#posting this already cause it's after midnight for me

[deepwoundsandfadedscars]

.

[guiltyasdave]

like snow on the beach

pairing: Javier Peña x f!reader

word count: ~2.8k

summary: You're on a work trip with your boss, who you don't like and who you're convinced doesn't like you either. Unfortunately, there's only one bed.

tags/warnings: only one bed trope (ayyyy), fluff, idiots in love, alternating povs, reader has hair that drips down her neck after showering at one point but there are no texture or color descriptors, able-bodied reader, no use of y/n, my nonexistent knowledge of colombian geography which i'm asking you to ignore for the sake of this silly story THANK YOU

a/n: my entry for the summer lovin' challenge brought to us by queens @pedgito, @chaotic-mystery and @amanitacowboy <3 i got the moodboard you see in the header and the location by the water. i'm also posting a little early but i'm too excited and it's almost midnight here so i think it's gonna be fine hehe

biggest love to @sizzlingcloudmentality who held my hand through writing this and patiently listened to all my complaints lol. i love drinking more caffeine than pedro and writing with you while getting distracted by cats <3

dividers by @plum98!

find my full masterlist here and follow @guiltyasdavenotifs to get notified when i post a new fic :)

You’re hot, too hot. 

It’s disorienting, as you blink awake, slow to get your bearings. Arms are wrapped around you, caging you in, engulfing you in the warmth of the body pressed against your back. Hot air is fanning against your neck, accompanied by a scratching sensation on the sensitive skin. 

Your surroundings are unfamiliar, faded wallpaper in an unappealing shade of green and light filtering in through the battered up blinds. It comes back to you in pieces, the motel you’re staying at, the small Colombian town where you’re hoping to get a hold of one of the Cali cartel men. 

The obnoxious scent of Peña’s aftershave is flooding your nostrils, paired with the traces of tobacco that follow him everywhere he goes. It’s honestly embarrassing, how easily you recognize it.

It clicks into place now. The arms around you, the warmth. The scratch that you now realize is his mustache as he’s breathing against your neck.

You start wriggling around, causing the man behind you to stir, a confused groan coming out slightly muffled, his mouth still so close to your skin. He lets go of you after a second, allowing you to turn around and glare at him. 

His face is already forming his signature annoyed scowl, an expression that you’re more than well acquainted with.

“What the hell are you doing?!” 

He sounds different like this, voice still thick with sleep, a hint of the disorientation that you’ve shaken off by now. 

“What am I doing? I woke up with your arms around me, Peña.” 

He blinks, shifting to sit up and lean against the headboard. You mirror him, putting as much space between you as the rather small bed frame allows. 

“Sorry,” he allows after a beat, running a hand through his hair, tousling the mess of black strands that has formed in his sleep. “That wasn’t… appropriate. I apologize.” 

If you weren’t as annoyed right now, you’d probably think that he looks adorable like this. The you from a few months ago would most likely go wild at seeing Javier Peña right after waking up, after he held you in his arms no less. 

The you from a few months ago hadn’t experienced what an asshole of a boss he could be yet, hadn’t been taken off investigations again and again, because Peña thought you weren’t ready. She also hadn’t heard about his terrible reputation with women, hadn’t been subjected to all the office gossip that surrounded him yet. 

Now, after days of practically begging him to take you along on this trip because the whole investigation was based on information that you had gathered, you’re stuck in this motel room with him. Something about your booking of two single rooms accidentally having been processed as one double room, with no other rooms available because of course there weren’t. 

Peña had offered to sleep on the ground, or in the car, but you had waved him off, thinking about how often he had complained how his back was getting worse the older he got on the drive here. You hadn’t expected to wake up to him all but wrapped around you. 

Maybe a small, very small part of you is still going wild about it. A part that you can easily swallow down though. He’s objectively attractive, yes. Doesn’t change the fact that he’s an asshole.

“Just forget it,” you mumble, heat rising belatedly in your cheeks. Gathering your clothes for the day, you flee to the bathroom, eager to wash the whole decidedly weird situation off your body and out of your mind. You’re here because you have a job to do, not to get flustered around your boss. 

When you reemerge, wet strands of your hair dripping down your neck, he’s already dressed, clasping his hands in a way that almost seems nervous. If you weren’t pretty convinced that Javier Peña isn’t physically able to get nervous. 

“I– I’m really sorry,” he repeats, raising from the worn down arm chair he’s been sitting in. “I didn’t mean to put you in an uncomfortable position. I’m not– I’m not exactly used to sharing a bed.”

A scoff leaves you at that. Sure, Agent Peña, who’s notorious for sleeping with his informants and with at least half of the female staff of the American embassy, isn’t used to sharing his bed. 

“Don’t worry about it, Peña.” 

You turn away before he can reply, collecting your notes on the investigation that you hope will come in helpful eventually. You don’t catch the remorseful look in his eyes, or the way they linger on you as you open the door, the early morning light illuminating your figure.

It’s another day filled with nothing but waiting and growing frustration, just like the one before. The sun is beating down on the car that you’re occupying, the heat suffocating even with the windows rolled down and the cool bottle of water that you’re pressing against your neck.

Minutes tick by, turning into hours that go by too quickly and seem to last forever at the same time. Peña is surprisingly quiet, not goading you in the way you had expected him to. 

“Maybe the information was bad,” you mumble eventually, sinking deeper into the car seat. The leather is sticking uncomfortably to your skin and you can’t shake the growing feeling that you’ve insisted on coming out here for nothing.

He slowly turns his head in your direction, regarding you through the dark tint of his aviators. 

“I looked at it. We wouldn’t be here if it was bad.” 

You huff, your patience running short and shorter at the subtle indication of his superiority, his quiet arrogance, always so fucking sure of himself.

“You weren’t exactly thrilled about coming here, remember?”

He raises a brow, a hint of impatience on his own features.

“I wasn’t thrilled about you coming here.” 

You roll your eyes, openly scowling at him now. 

“It’s my intel.”

“Doesn’t make it less dangerous, does it?” 

Biting your lip, you force your blood to not boil over. He’s still your boss, at the end of the day, someone you probably shouldn’t start cussing out, no matter how openly he underestimates you and how badly it annoys you. And you’re gonna have to share that wretched bed with him again tonight. 

Javier watches your face, watches you swallow down your anger, watches your teeth digging into your plush bottom lip. He understands your frustration, understands that no part of this trip is turning out the way you expected it to. 

You’re still new to the workfield, not yet experienced with the hours upon hours of waiting, more often than not without a satisfying result to show for it. If he’s being honest with himself, he isn’t mad about it this time. He’ll rather have you frustrated than in danger. 

You want to prove yourself, you’ve made that abundantly clear. You work hard, determined to bring in results, hungry for praise. It’s not that he doesn’t see that, doesn’t think that you’re capable. But he’s seen enough, enough injuries, enough psychological trauma, enough deaths, to know that he wants you far away from that side of your work. 

Even if that means you’re angry at him more often than not, a glint of bitterness in your eyes every time he refuses to send you out yet again. 

After another few hours, accompanied by the increasing rumbling in both your stomachs, he finally calls it quits for the day. 

“We can drive back to Bogotá tomorrow,” he quietly offers on the way back to the motel, after picking up food for the both of you and refusing to let you pay for your share. “Gather more information, see why we didn’t find anything.”

You huff in return, irritated about the whole situation. The one chance you had to convince him to take you seriously, and this is what you get. “Fine,” you agree, gritting your teeth. Maybe your intel was bad. Maybe you just aren’t that good at your job.

“Keep to your side of the bed tonight,” you grumble later, after the bored woman at the reception told you that there still aren't any other rooms available. 

“Of course,” he sighs, sliding under the covers with the biggest possible distance from you.

You nod, closing your eyes and willing for sleep to take you, but it’s a losing game. You toss and turn, feeling both too hot and too cold at the same time, unable to find a comfortable position and to get the voices in your head to shut up. 

When you roll over yet again, his voice rings through the dark, somewhat agitatedly asking what’s wrong. 

“Nothing,” comes your frustrated reply, pressing your face deeper into the cushion, your eyes squeezed shut. After a few more breaths and zero sign of your brain slowing down, you turn towards him, only able to make out his silhouette in the dark. Your judgment is probably hazy with how tired you are, but the words are out of your mouth before you can think them over.

“Can I ask you a question, Agent Peña?” 

“Javier is fine.” 

Your heart gives a tiny flutter, despite your conflicted feelings about him, despite the question that you’re about to ask. 

“Why do you not like me?” 

It’s inappropriate, especially right now, lying in the dark and sharing a fucking bed with him. But you think that if you don’t ask now, you probably never will, and you need to know. 

“Why would you think that I don’t like you?” 

You huff, squinting at him. “It’s pretty obvious. You don’t trust my work, you never send me to go out, dismiss my intel most of the time–” 

It’s silent for a long time, safe for his quiet breaths. 

“That’s not–” He sighs deeply, turning his head towards you as well. “That’s not true. You’re making it about yourself when you shouldn’t. I treat you exactly like your colleagues, you’re the one taking it personal.” 

It’s curt, dismissive. Laced with carefully feigned indifference, bordering on coldness. Too carefully. You didn’t think he’d lie to you if you asked him this directly, but here you are. 

Blinking back angry tears, you roll onto your back again, unseeingly staring at the ceiling. You don’t understand why it hits you like this. You’ve had shitty bosses before, far worse than Peña. You’ve just never wanted them to like you the way you want him to. 

“Good night, Agent Peña.” You turn onto your other side, your back towards him. 

“Good night,” comes his solemn reply. 

You don’t wake up with his arms around you again, thankfully, but he hasn’t exactly kept to his side of the bed either. One hand is curled over your shoulder, like he had to reach out and hold onto you in his sleep. 

You’re the one taking it personal. 

Clearly he hasn’t been reaching for you specifically. It’s probably just second nature for him, something that usually goes well with the women sharing his bed. 

You’re able to shake his hold off without waking him up, something that you’re grateful for. 

When he wakes and repeats how he thinks you should abandon the investigation, you don’t argue. It’s a quiet affair, packing up and getting ready to leave. 

Sitting in the driver’s seat, he turns to you, his brow furrowed into that moody expression you’ve gotten used to. “I’ve been thinking,” he begins, eyeing you warily. “We’re not far from the ocean right now. Have you been to the beach since you came to Colombia?” 

You raise an eyebrow in mild suspicion, curious where he’s going with this. 

“I haven’t been out of Bogotá since I landed there. But–” 

His eyes grow softer, his hand twitching like he almost reached out towards you. 

“No buts. At least then it won’t have been a total waste of time to come here, right?” 

The dig towards you, towards the reason you drove all the way out here for nothing isn’t lost on you. You don’t have it in you to argue against it, so you just nod, staring straight ahead. 

Javier realizes how badly you misunderstood his words as soon as they’re out of his mouth and he sees your face. He doesn’t know how he consistently manages to fuck up his interactions with you like this. It’s not him, the blundering, the words constantly coming out all wrong, but you make him nervous in a way that he hasn’t experienced in years. 

He starts driving, hopeful to somehow still be able to turn this trip around. There’s a whole day on the road ahead of them, and he’d much rather spend those hours without feeling like he’s made you hate him. 

You do soften at the sight of the ocean, the sound of waves rolling against the shore having a soothing effect almost instantly. It’s beautiful, the water a brilliant blue, the sun glittering on the surface. You can’t be mad right now, not even at Javier, who’s keeping his distance, letting you wander along the shore by yourself. 

You focus on taking in the scenery, hoping to somehow take it with you to when you’re back in your bleak, government issued apartment, staring at the vastness of gray buildings that is of Bogotá. 

When you turn back to him, his eyes are already on you, less tense, more open than you’re used to. You don’t know how long they’ve been lingering on you, how little attention he had been paying to the nature surrounding you. How good it had felt, to see you like this, without the usual distaste in your face that you have come to regard him with most of the time. The silhouette of you against the bright sky, your skin glowing under the beaming sun. 

“Thank you,” you say, actually smiling at him. A spark of warmth grows in his chest. “This was a good idea, I– I enjoyed it.” 

“I’m glad.” He eagerly returns the smile, allows himself to reach out and graze one finger against the soft skin of your hand. Finding himself unable to stop touching you, now that he’s had a taste of it.

Confusion crosses your face before you quickly avert your eyes, but you don’t pull away. It gives him a sliver of hope, that maybe you’re starting to understand what he doesn’t know how to tell you. 

After a mostly quiet drive back, both of you too exhausted to talk much, Javier drops you off at your apartment, his hand once again hovering over yours before you get out. 

“Good night,” he breathes, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. After a moment of hesitation, he continues on. “You– you’re doing good work. Don’t beat yourself up over this, okay?” 

You manage a nod, murmuring thank you, Javier before opening the car door and stepping out onto your street, illuminated by the glow of yellow lights. You only realize that you used his first name by the time that your apartment door falls shut behind you. It doesn’t bother you as much as you thought it would. 

Breathing in the familiar scent of your own place, a deep relief washes over you, reveling in the knowledge that you’re gonna sleep in your own bed tonight, alone. You turn on your shower, eager to let the warm water soothe your muscles, stiff from spending the entire day in a car. 

When you exit the bathroom, wrapped into a towel and with a cloud of steam accompanying you, your answering machine is blinking. You press the button to let the message play, moving through your apartment to put on your comfiest sleepwear and ready to fall straight into bed. 

You stop in your tracks when Javier’s voice rings through the room, tripping over the words in a way that’s difficult to associate with the calm, self-assured man that you know. 

“Hey, it’s Javier. You– you’re probably showering, or already asleep. I just– I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings these past days, or– or any day, really. I wanted you to know that. You’re good at what you do, you really are, but– I worry about you, I guess. And I know that I shouldn’t, that I shouldn’t treat you differently. It’s– it’s not because I don’t like you. I like you too much, if anything, and– and now I know what it’s like to sleep next to you, and– anyway, I’m– shit, I’m making a fool of myself. Just– just call me back. Please.”

Your hand finds your phone as soon as the recording ends.

thank you for reading! as always, reblogs, comments and asks are love and absolutely make my day <3

[weirdmageddon]

the shift in lore literacy in homestuck’s fandom

i was thinking about how the people who got into homestuck after it ended—whose interactions with the comic are in a static, archived state, not an ongoing thing—missed out on information that was more common knowledge in the fandom at that time. i don’t know if this is true since i’m not on tiktok, but i wouldn’t be surprised if it was. the fandom certainly isn’t the same as it was before.

ive found that many people reading homestuck now simply do not understand things in homestuck that were common knowledge back in the day, with calls for “homestuck literacy classes to become mandatory” in response to baffling takes because so many people just now seem to have glazed over the comic without absorbing important plot points, and i think i know why this may be. i ended up writing a post reflecting on my time with the comic, my perspective and how ive seen this change. i still think and write about homestuck because it still fascinates me. earlier i quote retweeted that call in my thread talking about the temporal relativity of dave and rose’s god tier ascension in the green sun, saying “my homestuck literacy is 100% so guess im doing my part as a teacher by pointing out whatever i think is really cool about it”. this post im writing now started out as a reply to this tweet i got in response.

i joined the fandom in 2013. i was 11. i had been aware of it since at least late 2011, early 2012 when my friend ryan in fifth grade told me to read it but i couldn’t get past the first few pages. i remember writing a journal on deviantart around this time (late 2011-early 2012) that was mocking people who typed like gamzee, which ironically was very karkat of me. and i remember someone on flipnote hatena i was following was making flipnotes with the alpha kids.

i dont know what caused me to flip the switch into reading it but 2013. i got into it somewhere between april (i think closer to april—i remember it being quite a span of time between the last update before HOMOSUCK dropped.) this was the most recent page the comic, meaning there was no > [S] ACT 6 ACT 6 at the bottom.

i got into it during a pause in updates, which looking into it, was the year 4 megapause. i wasn’t sure of the month until seeing the news post detailing the reason for the hiatus and the status report of the comic’s development at that time. pretty cool i could narrow it down by referencing the dates of those updates and the news post to correspond with the pause!

according to readmspa, the year 4 megapause was a 59 day hiatus from Apr 14, 2013 ==> (EOA6A5) running to 12 Jun 2013, [S] ACT 6 ACT 6. then for a few months there were the first updates that i was apart of the fandom for.

and what an exciting time during the story get into the webcomic! when the updates resumed in june, part 4 of homestuck had begun. here was a glimpse of the updates in that span of time before the next hiatus began in october.

that hiatus was none other than the gigapause, the longest hiatus in the comic, which started october 2013 and lasted for a YEAR, and i already posted about what happened on the date of return.

but here were the main events happening in the story at the time i first actually got interested in it. i wasn’t aware of the full context of them then like i am now, but i was looking at the most recent updates anyway with interest:

the alpha kids just emerged as god tiers from their slabs in derse and prospit, blown up by the condesce and caliborn / lil cal-possessed b2 jack noir.

the journey to the new session started 24 hours after jack called an early reckoning in descend—for context that was about when dave entered around midnight central time and before jade even entered. it’s pretty easy to forget that side 1 of homestuck basically happens within the span of a single day—and at this point in the story, the 3 year journey (which was also 3 real life years) had just ended. john and jade emerged from the other side of the yellow yard through the fenestrated plane on LOMAX. john’s real body was asleep upon arrival in the new session, while his dreaming projection out in the dream bubbles came across vriska’s ghost ship to learn lord english lore with vriska and aranea, and go on the treasure hunt where they found the ultimate weapon at the X mark out in in the furthest ring. in the dream john stuck his hand in the juju, started warping all over canon which removed his real body from the ship on LOMAX. he zapped around for a while but eventually zapped back to LOMAX, now awake, completely out of the loop of what everyone else is up to, and bored as fuck. what was everyone else getting up to while john was asleep?

jade was now once again within the domain of the green sun. im pretty sure her space god doggy essence comes with the power to sense what was anywhere within the domain of the session since her face looks like she arrived at that spot with intent (and she literally has jack noir’s exact powers from bec’s prototyping. also this panel). she immediately dispatched b2 jack to the edge of the incinisphere, defending the newly god-tiered jane and jake. i think even if they weren’t in any danger, she would have warped to them instantly anyway because she COULD now, and i can imagine she wouldve been sooooo eager to meet everyone. even davesprite comments about her rapid departure.

the pre-scratch refugees arrived during the only time serious shit ever went down in the nobles’ months-long inert void session. the condesce used her freak psychic bronze-cerulean powers to commune with jade’s bestial side and mind controlled her, which is super dangerous as someone with the powers of a first guardian. she then used jade’s powers to corrupt jane with the tiaratop. no funtime meetup allowed!

the trolls’ meteor with rose, dave, and the remaining trolls was pulling up into the new session with no way to slow it down. grimbark jade warped there once it was in the incinisphere and took active control. she warped everyone off the trolls’ meteor and sent them to LOMAX.

as john was losing his mind on LOMAX waiting for everyone, the meteor crew warped in. after 3 years he finally reunited with rose and dave, and at least saw the trolls in person. close curtains, end of A6A5. this was the newest [S] flash page at the time, one of my first impressions of this comic, and still one of my favorite flashes. knowing the context of the flash in the story only enhances the retrospective joy i have at getting into the comic at the time i did because it’s such an anticipated moment in the story for everyone, while for someone with no context of the story it was still enjoyable.

so that’s what was going on plotwise when i joined the fandom.

from this time, through those few months of updates and through the gigapause, i was familarizing myself with the characters in the story and overseeing the state of fanbase, getting myself acquainted with the story and wrapping my head around everything.

at that time i found that a new-ish group called colab HQ who were producing a let’s read homestuck series on youtube. hearing the voices and the pacing of it like that really, really eased me into it (maybe it was my adhd that gave me trouble actually starting it?). i caught up to a certain point using lets read homestuck and from that point was able to continue with the comic on my own, and by the time the gigapause came to a close i was fully caught up. i remember the rebranding of colab hq into voxus about a year and a half after i discovered them.

but.. back to the main point of my post. even these posts from hussie’s tumblr exist in archived states. how many new fans know about hussie’s old tumblr? i don’t know, unless theyre a new fan that must scour the internet for more deep more dives on homestuck and its fandom as a whole. but since hussie deleted his tumblr (it exists archived now on homestuck.net which, alongside from the unofficial homestuck collection, has nearly singlehandedly kept the most important relics of the fandom and lore archived), that page is not an active part of the fandom now, because it’s gone. it’s a pile of bones. it’s not living and breathing. it’s in an archived state. the whole thing is already there. homestuck and its fandom history is something you now binge instead of slowly consume and meld with as it comes out. it’s now this rapid information intake that you might forget about if you read it now instead of engaged alongside it. you’re not surrounded by people actively talking and theorizing about developments anymore. the ability to have those sorts of conversations during the ongoing development of the story reinforced concepts, ideas, and lore over and over as we tried to make sense of it.

being in a fandom when the author is still delivering the story is like nothing else. it allows you grow alongside the characters and engage meaningfully with the media and people in the fandom space around you. it feels like you’re participating IN the media itself, especially if you’re interfacing with the creator. it’s in always having something to theorize or talk about and speculate. and people become very aware of these sorts of forgotten story facts because they were applying the logic of the newest official post from hussie into making their sburb ocs or something and share resources and discussion posts about “what just happened in this update?? recap????” it was this cultural osmosis thing. i think this is why homestuck literacy is now at an all time low, at least from what i can see on twitter.

reading homestuck then vs now is like the difference between serialized shows with spaces between episodes to discuss stuff and time to reflect and learn and become attached to the story, narrative, worldbuilding and its characters, vs the netflix model where it’s all dropped all at once and people forget about it after binging.

at this point in time im getting the sense that “homestuck elders” now are no longer just people who were there since 2009-2010, but now also people who were there while it was still updating, probably stretching into 2014-2015. there are many sources of lore that were common knowledge in the fandom at the time that, since becoming susceptible to the deletion of content and link rot, and with the thanosing of mspaforums, are no longer accessible at the source. and a lot of people moved on after it ended, especially following the epilogues, the kate drama, and the whatpumpkin-sarah z drama, leaving a void of information behind if not for archivists and people such as me who continue to keep old facts relevant in discussions. my friend has called me a fandom scholar before and seeing this post i think i get what they mean.

EDIT: there is a series of video essays ive watched multiple times (because theyre that good) and they are exactly what modern fans need to see more of. they really help contextualize the comic and the themes present in it help you appreciate the basic fabric of homestuck a hell of a lot more. i highly recommend them and encourage any fan of homestuck to watch them, or someone considering getting into homestuck to watch the first one.

i think this is arguably as close to the “mandatory literacy class for homestuck” that person was talking about as you can get, especially the first video.

additionally, there is also the website https://rafe.name/homestuck which is essentially a sparknotes for homestuck and can help you follow developments in the comic itself.

[twobluejeans]

HEARTBREAK ON TOUR!

charles leclerc x famous!reader

summary: in which the lavender haze has been lifted. or in which america’s it couple splits.

part 7: revenge dress, part 6: reckless, part 5: relevancy, part 4: emo ponytail girl, part 3: dupeee, part 2:wtf does ET know?, part 1: don’t start

faceclaim: madison beer

ally’s radio 📻: PART 7! bc why did this take me 2 days to make. da faq. a lot of tswift references 🫶

INSTAGRAM, july 15

liked by harrystyles, austinbutler, and 26,955,959 others

yourinstagram and by the way, i’m going out tonight.

View all 357,728 comments

sabrinacapenter R U KIDDING ME???

badgalriri go bad bitch go bad bitch go

1dstyles.harry harry i see u lurking 👀

user1 she don’t know she need me yet

arianagrande MOTHER IS MOTHERING

barbie this barbie is THAT GIRL

leclerc_pascale Beautiful Girl!❤️

yourinstagram leclerc_pascale thank you ❤️

alexademie 😍😍

user2 they won’t love you like i would

omarapollo come home the kids miss u

y/nsdeadreputaion i know charles is crying in the corner rn

(landonorris liked this comment !)

danielricciardo May God bless the dinosaur that died to make the fossil fuel that was treated to become petrol in the car that took your mom to hospital to give birth to you

yourinstagram danielriccoardo i hate you 😭💀

danielricciardo yourinstagram Don’t lie, You know you love me

fernandoalonso_offical danielricciardo No. Stop it.

written by Ally

July 15,2023 AT 1:30PM

Y/n L/n is rarely seen walking the streets in public anymore, but that is changing following her recent breakup  from longtime love Charles Leclerc.

The 12-time Grammy winner was spotted out and about in Rome just one day after her release of her new single, Reckless, which reflects on her past relationship with the formula 1 driver.

L/n was joined by celebs friends Zendaya, Tom Holland, Sabrina Carpenter, Bella Hadid, and Alexa Demie for a night out at Shari Vari Play House in Vía de' Nari, Italy. 

The news of her breakup sent shockwaves on social media. Tweets and memes were made, with fans expressing their disbelief and grief

Rumors had already spread that Leclerc was seeing someone else the last few months of thosr relationship. L/n just made those rumors  official last night as she delivered a tribute to  Leclerc and his new girlfriend Australian Youtuber Lola Ransdell, sending the media to a frenzy. 

The “Karma” hitmaker opted for a dress from Mônot’s SS22 collection, a black dress with cutouts across the chest and stomach, leaving little fabric between L/n’s collarbone and lower waist.

People on twitter are already calling this “Y/n L/n’s Revenge Dress Era” . 

"Not @Y/nL/n wearing Y/n’s Version of 'the revenge dress'," one fan posted.

The ultimate revenge dress is, of course, the off-the-shoulder black Christina Stambolian dress that Princess Diana wore while her former husband then-Prince Charles was admitting to an affair with current Queen Consort Camilla.

Diana, Princess of Wales attends the Vanity Fair party at the Serpentine Gallery on November 20, 1994 Anwar Hussein

L/n kicked off her sold-out Eras Tour on March 17, and eagle-eyed fans noticed that Leclerc had been absent from her shows.

In case you're unfamiliar with the lore of YourShipName (portmanteau and couple name of L/n and Leclerc), you probably don't understand the distress caused by the news. For most, Leclerc is not even a household name, but for YourFandomsName, he's the titular Lover.

via @yourinstagram in a now deleted instagram post

The Midnights singer and  f1 driver started dating in 2016. Fans speculate they met at the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix based on the lyrics of Reputation cut "Dress": "Flashback to when you met me / Your buzzcut and my hair bleached." Because, you guessed it, Leclerc sported a buzzcut and L/n’s hair was bleached.

At a secret session for Reputation, Leclerc reportedly told fans that the single "Gorgeous" was about her "angel boyfriend of one year." Other tracks off of Reputation like “Delicate," "Call It What You Want," and "King Of My Heart" are also thought to be about Leclerc.

Her next album, Lover, is also understood to be about Leclerc with songs like "Paper Rings," "Cornelia Street," "Daylight," and the titular "Lover."

During quarantine the couple started collaborating creatively. Leclerc surpassed his muse status and co-wrote Folklore tracks "Exile" and "Betty,"

 Evermore songs "Champagne Problems" and "Coney Island, and most recently, "Sweet Nothing" off Midnights. Other tracks on her most recent three albums canonically about Leclerc include: "Invisible String" and "Peace."

While they opted to remain very private about their romance, the couple was hit with a slew of engagement rumors throughout the course of their ill-fated romance.

"I'm aware people want to know about that side of things," Leclerc told GQ in 2018. "I think we have been successfully very private and that has now sunk in for people."

L/n briefly touched on the privacy aspect of their relationship in her 2020 documentary, "Miss Americana."

"We decided together we wanted our relationship to be private," she said. "Even though [my public image in 2016] was really horrible, I was happy."

"But I wasn't happy in the way I was trained to be happy. It was happiness without anyone else's input. We were just... happy," the singer added.

The "Lavender Haze" songstress' exes famously include Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Pattinson, Fabian Frankel, Ben Barnes, Harry Styles, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. 

SEE MORE RELATED POSTS:

• From Y/n L/n and Charles Leclerc to Sofia Vergara and Joe Manganiello, Here are all the Celebirty breakups of 2023…So far

• Leonardo DiCaprio, Gigi Hadid Are 'Definitely Dating' (Exclusive Source)

• Carlos Sainz Shares his thoughts on YourShipName’s Breakup

TWITTER, july 15

INSTAGRAM, july 15

liked by kendalljenner, haileybieber, and 2,674,123 others

lolaaransdell_ couldn’t be bothered

View all 32,177 comments

user5 someone pls take away her phone i’m so serious

y/nsleclerc god has lots of favorites🥰💞🧚🏽you’re not one of them🥺💘💘

haileybieber the hottest ❤️❤️

badgerdannyricc you hit different 😍when you’re not on my screen 🧚‍♀️💞✨

cillianmurphyfineaf u killed this 💞🦋!🧚🏽now do the same for urself🙈🥰⚡️

charles16_leclerc this is just embarrassing stop

auzziericciardo i don’t like you but ur blush and highlight looks really good

norissxricciardo my daughter said she loved your videos! 😩💗✨ so i put her up for adoption 😽☁️🌺

INSTAGRAM STORIES, july 16

yourinstagram 4h

viewed by michaelbjordan, lilyrose_depp, and 2,042,828 others

INSTAGRAM, july 16

liked by landonorris, jacobelordi, and 8,667,214 others

yourinstagram it feels like a perfect night to dress up like hipsters & make fun of our exes.

View all 102,421 comments

cinnamongirldelrey oh this is iconic.

queensel the reunion we needed

argentinastyles stop i love selena and y/n together

parisy/n THE CAPTION LMFAOAKSKHDH

charlottesiine Angel sisters for life!!!

yourinstagram charlottesiine my queen i love you!

jarofheartsy/n wait i’m confused who’s the girl on the last pic?

ciney/n jarofheartsy/n charlotte sine, charles’s ex gf 💀

TWITTER, july 16

ally’s radio 📻: DON’T U LOVE WHEN WOMEN. guys im stuck on who to choose for y/n’s next boo. like. so stuck. THIS CAN GO LIKE FOUR WAYS. WE HAVE FOUR OPTIONS AND I KINDA WANNA LET U GUYS PICK BUT ALSO NEED TO KEEP YALL IN SUSPENSE SO LIKE😭 SHARE WITH ME UR THOUGHTS PLS. also, i think i might start a danny ric fanfic next bc that’s bbg.

taglist 🦢🪩: @incoherenciass@dakotali@405rry@topaz125@sassyheroneckgiant@hevburn@itsmytimetoodream@ivegotparticulartaste@crowdedimagines @asterianax @haydee5010@scenesofobx@christinabae@magical-spit@dessxoxsworld@myareadsbooks@honethatty12@hopefulinlove@diasnohibng@gentlemonsterjennie1@hummusxx@eugene-emt-roe@taestrwbrry @perjarma @cxcewg@chimchimjiminie16@glow-ish@allywthsr @millyswife @mrsmaybank13 @black-swan-blog27 @stargaryenx @lilsiz @ohthemisssery @leclerclvr @slytherinjimin3nthusiast @shessthunderstoms @cool-ultra-nerd @ncentic @playboykenz @canvashearts @tinyhrry @xeliaaaa @ifionlywould @gaviypedrisbride @callsignwindow @dhhdhsiavdhaj @chasing-liberosis @laneyspaulding19

[gurugirl]

ex-boyfriend's dad!harry | teaser

This has been in the works for a good while now babes! I just posted part 1 on Patreon but this will be coming here for tumblr at a later later date (no idea when but don't expect it too soon). Just wanted to share with y'all what's happening and to give you an update since some of you asked when it was coming.

Enjoy this 2.749 word teaser below!

xoxo

You didn’t know what had gotten into you. Skinny dipping in the pool at midnight under the stars. Well, you did know, actually. Two bottles of Italian red wine. That and your boyfriend’s dad, Harry, encouraging you. You were both at least two bottles in.

You’d been dating Tyler for nearly two years, and so Harry told Tyler to invite you to come along to their yearly vacation in Lombardy, Italy. The Style’s family owned a small villa in the hills and Harry made it a point to take a couple of weeks there every year.

So you were honored and more than excited when he invited you. Of course, you weren’t going to miss it.

And now you’d been in Lombardy for 5 days and Tyler went to bed a little early on this particular evening while you and his dad stayed outside on the patio overlooking the lighted pool drinking bottles of wine and talking about relationship things that may or may not have ebbed into very slightly inappropriate territory. But you’d think about all that later on.

Because here you were swimming buck naked with your boyfriend’s very handsome dad. You didn’t peek (not really) when he dove in with a big, dimpled smile after you slid in quickly with a squeal and he laughed with his back turned and a promise he wouldn’t look.

Because here you were taking another pour of wine with him and clinking glasses while you laughed. Wearing nothing. With your boyfriend’s very very handsome dad.

Of course, it was difficult to see fully what was going on under the reflection of the water. But you did notice a few things about Harry. About your boyfriend’s dad. One was that he had way more tattoos than you originally realized. You knew he had tattoos on his arms and you’d seen peeks on his chest before. But with him completely naked you saw a lot more. And you could tell he had a tattoo on his left thigh – something large. There were also tattoos on his hips, both sides. But more than that, you couldn’t help to notice the dark patch at his crotch and the floating thing attached to said dark patch, which you were sure was his dick. Obviously.

But you didn’t stare too hard. Well, you tried not to look anyway.

You tried keeping your tits under the surface of the water as well but every time you bounced to get toward the edge of the pool they did make an appearance. You crossed your arm over your nipples as you reached for your glass and Harry laughed.

“I’m not looking. I swear!” He raised his arms and grinned.

“I mean it’s just in case,” you giggled before you took a big gulp from your glass.

Harry was swimming toward the far end of the pool away from you, his back muscles flexing with each stroke. The lights in the pool were illuminating every one of his movements, and yours too, you were sure, as you placed the glass down and plunged under the surface of the water to swim toward him.

It felt so freeing and light to swim naked. You’d never done it before and when Harry suggested it as a sort of dare you told him how you always wanted to and that’s how this all happened. You didn’t regret it even though you were sure Tyler wouldn’t appreciate it. But you were having fun.

Suddenly you felt Harry’s hand on your ankle as he pulled at you, causing you to twist under the water. You reached toward his hand just as he let go and then pushed your head out of the water with a gasp, “Hey!”

Harry laughed. He was already swimming toward the other side of the pool, away from you, “What? What happened?” He stopped and turned toward you, a look of faux concern on his face.

“What do you mean what?!” You pushed yourself off the wall to swim toward him, “You grabbed me!”

Harry watched you dog paddle toward him with a big smile on your pretty face. He was just trying to make you laugh. Liked hearing it. Liked seeing you smile. Because he had noticed how you weren’t quite as carefree around Tyler lately. He noticed how your demeanor had changed from what he used to know of you, and he’d even overheard an argument you and his son had just the night before. He was worried that you and Tyler were drifting apart. Though it wasn’t his business at all, he figured the least he could do was to make you smile. This was your vacation too.

“Nope. I’m over here,” he laughed, “Couldn’t have grabbed you. Must have been like one of those pool monsters or something.”

You laughed loudly, the sound bouncing off the water and the trees all around. Harry smiled widely.

“You’re so cheesy, Harry,” you splashed water at him and clung to the edge of the pool.

Harry swam next to you and put his arm on the edge of the pool facing you, “Cheesy? How so?”

He was a bit close to you. Not that you minded. You trusted him but you didn’t trust yourself not to let your eyes wander. His chest was delectable and the muscles on his arms with his tattoos… his jawline.

You cleared your throat before smiling, “Pool monster?”

Harry laughed and nodded, “Yes. Pool monster. There’s one that lives in this pool. Did you not know?”

You shook your head, “That’s what I mean. Cheesy. Such a dad thing to say even to a grown woman.”

“Oh you’re a grown woman are you?” Harry blew out a laugh through his nose as he kept his lagoon-green eyes on yours.

You splashed at him again but then Harry retaliated with a massive spray of water back in your direction. You had no idea how he did it, but it was like a bucket of water was thrown at you.

Gasping you let go of the edge of the pool and flailed in the water coughing. It was dramatic but you’d swallowed a big gulp of pool water and sucked in some through your nose.

You heard Harry laughing and then felt his hand on your sides to lead you toward the side of the pool, “Take it easy. Here, back to the edge. You okay?”

You put your arms over the side and coughed, momentarily forgetting your tits were out and about for anyone to see. For Harry to see.

Harry patted your back and then as you calmed you felt his palm smoothing up and down your spine, “Sorry, Y/n. Didn’t know you’d open your mouth up and take a gulp like that,” he laughed softly.

You smushed yourself to the edge and took a breath before looking at him, “You’re trying to drown me,” you chuckled.

He didn’t mean to look. He told himself to keep his eyes on your face but you were half out of the pool, your breasts pressed into the tiles and when his eyes lowered you saw it clear as day. But maybe a small part of you liked it. He quickly moved his gaze elsewhere and you smiled as you lowered yourself back under the surface.

“Really wasn’t. Just figured you’d be ready for splash retribution. You have to keep your guard up, Y/n. Rule number one of pool play,” he laughed and then finally looked back at you. Into your eyes this time.

“I’ll remember that from now on,” you grinned and then with all you had, cupped your hands and splashed him directly in his face before you swam away laughing as he thrashed in his spot.

You heard him let out a short cackle before you heard the water moving under him. He was swimming toward you quickly. And Harry was a much better swimmer than you so in only seconds he was grabbing your arm and then pulling at you to lift and fling you forward, all your bits out for him to see before you landed in the water with a splatter and a plop.

His laughter was contagious. You turned to him with your mouth dropped open in surprise but couldn’t help but giggle.

“Sorry, Y/n! Fuck…” he shook his head and smoothed his wet hair back, “Forgot we’re in our birthday suits,” he pulled his lips into his mouth, his elbow at the edge of the pool. You followed and hung on to the edge for a reprieve from needing to kick your feet and flap your arms for a moment.

“I guess that’s just part of pool play,” you laughed. Harry nodded, his dimples casting shadows into his cheeks.

You both took a sip from your glasses.

“You and Tyler had an argument last night,” Harry suddenly spoke what was on his mind, “Couldn’t help overhear it. Didn’t mean to but…” he shrugged.

You nodded before placing your glass along the tiles next to the pool, “Right. I mean, I know we were loud. We’ve been arguing a bit more lately. Sorry about that.”

“What’s wrong? Anything I can help with? Hate to know you two are having any problems.”

You smiled at him, “No. Nothing you can help with. We just sometimes don’t see eye to eye on certain things.”

Harry sat his wine glass down next to yours, “Like what?”

“Harry, I don’t know… it’s not something I think Tyler would want me to tell anyone.”

He laughed and began to backstroke away from you and then turned and swam back, “So don’t tell him you told me,” he licked his lips and you watched as his deep pink rose-colored lips quirked up.

You raised your brows and grinned back, “You can’t say anything. Swear to me,” you pointed.

Harry moved in closer, his eyes on you, “Of course, Y/n. I would never say anything.”

You believed him. Maybe it was because he had always given you the vibe that he was a good person to tell secrets to. Or maybe it was two bottles of wine making you more likely to gab.

“He… well he’s not super adventurous in bed,” you bit your lip and looked down at the water, of course noticing the fleshy bit swaying between his legs had you averting your eyes quickly to the edge of the pool.

“Oh?” Harry hadn’t expected you to say that. “Tell me more. Why did this turn into an argument?” He put his elbows on the edge of the pool as you moved to pick up your glass.

“Like…” you glanced at him and laughed as you shook your head, “I’m not gonna tell you everything but for example,” you placed your elbows over the edge, mimicking Harry, “I… you know, enjoy giving him blowjobs. But… he doesn’t want to like,” you looked down at the tile and laughed, “Oh my god I can’t believe I’m about to say this… he doesn’t want to thrust into my throat because he thinks it’ll hurt me.” You placed your face into your hands and chuckled.

You turned to look at Harry slowly only to find a soft grin on his face, “And? Why did this turn into an argument?”

Swallowing down your saliva you decided to just drop the bigger bomb because none of it made sense without that big detail and, well, you were two bottles of red deep so why the hell not?

“He never returns the favor,” you watched his eyes widen.

“What? He doesn’t? Like ever? Ever?” The look of horror on his face was almost comical. But it definitely matched your own feelings about the whole thing.

You shook your head, “So, sometimes he does. But he’s only down there when I beg him and then it’s for two minutes tops and it’s awful. He hates doing it and it makes me feel awful about myself and he always reassures me but it’s so hard not to take personally because I am so excited to do it for him. I just don’t get why he doesn’t like it with me. And that just leads to us fighting."

Harry nodded, “Well I get why this would be an argument. And I can’t believe he doesn’t…” he shook his head, “I’m kind of surprised to hear this to be honest. Just,” he scratched his head and looked back toward the house where Tyler was probably fast asleep, “Don’t take it personally. I can guarantee it has nothing to do with you, Y/n.”

You took another sip of your wine and then pushed yourself off the wall to float back into the water, kicking your legs as you looked up at the sky, “But it’s okay I guess. Sex isn’t everything, right?”

Harry watched you float back toward the opposite side of the pool, “Right. That’s definitely true.” But while those words were true, Harry didn’t quite believe the deeper sentiment of it.

He swam toward you, taking two long side strokes, and dunked his head under the water. You lowered your legs to float upright when you felt the ripples just as he popped out in front of you, wet hair flopping over his forehead before he took his hand and ran it into his hair to push it back.

“We probably shouldn’t tell him that we did this,” you spoke as you watched Harry’s chest drip with water.

“Wasn’t planning on it. It’ll be our secret.”

That dimpled grin again made you grin in return.

“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” you laughed.

Harry lifted his arms from the water, “What? You said you’d never done it and that you wanted to?” He laughed.

“I did. It’s actually really fun.”

“Isn’t it?”

You nodded and glanced at the house and back to Harry. The quiet was making you feel something. Not quite nervous, but definitely something that had your skin rising with goosebumps, and your heart rate increasing. It could have been Harry’s eyes on you. The warmth you felt on your spine when you thought about how you two were both naked and that he’d most definitely seen your breasts when he flung you out of the water. His hands pinched into your thighs as he pushed you upward, which meant he probably had also seen your bottom, perhaps more.

But somehow he didn’t make you feel like you should be ashamed or embarrassed. It was quite refreshing to be around Harry. Even if you were nude and it was probably inappropriate to be doing such a thing with the father of the man you were intimately involved with. Even still, with Harry, it felt honest and natural.

“Harry, this might be one of the best nights I’ve ever had. Seriously. Thank you for having Ty invite me. This feels really special to be here in Lombardy.”

“I’m glad you could come. Honestly, I love Tyler but he’s not nearly as much fun as you.”

You chuckled softly as you looked up at the dark sky, clinging to the edge of the pool. When you kicked, your leg slid against Harry’s. You could feel the solid warmth of his shin and the virile hair that tickled your skin.

“Oh. Believe me. I know I’m way more fun than he is,” you spoke the words as a joke but both you and Harry knew that you were saying something a bit bawdy regarding Tyler’s prudishness.  

You gazed at the night sky, the stars bright and flickering in and out of existence before your eyes. Every now and then Harry’s leg would bump against yours but you liked it. Neither of you would do anything to stop the subtle and innocent brushes of skin.

“Isn’t it wild how right now, as we’re looking up at the stars that some of them are already burned out, while others are coming to life and being born right before our eyes? But they’re light years away so we have no idea of the magic that’s taking place.” You spoke quietly.

You could see in your peripheral that Harry had turned his head to look at you, “We’re just at the mercy of the universe, Y/n. Me, you, and everyone else here. It’s beautiful and exciting, isn’t it?”

You smiled, keeping your gaze upward, “I love that. Just as the mercy of the universe,” you turned to look at him as your leg floated against his, “It’s beautiful.”

If you're interested in reading this today check out my Patreon for exclusive content and early access! xoxo

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[highvern]

Drunk Goggles (Heart Eyes)

Pairing: Kim Mingyu x reader

Genre: fluff, suggestive, idiots in love, they’re both big ol’ chickens

Warnings: drinking

Length: ~1k

Note: idiots to lovers is my favorite trope :) I might write some drabbles based on this pair in the future

Sequel: Drunk Goggles (Heart Eyes) II

Related Drabbles:

Pre-Drunk Goggles (in order): Peaches [f], Bite the Bullet [f, h], Jealousy [a, h]

Post-Drunk Goggles (in order): Silk [s], Aphrodite [f, s], Discovery [s], Lucky Me [f], adamas et aurum [f], Honey [s, f], Baby Blues [f]

“You’re cute.” You giggle, dragging out the last syllable in a whine.

Mingyu’s blood freezes, caught between wanting to feed into your drunken stupor and wanting to push you off completely. You’re too close. The smell of your shampoo and perfume clouding his nose, palm burning against the muscle of his chest, teasing smile and hooded gaze drawing him in. The booth in the corner of the packed club was a godsend after hours of dancing and drinking but now Mingyu thinks it might be the place where he dies from cardiac arrest.

You two had been friends for years but lately your relationship toed the line. The friendly dynamic shifted at some point, subtle at the time but echoing loud and clear now. Like a stream changed into rapids before you noticed, sucking one in and swallowing them whole. Lingering touches gave way to heated gazes; tension palpable but never acknowledged. And because neither of you said anything, nothing ever happened; one person always retreating before reaching the point of no return.

Of course the first time you admit any sort of attraction to him is when you’re three sheets to the wind and can barely stand straight. Mingyu himself is no better, mind fogged with the liquor pumping through his veins courtesy of the shots Soonyoung kept distributing. Mingyu can’t speak, tongue dry from the words dying in his throat. All he can see, smell, and feel is you; pressed against him in a way that is less than friendly.

You don’t even bother to conceal the way your eyes are trained on Mingyu’s mouth, mind far away. All your thoughts focus on if his lips are as soft as they look. If you kissed him right now, would he kiss you back? Would he let you touch him? Would he touch you?

Mingyu watches with baited breath as you lean infinitesimally closer, eyes sliding shut, chin lifting slightly. But you’re drunk, and the grace you think you possess left the building long ago. You end up collapsing face first into Mingyu’s neck, lips sliding against the hot skin causing the muscles underneath to jump in surprise. You’ve already accepted the change of direction, now content to take a rest in the crook of his shoulder as the thud of music lulls you closer to sleep.

“W—“ Mingyu clears his throat, “we should go.”

You hum in agreement but make no effort to move away.

“Y/N, baby,” he shakes you gently, “let’s go home.”

With Herculean effort, and gentle prodding from your best friend, you leave the safety and warmth of Mingyu’s body to shimmy out of the booth. When Mingyu gets up after you, he places his hand to the small of your back to guide you to the exit.

Once outside, you wrap around each other again, like magnets that can’t be pulled apart. The sudden chill of midnight air has you turning back into his chest, the arm previously on your back curling low on your waist. Mingyu uses his free hand to order an Uber, resting his chin on your head while the app loads.

“We didn’t say bye to everyone.” You mumble into his T-shirt.

“They’ll be fine.” Mingyu laughs, focusing on his phone.

“You said that last time and Chan still called at 3am to ask if we got home safe.”

We. The simple word has Mingyu’s ears turning red. We, like you’re a couple. We, like you're going home to an apartment you share rather than the one you live alone in and he finds himself crashing at more and more frequently. He brushes off the thought, choosing to focus on getting a car as soon a possible.

Not one to be ignored, you turn your gaze upwards, chin now resting against Mingyu’s sternum. The shift breaks his attention from his phone and he looks down his nose at you.

“Just text the group, pretty sure a few of them left already anyway.” He dares to drop a quick kiss to your furrowing brow, pleased when it relaxes under his lips.

“Ubers here.” Mingyu steps back, snagging your hand to pull you behind him.

The ride home is a blur. The heat of Mingyu’s arm under your cheek and the way his fingers play with yours on his lap keep you from falling asleep completely but you remain in the hypnotic state between wakefulness and dreams. Here you can pretend Mingyu is your doting boyfriend, that all the sweet drunk kisses and daring touches have a deeper meaning.

When you feel the car slow to a stop you open your eyes to the driver pulling up to the curb in front of your apartment. Mingyu is gently ushering you out of the backseat and into the warmth of the lobby as quickly as possible.

While waiting for the elevator, you invade his space once more. In your mind, the need for warmth is the perfect excuse to disregard the usual touching limit you impose on yourself. It’s easy to get addicted to having Mingyu like this and you dread the hurt that’ll come if you let yourself be too greedy. But tonight, you let your arms wrap around his waist once again and fall into him.

When the elevator chimes its arrival, Mingyu tries to keep your bodies intertwined and walk you backwards into the compartment. He stumbles the entire way, having to balance for two since you’re barely trying to hold yourself up. All you can do is whine at him to be more careful and he does everything he can not to crowd you against the wall and kiss you until you’re both gasping for air.

More stumbles, more giggles, and a crushed foot later, you finally make it into your apartment. Shoes discarded at the door, you pull Mingyu down the hall to your room. You change into your pajamas in silence, an oversized T-shirt for you (Mingyu doesn’t comment on the fact that it looks suspiciously like the one he noticed missing weeks ago), and a pair of sweat shorts for him (you don’t comment on how his bare chest is giving you less than friendly thoughts). As you both dive under the covers, moving to settle yourselves amongst the soft sheets, sleep rushes to takeover.

You’re mumbling something against Mingyu’s chest that he can’t quite decipher but the movement of your lips on his bare skin makes his heart lurch and his stomach twist in knots. However, it's the gentle kiss you leave on his collarbone before drifting into your dreams that leaves his mind in a tailspin.

Tomorrow. He thinks. He’ll tell you everything he’s feeling tomorrow.

[joemama-2]

Midnight Baking

megumi x reader

a/n: a little cute fluffy drabble after my last megumi post, he's so lovely.

"move over.” megumi's gruff, but tired voice startles you, almost causing the whisk in your hand to fall to the ground. you turn you head over your shoulder, it's dark and late at night so you have to squint your eyes to actually see him. he's rubbing his eyes, standing in the doorway to the kitchen. only then do you realize that he wants you to scooch when he lazily motions with his hand.

confused, you move a bit to your right and he walks to the sink, turning the water on and getting started on washing the several dishes you already had in there. he wants to scold you about the number, especially since you obviously just started. but everytime he does, you hit him with a "i'm baking, obviously i'm gonna dirty dishes".

"did I wake you up?" you ask, voice quiet in case he actually is just sleepwalking, which would explain this. never has megumi helped out with your late night baking scandals, considering he wasn't an insomniac like you and he was a pretty heavy sleeper.

"no." he mutters, a lie. "i was awake for a while, figured i'd help you." his hands work diligently at the dishes, lathered in soap suds. and you can't help the small flutter of your heart and grin forming. but, he quickly adds on. "don't wanna wake up to a shit ton of dishes to wash either."

"hey!" it's a little too loud since he gives you a side glare, causing you to lower your voice. your attention turns back to whisking. "i always clean up after myself."

a huff. "you mean I do." you want to roll your eyes, but you know he won't see it, so you hold back.

a small silence envelopes you too and he finishes washing, wiping his hands. "brownies?"

"mhm." you nod. "but i'm adding some matcha in them, cause remember you said you had them that one time at that cafe you didn't invite me to."

a sigh is held back from him. you two have gone over this already, he says it was a lunch invite from itadori, but you say it was a date and he's cheating on you. "didn't think you remembered that."

"why wouldn't i?" you look at him, setting the whisk down. "i remember everything you tell me."

god, he feels his cheeks heat up. he fights back a smile, instead huffing. "yeah, yeah, whatever." he reaches up to grab one of the trays from your cabinets. a thought goes through his mind that makes him wonder how you would reach it if he wasn't there.

setting the tray down, you begin to fill it with the matcha brownie mix. "you need to start just reading a book if you can't sleep." he says.

you scoff. "i'm not you."

"what's that supposed to mean?"

"it means you're a bookworm." he frowns, that cute one that makes you kiss it off his lips every time. after the mix is successfully poured in, he opens the oven and places it in. you already had it preheating.

he leans up and see you licking the whisk clean, like always. and like always, he allows you to offer him some, tongue swiping over the same areas yours just did. "a cute bookworm, though." you say, gently chuckling as you welcome his arm around your waist to bring you closer.

"i'm not cute." he holds the whisk out for you to get the last few licks, because he knows you'd throw a fit if he took it all. been there done that. his thumb absentmindedly rubs soothing, small circles along your hip.

"uh huh, sure you're not, cutie." he grimaces and you laugh, hand cupping his cheek as you two share a light kiss to one another's lips. at least that's what you think before he dips down for another. and another. and ano--

"okay, okay." you huff playfully hand squeezing his cheek. "don't get ahead of yourself, you'll hurt yourself."

his face buries itself into the crook of your neck, inhaling your oh so sweet scent, placing a small kiss to your pulse. "shut up." he grumbles.

you two move to the couch, laying on him and idly playing with the hem of his shirt as you discuss mundane things to pass time until the pastries finish. you tilt your head up to meet his eyes and he's already looking at you.

he stares back. "what?"

"nothing, just thinking."

"about?"

"how much i love you."

and you always knew just the right things to say. his ears heat up again. "why are you being so cheesy right now?"

"can't i express my love to the greatest, bestest boyfriend ever?" you scoff.

"i'm your only boyfriend." he retorts. his eyebrow raises as you look away, holding back a smile. "don't do that." he nudges with his shoulder.

"do what?"

"not agree with me."

you roll your eyes now, looking back at him. "don't get your panties in a twist, you already know you're right." he says nothing and you let out an overdramatic sigh. "you're my only boyfriend."

he hums in approval, it's your turn to nudge him. "your turn?"

"for?"

"tell me you love me and that i'm your only girlfriend and i'm the best." now, he turns his head away, inhaling a hiss as if you couldn't be further from the truth. "megumi!" you say, lifting your body up slightly.

he lets out a small chuckle, pulling you down and kissing your lips, thumbs caressing your cheeks. "you're my only girlfriend, you're the best, and i love you."

you smile. "i love you more."

he lets out a small sigh, but gives into your cheesiness. "i love you most."

[neocitybooty]

Honey, I'm home. [M]

Summary: Your husband is constantly away but he makes up for it once he returns.

Genre: Smut, Aged up (early 30s)

Characters: Mark Lee, femme reader

Word count: 1.3k

Warnings: unprotected sex, bodily fluids

A/N: Just some more Mark brainrot. This is also a treat because I've been so busy with life. I'm going to continue with my ongoing fics after this :)

You felt movement from the other side of the bed and a pair of arms wrapping around your waist, shortly after. You slowly blinked out of your sleep and stirred as you were greeted by the moonlight.

It was late.

You waited until midnight, but your husband, Mark…He didn’t show.

Disappointment was no foreign concept to you and it seemed to be a recurring theme in your marriage. You knew it wasn’t Mark's fault and you were well aware of what marrying him would mean for you. The kind of life you would live. Wealthy and pampered… but hidden.

No public posts. No public dates. Lonely birthdays. Lonely holidays.

At least for the time being.

But you loved him. And you knew he loved you too. Some things just couldn’t be helped.

“Babe..” Mark whispered softly in your ear. The familiar and innocent tone was enough to cause your lips to tug upward. You turned your body to wrap your arms and leg around him.

He chuckled and squeezed you tighter as you both buried your faces into each other’s neck.

“Yeah, I missed you too.” Mark said into your neck as he slid his hand into your shorts and softly rubbed your bare ass cheek. He gave it a firm squeeze before finally kissing you. You couldn’t remember the last time you’d felt the warm flesh against your own. He pulled away but you immediately kissed him again.

He looked at you with a puzzled look on his face and you couldn’t help but caress his cheek as the cheekbone rose at a slant and his amused eyes twinkled underneath the moonlight.

“You want to do this right now?” Mark asked you. His voice was low and raspy. Taunting. He knew what you wanted. Because he wanted it too.

You didn’t get a chance to answer. Mark was already pulling off your shorts before you could process your thoughts.

A few hours prior, you were upset. You were complaining to your sister about missing out on yet another holiday because your husband wasn’t in town. You would be going to bed alone, with nothing but an “I love you” to keep you from reaching the brink of insanity. It was reassuring, but it just wasn’t enough. His physical presence was what you truly longed for.

Mark told you…. He told you….you wouldn’t spend Valentine’s day alone this year.

And yet...

You did. But in this moment, you believed a strike against him wouldn’t be fair. In the end, you would be falling asleep in his arms.

“I’m sorry I got back so late, baby. I rushed here as fast as I could.” He softly said into your ear, his tone genuinely apologetic.

You moaned in response as he slipped your lace underwear off of you. A trail of warm kisses decorated your neck as his fingers found his way between your legs. You kept your arms wrapped around his neck and shifted your head so you could kiss him deeply. You were now on your side and draped your leg over him once again.

You gasped and went stiff when you felt Mark’s fingers intrude your wet hole, his thumb gently rubbing your nub. The both of you could hear the squelching of your fluids as he found a steady rhythm. You let out a loud moan as your hips started to gyrate against his fingers.

“Shh, baby. You’re going to wake up the neighbors.” Mark kissed behind your ear and muttered a curse underneath his breath. “Just focus on me.”

Oh how you've missed this.

He brought his lips back to your's and you grew more aroused as your hips and tongue moved along with Mark’s fingers as he continued to slowly move his digits inside of you. You could feel his smile against your lips each time your body would tense up and you would clench around his fingers. But your mind was preoccupied with the taste of his hungry lips.

His kisses were urgent. Needy. Every kiss was as passionate as the last and you only wanted more.

He finally removed his fingers and you felt as though you were breathing for the first time. You heavily exhaled and moaned softly as your hips rolled, the feeling of emptiness becoming unbearable.

“Shiit.” Mark examined his glistening fingers. In awe at the amount of fluid that transferred. “You missed me this much? I can’t wait to show you how much I've missed you.” He bit his lip and gently pulled you onto him, slowly moving his hips as you straddled him.

You felt his hard cock underneath you and it finally dawned on you that Mark had been naked the entire time. He moaned softly when his tip made contact with your wet opening and you reacted by grabbing it and squatting right above it.

Mark reached over to the nightstand and turned on the dim lamp. You smiled at him once the light revealed his features. He responded with a warm smile that reached his eyes and gave you a nod. He did always love to watch.

You held eye contact with him as you slowly lowered yourself, letting his member disappear into your wet core. You gasped as you felt yourself stretching to accommodate his size after months of using alternatives that just didn’t measure up.

Mark whimpered underneath you and slid a hand up into your shirt to fondle a breast. You put your hand over his and started to ride him. Mark let out a breath as his eyes rolled back and he sank even lower into his pillow. You lifted yourself again and lowered slowly enough for you to savor the feeling. You let out a soft moan as you felt yourself getting wetter as the movement grew easier.

“Fuckkk.” Mark shook his head softly and bit his lip again. "Baby, I'm going insane…." Mark could barely finish the sentence before a quiet moan took over. His eyes shut tighter as his fingers dug deeper into your flesh. You yelped when he suddenly started fucking into you. You leaned forward, eventually switching from your feet to your knees, and rested your hand on his chest, a familiar sensation forming in your lower region.

“Are you close, baby? Wait for me. Let’s finish together, yeah?” Mark breathed out as he continued pounding into you. He pulled you into his chest and held your hands behind your back, by the wrists. His eyebrows scrunched together as he began to concentrate so he could last longer- but you began to shake.

“Oh babe no, wait.” Mark whined and gently flipped you over so he was on top. You moaned as he repositioned himself while still inside of you. He filled you up in ways you never thought possible,

You squirmed underneath him as months of pent up sexual frustration surged through Mark’s body. He plunged deeper into you with a long grunt and you instinctively held onto him.

“You take it so well.” He grunted into your ear as he pinned each hand to the sides of your head. He nuzzled his chin into your neck and exhaled as your entire body moved in unison with his thrusts. “I’m so close, baby. Oh fuck..”

You wrapped your legs around him as he stiffened and groaned. You felt the warmth of his seed spill into you as Mark rested on you.

He sighed and propped himself up to look at you with a smile.

“I didn’t finish…” You said softly.

“I've gathered….give me a few minutes and I’ll take care of it.” Mark said as he held eye contact with you. A small smile formed on his lips as he started to caress your cheek.

“Can you do that thing that I like?” You asked him shyly.

Mark let out a small laugh and kissed you. “We’re gonna need a towel.”

[nofingjustaninchident]

⛧° midnights are easier with you

⛧° 。 ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆༺♱༻⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ 。°⛧

⛧° 。 ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆༺♱༻⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ 。°⛧

content: percy jackson x hephaestus!reader, platonic!leo valdez x fem!reader

warnings: angst, mentions of leo's death.

a/n: dedicated to my dear wife cynthia cause she asked me to post this one first so... yeah. ejoy ya'll

word count: 1,537

⛧° 。 ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆༺♱༻⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ ⋆ 。°⛧

now playing… late night talking - harry styles

It’s a normal thing for demigods to have constant nightmares. Every night, the same monsters or gods or prophecies kept haunting your dreams, never going away. You couldn’t remember the last time you had a night of peaceful sleep, much less a good dream. 

But after the battle with Gaea, the nightmares only worsened, the loss of two of your closest friends and family never leaving your mind. And they couldn’t seem to haunt anyone else, just you. 

Maybe because only you, amongst all of them, saw your brother’s death.  

One time, at four in the morning, you woke up sweating and crying in your own bed sheets. It was once again with Leo’s death. He was once your best friend and closest brother, the type of close that’d tease and annoy you, but always be there, nonetheless.  

You knew you couldn’t stay in your cabin, so you decided to go to the beach. It was the only place you knew the harpies wouldn’t go this late at night, so it was practically your only option. And it wasn’t a bad one. Definitely better than staying at the Hephaestus cabin or even going to bunker nine, remembering all the good memories you had made with Leo in eight short months that should’ve been longer. 

You threw on a random hoodie that you had stolen from Percy’s cabin when he was missing, and you needed some sort of reassurance that maybe, maybe he was still alive. Now he was alive and well, probably sleeping in his cabin.  

And you were here, moping around.  

Two months before, you’d probably be moping with Jason, mourning the loss of a best friend and brother for the both of you. But now he was in a boarding school in California, unable to answer a call. Not that you’d call him, anyway. 

While walking in the direction of the beach, your mind kept diverting towards the green-eyed, raven-haired boy. You’ve had a crush on Percy for a few years now. Four, to be more specific. I mean, who never had a crush on Percy freaking Jackson?  

Not just hot, he was kind, brave, loyal, clever, strong, powerful, handsome... what else could anyone want, huh? 

Even thinking about him never seemed to leave your mind. And it was definitely better than to think about Leo twenty-four seven and get even more trauma than what you already had with his death. 

Even knowing that Percy was a water dude, it was still wildly surprising to find him taking a swim in the middle of the night at Camp Half-Blood's beach. He was right there, lying on the sand after a swim, being bathed by the first sunrays, his orange tee clinging to his wet body. 

He looked angelic, even godly. Anything, but definitely not human. He was too handsome for this world.  

You obviously assumed he was asleep, so you just kept staring at his face. It may have been a little creepy if he wasn’t your best friend who always did that with you too, so you just ignored and mentally mapped all the freckles on his cheeks, hoping beyond hope that someday you’d kiss every and each one of them.  

“You know it’s creepy when someone just watches you when you sleep, right?” Percy asked, his usual smug and cocky grin quickly making his way to his lips as he didn’t even bother to open an eye. 

You obviously couldn’t help but smirk back at the boy, laughing and kicking him playfully on the thigh.  

“Oh, shut up, Jackson. You do that to me every time you barge into my cabin. Stupid psycho.” You said jokingly while sitting beside him on the sand.  

“You hurt my feelings.” He said with a wide smile as he sat and pulled you in for a hug. A hug which you desperately tried to squirm away from, since he was dripping wet, soaking your shirt as well.  

After a few minutes of a heated battle, that he won with his ticklish cheating, you were soaked in the sea water without even getting into the sea itself and Percy was holding back his giggles.  

Infuriating, sure. Still cute, though.  

His laugh was just too pretty. The way he threw his head back just made you want to kiss the hell out of him, but you knew that wasn’t possible. Ruining your eldest friendship was an unnecessary risk to take.  

“You’re infuriating” You mumbled, rolling your eyes. 

“Maybe. But I'm hot, so it’s a win-win in my book.” He said, looking at you with his puppy eyes, which made you chuckle and look at the dawn sky.  

The color mixing together in a pink, orange and black haze with the remaining stars in the sky were your second favorite view in the world. It just lost to Percy. 

If you looked at him right now, you would notice how he was staring at you. You'd probably blush and smile at his intense, never faltering gaze. His sea-green eyes seemed to never leave your face, and one could even say he seemed enamored by you. But you wouldn’t let yourself think that and have false hopes and expectations. You could only hope that maybe, one day, he’d feel the same for you that you felt for him. 

“What brought you here in the middle of the night?” He asked a few moments later. When you looked at him, he seemed worried. It was definitely not usual for you to come to the beach at four in the morning, so he was kind of right in worrying so much. 

“I... had a nightmare. Couldn't really sleep after that.” You said, shrugging it off. 

“About?” He asked, raising one eyebrow in curiosity. 

“Leo. Leo's death, actually.” You answered.  

He just hummed in agreement and understanding. Obviously, he’d understand what you were talking about, since he experienced dozens of deaths of close friends, same as you did.  

“Wanna try and talk about it?” He asked, tilting his head slightly to the side. 

“Not really.” You said for what it seemed like the tenth time in just a day.  

It's not that you were trying to hide your pain. Well, you were indeed trying to hide it but that’s off the point. I mean, it wouldn’t go great if he knew what was really going on in your head, especially when a few of those things were thoughts of him and you making out till you were both breathless and panting.  

“You know, you couldn’t have avoided his suicide. Trust me. Hazel and Frank tried, and it didn’t work out.” He said, trying to reassure you as he moved a little closer to you, your shoulders touching slightly.  

“Yeah, maybe. But they didn’t know him. Maybe he’d- maybe he’d listen to me, okay? I just- It's just too painful.” You said, already feeling the tears flowing to your eyes. His death was a sensitive topic that never failed to bring you to tears. 

“I know, beautiful, but he did it because he knew he’d save the world.” He said, scooting closer to you and pulling you to his chest. “If it weren’t for Leo, we would still be in a gigantic war, and we’d have so much more losses, darling. Leo is a hero. He'll always be remembered as one.”  

“I wanted him here, not his memories.” You mumbled, letting the tears fall freely from your eyes straight into his strong arms.  

“Yeah, I know. I know it’s hard, and the pain’s gonna take a long while to go away. But it eventually will.” He reassured, kissing your cheek. “And while it doesn’t, I'm gonna be here by your side whenever you need. Even if you don’t need, I'm still here.”  

“I love you.” You murmured under your breath before you could even stop it. He kissed your forehead softly. 

“I love you too, y/n/n.” He whispered. But it seemed like only fraternal, or friends love. That's more than what you want, and you’re gonna tell him. He deserves to know. Maybe it’ll ruin your friendship, but you just can’t keep this bottled up.  

“No, Percy.” You said, sniffing and sitting back, looking at his green eyes with your own puffy ones. “I love you. Like, lovelove.” 

He looked... startled, to say the least. He blinked a few times, trying to make sense of your words. You were starting to regret ever saying anything to him. Maybe now he’s gonna hate you and never talk to you again, then the whole trauma of Leo’s death would now be together with Percy leaving, and you were gonna get even more fucked up than you already are, and- 

Or maybe he’d just kiss you and completely interrupt your entire trail of thought and your whole mind with his salty, sea-like kisses and chapped lips that fit so perfectly with yours.  

His hand found your waist, holding it while his tongue entered your mouth deliciously well. It was literally a dream come true.  

Finally, you two were completely out of breath and he pulled away, smiling and keeping your foreheads touching.  

“I think I love you too.” He answered before pulling you in for another kiss.  

[eternal-evergreens]

hello! i saw the request open so i would like to request yandere azul from twst having a relationship with his darling (fem reader) but deep down his darling started to get tired of the relationship because y'know, his yandere tendencies. especially he's super clingy to her it makes her suffocated around him.

thank you,

｡⁠*ﾟ⁠+*⁠.⁠✧ "Error 30004" ｡⁠*ﾟ⁠+*⁠.⁠✧

Post type: drabble

Pairing: Yandere!Azul Ashengrotto x Fem!Reader

Word count: 744

Warnings: Angst, pretty tame for a yandere fic actually

Being Azul's girlfriend wasn't...without benefits, but the cons are slowly, steadily starting to outweigh the pros. He is far, far too dependant on you. And aside from the mental exhaustion his clinginess causes you, you're sure it can't be healthy for him, either.

Truthfully, you should have broken up with him a long, long time ago.

To be fair, you have tried. It's just...whenever you start to steer the conversation to something more somber, it's as if you can hear his heart breaking into little pieces.

The image of his face, tear-stricken and blindsided, keeps you up at night.

But enough is enough. This is the sixth time he's tried to delay your departure just tonight. It was well past midnight, and you were supposed to have been gone by five.

"Oh dear, would you look at the time? I'm afraid I simply cannot allow you to walk home at this hour. Why don't you stay the night? I've already made the preparations, just in case." Of course he has.

You take a deep breath, square your shoulders, and look him in the eyes. "Azul," you say. "This would be the eighth night in a row that you've asked me to stay over. I already told you that Grim is waiting for me back at Ramshackle. I promised him I'd come home tonight. I told you that I'd go home tonight."

"But I couldn't possibly let you walk home in the dark, even with me to walk you back it'd still be—"

"—'Improper'. I know, Azul. You've given me this spiel a hundred times before. At this point I spend more time in Octavinelle than I do in my own dorm!"

"Is that such a bad thing?" He asks. His composure is wavering. An ordinary person wouldn't be able to tell, but you know him well enough to know the difference. He shakily reaches for you hand, but you bat it away. You sigh heavily, closing your eyes and putting your hand up to your temple.

"Azul, I can't do this anymore. I need space. You aren't even giving me room to breathe."

"...You're...breaking up with me...?" His voice is cracked, and you can hear him holding back a sob. Against your better judgement, you crack an eye open. Clear grey eyes welling with tears, a wobbly lip, pinched eyebrows. It's the very same face that you'd been fearing all this time.

Your resolve cracks.

"I just—I just need a break. We don't have to break up, just—just show me that we can live without each other, okay? It's not healthy. We're not healthy."

"...o...ut...?" Azul mumbles something, but you can't make it out over his cries.

"What was that?" You ask, trying to sound as gentle as possible.

"So what?!" He says, nearly yelling. "So what if it's not healthy?! We love each other, don't we?!"

"Azul..." He begins to break down in your arms. You hesitantly hold him as he cries, rubbing soft circles into his back. After what feels like an eternity wrapped up in an hour, Azul's sobs finally calm down enough for him to speak.

"We love each other..." He says, nearly murmuring. "Isn't that enough...?" Neither of you say anything more, and eventually, his breathing evens out, indicating he's finally asleep.

Your sleeves are wet. It's been a long night

Gently laying Azul onto his pillow, you check the bedside clock. It's one in the morning. Grim is going to give you an earful...assuming he's awake enough to care, that is.

In the bathroom, a spare toothbrush, shampoo, conditioner, hair ties, face wash, makeup.

In the bedroom, an extra pillow, spare clothes, an overnight bag, a sleep mask, a weighted blanket.

In your bag, school supplies, snacks, a water bottle, a friendship bracelet with a paw charm. Your resolve strengthens.

You pack up your things, all of them, and leave. When you get back to Ramshackle, you send a quick text, and then promptly shut off your phone.

1:06AM

I went back to Ramshackle. I took all my overnight stuff with me, too. Won't be needing it anymore. Sorry, Azul, but I lied. This is the end.

Delivered.

7:46AM

You have -78- missed calls.

You have 62 new voicemails.

You sigh, quickly hitting something on your phone before shutting it off again. You knew you shouldn't have looked.

From across the campus, Azul stares at his screen.

Message failed to deliver.

[beom-s-author]

txt reactions hyung line- they saw you crying

warnings: fluff,comforting,cryings,curse,hugs,etc.

Choi Yeonjun

You were looking at the ceiling in your room, lying on your back on the bed. Your phone was open next to you. It caught your attention that people you saw on Twitter ship Yeonjun with other idols and how beautiful they are. You took a deep breath, but you couldn't stop yourself from thinking. They were very beautiful. They sang wonderfully and danced wonderfully. You were just you. You were living in your little house, going to college and working part-time at the same time.

Feel pitty for yourself. And you were still thinking about the reasons why Yeonjun was with you. But nothing came to ypur mind. You were you, and you were more ordinary than ordinary. Tears filled the fountains of your eyes and fell one by one. Your teeth shook and chattered together. Your heart ached, but no one could suppress the words that you didn't deserve Yeonjun. As your whispered to yourself, sobs interrupted your words. Then you took a deep breath. Your hands were shaking. You stopped with the hand reaching for your tear-stained cheeks.

"Shhh..There is there is.." Yeonjun stroked your back and hugged you. You sobbed again and took your phone to not let him to see the post you read. But he quickly pulled it to himself and saw them. He looks at you with upset smile and sat next you. He stroked your hair and puts little smile to your forehead. "You know, it is not something I care about. You can be an ordinary person even You are already the most special to me. But you know that I will always choose you,right? So please don't cry ever again for this ridiculous things. I am happy with you crybaby." He giggled and hugs you bsck with his soft hands and his soothing words.

Choi Soobin

You came home tired. You had many wounds on your knee. Your hands were pricked by thorns. You were the school's representative in the running tournament. And everyone had very high expectations from you. But you weren't that confident in yourself. Because you didn't have the ability to manage under pressure, you stumbled too many times, resulting in bruises on your knees. You rubbed your hands on the bushes and caused a thorn to get stuck in you. The scratches made your arms bleed. You entered the house drenched in sweat. You immediately kicked off your shoes. There was blood on your leggings. You sighed deeply and lay down on the bed. When you lay down and closed your eyes, you were already asleep...

When you opened your eyes, It was already midnight. You overslept and missed your video time with Soobin. He was probably asleep also. You sighed with anticipation and laid down back. You looked at your knees and sighs with annoyance. You put some bandaged on them. You laid down again and slept back. After a day later, It was finally your competition day. You wore your outfit and now you were waiting for Soobin to come.

you waited 1 minute. 10 minute and half hour. But he wasn't there. You calles him but he wasn't there You got anxious. but he texted you after a few minutes later as he couldn't come to your competition. You sighed heavily. You went to the track and started waiting for the bell. And it started. You were out of breath almost 5 seconds later and you were 2nd now.

It was maybe not the worst one but you can be 1st also. You sighed with pain, tiredness and disappointed feelings. You took your price and went your home with tears. Soobin was at home already with snacks and refreshing bath tub with candles and room sprays. You hugged to his neck while crying loudly. You were too appreciating how he is always near of you and now you were also emotional. "Hey stop crying Y/N. You did your best. I am proud of you. I wanted watch but I couldn't so I made meal for you. I am so curious if you will like it."

Choi Beomgyu

You were on your period. Beomgyu was more stubborn and sarcastic than ever. He was laughing at your figure lying on the couch and was crushing you. But he was trying to make you happy. Most of the time, your mood would end up responding to Beomgyu's sarcastic remarks, but right now, you were in so much pain that Beomgyu's words were causing you more pain. When you take a spoon of ice cream and continue going to bed. In a big size blanket, you were sitting on the couch in pain. Your belly is aching a lot with the period cramps. Beomgyu was watching you from distance. He couldn't handle that. He went to the fridge and brang you some painkillers. He picked your favorite movie as 'Shrek 4' and laid down with you. His warmness was easing you a lot. You laid down with him while watching. Some scenes, your eyes are getting teary and you were finding yourself sniffing. Beomgyu started laughing when he saw you crying over to a scene which Fiona and Shrek is arguing. You were crying and sobbing because it reminds and panicks you if you and Beomgyu will argue like them. Beomgyu hugged you and kissed your cheeks. "Stop 'muah' Crying 'muah' little pumpkin."

You hugged him back and he picked you up for a piggy ride. You were feeling better because you were laughing after crying. Beomgyu has found the best solving for the pain. Laughing and quality times.

You watched all series of Shrek all night and hugged each other. Beomgyu was monitering your pain and also your mood. He was trying to ease your pain a bit again. He holded your hands and rubbed your belly. He kissed your hands and cheeks. He put your hands on his shouders and pulls you closer. "Sleep on me. Need some sleep and rest also."

[unluckilyimnot]

Heyy! So I’m struggling with an ed at the moment and I read your headcanons where the tr boys find out reader has an ed but I was wondering if u could do that for the Bonten trio? Tyyy

s/o who has ed

Characters : Ran, Rindou, Sanzu (all Bonten)

Type : ansgt, hurt to comfort

Words count : 0.5

m.list

It’s fine, I can write about it, it’s just the same as an old one I did : I speak as a girl who experienced it in a certain way, so I’ll do my best and I don’t mean any hurt it can cause. If you’re struggling with ed we can talk about it if you feel like it, but at least don’t hesitate to talk about it. Only around people you’re safe please, I don’t want you to go through the same things as I did. You can get through it even if it’s hard (I did but I’m not cured at all)

I love you, take care of yourself and people around you, please

Ran notices how you never touch the left over, even if he put it there for you to eat. He tried multiple times, just to be sure, but every time you already ate, or you're not hungry, or not enough so you’ll just eat some fruit. He knows too well what’s going on, yet he doesn’t know how to handle it. He can’t force you to see someone, but it hurts him acknowledging all your tricks, the way you still smile in front of your food when he hears you throwing up right after.

“Why aren’t you eating ?” It’s past midnight, you’re already reading tug in your shared bed and Ran just sat beside you. You can’t process it at first, it makes you feel sick. “It’s not a crime, I imagine what it is, but I want to understand you. And help if I can. Explain it all to me. Please.”

For a few seconds you tried to doubt that you deserve a man like him, before recalling he can kill for money. He may not be the best man out there, but he is for you. He’s ready to do better and understand you without getting mad. At the thought you shed a tear, and another and before you realize it you can’t articulate a proper sentence beside telling him that you’re sorry. Deeply sorry to be like this.

“It’s not your fault, don’t be sorry. I’m here for you.”

Rindou feels that you’re smaller than you used to be, so much smaller. It’s like he hasn’t held you in a million years when it’s only been two weeks since he left. He grabbed you a little more, here and there, but you can’t help but feel uneasy.

“Let me go to Rindou..”

“You’re so small, why ? Have you eaten enough when I was gone ?” panicked rush through his veins when he sees your eyes meeting the floor, guilt creeping into both of you. He knew it, he always did. He simply thought you were doing better since he was there and after all those years struggling together. It was that simple for you to stop it and start it all again. He’s helpless and, oh so sorry but not in a way when he feels like giving up. In a way that if he had to do it all again, from the beginning for you to get better, he will.

Sanzu doesn’t eat much himself, which is not helping with his addiction but he wants you to be healthy. He doesn’t like the idea of you hurting your body more than you already have to do. So when he finally realizes all your tricks to make him believe that you're eating normally despite your showing bones he’s more sad than mad. He knows he’s nobody to talk to, he’s destroying himself little by little too, but thinking he can lose you that way made him cry on your knees. You don’t even know what to do, you’re simply sorry but without being able to promise him you’ll stop.

“Don’t leave me” he cried out, not ready to lose someone else.

“I’ll try,” you replied.

In the silence, between his cries, there’s a secret promise that both of you will try to get each other out of their way, even if they can’t even help themselves.

Fist post in years /lit a bir short excuse me but i have to get used to it again

Hope you like it ♡

[stargazerlily7210]

So, in an effort to continue my reign as Queen of Overthing Everything I Love, here's two more things I've noticed while rewatching Church on Ruby Road...again.

1) How The Doctor words his telling of the story of Ruby being found. His narration of the story goes like this:

"Once upon a time, late on Christmas Eve, a stranger came to the church on Ruby Road.

"She carried in her arms the most precious gift of all: A newborn child. A baby girl.

"Just before midnight, she left her daughter on the steps of the church.

"The child was taken in, and they named her Ruby after the place where she was found.

"As for the mother, she was never seen again. No one ever knew her name...

"Until that night a time traveler came to call. A traveler known as The Doctor."

Now, certain parts of that feel like artistic liberties for the sake of the story/fairytale vibe. (Ex. "...on the steps of the church" as we watch Ruby be placed on the ground in front of the door, no steps insight.)

I've already made a post about why I think the woman being Ruby's mother is likely one of those artistic liberties, but that's not what this is about.

This time, I'm caught up on the "No one ever knew her name UNTIL..."

The only ways to take the whole last part of his story is that when The Doctor arrives during that scene, are a) he knows her name in that moment, or b) somehow his arrival causes an unnamed but relevant someone else to know her name.

And while, that alone wouldn't be enough to warrant this post, it did feel intentional. Especially considering that by the end of the episode, as far as we can tell, there's no known reason/opportunity for The Doctor to have learned her identity yet.

Which leads me to my next point.

2) I can't help but wonder if we're intentionally being misled. Because the scene we're shown at the beginning during The Doctor's story is not the same as what we see in the end of the episode when The Doctor goes back to rescue Ruby from the goblins.

And I can prove it.

It's shot as if it's the same scene twice, and we're clearly meant to think we've just caught up to what we saw at the start of the episode.

Pardon my poor quality photos (idk how to get screen shots from either iplayer or disney+) but look:

These are from the start of the episode. Note: the tears actively running down his cheeks.

BUT!

These are from the "same" moment but at the end of the episode. Note: watery eyes, but no active tears spilling over.

Now I understand enough about the filming process to know there can absolutely be minor inconsistencies between shots as the various takes are edited together to create the final product. But why bother to edit and use different, identically framed shots that are supposed to be of the same moment, but don't line up? Especially when it's a closeup of a single person?

It just seems intentional to me. Especially when you consider my first point in tandem with it.

I think what we hear/see at the beginning isn't what we see in the episode. Maybe it happens later after Ruby and The Doctor figure out the identity of the woman/Ruby's mother.

Thoughts?

[wowsosad]

Sam calling Dean dad/daddy? Take that wherever and however you want 🖤

Hi nonnie :)

CW/TW: Weecest (Sam is 14, Dean is 18), avid references to this post, Daddy!Dean, Sam acts younger than he is (psychological regression who? Freud would have a field day), quite soft and fluffy, really no nsfw here

.

They’re in an apartment this time, and it’s rented every two weeks instead of every month. They’re close to St. Louis, but not within the city by any means. John’s been running around in the surrounding counties, going after a variety of salt and burns while Sam attends the nearby high school, and Dean made money bussing tables and serving at a bar (no time for high school, these days. Too many monsters and too little money). Today is a day like any other.

Sam’s leg bounced where he sat in his seventh-period class. He liked American history well enough, but the curriculum for freshman at his last school, Columbus High School in Nebraska, did ancient world history for freshmen. He liked that far more than WW2, which he’s learned about 16 separate times already.

Sam’s friend—“friend” being a tentative term—Derek was leaning against his hand, eyelids drooping. The teacher had finished for the day, and was giving them time to work on their homework assignments. Sam had been done with them for days, and was eagerly looking at the clock, anxious for school to be over. Derek’s eyes traveled up and down Sam’s body, blasé enough that it didn’t feel weird.

“What’re you so excited about?” Derek mumbled, and Sam’s attention snapped away from the clock on the wall. 2:50, ten minutes ‘til class was up.

Sam’s leg continued bouncing, “My dad’s picking me up.” A grin threatened to split across his cheeks, and Derek rolled his eyes.

“Your dad always picks you up. There’s nothing exciting about that,” Derek scuffed his shoe against the floor. Sam frowned.

“You’re just jealous ‘cause you’re a bus rider,” Sam switched which leg he was bouncing, and Derek hummed in acknowledgement. As they were talking, the rest of the class began abandoning their work in favor of socialization.

“I’m not jealous. My dad’s a total goober. If he picked me up I’d be embarrassed. Your dad, though,” Derek mimed steering a car, “He’s got that cool Impala. It’s hard to be lame in one of those.”

Sam grinned, finally letting his glee show on his face, “Yeah, my dad is pretty cool. So is his car.”

The second the bell rang, Sam bolted out of the classroom. He barely stopped by his locker to drop off the books he didn’t need for homework, then he was out of the building like a flash. Dean’s car was smack-dab-center in the car-rider line, and Sam hurried to it, satchel smacking against his thigh as he slowed his pace. “Four Sticks” by Led Zeppelin was audible from the stereo, and Sam stuck his head in the open window. He met Dean’s eye with a wide smile. It was Wednesday, which meant Dean wasn’t working.

Dean’s shift at the bar always started at 4:00 and ended at midnight. The only days he didn’t work were Wednesday and Sunday, which meant Sam loved Wednesday and Sunday.

“Dad!”

Dean’s smile split across his face, “Sammy! Come on, get in.”

Sam hurried into the car, tossing his bag to the ground between his legs, and leaning forward to meet Dean in the middle. Dean wrapped an arm around Sam, cradling his neck, and pressed a firm kiss to his forehead. When released, Sam flopped against the seat with a smile.

“I missed you, daddy,” Sam blinked, and Dean grinned before ruffling his hair.

“I missed you too, kiddo. I got my paycheck, you wanna go get some ice cream?”

Sam’s smile grew even wider, “Milkshakes?”

“Whatever you want,” Dean affirmed, and pulled out of the car-rider line.

Once home, his stomach full of a burger, fries, and milkshake, Sam slumped on the living room couch with a deflated, content sigh. He was flopped up against the armrest, lithe body lain across the couch cushions, and Dean smiled at him softly. The older boy followed Sam onto the couch, crowding over him. Sam’s breath hitched, his jaw ticking up as Dean’s face hovered over his.

“Daddy,” Sam cooed, eyelashes fluttering, “You’re not working tonight.” He was giddy. It was already past 4:00, and usually, Dean would’ve been long-gone by now. Most days, Sam prided himself in his maturity. He was a pretty grown-up kid, knew how to hunt monsters and how to kill them, was mostly fluent in Latin, had fired a gun more times than the average 14-year-old boy. But he felt small with Dean, like falling back into a littler version of himself. Dean never made fun of him for it.

Dean bent down onto his elbows, one hand coming up to cradle Sam’s jaw.

“You’re right, I’m not workin’. I’m all yours this evening. Whaddaya wanna do?” Dean’s fingers, calloused and warm, gently scratched up and down Sam’s soft jaw. He hadn’t yet grown facial hair yet, unlike Dean, who had scruff he maintained. It made him look older, and more handsome.

“We could watch a movie,” Sam bit his bottom lip, worrying at the inflamed, reddened skin there. Dean’s thumb moved to remove Sam’s lip from his mouth with a tut.

“You should stop bitin’ there, Sammy. You’re hurtin’ yourself,” Dean’s gaze was pensive, unconcerned. He’d been repeating that for years. If Sam wasn’t biting his lip, it was the inside of his cheek, or his nails. “A movie sounds good, though. I got Ferris Bueller’s Day Off from the Blockbuster downtown,” Dean tapped Sam’s chin, “Does that sound good, kiddo?”

Sam nodded, and smiled, “Yeah, daddy, that sounds good.”

[ruanais]

。。。 FOUR, NINE, THIRTEEN 。。。

• — { omnipresent. chapter one: }

• — {warnings : mentions of suicide, dark content, no nsfw but things that could be triggering, dazai :P , bad writing, reader curses a lot, maybe some typos, etc. etc.}

• — {special thanks to : silver for helping me write + plan the plot, thank u to red and kat for taking their time to beta read, and thank u to mai for also helping with the plot ! }

• — { tagging the people who expressed interest ! @settingssun | @silverbladexyz @cheriiyaya | @kxttqi | @riiwrites + comment under this post to be tagged ! }

THE FIRST TIME Dazai Osamu met you, it was midnight. he was just walking to a bar and you were on the edge of a bridge railing, dressed in a school uniform. probably from a prestigious high school and not more than 15, he guessed when he took a better look at you. 

it was raining a storm, Rain had soaked through your clothes, and your hair was drenched. Paired with the harsh wind, you must be freezing. 

You were looking down at the river, a rather far away look in your eyes as you were seemingly in a dilemma, weighing two choices and- 

oh. 

dazai had already got the gist of what you were about to do, yet made no motion whatsoever. still and silent as a shadow, even when you took in a sharp breath and stepped off, falling down to the river’s current

a splash and you were gone forever, leaving him alone on the bridge.

now he was blankly staring at where you were mere seconds ago. not caring to even move. rooted at where he was. but several questions ran through his mind at that moment.

did you notice him staring? 

it wasn’t any use thinking about it so he let it go. 

the second time he encountered you, he had heard a series of gunshots then quickly headed to there. you were already dead. shot by someone he couldn’t catch.

Obviously, he was surprised to see your face but quickly collected himself, called the police, and left. finding it suspicious but quickly brushing it off his mind as he had more urgent and important matters to take care of than the measly death of someone he didn’t know. 

the third time he saw you, you were crossing the street. a calico cat in your arms as you talked to it, petting its fur and a warm smile on your face. 

then, you turned your head and caught sight of him, you widened your eyes seemingly in recognition, but you had ran, almost as if you were trying to escape from him.

well, dazai had tried to chase after you. But in your haste, you had failed to look at the road. tires screeched and you got hit by a car. 

he had ran and reached out his hand to try and pull you away despite knowing it was futile. but it was too late. blood splattered on him, staining his hand. Not that he ever cared. 

the cat was unhurt though, somehow miraculously shielded by your body. its large eyes looking into his’s before letting out a small meow then ran away. leaving you on the ground. 

sirens cut through the deathly silence, medics quickly rushing out of an ambulance after a bystander called the police. arriving just a few minutes later.

He tsked, running his hand through his hair, and and slipped away from there, away from that street, never to return.

on the fourth time, he saw you again. now convinced that you were a special case, he had to find you before you were gone. 

but unfortunately, he was too late again. you were a member of an rival organisation, holding important information and so was captured, interrogated, then brutally killed by one of the executive’s ability. crimson red blood pooled around your corpse before he got a chance to talk to you. 

“she already told us what we needed to know already. it’s no use keeping her around.” was what ozaki said when he demanded an explanation. “best to kill them before they cause further trouble. Say, dazai, don’t tell me-?” she frowned, shooting him a small glare. sighing deeply when he shook his head no. 

“I have to say, she was quite pathetic. Immediately telling us everything when we threatened the lives of her subordinates… I overestimated her.” was what she said while walking away slowly disappearing into the darkness, leaving him alone in the dim room. 

it was strange, he had to admit. the fact that you died every time before he got the chance to talk to you was quite eerie. not that he could do anything about it. Then, he left you again, leaving his underlings to clean up the mess. 

it happened nine times more, but instead of seeing you directly, he saw it on the news or heard it from his acquaintances. looking at your picture, you looked different in every universe but you had the same features. just enough to be recognizable. 

…

He was in the agency now, a new member. And amazingly, in record time, he was already doppo kunikida’s worst nightmare. 

today was his third day. how boring was this? 

in short: indescribable.

he felt like a deer caught in a spotlight. Far too out of place. Dazai knew how to put on an act, one to cover his true intentions quite nicely. Not enough to fool edogawa, of course. But enough to fool everyone else. 

he had listened to what odasaku had told him, be someone who saves people. he did or tried, or it would be something that he would do later. Depends, really.

…maybe one of the reasons he decided to follow through with his friend’s words was to make himself feel better. From what though? 

the guilt of not being able to save you? Maybe not stopping you from dying on the first time you met? 

Impossible. he was known as the demon prodigy after all when he was back in the port mafia, famous for being someone who had no remorse for murdering hundreds or committing endless heinous crimes. 

How troublesome. Such emotions were an obstacle to his goals. 

He tried to get rid of it. ignoring the guilt that was eating his heart away helped only a bit. But distractions helped. A few bottles of sake and his guilt would leave him for a while. 

But maybe paired with the fact that he couldn’t help nor save sakunosuke oda only made it worse. 

guilt was annoying. Troublesome, a nuisance. just about anything that was negative, he thinks, leaning back in his seat and ignoring the reports he has to write. 

actually, all emotions were useless. Was what he thought, turning around and around. 

…come to think of it, he never saw you in this universe before. nor even heard of you. 

maybe you don’t even exist right now. 

which is weird. since you seem to pop up randomly in every universe he’s in. 

really, really, reallyyyyyyy suspicious- 

“Ow!” 

A book hit his head, snapping him out of his thoughts. 

“Get to work dazai!” 

ah yes, classic kunikida. Always and forever strict and doesn’t like fun. Why were all math teachers like that? oh. even former ones. all they do is yell, scream, scold, yep math is definitely ruining the minds of everyone.

“Fineeee…these are boring though… I’ll do it later….” he whines, laying his head on his desk, drawing random shapes with his finger on the light brown wooden table. 

“Just do your work already!” Kunikida yelled, clearly at his breaking point.

“Come onnnn kunikidaaaaa just let me have some funn~” 

“You can have fun after work is over-“ 

“Aaah! sorry I'm late!” 

The agency’s door bangs open, and a disheveled young woman appears.

you?

he automatically freezes, eyes widening as he feels a chill run down his spine, dazai did just a quick double check to see if his vision is finally failing him.

the same eye colour? check.

the same hair colour? check.

the same height? check.

check, check, check.

fuck

Was what Dazai thinks after mentally checking off everything. His eyebrows furrowing. it was getting even more suspicious. Normally, you would die before he got to interact with you, so isn't this practically giving him a chance to know about you? What the hell does it- does it even fucking make sense? 

obviously not. 

which…didn’t make things any easier. 

kunikida mutters something under his breath before marching towards you, ready to give out yet another lecture. “Now why were you late?!” 

“uhm…I had to work a longer shift?” you said, shifting from one foot to the other. “Uh…it also didn’t help that there were more customers than usual..?” you added, awkwardly smiling as you sweatdropped nervously. 

“how many times do I have to tell you to fix your schedule?!” kunikida practically screams at you. “This has been the 5th time this month!” he stomps his foot before sighing, walking back to his seat and sitting down before checking his watch; “see? Now you’ve made me 3 minutes behind!” he groans, but promptly pushes back up his eyeglasses and opens back his computer to work.

“It wasn’t my fault- oh! new member huh? hi. want meat buns anyone?” you raise up a paper bag of warm buns, waiting for their response. instantly, almost everyone in that room raises their hand up. Except for kunikida and dazai.

“…we need to save some for president and haruno though.” Yosano reminded you as she reached into the bag for one. “i bought another bag of them, it’s fine!” you reassured her, then walked towards dazai.

 “hey, you. Do you like meat buns?” you ask, before letting him having a chance to answer, you stuffed the whole bun into his mouth when you got the chance, “it’s good right?” ignoring the fact that he may be choking right now. But who cares when you have dr. yosano? 

“Yep!” he replies after a while when he finished the bun, putting on a charming smile, pausing for a few moments before adding something utterly ridiculous; “would you be interested in committing a double suici-?” 

“no.” you interrupted, cutting him off. hitting his head with a folder you took from kunikida’s desk. Not noticing the slight ouch he let out. “I’m far too young to die yet.” You declare, taking out a bun and apparently practically inhaling it in less than a minute.

“What’s your name by the way?” “Dazai Osamu.” “That’s a weird name.” You remark, placing back the folder. “Anyways, I’m [name].“

“no last name?” “[name]’s surname is a mystery to everyone. only the president and ranpo know it, but apparently they wont even give a hint.” Yosano yawned stretching her arms.

“But, if you successfully guess what is her last name, you get half the money in her purse!” A random staff member chimed in.

“shut up!” you huff, “and my last name isn’t that important anyways! Besides, I’m not paying anyone for guessing my last name correctly-“

“all of you shut up! We won’t ever get any work done at this rate! Dazai, focus on your damned reports! [name]! Help organise these folders!”

kunikida hollered, now practically spitting fire. Well, to avoid trouble, everyone got to work. Expect for dazai that is. Unfortunately, he was still lazing around until you threatened to tell the president of his tardiness.

“Who knew [name] could be so strict? you really wouldn’t know her from just 3 years ago.” yosano teases as you glare at her. “Let’s not talk about that time.” You cringe, tensing up at the memory.

“ehh? but you were so cute back then! now you’re just a boring adult…” the doctor sighs, “at least I can go out to drink with you now.” she added, browsing through grotesque pictures of victims’ deaths. “oooo now this looks good…” she mumbled, absorbed in choosing the next picture to hang in her room. 

“Well im glad that I changed.” you say as you pour some coffee into your cup. How the coffee machine got placed on your desk was a wonder but no one asked why, already used to your rather unusual actions.

“Mmm…pretty sure you’re the only one that feels like that.” 

…

“I swear to God I’m gonna dieeee…” you slump in your chair, frowning after a few hours passed. evening had arrived and it was just about 6:00PM. The sun was in the process of setting, a warm orange-reddish glow settled around the agency.

everyone was occupied with something; dazai with his beloved a guide to suicide book, you with your day dreaming, kunikida with his work, yosano with her pictures, the staff with their own things, and ranpo who finally arrived after buying his snacks and is now feasting on them.

��there’s more work for today. Good job everyone. Feel free to home and rest.” the president suddenly appears from from his office, a black cat and haruno following him close behind.

Fukuzawa Yukichi: the man responsible for creating the Armed Detective Agency. the cat sat down the floor, then stared up at the president, letting out a small ‘meow!’ earning a few “awwws” from the agency staff and members.

“goodness…that cat is cute…” you murmur, playing with a pen. “I’ll bet I’ll scare the shit outta them the second i try to go near there though. what a shame.” You sigh before picking up your phone, after hearing numerous pings, you quickly scrolled through them, then got up, took your bag and started out.

“well then, thank you all for the hard work and please excuse me for leaving before you. I’ll see you all tomorrow then. Also! president! There’s a bag of meat buns for you and haruno! enjoy!” You waved, opened the door, and left. stretching your arms when you felt like you finally tasted the freedom of after finishing work.

you soon arrived at the train station, buying a ticket then entered the train. Suprisingly, there weren’t too much people. That’s good. after all, being stuffed in a train with loads of people like sardines in a can was never fun.

sitting down, you glanced out the window, admiring how pretty the sky looked when the sun was setting. Maybe you should wake up earlier tomorrow to see the sunrise…which would probably never happen since waking up in the mornings were hell.

nothing was really new. you followed the same routine everyday. wake up, brush your teeth, eat something, dress, then head to uzumaki cafe to work.

Which usually lasted until the afternoons. Then, you walked up to the agency’s office and helped with almost anything until your roommate spammed your messages to buy groceries or beer or whatever.

you’d head back, make dinner, do chores, shower, mess around then practically pass out in your bed until 7:00am and repeat.

you followed the same routine today as well, get back, made dinner, which today consisted of rice, vegetables, and soup. after that, you headed to bed a bit later than usual. due to innasomia from caffeine.

you really shouldn’t have drunk that much coffee at night.

either way, you were content with how things were. And you had thought that tomorrow would be the same as before until you woke up due to your phone ringing.

squinting at your clock, you wince. It was quite early: 8:00am and you only got 4 hours of sleep. just the day when you got the rare chance to head to work late.

groaning, you reached for your phone blindly, knocking down a few things until you could finally get a hold of it.

“…hello?” You groggily ask when you answer the phone, immediately snapping awake from your half asleep state after realising what the other person on the line just said.

“what the actual living fuck?”

rua’s notes : and that concludes the first chapter! whoaaaa it sure took a while huh :0 since it’s only the 1st, I wont immediately write abt the reader and osamu’s relationship :3 also, the reader has a ability ! (just wait a few more chapters) also chapter two will be focusing back on dazai !

thank u for reading this cringy ass fic that I stayed up all night writing !

[djarindroid]

Against All Odds

Pairing: Eric (AQPDO) x Reader

Summary: After meeting Eric and slowly growing closer to one another will you be able to get back to each other in this new silent world?

Word Count: 5,876

Warnings: Descriptions of violence, death and blood

Comments: I dunno why but I'm more nervous to post this than I have been about anything else I've written. Hope you enjoy!

The nights spent working at the NYU Law School library were peaceful. Where dimly lit aisles provided a sanctuary to any student burning the midnight oil. Your job was easy enough, re-shelve a few books and help the occasional student find something. Whilst night shifts weren’t ideal it was a sure way for you to save up to achieve your dream; going to art school. Besides, it gave you plenty of time to work on your sketches.

It was nearing 2am when someone burst through the doors, looking up from the returned books you were sorting though you saw a disheveled young man anxiously scanning the room until his eyes landed on you. Rushing over he blurted out, ‘Excuse me, I need a book on constitutional law. I have a paper due and my laptops just crashed on me.’ 

You smiled, hoping to ease his panicked state. ‘You’re gonna need to go up a floor to aisle 23, there should be some constitutional law books on the 2nd and 3rd shelf.’

‘Okay, perfect, aisle 23,’ he repeated as he began to walk away. ‘Thank you so much!’ 

You watched him go, slightly chuckling to yourself as he went to go downstairs instead of up, clearly too distracted to remember everything you said.

‘Hey,’ you softly called out. He halted, and turned to you. ‘Upstairs,’ you pointed up to emphasise where he went wrong.

‘Oh right, yeah of course, you said that. Thanks again,’ he stammered out as he quickly corrected himself, bounding up the stairs two at a time. You couldn’t help the small laugh that escaped you as you watched him go. Shaking your head you returned to sorting the books.

The next few hours passed uneventfully, a couple of other students came in and out but no one needed anything from you. As the clock ticked closer to dawn you decided to take a walk around the library, to check if any books had been left out.

As you made your way upstairs you wondered if the guy from earlier had found what he needed. Turning the corner at the top of the stairs you spotted him, working diligently in a sea of open books. The desk light bathed him a soft glow as he ran his hand through his already tousled hair. You don’t know what possessed you to go over to him, you only ever spoke to the students if they came up to you at the front desk, but you found yourself drawn over to him.

‘Hey,’ you said quietly, not wanting to break the serenity the library provided, ‘did you find what you were looking for?’

His deep brown eyes met yours with a hint of gratitude as they flicked up from his notes. Despite his frazzled appearance he had an undeniable charm. His slightly stubbled jaw line may have been tense with the stress he was under but there was a softness to his features that drew you in.

‘Oh hi, yeah I found everything,’ he gestured to the scattered books around him. ‘Thank you again for pointing me in the right direction, this place is still a bit of a maze to me.’

‘Not a problem, late night book adventures are all a part of the job,’ you joked, earning you a small chuckle from him.

‘I’m Eric, by the way,’ he said as his gaze lingered on you, causing a warmth to spread inside you. You hoped you weren’t blushing as you managed to reply with your own name.

He repeated it, his English accent making each syllable sound deliberate and thought out. ‘Thanks again. I should probably get back to it before the caffeine completely wears off.’

Understanding his situation, you nodded. ‘Good luck, if you need anything else let me know,’ with that you made your way back to the front desk. You tried to work on some of your sketches but your thoughts kept wandering back to Eric. You’d seen your fair share of late night students, but none had captured your attention quite like him.

Hours slipped by, the library remained quiet with only the occasional rustle or soft footsteps echoing in the stillness. Each sound drew your attention to the stairs, hoping to see Eric walking down.

But soon enough the first rays of sunlight began to filter through the windows, signalling the end of your shift. You packed your stuff, glancing over your shoulder every few seconds in the hope of seeing Eric one last time before you left. Feeling a bit foolish for lingering over a brief encounter you sighed and stepped outside.

The next night came around quickly and before you knew it you were back in the library, among a new shipment of books, in need of scanning and logging onto the system. The smell of fresh pages and the rhythmic beeping of the scanner offered a welcome distraction from the lingering thoughts about Eric. You’d scolded yourself for fixating on a man you’d only had a few interactions with, deciding you needed to get out more.

You settled into a steady rhythm of logging the books but time still seemed to drag. Just as you were about to take a break the main door creaked open. A smile unconsciously spread across your lips at the site of who walked in. Eric seemed calmer today but he still had a determined glint in his eye.

He spotted you and matched your smile. His steps towards you were more confident than the previous night, your heartbeat picked up the closer he got. ‘Hey Eric, need help finding something?’ you greeted him first.

His smile widened as he reached the desk ‘no not quite. I actually wanted to come back and thank you properly, you really saved me last night.’ He leant on your desk, resting on his forearms as he looked down at where you sat.

‘Oh you didn’t have to come back just for that,’ you flushed. Had he really just made the trip here in the middle of the night to thank you again? Maybe you’d affected him as much as he had you, you tried not to dwell on the thought.

‘Yeah I was actually planning on bringing you coffee but I wasn’t sure what you liked,’ he scratched the back of his head nervously. ‘Didn’t want to bring you the wrong thing you know? And a lot of people don’t like to drink caffeine at night so I didn’t know if you’d want it at all, and it might be a bit weird for me to just turn up with it…’

He was anxiously rambling and boy did you find it endearing. ‘I like coffee,’ you gently interrupted, once again hoping to put him at ease. ‘I usually stop on my way here for a latte.’ You nodded towards the empty takeaway cup you’d thrown out earlier.

His shoulders visibly relax, ‘good to know.’ His smile returned as he spoke, somehow warmer this time.

The subtle implication that he was remembering that information didn’t go amiss, filling you with pleasant anticipation. A comfortable silence fell over the two of you, you wanted to continue the conversation but had no idea what to say. 

‘Well I guess I should leave you to it,’ he said as he straightened up again, tapping the desk as he did. You couldn’t stop the small pang of disappointment at him leaving so soon. Why had you expected more? After all, you barely knew each other.

Despite the urge to ask him to stay, you were technically working and were unsure of how appropriate that would actually be. You found yourself saying ‘okay, have a good night.’

You could’ve sworn you saw a flicker of hesitation in his eyes. He gave you a small nod and said ‘well, until next time.’ He flashed you one final smile before he turned and left as quickly as he’d arrived.

Watching him go, the echo of the closing door filled you with a mix of regret and anticipation. You wished you’d had the courage to ask him to stay but the moment had passed.

Sighing you got back to scanning the new books. You spent the remainder of your shift internally debating yourself. You’d only just met Eric, you felt crazy thinking about him so often but there was just something about him that lingered in your thoughts. And his parting words ‘until next time’ left you wondering if perhaps you weren’t crazy at all. 

It was rare for you to speak to any of the other people that worked at the library, due to being on the night shift you always worked alone, offering polite hellos and goodbyes to the people you swapped shifts with. That's why it was odd that Jennifer, the girl you were taking over for, approached you as you arrived at work a few days later.

‘Hey, someone came in here looking for you about an hour ago,’ she began whilst rummaging through her bag for her keys. ‘Cute guy, kinda had a lost puppy vibe. Anyways I told him you started at 10.’ Without waiting for your response she triumphantly lifted her keys from her bag, said goodbye and all but skipped out of the building.

She had to be talking about Eric, right? You’d been doing your best not to think about him the past couple of days. He hadn’t been back in since his second visit and you figured he was probably just being polite. You took a seat and began trying to sort through the returned books you’d need to re-shelve but you couldn’t stop glancing at the doors knowing Eric could walk in at any moment.

Why were you so nervous? You attempted to distract yourself by focusing on the task at hand but your mind kept wandering. What if he didn’t show up? What if he did? Your stomach churned at the thought of both possibilities. The familiar quiet comfort of the library did nothing to calm you tonight. 

You couldn’t help but over analyse every fleeting interaction you’d had with Eric. Was he really interested or were you reading too much into it? Maybe he wasn’t planning to come back after he’d left earlier. You told yourself it didn’t matter, that you didn’t care if you saw him today. But you did care, more than you wanted to admit and the uncertainty gnawed at you.

Just before you had the chance to truly spiral the door swung open and there he was, the man who had been occupying your mind, holding two coffee cups. Relief seemed to wash over him as he spotted you, a shy smile making its way onto his face. 

‘Hi,’ he greeted, making his way over to you. ‘Hope I’m not bothering you.’

‘Not at all,’ you replied, your heart fluttering. 

He placed one of the takeaway cups down in front of you, ‘one latte, like you mentioned.’ 

‘Thank you so much, you really didn’t need to,’ you flushed as you reached for the drink. Your fingers briefly brushing against his sending a tingling sensation to shoot up your arm. 

His smile was calm and warm as he looked at you. ‘So… is working the night shift at a law library as glamorous as it seems?’ He joked as he took a swig from his own drink.

You laughed, ‘it’s not so bad, yeah it’s messed up my sleep schedule but it’s a pretty easy gig.’ Not taking the risk of him leaving again you continued the conversation, ‘what about you? Is being a law student as hectic as you made it seem?’ 

His laughter filled the air, a sound you could definitely get used to hearing. ‘Probably more stressful than I made it seem.’ he admitted before continuing, ‘so I take it you aren’t a student here then?’’

‘Oh, no. Law definitely isn’t for me,’ you replied, noticing his raised eyebrows prompting you to carry on. ‘I needed a job and it just so happens that not many people are rushing at the chance to work the night shifts here. I’m actually trying to save up to go to art school.’

His eyes lit up with interest, ‘art school? That’s amazing, are you planning to go to one here in the city?’

‘That’s the plan,’ you grinned up to him. 

A slight tension buzzed between you both as silence fell. Neither of you were eager for the conversation to end but both nervous to take the next step. Eric finished his drink and attempted to throw the cup in the bin, missing spectacularly. 

‘Oh shit,’ he scrambled to pick it up, his cheeks reddening with embarrassment. You couldn’t hold back the laugh at the failed attempt. In a playful gesture you picked up a crumpled piece of paper from your desk. Throwing it with a flick of your wrist you got it on the first try.

‘Oh I see how it is,’ Eric said, rounding the desk and pulling up a seat next to you. His arm brushed across your shoulder, the contact sending a shiver down your spine, as he reached around you to grab another piece of paper. ‘It’s on,’ he concentrated with mock seriousness, his tongue peaked out between his teeth. With one eye squinted he dramatically tossed the paper, landing it perfectly.

He threw his arms in the air and in a faux commentator voice exclaimed ‘And Eric makes the epic shot with only seconds left to spare! The crowd is going wild!’ 

You both dissolved into laughter, the moment completely breaking the ice between you. Any lingering awkwardness dissipated and you settled into a rhythm of throwing paper into the bin and sharing stories about your lives. It was easy, and the quiet of the library was the perfect backdrop to your flourishing connection. 

After hours of uninterrupted conversation Eric glanced at the clock. ‘Woah I didn’t realise it had gotten so late,’ he stretched into a yawn as if to emphasise his point.

‘Yeah, I guess I’m just used to it at this point,’ you replied, trying to stop your eyes from drifting down to where his top had risen during the stretch.

‘As much as I would like to stay, I have an 8am class,’ he murmured, another yawn escaping him. He looked over to you, not yet making a move to stand up. ‘Maybe I could come back and see you sometime? If that’d be okay?’ 

His eyes locked with yours and your pulse quickened, his words were confirmation that you weren’t reading too into this connection. 

‘I’d like that,’ you replied softly, feeling a light blush spread across your cheeks.

Eric’s smile widened, the tiredness in his eyes briefly fading. ‘Good, that’s great,’ he couldn’t hide his happiness at your reply. Standing up he added, ‘I’ll see you soon.’ 

‘See you soon Eric,’ your smile didn’t fade as you watched him leave. 

Just as he reached the door he paused to turn back to you, ‘goodnight.’

‘Goodnight,’ you echoed with a small wave. He returned the gesture as he stepped out into the night, leaving you looking forward to your next shift with a warm feeling in your chest.

Over the following weeks Eric became a constant part of your life. He frequently turned up during your shifts, always bringing you a drink and staying with you to talk. What started as nervous small talk soon blossomed into something more. You found yourselves sharing stories, your dreams and even just being able to rant about your daily lives to one another. You’d even swapped numbers, occasionally sending each other random texts throughout the day.

So why had neither of you taken the step to suggest meeting up elsewhere? You wanted to, you really did, but the fact he hadn’t suggested it yet made you hesitate. Was he content with the way things were, or was he just as unsure as you about taking things further? 

You found yourself lost in thought one evening, internally debating whether you should just take the next step and ask him out or keep things the way they are. A rubber band hitting your arm drew your attention back to the present, and the man sat in his now usual spot across from you.

‘Hey,’ he gently called. His eyes, soft as they met yours, showed genuine concern. ‘You were in your own little world over there, are you ok?’

‘Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking about some stuff,’ you deflected, hoping he wouldn’t pry any further.

‘Hmm,’ Eric hummed as he raised an eyebrow, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips. ‘Were you thinking about finally letting me see your sketchbook?’

Heat flooded your face, but you couldn’t suppress a smile. ‘Definitely not,’ you replied, placing a protective hand over the book.

‘Oh come on,’ he persisted. ‘I’ve seen you drawing for weeks now. They can’t be that bad!’

You shook your head, ‘they’re not bad, it's just… personal.’ If you were being completely honest you’d never show anyone your sketchbook and the thought of sharing yourself like that felt almost too intimate. 

He offered you an exaggerated pout and his best puppy dog eyes, you’d be lying to yourself if you said it wasn’t working. ‘You wound me,’ he clutched his chest dramatically. 

‘Wound you?’ you laughed ‘I’m sure you’ll survive if you don’t see my drawings.’

Eric let out a theatrical sigh ‘You never know, I might wither away from curiosity.’ He chuckled as he cast you a playful glance.

‘You’re so dramatic,’ you teased, rolling your eyes in an attempt to hide your amusement.

He leaned forward, ‘Dramatic? I’m just expressing my unfulfilled wish to see your artistic genius.’

You laughed at that, shaking your head. ‘Artistic genius? Now you’re just trying to butter me up.’

‘Is it working?’ he asked with a hopeful grin, his eyes sparkling as he leaned even closer.

Your heart almost skipped a beat at the way he was looking at you. You stuttered, trying to put a cohesive thought together. ‘Not a chance,’ you managed to say.

He laughed, leaning back in his chair ‘Okay, I’ll drop it,’ he turned back to his work. ‘For now.’

A comfortable silence fell over the two of you, the kind of silence that only comes when two people are genuinely at ease with each other. You were content, happy to spend your time in this little bubble the two of you had created. Eric apparently had other ideas as he broke the quiet after a few moments.

‘So, I’ve been thinking,’ he began, his tone had shifted to something more sincere. You turned to see him looking nervous, his eyes downcast.  ‘I’ve, urm, I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you,’ your heart jumped up your throat, what was he about to say? ‘I was thinking we could, if you wanted, we could go out sometime. To dinner?’

His eyes finally met yours, showing his vulnerability. For a moment you froze, the weight of what he was asking sinking in. A smile spread across your face, ‘I’d love that.’

His face lit up as the words left your lips, relief evident in his eyes. ‘Great! How about this Friday? There’s a new Italian place I’d love to take you to.’

‘Perfect,’ you agreed, feeling a flutter of anticipation. Friday couldn’t come soon enough.

Friday arrived quickly and you could hardly contain your excitement. You spent the morning out running errands. You found yourself in the grocery store, mind buzzing with thoughts of your upcoming date. Whilst reaching for a carton of milk your phone buzzed in your pocket. Seeing Eric’s name made you smile like a schoolgirl that just found out her crush likes her back.

‘Can’t wait for tonight, see you later :)’ 

You felt a rush of warmth and quickly typed back a response,  ‘Me too, see you soon!’

Before you could fully revel in the anticipation an ear splitting crash shook the world around you. The store windows shattered, sending shards flying causing you to duck down instinctively. All around you chaos broke out, people were screaming, car alarms blaring outside and another sound you couldn’t quite pinpoint.

Heart pounding, you stood and assessed the situation. Everything was in disarray, broken glass covered the floor and random produce was everywhere. Dust and debris clouded the air, obstructing your view of the outside. What the hell was happening? 

Screams were still ringing out and you could hear car wheels screeching. Adrenaline surged through you and before you knew it you were rushing outside. You couldn’t believe the chaotic scene that unfolded before you the moment you stepped onto the street. Rubble rained from the sky, people ran in all directions, and a bus was flipped on its side in front of you. 

Panic surged but you forced yourself to move. Moving where though, you had no idea. Would your home be safe? Should you even try to get there? Your legs began to push forward of their own accord, taking you away from whatever was going on here.

A screeching sound rang out and you whipped your head in the direction of the sound. A large shape rushed by the corner of your eye, its speed too high to fully comprehend what you had seen. Adrenaline took over again and you began running in the opposite direction. 

An army truck roared into view, a speaker on the roof blaring out a message- ‘STAY INSIDE! TAKE COVER!’ Suddenly the truck was violently flipped into a nearby building. You skidded to the floor and looked to where the truck had previously been. Your mouth fell agape at the scene before you, a giant monster stood in the centre of the road. 

You froze, taking in the unbelievable sight before you, as a woman ran past you shouting for help. The monster's head snapped towards her and it lunged, smashing her into the ground with one swift swipe. 

A scream stuck in your throat and you scrambled backwards. What the hell just happened? What the hell was going on? You had to be dreaming, this was some manic nightmare and you prayed you’d wake up soon. 

You continued to crawl backwards, your hands scraping against the rough ground. Whatever was left of the woman’s body laid a few feet away from you. The creature's head turned, snapping towards any sound that rang out. You held your breath, every instinct in you told you to stay silent. 

A siren sounded out nearby and the creature bounded off towards it, Seizing the moment you scrambled to your feet and sprinted down a small alley. Hoping that the narrow passage would provide some sort of cover. You crouched low behind a bin, curling yourself into a ball and covering your head. You could still hear the sounds of the absolute havoc going on around you. 

Tears began to stream down your face, you wrapped your shaking hand around your mouth to stifle any sobs that threatened to escape. You were, understandably, terrified. Nothing could prepare a person for this situation. Your body shook uncontrollably and your mind raced, trying to grasp at any logical explanation. 

You shifted slightly and felt your phone digging into you from your back pocket. Your mind instantly fell to Eric, was he okay? You grabbed your phone, without thinking you tried to call him but the line was completely dead. You prayed he was okay, that he’d found a safe place to hide. You knew you couldn’t stay here forever, maybe you should make your way to where he was and try to find him. 

A crashing sound echoed in the alleyway and you looked up just in time to see one of the creatures jumping from one roof to the other. Debris cascaded down and the last thing you remembered was raising your arms to shield yourself from some falling bricks before the world went black. 

You regained consciousness hours later, it was dark and the chaos from before had fallen eerily quiet. Dust completely covered you and your head throbbed. You tried to focus and come up with a plan but the pain was making it difficult to think clearly.

You brought a shaky hand up to your forehead to try and alleviate some of the pressure. Your fingers met something warm and sticky, pulling your hand away you were sickened to see your fingers covered in blood. A groan threatened to escape but you quickly remembered the situation, remembering how quickly the monster had reacted to sound. 

Despite the pain you knew you couldn’t stay here much longer. Deciding it would be safest to move once it was daylight you huddled closer into the small space you found yourself in. 

The silence pressed down on you, making every breath you took sound far too loud. You put your hand in front of your mouth to dull the sound of your laboured breaths. Images of the creature's viscous attack flashed across your mind. As the hours drew on, the terrifying thought that there were probably more of them gnawed at your mind. The city was far too quiet for there to just be one.

As you hugged your knees to your chest, praying for time to move faster, your thoughts circled back to Eric. Had he managed to find safety? You didn’t let yourself think of the alternative. You hoped with every ounce of strength you had left that he was somewhere safe, and that you’d be able to see him again.  

As a dim light began to rise, a rhythmic thumping noise began to grow louder and louder. As it drew closer you realised it was a helicopter and from it a message was blaring out.

‘BOAT EVACUATIONS ARE BEGINNING NOW AT SOUTH STREET SEAPORT. TRAVEL SOUTH WITH EXTREME CAUTION.’

You forced yourself to stand, taking small careful steps forward as you focused on the remainder of the message.

‘THIS IS A MANDATORY EVACUATION ORDER. WE REMAIN UNDER ATTACK, SEEK SHELTER ON WATER, THE ATTACKERS CANNOT SWIM.’

Hope. If you could make it to the boats you stood a chance of escaping this living nightmare. You made your way to the alley's exit and tried to figure out the best way to go. The street that you would usually expect to see filled with people and cars was silent. The paths were now littered with rubble, cars were abandoned haphazardly, smoke billowed from a few of the buildings and people’s belongings were scattered everywhere you looked. 

The once vibrant and bustling city had been turned into a war zone. You began to make your way south, walking as quickly as you dared to go. Every small sound had you on edge, terrified that one of those things was going to appear at any moment. Your head still throbbed though the blood covering your forehead seemed to have dried.

As you continued through the city, more people began to come into view. As everyone silently walked in the same direction you couldn’t help but look to the other faces around you, hoping to find a familiar one in the ever growing crowd. Dread filled every step you took, the more people that joined the silent march the more you lost hope. How would you find Eric in all of this? 

You clenched your fists, determined to not let thoughts like that overwhelm you. Eric was okay, he had to be. 

Before long at least a hundred people, maybe even more, had joined the crowd you were in. No matter how quiet everyone was trying to be a group that large couldn’t help but give off noise. You carefully made your way to the edge, thinking it would probably be best to find another way to get to the seaport, away from the bustling of the large group. 

Just as you made it to the edge, loud screams tore through the air sending a chill down your spine. The monsters had found you all. Panic instantly erupted in the crowd, people tried to run, desperate to escape from the terror that had arrived. 

Your heart raced as you dived into what had been a clothing shop. You ran to the back and crouched behind an overturned display, trying to steady your breathing. Peeking through a crack in the counter you could see the creature's terrifying forms moving wildly through the crowd. 

You waited with bated breath, until the world had fallen silent again to emerge from your safe spot. Your whole body shook but the seaport was still your only chance to get out so you forced yourself to move. Slipping back onto the street you found it almost empty, a few survivors darted away, smoke billowed from buildings, more rubble had fallen and in the middle of it all stood a black and white cat.

The cat seemed to be looking at you. You tentatively took a step towards it, but it scampered off. Your eyes followed it, watching as it playfully chased a rat down the middle of the road, before it ran towards a subway entrance out of your eye line. For that brief moment, amidst the devastation the sight of the cat felt strangely grounding.

You let out a breath you didn’t realise you had been holding and turned away, refocusing yourself. You didn’t think you had too far to go now, though the imminent threat had you treading carefully, staying vigilant to not draw any attention to yourself.

As you continued the sun began to slowly set once again, how had a day passed already? And to make your journey even harder, it began to rain. Deciding it would be too dangerous to continue at night in the rain you opted to find shelter. 

You found a small abandoned cafe nearby and slipped inside, grateful to be taking shelter from the hard rain. You tried to make yourself comfortable behind the main counter. The hours dragged on as you stayed hidden, listening to the thunder rolling overhead. Exhaustion tugged at your eyelids, though you fought to stay awake, fearful of what could happen if you let your guard down. 

You found a small abandoned shop nearby and slipped inside, grateful to be taking shelter from the hard rain. You tried to make yourself comfortable behind the main counter. The hours dragged on as you stayed hidden, listening to the thunder rolling overhead. Exhaustion tugged at your eyelids, you fought to stay awake, fearful of what could happen if you let your guard down. 

Dawn broke and thankfully the rain had stopped. You cautiously stepped out, determined to reach the seaport as fast as possible. You kept to the shadows, moving as swiftly as you dared. It wasn’t long before the faint sound of water lapping the docks reached your ears. Turning the corner you spotted a crowd waiting at the edge of the water, silently filling onto a boat. The sight spurred you on, safety was so close. 

You stumbled onto the deck, your trembling legs almost giving out beneath you as relief flooded over you. A shuddering breath escaped you as you looked back to the city, now a desolate landscape. You found a spot near the back of the boat, watching as others boarded too, their faces a mix of exhaustion and desperation. 

As you looked over the people boarding, a tousled head of brown hair caught your eye. You stood up on your tiptoes, your heart beating faster. Could it be him? It was like a scene from a movie, the crowd began to part, you held your breath as the man's face face was slowly revealed to you. Though your heart dropped as more of his face came into view. It wasn’t Eric. You felt foolish, believing that out of everyone in the city you’d actually make it onto the same boat as him.

Taking a seat you wrapped your arms around yourself. It all felt surreal, being caught between two worlds. The chaos you had escaped and your uncertain future that lay ahead. The boat pushed away from the city, finally putting the hell behind you. All that was left for you to do was to wait, and hope that everything would turn out ok. 

‘Stop the boat…STOP THE BOAT!’ shouting jolted you from your thoughts. The urgency in the voice made everyone turn back to look at the city. Standing you followed the gazes of everyone on board and spotted a lone figure sprinting towards the water’s edge. The sight of the monsters chasing them made your blood run cold. 

The entire boat seemed to hold its breath as the person ran with everything they had, the monsters closing in on them fast. Without hesitation they leapt into the water, narrowly escaping the creature's outstretched arms. People rushed to the side of the boat, lowering ropes as they shouted encouragement. You noticed a discarded blanket on the deck, and grabbed it, knowing they would need it.

As you pushed through the crowd you caught sight of a drenched cat being lifted from the man's hands. And then your breath caught in your throat. The man’s eyes met yours and time seemed to stop. It was Eric. 

The shock hit you like a wave and before you could fully process what was happening you lunged forward, reaching out for him. ‘Eric!’ His name escaped your lips, a mixture of disbelief and overwhelming relief.

He looked equally as stunned as he whispered your name, his voice full of emotion. You fell to your knees in front of him and wrapped your arms around him tightly, afraid he might vanish if you let go. ‘You’re here,’ you heard him murmur as his arms closed around you. Tears welled in your eyes, blurring your vision as you held onto him. ‘I thought…I didn’t know if...’

You pulled back just enough to look into his eyes, not giving him a chance to finish that thought. ‘I’m here,’ you reached up and cupped his face gently. ‘We made it.’ You looked into his beautiful soft eyes, his tears mirroring your own. You wiped away a stray tear and smiled as he leaned into your touch.

And then, without another word, seeming more determined than you’d ever seen him, Eric closed the distance between you, capturing your lips in a desperate but tender kiss. The warmth of his touch grounded you in a way that nothing else could, washing away the horrors of the past few days.

Eric’s hand came up to cradle the back of your head, deepening the kiss as if he was pouring all his unspoken words into it. When you finally pulled away, breathless, his forehead rested against your own. ‘We made it,’ he echoed your words, his voice barely above a whisper as his lips brushed against yours.    

Against all odds you’d found each other. The world around you seemed to fade away as you sat there, holding on to one another. The boat rocked gently beneath you as it resumed its journey away from the city. Despite everything that happened, despite the chaos of this new world, you were together, and for now, that was enough.