#people are laughing in the notes but this shit makes me feel violent actually

[popstarryeyed]

he's a musixmatch transcriber error. since it's a volunteer contribution based site and many contributors in english are non-native speakers (bc non native speakers use lyrics sites more) i've seen many examples of this where someone clearly was not familiar with a song's meaning or context and transcribed their best guess. musical theater lyrics tend to be pretty bad bc of that

right now the site's going through changes that mean you can't edit songs unless it's through their paid missions (annoying as hell given how much of the site is volunteer) but if you drop the link to the version with the error i'll see if i can flag it and get it fixed when possible

girl who tf is cuferaque

[bramblebeau]

Alright I told myself I wouldn't interact with fandom when s2 came out, and I haven't and don't plan to except to say this about people deciding Caitlyn is the Worst or that the writing is OOC.

As someone who has had a family member violently killed, I cannot stress how much it shakes up everything you thought you were and stood for. My beliefs in proportionate compassionate justice and the rights of all human beings are some of the strongest I have (stronger now because of the way that experience affected me personally), but they were pushed to the absolute limit when it came to an individual who had killed my loved one, showed no remorse, and laughed in our faces outside court, among other things.

People generally like to believe it wouldn't be them or their peace-loving family members being talked down from seriously considering violent revenge, consequences be damned. People like to believe they wouldn't lash out at people closest to them under that pressure, that they wouldn't build walls around the kindest and most sensitive parts of themselves because those parts are the ones feeling pain you never thought possible, that they wouldn't stalk the killer, make notes on all their family and friends, and fuck up their hands punching walls in anger wishing so badly it was flesh and bone because they can't handle the fact that there's no way to turn back time to stop it all from happening. People like to think they're "better" than that. But the reality is messy and painful as hell.

With Caitlyn, she has the added guilt of having actually had the opportunity to stop Jinx before she fired the rocket, but she hesitated just long enough for it to result in the deaths of her mother and other councillors and in the cities being plunged into chaos. Not only that, but the person close to her she's lashing out at is the person who caused her to hesitate, and just so happens to be the sister of the killer.

Furthermore, her behaviour is entirely in character. We have seen her set up as someone who becomes obsessed with achieving a goal and will do pretty much anything she wants to get there. In S1, we agreed with her methods because her goal was exposing and taking down Silco, and because it led to Vi being released. In S2, she's doing a similar thing but it's fuelled by fear and a type of pain she doesn't know how to deal with, rather than being fuelled by a need to prove herself and solve a case, and it leads to her making morally questionable decisions and to hurting Vi. She admits herself, albeit privately to Vi, that she does not know what she's doing and doesn't know how to fill this hole in her chest (and the hole in the city leadership). She has been sheltered from the real world for almost all her life, and as a result she has no experience of functioning or making decisions under this kind of pressure. The real world blew up in her face in the worst way and she was given power and a loaded rifle, and then shoved into an even more elevated position by a very experienced warlord who is manipulating the shit out of the whole situation.

I'm not saying that you have free rein to hurt people when you're grieving and facing extreme stress. (If you think that's what I'm saying then idk I'm not sure there's much hope for you in terms of critical thinking skills). What I'm saying is that Caitlyn is exhibiting pretty normal human behaviour that most people would be susceptible to in those circumstances, not the behaviour of someone who is some kind of heartless abusive bastard.

TLDR: Caitlyn is being written in a way that completely makes sense and is also not OOC, and if someone told me there would be no chance of them reacting in similar ways I simply would not believe them.

[clawsdevour]

tied to you

wc: 1.3k content warning: smut, bondage, slight bdsm, friends w/ benefits, some degradation, slight humiliation, mouth fuck, not proofread, shitty writing, multi-fandom x reader

note: hihi whoevers reading this its kinda like my first time writing something more darkish in terms of smut idk how to explain??? bc i was kinda interested trying my hand at writing bondage and whatnot so um hopefully its at least ok???

*:･ﾟ✧

“Does it hurt if I tighten it like this?” are the words you hear as the red ropes grip around your curves, tightening at every given movement.

“No, it actually feels good.” You always wanted to try this fantasy of yours that you’ve seen on a variety of different medias. It’s a way to stimulate and satisfy you through bondage, essentially meaning being tied up. You thought this way of pleasure was very intriguing at first glance, being able to feel pleasure through being binded tightly by strings. Since you had a friends with benefits relationship, you wanted to experiment this with your partner.

“You look so hot right now, you know that. Can’t move, just tied up for me. Ha.. I can’t help but get hard just by looking at you,” your partner grins. Skin starting to come to a slight bruising the more you move. The tight rope just barely hitting your bare perky rosy nipples, making your tits spill out of the red rope. You grinded yourself on the rope that was right in between your folds, letting out silent moans while soaking the cords with your wet fluids. Your ass is fully exposed with each cheek separated along the lines of the cords. You were currently kneeling on your bed, with the ropes digging into your skin, hands binded behind your back as well as your ankles. He’s standing, watching and observing the ropes tightly against your skin right in front of you. You watch as your partner’s hard on keeps reaching its peak, watching it grow. You want to see it closer and maybe even give him a reward for tying you up so well.

“Take your pants off, I’ll suck you off” confidently you said to him, underestimating what he’s gonna do since you’re in a pretty vulnerable state. He raises an eyebrow, shooting you a look of surprise.

“Anything you want for looking so gorgeous,” shuffling off his pants and sliding down his boxers. The moment his dick popped out and recoiled off his stomach, you start salivating looking at his length and thickness. He steps closer to you and watches as you try to catch it into your mouth. Obviously, you needed his hand to guide you if he wanted you to suck him off! He couldn’t help but laugh at you for wanting to suck his cock so bad in an attempt to humiliate you.

“You’re so silly. If you want it that bad you have to beg for it,” Holding his dick still, he starts smacking you multiple times in the face as he lets out a low chuckle. You can’t help but givehim a dirty look for his tauntings. Fueling your irritation you blurted out at him.

“Just put it in my mouth already dickhead! Fuck you, stop teasing m-” the warm thick dick of his, stuffs your mouth completely hitting the back of your throat. You let out a groan from his sudden thrust. His hands gripped handfuls of your lucious locs as he pushed your head further down. Feeling it prob the back of your throat made you gag, causing him to jerk it back out. Coughing violently, tears started to sting your eyes as your body reacted.

“Well? I did what you said you wanted me to do. What do you wanna do next, hmm?” the sincerity in his low voice made you wanna clock him right there. Obviously, since you’re binded, you can’t. All yo ucould do was be angry. Although he was right, he did give you what you wanted and you can’t prove him wrong. Shit, your brain thought out of all people I chose to try bondage with this fucker?? Well, it’s like you had no other friends with benefits to try this out with. Recovering from his impulsive move, you might as well continue. Well.. you were gonna anyway since you’re quite literally tied up. You let out one big sigh which made him respond with a loud huff.

“I.. I want to…” what you’re about to say, just the thought of saying out loud in front of this guy is enough to make you die of embarrassment. You knew what you wanted to say but couldn’t spit them out. He watched you struggle with your words for a good minute with his eyebrow raised and arms crossed against his toned chest.

“Just say it bitch, I don’t get what you’re picking at here…” he sighs and scratches his head trying to figure out what you’re saying in his thick skull. You can’t help but look down turning a red hue, completely humiliated with what you’re gonna tell him to do.

“I want you to mouth fuck me,” he’s staring at you like you’ve gone mad and turned into a whole different person than he usually has sex with. Your words sent chills up his spine, he wouldn’t expect this even if you’ve never became friends with benefits.

“I.. Uh, are you sure..??” you nod, staring him down making him gulp. Opening your mouth wide for him, he intoxicates your warm plush mouth with his thick cock. His girth making your eyes tear up, his hands reach for the back of your head as he start moving in deeper. As he thrusts your head over and over on his dick, your body moved with him. The squelches sounds squeaked out of your mouth while your bedsheets shuffled. The tension coming from the ropes on your body restrain you from moving even further. You can’t help but moan from the friction the cords produced on your skin and intimate areas, causing a bright red to start fading in. The thin sheen layer of sweat starting to show up on your bare flesh as you took in his cock.

“Shit this feels so good” seductively was heard from above. Looking up at him, he was enjoying himself as much as you were. His tender muscular build mixed in with his musky scent and sweat, as his cock rubs harshly against your gummy mouth.

His rough pace quickens as if your sloppy, swollen lips were now his own personal fleshlight moving at his own rate. Your cheeks hollowing and altering back to normal as you suction on his dick. The moment your eyes rolled back was the moment he started to twitch in your mouth, knowing he’s coming to a close.

“I’m gonna cum.. Do you want it in your mouth, you filthy whore?” you tried hard to shake your head. Gross anything but his cum in your mouth. Feeling your shake, he was at least nice enough to respect your decision. Right as he pulled out leaving you exhausted and gasped with your sore coarse throat. He instantly pumps his cock with his hand, releasing explosions of his thick sticky fluids flying onto your sweaty, tear stained face. 

His essence dripped down onto the rest of your body and the ropes that bruised and turned your skin into different shades. You were beyond exhausted and overstimulated from the rope rubbing against your most sensitive parts. Your partner couldn’t help but stand for a moment, letting him catch his breath, watching you regain your composure. 

“Augh.. shit” you can’t help but cough overwhelmingly after getting your throat fucked severely like that. Droplets were still streaming down as your body reacted to what it’s just been put through. His warm touch swipes your tears off the surfaces of your cheek.

“Sorry. I was a bit harsh with you, wasn’t I?” untying the rope from your body, you collapse in his heated embrace as he reaches for a tissue to wipe his cum off of you.

*.༄ DABI, SHIGARAKI, SUNA RINTARO, OIKAWA TOORU, ATSUMU MIYA, YUJI TERUSHIMA, SAKUSA KIYOOMI, GOJO SATORU, SUKUNA, TOJI FUSHIJURO, KAEYA, CHILDE, TENGEN UZUI, OBANAI IGURO, MUZAN KIBUTSUJI, DOMA

masterlist here

[starfacenix]

Anger and Ares.

Life has been kinda sorta shit lately. And while I’m used to that sort of thing, more than used to it actually, it feels like I’m just getting beat while I’m already down on the floor crawling with multiple broken bones.

But, I get up and keep it pushing anyway.

My relationship with extremely powerful emotions, namely anger, is difficult. I get angry, of course, but never a large amount. I feel irritation more than I do anger. But as of late, I just can’t seem to keep myself calm. Which is really difficult for me to grapple with since I associate anger with some really abusive and violent people in my life. I don’t really know how to express my anger, when I actually feel it.

I wouldn’t say I’ve felt necessarily drawn to Ares, but the connection was there anyway when I initially met him. Immediately, he had this energy to him that made me feel comfortable enough to joke around with him, let loose. Like a brotherly figure. Which was ironic to me considering my relationship with my actual brother was/is very violent and strained. It felt like that spot was filled almost instantly, in a way.

(Also why is he so tall… every time I see him I just make fun of his height because nobody needs to be that tall.)

So as I’ve met him in such a bad time, I didn’t really reach out often if at all, at first. I think I did it almost subconsciously after the first few times.

The first time, I think I just got lucky that he checked on me. I was feeling so many strong emotions that were just about to bubble over. You know the type of anger that makes you laugh? Yeah, it was that.

Just as I felt like I was about to blow, a sense of calm washed over me completely and immediately, bringing me down a few notches. Familiar with his energy, I realized it was Ares. I was a bit caught off guard, but I thanked him sincerely in my slightly jumbled state, and just filled him in on what had gotten me to that point.

And then it happened again…

And again..

And again.

Life isn’t fun sometimes.

But now, I think I have just started to pray and call him subconsciously, hoping he’ll pop in to help me calm myself. And he does, he always checks in.

It makes me a bit emotional to think about now while writing this, knowing I’ve never had a grounding force like that in my life. It’s something I can’t really describe to someone that wouldn’t know. But it’s amazing to have that type of support from a god.

So I guess since I’m so awkward with gratitude in person this will serve as my thank you note to him. I’ll eventually get around to a proper thank you, but I know he’ll find this funny and accept it. (For now.)

Thank you Ares, for putting up with me playfully insulting you every chance I get and for being there each time to bring me back down to earth.

[i-mybrunettelady]

welcome home, nyra

Summary: Alysannyra makes an attempt at reclaiming her body for herself. Content warnings: Masturbation, Light Masochism Spoilers: Path of Fire Note: Minors DNI. This is Explicit mode. 18+ please. Also implied Trammander!

It’s funny, Nyra sometimes thinks, how she’s faced monsters and dragons and gods, yet it took her years to just sit before a mirror naked. She knows how to find humor in various things now. She always has, in hindsight. She simply did not have the means to make her humor funny to everyone else before. 

Her body is not something she finds funny, though. Her story is far from a fucking joke and it’s all there, on her skin, in every bump, line and burn. It’s in the way she moves, the way she exists in this world. So yeah, maybe the fact that she’s afraid of her own bare reflection is embarrassing and shameful and funny, but the body it shows is very much not. 

Who are you trying to convince, Ainsaph? You’re the only person who will ever laugh at you. 

She kicks her foot in the water and frowns. She knows that, and yet. And yet! Face your enemy and all that shit, but facing yourself is harder than it looks. It’s funny. It’s funny. It’s so hilariously funny she forgets to laugh. Nary a giggle in sight. 

She isn’t flinching, though. That’s good. There isn’t peace when she looks at herself, but there isn’t disgust either. The reminders of what she’s been through aren’t as sharp. That’s good. Little progress is progress too, right? Nyra cringes. Is this how bad she is at being kind to herself? She feels like a little girl, staring up at Forgal all indignant and awkward. Is she being indignant right now? Actually indignant, of all things? 

She buries her face in her hands and laughs. Her life plays before her eyes in all its violent glory, as if she’s dying on the hill of… Manors in Divinity’s Reach, in her own private bathroom, in an estate with her own chapel, and she’s taking her last breaths, wheezing and coughing like an old guy with a lung disease. 

“Take care of yourselves, children,” she croaks aloud, imagining her 12 cats somewhere in the manor, and she knows Aurene can hear her, wherever she is right now. “Your grandpa will pray to Dwayna for you..” 

The image sends her shaking from laughter on the edge of the bathtub, one foot in the fresh smelling water, and she’s the only thing echoing in the whole room and the sound reflects back. She stops laughing one wrong move later as she’s falling in the tub, ass hitting the edge at a weird angle. Suddenly she finds herself doing a half-split above water, with what’s likely a sad, angry bruise on her ass and her shoulders slump forward. 

“For fuck’s sake,” Nyra cackles, straightening herself again. “Wouldn’t be the first ass bruise.” She tilts her body and head to look. The throbbing place looks red. “Yeah, that’s gonna bruise. Great job, Nyra. Great job indeed.”

Admittedly, she does look good like this. The thought startles her. It’s been ages since she last thought of herself as attractive. She knows she is, but it’s different when you hear it from other people and when you think that yourself. She watches the shape and width of her hips, the deceptive softness of her belly, the sheer size of her thighs. Someone should fuck me, she thinks. Hands on my hips, as fast or slow as I want to. 

She sees the curly hairs on the unscarred parts of her legs. When she stands normally again, she follows the line of the scars, from her feet and above, to the messy hairs between her legs that extend to her belly and point toward the scar that stayed after Balthazar severed her spine years ago. She died that day. But she isn’t dead. All she has now is a gnarly, faded line that’s mirrored on her lower back. She isn't flinching. Part of her wants to touch it. 

So she does. She rubs a circle on one random spot, hyperfocused on the intercession between the normal flesh of her fingers and her burned knuckles. It feels like a scar. It feels like death. She can’t say she likes it, but it’s a part of her, the same way her eyes are. 

She takes a deep breath. Her hand stops moving and rests above her cunt, a shiny, white nail in the midst of brown, coarse hair. She raises her gaze to look above that still, to the sagginess and scars on her breasts, the burns on her arms. Her hair, wavy and in disarray, falls on her back. Not half bad, she decides with a strange thrill and pressure under her skin. Not half bad at all.

Nyra slides a free hand up to her areola, and sharply takes a breath in. It feels good, a tease. She loves a good tease. She glides her fingers over the scar on her right breast. Finally, a true Ascalonian, she thinks. I even have charr claw scars now! Maybe the Separatists will stop trying to kill me now. 

No such luck. But a girl can dream, yeah? She cups her breast, feels its weight in her palm. It would’ve been great if Trahearne was there to do this for her. She misses the suction of his mouth around her nipple. But he’s away on business in the Grove, so she must take matters into her own hands. The one positioned on her pubes tugs softly at the hairs there. The sharp pain adds to the physical sensation of having a body. 

What a dream, to not be a physical being. Unfortunately, Nyra’s never had the pleasure. Even before the scars, she was aware she was bigger and stronger than most human girls(and some boys) and that she could take things twice her size in combat. Movement feels good, exertion feels even better; her physicality always informed how she interacted with the world. 

She was fine with it, until Balthazar killed her. She was fine with this hairy, muscular, pale killing machine, that’s now looking less than stellar but it works. She should be dead, yet here she is, feeling her own wetness with her fingers, watching her own face go red with heat. Her fingers should not be able to make full range of motion yet they do. 

Why the fuck should she care if she has scars? She refuses to let her rational mind answer that. This sense of power feels better than anything it could ever provide. It feels as if she has Trahearne on his knees before her, looking up with his one eye, awaiting the chance to just get his mouth on her. 

She digs her nails - manicured and firm, longer than she usually wears them - into the soft skin on the side of her cunt. The scratch feels exquisite, and her fingers inch closer and closer to her wetness yet again. Nyra watches the minimal expressions on her face, eyes set on where the wet sounds of sliding in and out are coming from. The length of the nails doesn’t feel as comfortable as it should, but she likes it. She likes the discomfort. It makes her grunt and breathe heavily. 

She doesn’t question why that is. It’s probably another one of her little idiosyncrasies. Getting off on pain isn’t something a lot of people do, and yet, neither is killing gods and dragons. 

Her free hand comes to grasp her nipple and press it between her thumb and forefinger. She makes a choked noise at the back of her throat. The thumb between her legs digs through the folds - much to Nyra’s small amusement - and finds her clit. It’s a little clumsy, and her hand is weirdly stretched, but she somehow manages to both slide in and out and play with her clit. It’s a talent she’d forgotten she had. 

And it’s good, it hurts a little, but it hurts so well she rests her bruised ass on the cold edge of the bathtub and closes her eyes, to enjoy the process. She has no patience for stopping before she comes, not when she’s riding this power trip, not this time, and she allows the sensation to build and build until it crests. Only sound Nyra makes is a groan at the back of her throat as she slides down to the floor, breathless. She then dares to look at the mirror again. 

The face that stares back is red like a ripe tomato, the fingers sticky and wet before her eyes. She’s shaking a little with the aftershocks, still trying to catch her breath. The scars are still there, glaring from the reflection, but somehow, it doesn’t matter like it used to. The bathroom is quiet and large, too large for Nyra and her reflection only, yet she feels like she’s the gravity in the room, sitting naked on the floor, radiant in the afterglow of an orgasm. 

It’s been a while since he last thought of herself as radiant. 

Welcome home, Nyra. 

[idontunderstandchemistry]

Indecent Proposal (An academic rivals to lovers fanfic) - Tim Drake x Latina!Fem!Reader.

Sinopsis: Being a scholarship student at Gotham's most expensive school is not easy, especially when your academic rival, your nemesis, who coincidentally is the owner's son, decides to make you a rather usual proposition.

Tropes: Academic rivals-to-lovers, contract/bet, he loved her all this time, everyone else sees it except them, opposites attract, etc.

Author's Note: Omg guys, this chapter is so out of schedule ksksksksksk I got trapped in my most recent hyperfixation (AKA my new babygirl Simon Ghost Riley) and forgot to post, i'm so sorry. This one is actually kinda short, but tomorrow I'l post another one to compensate. For those of you that want to read some chapters ahead, feel free to acess my AO3 account here. Anyways, thanks for reading xoxo

Warnings: none.

Wordcount: 1366.

Chapter Five

Chapter Six: Two little birds

After some time pretending, sleep finally made its way into you. Not soon enough to sake Tim Drake from being blocked, though. It was better this way, you really needed to focus on yourself and your future. His was already sorted, you were the only one with something to lose with this agreement. 

Something in the wind that got inside your room made you wake up distressed. His scent. His fucking scent came to bother you even when you were asleep. Utterly annoyed, you got up and walked straight to your window, closing it violently. When you were walking back to your bed, a laugh echoed inside your room.

— Once again you’ve trapped the bird inside a cage — He said and you saw him lean against your desk. Oh shit. 

— You know… when Edward sneaked into Bella’s room to watch her sleep in Twilight, it wasn’t romantic. It was creepy — You said, trying to appear calm. You sat on your bed — Are you a creep, Red Robin?

— Maybe more than I should — He admitted. He turned to the glass with the cut stems Tim sent you and laughed in low tone — It seems you’re not in a position to judge me, actually. It’s not the most normal thing to do this to flowers.

— Well, the flowers are mine anyway, I can do with them whatever pleases me — You answered, crossing your arms over your chest — You, on the other hand, broke into a girl’s room in the middle of the night and haven’t even bothered to give her an explanation yet. 

— I was nearby and wanted to check on you — He said, coming closer to you. 

— Liar — You said with a smile — If you'd done it a year ago I would have believed you, but it’s been a long time. I was sure you had forgotten me. 

— Never — He said and it made your heart skip a beat — I know Nightwing and Batman give us bad reputation, but not all vigilantes are mansluts. I don’t go out kissing random people during patrol. And I remember very well the people I've kissed.

— Oh, so you regularly check on everyone you’ve kissed?

— You’re upset. I got it — He said, sitting beside you. Damn — I guess it’s good that the target of your anger were the flowers, then. I’d hate to arrest you.

— What do you really want here? Any bullet holes you need me to suture?

He sighed.

— It has been a rough night. I was around and wanted to see if you were awake. I enjoyed talking to you back then — He said and his legs accidentally touched yours. You sighed as well.

— What do you want to talk about?

— Anything — He said, turning his head to look at you. You wanted to look at him so badly — Why are you upset?

— There’s this boy in my class…

— The one that looks at you like you’re an exótic bird? — He asked and your eyes widened with surprise.

— Wow.

— I told you, I remember.

— Yes, him — You continued — We started to get along in a certain way…

— What do you mean?

— Hm… we decided that in order to end the tension between us, we should hook up — You said after a sigh of embarrassment — And I’ve spent the afternoon getting ready, putting on the effort it takes to look effortless. And then, he didn’t show up, just sent me a bouquet of hyacinths. 

You let your back lean against your sheets, laying on the bed, after laughing. 

— Ridiculous, I know.

— It’s not — He said — You really have to stop invalidating your feelings. 

— I’m talking about him — You corrected and he laughed. His laughter and his smile were still your favourite things to hear and to see. 

— Yeah, he is ridiculous — He said, laying beside you.

— And still, I’ve mutilated innocent hyacinths because of him — You said — He awakens the worst in me.

— I’m sorry for the poor flowers — He laughed — But it’s okay. Although it really is a blow to my ego.

— What do you mean?

— Well, I've got to admit, I don’t know if I’m jealous because no one ever cared enough because of my disappearance to mutilate flowers — He started and you could not hold a small laugher — Or if it is because he kissed you — He said and you felt your cheeks get warmer. 

— How do you know he kissed me? — You asked, sitting to try to hide your blushing.

— You wouldn’t be so upset if he didn’t — He answered, sitting. 

You sighed.

— You wouldn’t do this to me — You said, resting your head on his shoulder. He leaned his head on yours — You’re a good man.

— Maybe I am, but I don't think I would be better than him in this context — He said — None of my relationships last, not even with other vigilantes. And I can be called by Batman at any time.

— So you stopped trying?

— No.

— Seems masochist to me.

— I guess we all are a bit masochist when it comes to love. Humans want things to work right. — He said, intertwining his fingers with yours. — Maybe in other conditions, we could’ve dated. It would have been nice.

— Did you know that wild robins don’t maintain the same partner for long? It’s because they’re migratory birds. They exchange partners almost every mating season.  — You said and he laughed.

— How do you know that?

— One of my little cousins love birds — You said, caressing his glove-covered hand with your thumb — I babysat him once and he told me that even though it was weird to him that robins exchange partners a lot it made sense because they don’t have clocks, calendars or jobs, so each spring must feel like a lifetime. I wish we were robins, even if we could spend only one spring together.

— Well, time showed already that I would come back to you eventually, so I don't think it would be only one spring — He said smiling against your hair — I hope you can work things right with this boy, I really do.

— They won’t. I don’t plan on talking to him anytime soon — You said, closing your eyes, feeling sleepy

— Don’t be bitter. What if he got trapped in an emergency? — He said — I’m sure he wouldn’t deliberately leave you waiting. Not when you look like this.

— And what about my amazing personality?

— I don't know what he thinks of your personality — He said, smiling — But I can talk about what I know he can’t deny. You’re smoking hot. One of the prettiest girls i’ve ever seen. You’ve got it all: amazing eyes, a smile that could lighten the whole room and a body to die for. If he left you waiting on purpose, he is an idiot. I wouldn’t leave you waiting, not on purpose.

— If i didn’t know better — You started, smiling as you brought back the phrase you said to him months ago, looking up to him — I’d think you’re hitting on me.

— Gotta shoot my best shot — He said, smiling as your noses got close.

As your lips were about to touch, you heard Nightwing’s voice coming from his communicator.

“Red Robin, where are you?”

— I went for a walk, Wing.

“I think I might need your help, if you finished your walk.” Red Robin looked at your lips almost like he needed to kiss them as much as a fish needs water “Forget the ‘i think’ part. We need your help. Immediately”.

— Send your location. I’m on my way — He said after biting his lower lip in frustration. — See? I told you sometimes I would leave you waiting.

— Duty calls — You said, opening your window for him. He sat on the sill to make it easier to get out and you held his cape — Wait.

He turned to your direction and you pulled him by the neckline of his armour, leaving a quick peck on his lips.

— Go and save the dawn for me.

He gave you the prettiest smile you ever saw and quickly kissed you again, then Nightwing’s voice called again and he left. You leaned on the still for a while, watching him leave, and then you returned to bed.

[altschmerzes]

this might be getting too far into spoilers territory, but i'm so curious about the wriggle up on dry land equivalent of that scene in 1x10 where ted sees jamie and his dad in the treatment room after the match. because like, i can kind of understand the reasoning behind not intervening or really bringing it up again when jamie's an adult, even if that probably wasn't the best way to handle it, but i can't imagine ted would respond the same way when it's a child in that situation.

the thing about me is that if people wanna know i do not have any qualms at all about posting spoilers for my own fic slkdjfs i am happy to talk about literally whatever people wanna talk about and yes that is!! yes that is QUITE the thing. i'll get into it under a cut in case anyone else happens to care about spoilers ig! but yeah overall you're right i can sorta get what the thought process was from a like, in-universe 'trying to make sense of what went on there' standpoint in canon but it is. very different when it's a 15 year old as opposed to a 23 year old.

this is one of the major changes that had to be made to that episode for the au and specifically changes made to jamie's role in the episode's story. it is still the first time that ted meets james - though it's not actually our first time meeting james in the narrative, because we will actually see him before then in the fic - and it is still a somewhat worrying encounter, but it's far less like... violent. cause like i said while i can. sort of. get my head around ted deciding that it was a better choice for everyone to not get involved in 1x10 on the show (while i do think it was handled weirdly and this is pure extrapolation bc the show literally never addressed that or referenced it again) i can't see him seeing a kid get shoved around and screamed at and have shit thrown at him and not like. doing something about it.

so when this happens in the fic, jamie came to the match with his dad rather than being in it as a player for city (obvs). after the match, he seems like he's going to get a moment to interact with ted alone but before he can, james comes around the corner and interrupts. and is very like... he immediately makes a few jokes at ted's expense, then starts steering jamie away with a hand clamped on his shoulder. he's squeezing pretty hard but ted can't really get a good sense of what's going on, one moment jamie looks like he's got something to say the next he's being pulled away and his dad is kind of. needling him about not being happy that city won. he's actually pretty upset about richmond's relegation, though he's trying to hide it (and not having much success with that). (he still had a hand in what happened with them losing that match and with roy getting taken down, though obviously in a different way lmao.) (it's a little complex and a little 'just go with me on this one' slkdfjs)

so james is giving him shit about being upset, needling him about it in a way that's kind of like. laughing at him but not being overtly aggressive but it's a shitty kind of 'making fun of my kid for being upset' that is obviously bad news. he's being steered around by his shoulder but it's not clear it's painful or anything, just kinda. controlling. so it's overall a sense of this is a deeply unpleasant person who is not very nice to his kid but it's a fast interaction that leaves ted feeling kind of bowled over and there's... it's shitty and worrying but it's not like. Alarming to the level of being able to do anything about it like what happened in canon would be. and then they're gone.

which is when ted does the only thing he can think to do which is quickly run into his office to grab a jacket jamie left behind when he left richmond in the first place, scribble a note that includes his number (just in case), and shove it and the army man in an envelope, tuck it in the pocket, and send beard with it to catch jamie before he leaves.

[dancing-to-architecture]

25 - ABBA - The Visitors

*Creepy* album cover. Just eerie and off-putting.

So, cards on the table, I am not a big fan of ABBA. (Spotify has them listed as 'the 149th most popular artist on their entire platform', so i know this is An Unpopular Stance). I also don't know a single song on this album.

Buy the ticket, take the ride.

•The Visitors-

Creepy synth strings on the intro. Is this Dark ABBA? Maybe not, the singing came in and it's pretty overtly poppy.

That said, the proto-autotune here sounds pretty damn cool, and the actual lyrics perfectly describe 'having social anxiety and you're throwing a full dinner party in 20 minutes'.

Very "Who are these people and why the fuck are they in my house?" vibes.

Maybe this IS dark ABBA.

•Head Over Heels-

A song about the Toughest Woman On The Planet, which this musical journey has shown me is Decidedly a Type of Woman.

Interesting instrumentation on this one. Almost ethereal at some points.

Only problem i have with it is that i don't know if what they mean by hear over heels isn't exactly what that saying means.

•When All Is Said And Done-

Gotta say, i like a pop breakup song that is mature enough to say "actually, neither of us is the reason this didn't work out, sometimes things just don't work despite what we want".

•Soldiers-

Regarding the chorus: i urge you to listen to The Monks' Black Monk Time about 'songs that soldiers sing'. (Then again, when i was in, i knew far more punk/(nü-)metalhead soldiers than hooah-assed cadence-singing dipshits.)

Also, i get the idea that civilians often get pulled into wars despite the efforts of the soldiers, but that's way less on the soldiers themselves and mostly due to the horror of war finding a shitload of new and interesting ways to destroy humans over the last 120 years.

•I Let The Music Speak-

I'm not sure which of the A's is singing lead on this one, but: THOSE PIPES, GIRL. holy shit, she's straight up belting on this one.

Kinda darker, but still somehow a little upbeat throughout the darkness.

•One Of Us-

Not quite the inverse of 'Said and Done', but i do like the novelty of the song's concept: writing the sad breakup song from the pov of the dump-er who's still feeling pretty miserable about it.

I've definitely been here before.

Soul-shredding but still quite pretty, overall, which is a tough line to walk.

•Two For The Price Of One-

Okay, right off the bat: A. A trivial occupation? TRIVIAL?!

Sanitation workers are what keep "civilized society" from immediately collapsing into a total cesspool of human filth and you from contracting all the typhus and cholera and the numerous others in the horrid violently-shitting-yourself-to-death genre of diseases, so i won't be having any smacktalk on my custodial engineers out there.

B. Nobody should be excited about a BOGO sale on... *checks notes* ...Women?

[Office_space_million_dollars_two_chicks_same_time.gif]

Last line reaction: wait a minute, IS HER *MOM* "GIRL NUMBER TWO"? WHAT IN THE PORNHUB IS GOING ON HERE?

What a weird, "creepy in a bad way" midpoint song.

•Slipping Through My Fingers-

Songs like this make me feel a bit better about not being a parent, because I'm certain this song is a common lamentation regarding parenting: "there's so much i want to do and i feel like I'm missing so much of my child's early life because I'm stuck at goddamn work."

•Like An Angel Passing Through My Room-

Feels like a lullaby, but the subject matter is about remembering the dead.

Which... might be a Scandinavian lullaby for all i know. I've seen some old European lullabies that were pretty wretched.

•Should I Laugh Or Cry-

So far, this one feels the most like 1981. Pads and synths and then synth drums and then somehow still more synth.

Okay, see, there are way too many songs like this and not nearly enough like the Dixie Chicks classic: "Goodbye, Earl".

If you don't want to go so far as to kill 'em, then just leave 'em. Either way you deserve to finally be happy again.

•The Day Before You Came-

Severe Tonal Whiplash after that last song. This one is pretty great, the instrumentation feels a little "Castlevania"-y, and the lyrics perfectly capture that utter Bolt From The Blue feeling that is "meeting someone who you already KNOW is gonna change your entire life".

Just going through the motions, without really thinking about the time going by, and then someone comes out of nowhere and shakes your whole world up like a cheap snowglobe.

•Cassandra-

One of my favorite of the classical Greek tragedies, tbh. A woman cursed with detailed knowledge of future calamities, and nobody believes her.

An interesting modern take on the story.

•Under Attack-

The metric foot is all over the place, one line will have like 12 syllables and the next one has 5, but it really adds to the off-kilter, kinda disoriented vibe of the lyrics.

Also, NO MEANS NO.

NO MEANS FUCK OFF.

NO MEANS IF YOU KEEP ASKING ME I'LL HAVE TO TAKE ACTION.

NO MEANS I'M GONNA EMPTY THIS ENTIRE CAN OF MACE DIRECTLY INTO YOUR EYEBALLS IF YOU ASK ME ONE MORE GODDAMN TIME.

Well... surprisingly, i really enjoyed an ABBA album. Wasn't honestly expecting that after a lifetime of not digging their singles. (There was a point in time during high school where i legitimately believed the worst part of having so many gay friends was the sheer OMNIPRESENCE of "Dancing Queen".)

I'm certain there's going to be more ABBA along this journey, but I'm feeling a lot less trepidation about it now.

Also, i just might have to relinquish my title of "the only person on the planet who has yet to see 'Mamma Mia!'"

Unrelated entirely, but Spotify automatically started playing more music, and it just now hit me that the intro to Blondie's "Heart of Glass" is basically the same as Nine Inch Nails' "Head Like A Hole", just without Trent's trademark stank (affectionate) on it. That is all.

Favorite Track: The Day Before You Came, what an interesting way to describe what's effectively a day of no real importance, only important because of a lack of something you didn't even know you were missing.

Least Favorite Track: Two For The Price Of One. Even removing the possible incest-y shit in that last line depending on how you read it, this song is just creepy as shit, AND it insinuates that janitors can't get laid without paying for it, which i am here to tell you is categorically incorrect. Utterly bizarre to have it on the album, let alone its placement inherently making it the centerpiece of the album.

[jasontoddsreanimatedcorpse]

I posted 7,628 times in 2022

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I tagged 466 of my posts in 2022

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Longest Tag: 139 characters

#spring rain can be so light you hardly notice or the heaviest you've seen in a while but it carries the best scents and leaves you laughing

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

im very funny actually

49 notes - Posted January 1, 2022

#4

i'm really hoping the direction take jake to much more of a protector role for the system - marc feels a lot of guilt over killing and steven straight up Does Not Like it, so I'd like to see jake portrayed more as "i'm doing this so they don't have to" instead of just bc he's violent. not only is the "evil alter" trope just incredibly toxic and an awful stereotype, but this alter is also latino coded, and making him have a more violent personality is in bad taste. i want to see jake be conflicted, and feeling trapped in the deal with khonsu - not liking the job but doing it to protect marc and steven. also i would love for marc and steven to change the language they use about themselves - rejecting the idea of being broken or having a sickness that was constantly brought up by others in the series. a lot of how did has been portrayed in this show is already a massive improvement on other mainstream media "rep" and i really don't want to be let down as the story continues

51 notes - Posted May 5, 2022

#3

slowly falling in love with the concept that tim's public persona just. is not very well liked. people will talk about tim drake like "yeah that guy's kinda a dick". all his friends and family know he's a good person but tim just likes fucking with people. when he goes by drake he starts twitter drama with himself saying that red robin has always hated him and is using his name to annoy him. when his friends annoy him he goes on twitter and says shit like "idk i just think superboy is overrated :/ like tactile telekinesis ain't that cool bro" and people go fucking wild. i just think it's neat

174 notes - Posted June 21, 2022

#2

i need like. jason and damian teaming up for pranks. they meet some new heroes or maybe as civilians meet some people in some sort of scenario, one of the people swears and jason is like

"hey! he's only thirteen!"

and they're all like "uhhh"

and damian just looks up all wide eyed and innocent and goes

"fuck"

and chaos breaks out. give me jason and damian convincing people they've corrupted damian in some way i think it would be hilarious

190 notes - Posted October 28, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

i made a new quiz pls take it bc i am so curious

223 notes - Posted January 12, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[m1ckeyb3rry]

SHSHS YOU SHOUDOVE TOLD ME ABOUT THE SHITTING TYPO LMAOAOA im crying if I hadn’t gone back to read the tl myself it would’ve just sat there un-addressed forever….I was even thinking of making a master note of all the TLs I’ve had so far just to organize imagine I just copy pasted that omg…maybe I should’ve slapped it into grammarly or some spell check before hand

But FR shidou actually hyping people up when he acknowledges vs Emo Rin…

No I completely get it it’s like when you start using like a cringe term ironically and then it just integrates itself into your vocab LMAOOO I know the feeling all too well…

OMGGG guys oaeu is fr happening….wait now I’m torn past me would’ve immediately slammed the Karasu button but after our convo im not sure??? Karasu for obv reasons but wait the otoya ideas we talked abt were way too entertaining and the Nagi double date and then also aiku being like “Barou needs bitches” GUYS decisions…………………….and how could I forget our yuki prince aiku discussion too omfg

REAL lowk I see a lot of nagi hate nowadays?? Mostly the people going “haha nagi fraud” or “nagi u suck apologize to Reo rn” so errrrr I’m gonna need kaneshiro to show us the matches of other stratums pls im lowk sick of Isagi’s face I NEED to know what goes on in scenes Isagi isn’t in pls im begging (channel ur inner kaneshiro and save us please)

I’m ngl I was pretty caught up but I don’t remember anything about his backstory LMAOO based on his character im sure you’re right tho

Also WAITTT I ALMOST FORGOT ABT YUN I love him he was so cute but chigiri as yun so real….I could’ve sworn he also had a moment where people were like “you’re a dude???” Which kinda aligns with the whole chigiri “princess” thing LOL

Wait that’s actually lowk such a smart way to decide HAHAHAH lmk how the results of that go….ive seen a bunch of matchup events floating around too I hadn’t realized how popular they were

I’m not even kidding it’s a little scary how accurate your kiyora feels…like in your previous response you were like “I think I got it somewhat right?” and I went in reading it expecting it to be maybe a little off maybe more violent since that’s what you described it as and then I proceeded to read and it was just canon kiyora. Witchcraft. Kaneshiro is actually invading your brain telling you what to do.

Kiyora being kinda shy and showing his crush a more private, somewhat vulnerable side to him>>>> he’s lowk cuter than I originally thought is this a conversion moment….ill hold onto this sentiment LMAO kiyoranese has me laughing so hard I lowk see the instrument vibes but I’m ngl I think I prefer this one over the instrument…maybe also because I don’t like Kaiser as much HAHA both are so good though….

THATS ACTUALLY TERRIFYING I’m glad you both are safe bc wtf..maybe you should invest in a bottle of pepper spray jic SHEGAJ

LMAOO is the one who mouthed sorry also the one you turned down with an excuse or is this a different person (if it’s different you really have some crazy rizz aura because that was really quick work) ok but no violence is good I was reading that thinking like “wait how much of this is non fiction……”

Checking off another Mira banger off the list…excited for whatever’s next and also the oaeu….

- Karasu anon

LMAOOO no it was funny and i didn’t want to embarrass you plus i kinda forgot it once i started typing so i did not say anything i’m sorry 😩 next time i will though

YESSSS OAEU IS HAPPENING literally so hype it’s going to be so much fun plus season 2 starts soon so it’s like the perfect time to be working on it because the anime onlies are going to get into tabieitaken and aiku which is perf 🤩 LMAOO i’ve fed enough karasu content that the world is no longer starving so it’s more like bonus atp 😏 HAHA funnily enough reo was winning the poll for a WHILE there but now karasu’s in the lead again 😭 it might just be an audience bias thing though because there’s no way if you get random people from the fandom to vote they would pick karasu over sae nagi AND reo 😰 we’ll see there’s still a bit of time before the poll ends so the winner def isn’t locked in yet!! i think reo is second place atm (possibly tied w sae) and karasu is winning w barou in third but who knows how it will all play out

EVERYONE SWITCHED UP ON NAGI SOOOO FAST it’s like they all forgot who carried isagi in the second selection 😱 truly there would be no bllk if nagi wasn’t there to score 90% of team white’s goals 😭 and he was also the first to score on the u20s like i need everyone to put respect back on my man’s name 😒 he’s going to comeback TRUST and when he does everyone will start glazing again but i’ll know…i’ll remember 🙂‍↕️

YESS i distinctly remember yun being mistaken for a girl and being called pretty (he also calls himself pretty a lot iirc) so it’s literally perfect for chigiri!! maybe i have a type in the kind of media i like watching or smth the parallels are kinda going crazy

yeahhh they are surprisingly popular!! i haven’t done a ton before (one of my old mutuals did them so i think i did a jjk one and got noritoshi + choso + yuta so basically i’m pomegranate ink y/n 🤩) but i think it will be fun to see for like curiosity’s sake yk plus it might make me more decisive on who/what to write for…or not LMAO imagine i get shidou bruh i’d be at a loss for words (i don’t THINK i will but the chances are never 0 yk)

LMAOOOO that’s so good to hear i was worried i made him too extreme especially because when i answered you it had been a bit since i had finished so like the most memorable parts to me were him getting in the fight and him talking abt how he beat up the mayor’s son but i forgot he’s pretty chill for the most part in the fic!!

HAHA omg kiyoraism incoming…idt he’ll ever break into my top three (nagi karasu barou the it girls of the miraverse fr) but he’s def growing on me honestly he’s rlly sweet in his own way 🥹 no i def feel that because neither of us have ever been into kaiser + w the instrument it’s almost a less relatable story?? since the reader is a famous actress instead of a regular person…plus kaiser is the opposite of kiyora he seems chill and sweet on the outside but on the inside he’s a little off putting whereas kiyora is ready to smack a bitch on the outside but on the inside he’s just a cutie who gives people grape candy if he likes them and the latter is def a trope that i think we both enjoy more LMAOAAO

IT WAS SCARY and okay so there were actually three guys that night — the one who said sorry (he only half counts though ig because it was dubious whether we were being friendly or if he liked my best friend or me), the one who i rejected by saying i was too drunk, and the one who slid into my linkedin dms 😭😭😭 the rizz aura is a little crazy to be honest like just today i was at the library to print out my resume and a guy asked for my instagram (also was not into him alas but i did give him the insta because why not) bruh it sounds like i’m making it all up or smth but trust it’s 100% real…i’m only chronically online on the inside externally i look normal enough to be approachable ig 😩💔 HELP IF THERE WAS AN ACTUAL FIGHT I WOULD’VE CRIED luckily he just yelled at us a ton but i did use some direct quotes and paraphrases from him to really liven up the story FJFHSJSJ

ANOTHER BANGER DONE now i need to figure out which req i want to be inspired for next and get to work so we can get to the oaeu 🤩 not counting yours i have 5 left to do so hopefully i can get them out quickly!! two hiori ones, two karasu ones, and a nagi req 🤩 plus the ones you sent in ofc and then i got a req last night also for nagi but they missed the cutoff so i’ll work on that post oaeu

[bykalopsia]

faiz episodes 11-20 notes

i had a whole rant written out about mari's age in here since this batch of episodes drops a whole bunch of Skeevy Romance Plots That Really Didn't Have To Be Skeevy but i deleted it bc it was A Lot and i don't think it's anything that hasn't been said eight billion times already so there. i'm just acknowledging it now. it just sucks because in a normal situation i'd be very much up for it bluhhhhhhhhhhh (i'm cutting myself off. no more ranting!!!!)

i can't help but wonder what my reaction to kusaka would be if i did not have The Stuff Everyone Knows About Kusaka lingering in the back of my brain. bc i don't know if my endeared "oh look at this asshole" reaction is because i Know or not. but so far i'm at the very least enjoying him bc he's making takumi act like a bitch and bitch takumi is my favorite takumi so yayyyyyyy. tldr i love antagonistic fake bitches!!!!

the fact that yuka is the most violent of the orphnoch trio is intensely funny to me. 1) because yuji keeps monologuing to her about not hurting people and she keeps going :] yep. that's definitely what's going on over here! 2) kaido talks the most game but literally hasn't done anything ever

also yuji's obliviousness is getting increasingly funny both re: yuka killing people (which tbf he has no real way of knowing about it's just funny) and. well. he kind of just bungles all of his interactions with yuka it's just amusing to me.

not-hojo's haircut seems to get less flattering by the appearance. fascinating. extremely funny that one of his attacks is just POETRY BLAST. extremely unserious show. anyways he's way more competent than i was expecting i really thought he'd be outta here by the time this set of episodes was over.

increasingly becoming more and more enamored with takumi. like yes he's pissing me off bc he's terrible at communicating but he's also wallowing in his own misery which is lovely. also his hair has been looking really great. (i wrote this and then immediately in ep 20 it looks perhaps the most jank its ever looked)

btw i keep doing the thing where i'm like "i'm gonna take my notes concurrently this time so i don't lose all my funny thoughts" and then i go watch 5 episodes on my tv where i can't be writing shit down. so i've lost all my funny thoughts. but rest assured i am cracking myself up on my couch between the hours of midnight and 2 am.

for the minutes in between episodes 14 and 15 where takumi and yuji were both in the river i thought they were going to somehow bump into each other and i nearly made myself cry laughing

also takumi and yuka are making me want to bite chunks out of my television. oughjafjhgfjgkgjjgf pain pain pain pain suffering

everybody point and laugh at kusaka's mandatory sidecar

the idea that yuji still thinks that faiz is being used by a smart brain agent is interesting

also. these episodes have a critical lack of smart lady. where is she!!!!!! :[

i feel like no one in this show gives a fuck about collateral damage. if i was at this college that got attacked by monsters and once it was fine to leave i went out into the parking lot and i found out my fucking car got exploded bc takumi couldn't step around it to do his finisher i'd go crazy.

this really does bring up the question of what the public thinks about faiz. though tbh it seems like orphnochs have some sort of quality that impacts people's memory of them and they fight generally in secluded places so idt it's all that well known (+ the police are actively covering the whole thing up) but like. they're exploding shit and knocking chunks out of parking garage beams surely someone's got an idea about faiz. he's got a flying fucking attack bot for christ's sake. kusaka just sent a fuck ton of missiles into a completely public area. huh???? (this is not legitimate pedantry going on here i'm riffing bc it's funny but if they actually address this i'd die laughing)

kaido seems to have been downgraded to being a sleaze / jokey character but ultimately this is Fine. Whatever. i'll just ogle him without any seeds of Investment forming it's Fine.

anyway my curiosities for the next batch of episodes are: 1) we still do not know wtf is going on with the underground school???? are those guys just dead now???? 2) what bizarre cult shit was going on with the ryusei academy stuff / how do they relate to what smart brain is doing now 3) i know delta is showing up next ep so i'm curious about that (EDIT: it was not delta i'm maybe an idiot and forgot takumi could get other forms) 4) i need to dissect yuji's brain or something man i feel like i Still don't have a handle on him

[thecoolestcatintown]

Patience I

Toronto, Canada 

23/5/1995

Four days before the 1995 world Patience and solitaire championship.

Jean-Luc Simon sits at a coffee shop, fiddling with a pack of cigarettes.

“What are you writing down?” He questions “This is already being recorded”

“I'm taking notes, for myself”

He squints his eyes, “Oh”.

A waitress approaches the table to take our order, He silently shoes her away with a wave. He makes no eye contact with her, looking instead at the cassette recorder. Kyle presses it and signals me to start.

“Could you tell me how you started playing Patience?”

“I don't know ‘play Patience’,” he remarks “single-player-closed-pack-card games are my life”

Jean-Luc is a lanky white man, aged 27. He is dressed in a black winter coat and a gray wool sweater. His blond hair is cut into a shaggy mullet, it seems to be bleached.

“The first time I dipped my toes into the field was at age six or seven, At my grandmother's nursing home. I believe I played about 2-3 minutes of a simple game of ‘klondike’ before I lost interest, I suppose I never was one to sit still.”

He has said ‘I’ 7 times since the recording started.

“I started playing professionally 3 years ago” he pulls out a pair of cigarettes and offers me one, I decline.

“You won six medals at last year's championship, correct?”

“Seven actually.” he exhales “after the rejudging I placed second”

“My mistake”

“In the past year I have won two dozen categories in 13 matches. I've competed in 5 countries”

“Last month in Bangkok you competed in the Canfield category-”

“Competed and won” he corrects me again. He sounds irritated.

“Yes, and you set a record of 49 seconds. That is extremely impressive”

His expression softens slightly at my compliment.

“Thank you Andrea,” I don't like him using my first name. “Bangkok was exactly what I needed to show the global community that I am a force to be reckoned with”.

“Do you feel any animosity from your fellow competitors?”

“Some, I mostly feel apprehension. They underestimated me last year. Now they know that I'm the strongest competitor”

“You're the strongest competitor?” I question.

He chuckles condescendingly. “Of course I am. Do any of those old farts get times like mine? Even Williams is slower than me. The bitch is terrified of me, saw him shaking in his fancy little shoes”.

“You've met him?”

“Ran into him this morning” he laughed “you should have seen it, I thought he was going to piss himself. Little shit probably thought he got me kicked out the running”

“But there was debate on if you were going to be let in the competition, alot of people thought you should have been banned”

“On the basis of what? Williams falling down and blaming me for something I did not do? He couldn't deal with me almost beating him!” he said almost quieter than the rest of his words.

“You punched him in the face on live television, I can understand why people didn't want you back” I raise an eyebrow.

“Listen Andrea, can I call you Andy?”

“No”

“OK, Andrea, you seem like a smart person. And we both know that whatever happened, was taken wildly out of proportion.”

“So you're saying you didn't punch him?”

“That was barely a punch”

“Last year you said in a public statement that you had-” I check my notes ”-’a serious and violent outburst that you were deeply ashamed of’, do you not agree with that statement now?”. He breaks eye contact and starts fidgeting with the cigarette butt. He looks nervous and you can see the gears shifting in his mind.

“Could you stop writing?” He doesn't shout but his words are loud enough that the three of us are taken aback. I stop writing. “Listen that statement was written by my publicist, who I don't work with anymore. Those were the words of a coward, and I am not a coward” he puts his elbows on the table and leans in closer. He opens his mouth to say something but stays silent. Maybe trying to intimidate me, maybe trying to cover his ass. We are both quiet for a minute, I realize he is thinking of his next words carefully and predicting my response. ‘A good player is always two steps ahead’. His fingers are intertwined, holding his chin. He is a slim man but his hands are large. I suppose his hands are his most Important tool. He owes his fame (and infamy) to his hands and instincts. He has a good mind and is an extremely talented player. But he is by far known most for being one of the fastest Patience players on recent memory. Being able to finish a game in under a minute, whether it be closed or open.

“None of this matters” he finally says, “I will beat Williams or anyone else that I compete against”

“Thank you for sitting down with us Jean-Luc, and good luck”

“Were done?”

“Yes we're done” I say, I light a long cigarette. Kyle starts packing the recording equipment.

“No more questions?”

“yes”

“You're sure?”

“Positive”. 

We load our equipment onto the cart we got from the hotel. Me and Kyle walk toward the convention center, talking about the next interview, when Jean-luc catches up to us. ��Come to my party tonight” he says out of breath “alot of the competitors are going to be there”. He is bent over his side, hands on his knees trying to catch his breath.

“Sure” I say, “we'll drop by”

“Oh yeah he can come too”

“Sure” he gives me his business card and shakes my hand.

-

Hi! this is the first chapter of this story. this is a very rough draft.

[deactivated-deadpool-anon]

Tw: heavy vent, topic of suicide, and self harm

I’ve had this in drafts for a few weeks just added on as I felt sad so if it seems jumbled that’s why

Idk how to add the little page break thing on tumblr mobile so if you’re sitting here scrolling for a minute I’m genuinely so sorry

So every winter my depression gets extremely bad as it does with most people so it’s no shocker that I’ve been in a slump for the past month but it’s bad this time the last time I could remember it being this bad was when I went through with my first attempt in 7th grade and I’m ngl I’ve heavily been thinking about trying to make another attempt on my life I don’t only for my younger siblings I can’t handle the thought of them walking in on my dead body which they inevitably would (my brother wakes me up every morning) and everytime I think about this scenario I start spiraling it’s hell but yeah not gonna kill my self ig. I’ve been using quite literally all my strength not to relapse and start self harming again I’ve been clean since November and I’m really trying to break the addiction but it’s so hard and I don’t really have any other coping mechanisms. In all honesty tho the real reason I don’t go back to cutting is bc I threw away what I was using to do it and I have like actual knives but I’m scared of going to deep (kinda ironic ig). So I’ve had a group of friends since last February (feb 2022) there’s been 3 main people with others along as well I don’t feel like going into our whole history but a cliff note version of it is we started hanging out in feb in may I started dating person B in July I broke it off with B and ever since it’s basically been me vs B (the others occasionally joining me) well I started talking to B in November after not talking to him for 2 months and shit was great it was basically how it was back before we got together he even got me a shiny Pokémon for my birthday (which means a lot to me) but practically since it’s been new year’s he went back to how he was in September (when we first stopped talking) just an asshole we obviously were annoyed by each other then we got in a “fight” so we stopped talking again anyways so that was Sunday I didn’t have school Monday but Tuesday and Wednesday he’s still been hanging around my group which is fine they’re his friends to but like I hate it bc they’re not talking to me pretty much at all throughout the day bc the only time I see person A and C person B is also there… it feels like he’s stealing my friends from me even my moirail (person A) is hanging out with him more and they don’t even like him so I feel left out completely I feel invisible and alone but not alone bc when I was alone it didn’t even feel this painful I just sit there in silence tears in my eyes but not letting them fall I stare off into space with one AirPod in trying to now ignore the outside world making little stories in my head with my f/os but in reality I just want my moirail to hug me and let me know everything’s alright and that I’m not losing anyone and that if I were to kill myself they would care they would be upset by it stuff like that but no nothing. I haven’t been able to do any school work bc of my mental state even if I take my meds (adhd meds I should probably clarify) which is weird bc my meds always keep me on track but not now ig fuck for example I have like 6 algebra assignments that become 0s tomorrow and I frankly just don’t care. When people I know tell me they don’t have tiktok i always laugh at them like c’mon it’s not that bad but it is it is that bad for example I posted a few videos of my face today and I got tons of comments fat shamming(which really helps my eating disorder but whatever),being called poor, and genuine trans + homophobia I have some pretty tough skin when it comes to these comments usually but if you haven’t noticed I’m a single problem away from violently killing myself so these comments got so bad that I had to private my account which in my 8-9 years on the internet i have never had to do. I think that’s it idk.

Oh there is actually one more thing I want to mention this happened months ago but has been pissing me off since so to put this lightly I had a dream where Murdoc from Gorillaz sexually assaulted me (yes Ik he would never do this but I can’t control my dreams) I have trauma when it comes to stuff like this bc I was sa’d as a child and I’m on the asexual spectrum so I don’t like to think of my f/os in a sexual light anyways I go to vent in my discord server that has all my friends in it looking for support (even though they were all asleep venting then makes me feel better) so I feel really dirty and sad bc again this was a sa related dream I post a kinda detailed version of the dream in #venting channel then Person B starts typing and replies with “nice fanfic” and I wish I fucking screenshoted that bc wtf dude it’s bc he’s never had/really heard about a sa situation i understand that but still why?

Vent Over

if you read this thanks ig it’s just nice to know an another living body knows my problems so I’m not necessarily suffering alone <3

TL;DR I really need a hug ffs

[evansencezz]

⦿⦿-HEART ATTACK!!—INCORRECT OC QUOTES + HEADCANNONS—(๑ゝω╹๑)

Notes: non-can relationships, funni, ocs out of context, y/n x oc in some of these, okay sure, litterally almost everyone is here, insert, i stole these off of tumblr, pure fluff and comedy.

ヽ(＊>∇<)ﾉ—HIGHSCHOOL AU CHARACTERS—✉︎

suimuki: “killian and i don’t use pet names.”

jin: “huh..what do bees make?”

suimuki: “honey..?”

killian: “yes, my love?”

suimuki:

jin: “don’t lie to my face ever again.”

—

suimuki: “eat my ass, spirts 😡😡😡”

—

highschool!akari is defentily a marina and the diamonds listener

—

suimuki: “LITTERALLY EVERYONE KNOWS THAT!! EVEN AN IDOIT WOULD KNOW THAT!!”

jin: “YEAH! EVEN I KNEW THAT!”

suimuki: “SEE?!”

jin: “wait—?”

—

jin: “you can’t just survive off of coffee and candy bard for the rest of your life, suimuki!”

suimuki: “SHUT UP 😵🔥🔥”

—

highschool!celeste: “who traumatized you?! ☹️”

highschool!coraline: “do you like-want a list or something..?”

celeste:

celeste: *with a tense smile on her face* “yes, actually!”

—

highschool!akari: *to everyone in her classes* “alright listen up you little shits-!”

akari: “not you, kai, i love you sweetie!”

—

highschool!coraline: what were you guys voted the most of in highschool? I was voted nothing..cause’ i dropped out early

suimuki: prettiest smile 🥱

astro: most popular!~

arashi: most likely to get into a bar fight

celeste: least likely to get into a bar fight

killian: most likely to somehow get into a bar fight and win 🤗

—

highschool!kai: “i don”t have a crush! people get crushes on ME!”

highschool!thereain:

kai: “oh my god…☹️😵😱😝🤗🤗🤗🫶”

—

akari: *being tugged back and forth between people*

ciel: “you really think she likes you?! please, you two bicker all the time!”

jiren: *tugging her the opposite way* “like she would ever like your narrasastic ass!”

akari: *pushes them away* “ladies, ladies, it’s charming that your fighting for me and whatnot, but your seriously about to tear my arms off here!!”

—

highschool!astro is most defentily the cheer captain 🥱

—｡ﾟﾟ(」｡≧□≦)」—PUNK AU—♺

—

Mars: *pulls out card from her deck* ace of spades.

Reki: *laughs mockingly before pulling out her card, it’s a uno card* +4.

Valentina: *lifts card and winks* jolton, i choose you!~

Violet: *shaking violently and sweating* what game are we playing??!

—

Maya: Kaiiiii!~ My loveee’!-

Kai: KILL YOURSELF.

—

suimuki defentily has a small orange cat that wanders around her lab 😱

—

suimuki defentily has mental disorders litterally all of them and her one eye is smaller then the other in this au only/j

—

punkau! jin is litterally the type of person who tries to baby or explain their werid behavior:

jin: “oh no no no, jin! we still love you jin! your not a bad person!~”

everyone:

—

suimuki puts her cigarettes out on jin’s coat to make her angry

—

celeste actually knows how to do vodo magic and of course future magic like tarot cards 😮‼️

—

jin, celeste, and arashi defentily have that disney villan thing going on

—

no that was a lie arashi absoutetly acts like heather from heathers

—

arashi still is a jackass and mainuplates people, defentily is the ‘most hated’ and ‘unwelcome’ member. she also has like five girlfriends and four boyfriends but still chases after coraline.

—

speaking about coraline, shes way more vocal and objective in this au. she defentily makes a face when arashi shows up and has given her a run for her money once or twice. has more ‘connections’ then her too lmafo.

—

also headcannon that jin and arashi sound like annapantsu

—

lenevery in the punk au most defentily is raised to be the perfect ruler. not nessaacirly cruel, but influenced by her previous parents teachings. also somewhat disgusted by their poor manners and lack of understanding.

—

the punk au in general is most defentily influenced by aladian mixed with arcane. i like to think mostly the bottom and top land has that beutiful feel while ever ‘downdweller’ character has a touch of actual aladian. while you could say lenevery is jasmine.

—

akari: “okay, make sure to stick together guy-!”

astro: “kai’s gone.”

akari: “w-*frantically looking around for her* OH MY GODDDDD KAIIIIIII-!!”

—

jin: *talking to y/n* “look-a, kid your human! your fragile and delicite espically around these parts! you need me!~”

y/n: “could you be any more obvious that your trying to scam me..”

—

mars: *posting on twitter* im so upset

astro: omg why what happened??

mars: shut the fuck up

astro: DAMN FINE THEN HOPE UR DAY GETS WORSE

—

suimuki: do you guys like ever get the feeling of when you wanna rip your skin off piece by piece angrily and tear your insides out and then rip your vocal chrods out while also wanting to ring and hurt everyone in your path or you need someone to shut the fuck up so you strangle them to death, y’know what im talking about?

everyone:

everyone: FUCKING NOOOO?!!!

—

astro and mars also suimuki defentily have their hands tapped up and bandages around each finger

—

—(*・∀-)☆ marionette/ villian au—⚗︎

-most of these are defentily headcannons because i still have to work on and expand on this but ig ill use this for a plot thing

—

i honest to god think suimuki’s only reason for being a villian would be if someone wasn’t there for her. like if killian died or something. or if jin wasn’t a good older sibling figure at all like wasn’t comforting or something 😡

—

also the marionette au is basically the fancy name for my actor/ rom-com au

—

v!akari: guys, look at me- *points at the descrutirtion in the chaos* this was defentily not a- *points at v!astro* ‘bruh’ moment, it was not a- *points at v!suimuki* ‘lol’ moment, it was MOST CERTIANELY NOT A- *points at v!celeste* “L + Ratio moment’ AND- *agressivly grabs v!chiyo by the collar and shakes her* MOST DEFENTILY NOT A MOMENT TO RECORD AND POST ON TWITTER WITH THE CAPTION, ‘just robbed the citties captial and caused multiple fires #girltime #girlbosses + theyboss’ WITH E I G H T E E N E M O J I S T O T O P I T O F F.

—

v!noel: chiyo, you can’t just kill people who look at me 😡😡

v!chiyo: b..but..but pookie..wookie..☹️☹️😭😭..

v!violet: u made her cry 😮

v!noel: AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD STOP CALLING ME THAT!!! 😭😭😭😱😱⚰️⁉️

—

v!kai: fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, and fuck you really bad get me the fuck outta here 👎

—

kai is already a bad person or villian but so is a couple other ocs so their traits are just reved up and they have slightly different backstories

—

also morally grey characters don’t exist/j

—

kai and some other characters have anger issues bc problems ☠️

—

what the fuck is wrong with v!mars man she got some MUTHAFUCKIN PROBLEMS ☠️☠️☠️

—

okay it’s 2 am bye

—

END

[uvobreakmylegs]

Set Up

Uvogin x reader x Franklin

Warnings: fem!reader, stalking, mentions of death, plans of future kidnapping, brief violence, implied death

Word count: 4.9k

“This is an odd problem to have.”

“Is it?”

“You don't think so?” Franklin asked, looking over to his fellow spider.

“I mean, I guess it is,” said Uvogin, “but I feel like I've come across weirder shit than two people finding out that they've been stalking the same person.”

Then his eyebrows furrowed, and after a moment he continued with “although saying that out loud does make it sound pretty weird. Even for us.”

“Mm.”

The two men looked back over to the building you were in next to them, watching you through the window of a public library as you sat at a table and took notes on something. You didn't notice them, too engrossed in what you were doing. You tended to lose yourself in projects like that, something both had noticed about you when they had separately followed you to the library during other times.

Your habits were known to both of them, as they had both been following you for weeks now.

You, a civilian with no knowledge of nen and no real skills that set you apart from any other average person. Yet you were the one who had managed to make two members of the Phantom Troupe fall for you.

Yet you weren't even aware of that fact.

And up until now, neither of the men had been aware of the other's interest in you.

The two were seated on a bench that stood next to a parking lot. They had made an effort to pick a spot where they could see you but you likely wouldn't notice them, just in case this was the one time that the unexpected happened and you managed to catch sight of the two of them watching you. It wouldn't have been good for either of them if you caught them watching you and realized what was going on. It also gave them a semblance of privacy as they talked through the apparent issue.

“So,” Uvogin began as he leaned back, “what made you interested in her?”

“Ran into her a few times before I became invested,” Franklin answered, “we've spoken some. She's sweet, if a bit naive.”

“Yeah? How'd you meet?”

“My wallet fell out of my pocket. I didn't notice, but she did. She brought it back to me.”

“Pf. A Class A bounty who can wipe out a hundred people in a matter of seconds but doesn't realize when he's lost his wallet,” Uvo said, laughing a little.

“And how many times have you needed Shalnark to replace your phone?” Franklin asked, an eyebrow raised.

“I've broken them more often than I've lost them,” Uvo answered, then conceded as he said “but I see your point.”

Silence returned as they focused their attention back on you.

After another beat of silence, Franklin asked “how did you meet her?”

“She asked if she could walk with me because she'd been abandoned and was worried about getting eaten by magical beasts.”

There was a long pause before Franklin looked back over to Uvogin with an incredulous expression on his face.

“You're gonna need to give me a more detailed explanation than that,” Franklin told him.

Uvogin laughed again.

“There's an area around here that's heavily forested and has a problem with these magical beasts that like to eat people,” he explained, “some jackass that she'd been riding with kicked her out of his car and left her there. She didn't have her phone, so when she saw me she asked that I let her walk with me so she'd be safe.”

Irritation grew within Franklin as he became angry on your behalf. While he had no clue what had caused the man Uvo spoke of to kick you out, it was dangerous for you to have been left stranded in an area where violent death was likely.

“Who was the guy?” he asked.

“Dunno. I didn't actually see him; just the car,” said Uvogin, “but I doubt she'd hang out with him after having that stunt pulled on her, so she's probably cut him off.”

“Good.”

Better for you to not have someone like that in your life.

Better for the guy, too, so that he didn't cross either the paths of Franklin or Uvo.

The meetings between you and the two men had been somewhat similar. You had been the one to approach them; in one instance for a favor, and in the other just to do the right thing for a stranger.

Neither had felt too strongly about you at the start of the interaction. For Uvo, you were clearly weak and uninteresting, and when you begged him to allow you to follow behind him back to the rest of civilization due to the guy who had driven off without you, he gruffly told you that you could follow if you kept up with him, and if you didn't you'd be on your own.

You agreed to his terms, likely because you didn't have any other choice.

And despite what he'd anticipated, you managed to keep up with him. Given how much bigger he was, his stride was much larger than yours which made it difficult for you, and more often than not you were jogging or even running just to make sure you didn't lose sight of him.

Near the end of it Uvo was a bit more invested and went against what he'd initially said as he actually waited for you a few times when you'd lagged behind.

The two of you had parted ways after leaving the wooded area, when you spotted a gas station that had a phone you could use to call someone to come and get you.

But before you left, you thanked him.

He hadn't even wanted to help and had made it clear that he wouldn't care if you got left behind, regardless of how he'd been feeling towards the end. Yet you still smiled at him and gave him a sincere “thank you” like he hadn't only done the bare minimum for you.

You were an idiot.

But he couldn't get you out of his head after that.

For Franklin, at first you were just someone who was at least halfway decent by doing the right thing of running after him and returning his property to him instead of taking whatever jenny he'd had and dumping the rest of it.

He hadn't necessarily had the best of reactions when he'd heard the random voice that called out to him, and he'd been visibly annoyed when he turned to face you, which had put you on edge.

But his expression softened a little when he saw his wallet in your hand, and he mumbled out a word of thanks as he accepted it.

There hadn't been much else left to say after that, but you'd smiled at him as you waved goodbye before continuing on your way.

Unlike with Uvo, the interaction was so brief that he only vaguely recalled it at first, so he was surprised when he ran into you the second time and you smiled at him when you saw him. You remembered him more than he'd remembered you (which, considering his size when compared to yours as well as the scars and piercings, was fair). But he didn't understand why you cared, and he couldn't determine if you had an interest in him or if you were just being nice.

His infatuation with you finally took hold when he encountered you for a third time, another chance meeting where the two of you had ended up talking. What you had discussed wasn't all that important, but as you waved at him once more as you said your goodbyes, Franklin decided that he would have you.

What he didn't know was that Uvogin had decided the same thing around that same time.

The two had watched you from a distance, observing various routines of yours and learning more about you in the process. From the friends you hung around with to the hobbies you enjoyed and your favorite musical artists to even smaller things such as what your favorite brand of snacks was. Both took in that information, Franklin using what he had learned so he could have something to talk about with you whenever you would “accidentally” run into him again.

Uvo, on the other hand, wasn't as concerned over things like that, and if he'd had his way, he would've taken you by now.

While it would've been easy to barge into your home and grab you, he also knew that would draw unwanted attention. You lived with roommates and were hardly ever alone at your apartment. Killing them also wouldn't have been a big deal for him, but it would eat up time, and depending on how many were there and how big of a fuss they made, they could easily end up contacting the police before he could take care of them all.

Also not too big of a deal for him, but there was a worry that if he went that route, you might end up being accidentally injured or killed.

So he had been biding his time, waiting for the right moment to take you when there would be few to notice your sudden disappearance.

And then he'd run into Franklin.

It was honestly amazing that they had only now come across each other while they were both watching you. Franklin and Uvogin had run into each other a few times before, even going out drinking during some of those instances while both accepted that it was a coincidence they'd run into each other.

As there had never been any other instance where both of them were watching you, neither of them made the connection that they were both after the same woman. And even after both had found the continued run-ins to be strange, it was only today that they realized what was going on.

Both spiders had decided to watch you that day; just tail you a bit from a distance. And for a while they didn't realize that the other was there as both were too focused on you and what you were doing.

Uvogin was the one who realized what was happening first. When he had glanced around at his surroundings, he'd spotted Franklin, and at first he didn't think much of seeing his fellow spider. But when Uvo looked closer, he noticed that Franklin's attention wasn't on him, but someone else, and when he followed his gaze, he found that it was you. Remembering how odd it was with how often the two had bumped into each other by now and seeing the way Franklin was looking at you, things fell into place in Uvo's mind. Franklin noticed Uvogin's presence shortly after, and when he saw Uvo pointedly look over to you before looking back to him, it didn't take long for him to understand what was going on as well.

And now they were here. Sitting together while you, the reason they had ended up in this situation, were blissfully unaware of the conversation being had about you.

In Franklin's mind, it was best to resolve the matter now rather than later.

“I guess we should settle this then,” Franklin said. He reached into his pocket, pulling out the coin that was used whenever troupe members needed to settle disputes.

Uvo raised an eyebrow.

“What, flip the coin and whoever wins gets to have her?” he asked.

“It's the fairest way to decide it.”

Uvogin frowned as he looked back towards the library. You were still engrossed in your notes, marking things down as you looked back to the books you'd pulled out.

“I don't think that's the way we should go about this,” he then said.

Franklin raised a brow in question as he asked “why's that?”

“I mean, if we go with the coin, while it is 'fair', the one who loses is gonna be upset that they don't get to have her,” said Uvo.

“Yeah, that's something that would be inevitable.”

Franklin's tone was grim as he said that, and it was already leaving a bad taste in his mouth, the idea that he could lose you because he picked wrong on the coin toss.

If it had been anyone else who had become interested in you and he was truly worried about you reciprocating their feelings, it would've been an easy task of getting rid of that person so he could ultimately have you.

Wasn't as easy when it was another member of the Phantom Troupe. Not that he would've ever been willing to kill Uvogin for you, and he highly doubted such a thought would occur to Uvo.

But he also didn't want to need to give you up.

“It's a fifty-fifty chance for either of us,” Franklin continued, “whoever loses would just have to accept it.”

Then he added, “if you have a better idea, feel free to share it.”

Uvo was still looking at you through the window, staying silent for a moment as he considered Franklin's words.

Then it was like a light bulb went off in his head as he grinned and said “yeah, I think I have a pretty good idea.”

“Let's hear it, then.”

“Instead of the coin,” Uvo began, “why don't we go with the option where everyone's happy?”

“What do you mean?”

Uvogin laughed at the questioning look on Franklin's face.

“C'mon, Franklin. We're adults. We can share.”

At hearing that, it dawned on Franklin as to what Uvo was suggesting.

“What, we share her?”

“Yeah.”

Franklin stayed quiet as Uvogin continued.

“Being around each other all the time might take some getting used to, but if we do that, neither of us would need to deal with getting cut off from her completely. We'd both get what we want, and she'd get twice the amount of loving.”

Uvogin leaned back on the bench, saying “sounds pretty good, don't you think?”

Franklin's gaze went back to you as well as he considered what Uvogin was proposing. It wasn't the most outlandish idea, and Uvo was right in that both of them would be happier if they could both have you, thus avoiding any possible resentment that losing the coin toss might bring.

Still, he had to wonder if it would actually work out. While he and Uvogin got along well with each other, Franklin wasn't sure that it would be as simple as his fellow spider was making it out to be.

And then there was how you might react to all of it.

Based on what Uvogin had told him, you were grateful to Uvo for what he had done. And while Franklin was still unsure if you were interested in him or not, you seemed to like him based off of your interactions with him. But even if you had a certain amount of interest for both of them, it'd likely be overwhelming for you to be confronted by men like them who had feelings for you.

Franklin couldn't see you agreeing to jump headfirst into a relationship with the both of them when you still only barely knew them. That would take quite a bit of time to work you up towards that point. Time that Uvogin wouldn't want to take.

So there was only one way things would go if he agreed to do what Uvo wanted, and that caused Franklin to frown.

“What? You think it's a bad idea?” Uvo asked, noticing the expression on Franklin's face.

“I'm not completely sure,” Franklin admitted, “but if we do it your way, we'll need to kidnap her. She won't be with us on her own.”

Uvo seemed surprised.

“Yeah, that's kinda the only way it can go,” he said, “is that what you're worried about?”

“I was hoping to avoid doing that.”

“Why is kidnapping going too far for you?” Uvo asked, “aren't we thieves who take what we want?”

“I'm not saying that I'm unwilling to do it,” Franklin answered, “I'd just prefer that as a last resort. I'm not looking to traumatize her.”

Uvogin hummed to himself.

“That's surprisingly nice of you,” he said.

“What, was your plan always to take her?” Franklin asked.

“Yeah,” Uvogin answered, “take her and then figure it out from there. Guess it's a good thing we ran into each other before I got to that point.”

“Finding out that we were both interested in her with you being in the middle of kidnapping her would've been a much worse situation,” Franklin agreed.

“Mm.”

Both men were quiet for a moment as a family that had come from the library were passing by just a bit too close for them to feel like they could continue the conversation. The children that were present were staring at them, particularly Franklin, with wide eyes while the parents tried to user them along faster, clearly not wanting to anger either of the two intimidating looking men.

During those brief moments, a car drove into the parking lot and pulled into an open spot not too far from them. Uvogin watched it while his eyebrows furrowed for a moment before turning his attention back to Franklin as the other man spoke.

“I know you're the one who suggested it,” Franklin began, “but are you really going to be okay with not having her for yourself?”

“I mean, this wasn't what I was planning when I first set my sights on her,” Uvo answered, “but I don't see how it would be a problem. We get along well and neither of us are the jealous type, so I doubt any problems could arise on that front. And two of us around means there'll be two sets of eyes watching her in case she tries anything stupid like trying to get away. Sound pretty good to me.”

“We'd definitely be dealing with some escape attempts,” said Franklin, “and depending on how messy things get if we take her, it could take a long time for her to be comfortable around either of us.”

“Maybe, but even if it takes a while to get to that point, at least we'd have her to ourselves,” Uvo countered, “even if at first she's scared to be around us, there's only gonna be so much she can do to cope on her own before she breaks and comes to us.”

He continued, saying “if we take her somewhere that doesn't have many people, she'd need to come to us if she wanted any human interaction. That way she'd accept us faster. When her only options are going out of her mind by being alone or accepting the two men who care about her and want to love her, I think she'll be able to come to the correct conclusion as to what's better for her.”

“I doubt it'd be that simple,” Franklin said.

“Didn't say it was. We'd be in for the long haul, but as long as we get the results we want, it's worth it, right?”

“And if she does put up a fight,” Uvo added, “then we get to make it clear that she doesn't have any other options: she belongs to us.”

A man got out of the car that had pulled into the lot and made his way towards the building you were in, but neither Franklin or Uvogin acknowledged him, both more concerned with their conversation.

Uvogin's thought process did make some sense; like most people, you needed regular human interaction, and going from being surrounded by your friends and family to only having himself and Uvogin for company would be hard on you. But even if you did fight them at first, you would need to submit at some point. You couldn't be so stubborn to insist on being unhappy.

Franklin looked back down to the coin in his hand, his fingers brushing over the designs on either side.

As he'd said before, it was a fifty-fifty chance of him losing if they used the coin to decide. But if they went with Uvo's suggestion then there wasn't any fear of losing you. Franklin would just need to be okay with Uvogin also being in the picture.

“You still want to use the coin?” Uvogin asked, eyeing the object in Franklin's hands.

“Not really,” Franklin answered.

“So what's the hold-up?”

“I'm thinking. Is there a reason you're in a rush?”

“Just wanna figure out what's happening with this,” said Uvo, “I don't like wasting so much time by waiting.”

“And here I thought you'd appreciate me taking the time to think over your suggestion carefully,” Franklin said dryly.

“Shouldn't be that hard to come to a decision,” Uvo countered, “unless you really don't like the idea of being stuck with me.”

“I wouldn't call you my first choice, but there are ones out there that are worse than you.”

Uvogin laughed a little at that.

“You should be grateful I offered the suggestion,” Uvo then said jokingly, “I'm willing to put up with seeing your fucked-up face on a daily basis so we can both be happy.”

“If anyone would need to put up with anything, it'd be me,” Franklin retorted, “it's exhausting dealing with you and that obnoxious personality of yours.”

“What do you mean, 'obnoxious'? Everyone loves me,” Uvo answered.

“I think you mean, everyone tolerates you.”

Neither could help the small smiles that formed after the bit of banter between them.

They had been so engrossed in their conversation that they hadn't noticed you packing up your things or walking out of sight of the window. It was when you walked through the front doors of the building that they realized you were heading to your car with your things in hand.

Both found it odd, as you were leaving earlier than usual.

It also looked like you were annoyed.

And the reason why appeared to be the man who was calling out as he followed you out of the building, begging for you to stop and talk to him, and saying that you were being over-dramatic when you continued to ignore him. The scene he was making was bringing the attention of other onlookers onto the both of you, which only seemed to upset you further as you walked faster to your car.

The man only continued, and as they watched, both of the spiders were becoming irritated the longer they looked.

“Who is that?” Uvogin asked.

“No clue,” said Franklin, “never seen that guy before.”

Their anger spiked when they saw the man grab at your shoulder in an attempt to force you to talk to him. You responded by pulling away while keeping your eyes on your car.

Uvo watched for a moment longer before saying “if he keeps harassing her I'm gonna step in.”

“Don't,” Franklin said, “we don't want to make a scene. Not when there's so many witnesses.”

In reference to the fact that the area had a fair amount of people lingering around, Uvo tsked but stayed put. The confrontation already seemed to be petering out, as you had thrown your things into your car before getting in and starting it. You were making a point to not look at him, but you still looked angry as you pulled out of the library lot and drove away.

Meanwhile the man watched on in defeat. He sighed to himself before he began to walk back to the parking area where Uvogin and Franklin were still sitting.

Though they were staying quiet, both were thinking about what exactly should be done with him.

When the man reached his own car was when Uvo realized something.

“That's the guy,” he said suddenly.

“The guy?”

“The guy that left her. It's the same car,” he explained.

Franklin looked back to the man. So that was the one who'd left you in that dangerous situation? And now he was trying to make you talk to him again?

He didn't know what the relation was between the two of you, whether you had just been friends or if there had been a romantic interest at some point. It didn't really matter since you didn't want to even look at him anymore.

But he didn't like that someone was going after you like that.

The man unlocked the driver's side door, and as he got in, Uvogin stood. It didn't take much of an imagination to figure out what he planned based on the way he cracked his knuckles.

“You're going after him?” Franklin asked.

“You're not?” was Uvo's quick response.

Uvo was looking at Franklin like he was the strange one in this situation.

“It'll cause problems if we start to kill off people who are close to her,” said Franklin.

“He doesn't seem that close to her. Besides, I'm doing her a favor. The asshole left her. If he's harassing her after leaving her like that, then he deserves to lose his life,” Uvogin said.

Franklin didn't disagree on that point, remembering the anger that had bubbled up inside of him just from Uvo telling him of how you'd been abandoned. And while you wouldn't respond well to them if you found out that they'd killed him, he couldn't imagine that the guy's death would mean that much to you.

At the moment the man was sitting in his car wallowing in his own misery, but that would eventually change. He'd need to head off at some point, and it'd be harder to track him down without knowing a name or the area where he lived.

Uvogin looked back down to Franklin, asking “you coming?”

Franklin looked to the man again.

And then to the gold coin that was still in his hand.

A decision needed to be made.

After one final moment of consideration, he finally stood as he placed it back into his pocket before looking back to Uvogin, telling him “let's go.”

Uvo grinned, and the two began to approach the man.

“You're not gonna try to keep me from going too wild, are you?” Uvo then asked.

“No, that's always too much of a hassle with you,” Franklin answered, “but let's take him somewhere outside of the area to deal with him, just to make sure no one gets in the way.”

“Sure.”

Uvogin was listening, but he was keeping his eyes on the guy, ready to move into action in case the guy started up his car and tried to leave.

A thought then occurred to Franklin, and he asked Uvo “where was that place where he left her?”

“Not too far from here, about due east. Why?”

“Let's take him there.”

“Oh? Are we gonna leave him to fend for himself?”

“Yeah, but maybe with a few more bullet holes in his legs,” Franklin answered.

Uvogin hummed.

“While I don't mind that idea, it doesn't sound like I'll get to do much,” he said.

“We'll figure it out,” Franklin said, shrugging.

They reached the side of the guy's car, and Uvo tapped against the window to get his attention. When the window was rolled down, he barely got out the question of what Uvo wanted before a hand grabbed his neck and slammed his head down onto the wheel. When Uvogin let go, the man slumped over in his seat.

Franklin raised an eyebrow.

“Is he still alive?” he asked.

“He is.”

Though the man had gotten plenty of attention from onlookers with the scene he had caused earlier, most seemed to be eager to move on with their day and forget about that commotion. So no one had been paying attention when Uvo had attacked the man, and it had been fast and quiet enough that no one had been alerted that there was something wrong. With the man being quickly shoved into the back seat and the two of them taking their places in the front, no one took much notice when the car pulled out of the lot and Franklin began to drive off while following Uvogin's instructions.

Franklin glanced over to Uvo, finding his fellow spider to be thrumming with excitement, no doubt eager to get to that area with the magical beasts and exacting out justice on the piece of shit who had abandoned you.

Though Franklin would be lying if he said that he wasn't just as eager for the exact same thing.

Still, despite this new plan of action, this really wasn't the way Franklin had been expecting this day to end. Even if he had managed to somehow anticipate that both he and Uvogin were interested in you, he wouldn't have predicted that he would ultimately agree to sharing you with him.

They'd figure out the best way to dispose of the guy, and then they'd be able to turn their attention to more important things, like how to go about taking you and figuring out where to take you after they did. And once they did have you, they'd be able to work towards getting you to be comfortable around them.

It'd take a while to get to that point, and it wouldn't be nearly as simple as it sounded when they spoke about it, but if they were able to get you to reciprocate, then it'd be worth it in the end.

Both he and Uvogin would get what they wanted, and you would be kept safe by the two of them.

The option where everyone was happy.

And though he counted on you not seeing it that way at first, you'd come to agree eventually.

[yuriwritestwst]

You’re the new manager to Night Raven College’s basketball team, and Ace is the wannabe-star player who takes an immediate liking to you.

Notes: Ace Trappola x GN!reader, actual university AU, light cussing, not actually that much on basketball or university

The first time the two of you meet is when Coach Vargas blows a piercing whistle amidst the squeaking of sneakers against the pristine gym floor. He promptly introduces you as the new team manager, a position you volunteered yourself for after deciding that you needed a resume buffer despite not knowing the first thing to basketball. It’ll be easy, you told yourself. All you had to do was refill water bottles and fetch stray balls, just like how they did it on TV shows.

The team makes its way through their very brief introductions, and you’re 100% sure you don’t retain a single name, much to your dismay.

“Ace Trappola!” someone says, flashing you a grin. Awkwardly, you return his smile. “I’m just a first year, but you’ll be seeing me a lot on court when I become a regular!”

“Crabby, I can’t believe you’d just lie to someone you’ve just met,” a taller guy drawls out. His teeth are alarmingly sharp, you note.

“I don’t want to hear that from you, Floyd,” Jamil, the vice-captain, hisses. “I’m sorry about those two.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m a first year too,” and before Floyd can snap back with a witty response about how awful it must be to be in the same year as Ace, the ginger is next to you with a heavy arm resting on the top of your shoulders.

“Finally!” Ace sighs in exasperation. “A first year comrade! I can already tell we’re gonna be best friends.”

“Don’t listen to him,” Jamil warns, swatting Ace’s arm off of you. “He’s just going to ask to copy off your homework eventually. I think it might be better for you to ignore him completely, actually.”

“Hey, rude!” Ace retorts back. “And for the record, I am actually glad that we have another first year on the team.”

“Yeah, okay Crabby, let’s get you back to practice,” Floyd coos playfully before violently shoving Ace back onto the court and turning to you with a devilish glint in his eyes. “I sure enjoy some friendly hazing.”

“Floyd,” Jamil warns again, eyes narrowing. “I know this team has some odd guys, but they aren’t actually bad people. I hope they haven’t scared you off, because we really need a manager this year.”

“Do you mind giving me the run down again?” you ask nervously, suddenly feeling more pressure than when you haphazardly submitted your application. “I’m not really too familiar with…well…”

“That won’t be a problem at all,” Jamil replies, smiling. “We can start with the storage room.”

By the end of the first practice with you as the manager, you find yourself rolling a cart filled with basketballs back to the storage room. It’s crowded, and despite Jamil’s best efforts showing you where everything is, you still have trouble naming exactly where and what most of the stuff is used for.

“Boo,” a familiar voice says from next to you, and you suddenly feeling something cold and wet on your cheek. You let out a yelp and reach for your face.

“You scared me!” you yell a bit louder than you would’ve liked. You only met this guy about three hours ago, but you’re already starting to treat him like a thorn on your side.

“My bad, my bad,” he laughs, not apologetic at all. Instead, he takes the cool bottle off your face. “Here. I accidentally got two from the vending machine.”

“Thanks,” your murmur hesitantly and wonder how “easy” it must have been for him to accidentally feed the machine twice for an extra drink. “I guess you actually are as clumsy as Jamil said.”

“Damn, I can’t believe he was talking shit behind my back again,” and from the way Ace says it, you figure he’s probably the thorn in a lot of people’s sides.

“Good work today?” you try, changing the subject. “Well, not that I know much about basketball in the first place.”

“Then the first thing I should teach you is that my work is always good,” Ace says proudly, chest puffed out. His pride is enough to convince you that it’s nothing more than an exaggeration. “But, man, I can’t believe you’re not a basketball nerd.”

“And I can’t believe Coach Vargas was fine with that.”

“Well, you know what this means, don’t you?” Ace asks with a eerily mischievous grin. You shoot him a look that tells him something like, this is going to end terribly, but he ignores it. “Oh, you’re gonna be so busy with me watching old game recordings. I’ll show you all the ropes.”

“Forget about the rules, and just tell me where this cart goes first,” you sigh, shaking your head.

“Just leave it here. Somebody’s gonna find this thing.” He unceremoniously rolls the cart into a wall, leading to a clunk, and you’re scared you’re going to get kicked from the team after one day. As usual, he’s not nearly concerned as you and simply slings his arm around your shoulders like he did earlier today. “Now, let’s go already.”

“You’re awfully pushy even though we met today for maybe ten minutes max,” you scoff. Still, you take his lead, albeit a little hesitantly. It wouldn’t be too awful to understand the game you were supposed to manage. Plus, even if he was annoying to no end, he didn’t seem like he meant any harm.

“I’m telling you, us first years have to stick together. We’re gonna be best buds by tomorrow morning.” Suddenly, you find that his grin isn’t all that teeth grinding. “Oh, and I was wondering if you’re also taking Intro to Chem 1, because there’s this assignment due tonight that I haven’t started and-“

“You stink,” you say pointedly, shoving his arm off your shoulder and start speed walking ahead of him.

“I was just kidding!” he calls from behind you, and you have to stifle the laugh that threatens to spill from your mouth.

-

Floyd being the world’s most reckless player brings about good and bad things, most of these being bad except for the fact that you were almost never bored. Yes, it was always fun to watch the lanky boy defend the ball with his life, even if it meant him rolling all over the floor for no other reason than the fact that he found the horrified reactions of others amusing, but this also meant far more injuries than you expected. Typically, they were never Floyd’s though.

“Damn, you’d think you’d get the hang of this after what? The third finger Floyd’s jammed this week?” Ace comments from your side during a small break. It was only Tuesday.

“Look, there’s only so much I can learn from watching a Youtube video.” You don’t even have time to roll your eyes, because you’re too busy trying to tape and splint a third year’s finger after Floyd had all but hurled the ball at him without enough warning. “There! This should be good enough until you reach the nurse’s office.”

The third year, assisted by his friend, nods, gives thanks, and makes his way out of the gym. Meanwhile, Ace makes himself comfortable by leaning against you, much to your dismay.

“For the last time, you’re super sweaty and gross,” you groan, wanting to smack the ginger square across the face. You try your best, but per usual, you can’t lose him. He sticks his hand out in front of you. “What?”

“For practice,” he says simply, tilting his head toward the direction that the third year just left in. “A splint like that won’t help anybody. ‘Specially if we’re at an away game.”

“Oh, and you’re suddenly a finger taping master?” This time, you do roll your eyes. In fact, you flick his forehead good and hard for extra measure.

“Uh, no, but I’m not afraid to tell you when it’s sloppy and when it’s not,” he responds as if it’s the obvious. He moves the hand that he placed in front of you around, urgent. “Come on, there’s only five minutes of break left.”

“If i practice on you, will you please get your sweaty head off my shoulder?” Immediately, he’s off and looking at you eagerly. In fact, he looks like he’s practically shining, and you almost forget that he’s the same guy who covered you in sweat two seconds ago. “One smart-ass comment from you and I’m breaking your fingers for real.”

Carefully, you take his index finger and middle finger together, to which he responds with a dramatized grunt of fake pain, and apply the tape around them. It’s weird, you think, oddly conscious of the fact now that his hand is in yours. He’s always been a physically and casually intimate person with you and his teammates alike, but something about this you find fundamentally different. Even through the tape, you feel his warmth searing through. Or maybe it was you who was warm. That’d be embarrassing.

Working your way up to his finger pads, your thumb subconsciously grazes against them, and you swear he stiffens. When you look at him, however, he’s busy looking at his own hand, expression unreadable.

“What?” you ask, grin spreading across your face. “Actually scared that I’m gonna break your fingers?”

“As if you’d injure the team’s star,” he fires back, also grinning.

“Tell me that when you’re actually a starter.”

“It’ll happen before you’ll learn how to properly splint a finger,” and before you can ask him what he means, because you’re so sure that you’ve done a decent job, he manages to loosen the tape on his own, two fingers bending freely to hook around the fingers of your hand that hovers above his. You almost stop breathing, but neither of you make an effort to pull away.

“See?” he says, the cockiness still laced in his voice. To make a bigger statement, you feel his fingers move to the back of your hand, drawing shapes. It’s only now that you realize along with his feather-light touches, he’s looking at your face with such intensity, as if he’d pull away the moment you show any signs of discomfort. Again, you’re not sure if it’s his fingers that are burning or if it’s you, but the gym is a lot more stuffy than before.

“Alright, back to practice!” Vargas booms. You jolt, and Ace laughs.

“You should practice more,” Ace says, standing up to get back on the court. “Just give me a call, and I’ll be there.”

And for some reason, you listen to him and continue to practice in the following days even when you get the hang of it. Neither of you suggest to stop, even months well into your first year on the team.

-

Ace finally makes it as a season regular by the time his second year rolls around, which means he’s always on the bus with you during away games.

(“Why are you going but not me?” he’d used to whine after team practice. It had become a habit for him to do a little bit more solo practice each day, with you in tow to grab the stray balls much to your dismay.

“Well, I’m the team manager for starters, and you’re just some guy.”

“Just you wait. You’re never gonna be free from me when I become a regular.”)

You come to hate away games very early on, though, because not only are you the one helping haul bags of supplies and water bottles, but you also realize that if a game is scheduled to end at 9:00 PM, you’d end up home at 11:00 PM if everything went smoothly.

Thankfully, though, the bus rides back are always quiet simply for the fact that everyone is just so exhausted, and after tonight’s game against Royal Sword University about two hours away, that was exactly the case. Aside from the quiet munching from some players who were smart enough to bring their own post-game food, most people were sleeping the soreness and hunger off. This included Ace, of course, as he was your designated seat buddy. Not that there were assigned seats, just best friend code as Ace had put it.

So here he was, snoring away on your shoulder, and while he’s been resting on you since the beginning of time, what’s new is the grip he has around your wrist. It’s loose enough for you to wiggle out of his grasp, but still firm. His hands are incredibly calloused, and you know this from the countless times you’ve seen them through splinting his fingers, but something about them against your skin in absolute silence makes you feel ticklish. Giddy, even.

Eventually, his hair starts to actually tickle you, forcing your hand to brush the stray locks away. If only you had scissors, because no matter what you did, nothing helped. Rather, after a few minutes of musing with his hair, Ace shifts in his sleep, and you think you might’ve woken him up. He doesn’t, thankfully, but even in his subconsciousness, he takes a liking to the attention you’re giving him and nuzzles into the hand that you’ve placed on his head in the midst of your ministrations. It’s almost endearing if it weren’t for the fact that you were basically trapped in your spot now.

“Hey, Goldfishie,” a sing-song voice calls. Oh no. “Do you have any snacks in your bag? I’m just so hungry that I could eat about— Oh.”

You nearly jump in horror, hands flying out of both Ace’s hair and his grasp as Floyd peers into the aisle you and Ace were in before a shit-eating grin spreads across his face. He’s technically your senior, but you want to hit him so bad.

“Never mind,” Floyd mumbles, spinning on his heel to the back of the bus where his seat was. Floyd typically never kept to one seat per ride, but he always found himself in the back messing with Jamil, and you just know that he’s telling everybody what he saw on his very slow journey there.

You sigh, groaning into your hands, and you’re not sure why you’re so embarrassed.

“Damn, way to wake a guy up,” Ace mutters from next to you. He yawns and stretches his neck before sinking back into the bus seat. “You nearly gave me a heart attack. I thought I was getting mugged or something.”

“And I should’ve let you get mugged by Floyd,” you hiss.

“Damn, if you’re this cranky, maybe you should be taking a nap too.” He checks the time on his phone. “We have an hour left anyways.”

“No, I’d rather not risk getting my face drawn over with marker,” you say pointedly, and Ace feigns hurt.

“I can’t believe you’d say something like that,” he gasps, mock shock, even though he, along with everybody on the bus, knows that it’s something he’d definitely do. “Come on, it wouldn’t hurt to get some shut eye.”

There’s an arm rest that separates the two seats which he quickly raises. You feel his arms pull you into him, hand gently pressed on your head once he positions you comfortably against himself. Your heart is bounding a thousand miles per minute, and you’re thankful that the bus is dark enough so that he can’t see your entire face flush all the way to the tips of your ears.

“What are you doing?” you ask rather dumbly. His laugh seems to resonate through his chest and into your ears.

“Consider it…returning the favor?” You want to scream.

“You were awake that entire time?”

“Well, not the entire time, but I was awake for long enough.” He coughs. “And for the record, you sure were moving around a ton.”

“Was not,” you mutter under your breath. “Why didn’t you move away then?”

He pauses. It’s a long silence.

“Just go to sleep already so that I can take my nap without having you wake me up again,” he grumbles. You try to pester him, but he closes his eyes, and even though you know he’s still awake, he stops responding. All you can do is sigh and give in to how oddly relaxing your current position is before dozing off.

And of course, you wake up to the click of a phone camera and Floyd’s cackle. Yes, he meant for you both to hear it.

-

Manager duty, as you have found out long ago, doesn’t mean manager mode during just club activities but also during your own free time too, which is why you find yourself in Ace’s grasp as he drags you down the mall on a fine Saturday afternoon.

“Do you really need me to be here for you to go shoe shopping?” you ask, already tired. “I wanted to study for one of my exams next week.”

“You have to take it easy once in a while, and I’m the one who’s gonna help you do that.”

“Says the guy who almost failed his way out of club activities,” you groan, recalling the midnight emergency cram session Jamil held out of sheer panic that they’d lose a regular right before the season started. “You should be glad that Jamil is the new captain.”

“I mean, I was close to failing, yeah, but I knew I wouldn’t actually,” Ace corrects very matter-of-factly. “And anyways, stop lecturing me about school. You’re supposed to help me pick out new sneakers today. You’ve seen Floyd’s new ones, right? I have to keep up or else I’ll look lame on the court.”

“I’ve seen his new ones, and I also remember him telling me that they cost way more than whatever budget you have in mind today.” You snicker a little at Ace’s frustration.

“Don’t worry. There’s no way I’m leaving without a new pair today,” he promises, swears even. You hate the grin he’s wearing.

“Ace Trappola, I do not care if this is best friend code or not,” you start, tone warning. “I will not be committing theft with you even if you cry to me.”

“Relax, relax!” he calms. “Promise we won’t do anything illegal. Just trust me.”

And even though you’re still suspicious of him, you just follow him into a Foot Locker where he all but drools over the highest priced, neon shoes. In your opinion, they’re a disaster to look at, but to each their own you suppose.

“What do you think about these babes?” Ace asks, and you want to hurl at what he shows you. “I’ve had my eye on them for a while now, you know?”

“Then just get it over with so that I can go home.” He frowns this time. “What? I mean, yeah, I love them so much. They look so good that I might go back on my statement on theft and steal them from you after you buy them.”

“Really?” He brightens immediately. “Then you should get these instead of me.”

“Absolutely not.” You’re so horrified that you can’t even lie about wearing them yourself, and judging by the knowing smirk he gives you, even he knows he’s caught you.

“Then maybe you should be a little more serious about my game fashion,” Ace sighs. “I need to look good for our team Instagram.”

“Your current sneakers are still fine though,” you try again, desperate.

“Well, Floyd said he was able to jump two feet higher in his new ones, so I figured if I bought the same brand, I’d be able to do some pretty sick slam dunks.” No matter what, Floyd always got Ace to believe his ridiculous lies.

“Fine, but can we leave if I pick one out?” You’re almost pleading at this point.

“Promise!”

So your eyes scan over all the shoes in the store, and while you can’t say you knew much about proper basketball footwear, you do find a design you like. It’s not particularly flashy like Floyd’s but it was still colorful enough to stand out on its own. Plus, the orange matched Ace’s hair.

“This one,” you say finally, handing him the pair you like. His immediate purchase without even trying them on makes you think he’s willing to buy just about anything so long as the brand was good, but you see him wearing those sneakers way more frequently than usual. He even wore them to class, which was unusual for Ace seeing as he always wanted to protect his basketball shoes from the daily wear and tear.

“Aren’t you gonna buy a new pair?” you ask him off-handedly months later over lunch.

“What, why?” you make out through his burger-filled mouth. He swallows. “They’re fine.”

You didn’t have to because you see him at practice every day, but you look under the table at his tattered sneakers and then back up at him to make a point.

“Ace, it looks like a dog chewed them up and then pissed all over,” you sigh. “Plus, you usually buy new ones if there’s so much as a tiny scratch.”

“I do not,” Ace says, playfully kicking you under the table. “These are fine. Plus, I’ve been making more three-pointers with these on, so there’s no way I’m trashing my good luck charm.”

“I can see it already,” you muse. “The next school paper is going to have the headline ‘Ace Trappola Scores with his Pissed-On Sneakers During Game’. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Trappola.”

“Well, if I make it to the front cover, people are gonna be busy swooning over my perfect form instead of shoes,” he corrects. “But, if you really are gonna make such a big deal out of this, then you’re just gonna have to pick out a new pair for me.”

“What, why?”

“I might buy those neon ones that you hate so much, and you’re gonna see them every day for the next few weeks at least. But to be honest, I might like having you disgusted at them so much that I’ll just keep buying the same pair over and over-“

“Fine, I get it,” you huff. Ace smiles from across the table and flips out his phone.

“So what about this weekend?” he asks, and even though it shouldn’t take the entire day, he urges you to clear your schedule, because what if you two have too much fun and lose track of time?

You only sigh again, but you don’t doubt him.

-

“You see that?” Ace says, pointing at the tablet screen. The video is paused, and you see him picking out one of the new first years. “I was the one who taught him how to jump like that.”

“Sure you did,” you say, mindlessly looking through clips of the team scheduled for next week’s game and taking brief notes.

“And him over here,” Ace points excitedly. “He couldn’t do a proper lay-up until our drills from Monday. Pretty good, right?”

You decide to shift your position at this, turning over to face the back of his head as he sits on the floor leaning on the bedside. He hears your rustle when you do this and looks behind him.

“Looking pretty relaxed there, Manager,” Ace fake-chides. “Like you might fall asleep in the middle of analyzing plays right before play-offs.”

“You’re so right about that,” you grin, eyelids feeling heavy as he peers at you. “I don’t know. Something about your bed just makes me so sleepy.”

“And if you fall asleep here, where am I supposed to go?”

“The floor.”

“You’re in my apartment!” he yells. “There’s no way I’m sleeping on the floor when I literally live here. You can go home and sleep. After we finish watching these plays, of course.”

“Yes, Captain,” you tease, faking a salute. “To think you ended up like this even though you were all talk when we were first years.”

“And you’re rude like usual.” He sighs, pressing a finger to your cheek. After all these years of his antics, you don’t even bother to react. “Don’t you want to make it to nationals this year?”

“I’ve wanted to go to nationals every year, actually,” you correct, but when he starts pouting, you add, “but I guess especially this year, since it’s our last.”

“That’s the spirit!” Ace hollers with a toothy smile. “And if, no, when we win, we’re gonna be so famous. Trust me.”

“I don’t think that includes me though,” you chuckle, making Ace frown. “I’m just a manager.”

“Well yeah, you’re not exactly a player, but you’re kinda really important, you know?” And of course you know, because he hasn’t stopped saying that to you in all these years. “You know that, right?”

“Yeah, I know.” He nods dutifully, pleased that his almost-daily reminder is conveyed. “Kinda sucks that I don’t even get a participation medal, though.”

“Since when were you interested in prizes?” he asks, eyebrows raised. “I thought that was a me thing.”

“Since now,” you say playfully. “In fact, I think you owe me a prize right now, right here.”

“But we haven’t event started play-offs yet,” Ace teases knowingly. “Well, I suppose as the captain of this team, I should be providing motivation for all our members, manager included.”

“You’re so right,” you murmur, feeling his hand caress your cheek. He closes the gap between the two of you, lips pressed firmly against yours. It’s electric no matter how many times he’s done it, and you’re met with the same hunger every time. You hated to admit it but Ace Trappola knew what he was doing.

“Is that enough compensation?” he asks, finally pulling away, breathless.

“I feel like I deserve more than one kiss after being manager for so long,” you sigh, pretending to be upset.

“Well, you see, I’m just awfully busy with captain duties and all so-“

You don’t let him finish, pulling him by the collar and claiming your reward again and again. Not that he minded in the slightest.

(“Is this part of best friend code?” you tease after he gives up reviewing plays and opts to snuggle with you on his bed.

“It’s boyfriend code,” he corrects pointedly.

“I don’t know,” you respond, pretending to think. “You were pretty touchy when you were just my best friend too, though.”

“Then let me help you differentiate the two.”)