin of chips at your boss's face in front of a crowd of his adoring fans, but people do dumb things when they're mad. 

"Okay..." Ray growled as Henry poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue, not caring about how furious the man looked. Ray went and grabbed the red launcher, making the boy gulp. He was a lot squishier and more vulnerable than Ray, surely this wasn't fair.

"Hey, he's not indestructible, you can't shoot--" (y/n)'s protests didn't matter, this was war and Ray Manchester took no prisoners. He fired a can of Red Frittles into Henry's abdomen, sending the kid to the floor with the forceful impact. Poor Mr Frittleman, he didn't want a brawl in his. factory, so he looked to Miss Danger for help.

"Guys, don't do this." She stood in the middle, but she was fighting a losing battle.

"Oh, he asked for this." Henry seethed and fired another can past (y/n). so it would hit Ray on the temple again. Ouch, that one had to have been painful and the pain was like adding wood to the fire. It made Ray even angrier.

"Okay! Say hello to my Frittle friend!" He quoted Scarface and yet another load of red frittles were sent Henry's way. It was slightly biased for a man as large as Ray to fight a skinny kid like Henry, who didn't have the weight to keep himself on his feet.

"Oh, right in the eye!  So, that's how you wanna play?" Henry rubbed the pain away and reloaded his weapon. All (y/n) could do was keep the kids back and hope they didn't hurt each other or someone else.

"That's enough!" Ray told his sidekick, seeing panicked everyone was getting, especially the children, who were distressed to see the superheroes fight.

"Oh, that's enough? Let me just adjust the gauge right here..." Henry sassed Ray and flicked the switch on the side of the barrel. No more playing around, he wanted to finish this, but turning up the firing speed wasn't a good idea. Ray was hit by a can and then another and another until the weapon was firing hundreds of Frittle tubs per minute. Uh-oh, Henry couldn't control it and he looked at the malfunctioning thing in his hands. 

"What did you do?" (y/n) shouted at the boy as she stopped Ray from hiding behind Piper and pushed the girl away from Henry's line of fire. For a superhero, he could be so daft sometimes, and if he wanted a human meat shield, he could use her.

"Stop being such a baby, you're indestructible," She rolled her eyes at him, wincing when a rogue can hit her shoulder. She was grateful for her super-regeneration, otherwise, the bruise would have stayed there for weeks. The worst wasn't over though, the catapulted Frittles hit some machinery at the back of the room, causing it to spark uncontrollably and an alarm to go off.

"What's happening?" Mr Frittleman asked his workers as they ran to save the machine, but it was too late. Henry had messed the whole thing up.

"Why's that light flashing?" Ray pointed to the red beacon and pulled (y/n) to his side. Whatever was going on, his gut told him it wasn't good and he wanted her right next to him where he could keep her safe.

"They jammed the system controls! Now, the corn compressors are building up an extreme amount of pressure and...they can't release the corn gas!" Everyone paled at the news. Pressure meant explosion and an explosion was very, very bad.

"Oh, well done, you two. Nice going, you've outdone yourselves this time." (y/n) clapped her companions sarcastically as she guessed that they were heading for a catastrophe and she had to hand it to them. This was their biggest fuck up of the year.

"Attention. This is Jack Frittleman...run!" The CEO announced over the tannoy and no sooner than he did, the crowd bolted for the exits. Ray, (y/n) and Henry herded them all out first, but not before running back to grab a few final cans of their favourite Frittles.

"Oh, sweet cheese, come on! This thing's gonna blow!" (y/n) shrieked at them as she waited in the doorway and the man and boy knew she was right. Forgoing any attempt to salvage the snacks, they legged it through the door and made it out with seconds to spare. 

~In Junk-N-Stuff~

Back at the store, the Man Cave team were crowded around Jasper's PearPad as they watched the news report on the Frittle Factory Tragedy.

"And the explosion was felt all throughout Swellview and even some nearby cities, including Neighbourville, Bordertown and Rivalton," Trent reported in his usual prickly manner.

"But luckily, despite the magnitude of the blast, everyone important survived." Mary smiled, her pleasantness coming through the screen. The pair were like chalk and cheese, polar opposites.

"So the real victim is our own City of Swellview because, not only has the red versus blue contest been cancelled, but also CEO, Jack Frittleman, says it's going to take four years to rebuild the factory." The male anchor carried on, disappointing the city with his depressing news.

"Four years? That's a Frittle too long if you ask me." Mary quipped, smiling at her little pun, but like usual, Trent Overrunder wasn't going to let her stay happy for long.

"I wish you'd been in that factory, Mary." His cruel words choked the blonde up and (y/n) frowned as the clip ended.

"What a dick! One of these days I'm going to kick his ass." She scowled, but no one cared about poor Mary as she did. They just wanted to enjoy one more Frittle.

"Dang it. Man, I loved those blue Frittle chips." Henry sighed, missing the snack already and it had only been an hour. 

"Me too." Schwoz whimpered, also feeling sad that the contest was kaput. Now, they'd never know which one was Swellview's favourite, well, not for another four years.

"Me three." (y/n) admitted, thinking that since the Frittles were gone, it wouldn't hurt to add in her voice. She liked the blues just as much as they did, even though she hid it well.

"I loved the red ones," Jasper commented, declaring that he, like Ray, preferred the rhubarb in all its artificial sour tang.

"I loved not caring," Charlotte smirked, loving that she was free of sadness or anger since she had been neutral from the start. Who was laughing now?

"Well, Henry, Schwoz, sweet girl...sucks for you guys." Ray walked over and wrapped his arms around (y/n) from behind as she stood in the middle of Henry and Schwoz. She frowned in thought as he rested his chin on top of her head, but after the thrill of the explosion, she couldn't put two and two together.

"What's got you all smiley, Mr Grumpy-Pants?" She asked him,  wondering why a guy who'd been whining for days about the red chips was now happy that they were gone.

"Oh, you know, Raging Red Rhubarb Frittles, my love." He smiled down at her and lovingly pressed a clumsy kiss to her cheek, which made her feel embarrassed. None of this was making sense, apart from him being gross with the young woman.

"Yeah, well, that's too bad 'cause they all blew up." Henry reminded him, also finding his boss's cheery mood peculiar. He was way too dramatic to be pleased about this, unless...

"Did they?" Ray looked at the boy with a mischievous expression and untangled himself from (y/n) so he could move freely about the shop floor.

"Yeah, just on the news," Henry confirmed as they all looked at him in bewilderment. Little did they know that Ray had a trick up his sleeve.

"Did they?" He reiterated, adding to the confusion. He loved to build up the suspense, it played into her drama queen persona.

"We just watched it." Jasper frowned, falling into Ray's trap.

"Did we?" He pressed on, irritating (y/n) with his slowness. 

"Are you drunk? Just get to the point, Raymond." She groaned, hating how he had to turn everything into The Ray Manchester Show.

"Ray, what do you know?" Henry asked his boss, also getting the feeling that Ray was toying with them and he just wanted to know what his game was. 

"I know that when you're a superhero and you recover a stolen truck with four hundred cases of red Frittles inside, it's never a bad idea to snag a couple of cases for yourself." He chuckled at their flabbergasted faces, revealing his devious actions. 

"That's stealing." Jasper pointed out, thinking that a superhero should've known better than to make an opportunistic looting just for his own benefit.

"Is it?" Ray shrugged and ignored the fervent yesses from his friends. Of course, it was stealing, but he'd overlook that since it got him a few months supply of Frittles.

"Yeah, all right." He conceded, but he didn't care, not when he knew that he'd be munching through his steal soon.

"Wait, you're saying that you were acting weird at the factory because there's two cases of Frittle Chips here?" (y/n) asked him, not believing that her sweet and goofy Ray would do something so sneaky. It was ingenious but sneaky. 

"Yep, 'bout a half-mile down there, in the Man Cave." He smirked, feeling pretty good about himself as Jasper patted him on the shoulder. Looks like the reds won this one.

"Wait, my sister, Winnie, went down to the Man Cave to have a schnack and take a nap." Schwoz gulped as he realised that she'd probably eaten the lot since she literally had the appetite of a horse.

"You little shit, Schwoz!" Ray exclaimed angrily as everyone giggled. Captain Man had been outwitted by a horse lady.

"You know there's gonna be none left." (y/n) chuckled at him as he put his head in his hands and sighed, her hand rubbing his back soothingly. 

Looks like no one had won after all.

[notallangelsaregood]

My thoughts on Spy x Family Chapter 79

So, as I've been more active on the SXF fandom and specially here on Tumblr, I thought I could make a short (spoiler: it was everything but short) post of every new chapter coming out. It's not really an in depth analysis, rather a personal view on the chapter as someone who is amazed by this manga and everything related to it, so let's go.

Quick disclaimer, before we start. I'm doing this in English, as I believe it's easier to reach out to others (rather than in Portuguese, my mother language), so, if you encounter some grammar or spelling mistakes, it's probably due to me being a bilingual mess, sorry about that.

I absolutely loved the fact that it was Sharon who noticed about Yor being more communicative with them (and it was her the one doing a lot of other things I will be mentioning here later) which really surprised me. It's really fun to see how the relationship of Yor and her colleagues are improving (and considering chapter 1 and 2, that was a hell of an improvement, specially Camilla).

Okay, I relate to Yor a lot. Mainly because I recognize someone with low self-esteem when I see it. And the fact that she believes it's a bother to be more communicative with others and apologized has got me, but I'm glad Sharon said what I was thinking (girl, you are a precious baby, why a bother?). It's also nice to see Sharon worrying about Anya.

This part is absolutely awesome. Sharon asking if Yor was coming with them, leaving Millie and Camilla surprised. It was definitely a first, as Millie said, so it got me even sadder when I realized that Yor was not at all expected to be invited, which makes me believe it's something that has happened before. And it happened a lot, her being left out by her colleagues. Totally breaks my heart (cause I believe Yor is a peanut and deserve to be protected, if you haven't noticed it yet), so I'm really glad to see some improvement.

I love the fact that she worries about calling Loid. Specially because she doesn't need to pretend for him, okay, sure, she wants to appear normal, to not be seen as an assassin, but with Loid her guard is getting down and down, which is very good (ship wise). I truly believe that her calling him wasn't for the looks, but due to her actually worrying about him or Anya waiting for her to have dinner. It's really cute.

She is so adorable, what the actual heck? Okay, moving on.

Someone pointed this out (I don't know who, I'm really sorry) about their drink glasses. While Yor has a quite small cocktail-ish glass, Millie, Sharon, and Camilla have big beer cups, which, again, is a detail. However, I absolutely love Endo's sense of detailing on this manga, to show Yor's weak for booze in subtle ways.

Yor immediately blushing after Camilla simply asks if her and Loid are getting along is pure gold. I truly believe it is not solely her drunk blushing (since it goes all over her face and chest sometimes, while on this she is blushing only on her cheeks). Then, Millie realizing it, puts more fire on it (poor Yor, yet go Millie, at least this time).

And Yor coming up with something that I value her for thinking about, which is a child perception of intimacy in her home, is awesome.

It's cute how she thinks that about Loid, it's actually quite cute. Something NOT CUTE is Camilla and Millie still thinking crap about Yor's marriage. Specifically Millie, she wants to tell Yor to dump her hubby, why tho? Is everyone in freaking Berlint wanting Loid? (can I judge them? Yes! But also no!). Girly Yor, I'm ready to be jealous and defensive for you.

Yes, Yor, he is absolutely perfect, he does everything. Can we, please, talk about the "why don't you take a hot bath?" part? No? Overreacting much? Okay.

Please, Yor, no one believes you hate everything about Roid. Opsie, Loid. It's pretty much the opposite, actually. Who are you trying to fool, girl?

I believe this bit is self-explanatory. I laughed so much my tummy hurt. No much else to say here. The incoherency of Yor's drunk mind had me rolling.

LOOK. AT. THAT. MAN! Woof. Is this how Loid is 24/7 on Yor's head? Cause, girl, I'm worried about you. Truly. Other than that, can we please talk about how comic is her with that knife? How non-threatening it looks? (I mean, kinda, look at those eyes).

No comment, they are being so nice here. I'm surprised by Millie, mostly. They can be good friends, it just takes a while and more intimacy to be built around them, I believe, hope I'm not wrong.

Poor Yor, not even a welcome home kiss? That's a valid statement, Sharon. You rock! Sharon is the number 1 twiyor fan and nothing can change my mind about it.

Her mind is so fried. Again, poor Yor!

Too many things happening here! First, Yor's colleagues recognizing she is actually fun to be around and probably Sharon suggesting that they should invite her out again some time. I'm truly happy about the end of this chapter, her co-workers wise, because It's such a big improvement. Yor would not communicate with them, and they would be so bitter with her (specially Millie and Camilla). Look how far we've got! That's some major improvement and I'm proud.

Now, to the most important thing ever of this chapter, the kiss attempt! Okay, a little before that, when Loid asked if she had a good time. Am I overreacting to the bare minimum, or there is something else about him? He is so adorable and such a great husband (for the mission). Look at that confused little face.

I bet all the 25 cents I have that Endo was cracking up drawing this face. I laughed way more than I should, oh, poor Yor

It's been 79 chapters, my folks, and we got a tiny bit of happiness. They are so adorable! Look at them? Kiss NOW. One thing I noticed is how big Loid is compared to Yor, look at his body, at that hand size difference. That's… Quite nice, it's all I'm going to say about it. (Is it hot in here? No? Okay).

The second bar is up and rising!

Even though Yor has a tremendous high tolerance to pain, I would not be surprised If she woke up to a big bulge in her head in the morning. And worse, probably she won't even remember a thing, which takes us to the scale zero again. Damn it, it's hard to see these two idiots realizing they are so in love for each other. However, this chapter was all my heart needed. We begged for twiyor, Endo laughed at us and prolonged our suffering. I want more of that, sir, if you don't mind.

My hope is Anya bringing up this on the breakfast morning. That would be quite interesting.

That's all, folks. It ain't much, but it's honest work. This turned out to be way longer than I expected, but also incredibly fun! Hope you guys had fun reading as well.

[melanieryssel]

Can't let you know he's a puppet | P2

*Scaramouche x reader*

Summary: Scaramouche/Wanderer is injured seriously after a mission but refuses to let you help him because the last thing he wants is to let you find out he's heartless puppet.

Note: This happened after Sumeru archon quest, so no one remember "Scaramouche" as a villain who tried to rule over Sumeru anymore. But I still use the name Scaramouche because it feels more familiar for me. And I'm not a English native speaker so I'm really sorry (in advance) for any grammar or spelling mistakes.

Part 1 | Part 2 (end)

You are overreacting

Clenching your fist, the sudden spurt of unnamed emotion rises in you while you stand still in front of the shutting door. You weren't even given a chance to respond or explain yourself. The words that he threw at you, the troubled expression on his face that you saw right before the door was shut replay in your mind like a record.

You are overreacting

What if I really am overreacting? Gods know how desperately you want to excuse your behaviors by saying it's because you were worried about him. But deeply, you know that you have crossed the line. 

You claim to be his friend and as you can remember, Scaramouche has never once corrected you when you referred to yourself as "his friend" or "his companion". He is never the nicest or sweetest person, in fact, people are more likely to consider him rude and mean because of his cruel words. However, it's never something that bothers you. Scaramouche might say mean things and be stubborn but you know that is just his way to word it because, despite all the impolite things he had said to you, he protects you, listens to you, and goes along with whatever you want.

Maybe this is why you started to think that if you keep on pleading with him a bit longer he will definitely give in and let you take care of him. The moment Scaramouche looked at you in annoyance, you knew you fucked up this time.

When you are lost in your thoughts, Scaramouche, on the other side of the door, wonders why you haven't left yet. It would be a lie if he said he didn't feel happy seeing you concerned about him. It would be a worse lie if he said he felt just fine after shutting the door right in your face. It must be so much better if you just leave already. 

That's a lie obviously. He wants you to stay even when he told you to leave. 

He hears the sound of footsteps, smaller and smaller then fade away. Scaramouche assumes you run out of patience for him. 

Well, nothing new, he really screwed up here. He wishes he could just admit to you that he is a puppet.

After a while when he finished treating his wound, he hesitantly opens the door just to see no one. He sighs defeatedly. 

"Fuck you Scara!" 

Your loud yet pleasant voice successfully catches him off guard. You use all your muscle strength to push him back into his hostel then pin him down to the floor. You intertwine your fingers with his, and stare directly into him, leaving Scaramouche speechless.

He intends to say something but looking at your face, he stops himself.

Your eyes are now leaking acid rain.

"Sorry" You say quietly.

"After you knocked me out onto the floor?" He didn't mean anything rude this time, he said it in a rather impressive tone. You look hot, Scaramouche thinks. 

"Yes, this is the only way I can think of. I'm sorry for forcing you to do what you don't want to. I don't want to excuse my unthoughtful and careless behaviors but I swear I mean no harm!!! And by the way, I bought some food and medicine in case you need them." The more you speak the louder you cry. Scaramouche can tell you're trying your best to muffle your hiccups. He doesn't dare to look away from your watery eyes while feeling your hot tears fall on his cold, lifeless puppet skin.

Do you notice how abnormally cold he is? He questions as he tightens your hands. Because of surreal moments like this, he gets more uncertain about how to tell you the truth about his identity. 

Right now, Scaramouche feels a sense of panic, he doesn't know what to do or say. He has never comforted anyone, he wasn't as well taught to say sweet and kind things to people. 

"Okay okay, it's okay. I get it so stop, your tears will make my clothes dirty." It doesn't work, you still cry uncontrollably. 

Scaramouche hesitates for a moment.

"It's not your fault." he says, avoiding your gaze.

 "I should not have said those things." He trails off in embarrassment and guilt, a catch in his throat. 

"Sorry" he mouths. 

His eyes meet yours. Scaramouche quickly turns his head away.

"Scara" You softly whisper.

"W-what?" He responds

"You're blushing" 

"What?! A-are you blind? What a pity that now your stupid head becomes delusional" 

"You're still blushing Scara"

"Fuck you y/n" He says out of frustration.

[loorain]

Sims 4 Fontenot Legacy - Saturday Night Studies

While the adults are out on their date, Alma and Audrey are having a different kind of Saturday night.

Audrey is hard at work on her presentation for the first day of school. It's a simple book report just to introduce the kids to each other and get to know everyone, but Audrey takes it very seriously. She even asks Auntie Scarlett to use her desk in order to fully concentrate.

Of course, that doesn't stop her sister from making an entrance.

Alma: Hey, Auds! What are you doing in here?

Audrey: Just finishing up my homework. That way I can enjoy Sunday stress-free! It's the last day before school starts, after all!

Alma: Ah, school schmool. It's just a rabbithole. How hard could it be?

Audrey: Well I still want to be prepared. How far have you gotten with your work?

Alma: It's coming along.

Audrey: Is it? You know Mom's gonna check it tomorrow.

Alma: I'll get it done! You doubt me?

Audrey: I doubt you'll concentrate long enough to finish it.

Alma: Dang! You could've at least lied a little!

The two laugh.

Audrey: Just don't put it off. You know Mom won't be happy if you do.

Alma: Sis, you really overreact! This homework is a piece of cake! I can get it done in my sleep.

Audrey: So you say.

Alma: I mean it! I'll go get some done right now!

Audrey: Well, go find somewhere else to work so I don't have to hear the cogs in your head turning.

Alma: Ha ha.

Audrey: Good luck!

Alma does indeed find a quiet spot to try her hand at the work.

Alma: Okay, let's see what's this all about. Eight of Grim's pets aren’t cowplants, five aren’t crows, and seven aren’t axolotls. How many pets does he have? Hmm...

The moments tick by. More. And more. The words seem to all mush themselves on the page. Alma does really try to work through it.

Alma: Maybe if... no. Oh, what if.... no.

The longer she sits there staring at it, the harder it seems to be to understand.

Alma: I need a break.

And there's a perfect companion to enjoy a break with.

Alma: Okay, buddy. Let's try to teach you some skills, yeah? Now, sit.

Ziggy, surprisingly, responds to the command on the first try.

Alma: Wha- that worked?! Alright, Ziggy! You might just be the smartest dog on the planet! Now let's see if you can do it again, yeah?

After some time, Audrey successfully finishes her own work. She feels really confident about herself and looking forward to enjoying the rest of her weekend the way she wants to. Of course, she can only imagine what her sister's progress looks like. Still, she has to know for herself.

Audrey: This doesn't look like doing your homework.

Alma: I'm taking a break. Ziggy's doing some learning right now. Show her boy! Sit!

Again, Ziggy does manage to obey the command.

Alma: See? He's a genius! Just wait until I can get him jumping through hoops! Maybe we can start a circus!

Audrey: There's no circus DLCs. Did you read too much about the Sims 1?

Alma: Aww, come on, Auds! Have a little imagination!

Audrey: I do! It's what helped me finish my book report!

Alma: Ugh, did you come down here just to annoy me?

Audrey: Alma, if you need help I can give you a hand. It's no problem.

Alma: I don't need help! I'm just... taking a break. I'll get it done.

Audrey: If Mom finds out--

Alma: Mom won't find out unless you tell her. You gonna be a tattletale?

Audrey sighs. For as much bickering as they do, it's obvious that Audrey cares for her sister deeply. She doesn't want her to fall behind and she doesn't want her to get in trouble. Alma loves Audrey too, she just expresses that love differently.

Alma: I'm gonna keep working with Ziggy. Come on boy, let's do it again, kay?

Audrey doesn't say anything more. After a while, she hears the front door unlock and soft chatter. Sigrid and Robin are back from their date.

Robin: Man, what a night, huh?

Sigrid: Definitely. Bed is callin' me, for sure.

Robin: Let's go see what the girls are up to first.

Audrey greets them.

Robin: Well, hey there missy! Were you waiting up for us?

Audrey: I heard you coming in.

Sigrid: It's a little past your bedtime, but since it's your last night before an official school night I'll let you bend the rules a bit.

Robin: Good to see you, sweetpea. Missed you.

Sigrid: So how was your evening?

Audrey: I finished my book report.

Sigrid: You did? Wonderful! I'll be sure to check it out tomorrow, okay? I'm sure it's wonderful.

Audrey: I worked really hard on it. I think it turned out well.

Robin: That's awesome, honey. Where's your sister?

Audrey: Um, she's training Ziggy.

Robin: Training?

Audrey: Teaching him how to sit.

Sigrid: Wow! How's that coming?

Audrey: She got him to do it a couple times.

Robin: So awesome to hear. Now you girls can start splitting up the chores for him. Walking him, cleaning up after him, filling his food bowl...

Sigrid: Well that's a chat for another day. For now, it's late, and it's up to bed with you.

Audrey can't hold it in.

Audrey: Mom, Dad... I think Alma's having some trouble with her work.

Robin: Oh?

Audrey: Yeah, and she won't let me help her. She didn't me to tell you, but I don't want her to fall behind, and she keeps saying she's going to finish it, and--

Sigrid: Okay.

Robin and Audrey: Okay?

Sigrid: She has one more day to work on it. We'll discuss it. Don't worry, Auds.

Audrey: Okay... just don't tell her I told you, okay?

Sigrid: Of course, honey. Now, bedtime.

After getting the kids into bed, the two adults retire to their bedroom.

Robin: Ah... well, that was interesting.

Sigrid: Tell me about it.

Robin: Are we really not going to talk to Alma about her homework?

Sigrid: We will. I just want to give her a little more time. If she's not done by the afternoon, we'll step in.

Robin: You sure?

Sigrid: It sounds like she's begun. I want her to have the freedom to get it done on her own timeline until it's obvious she needs the extra support. I don't want her to feel embarrassed. She's so proud. She won't ask for help easily.

Robin: That is very true.

Sigrid: Let's not worry just yet. At any rate, I want to enjoy the rest of our night off as much as possible.

Robin: Right. Speaking of which...

Robin pulls the classic move. Sigrid seems to be into it.

Sigrid: Ah, just what I needed.

Robin: I really did have fun with you today.

Sigrid: Same. You looked good behind that turntable.

Robin: I always forget how much you admire my creative side.

Sigrid: You're the talent between the two of us. I'm sure I sounded like a screaming banshee during karaoke.

Robin: Aww, come on, you weren't that bad.

Sigrid: You're in love with me. I don't trust your judgment.

Robin laughs.

Robin: Shouldn't you trust my judgment more since I'm in love with you?

Sigrid: So you're not lying to me?

Robin opens his mouth, but he can't get himself to say it. Sigrid laughs.

Sigrid: Figures.

Robin: I still love you, even if you can't sing.

Sigrid: Gee. Thanks.

Robin: I can't believe Sabrina and Beau just ditched us like that, though.

Sigrid: I can. They're so in love, Juno's at his dad's, and Beau's got his own apartment. Perfect recipe for a salacious sleepover.

Robin: What a concept. I like how our night's going.

Sigrid: So do I. Can't wait to slip into bed, hold hands, and knock out. I'm exhausted.

Robin: So am I.

Sigrid: I love you. I love this life. Just being a simple, married couple, taking care of our girls. There's no place I'd rather be than right here.

Robin: I feel the same way.

Sigrid: Good. Now let's get changed and go to bed.

Robin: Yes ma'am. But first, a quick goodnight kiss?

Sigrid: I think I can manage that.